Hanuman

When Ram with his army reached the outskirts of Lanka , they camped near the ocean and spent the night admiring the night sky. Lord Ram wondered why does the Moon have dark spots in the centre. Almost everybody was ready with the answer. Some said that the dark spot is the cauldron of poison that the moon hides in its bossom. The others said that Rahu affected the moon and that is why the moon looks kind of dark. This theory and that ...But all this while Hanuman was silent . Then Lord Ram turned to him and asked , " Hanuman , what do you think about it?" And he said , " Prabhu , that is Moon's heart . Since the moon always has your 'saanwali murti' in it, therefore ,we see a dark spot there".

Such was the devotion of Hanuman. Overwhelming ! He was intelligent , a great warrior, an astrologer, a musician , an immensely talented person and reached the pinnacles of spirituality. But he never took pride in it. His common retort was that it was all the grace of Lord Ram. Can such a character be ever paralleled ? No . He performed all the important stuff in the story of Ram but never took credit for it. He was extremely grateful when he was able to do his duty well. And the Universe likes grateful people. These qualities and the Grace of God made a devotee attain the stature of God. No wonder till this day , this exceptional devotee himself has throngs of devotees. No other 'bhakt' has attained such heights.

Giridhar Gopal

Giridhar Gopal

Gowardhan Girdharai

One fine day bal gopal and dau, when roaming on vrindavan gullies (lanes) saw, villagers & Nandababa (krishnas father) arranging for some special puja. When they asked for whom was this puja organized, they were answered that this puja was to amuse INDRA , so that he will send clouds of rain & if they don’t give offerings to him his anger will perish every thing.

Shri Krishna was annoyed by the answer, it confirmed him that devendra was in the claws of ahankara (pride) & then what ? Shree krshna’s leela started, he convinced all the villagers to worship GOVARDHANPARVATA because it’s the mountain who, without any querries always fullfill their needs, gopala told them to worship govardhana as their “ISHTA”

By this annoying deed of the villagers,Indra was pulled off from his exalt position, he became mad with anger & ordered his clouds of doom to destroy Gokul.

To save Gokul from Indra’s kop (anger) the adbhut maya dhari expanded his miraculous maya & lifted up GOVARDHANPARVATA just by his little finger in order to make its shed, the clouds rained for seven days & nights but failed to drown gokul. Then indra himself came to challenge shree Krishna & was stunned by his powers, then guru brihaspati aware indra about anant & achyut narayana. Indra immediately refuged to shree Krishna for pardon chanting

“Aditya Hridaya Stotra”

“Aaksharam paramam brahma, jyoti rupam sanatanam,
gunatitam nirakaram rakshamayam
mananantakam ……”

Since shree Krishna saved all the cows from Indra’s kop hence by param pita’s(Brahma) order Mata Surabhi (mother of all cows) felicitated gopala by the name “GOVINDA”

“SHRIKRISHNA GOVINDA HARAMURARA JAY NATH NARAYAN VASUDEVA”

Cultural Dance Forms of India

Cultural Dance Forms of India

BHARATNATYAM

{ BHARATNATYAM=BHA + RA + T + NATYAM }.

"BHA" means Bhawa that is Emotions.

"RA" means Raga that is Dorame (Sargam).

"T" means Tal that is Rythm.

NAYTAM means Natak/Abinay that is Drama.

Bharatanatyam is a classical dance form originating from Tamil Nadu, a state in Southern India. This popular South Indian dance form is a 20th century reconstruction of Cathir, the art of temple dancers. Cathir in turn, is derived from ancient dance forms. The word Bharata, some believe, signifies the author of the famous Sanskrit treatise on stagecraft, called NatyaShastra.Bharata refers to the author of the Natya Shastra, and natya is Sanskrit for the art of sacred dance-drama brought to the stage at the beginning of the 20th century.

Traditional roots

Bharatanatyam traces its origins to the Natya Shastra written by Bharata Muni, a Hindu sage. In ancient times it was performed as dasiattam by temple Devadasis. Many of the ancient sculptures in Hindu temples are based on Bharata Natyam dance postures karanas. In fact, it is the celestial dancers, apsaras, who are depicted in many scriptures dancing the heavenly version of what is known on earth as Bharatanatyam. In the most essential sense, a Hindu deity is a revered royal guest in his temple/abode, to be offered a standard set of religious services called Sodasa Upacharas ("sixteen hospitalities") among which are music and dance, pleasing to the senses. Thus, many Hindu temples traditionally maintained complements of trained musicians and dancers, as did Indian rulers.
Bharata Natyam as a dance form and carnatic music set to it are deeply grounded in Bhakti. Bharata Natyam, it is said, is the embodiment of music in visual form, a ceremony, and an act of devotion. Dance and music are inseparable forms; only with Sangeetam (words or syllables set to raga or melody) can dance be conceptualized.

