Your prayer does help

We have just finished the first puja of this year´s Bhu Devi yagna and like always it was wonderful to celebrate again in our tent. At the moment it is very cold in Springen and Guruji started by making a bit fun about the fact, that Springen is even colder than Steffenshof, the place of the first small ashram.

Then He told us that the next 10 days from yesterday onwards, which was Narasimha chaturty (appearance day), will be a very auspicious time.

Swami spoke also about the importance of being silent for one minute per day. Silence for world peace. He told us that in these times the mind of man is changing and if the mind is not centred on the Divine and not controlled, the negative qualities will take over. But Mother Earth needs our prayer and our positive thoughts. He spoke these following words with so much love and tenderness for Mother Earth, that it was palpable that He really knows of Her true suffering from a different perspective: "When you see a mother suffering, what do you do? You help. If you see anyone suffering you try to help. Either through prayer or through positive thoughts, you help."

Swamiji is asking everybody to take this one minute of silence every day to concentrate on Mother Earth and to send her positivity. He gave assurance when he said, that when one does everything with the right intention, and one surrenders it to the Lord, everything will go smooth. And when we pray with the right intention the Divine will send our prayers to the people who are in real need. No prayer is ignored, your prayer does help, but everything has its time and we need to be patient for the right time.

Guruji is asking all of us: "So, one minute a day, for example 9pm when your work is done, you can sit in silence. Don’t do it more than one minute, just one minute, this is very precious. Actually all minutes are precious. But what makes this minute particularly special is your intention of Love and Gratitude. Send it to Mother Earth, the world, this universe. So try it."

Our beloved Mother Earth, Bhumi Devi

In two days we are celebrating again the Divine Mother in Her form as Mother Earth, Bhumi Devi. Guruji has spoken a lot about Her importance and her beauty. He also has said, that we can send her positive thoughts and chant the mantras at any time at home and thus help our beloved Mother Earth with our love and positivity. Here is a summary of several of Swami´s speeches at diverse Bhu Devi Yagnas:

Bhu Devi yagna is a Vaishnava tradition to celebrate and pray to Mother Earth. Bhu Devi is actually Mother Earth. This yagna that we are doing is to show our gratitude and appreciation to Her, and also our understanding that She is going through a lot, not only now, but for centuries, actually. She has been taking a lot onto Herself, but people don´t see that this Mother is suffering. Its so easy to forget how important this Mother Earth is. We are here, we are born, yet we give Her so little attention. Mother Earth gives. She gives, gives, gives, not even expecting anything, nor taking. She is a manifestation of the compassionate, the ever-giving One and She is a manifestation of devotion also. One can pray to God but, you see, when you show your appreciation, when you show your thankfulness, you have to show it to the person, to the Deity.
There is a temple in Hampi, in South India, where She is venerated as the Universal Mother, as the Mother of Brahma, Vishnu, even of Shiva. Because it’s only here on this physical plane that She manifests Herself - even all the Avatars manifest themselves. The Divine manifests Itself here, on Earth, because She is very special to Him. She’s considered to be the wife of Maha Vishnu. She’s considered to be the other part of Lakshmi. Whenever Maha Lakshmi takes aspect as, for example, Sita or Radha or Andal
or a different manifestation of Maha Lakshmi, it is Bhu Devi who manifests Herself. In the Srimad Bhagavatam Maha Vishnu said to Bhu Devi (after He rescued Her from drowning in the big ocean) “You will be ever present on my chest. From now on, people will venerate You as my wife and whenever You are in distress, I shall manifest Myself on You, to save the world.”
Everything is made with five elements. The whole Universe is bound by these five elements, but in the whole Universe, not everywhere has these five elements in action. The only place where you have the five elements in action is Bhu Devi. That’s why, among all the planets, the Earth is the most beautiful. We are very lucky. That’s why the Divine always manifests on Mother Earth.
The prayer that we are going to do right now is called the Sudakshari Matri Puja. There will be sixteen invocations (into kalash), actually seventeen with the Bhu Devi, of all the forms of the Divine Mother. The sixteen aspects, forms and shakti of the Divine Mother, are actually the sixteen facets of the moon - called Nitya Kala - and also the sixteen qualities of Maha Vishnu. All these prayers which you will be chanting, all the mantras which you will be chanting, all of them will be transferred to the Mother Earth kalash, which in turn will be transferred to the whole world.
We are going to chant the mantra Om Shrim Hreem Kreem Shreem Sri Devi Bhumavatiye Namaha. It is for Bhu Devi, Mother Earth. It is said that if someone chants this mantra 36 times daily one will, first of all, get rid of all the negativity inside oneself and, secondly, one will get peace in oneself and in the surroundings. Om is the king of all the mantras and it is actually also the root of Lakshmi mantra. The Om mantra is a primordial sound in itself. What happens when one chants Om, is that one is dissolving pride. The word Shrim, this bij mantra, is very powerful in itself as it destroys all the negativity and brings peace. Hrim is also a bij mantra of giving peace, but Krim is Kali, Aim is Saraswati, The bij mantra Shreem or Srim denotes Maha Lakshmi, the giver of boons, and the Sarva Shakti, the all-pervading Shakti. Maha Lakshmi creates also the balance. The balance in the elements, balance in yourself by purifying you, by cleansing all the negativity out of you, by uniting your body, mind and spirit, so that you can advance on your spiritual path.
Then we have “Shree Devi Bhumavatiye Namaha”. This is the presiding Deity, Bhu Devi, Mother Earth Herself. When we chant the mantra, we invoke the Deity. Vibrationally the Deity is present. The Deities are vibrations. The moment you invoke them, call for them, they take their place and are present here with us. After that, they will be installed inside of each one of us because in reality we invoke them from deep within ourselves.

