~Great Shiva Lingam teaching story~ - Muktimaa

[Guest guest]

the living examples of "good and pure" are so few. if only we were

able to teach ourselves to see God in the "bad and polluted" we'd be

able to "see" God much sooner, huh. i guess learning from the

negative(the anti-guru?), would mean learning from ones who teach us

what NOT to do through their example. negative examples abound.

 

, "muktimaa" <muktimaa@a...> wrote:

> , "ecjensen_us"

<ecjensen_us>

> wrote:

> > OM NAMAH SIVAYA

> "i guess it is all God."

>

> Beloved brother,

> It IS ALL GOD...Sat Chit Ananda...Truth Consciousness Bliss! No

where

> God is not. It is much easier to see God in the "good and pure";

not

> so easy to see God in the "Bad and Polluted"...that is a part of

our

> biggest challenge...To see God shining through all that is...

> Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! Jai Thakur!

> Your sister always,

> muktimaa

>

>

>

>

>

> >

> > this is a great story, Maa! the feet thing reminds of this past

> > weekend when Swamiji came to do puja. my wife(i hate that term,

it

> > implies posession to me) make that my lover and i each had a

bowl

> of

> > rice to offer to the lingam. Swamiji asked me to get something

> > behind me and when i turned around i accidentally knocked over

the

> > rice. i started to clean up the rice and was going to put it

off

> to

> > the side when Swamiji said, "NO use it. it is OK. remember

> > everything is God. you are Divine from head to toe. this

includes

> > your feet." He went on to say, "people sometimes consider

things

> > that touch the feet impure, but this is not right. in our

> tradition

> > people touch the Swami's feet when they meet him they don't

shake

> > hands. this is because the feet are Divine. they are what we

> stand

> > on, they carry us around, they take us everwhere we go.

therefore

> > they are Divine. if anything, the hands are what are impure.

the

> > hands make demands. how many people have been killed by the

feet?

> > but the hands have killed people in numbers too big to count."

> >

> > i guess it is all God.

> >

> > JAI MA

> >

> >

> > , "muktimaa" <muktimaa@a...>

> wrote:

> > > Aum Namah Shivaya, dear devotees!

> > > i just found one of my all time favorite teaching stories, and

i

> > wish

> > > to share it with all of you. Here it is:

> > >

> > > "Thiruppandar was a great devotee of lord Shiva. Once he

happened

> > to

> > > visit a famous pilgrim center dedicated to his favorite Lord.

> > After

> > > the darshan of Siva, he felt that he was too exhausted and

weak

> to

> > > walk further, and therefore rested for the night in the temple

> > itself.

> > >

> > > Early in the morning, the priest entered the temple with a

potful

> > of

> > > water to perform abhishek to the Lingam. To his utter

> > consternation,

> > > he found an aged man sleeping right in front of the shrine

with

> > legs

> > > stretched towards the sanctum sanctorum. He got wild at the

sight

> > > and, in indignation, he sprinkled some water on the face of

the

> > old

> > > man. But, there was no sign of any movement. So, he bent down

and

> > > tried to lift the old man's legs. Immediately the old man

opened

> > his

> > > eyes and said in an appealing tone, "My dear Son! Why are you

> > pulling

> > > my legs?" The priest shouted "Oh! For your age, is it not

> shameful

> > on

> > > your part to indulge in such a sacrilegious act of stretching

> your

> > > legs towards God?" The old man said calmly, "My dear son, I

feel

> a

> > > cramp in my legs and cannot get up. Will you place my two feet

in

> > a

> > > direction you like, where God is not? I shall certainly get up

> > after

> > > a while." The priest did not want to waste time in arguing

with

> > the

> > > man. So, he held the two feet of the man, lifted them up and

> > placed

> > > them in the opposite direction. Suddenly, there sprang out a

> > lingam

> > > from underneath the feet! The priest tried to place the old

man's

> > > feet in another position, but there again sprang up another

> > lingam!

> > > In a minute, the place was full of lingams! The priest fell at

> the

> > > feet of the old man and said "Oh revered one! You must be a

> > realised

> > > soul. Pardon me for my insulting words and actions." The old

man

> > got

> > > up and said "My dear son, have you not read in the scriptures

> that

> > > God is omnipresent? Can you limit God to a place and to an

image

> > or a

> > > picture or in a frame? Of course we have temples with idols

and

> > > pictures of worship; but they only help devotees to direct

their

> > > faith and devotion to God as embodiments of the various Divine

> > > shaktis in this vast boundless universe. The Supreme Creator,

the

> > > Almighty God is only one, and remember, He is Omnipresent."

> > >

> > > Your sister dissolving in Maa's Love,

> > > muktimaa