STAGES OF BHARATNATYAM

Typically a contemporary performance includes:
Ganapati Vandana - A traditional opening prayer to the Hindu god Ganesh, who removes obstacles.
Alarippu - A presentation of the Tala punctuated by simple syllables spoken by the dancer. This really is sort of an invocation to the gods to bless the performance.
Jatiswaram - An abstract dance where the drums set the beat. Here the dancer displays her versatility in elaborate footwork and graceful movements of the body.
Shabdam - The dancing is accompanied by a poem or song with a devotional or amorous theme.
Varnam - The center piece of the performance. It is the longest section of the dance punctuated with the most complex and difficult movements. Positions of the hands and body tell a story, usually of love and the longing for the lover.
Padam - Probably the most lyrical section where the dancer "speaks" of some aspect of love: devotion to the Supreme Being; or of love of mother for child; or the love of lovers separated and reunited.

Thillana - The final section is a pure dance (nritta) when the virtuosity of the music is reflected in the complex footwork and captivating poses of the dancer.
Apart from these relatively modern items, there are more ancient items such as Kautuvam, Koothu, Shlokam, Swarajathi, Krithi etc. The performance concludes with the chanting of a few religious verses as a form of benediction. Certain styles include more advanced items, such as Tharanga Nritham and Suddha Nritham. When a dancer has mastered all the elements of dance, as a coming out performance, he or she generally performs an Arangetram (debut).
Angikam - This is a devotional song on Lord Shiva and an item dance in bharatnatyam. It can also be performed in byapti slow motion.

Other aspects of the dance form
Costume - From the ancient texts and sculptures, one can see that the original costume did not cover most of the dancers' bodies. The medieval times, with the puritanistic drive, caused the devadasis to wear a special, heavy saree that severely restricted the dance movements. There are several varieties of Bharatanatyam costumes, some of which do not restrict the dancer's movements, while the others do. The modern costumes are deeply symbolic, as their purpose is to project the dancer's sukshma sharira , in the material world.

Music - The accompanying music is in the Carnatic style of South India.

Ensemble - Mostly, South Indian instruments are used in the ensemble. These include, the mridangam (drum), nagaswaram (long pipe horn made from a black wood), the flute, violin and veena (stringed instrument traditionally associated with Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of the arts and learning).

Languages - Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada are traditionally used in Bharatanatyam.

A classical dance posture of Bharatnatyam

BACK TO FUTURE

TELESCOPES:
Before 1957, we were limited to exploring space from Earth with telescope.
A telescope is a like a time machine. When you look through it into space, you not only get a close-up pictures of objects that ma be hundreds of millions of miles away-you
Also see deep into the past. That’s because light takes a long time to travel these huge distances-even though it’s whipping along at about 186,000 miles (300,00) per second! The sun light takes about eight minutes to make the 93 million mile (150 million km)
Trip to Earth. So you actually always see the Sun the way it looked eight minutes ago!
It works the same way with other stars-except now you’re talking years, not minutes.
Light from Proxima Centauri, the second closest star to us in our galaxy, takes four years to reach us.
Some of our telescopes are incredibly powerful. They see energy that was given off over 12 billion years ago! That’s when the universe was very young. Telescopes are helping us solve the mysteries of our universe-how it formed, if there are other life forms in it, and what’s going to happen to it-and to us-in the future.
Stonehenge:



Ancient peoples didn’t have telescopes, so they relied on their eyesight to study the sky.
They observed a lot this way. They picked out constellations among the stars and figured out the motion of the Sun and Moon. They also built stone structures that lined up with the different positions of the Sun, moon, and some times the stars. This is Stonehenge, built in England nearly 5,000 years ago.
Galileo Telescope



The Four biggest moons of Jupiter are called “Galilean” moons in honor of the first person to see them: The Italian scientist Galileo. Galileo spied these moons in 1610 using
A telescope he built himself. I t contained two lenses that focused light and made the things he looked at appear 32 times larger. It was called a refracting telescope. Galileo was also the first person to see the Moon’s mountains and craters.

Galileo’s discoveries made him famous, but they also got him into serious trouble.
Leaders of the catholic Church banned his books because they contradicted the church’s
teachings. The church taught that Earth revolves round the Sun. He was put under “house arrest” and had to stay inside his home until he died.

Newton’s Telescope:



Even though Galileo was not allowed to leave his house because of his ideas, he conducted to write. It’s a good thing he did, too. His books were read years later by the English mathematician Sir Isaac Newton and others. Newton is most famous for figuring out the law of gravity and what makes things move. In 1668, he invented a new kind of telescope, and it paved the way for the big reflecting telescope we use today.

Keck’s telescope:



Galileo and Newton would probably gasp at the size of our current telescopes, but these ‘scopes can probe very deep into space. The keck telescope and its twin, Keck II, are
gigantic. Each has a big mirror made up of 36 small mirrors and measures about 33 feet (10 meters) wide. They sit near each other a top an unlikely place: the volcano Mauna Kea in Hawaii. But the volcano is not active. An electronic link between the telescopes lets them function together as one giant telescope that sees light 14 billion years away.

