Lakshmi

Shree Dhanaa Karshana Sree Maha Lakshmi Sahita Sri Kuberaya

and she told Swamiji the new spiritual Name of the Center Springen:

Shree Peetha Nilaya

Which means: Home of Lakshmi

Darshan

It was a wonderful cosy evening. Outside a lot of snow,inside a lot of warmness and love!

The youngest Devotee

Swami Vishwananda is right now in South Africa. Here a picture from his youngest Devotee.

Blog with 108 Names

There is a new blog with all the 108 names:

http://108names.blogspot.com/

An explanation of the ritual of Abishekam

During a Satsang Swami Vishwananda asked an Indian devotee to give this explanation:

Abishekam is basically a chance for us to invoke the cosmic energy into a murti, into a statue, into an idol before us. (SV.: we basically manifest). So, when we perform abishekam it´s an opportunity for us to interact and to have physical contact with this cosmic energy. The whole process of abishekam is rooted in the Indian custom of how we welcome a guest into our home. In India there is a Vedic slogan which says: “Adity deity pabha”, which means: “the guest is God”. So when a guest comes, the first thing we do is, we offer him a seat. We say: “Asanam samat payami”, which basically means: “we offer you a seat”. Next, after a guest comes to a house they probably travelled a long time, so we wash their feet. And that is: “Padyam samat payami”, which is: “we wash your feet, refresh the feet after a long journey”. Next we offer them a drink, we wash their mouth because they are probably parched, they are very thirsty after a long journey. These are the preliminary things.

Than we offer them a bath. We change their cloths and we bathe them. Firstly we use water, which is a great purifier, it cleans everything. And we wash the deity before us. Next we offer the five elements, which are milk, yoghurt, ghee, honey, sugar. These five elements are also present within our own bodies. And every time we offer the milk, the honey, the ghee, the sugar and the yoghurt we ask for purification and balance of these elements, both within us and also in the external universe. Thus, the abishekam is a chance for us to purify our own selves, our own bodies and our own spiritual being as well as the external universe. We offer ourselves before the Lord, we offer all our negative qualities and we ask for purification when we bathe the murti.

Once we have offered all these things, the curtain is drawn. This curtain represents the veil of maya. This maya is the illusion, it separates us from our own individual inner selves. The murti that we perform the abishekam with, is also this inner self that we have inside ourselves. So, all offerings we make to this external murti, all these offerings we make to our own inner higher self. The maya is stopping us from identifying who our real self is. Behind the curtain everyone is busy dressing the murtis, making them look nice and putting jewels, crowns on them, making the murti look re-presentable for the darshan. And in the meantime we are singing so our mind is kept focussed on God. Eventually the curtain is opened which means, maya has been dropped. And so you have darshan of the Lord in front of you. This darshan of the Lord is also representative of your own inner darshan of your true identity, your true self.

News from "little Vrindavan" in Portugal

Jai Guru Dev
I share with you some photos of the materialization of amrita (divine nectar) in the murti of Jesus here in Little Vrindavan Ashram of Sri Swami Vishwananda of Portugal.
This materialization began on the night of 7 January and stopped the next day.
I think that it is very important to share love
With much love. Mahesh

Krishna an Arjuna after the battle

After the battle of Kurukshetra, Arjuna and Krishna were walking together in the fields. Krishna raised his hand and said to Arjuna, “Look at these birds in the sky how nice they are!”

“Yes”, answered Arjuna, looking in the sky.

“But there are no birds”, said Krishna.

“No, there are no birds”, answered Arjuna.

“Look how nice these birds are”, said again Krishna. “They are really magnificent.”

“Yes”, said Arjuna. “These birds are really magnificent.”

“Why are you always repeating what I am saying?” asked Krishna, “There are no birds in the sky.”

“Yes, it is true. I don’t see any birds in the sky but I know that you could manifest at every moment, these birds and let them fly in the sky.”

Arjuna had total faith in Krishna and had totally surrendered body, mind and soul to the Divine. He was not trusting his mind or his eyes but he trusted every word from his Divine Sadguru.

Babaji Bhajan a bit Different

Babaji, oh won't you come to me

Won't you help me face the music
Bring it out so we can sing it out
Help me to find it before we lose it
At night when the stars are near
And there's no one to keep you from coming here
And there's no one to shield me before your eyes
Is it mine, is it mine, is it mine to know?

