Ramana Jayanti

"When the mind is left without anything to cling to, . . .  it becomes still. . . "


- Ramana Maha-rishi

Issa jayanti

A group of distinguished foreigners visited Jesus after his birth, and they bore gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

They came from the east to worship the king of jews. 

The three gifts has led to the assumption that there were three men.

In Eastern Christianity, specially the Syriac churches, the Magi often number twelve.

 - Wikipedia

Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi Aradhana

Murshid to Mullah: Have you only blackened your eyes and mind? Or have you found some light?

Mullah shuddered; disembarked from his horse and asked, 'Who are you?'

Murshid replied, 'It does not matter who I am. Do you know who you are? '

Mullah Rumi realized that, after reading all scriptures written in black ink, he did not know. He said, 'I know that my heart is still black and my eyes are still black.. And I have no light.
I need light.'

Shams Tabrizi became Rumi's Murshid.

 -  Amrit Varsha, December 06 2016

OSHO jayanti

I speak on Mahavira as part of my duty - my heart is never with him.

He is too mathematical, and not a mystic.
He has no poetry of being.
He is great, enlightened, but like a vast desert.

You cannot come across a single oasis in him.

Because I was born a Jaina, I have to pay some debts. And I speak on him as my duty.

Mahavira, Moses and Mohammed are single notes - not harmonies, not symphonies. A single note has its austere beauty and simplicity.

If I meet Mahavira on the road, I will pay my respects, and escape.

- OSHO Online Library.

Mahavir Parinirvana

Mahavir ate very little food.
Because he was in bliss, he did not need it. He ate once in several days.

Buddha tried to copy Prince Vardhamana. And became so weak, he could not even walk.

He barely pulled himself, sat under a tree, and almost collapsed.

Someone brought him a bowl of milk pudding. He drank, got a good nights' sleep, woke up at dawn.

The last star was dipping down the horizon.
He realized, there was nothing to look forward to now.
He just sat.
And freedom dawned on him.

It is said that the Buddha did not utter a word for seven days, after this totality.
NirvAna is that freedom.
And same is called Samadhi.

- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Dikshitar ArAdana

While in his teens, his father sent him on a pilgrimage with Chidambaranatha Yogi, a wandering monk.

During their stay at Varanasi, the yogi presented him with a unique veena and asked him to visit the Tiruttani temple, in Tamil Nadu.

When Dikshitar was in depths of meditation at Tiruttani, an old man appeared, dropped a sugar candy in his mouth.

Dikshitar then had a vision of Skanda, the deity enshrined on Tiruttani hill - and he broke into his first composition 'Shri Nathadi Guruguho'.

On Deepavali day in 1835, Dikshitar asked his students to sing the song 'Minakshi memudham'. 
As they sang, he raised his hand, uttered 'Shive Pahi' and died.

- Wikipedia, 

Chidambaram Ramalingam Pillai Jayanti

"cadal cadandane carai adain-dane candu condane koyil

cadavu tirandida petrane katchi ellam candane

adar cadanda tiru amudam undu arul oliyaal anaithum

arindu telindu arivu uruvaai azhi-aamai adain-dane

udal kulirndane uyir kilarn-dane ullam ellam tazhai-thane
ulla-padi ulla porul ullana-vaai nirain-dane

idar tavirkkum siddhi ellam en wasam onginawe
ithanaium podu nadam-sei iraiwan arut seyale!"

- Shri Ramalinga Adigalar

Sail across seas I did; reached ashore; recognized the shrine
doors gave way; visions they revealed

drunk upon nectar beyond gross; in light of grace
I knew all and clear; attained to intelligence of my eternity

cool, ecstatic, my heart brimmed over 
knowing things as they are,  in my un-distorted whole

ruses to defy suffering came into my grasp and  grew
all this is mere grace of that lord;  Dancer at the Hall

- Shri Ramalinga Adigalar

Naropa fest of Drukpa Lineage

At first the yogi feels his mind 
is tumbling like a waterfall, 


in mid-course, like the Ganges,
it flows on slow and gentle,


in the end
it is a great, vast ocean


- Mahamudra Gita
  Tilopa  to  Naropa

Palilayaka Paryushana

A monkey brought him a honey comb.
Buddha accepted
The excited monkey leapt from tree to tree, and fell to his death.
His generosity resulted in his rebirth in Tavatimsa heaven.

