by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, April 12, 2011 | Vedic Technology |
“Ramo vigrahavan dharmaha”
~
He is the ideal being.
From him, and from what He has followed, we attain all knowledge.
~
Today is Ram Navami… Lord Rama’s birthday.
~
All auspicious dates in the Vedic calendar relate directly to celestial and cosmic occurrences. They mark points or moments in the spatial relationship of planets, stars, etc., each with a particular influence and significance.
In the West, we are aware of the equinox and solstice…. also of course, sunrise, sunset, high noon, etc. The Vedic calendar specifies many specific moments throughout the year. By doing so, the psyche (and in fact all levels of our life) align with the rhythm and flow of nature. This can be viewed as a technique to evolve… to live in harmony with nature and thereby gain the support of nature.
~
I go to great lengths to explain the rationale behind Vedic traditions. This provides insight into the nature of life, intrigues the intellect, satisfies the doubting mind, and removes emotional distortion or superstition that may have crept in over time. Such understanding is crucial.
~
After this is understood and embraced rationally, bhakti naturally blossoms to the fullest. Bhakti is love for God… love for all that is on the deepest level of life.
~
Love without understanding is like a ship without a rudder. When the heart and mind work together, life blossoms fully and bhakti is experienced most deeply.
~
In that spirit of bhakti, with that level of understanding, today is a very good day to gaze upon a picture or listen to a chant of Lord Rama and to feel in your heart His role in the mechanics of creation and the profundity of life.
~
All Vedic ceremony satisfies both aspects of life, the heart and the mind. They are technologies of Vedic science, which makes them effective in our lives, and expressions of the heart, which celebrates our life’s deepest meaning.
~
Today at Mount Soma, we will be observing Lord Rama’s birthday with a puja (Vedic ceremony) beginning at 9:30 AM.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Saturday, April 2, 2011 | Clarifying Confusion, The Veda |
Having Pundit Prasad and his wife, Lakshmi Anasuya, here at Mount Soma is wonderful. It feels like two long lost friends have finally returned.
~
Being from a very different culture than ours, they seem to have adapted with incredible ease. Pundit Prasad has performed a Rudrabishek and with Navaratri coming up Monday, a number of ceremonies will soon be taking place. Check the CALENDAR.
~
Someone asked a reasonable question, “Are we going to be changing our culture to conform to another?” To which I responded, “Do you really think I would allow that to happen?” He smiled confirming he understood.
~
First there is truth. It is scientific reality. Yet science is not aware of all the mechanics of nature, so it is better to say truth is Natural Law.
~
The Laws of Nature exist and are valid, even if science has not yet discovered them. When a new Law of Nature is discovered by scientists, new technologies arise based upon that science.
~
The Veda is Nature. All Laws of Nature are contained within the Veda. In ancient times, Knowledge of Veda brought forth technologies of which modern day science is not aware. Ancient Vedic knowledge emerged from a very different approach to gaining knowledge of truth, every bit as valid as our modern day science. Pundits from India have kept ancient Vedic knowledge and technology lively throughout the generations. That technology offers humanity many benefits.
~
Then we come to the matter of culture and cultural integrity. The ways of a culture vary from one part of the world to another. The traditions and ways of a culture support life by providing a structure that is in harmony with the area. The more evolved the culture, the more fully this is so. In lesser evolved times, disharmony with nature arises within the people and thus cultures.
~
It is the place of religion to be an interface between cultural tradition and Natural Law. Each culture has a religion that when healthy does exactly that. Each religion should be a bridge between a unique culture and Universal Truth.
~
My intent is to assist every culture to align with Natural Law, to breath in new life and more cultural integrity, thereby healing all of humanity and our planet as a whole.
~
This is the only way to truly heal our world, and that process starts with individuals, then expands through communities to nations. To whitewash the world by turning every culture into one homogenous global culture would be to compromise life.
~
We must align with knowledge, wherever we find it. Vedic technology offers us a powerful means to do this and we use that technology to heal our world. It is universal, just as modern day science is universal.
~
It would be contrary to our purpose to turn westerners into easterners, or visa versa. We must strengthen each culture, not dilute or whitewash them. Yet cultures must interact and learn to live in harmony with one and other.
~
How else can there be peace and mutual support among people?
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Friday, March 25, 2011 | Announcements, Spiritual Evolution |
I am having so much fun at Mount Soma!
~
The Temple is incredible. I have seen larger temples, but I have never seen a more beautiful one. Also, the feeling of it, even from the distance is astounding. Very powerful and it is not even being used yet!
~
Pundit Prasad and his wife Lakshmi Anasuya have arrived from India. He is a very highly respected priest. I am giving them a couple days to rest before I visit with them for the first time.
