2016 Navratri & The Potential Demise of Humankind

Navratri 2016 is well under way already, having started last Saturday – the first of the month. This has usually been a special holiday for me because of my affinity for Durga, whose presence and effect I can intuit at times. I was explaining to a friend that the Navratri holiday we’re in the middle of currently is much like my favorite holiday of the year – Ganesha Chaturthi in that special emphasis and fervor are given to a god idea for a little over a week and then an image of that idea is immersed and dissolved. Such symbolism and meaning! A huge difference between Ganesha Chaturthi and this Navratri is that each day / night of the holiday focuses on a different face of Durga, who is understood to be a version of the Holy Mother of us all. For reference I’ll include a link to information so that you can inform yourself about the differences each day of this Navratri. It’ll also give you a digest version of the holiday in general.

 

Navratri Durga Puja 2016 dates

 

The link above is to a site I don’t ever visit. It’s Baba Rampuri’s site (or one of them) and if I’m not mistaken (I may well be, there are a number of Babas out there) I’m pretty sure he was quoted in an article a year or so ago saying that yoga could “cure” gayness which is the biggest crock I’ve heard. Obviously, there’s nothing to cure where gayness is concerned and if there was, I feel it would still be an abuse of sorts to “sell” yoga as such a cure. But that’s neither here nor there and has nothing to do with the current holiday.

There was also an article on Speaking Tree about the holiday this year that I wanted to share… HERE. To summarize, see below.

1. Durga has five vahanas / vehicles, which she chooses for her arrival and departure very year at Navratri. These include lion, elephant, horse, boat, and palanquin.
2. For 2016, she has chosen the vahan of horse, which is a sign of danger for humanity. This is the case because usually she arrives and departs on different vahanas, but this year is making the arrival and departure on the same vahan, the horse. Thus the meaning of doomsday for humanity, as well as general upheaval, natural disasters, wars, social unrest, .
3. In the link above, pics #7, #8, #9, and #10 all detail briefly what meaning the vahanas carry.
4. Another bad sign for Navratri 2016 is that, while the holiday is – by definition – nine days / nights long, this year the holiday is actually ten days / nights long.
5. Dusshera falls on the 11th day, which is another bad omen.
6. Another level of inauspicious-ness is that she will be arriving and departing on a Saturday / Tuesday and this signifies the occurrence of war or tension among nations.

When I briefly mentioned this to another friend, he asked if her horse is a white horse and I knew immediately that his question is somewhat suggestive of Kalki’s arrival, too. I’d not be surprised if she IS said to arrive on a white horse. But I can tell you, I don’t put much stock in doomsday stuff. too many times humans have thought they knew were able to predict The End and when it would arrive. And – without exception – they were wrong, obviously, else I’d not be writing now and you’d not be reading now.

Still, so much of modernity is playing catch up to Hindu wisdom – especially where science and spirituality bump up against each other. I don’t think The End is near, but I’d not at all be surprised if a series of major disasters (of various types) is headed for planet Earth. And, after all, Trump is running for the highest office in the most powerful nation in the world. What better setup could there be for the entire globe to go up in flames and then to spin off its axis and fly right into our sun?

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lunar Effects

 

 

Daaji was offering a different perspective to the society on festivals, culture and the rituals that people observe. Some of the conversation centred around the article on Lord Ganesha, which was very well received across media channels.

Q: There are days like Ekadashi. Do they have a special significance?

Daaji: Yes! Ekadashi days have a very special significance for health. They were connected with religion for the sole purpose of health and well-being. Had this not been associated with religion, common people would not have followed such dictums.

It is good to moderate the intake of food on these days. It is to counter the impact of the moon on the human body. Our body is about 60-70% water. You can see the impact of the moon on water in the oceans. It is significant. On full moon nights there are tides rising up to 20 feet, maybe even 30 feet.

Similarly, the moon has an impact on the human system also. Especially during the full moon, records show that criminal activity is higher than usual. The term ‘lunatic’ comes from the lunar effect on the human nervous system. Our sages must have observed this.

From the 8^th day of the lunar cycle, the effect starts growing and reaches its peak on the 15^thday. Midway between these two is the 11^th day, Ekadashi. If you moderate your intake on that day, you will neutralize the lunar impact on your system.

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Interiorization

Q: Daaji, you had asked us to do some thinking on interiorization and internalization. I believe interiorization is in the experiential and internalization is intellectual. Am I on the right track?

Daaji: In internalization something is given to you from outside and then you brood over it. Internalization is consuming for a purpose, to dissect something, intellectualize it, and internalize the knowledge. Internalization can be of so many things. It is a bigger spectrum. Interiorization is similar, but is of spiritual conditions. It is very specific to spiritual states. Look at it this way: you internalize knowledge or a principle. That way, when you look at our interiorization of the great Master, it is no longer a particular subject matter or matter of an entity. It is a matter of a principle. When you think of the inner Master, it is no longer a person who is the guiding force.

Q: One goes beyond the physical level.

Daaji: Yes. You are not relating to any person then. When your heart suggests something, does it say, “Oh, this is an inspiration from Mr X”? No it doesn’t. It simply draws from the Source, the inner guide. That is why we should simply follow the inner Master.