The elephant Palilayaka fed him with fruits.
After the monsoon withdrew, Buddha prepared to leave the forest.
Palilayaka followed him to the edge of the woods; and even wanted to enter man habitat.

Buddha turned and said, 'Palilayaka, you cannot come into man's territory. It is dangerous for you.'

Palilayaka stood, roared in grief.
As Buddha went out of sight, his heart broke; he died.
And was reborn as a Deva in Tavatimsa heaven.

Buddhists observe the moon of BhAdrapada with offerings of fruits and honey.

 - Wikipedia, Madhu Poornima.

Gokul-ashtami

Upa drashta Anumanta ca Bharta Bhokta Maheshwara ha
Paramatma iti caap yuktaha Dehey asmin Purusha ha Para ha.

The Supreme Self enshrined in body is also called the onlooker, endorser, endower, enjoyer, the Great Lord and the Supreme Self.

Some German commentators say that this 23rd verse in Chapter 13 is a later addition to the Bhagavad Gita -  it does not seem to be 'in the flow'  of Vyasa's narrative.
They say, it is just an array - an Avali - of names. Like a NamAvali, a mere eulogy of the Self.

But 'the array'  documented by Wyasa, has intent.

Upa drashta -  a mere onlooker!
In an un-subdued individual, the VAsanas are in full flow, say 100%.
There  may be no dharma, or purity, in this person.
And the diabolical individual may revel as a despot in this world, like say, Hitler.
The Divine dwells in him, as mere onlooker - Upa Drashta.

When one subdues or surrenders a mere 20% of one's VAsanas, and takes refuge in the Divine - the Divine becomes Anumanta -  nods his head in approval and endorses one's actions.

In those who surrender 40% of their VAsanas, the Divine fills their bowl and supports their undertakings - Bharta.

When 60% of one's VAsanas are surrendered, the Divine comes alive, as enjoyer - Bhokta.

In them who have surrendered 80% of their VAsanas, the Divine finds expression as the Great Lord - Maheshwara ha, the master of Natural forces.

And those whose surrender is 100% -  they become one, with the Supreme Self - Param Atman.

- Swami Chinmayananda.

Chinmaya ArAdhanA

The content of the present moment - devoid of all relationships with the past and future - is absolute fullness of the Infinite. 
Eternity is experienced at the sacred depth of the present moment. 

To abide in the present, is samAdhi. 
Each will have to reach there all by oneself, in oneself, with no vehicle other than oneself.
- Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati,
Speaking Tree, August 3, 2015 / Times Of India

DhUmAwati jayanti

The void needs  no reliance,
The great seal rests on nought.

Without making an effort,
but remaining loose and natural,

one can break the yoke-
thus gaining liberation.

Mahamudra is beyond all words and symbols,
but for you, . . . . . . . must this be said

- Tilopa to Naropa

Buddh Jayanti

Brahmins, who drafted the text for Ashoka's edict, flattered him as 'Dewanam Piya' - a darling of Gods.

The drafters meant, that their king was indeed, a shallow man.

  A darling to Gods; And unaware of himself.

   - an Adwaitic renunciate,  from South India

Ganga saptami

 

When a river turns around, towards the

direction  of it's source, seeking as if, it's

origin - that meander  is a significant 

swerve,  in it's  course.

 

 - Swami  Chinmayananda

Nrsimha Jayanti

'Caraanguli nakha utpanna Naarayana Dasaakritihi'

Dewi creates the ten avatars of Wishnu from her ten finger nails

Kaali becomes Krsna

Kamala becomes Raama

Mathangi becomes Buddha

Bhairawi becomes Nrsimha

  

Sancara Jayanti

You may have read in history, that  Sancara Bhagavadpada  caused Buddhism to wane, in India.
This I say, is wrong.
I am named sankara - acharya after him.
And I say that this accusation is untrue. 

People who have read Sancara's commentaries will agree.
There is very meagre  condemnation of Buddhist path.

Sancara's condemnation was more of 'Sankhya' and 'Mimamsa' followers, of the Hindu culture.

His condemnation of Buddhism was only one-hundredth of  the censure of his fellow Hindus.

-Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Kanchi

Chinmaya Jayanti

Vyaasa in his narrative of the Bhagawad Gita, often refers to Krishna, as 'Madhusudana'.

Madhu-sudana means 'slayer of the demon Madhu'.

But, then, "Madhu', in Samskrit language, also means 'honey'  - which is a metaphor for 'Vaasanas'.

Madhu-sudana then, is Krishna, as 'slayer of 'Vaasanas'.

You know, Shakespeare's lines drew plaudits both from the well and the balcony, . . . 

-Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati

Yuz Asaph - Leader of the Healed

Holger Kersten suggests that Jesus may have survived the crucifixion.

In a detailed examination of the Shroud of Turin and the time of crucifixion, Kersten draws attention to how Joseph of Arimethea, Nicodemus and Longinus had made plans to revive Jesus - as soon as he was brought down from the cross.

Large quantities of aloes, myrrh and ladanum are believed to have been found, in the tomb where Jesus was laid to rest.

These herbs were commonly used, in the treatment of injuries and wounds.

Kersten sees the notion of Resurrection in the gospels, as a physical act of resuscitation as well - In which Jesus is shown to have been healed, with elaborate medication.

Kersten draws on the work of Father Gunther Schwarz who says that the terms, 'rise' and 'coming back to life', found in translations of the Bible, in the original Aramaic, derive from the linguistic root, 'to resuscitate'.

Alternative scholarship holds that, having survived the crucifixion, Jesus goes east, again, as Yuz Asaph.

Jesus's Hebrew name was Yuza.
Yuz in Arabic.
In Quran, he is Hazrat Issa, Issa in Tibetan, close to Isha in Samskrit.
Yuz means leader.
And Asaph refers to healing.
So, Jesus was Yuz Asaph - Leader of the Healed.

- Pranav Khullar, Beyond The 4 Gospels, 
The Speaking Tree, Bengaluru, December 20, 2015.

Tirthankar Jayanti

Tirtha, a fjord - where sea shrinks, and is easily crossed.

Tirthankara  - a ferryman or one who arrives at the shores of divinity - signifies the founder of a fjord-able passage,  across the currents of life and death.

Vardhamana of Ikshvaku clan was born on the 13th day of waxing fortnight of Chaitra, to King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala  in the ancient city of Kundalpur.
Vardhamana was given the title  'Jina', the victor of inner fetters like clinging, vanity, misery, . . .
Buddhist texts refer to Vardhamana Mahavira as Nigantha - one bereft of knots/ ties/ string.
Jain texts discuss 26 births of Mahavira before his incarnation as Tirthankara.

- from Wikipedia.

Shri Ram Navami

To free the world from fear of tyrants, Vishnu and Shiva donned roles as Rama and Sita.
And no one knew.

Even Rama and Sita seemed oblivious of their roles.

But when stirred sufficiently don't dormant layers surface?

Rama  had accepted his banishment, and  decided to leave Sita behind.The jungle that teemed with wildlife and demons seemed unsafe for any woman.
And Sita was incensed.
‘My father, King Janaka who gave my hand to you in marriage,  never knew this -  that you are woman in man’s sheath,’ she taunted.

‘Striyam Purusha Vigraham,’ is her line in Walmiki’s Raamayana.


This struck a chord in Rama; he remembered his role.
And realized that, dangers that lurked in the jungle, were scenes of the unfolding play.

Without further ado, he agreed to Sita’s foray into the forest.

-Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati,  Kanchi

NatGeo teleseries

Daniel Stone: You have a library of religious books. Tell me something you have learned.

Morgan Freeman: I have the Quran, 4 or 5 different Bibles.
I didn't know was that, reincarnation was binding.
You're bound to the Earth, to a corporeal existence.
And you have to keep comin back and comin back - till you get it right.

Once you get it right - That's it - You're done.

But, we were in Varanasi, the Indian Ganges riverside city - And we learn'd you could get a short-cut.
Just go to Varanasi, to die - and be cremated at the river bank.
That's it - You're done - It's over.
You don't have to come back anymore.
So, you know where I am goin.

- Nat Geo teleseries, Speaking Tree, Bengaluru, Sunday April 17, 2016.