~
We are planning to keep the stapathi and shilpis on for an additional month or so after the inauguration to build a Maha Nandi (great/huge Nandi) statue directly across from the temple. It will be located in the area of the first Havan Kund (fire pit) that we used for homas while many of you were here in 2008. The priests loved the idea of the Nandi. He will be an awesome sight and will certainly amp things up.
~
It is so much fun to see everyone every day at the Center. More and more people are joining the ashram program. It is a great delight for me. I love it. People are really moving forward. Evolution is not always the easiest thing for people, but the underlying current of growth supporting and feeding their lives is palpable and so nurturing to their being. Wonderful!
~
The Student Union building is nearing completion. At the rate things are going, we will need another building for housing as soon as it is completed!
~
We are getting a cow and calf today and are all excited about it. People here are having fun constructing the barn for them. What a joy it will be to see them each day.
~
Life is more than good here. It is fantastic. I look forward to every day.
~
There is nothing more fulfilling than rapid evolution.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, March 15, 2011 | Vedic Technology |
Tomorrow, March 16, at 4:30 PM, we will be immersing the deities in water in an auspicious ceremony called “Jalathivasam”.
~
The deities have been in rice for a few months to pull the heat out of the stones.
~
Now, after they have been oiled and cleaned, the water immersion will provide cooling.
~
Everyone will have a chance to participate in this one-time only event.
~
The ceremony will close with the presentation of Dakshina, during which photographs and individual gestures of thanks are encouraged.
~
Please give your Dakshina to Marcia to be included in the ceremony.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, March 10, 2011 | Announcements, Vedic Technology |
I remember in the early morning, walking through a field in India after a huge Yagya, a Maha Yagya, was performed. A silent mist filled the air. It felt like I was walking the grounds of a cosmic battlefield, where an epic event had just occurred to change the course of history.
~
The consecration of Śrī Someśvara Temple will be an historic victory for the world. It marks not only the consecration of Śrī Someśvara Temple but also the awakening of a perfect Guru Chula, an enlightened city. According to the Bhrigu Nadi, this was predicted by the great rishi, Brighu, thousands of years ago. According to Brighu, though attempted before, this will be the first of its kind. The land will reverberate with that feeling.
~
A Vedic temple inauguration can be likened to a cosmic explosion, signifying a phase shift in the world. At its inaugural moment in time, the Divine geometrical structure will crystallize, sending a cosmic wave throughout the universe. Those at the source of the wave receive the karmic benefit equivalent to 10,000 daily visits to a temple.
~
A powerful catalyst for evolution, it is said that even the participants’ family members who are not present at the inauguration, receive some karmic benefit, five generations out, in both directions of time. Bring your children, relatives, friends, and loved ones. Do what you can to get here for this purifying event.
~
During the time when Lord Rama walked the earth, there was a sacred cow that lived, in physical form, named Kamadhenu. It is said that the people who paid homage to this cow were granted their wishes and cured of any disease. At the inauguration, we will have our own cow with calf to embody that quality.
~
Big tents across the lawns will provide gathering places for friends, families, and children to play. Fantastic authentic Indian food prepared with Ayurvedic expertise will be served.
~
Beautiful, limited edition, miniature Shiva lingas with Nandi and ballipeedum, miniature kalasums, and a small number of other consecrated items will be available as gifts to temple sponsors.
~
Yagyas will be performed from dawn until dusk. It will be a rare opportunity to enjoy the company of highly respected Pundits and Sthapatis from India. A number of renowned experts, inculding Jyotishis, Sanjay and Sarbani Rath, will attend.
~
Several of the shilpis will remain at Mount Soma through the consecration, working closely with the pundits to perform the last steps to “turn on” the temple.
~
From one angle, we can view the temple as a machine; built precisely to amplify and broadcast the harmony found at the transcendental level of life. From another angle, we can view the temple as a living being; not a structure representing God, but God himself.
~
Vastu architecture is a mapping of the human/Divine body. The temple has a head, torso, and limbs. Inside the temple, the stone murtis (statues demonstrating the numerous, personified attributes of God) have an arresting presence. The eyes of the murtis will be opened according to ancient Vedic technology, first with iron, then silver, then gold utensils, bringing them to life.
~
The culmination of the event is on the evening of the fifth day when the temple comes together as fully functioning structure of the Divine. The building of a successful Vedic temple in these times is an undertaking that is difficult beyond what most people can imagine. The financial, coordination, communication, and interpretation obstacles are tremendous. When together we succeed, you will want to be there to see it. This event is not just for students, scholars of the Veda, or Hindus, it is for all people. People will be talking about it for ages.
~
If you miss this event you will look back and wonder how you could have allowed yourself to not be there.
~
See a SYNOPSIS of the Consecration Events.
Download a BROCHURE.
For regular updates about Sri Somesvara Temple, SUBSCRIBE to the Temple Updates email list.
Let us know if you are coming! RSVP
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