Hard to believe, but there’s an even bigger telescope. It’s the Very Large Telescope (VTL) Chile. This humongous ‘scope includes four big telescopes and three smaller ones.
The mirror in each in one is 27 feet (8.2m) wide. In 2002, the telescopes will begin working together as one.

Telescopes in Space:



Big telescopes on Earth are great but they can see only so far. Their view is affected by Earth’s atmosphere , artificial light, and air pollution. To get really clear views of what’s out there, scientist are sending telescopes into space.
The most famous space telescope is the Hubble, which was launched from the space shuttle Discovery in 1990. It orbits Earth at a height of 370 miles (596) km. The Hubble has sent back amazing pictures – of Mars and other planets, exploding stars, nebulae, and
Galaxies as they appeared 10 to 12 billion years ago.

In July 1999, the Hubble was joined in space by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. This telescope “sees” x-rays given off by space objects that are billions of light years away. Photographic equipment and computers turn the x-rays into pictures for us. In fact, if your sight were as keen as Chandra’s, you could read a news paper headline just one-half-inch high from one-half mile away!!!!!!

Consciousness

Consciousness

--- The Inner Sense ---

Consciousness is a state of the nervous systems of humans and other animals that defies definition, but which may involve thoughts, sensations, perceptions, moods, emotions, dreams, and an awareness of self, although not necessarily all of these.

"Consciousness" derives from Latin conscientia which primarily means moral conscience. In the literal sense, "conscientia" (or "con scientia") means knowledge-with, that is, shared knowledge.

