by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, December 12, 2017 | Spiritual Evolution |
"The greatest help to spiritual life is meditation. In meditation we divest ourselves of all material conditions and feel our divine nature. We do not depend upon any external help in meditation. The touch of the soul can paint the brightest color even in the dingiest places; it can cast a fragrance over the vilest thing; it can make the wicked divine–and all enmity, all selfishness is effaced."
– Swami Vivekananda,
Complete Works, 2. 37.
Once you learn the Surya Ram Meditation, sometimes the hard part is just getting yourself to sit down and do it. Usually once you get started and into it, everything flows just fine. So why not make a commitment to meditate at least 5 minutes twice a day? Of course, once you have started the meditation, if you want to go over the 5 minutes, that is great.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, December 6, 2017 | Clarifying Confusion |
I was asked to explain the following quote from Swami Vivekananda:
“My master used to say that these names, as Hindu, Christian, etc., stand as great bars to all brotherly feelings between man and man. We must try to break them down first. They have lost all their good powers and now only stand as baneful influences under whose black magic even the best of us behave like demons. Well, we will have to work hard and must succeed.”
To which I respond:
As I am fond of saying, “When the Master speaks, it immediately ceases to be what the Master said and becomes what the listener heard. And therein lies the birth of religions.” That is, of course, a two-sided coin. On one hand, religions are based upon deep spiritual Truth. They are therefore precious and to be revered. On the other hand, distortions of that profound spiritual knowledge lead people astray.
As I like to say, “Echoes of Truth, perceived as Truth, hold Truth at bay.” All too often, religions become echoes of Truth.
I have been known to say: “Racism is cultural integrity gone insane.” When not understood deeply enough, religions can polarize in that same manner. Perhaps the most glaring example would be wars in the name of religion.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Friday, November 10, 2017 | Spiritual Evolution |
“To establish order, disorder has to be shaken…”
Maharishi’s profound insight into the transformation
of the world is heartening for us at this time
“In order to establish order, disorder has to be shaken. And for shaking to remain under control, we who are at the basis, at the level of Para (the transcendent), have to be Para—that is, unreachable by the surface turmoil. In that integrated state, the fast-moving chaos and change will pass away in a steady manner.
“So, we have to be very steady. We have to be very careful not to get upset by little or big things. If we lose our basis, our dignity, the phase transition will take much longer. Don’t give importance to things that may upset us.
“This is a very precious time for the world. Everything depends on how our awareness is—just don’t let it be shaken. Our awareness is the basis of all these transformations. More than ever before, time demands we remain completely ourselves.
“It is a very tender, delicate time for us—we should not become angry, indifferent, or sad—we should just be like an ocean.
“The evolutionary power is waking up. We shake it, then leave it—then after some time shake it again. Each time a new level of purity, awakening is added.“
– Maharishi
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, October 31, 2017 | Announcements, Vedic Technology |
A message from the Office of Chakrapani Ullal:
Dear Friends,
With a heavy heart I must share with you the sad news of Chakrapani’s passing on Saturday, October 28.
Several months ago, he had warned us that this week would be very challenging. Yet, without fear, he continued to battle his disease. Sadly, it became apparent that despite our best efforts his condition was declining. There was a moment when Chakrapani indicated that it was his time to begin a new journey.
His final hours were serene and holy. His hospital room was converted into a kind of temple so that he was surrounded by a peaceful space, filled with the sounds, the aroma, and the vision of what was sacred to him. There was chanting from his native Mookambika Temple in South India which had a powerful transformative effect.
He was not afraid to go and never sought to remain here for himself, but rather wanted to be here for those who depended on him. He lived for others up until the very end.
I will follow up soon with more information. The Memorial will not be until the new year to accommodate those who need to make travel plans in order to attend.
Thank you again for your support and caring which made Chakrapani’s final challenge more bearable and which will make it easier to face the days ahead.
With love and gratitude,
Dianne Brown
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Friday, October 27, 2017 | Vedic Technology |
On a superficial level, a Yantra is a geometric representation of an aspect of divinity, i.e., a god or gods. On the deepest level of existence, a Yantra is a structure inherent in the field of Consciousness, the underlying basis of all existence. On that deepest level, Yantras are alive and dynamic. It might be compared to our skeletal system which has a precise structure, but still moves and is alive. In that sense, a Yantra and the corresponding god are one and the same. All Yantras are superimposed, with different personifications, different faces, of the same one God or gods.
Mantras are sounds inherent to the very nature of the structure of existence. Different Mantras correlate to different Yantras.
When those Mantras are recited in a precise manner, they enliven the quality, the value, of the corresponding Yantra. The technology of the implementation of those Mantras is called Tantra.
You might say that if Yantras can be compared to physics, i.e., nature, then Mantras might be compared to formulas, and Tantra might be compared to technologies that implement those formulas to enliven the value inherent in the nature of the Yantras. Take, for example, a Lakshmi Yantra. It could be said that that Yantra is Lakshmi. A Lakshmi Mantra would then enliven the dynamics and functionality of the nature of Lakshmi. And the implementation of that Mantra would provide a technology that would have a Lakshmi influence upon the world.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
