Guest guest Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Dear Kamala Nanda ~ welcome back! What a wealth of experience you have had, and how wonderful your beautiful revelation that puts the Devi Mandir within the context of what you have seen and experienced over the past five years. I am only in first grade at the Devi Mandir, by no means an expert, but what rises to my heart in answer to your question, I believe I have heard many times in different ways: when everything you do, whether inside or outside, whether devotional practices or family duties and work in the world ... when all this becomes worship, becomes dedicated to God/dess and when you bring that same attention that you give to your spiritual practices to everything you do, then balance is achieved. In fact I would go so far to say there is no longer concern for balance because a person achieving this state is beyond balance, has become balance. I hope this makes sense. Jai Maa , Jai Swamiji ~ Linda Kamala Nanda: ....Does anyone have any advice forme how to approach this? How do you know, or how can you tell if youhave the right balance between your personal sadhana and othernecessary activities. Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and favorite sites in one place. Try it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 Namaste Nierika, Thank you for your timely reminder that ALL our activities (sadhana and duties in the world) can be approached with the same worshipful-attention! And then as you say, " All work becomes worship " , and an offering to the Divine! I suppose this is the " Ideal " state of balance that some of us are aiming for? And so perhaps what I'm really asking is more on the day-to-day " practical " level of application: how do you members of this chat group decide every day how much time you'll spend doing your spiritual practices, how much time do we need to spend to find some spiritual and mental balance for our lives? How do you prioritize where to put your attention each day? What can one do when one makes a sankalpa with specific worship times, and then the reality of family schedules and crises come to challenge the best of our intentions? Has anyone in the group found some semblence of balance for themselves between the time spent in sadhana and that required for service to others? What is the measurement, or what are the signs that we've found the right balance for ourselves? All comments are welcomed. . . Kamala , nierika wrote: > > Dear Kamala Nanda ~ welcome back! What a wealth of experience you have had, > and how wonderful your beautiful revelation that puts the Devi Mandir within > the context of what you have seen and experienced over the past five years. > > I am only in first grade at the Devi Mandir, by no means an expert, but what > rises to my heart in answer to your question, I believe I have heard many > times in different ways: when everything you do, whether inside or outside, > whether devotional practices or family duties and work in the world .... when all > this becomes worship, becomes dedicated to God/dess and when you bring that > same attention that you give to your spiritual practices to everything you do, > then balance is achieved. In fact I would go so far to say there is no > longer concern for balance because a person achieving this state is beyond > balance, has become balance. I hope this makes sense. Jai Maa , Jai Swamiji > ~ Linda > > > Kamala Nanda: > > ...Does anyone have any advice for > me how to approach this? How do you know, or how can you tell if you > have the right balance between your personal sadhana and other > necessary activities. > > **************Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and > favorite sites in one place. Try it now. > (http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp & icid=aolcom40vanity & ncid=emlcntaolcom00000010) > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 Namaste Kamala, I am relatively a new member to the group. Your question has been my question as well for a long time. You have articulated it so well. I live in a part of the world (Tehran) where the State has provided all the facilities required to ensure that people don't miss out their ritual prayers at least 3 times a day (for the decreed 5 times). Offices, Highways, parks, Hotels ...all have provision for a prayer room. Office hours, meetings, conferences, everything is organised around the afternoon prayer hour. HOWEVER, has this ensured a spiritually enlightened region with a high level of spiritual and mental balance? It has not. But, the reminder from Linda that all our activities can be approached with the same worshipful attention, appears to be the saner solution. Because, while daily rituals give us a sense of balance in normal times - it is the quality of practice that actually helps in evoking divinity, and in times of spiritual progress much