Sri Swami Vishwananda attends Era Of Unity Forum in Barcelona

SWAMIJI’S ATTENDANCE AT THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF SPIRITUAL CULTURE, ERA OF UNITY, 11TH MAY 2013

On the 11th May 2013, Sri Swami Vishwananda attended the International Forum of Spiritual Culture – “Era of Unity”, held in Santa Susanna, Barcelona. The two day event was organized by Russia’s Advaita Vedanta Congress and Spain’s Om Terra Nova. The purpose of the forum was to discuss an era of unity among mankind, in which different cultures, religions and spiritual organizations would be united by their love for ethics, ideals, divine forms, sacred texts and holy teachers. Various talks, workshops, music and yoga classes were held.

Swamiji was one of several key note speakers.  He shared the stage with a number of prominent Masters representing different Eastern spiritual traditions. Notable participants included Mahamandaleshwar Swami Vishnudevananda Giri (Russia), Mahamandaleshwar Swami Pilot Baba (India) and Mahamandaleshwar Yogmata Keiko Aikawa (Japan).

Swamiji was enthusiastically listened to and received by the public, including 100 Bhakti Marga devotees that travelled from Portugal and Spain. This included a 17 hour bus journey from Portugal, a wonderful show of Love, Patience and Unity.  Bhakti Marga had a stand at the forum and held a number of well attended workshops run by Mahesh (Spain), Mira (Serbia) and Roshan (UK) in:   Babaji’s Surya Namaskar, Mudra Course, Mantra Project, Om Healing, Simply Meditation, workshop about the Power of the Divine Name, talk on Spirituality Unity through Yoga, presentation about Sri Swami Vishwananda and Bhakti Marga and Bhajans.

Swamiji gave a satsang and also took time to meet all the bhakti Marga devotees.  During the opening ceremony Swami spoke to an audience of around 300 people. This was his message:

“My greetings  to Swamiji (Swami Vishnudevananda Giri)  and to all the Saints and Sadhus and to all of you.