There are five main parts of our total psyche: Higher consciousness - that which is aware of being aware; Normal consciousness - awareness in the everyday world - being, perceiving, relating; and of the inner world - of thoughts, concepts, attitudes, decisions, images, memories emotions, sensations and feelings. And the domains which lie below normal consciousness: the Pre-conscious - an interface of the conscious mind which, when it is evoked by interest and emotional commitment, goes searching for relevant data in the sub-conscious; the Sub-conscious - contains the powerful drives of love and fear, and the programmes by which motives are decided and actions are carried out; and the Unconscious - the core Self which contains a record of everything one has felt and sensed since conception and of the evolutionary genetic-line before that. It also consists of genetic programming, which empowers the deepest drives for survival, attachment and expression common to mankind, which transmits the energy of emotions, which controls the stream of libido energies and the efforts involved in moving and perceiving with the physical body.
Higher consciousness is the essential self, the Higher Self. It is our personal centre of awareness, which is developed through self-knowledge. The Higher Self is the "awareness of awareness" of which the mental (ego) "I" is a pale reflection. There has been an acknowledgement throughout human history that a higher awareness, beyond the normal conscious experience, is possible for the individual, recognised through dreams, religious and psychic experience, insights and creativity of every kind. It is usually frustratingly brief and infrequent but it is clear that with appropriate efforts and study, people can change and grow in awareness, whereby the field of consciousness becomes more and more observed by the Higher Self who is no longer asleep; then behaviour is no longer determined only by conditioning. The Being is aware of the difference between his own motivation and that which is learned, acquired or installed in him, genetically or by conditioning; he knows what he is doing as he does it. The energy and attention tied up in the knots of unconsciousness becomes conscious and freely available, as truth is validated and the false discarded.
The second aspect of the psyche, Normal consciousness, is our everyday reality, internally and externally - the incessant flow of sensations, images, thoughts, feelings, desires and impulses which we can observe, analyse and judge. The less aware a person is, the smaller this field of awareness will be and the more automatic his functioning. The majority of people drift on the surface of this "mind stream" and identify themselves with its successive waves, with the changing contents of their consciousness. So consciousness is often unreflective, not consciously noticed, determined by the many personal and social forces which have formed us, the cultural programming that moulds us into a "consensus trance" of automatic, robotised behaviour. In this hypnotised, half-asleep state, possessed by the conditioning of our background, we seem almost entirely the product of our genetic heritage, our personal environment and the society we live in - in the grip of forces stronger than ourselves and which we don't understand, be they biological, psychological or social.
The conscious mind contains all that one knows that is readily accessible. This information is well organised and interconnected on a logical basis. The characteristics of this "analytical" mind are invaluable for learning, putting things in order and testing ideas. On the other hand the conscious mind tends to be inhibited by the very quality that makes it so powerfully useful: it seeks to be right.
This part of the personality, the subject of cognitive and behavioural psychology, could easily, without reflection, be regarded as the whole, but the development of depth-psychology and the rediscovery of transpersonal psychology in this century has made it clear that this level of consciousness is only a part of the whole.
The third part, the Pre-conscious, is the ante-room of consciousness, where our various experiences are assimilated, our mental and imaginative activities are elaborated and developed in a sort of psychological gestation and interaction, before their birth into the light of consciousness. If consciousness is likened to a spotlight, the pre-conscious is everything within its range, but not illuminated at this moment. It is real to the person and accessible. It includes material from the sub-conscious that has been restimulated (made active due to a similarity or relevance of present circumstances or thoughts). The pre-conscious mind is like a problem-oriented and independent file-clerk. It looks over the shoulder of the conscious mind: when a problem is being considered, it conducts a search into the sub-conscious mind for clues that it considers relevant.
Its criteria for relevance do not always seem logical to the conscious mind, and therefore the ego learns to censor certain kinds of information from the sub-conscious, preventing them from rising higher into full consciousness. This is the mechanism of repression and the "censor" then functions below consciousness; consequently you cannot open-up your mind to the sub-conscious simply by resolving not to block its signals; the defences have first to be recognised, the reasons for them discovered and the pre-conscious censor re-programmed, before this is possible. This requires a procedure of concentrated introspection.
Interest, emotional commitment and the desire to solve a problem, cause the pre-conscious to work with the contents of the sub-conscious (and also through the sub-conscious to the unconscious) and the results eventually filter back into consciousness, if they are not censored. Intuition is an early recognition, below the conscious level, that one is on the right track - this causes a felt signal or increase of arousal which causes the conscious mind to pay attention to its periphery of consciousness, to dig a little and pull out the information. Because of the energy of this signal, it may also be registered on biofeedback devices such as a held pendulum or skin resistance galvanometer, which can be used to help the person recognise his intuition.
The Sub-conscious is that part of his mind a person is unaware of, or which is out of his control -The subconscious functions include vital background psychological activities such as the integration of new data and re-programming where necessary - a function which dreaming reflects - and this co-ordinates the carrying out of set patterns of behaviour which can be safely left "on automatic" by the conscious mind, freeing it to concentrate on the task in hand.
The sub-conscious contains all of the emotional and cognitive experience of a lifetime, whether pleasurable, ordinary or traumatic. Its contents are drawn upon by the pre-conscious when they seem relevant. It is a reservoir of information so vast and rich that it seems quite incredible to the conscious mind. Its contents are nevertheless consciously reachable by methods of psychological analysis (especially with the aid of biofeedback devices) which serves to resolve the defensive censorship of the preconscious.
The "Shadow" aspect of the sub-conscious mind includes the roots of phobias, obsessions, compulsions and delusions and many complexes charged with intense emotion. These are developed in response to circumstances in the past and used in present time when re-stimulated by a similarity of circumstances; this occurs without conscious control, irrationally and without inspection - a "reactive" mental process. Memory of the original, often dramatic circumstance and the accompanying fears and decisions is normally repressed, as it is unconfrontable and too painful to re-examine.
The Unconscious contains the fundamental survival drives and primitive urges (including genetic and race memories) that empower the functioning of the mind as a whole. It contains the entire kinaesthetic recordings of the body (all of its feelings, sensations and pains) and is integrally linked with the body (which it co-ordinates and controls) - it is the "body-mind". It also contains the deepest level of Self: the fundamental (primal) experiences, imprints and decisions of this lifetime, from the womb onwards. These only normally surface consciously in symbolic form, in the context of dreams and behaviour patterns recognised in retrospect. The deepest forms of psycho-analytic work aim to uncover their content to the light of consciousness. Jung's work on dreams and mythological symbology was instrumental in opening up the incredible world of the unconscious, and the existence of "archetypes" - ways of being that are inherently programmed in the unconscious, making up the substance of the core Self - all the aspects of living that the individual works throughout his life to "actualise," or bring into existence at their fullest potential. His work also exposed the transpersonal dimension which lays beyond the racial stereotypes, but also the necessity of working through the primal and archetypal material, to differentiate and individuate the Higher Self - the spiritual, non-genetic, meta-self.
Both the primary-trauma of the unconscious and the secondary-trauma of the sub-conscious are connected with the "body-mind", whereby defensive "armour" in the form of chronic muscular tension, holds the bodily stress-reaction of "fight or flight", continually in place. This occurs when an experience becomes too painful to view or is too uncomfortably repeated and then awareness of it is repressed - thoughts, emotions and bodily tensions. Unviewed, it then festers and persists. Though the tension may once have been appropriate, it is now a hindrance, and its perpetual nature holds the original trauma in re-stimulation (though the feeling or awareness of it may be repressed).
And though the repressed cognitive and emotional reactions may have been rational in the past circumstance (in the effort to survive or overcome), if they are reactively dramatised in the present situation, and if they are not accompanied by a fresh appraisal of the current reality, they are the underlying cause of irrational or aberrated behaviour, negative emotion and illness, and therefore have been a primary target of psychotherapy.
Because the body-mind functions inter-actively, work in Transformational Psychology may sometimes require a range of techniques to handle the problems. Physical symptoms (high blood pressure, ulcers, lack of energy, etc.) arise from stress, muscular tension, restimulated trauma, over-work, anxiety about social competence, threat or insecurity at work, rigid attitudes of perfectionism and fears of failure - based on low self-esteem, due to not having been "good enough" for parents and other dominant figures. Such neurotic dependencies on others conflict with the drive for independency and self-fulfilment. Psycotherapeutic massage may be prescribed, to develop awareness of faulty attitudes and repressed feelings, and to help relax and de-traumatise the body.