more is demanded than a ritual. Swamiji says worship is a privilege. That's the kind of quality that elevates a prayer from being a ritual to actual worship. Swamiji and Maa have devoted their lives to prayer and we do not have the same privilege because we have chosen the lives of householders. As Maa says so often to so many of us, and the stories from the Puaranas tell us, Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda have confirmed and elaborated - a householder's worship is his/her duties and responsibilities- done as a privilege. Once I accepted the logic, it was relatively easier for me to arrange and allocate time for worship, meditation and yoga, as well as working, cooking, cleaning, taking care of my family and their needs.As the children grow older, I have more time for myself and my dear husband and spiritual pursuance. You might not believe it but this has been influenced by Maa and Swamiji's teachings as well. Putting in the extra love in all I do has brought me enormous returns. Try it! I never do my housework in anger anymore but with love. I was a single minded career person - not any more. I try and keep my priorities balanced. And it has brought me and my family much peace and happiness and harmony. Of course its not easy always but.. The acceptance of the priorities and absence of guilt for skipping a prayer, if need be, helps in maintaining the bhava. Also if you have seen Swamiji's explanation of the Sanatana Dharma, there are eight Acharas or forms of behavious. Worship is only one of seven Siddhantacharas. In Benares, I saw and felt the impact of this wholesome attitude in Maa and Swamiji. Watching them in person is impressive. All their actions and behaviour reflect this bhava. Jai maa! Jai Swamiji! ( I sometimes wonder what Maa and Swamiji think of all this adulation) I guess the longish explanation may be attributed to my being a newcomer. I have so many questions and its not easy to articulate all of them. But I guess bit by bit, I may be able to solve the puzzle. I always try to read the posts in the group and occasionally join in. Your own experience seemed marvelous. And I am eager to hear more! W.Rgds Manjushri , " kamalaji_india " <kamalaji_india wrote: > > Namaste Nierika, > > Thank you for your timely reminder that ALL our activities > (sadhana and duties in the world) can be approached with the same > worshipful-attention! And then as you say, " All work becomes > worship " , and an offering to the Divine! I suppose this is the > " Ideal " state of balance that some of us are aiming for? > And so perhaps what I'm really asking is more on the day-to-day > " practical " level of application: how do you members of this chat > group decide every day how much time you'll spend doing your spiritual > practices, how much time do we need to spend to find some spiritual > and mental balance for our lives? How do you prioritize where to put > your attention each day? What can one do when one makes a sankalpa > with specific worship times, and then the reality of family schedules > and crises come to challenge the best of our intentions? Has anyone > in the group found some semblence of balance for themselves between > the time spent in sadhana and that required for service to others? > What is the measurement, or what are the signs that we've found the > right balance for ourselves? All comments are welcomed. . . > Kamala > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 Namaste Manjushri! About finding balance between " going inside " and fulfilling our duties outside, thanks for taking the time to share such a unique personal perspective, and especially in a place like Tehran, Iran too. It's refreshing to get the feeling supported that the quality and devotion of our worship & practices is more important and yields more for us, than just " doing " the rituals everyday at an allotted time -- I liked your example of the state-sanctioned times and places for prayer. You also make vital emphasis on two points that I had not yet considered when trying to " keep " ourselves in balance: 1) accepting our own individual priorities as legitimate, and 2)dispensing with guilt when our daily sadhana practices are cut short or need to be adjusted for whatever reasons. Are you finding that your bhava is growing, and that you are continuing to look forward to daily worship? Is this a recipe for realizing and making balance, eventually? What do you, and other group members experience? Love, Kamala , " misra_manjusha " <misra_manjusha wrote: > > Namaste Kamala, > > I am relatively a new member to the group. > Your question has been my question as well for a long time. You have > articulated it so well. > I live in a part of the world (Tehran) where the State has provided > all the facilities required to ensure that people don't miss out their > ritual prayers at least 3 times a day (for the decreed 5 