Swamiji is trying to bring a new awareness, a new understanding of unity. Unity happens through one thing. That’s love.

We see in our life different stages of love. Since we were small, since babies, we are covered with love. Love of the mother, parents, people who come to see the child, the child growing. Love transforms. There are different kinds (of love), but yet it carries on its way of growing. So time is the cause of this love. We can grow ourself into it, to play the game of life until we realize that what we are looking for is inside of ourself.

We concentrate on so many things, we focus our mind into the outside world, but in reality one has to become a better human being, getting rid of all jealousy and hatred. We see that with the mind we have judgement of good or bad. The scriptures talk about rising above the mind, rising above good and bad. Then only you will realize your divinity.

Without love  there can’t be freedom, because love is freedom. Love is a choice like you all chose to be here today. So we have a choice. When the divine created this universe he created it with his will and his choice. He created all and infused his power into everything.  Into the animals and insects, but in the end he created human beings and he infused himself in the choice and the choice is freedom. To choose what we want. I’m sure you are all here to bring a change to the world and this change depends entirely on each one of you. As Swamiji was saying earlier, one person can change a lot. And you see through history, all the great Masters, they were one single person, but they had an idea and a wish. So if you want to bring change to the world and if one has this eagerness and deep desire to change things, then you will have all the Divne help.  

As it is said in the Srimad Bhagavatam, that   Lord Naryanaya resides in each ones heart equally, and if we realize this we will just love him. We will first find him in us in our heart. If you have found him in your heart, you will easily find him in others. We cannot love the divine without loving his creation. And this unity will happen when we start to love. Remove all the judgement . Let love take over, you will be peaceful, you will have peace of mind because you won’t have time to stress yourself, but if you focus so much on the stress , then don’t think the stress will go way. It will grow bigger and bigger. So focus on the essential on what you want, so that it can become a part of this unity which you will yourself start to call and bring it to the world.

Jai Gurudev”

Excerpt of Guruji´s satsang in Shree Peetha Nilaya, 17th May 2013, part 1

Yesterday evening Swami Vishwananda gave another wonderful satsang and he has answered many questions in surprising depth. The atmosphere was very joyful and we had a lot of laughter. Here is a first part of selected questions and answers for you to enjoy

1)      Equanimity is one of the 26 qualities of devotee. Do you think it is possible for an average person to attain it and how?

Yes, it is. Because the real nature of who you are, the soul, is not bound by anything – not by good, not by bad. Soul is ever free. Nothing to bind it. As how the soul looks at it is always looking in an equal way.

But the soul receives all the information of the universal consciousness – God. But when this knowledge enters the mind, the mind has to interpret it in a certain way. So the mind automatically puts a limitation, a judgement, on anything. This is why we judge. Because of the judgment the mind can´t comprehend the knowledge.

In the Gita Krishna says: hey Uddhava, don´t waste your time with good and bad in this world. If you want to attain me you have to go above these qualities. This means it is possible. In the Bible it says: if you want to attain the kingdom of God, you have to rise above all limitation.

Yes, one can attain that level, if one really wants. This is the most important point. To attain equanimity is possible - but if you want it, this is the question. Until you are sincere, you can´t. Because the limitation, it is you who puts it. It is possible to attain that level even for a normal person.

How much you focus on it, how much you desire for it. Desire in a right way – even to desire the Divine needs to be in a right way. Outside people desire the material things. But here, to desire you have to have a certain eagerness. We can say we love God, but do we have the eagerness for Him to manifest Himself? We can do japa, but to have this love you have to want it, you have to rise above limitation. You are on that path. That’s why God has called you. Through many lives of working. Its up to you. The teacher is here to remind you that´s up to you to follow it.

2)      Should one learn to do everything with joy or only to do what brings joy?

Sometimes you do things which do not bring joy, but you should always try to do it with joy.

3)      How do we be in contact all the time that He guides us?

