this seemed interesting, for those of us who age ...

[Guest guest]

this is a different spiritual e-mail i am getting ... it is about not

one but 2 transitions in aging ...

 

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The Master Course of Himalayan Academy

by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

 

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Sloka 79 from Dancing with Siva

 

What Is the Hindu Family Structure?

 

The main Hindu social unit is the joint family, usually consisting of

several generations living together under the guidance of the father

and mother. Each joint family is part of a greater body called the

extended family. Aum.

 

Bhashya

 

A joint family lives under one roof. It includes a father and mother,

their sons, grandsons and great-grandsons and all their spouses, as

well as all daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters until

they are married. The head of the family is the father, assisted by

his wife, or in his absence the eldest son, encouraged by his mother,

and in his absence, the next eldest brother. The family head delegates

responsibilities to members according to their abilities. The mother

oversees household activities, nurturance, hospitality and

gift-giving. Religious observances are the eldest son's

responsibility. The joint family is founded on selfless sharing,

community ownership and the fact that each member's voice and opinion

is important. The extended family includes one or more joint families,

community elders, married daughters and their kindred, close friends

and business associates. It is headed by the family guru, priests and

panditas. The Vedas offer blessings: "Dwell in this home; never be

parted! Enjoy the full duration of your days, with sons and grandsons

playing to the end, rejoicing in your home to your heart's content."

Aum Namah Sivaya.

 

 

 

LESSON 234 from Living with Siva

 

Renewing Life's Plans

 

When the body reaches middle age, a change of pace occurs. One feels

like sitting rather than walking, sleeping more than one did before,

and it is more difficult to make long-term plans, ten, twenty, thirty

years ahead. At middle age, the question "What am I going to do with

my life?" has long been answered but still should be asked, because at

middle age, around forty, there is still a long life ahead. It should

be planned out as carefully as the life span that has already been

lived, based on the experiences gained from it. Many people plan out

their lives at eighteen or twenty, and others don't. Nevertheless,

when the change of life at middle age comes, both for men and women,

it is only wise to regroup one's thoughts, analyze one's desires,

motivations and educational skills, physical, mental and emotional

abilities. It is time to plan another forty years ahead with as much

enthusiasm and dynamism as can be mustered up. After all, they say

life begins at forty. A lot of people die at fifty or shortly

afterwards because they feel that everything is breaking down. That is

because they misinterpret what is happening. They think the death

experience is coming, whereas only a change of life, of life

experience, has occurred, which began at forty. If they took it as a

new passage in life, they could be on smooth sailing until eighty.

 

Forty years of age is well known as a change of life. Seventy years of

age is the prime of life. Eighty is the fulfillment of that prime. An

eighty-year-old person, who has fulfilled the prime of life, holding a

new-born infant makes a complete circle of life. As one nears eighty

years of age, this is again time to revamp one's life, motivations,

desires, and to plan for the next forty years, which recognizes a

natural life span of 120 years. It is interesting to note that the

muscular structure of the physical body does not start to deteriorate

until after age seventy-two, and then only slightly, unless one

neglects to exercise. Mystics say that eighty years of age is a

difficult time to get through psychologically, physically and

emotionally, because it is definite that your are old when you are

eighty. Therefore, a new plan for motivation for the future should be

made well in advance, at least at age seventy-two, so that when eighty

rolls around it is well impressed in the subconscious mind that, this

might be time to start slowing down and preparing for life after the

life of the physical body.

 

It is at this juncture that one should give one's wisdom to the

younger generation, be dedicated to and interested in children and

their welfare, manage orphanages, set up endowments and scholarships

for educating the young, see into the lives of promising people and

encourage them to greater heights. This is the time also to perform

sadhana and intense tapas. This is where the yoga marga naturally

comes in a lifetime. The physical forces are fading, the muscular

structure diminishing. Great spiritual progress in burning out the

last prarabdha karmas, even those that did not manifest in this life,

can be accomplished at this time. If retirement is thought of, it

should be at eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three, eighty-four, around

that time. This should be the slowing-down period, yet still being

active in the mental, emotional, sociological, political, ecological

arenas. Here, now, is a time to practice hatha yoga and pay close

attention to ayurveda.

 

There is another forty years before the natural life span of 120 is

reached, plenty of time to fulfill the Sanatana Dharma, to get out

there and give of the wisdom that has been accumulated through the

past eighty years. This is the real fulfillment of a life well lived.

Or if your life was not well lived, you can teach people, from

experience, what they should not do, and explain if they don't follow

that advice, things won't work out right. If you did do what you

should, you can teach people that you did and how it worked out well.

Nine times nine is eighty-one; eight and one are nine. This is the

beginning of the final cycle toward the fulfillment of the Sanatana

Dharma--toward mukti.

 

 

 

 

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Sutra 234 of the Nandinatha Sutras

 

Maintaining A Hindu Solidarity

 

Siva's devotees know that for eons our religion has come forward to

recreate a Hindu unity. Therefore, they are dedicated to building

whenever necessary, and keeping strong always, an invincible Hindu

solidarity. Aum.

 

 

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LESSON 234 from Merging with Siva

 

Exploring the World of Colors

 

Sometimes you may experience stressful moments during your daily

sadhana. They will soon pass, never to reappear, so do not be worried.

What is actually happening is that the white light coming out from

within you penetrates various pockets of the inner aura, and one by

one they are being lightened up. However, each time the inner light

penetrates one or another of these congested subsubconscious pockets

of color, the memories of what created them are stirred. This brings

up, to be reexperienced, the corresponding thoughts, feelings and

emotions. Because they are unbidden, the stress of this intrusion is

felt in the external nerve system. Be assured, it will pass. Breathe

deeply and, be assured, it will pass. Breathe deeply and

diaphragmatically and all will be well. This is a form of mild,

self-imposed psychic surgery, as the colors adjust to the rays of

white light from deep within your spine through the grace of Lord

Siva.

 

If your child is crying uncontrollably and you can't get to sleep,

what color would you bless him with? Would you get angry and yell,

"Why don't you go to sleep! I told you, you're disturbing your

father!" Flashes of red? The child would be terrified. No, you would

harmonize the child's emotions with shades of blue and pale green. An

important part of your sadhana is to familiarize yourself with the

mental-emotional counterpart of each of the colors. You can

familiarize yourself with the individual physical, mental and

spiritual effect of each color simply by looking at one color after

another and experiencing the results. Each color and the emotions it

reflects are like two sides of the same coin. Learn them so well that

the thought of one immediately brings the idea of the other. This

knowledge is the foundation of your color sadhana. Enter into this

wonderful world of color with interest and earnestness.

 

You can perform color sadhana in a number of ways. For example, study

the way various colors in your immediate environment make you feel.

How do you feel when you enter a room that is painted blue? White?

Yellow? Another way to study color is to visualize each of the colors

within your conscious mind. Place before you a piece of paper of the

color you wish to visualize. Look at the paper and then close your

eyes and try to see the exact same color in your mind. Then open your

eyes and look at the paper again and with eyes still open turn your

head away from the paper and try to see the color in your conscious

mind. Literally fill your mind with the color of the paper. After you

have accomplished this exercise with one color, repeat it with

another, then another and then another. By using your great soul

faculty of observation and through the grace of Lord Ganesha, you will

perceive many proofs of the significance of color. You will soon amass

a stock of experiences within your subconscious mind of each color and

its corresponding mental-emotional state.