Just because the Sun is called different things in different cultures/languages does not make the Sun any different or any more personal to anyone.
And so it is with the concept of God – whether you believe or not or by what name you refer to God, doesn’t really matter.
The only thing that matters is whether such a belief/name inspires you to be a better version of yourself in thoughts, words and deeds…
We may think we are different from others since we follow different religions/faith, believe in different things but the irrefutable fact is that we are humans first and humans last and humanity, love & compassion should be the foundation of our existence.
Be inclusive, celebrate all festivals拾❤️
Celebration is usually at the culmination of an achievement by an individual/team. Tougher the achievement, more joyous is your feeling and more the reason to celebrate. When there is no achievement, what are you celebrating? Festivals, Marriages, Birthdays, Milestones, etc. Multiple reasons to celebrate but unfortunately the mantra of louder the better is the generally accepted norm these days – a DJ with gigantic speakers(Noise pollution)or worse still there are Karaoke parties where everyone has to endure the torture, Alcohol flowing accompanied with rich oily food that only harms your health(Body pollution), fireworks (Air Pollution), dancing on the roads and blocking traffic(time pollution)etc. Why is creating pollution the way to celebrate?
Could we redefine celebration to be acts of health, charity, sharing our blessings with the less fortunate ones, improving the quality of the overall environment by planting more trees, etc? Just imagine what a world it would be if we are able to make this small change in the way we celebrate. We would be gifting ourselves and the generations to come a healthier, kinder, unpolluted world and above all an Art of Celebrating.
Einstein had said that “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones”. The way things are going, this may not be a distant future…
Whilst science & technology has evolved to Space Travel, AI, etc unfortunately the minds of people have remained unevolved – greed, lust, anger etc are still being justified & glorified. Peace of mind is not even a criteria for being considered a successful person. Consequently, we have a world that has Wars, Pollution, Corruption, Global Warming & a host of other problems that are almost impossible to solve…
As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita “For one who has controlled one’s mind, their mind is their best friend. But for one who has not done so, their mind will be their greatest enemy.” Unfortunately most people and their elected or self appointed leaders are in the latter category and so the circus continues…
It is a co-dependent reality that we are born to, there’s a woman in every man and a man in every woman.
We’ll keep trying to figure out what God had in mind whilst creating this co-dependent Wo/men, each seems incomplete without the other and both think “can’t live with you, can’t live without you”😉
Celebrate both the feminine and masculine in you.
Happy Wo/mens Day❤️
History is full of who conquered whom and how. So wars have always been a part of Human History(Can’t say Civilization since we are yet to achieve that status). If Saints and God Himself wanted this different, then it would already have been a peaceful world but the fact remains it isn’t and it will never be. Why? They want each one of us transformed and that can happen only when each one goes through the trial of fire.
So the game is not external but internal – people like Viktor Frankl, Anne Frank have shown it’s possible to experience love in the midst of terrible tragedy. So you have to change the rules of the game for yourself and move against the current of the society which is so beautifully captured by this doha of Sant Kabir “Khada Kabir Bazar Mein, Mange Sabki Khair, Na Kahu se dosti, Na kahu se Bair”
Perhaps it’s fear that makes the world go round, imagine what it would be if it were faith… Faith is when you act on your belief despite your fears.
Fear and faith are two sides of the same coin, it is when you turn from the material to the spiritual that the former doesn’t hold any influence over you.
Traditionally, humans were spiritual beings who, for prudence’s sake, took care of their material needs; nowadays more and more of us are material beings who, for the sake of prudence, attend to our spiritual needs.
The switch, my friend, from material to spiritual is in your hands, choose wisely….
Many people, goals, desires come into our lives and go away,
what was/is the purpose of life that binds you?
It is possibly to know that you were/are always free…
But who knows?
Where do you go after you die?
The same place before you were born?
But who knows?
You have to make peace with inevitability,
What has been born will surely die,
The elements will fold into their own and that which was born will return home…
But who knows?
What will happen, no one can tell,
But the body will die, that everyone knows and yet we live in the hope that today is not the last…
But who knows?
Will there be someone with me when I pass?
Holding my hand and saying it’s OK,
For those who love you are on both sides….
But who knows?
It is from the Source/Unmanifest (Shiva) that Creation/Manifest(Shakti) arises and unto it folds, hence Shiva is called Mahadev (Super God). That is also the reason why Shivaling is depicted in the shape of an elliptical/cylindrical shape (form) emerging from the Unmanifest (substance).
All creation has this Unmanifest Mahadev at its core. Hence the saying “Har Har Mahadev”(Everything is Mahadev) to remind us that all forms are Shiva and Shakti of which the Shakti keeps changing and is impermanent and Shiva is unchanging, eternal.
We experience Shakti every moment but it is to experience Shiva that we practice Dhyana till we experience the permanence in the impermanent which is Advaita(there is no second) and is also Mrityunjaya(Transcending Duality, since duality is only an illusion/Maya)
Om Namah Shivaya 🙏
Happy Mahashivratri ❤️
❤️
We breathe the same air,
We drink the same water,
We eat to survive,
We sleep to rest…
We are more similar than you know,
Living harmoniously together is not an option but a necessity…
Love is the way…
Happy Valentine’s Day❤️
Bodhisattva 