The Divine is never far away from people. He is continuously close to you. How to become aware is through mantra japam. The more you chant the Divine name, the more the mind is in a subtle state and the more you will feel Him and you will feel Him in every action, in all that you do. From time to time He has to withdraw Himself, because the human nature is greedy. If the Divine gives everything in one go, how will you appreciate? But when you have to look for Him, you will feel that longing. Otherwise you will be ungrateful for it. You have to remind your mind through your japam. No matter, how you are, where you are, He is one step ahead. He is walking facing you. He is always in front of you, guiding your step, whether you want it or not.

4)      How to help others through prayer? Pray, but don´t beg.

5)      If I give myself up completely to the Divine, do I also give up my personality?

Why would you give up yourself but hang onto your personality? Better to not give anything. That’s how people are: they give a gift and want back half. If you give something, let go of it. But if you hold on one side and He is holding on other side… Even the personality, you have to let go. To transcend the personality into the Divine you have to let go. If you don´t let go, you have another life to let go and another and another.

6)      Should I serve even when I get abused?

If one has taken a certain path, duty of serving, it does not matter if you get abused or not. But if you feel that despite giving all your service, to whom you are serving, there is not appreciation and there is not willingness to enjoy the service, you should bug away from that. Than you should reduce your service so that the person starts to appreciate it.

France Pilgrimage in October

There is now the last week to book a place in the Pilgrimage together with Swami Vishwananda through France / Bretagne.

The group will  visit many nice places in Bretagne, visit cathetrals and monasteries. Swami Vishwananda knows this region very well and is already looking forward to visit all the holy places there with the group.

For more Information please click here.

A new star rises

Press Release about the official opening of the Bhakti Marga Centre on May 1 2013: 

"A new star rises in Germany’s spiritual map"

Newly added to the event-map of the German Rheingau-Taunus district is an intercultural and spiritual hub with an international dimension: The Bhakti Marga Yoga and Seminar Centre in Heidenrod-Springen is inviting the public to the official opening from the 1st to the 5th of May with district administrator Albers and mayor Schmelzeisen. There will be guided tours, speeches, musical performances and vegetarian meals awaiting the visitors.

For the full press release, please click here (pdf).

Why is Lord Hanuman’s body covered in Sindoor?

In most Hanuman temples the murthis of Hanumanji are covered or coated with orange coloured sindoor. Why is this so?

After the 14 years of exile were over, Lord Rama and Sita went back to Ayodhya. Once, Hanuman noticed Sita applying sindoor to her forehead. Overcome by curiosity, he asked her “Sita Maa, why are you applying sindoor on your forehead?”
“All married ladies do this for ensuring a long life for their husbands,” Sita smiled. Hearing this, Hanuman right away smeared sindoor all over his body! This is how devoted he was to Lord Rama – he wanted to absolutely make sure he had a long, long life.
Sri Rama was pleased with this gesture of Hanuman and gave a blessing to him that anyone who offers Sindoor to Sri Hanuman will have all his hurdles removed and will be blessed with a long and happy life.

Ram Navami with Swami Vishwananda April 20th, 2013

At Ram Navami, Guruji gave us an extensive and quite informative speech about the incarnation of Lord Rama and of course He knows how to apply Rama`s example to our all lives. Here is the summary:

Rama was the embodiment of Dharma, He was very righteous. The question arises why He did not accept His wife Sita back after She was kidnapped by the demon king Ravana. At that time, a woman was not allowed to be alone in a room with a man other than her father. Otherwise she was not even allowed to enter her house again. So when Rama came back home after many years of exile, people accused Him for taking Sita back. He had to act according to His role as a king in order to appease His people.

What the people did not know was that it was only a shadow of Sita Devi who was captured by Ravana. The real Sita has been guarded by Agni Dev.