times). > Offices, Highways, parks, Hotels ...all have provision for a prayer > room. Office hours, meetings, conferences, everything is organised > around the afternoon prayer hour. > HOWEVER, has this ensured a spiritually enlightened region with a high > level of spiritual and mental balance? It has not. > But, the reminder from Linda that all our activities can be approached > with the same worshipful attention, appears to be the saner solution. > Because, while daily rituals give us a sense of balance in normal > times - it is the quality of practice that actually helps in evoking > divinity, and in times of spiritual progress much more is demanded > than a ritual. > Swamiji says worship is a privilege. That's the kind of quality that > elevates a prayer from being a ritual to actual worship. > Swamiji and Maa have devoted their lives to prayer and we do not have > the same privilege because we have chosen the lives of householders. > As Maa says so often to so many of us, and the stories from the > Puaranas tell us, Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda have > confirmed and elaborated - a householder's worship is his/her duties > and responsibilities- done as a privilege. > Once I accepted the logic, it was relatively easier for me to arrange > and allocate time for worship, meditation and yoga, as well as > working, cooking, cleaning, taking care of my family and their > needs.As the children grow older, I have more time for myself and my > dear husband and spiritual pursuance. > You might not believe it but this has been influenced by Maa and > Swamiji's teachings as well. Putting in the extra love in all I do has > brought me enormous returns. Try it! I never do my housework in anger > anymore but with love. I was a single minded career person - not any > more. I try and keep my priorities balanced. And it has brought me and > my family much peace and happiness and harmony. Of course its not easy > always but.. > The acceptance of the priorities and absence of guilt for skipping a > prayer, if need be, helps in maintaining the bhava. > Also if you have seen Swamiji's explanation of the Sanatana Dharma, > there are eight Acharas or forms of behavious. Worship is only one of > seven Siddhantacharas. > In Benares, I saw and felt the impact of this wholesome attitude in > Maa and Swamiji. Watching them in person is impressive. All their > actions and behaviour reflect this bhava. > > Jai maa! Jai Swamiji! > ( I sometimes wonder what Maa and Swamiji think of all this adulation) > > I guess the longish explanation may be attributed to my being a newcomer. > I have so many questions and its not easy to articulate all of them. > But I guess bit by bit, I may be able to solve the puzzle. > > I always try to read the posts in the group and occasionally join in. > > Your own experience seemed marvelous. And I am eager to hear more! > > W.Rgds > Manjushri > > , " kamalaji_india " > <kamalaji_india@> wrote: > > > > Namaste Nierika, > > > > Thank you for your timely reminder that ALL our activities > > (sadhana and duties in the world) can be approached with the same > > worshipful-attention! And then as you say, " All work becomes > > worship " , and an offering to the Divine! I suppose this is the > > " Ideal " state of balance that some of us are aiming for? > > And so perhaps what I'm really asking is more on the day-to-day > > " practical " level of application: how do you members of this chat > > group decide every day how much time you'll spend doing your spiritual > > practices, how much time do we need to spend to find some spiritual > > and mental balance for our lives? How do you prioritize where to put > > your attention each day? What can one do when one makes a sankalpa > > with specific worship times, and then the reality of family schedules > > and crises come to challenge the best of our intentions? Has anyone > > in the group found some semblence of balance for themselves between > > the time spent in sadhana and that required for service to others? > > What is the measurement, or what are the signs that we've found the > > right balance for ourselves? All comments are welcomed. . . > > Kamala > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 Namaste Kamala, Thank you for your observations. Yes I do find my bhava growing and I do look forward to daily worship with joy. I don't know whether its a recipe. What has your own experience been? I think worshipping in a group, saying prayers together or meditating together has a different quality from sitting alone in prayer or meditation. Love Manjushri , " kamalaji_india " <kamalaji_india wrote: > > You also make vital emphasis on two points that I had not yet > considered when trying to " keep " ourselves in balance: 1) accepting > our own individual priorities as legitimate, and 2)dispensing with > guilt when our daily sadhana practices are cut short