People are often unreasonable irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating others could destroy overnight.  Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.

- Advice from Mother Teresa

“That which cannot be said has to be experienced. This is a great experience of getting into the inner space.Something is experienced in this gathering which no one has been able to define. This is the highest peak of the whole day's working, meditating, or doing groups.” - Osho

Both my real name and Gaia name appears in the profile. I am not worried about it. It should have been 'Shanmugan' but our registrar of births played hell and twisted it as it is now. My father is very fond of the deity with the six faces, which is another form of lord Skanda. He is named 'Shanmuga' in scriptures.He is the hero of 'Skanda Purana' , which is a Hindu mythological book. There is nothing to hide at all. My brothers too named after the same deity. There was a blog on this subject earlier in Gaia and I gave the same reply there too. 

During ancient times there was a religion called 'Kaumara' and the deity was 'Kumara' , it is all the same deity. Now all those different religions are amalgamted into one as Hinduism. Hence this deity has become the second son of  Lord Siva. I hope that this will be more than enough.   

This question reminds me a recent blog by my friend Eli posted. I have already explained this concept fully there.We think mind is controlling the body but when we become aware of our body functions only we get control of our body. Mind can imagine that it controls the body but Breathing, blood circulation, muscle functions are automatically done by the body since our birth. Mind too has the power to control the body only if we train so for that purpose. Most functions are controlled by brain but there are so many functions happening automatically , where certain junctions of veins meeting together at certain spots also have the power to order auto functions. It is nearly like in the trees. Digestion function is also automatically done. In hatha Yoga this trick is easily taught  as to how to train our mind to control the body and its functions to be cotrolled according to our wish. Pranayama is also another way for this control.'Nama Japa' - repettition of the sacred name also leads to this position.There are several other methods too. Another point is given by Ramana maharishi of Thiruvannamalai has stated that it is the soul that becomes mind because of attachments otherwise soul will be free. so it is done by us and we can control our body as per our wish. Entire body is filled with soul, so there is no need for any connection. when the power ceases in a certain part, we can increase it by our will power. Healing, reiky etc are also similar to this.  I will not allow my body to control me. I know how to control it on my own.Santhi asana is also similar to this. It will listen to me, that is my body. Penial gland too has some part in this.  

 

At Blackwater Pond the tossed waters have settled

after a night of rain.

I dip my cupped hands. I drink

a long time. It tastes

like stone, leaves, fire. It falls cold

into my body, waking the bones. I hear them

deep inside me, whispering

oh what is that beautiful thing

that just happened?

'Mary Oliver' 

from London spirituality net work

The inner self perceives the outside world,

Made up of earth, water, fire, air, and space.

It is the victim of likes and dislikes,

Pleasure and pain, and delusion and doubt.

It knows all the subtleties of language,

Enjoys dance, music, and all the fine arts;

Delights in the senses, recalls the past,

Reads the scriptures, and is able to act.

This is the mind, the inner person.

-Atma Upanishad

In a New Book, the Story of An American Who Embraced India

Source: www.etaiwannews.com

PHILADELPHIA, USA, February 14, 2009: You may not know who Satyanand Stokes (1882-1946) was, but Mohandas Gandhi did. So does the Dalai Lama, and a picture of Satyanand hangs in the Nehru Memorial Library in New Delhi, among other leaders of India’s independence movement. Born Samuel Evans Stokes Jr., the firstborn son of a Philadelphia Quaker family, Stokes set off for India’s Simla Hills at the age of 21 to work in a home for lepers. 

Before long, Stokes took on local dress, rejected the privileges of a white Westerner, gave away his belongings, and adopted the name Satyanand. In 1912, he married a local woman. He introduced American Red Delicious apples to the Himalayas in 1916, and in 1924, he opened a school to educate the children of local farmers. He became a leader in Gandhi’s independence movement–the only American member of the All India Congress Committee, and the only American ever imprisoned by the British for involvement in that cause. In 1932, he converted to Hinduism, in part because he detested the Christian notion of eternal punishment. 

Stokes’ story is told by his granddaughter, Asha Sharma, in a lovingly detailed and enormously moving biography entitled “An American in Gandhi’s India: The Biography of Satyanand Stokes.” Sharma’s excellent combination of smooth storytelling and detailed research makes Stokes’ story alluring in both its early Philadelphia moments and its long unfolding in India.

(HPI)

Leaning Tower of Pisa: A structure commonly found in Italy is the campanile — a bell tower attached to a church or cathedral. The most famous of these is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Building of Pisa's tower was begun in 1173; five years later, when it had gotten to the third floor, the tower — which had been set on a flimsy foundation in an unstable soil — began to sink. Construction was stopped for nearly 100 years, and the bell chamber and its bells were finally installed in 1372. The tower continued to sink about 1.2 mm (1/20 in.) yearly, and on this date in 1964, the Italian government requested aid in preventing it from toppling. It was eventually closed to the public in 1990, stabilized and reopened a decade later, in 2001. In 2008, engineers stated that the tower had not moved for the first time in its history.

The Tower of Pisa was commissioned by the city of Pisa. We're not completely sure about the real identity of the architect. Originally, Guglielmo and Bonanno Pisano were credited with the design. Bonanno Pisano was a well-known 12th-century artist from Pisa, whose bronze castings were found in the Pisa Duomo. Though he lived for several years in Monreale, Sicily, he had returned to Pisa before he died. His sarcophagus was found at the foot of the tower in 1820. 

Others believe that an architect named Diotisalvi designed the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He was active during the time the tower was built, and the design is similar to others that he worked on at the time, such as the bell tower of San Nicola and the Baptistery, both in Pisa. However, he usually signed his works; since there is no signature in the bell tower, there is speculation as to whether he was involved in the project. 

The leaders of three religions A, B and C decided to convene a meeting to bring about peace. God was so pleased with their efforts that He sent an angel to them during the meeting. The angel asked the leaders what they wished. The leader of religion A said, Religion B is responsible for all the problems. So please wipe them off the face of the Earth! The leader of religion B said, Religion A is the cause of all our troubles. You have to reduce them to ashes! By now the angel was disappointed. The angel turned expectantly to the leader of religion C. With an expression of grave humility, C’s leader said, I wish nothing for myself. It will be enough if you merely grant the prayers of my two colleagues! Children, we must first plant the seeds of love, peace and patience within ourselves. The key to world peace is within every individual residing on this planet. Peace is not just the absence of war and conflict; it goes well beyond that. Simply transferring the world’s nuclear weapons to a museum will not in itself bring about world peace. The nuclear weapons of the mind must first be eliminated. - Mata Amritanandamayi Ma, India’s Kerala-based hugging saint

This supreme Goddess, Word, inspired by Brahman,

by which the awe-inspiring is created,

through her to us be peace!

-Atharva Veda

Sabharathnam Sivacharyar Receives Award from Thiruvavaduthurai Aadheenam

Source: HPI

THIRUVAVADUTHURAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA, February 8, 2009: The ancient Thiruvavaduthurai Aadheenam, one of the most prominent aadheenams in South India, has honored renowned scholar S. P. Sabharathnam with the “Thirumular Award” for his lifetime dedication to the Saiva Agamas.

Sabharathnam, who is Hinduism Today’s consultant on Agamas, last January addressed the public at the Indian National Seminar on Agamas, presenting his views on “Yoga Concepts of the Saivagamas as the Basis for the Yogasutra of Patanjali.”