Help directed at one level will affect the other levels of functioning - the powerful fears and drives of the sub-conscious affect physical health, feelings, beliefs and behaviours - an holistic approach is therefore most effective. The Transformational Psychology procedures take account of this structure; the techniques progressively cut deeper and deeper both through to the core Self and into the Transpersonal realm, that are the essence of Mankind.

OOM

OOMAH

The Sound of the Galaxy

The word Om (aum, ओम) derives from the Sanskrit. The Om is the primordial sound by which the earth was created. It symbolizes unfolding or expansion- when pronounced, it begins in the lungs, and ends on the lips through nose.
The symbol representing Om is called the omkar (ओमकार), and has four parts, representing the four states of human awareness:

The ordinary waking, or material state:

The state of deep sleep:

The dream state:

Absolute conscience, or the awakened state:

The origin of the syllable OM is lost in the misty past. Its not being specific to any one country or civilization is indicative of its being an universally perceptible sound for the human race. This reason for this universal perceptibility possibly lies in the fact that AAAH is the most natural sound that issues from the human larynx. This is evident when a man cries out naturally in extreme pain, anger or fear. When emotions reach an extreme pitch the articulate sounds evolved by man are not the ones that are heard, but the syllable natural to man which is AAAH.

As a we normally do not go into the meaning and interpretation of our many beliefs. It is sufficient for most of us to know that they are part of the heritage handed down to us by our ancestors and in deference to tradition it becomes our duty to scrupulously and meticulously adhere to them. But by doing things without knowing the meaning behind them do we not deprive ourselves of an insight into our heritage?
Culture can be well appreciated and adapted to changing times if the meaning behind its different constituents is well understood. To develop this understanding one has to look upon all human actions as having originated in human society. While answers to all questions cannot be obtained, the acceptance of this approach at least opens the door to inquiry into the circumstances which gave rise to our revered traditions.
An attempt to interpret our religious beliefs and symbols is a challenging task. Many of these issues defy analysis and call for a judicious combination of the study of the social environment, etymology, aesthetics and philosophy. As far as aesthetics and philosophy go there exists a good deal of subjectivism and value judgement. While talking about etymology and the social environment we are on relatively firmer ground. In this chapter we have taken a set of symbols, beliefs and rituals and have attempted to examine the possible meaning behind them and the reasons which could lie behind their origin. The first religious symbol we take up is that of Om or Omkar.
OM or Omkar (ओमकार)
The syllable OM is quite familiar to a Hindu. It occurs in every prayer. Invocation to most gods begin with this syllable. For instance we have Om Namaha Shivaya, Hari Om, Om Shanti etc. OM is also pronounced as AUM.
Is OM present in Christianity as 'Amen' and in Islam as 'Amin'?
This term occurs in various ancient and modern civilizations. It exists Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.
In Arabic the first alphabet is pronounced as aliph. In Greek it is alpha, in the Roman script it is A. Thus in many languages the first letter in the alphabet has the syllable A, with which the word AUM or OM begins. In the Greek alphabet the last letter is Omega which comes very close to OM. Thus the significance of the syllable OM as the beginning and end finds a parallel in many of the scripts associated with ancient languages.

The different ways in which Omkar is depicted. The syllable OM is not specific to Indian culture. It has religious significance in other religions also. The word Amen used among Christians at the end of a prayer is also said to be derived from the the syllable OM. Although OM is not given any specific definition and is considered to be a cosmic sound, a primordial sound, the totality of all sounds etc., Amen is said to mean 'May it be so'.

Omkar as described in our granthas

OM In Ancient Indian Text
According to the ancient Indian philosophical text i.e. BHAGAWAD GITA it is said that the AUM is the representation of the "Brahma" which is the origin and the energy source of the whole universe. In other words AUM represents God.
Another text called "Mandukya Upanishad" says that AUM is the Atma or Soul who is the owner and controller of each human being and residing in the heart .Further Mandukya Upanishad explains that the three components of OM viz. AUM are representing three states i.e. wakeful, (conscious), dream (subconscious) and dreamless sleep (unconscious).The fourth component as explained stands for "Turiya", a state which is beyond the above three states.
Many Upanishads had explained the detail procedure of meditating AUM, the immediate stages, the experiences and the ultimate spiritual benefits.
It is explained in Kathopanishad as follows.The upanishad claims that goal which all the Vedas equivocally proclaim, which all the austerities speak and write, for which people practice brahmacharya it is this "AUM". AUM is a root of all mantras."Mantras"(also read earlier postings in the blog related to Power of Mantra) is a typical combination of words which affects the surrounding and human being through the vibrations. These mantras are to be chanted for enormous number of times to get the results. The results are miraculous. AUM is a mantra with only one syllable but is the basic mantra. Each and every mantra starts with AUM and mostly ends with AUM.