I can see it's not too good to me
To be afloat in the sea of glory
Babaji, oh how you comfort me
By showing me it's a different story
Your light in the dark is real
And I know that you know it is how I feel
When I see the reflections that's in your eyes
Is it mine, is it mine, is it mine to know?

Babaji, have you a song for me
To tell the world of its guardian angel
Bring it out so we can sing it out
Oh must you always remain a stranger?
At night when the stars are near
And I long for delusion to disappear
The I see the reflection that's in your eyes
Is it time, is it time, is it time to know?

(Supertramp)

With understanding and love....

I wanted to share a story with all of you that my mother told me today:

A few days ago, after her visit here at the centre, my mum was inspired to send me a text message with this quote: “Only with mutual understanding and love between all of us will Bhakti Marga be successful”

Today she was visited by a friend. While she was telling her about that sentence she was “inspired” to send me and also talked about our project here, the CD player switched on by itself and starting playing music. Suddenly the room was filled with an atmosphere of love which everyone present could feel. When they were finished talking about that subject, the CD player again switched off by itself (not just “stop”, but “off”).

Thought I should share this story with you…

Paarta

A Nun from Nepal

Ani Choying Drolma, a Buddhist nun from Nepal, chants the Ganesh Mantra:

Om Meditation - purification through Divine light

Swami Vishwananda did this Meditation at Pentecost 2007 :

I´d like to do this little meditation with you:

I ask you, please, to sit straight if possible. Firstly take a few deep breaths. Inhale- and exhale. When you exhale, please, drop your shoulders, cause when you inhale your shoulders go up, you put pressure on yourself. When you exhale, exhale, breathe out all the carbon dioxide, breathe out all the air that you have in your stomach. Let your stomach go in, drop your shoulders. Breathe five to six times. (Pause). Now we give a game to the mind to play. Use the mind. Listen to your breath. Listen how you are breathing, how you are inhaling and how you are exhaling. Listen how beautiful it is this sound.

Now use your mind, focussing it on the third eye. Create an OM sign there. Or any sign you like. Each time you inhale you see the light, the OM becomes brighter and brighter. Imagine it, create it. You are children of God, you are part of God. So as he is the creator you all are the Creator also, so you create.

Now let the OM expand and let the light become more bright. There will come a point where you will not even see the OM. It will just be light.

Bring the light from your forehead to your right eye than to your left eye. Say to this light: Purify my eyes and heal them. – Pause –

Now bring the light to your right nostril of your nose, than to the left. Tell to the light: purify my nose and my smell. – Pause –

Bring the light to your right ear, than to the left one. Say to the light: Purify my ears so that I can hear your name always. – Pause-

Bring the light to your head. Say to the light: Purify my mind that I can always think positive about myself and others. – Pause –

Bring the light to your mouth. Say to the light: Purify my mouth that whatever I speak is out of love. That I may control my tongue. – Pause –

Bring the light to your right arm and hand than to the left. Say to the light: Purify my hands that I am always ready to help. – Pause –

Bring the light to your legs and feet, the right one and than the left one. Say to the light: purify my feet that I always walk the right path. – Pause –

Bring the light to your heart. Say to the light. Make that I love unconditionally. – Pause –

Feel the light in your heart, go deeper inside your heart. – Pause –

Stay focussed in your heart, slowly open your eyes. Chant with me. Chant eleven times OM. So you inhale and when you chant OM, let it vibrate in your chest

The Triple Filter Test

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Socrates, do you know what I just heard about your friend?” “Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”

“Triple filter?”

“That’s right,” Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”

“No,” the man said, “actually I just heard about it and…”

“All right,” said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not. Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?”

“No, on the contrary…”

“So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true. You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tellme about my friend going to be useful to me?”

“No, not really.”

“Well,” concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?” This is why Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

BEFORE SPREADING RUMORS AND GOSSIP, APPLY SOCRATES’ THREE FILTERS TEST

Interview in Polish TV

This interview with Swami Vishwananda was done in November 2009 and was send in TV in Poland on the 6th December. Here it is:

Puja in South Africa

Here some nice pictures from New Year Night in South Africa. Swami Vishwananda did a Narashimha Puja.

Footprints in the sand

 One night I dreamed

I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,

other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed

that during the low periods of my life,

when I was suffering from

anguish, sorrow or defeat,

I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,

"You promised me Lord,

that if I followed you,

you would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that

during the most trying periods of my life

 there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most,

you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied:

"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,

is when I carried you."

(Poem written 1936 by Mary Stevenson)

We wish you a happy new year!

Happy New Year