There is a close connection between Rama and Agni Dev. Dasharath, Rama's father, was not able to have children. One day Narad Muni, the Divine messenger, came to Dasharath to tell him that the Lord had decided to incarnate into his Yadhava dynasty. He told him to do a yagna in order to conceive a child. During this yagna, Agni Dev appeared and gave two mangoes to him. They were meant for two wives of Dasharata so that they might conceive. One mango was for the incarnation of Narayana and the other one for the incarnation of Adishesh, the serpent. But he had three wives. So the two wives shared the two mangos among one another and this is how it came that two wives conceived one child and the third conceived two children as she got a share of each of the two mangoes.

So Narayana incarnated as Rama, Adishesh became Lakshmana, then there was the shanka and the chakra incarnating as Shatrughna and Bharat.

The reason why the Lord had to incarnate at that time was the presence of Ravana on earth. Ravana was one of the two gate keepers of Vaikuntha; Jaya and Vijaya, who had to incarnate as demons. But this is another beautiful story.

Guruji told us, that whenever the Lord has the intention to incarnate, He asks all the Devas for their assistance on earth, so all come with Him to earth. When the Lord incarnates, they are already all waiting for Him. And all know their mission. This is what we celebrate with Ram Navami.

The reason why Rama refused to take Sita back was because of His people. Sita always stayed pure, She is Maha Lakshmi, but the people did not know this. They were unhappy that their King took Her back after She was with Ravana, as they thought. So Rama had to act on His dharma as a king. 

Relating to this Guruji, was also explaining why the Lord, Narayana, is wearing a tilak, as the tilak symbolizes the lotus feet of the Lord. The meaning of Narayana wearing a tilak is to always remind Himself of the love of the bhakta.

Guruji told us, that the same way Rama was doing His dharma, each one of us should do their dharma. It is not in our hands to decide about this, life will guide us towards this. There is of course the universal dharma of realising oneself, but God has also give us our individual dharma and we have to learn to love it, no matter what our task is. And if we learn to accept it, and realise that the Divine has given it to us, it will lead us to our aim. And this is what it means to live spiritually. How can we live a spiritual way if we cannot accept what God has given us? When we finish our dharma which God has given us in the outside, He will reveal the inner dharma to us. But how will we handle the inner dharma, when we do not learn to handle the outer dharma?

Swamiji says “That is the Dharma. That is what Rama stands for, that is what He is showing. Each one has their own dharma, each one is very important in that. The role of a priest is a priest, the role of a banker is a banker. You can't put the priest into a bank, you know, somebody searching for God, you put him in a bank I am sure the bank will be ruined completely and together with him all the people. If you realise that where God has put you, that is what your dharma is, try to enjoy it even if you don't agree with it.”

Satsang with Sri Swami Vishwananda, 18 April 2013

On Thursday night, Guruji gave another wonderful Satsang, which lasted more than 3 hours. As always, the atmosphere was very joyful with a lot of laughter and Guruji enjoyed his exchanges with the devotees present, often re-directing questions to the audience. And truly there were many, many questions asked. Here is a selection of some of the questions and the respective answers in their essence for you.  In some cases, Guruji gave us new insights and in some he simply reiterated what he has already been saying in past Satsangs:

Q.: Do we have to ask God for help for a sick person only once or several times?

SV: If you have trust and faith one time is enough. If you don´t, you ask many times. To build up faith you should ask only one time and try to trust in Him. If you do things with confidence and faith it will turn out good.

Q.: What is the purpose of life?

SV: Looked at from the mind level, it’s a different purpose for each individual, looked at from the soul level it’s the same purpose for all. You have to transcend the human into the Divine, but not just knowingly – you have to MAKE it happen.

Q.: What is the soul-partner? How to recognise?

SV: The (idea of) a soul-partner is just to make people feel happy about their decision. There is no soul-partner. The real partner for the soul is God. What one perceives as soul-partner is a soul-recognition from past lives. You have to finish things (karma) with them.

Q.: How to transfer spirituality to children?

SV: Be a good example. Never force children. You can talk to them and explain.