OM In Yoga
Patanjali had designed and caste the Science Of Yoga about 2400 years ago (i.e. 400 year BC) in the form of Yoga Sutras, he had explained AUM in Sanskrit verses (sutras).
Patanjali had explained the definition of God and he explains in the sutra that "AUM represents God".He further explains that you can go nearer to God by repeatedly chanting it . The relation between the name and the form is a subject of research and is the subject of great discussions in philosophy and all its branches including spiritual, philosophical.
In yogic practices the relation is of immediate and practical value. Patanjali could see that the relation between a form and the name is closest in AUM and has made use of this quality in his method of meditation.

OM As Perceived By Science
Normally anatomy is studied first and then the physiology. So first we will study the structure of AUM and then its functions.
AUM is composed of 3 elements, 'a', 'u' and 'm'. The fusion of these 3 elements is AUM or OM. The 3 alphabets are pronounced in series.
The air is driven out from lungs through the vocal cords. The cords vibrate and vibrations in the form of airwaves reach to the mouth. The mouth acts as resonator and deepens the vibrations. These vibrations are shaped to form alphabets, which in turn form the words. These vibrations in the form of airwaves travel through air to the ears of listeners. These are converted to nerve impulses and carried to the brain cells. Brain understands the meaning at the end.
These sound waves have certain frequency. We can listen to sounds with the frequency range between 20 to 2000 Hz i.e. cycles per second. The sound below 20 Hz and sound above 2000 Hz is not audible to human ears.

OM As Object of Meditation (it's for u :pji)
We have 5 sense organs through which we get the knowledge. These sense organs need the presence of mind to acquire this knowledge.
The process of meditation requires the concentration of mind on a particular object. But the control of mind is very difficult. This difficulty can be solved if we select "AUM" as an object or target for the concentration in meditation.
AUM can be seen through the eyes, heard by the ears and chanted via tongue. It is somewhat simpler to concentrate on the above 3 sense organs, so it is easy to concentrate the mind directly on the object. This is achieved by fixing AUM as a target for meditation on which 3 sense organs are focused. In addition to this the chanting of AUM has tranquilizing effect on the mind, which helps concentrate easily.

TRAINING THE MIND FOR WISDOM

First Steps;
We are to take care of ourselves-that much we can do-and give up attending to others for a time. Let us perfect the means; the end will take care of itself. For the world can be good and pure. Only if our lives are good and pure. It is an effect, and we are the means. Therefore, let us purify ourselves. Let us make ourselves perfect. (2; 9)

Duty is seldom sweet. It is only when love greases its wheels that it runs smoothly; it is a continuous friction otherwise. (1:67)

He who wants to enter the realms of light must make a bundle of all “shop keeping” religion and cast it way before he can pass the gates. It is not that you do not get what you pray for; you get everything, but it is low, vulgar, a beggar’s religion. (7:83-84)

Believe, therefore, in yourselves, and if you want material wealth, work it out; it will come to you. If you want to be intellectual, work it out on the intellectual plane, and intellectual giants you shall be. And if you want to attain to freedom, work it out on the spiritual plane, and free you shall be. (3:427)

He, who always speculates as to what awaits him in the future, accomplishes nothing whatsoever. What you have understood as true and good, just do that at once. What’s the good of calculating what may or may not befall in the future? The span of life is so, so short – and computing results? God is the only dispenser of results; leave it to Him to do all that. What have you got to do with it? Don’t look that way, but go on working. (6; 455)

We must not be extremely attached to anything excepting God. See everything, do everything, but be not attached. As soon as extreme attachment comes, a man loses himself, he is no more master of himself, and he is a slave. If a woman is tremendously attached to man, she becomes a slave to that man. There is no use in being slave. There are higher things in this world than becoming a slave to a human being. Love and do well to everybody, but do not become a slave. In first place, attachment degenerates us individually, and in the second place, makes us extremely selfish. Owing to this failing, we want to injure others to do well to those we love. A good many of the wicked deeds done in this would are really done through attachment to certain persons. So all attachment excepting that for good works should be avoided; but love should be given to everyone. (4:6)

A man used to solitude, if brought in contact with the surging whirlpool of the world, will be crushed by it; just as the fish that lives in the deep sea water, as soon as it is brought to the surface, breaks into pieces, deprived of the weight of water on it that had kept it together. Can a man who has been used to the turmoil and the rush of life live at ease if he comes to a quiet place? He suffers and perchance may lose his mind. The ideal man is he who, in the midst of the greatest silence and solitude, finds the in tensest activity, and in the midst of the in tensest activity finds the silence and solitude of the desert. (1:34)