Q: But if we consult the external Master and obey implicitly, then there is no conflict, correct?

Daaji: But how long will you keep consulting? You see, revered Lalaji had to go, beloved Babuji, dearest Chariji, they all had to go. The whole sequence will go on. Each time there is a change, people are shaken up. They have to reorient, retest the new guy, and see if it is a fit for them! And then comparisons start.

Q: How were you able to achieve all this?

Daaji: I don’t think I have achieved anything.

Q: We have seen you Daaji, right in front of us!

Daaji: There is nothing to achieve! You already have it. Just enjoy life. Be yourself. Don’t push it. The more you try to run after it, the more it will run away from you. Don’t go for it. Be at peace, and if God wants you He will come to you!  [Laughter erupts all over the room] Our job is to stay pure and simple. We don’t have bad intentions, we don’t want to hurt anybody, we are sincere, and we are loving. What more can God want from us? We don’t have to become negative. Stay positive and be grateful.

There was a beautiful silence in the room and everyone was moved by the simplicity with which Daaji laid out what we ought to become. After a brief pause the conversation continued.

Daaji: Skydivers can learn meditation easily. Let go and you are there! [Daaji laughs and everyone joins the laughter] Our situation is like a kite. It is hanging on one thread. Just cut it! But for that you need to be courageous. Don’t ask for it though. If it comes, accept it. If it doesn’t, don’t force it.

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Transmission

Transmission is something unique to the Sahaj Marg / Heartfulness path of raja yoga. In much earlier posts I wrote just a little about our sittings and prana, etc… But some people might well yet be unfamiliar with what “transmission” means in our context. By clicking here you can read a post about the unique method of transmission employed in Heartfulness / Sahaj Marg.

I’ve pulled some excerpts from the link shared above that might offer you a digest version of this part of our practice. See below and thanks for reading.

“… to understand the concept of transmission, which is described in Sanskrit as pranahuti and in Urdu as tavajjoh…To nourish our physical system, our body, we consume food…Then we go on to the second aspect of our existence: mental enrichment. How do we nourish that? You are all going through the process at the moment of enriching yourself mentally…And we also have a third body. The first body 
is the grosser body, the physical body, and we get nutrition from food. The second is mental, and that derives its nutrition through enrichment via our professors and what we do with their teaching. We assimilate it and later on make it more intense through our work, actualising it in our experience…We also have a third entity we call the soul or the atma. Did you ever think about how we can enrich that soul? Is there any food for that?”

“It is similar with this inner being, the soul, though we do not know how it feels hungry or not. Through some process, somehow it is satisfied. It remains at peace, it derives immense calmness that it has never experienced before, and so then you can say, “Yes, something is all right. I am being fed.” That is what I call pranahuti. Pranas-ahuti is the sacrifice of someone’s soul for the enrichment of my soul. A yogi at the pinnacle of his sadhana or his evolution merges in the Ultimate. He derives the essence from the Ultimate and, after drawing it, he is able to transmit it. The people who receive it feel it, and that is what we offer to you.”

“Our body has its limitations at a genetic level – if you are going to grow to five feet five, you will only grow to five feet five, maybe five feet six if you keep on exercising. A five-footer cannot dream of becoming a six-footer. There are enormous limitations imposed at a physical level, restrained by the genes that we have inherited from our parents.

“If you go to the next level, growth at the mental level, it is not as restricted. It is not genetic. If my father is a farmer, I have the possibility of becoming a PhD. A son or daughter of a rickshaw puller can still become a PhD but not all can become like Einstein. There is limitation there too, but there is greater flexibility than at a physical level.

“Going to the spiritual realm, there are no limitations. The possibilities are infinite. You can go on expanding and growing infinitely in the spiritual field, because now you are merging with God. And if God is infinite and your merger is in the Infinite, your growth must be infinite. So there is a greater possibility through meditation.”

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

 

From Staten Island

Dear ones,

We have laid the foundation for Heartfulness sufficiently so as to approach Sahaj Marg in a gradual and progressively deeper manner when it comes to the introduction of multitudes. We now need to execute well and build a good edifice. There is a need to make sure that there is less noise in the system and it is everyone’s responsibility to work quietly and together in true harmony.

The places we are serving, via U-Connect or C-Connect or any other Connect initiatives, now need to be consolidated. Let us revisit our efforts and see how to make them more effective. Let us take stock of our actions and inactions. Let us find out what has worked and what has not. Based on this, let us re-group, re-orient and double up the number of volunteers within the organizations we have been catering to, by identifying key seekers from within such organizations who can co-ordinate with us. Pay special attention to such individuals via interactions and special sittings.

As volunteers, we must become extra vigilant with our practice and style of communication. Let our mutual interactions amongst us become an example. Many organizations are so appreciative of our teamwork and the dedication of volunteers. I am sure the Great Master who says that all is counted in the ledger of Nature must be making a special note of sincere efforts in taking the Sahaj Marg Spirituality Movement to the next level. Let us further fine-tune our efforts and deliver with greater efficiency.

Let us resolve once again to deliver better than ever before.

With prayers to our beloved Master for His love and blessings.

Kamlesh