or need to be > adjusted for whatever reasons. Are you finding that your bhava is > growing, and that you are continuing to look forward to daily worship? > Is this a recipe for realizing and making balance, eventually? > What do you, and other group members experience? > Love, > Kamala > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 It is so nice to be able to welcome you back. Regarding your question, I would like to add, we are taught that we take birth having three debts, debts to the devas, ancestors and Guru. From your post you were mostly fulfilling the debt to the devas (Gods/ Goddesses) now, our Compassionate Mother has granted you the opportunity now to incorporate seva and service into your daily worship to pay off those debts. This may necessitate time shifts for varying reasons but completing the worship with bhakti and sincerity might be more important than the time it is done. My first worship of the day is set at a particular time as it is early morning , this is not now the case for the evening worship. I must admit though that if for some reason I am unable to complete or perform sadhana, I do feel very guilty and oft times frustrated but am learning to offer them both at Mother's Feet for transporting to heaven. Much love, Kali> > > > , "kamalaji_india"> > <kamalaji_india@> wrote:> > >> > > Namaste Nierika,> > > > > > Thank you for your timely reminder that ALL our activities> > > (sadhana and duties in the world) can be approached with the same> > > worshipful-attention! And then as you say, "All work becomes> > > worship", and an offering to the Divine! I suppose this is the> > > "Ideal" state of balance that some of us are aiming for? > > > And so perhaps what I'm really asking is more on the day-to-day> > > "practical" level of application: how do you members of this chat> > > group decide every day how much time you'll spend doing your spiritual> > > practices, how much time do we need to spend to find some spiritual> > > and mental balance for our lives? How do you prioritize where to put> > > your attention each day? What can one do when one makes a sankalpa> > > with specific worship times, and then the reality of family schedules> > > and crises come to challenge the best of our intentions? Has anyone> > > in the group found some semblence of balance for themselves between> > > the time spent in sadhana and that required for service to others? > > > What is the measurement, or what are the signs that we've found the> > > right balance for ourselves? All comments are welcomed. . .> > > Kamala > > > > > > > > > > > >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 Namaste Kamalaji, It is so nice to welcome you back. Regarding your question, I would like to add, Beloved Gurujis have taught us that we take birth having three debts, debts to the devas, ancestors and Guru. From your post you were mostly fulfilling the debt to the devas (Gods/ Goddesses) now, our Compassionate Guru/Divine Mother has granted you the opportunity to incorporate seva and service into your daily worship to pay off those debts. This may necessitate time shifts for varying reasons but completing the worship with bhakti and sincerity might be more important than the time it is done. My first worship of the day is set at a particular time as it is early morning this is not now the case for the evening worship. I must admit though that if for some reason I am unable to complete or perform sadhana, I do feel very guilty and oft times frustrated but am learning to offer them both at Mother's Feet for transporting to heaven. Much love, Kali > > > > , "kamalaji_india"> > <kamalaji_india@> wrote:> > >> > > Namaste Nierika,> > > > > > Thank you for your timely reminder that ALL our activities> > > (sadhana and duties in the world) can be approached with the same> > > worshipful-attention! And then as you say, "All work becomes> > > worship", and an offering to the Divine! I suppose this is the> > > "Ideal" state of balance that some of us are aiming for? > > > And so perhaps what I'm really asking is more on the day-to-day> > > "practical" level of application: how do you members of this chat> > > group decide every day how much time you'll spend doing your spiritual> > > practices, how much time do we need to spend to find some spiritual> > > and mental balance for our lives? How do you prioritize where to put> > > your attention each day? What can one do when one makes a sankalpa> > > with specific worship times, and then the reality of family schedules> > > and crises come to challenge the best of our intentions? Has anyone> > > in the group found some semblence of balance for themselves between> > > the time spent in sadhana and that required for service to others? > > > What is the measurement, or what are the signs that we've found the> > > right balance for ourselves? All comments are welcomed. . .