Always keep your mind joyful; if melancholy thoughts come, kick them out. (6:130)

[Will not the spirit break down at the thought of death and the heart be over powered by despondency?] Quite so. At first, the heart will break down, and despondency and gloomy thoughts will occupy your mind. But persist, let days pass like that-and then?
Then you will see that new strength has come into the heart, that the constant thought of death is giving you a new life and is making you more and more thoughtful. (5:239)

Isolation of the soul from all objects, mental and physical, is the goal; when that is attained, the soul will find that it was alone all the time, and it required no one make it happy. As long as we require someone else to make us happy, we are slaves. (5:239)

Do not pity anyone. Look upon all as your equal; cleanse yourself of the primal sin of inequality. We are all equal and must not think, “I am good and you are bad, and I am trying to reclaim you. “Equality is the sign of the free”. (8.18)

- Swami Vivekananda.

Mera too bus Giridhar Gopal

Mirabai

मेरे तो बस गिरिधर गोपाल दूसरो न कोई

Mirabai (मीराबाई) (1498-1547CE) (also known as Meera; Mira; Meera Bai) was a Hindu mystical poetess whose compositions are popular throughout India. Mirabai is held to have been a disciple of Ravidas. Mirabai composed between 200 to 1300 prayerful songs called bhajans. These bhajans are in the bhakti tradition, and most passionately praised Lord Krishna. The extant version of her poems are in a Rajasthani dialect of Hindi and in Gujarati.
Many of the details of Mirabai's life are pieced together from her poetry and the stories later recounted by members of her community. Whilst Mirabai's hagiography is held as truth by followers of the Bhakti tradition, the historical authenticity of most of her story is the subject of scholarly debate.
Mirabai was born at Merta in Nagaur District of Rajasthan in Rathore clan of Rajputs. When she was six years old, Mirabai was given a vigraha of Krishna by her mother to which she played, sang and talked. Her father's elder brother Viram Deo who succeeded to the throne arranged her marriage at the age of 16 with Prince Bhoj Raj, the eldest son of Rana Sanga of Chittor. This marriage raised Mirabai to a very high social status, as the ruler of Chittor was considered to be the leader of the Hindu princes of Rajputana. However, her great devotion to Lord Krishna did not always endear her to her husband and family. Her love of Krishna was so absorbing she neglected her social and regal responsibilities. She refused to offer worship to the family deity, Durga. She sang and danced in public temples and mingled with members of all castes. Because of this Mirabai suffered great hardship throughout her life. Her husband died a few years after her marriage and she refused to commit sati, a practice of widow self-immolation held in high regard in royal rajput families of the time. In 1527, the Rajputs opposed a Muslim invasion from Afghanistan.
Mirabai's father was killed in battle; her father-in-law was wounded in the same battle and died the next year. Mewar got a new child-ruler, who with his mother, made life at the court difficult for Mirabai. In Mirabai's poems she mentions that her family attempted to kill her twice but that she was miraculously saved both times. These physical hardships became intolerable and after praying to Krishna, she left the palace for good (possibly at the age of 30) and went to the pilgrimage of Mathura, Vrindavana and finally to Dwarka. Mirabai spent most of her time in prayer and worship of Krishna. She left behind a legacy of many soulful and prayerful songs, which are still sung in India today. Mirabai is widely regarded as a saint in the tradition of the Bhakti Movement. The 16th century Bhakti Movement showed the path to salvation by devotion. Other saints belonging to this culture were Tukaram, Kabir, Guru Nanak, Ramananda, Chaitanya, Ranabai.
Her love for Krishna is epitomized by the popular belief about her final disappearance in the temple of Krishna in Dwarka. She is believed to have entered the sanctum of the temple in a state of singing ecstasy or ananda. The sanctum doors are believed to have closed on their own and when later opened, the sari of Mirabai was seen enwrapped around the vigraha of Krishna, symbolizing the culmination of her union with her ishta-devata.

Mirabai bhajan : Mane Chakar Rakho Ji

This famous hymn has another version which was used in the 1947 Hindi film Meerabai. Mirabai operated in Rajasthan and her dialect of Hindi is more properly called a variety of Rajasthani. Because of Rajasthan's proximity to Gujarat, Rajasthani and Gujarati share many similar linguistic features, and Mirabai seemed equally at home in either language. However here is the more popular version, influenced by Gujarati.

माने चाकर राखो जी, गिरधारी लाल, चाकर राखो जी
चाकर रहसुं बाग लगासूं नित उठ दर्शन पासूंबृंदावन की कुंज-गलिन में गोविंद लीला गासूं
चाकरी में दरसन पाऊं सुमिरन पाऊं बरचीभाव भगति जागीरी पाऊं तीनों बाता सरसी
मोर मुकुट पीतम्बर सोहे गले वैजंती मालाबृंदावनमें धेनु चरावे मोहन मुरलीवाला
ऊँचे-ऊँचे महल बनाऊँ बिच बिच राखूँ बारीसाँवरिया के दरशन पाऊँ पहर कुसुम्बी सारी
जोगी आया जोग करनकूं तप करने संयासीहरि-भजन कूं साधू आये बृंदाबन के वासी
मीरा के प्रभू गहर गम्भीरा हृदे रहो जी धीराआधी रात प्रभू दर्सन दीन्हो जमुनाजी के तीरा

Translation:
Lord Girdhari (Krishna), make me your servant.
As your servant, I will plant a garden, and see you every day.
In the groves and lanes of Vrindavan, I will sing about you.

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Bhaj Govindam

The Techniques Of Meditation

An Introduction to the techniques of Meditation
Meditation is an experience that cannot be described, just as colors cannot be described to a blind man. All ordinary experience is limited by Time, Space and Causation. Our normal awareness and understanding do not transcend these bounds.

Finite experience, which is measured in terms of past, present and future, cannot be transcendental. Concepts of time are illusory, for they have no permanence. The present, immeasurably small and fleeting, cannot be grasped. Past and future are non-existent in the present. We live in illusion.

The meditative state transcends all such limitations. In it there is neither past nor future, but only the consciousness of "I am" in the eternal NOW. It is only possible when all mental modifications are stilled.
The closest analogous state that we can experience is deep sleep, in which there is neither time, nor space, nor causation. Meditation, however, differs from deep sleep, for it works profound changes in the psyche. By curbing and stilling the oscillations of the mind, meditation brings mental peace.

On the physical level, meditation helps to prolong the body's anabolic process of growth and repair, and to reduce the catabolic or decaying process. Ordinarily the anabolic process predominates until the age of 18. From 18 to 35 there is balance between the two, and after 35 the catabolic process dominates. Meditation can significantly reduce the catabolic decline. This is because of the innate receptivity of the body cells.
Each of our body cells is governed by the instinctive subconscious mind. They have both an individual and a collective conciousness. When the thoughts and desires pour into the body, the cells are activated; the body always obeys the group demand. It has been scientifically proven that positive thoughts bring positive result to cells. As meditation brings about a prolonged positive state of mind, it rejuvenates body cells and retards decay.

One cannot learn to meditate, anymore than one can learn to sleep. one falls into both states. There are certain points to remember regarding the techniques and stages of meditation.

The 14 Points of Meditation

1. Regularity of time, place and practice are important. Regularity conditions the mind to slow down its activities with a minimum of delay.
2. The most effective times are early dawn and dusk, when the atmosphere is charged with special spiritual force. If it is not feasible to sit for meditation at these times, choose an hour when you are not involved with daily activities, and a time when the mind is apt to be calm.
3. Try to have a separate room for meditation. As meditation is repeated, the powerful vibrations set up will be lodged in the area; an atmosphere of peace and purity will be felt.
4. When sitting, face North or East in order to take advantage of favorable magnetic vibrations. Sit in a steady, comfortable, cross-legged position with spine and neck erect but not tense.
5. Before beginning, command the mind to be quiet for a specific length of time. Forget the past, present and future.
6. Consciously regulate the breath. Begin with five minutes of deep abdominal breathing to bring oxygen to the brain. Then slow it down to an imperceptible rate.
7. Keep the breathing, rhythmic, inhale for three seconds and exhale for three seconds. Regulation of breath also regulates the flow of prana, the vital energy.
8. Allow the mind to wander at first. It will jump around, but will eventually become concentrated, along with the concentration of prana.
9. Don't force the mind to be still, as this will set in motion additional brain waves, hindering meditation.
10. Select a focal point on which the mind may rest. For people who are intellectual by nature, this may be the Ajna Chakra., the point between the eyebrows. For more emotional people, use the Anahata or Heart Chakra. Never change this focal point.
11. Focus on a neutral or uplifting object, holding the image in the place of concentration. If using a Mantra, repeat it mentally, and co-ordinate repetition with the breath. If you dont have a personalized Manta, use Om. Although mental repetition is stronger, the mantra may be repeted aloud if one becomes drowsy. Never change the Mantra.
12. Repetition will lead to pure thought, in which sound vibration merges with thought vibration, without awareness of meaning. Vocal repetition progresses through mental repetition to telepathic language, and from there to pure thought.
13. With practice, duality disappears and Samadhi, or the superconscious state, is reached. Do not become impatient, as this takes a long time.
14. In Samadhi one rests in the state of bliss in which the Knower, the Knowledge, and the Known become one. This is the superconcious state reached by mystics of all faiths and persuasions.
If you meditate for half an hour daily, you will be able to face life with peace and spiritual strength. Meditation is the most powerful mental and nerve tonic. Divine energy freely flows to the adept during meditation, and exerts a benign influence on the mind, nerves, sense organs and body. It opens the door to intuitive knowledge and realms of eternal bliss. The mind becomes calm and steady.