> > > Kamala > > > > > > > > > > > >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 Happy New Year to Everyone, even if a few hours early!! At the majical midnight hour in the Devi Mandir, we will be chanting the Chandi Path verses at the fire, and perhaps will pause long enough to invite the Divine Mother and all of the Gods and Goddesses to guide us in this New Year coming! I'm back after a few days away, and want to thank Manjushri and Kaliananda for your perceptive advice and comments about discovering and maintaining balance between our " work in the world " and our prayer lives. After having the opportunity for the past five years to put the focus mostly on Sadhana, I'm finding it a real energy shift and challenge to move back towards some kind of center (if one could call it that). Now I'm reminded of something Shree Maa used to say to us often. In " Before Becoming This " (available on our website), Shree Maa advises some perspective: " Why did God give us twenty-four hours? It has a purpose. We spend eight hours for work for the world, eight hours for personal time (which I hope includes some sleep), and eight hours for God. How many people spend eight hours thinking about God? Mostly people are thinking " I, I, I " . Maybe once in a while, for one second, they think about God. During special times, like when they are suffering, they might remember God. We are human beings. " . . . So I'm wondering if we can draw from Shree Maa's inspiration some " ideal " to strive for, then we have a path or method to find our own balance, and a chance for the fuller and matured(?) realization that all activity can be " worship " of the Divine. Manjushri, to respond to one of your questions about the experience of personal prayer/meditation as compared to group sadhana, I would have to say for myself, that personal sadhana/meditation has mostly (but not exclusively) been a process of purification and focused transformation. Certainly over the past five years, I've missed the joyous celebration and and increased shakti that I experience when engaged in Group Worship. And was pleasantly surprised on Christmas Eve this year to feel the waves of shakti and bakti coming over us in the Devi Mandir! I can only feel and thank all of you who joined us in the temple and via the Webcam, and Jesus Himself for such an elevating experience. Love to all of you at this time of year, Kamala , " kaliananda_saraswati " <kaliananda_saraswati wrote: > > > It is so nice to be able to welcome you back. > > Regarding your question, I would like to add, we are taught that we take > birth having three debts, debts to the devas, ancestors and Guru. From > your post you were mostly fulfilling the debt to the devas (Gods/ > Goddesses) now, our Compassionate Mother has granted you the opportunity > now to incorporate seva and service into your daily worship to pay off > those debts. This may necessitate time shifts for varying reasons but > completing the worship with bhakti and sincerity might be more important > than the time it is done. > > My first worship of the day is set at a particular time as it is early > morning , this is not now the case for the evening worship. I must > admit though that if for some reason I am unable to complete or perform > sadhana, I do feel very guilty and oft times frustrated but am learning > to offer them both at Mother's Feet for transporting to heaven. > > Much love, > > Kali > > > > > > > > , " kamalaji_india " > > > <kamalaji_india@> wrote: > > > > > > > > Namaste Nierika, > > > > > > > > Thank you for your timely reminder that ALL our activities > > > > (sadhana and duties in the world) can be approached with the same > > > > worshipful-attention! And then as you say, " All work becomes > > > > worship " , and an offering to the Divine! I suppose this is the > > > > " Ideal " state of balance that some of us are aiming for? > > > > And so perhaps what I'm really asking is more on the day-to-day > > > > " practical " level of application: how do you members of this chat > > > > group decide every day how much time you'll spend doing your > spiritual > > > > practices, how much time do we need to spend to find some > spiritual > > > > and mental balance for our lives? How do you prioritize where to > put > > > > your attention each day? What can one do when one makes a sankalpa > > > > with specific worship times, and then the reality of family > schedules > > > > and crises come to challenge the best of our intentions? Has > anyone > > > > in the group found some semblence of balance for themselves > between > > > > the time spent in sadhana and that required for service to others? > > > > What is the measurement, or what are the signs that we've found > the > > > > right balance for ourselves? All comments are welcomed. . . > > > > Kamala > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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