The Crescent moon yearns for fullness On the third day of the New Moon (as it appeared from the Earth), the Moon looked very sad. He again started to pray to the Sun requesting him to appear. Just as he was beginning to lose hope, the radiant Sun said, “Hello, My dear…I have been thinking about you, Is everything ok? Your form of the crescent looks beautiful… How come you look sad?” The Moon said – “You are so lucky. You are full and complete and round all the time. I am not…Starting to sniff, he continued,” “at times, I am a crescent, sometimes a bigger crescent, sometimes a half circle and ..read more

|ओं नमः शिवाय| Mahashivaratri was celebrated this year on 21st Feb (2020). For the three weeks leading upto Mahashivaratri, Swamini Brahmaprajnananda ji had asked the students of the Tattvabodha course to participate in a Japa Sadhana. The sadhana was to chant “Om Namah Shivaya” around 500 times each day by going over 5 malas. Shiva, in the form of Dakshinamurti as the teacher of self knowledge blesses those who seek.  Swaminiji suggested that we could ask for clarity and the ability to “do-what-it-takes” towards each one’s moksha pursuit. Prior to starting the sadhana, the students wer ..read more

Altar (Pic for illustration purpose) The sounds of the bells and the chants have sanctified the early morning air. The puja in the Dakshinamurti temple is complete. We climb down the steps, some slow and some in a hurry and head  towards Pujya Swamiji’s kutiya. The plants are glistening with freshness as they have just been watered. We dodge the beautiful and elaborate kollam drawn near the entrance and enter the room. There is a hush.  An altar including the choicest fruits and delectable food are decorated in front of a full length  mirror, which is to our right. The Acharya i ..read more

Dear All, As the orange hues of the sun danced in reflection on the Ganga, they sat huddled in the cold. There was something always reassuring and calming about watching Ganga. She seemed to encourage them to reflect and change as she flowed by their side in their life journeys. ‘What a year it has been.’ ‘It was too intense’, ‘Glad it is getting over’ ‘Learnt a lot’. They thoughtfully whispered as flashes of the year went by for each of them – different and yet together in their common experience. After a while, they asked her ‘Swaminiji, how was the year for you? and she replied, ‘It continu ..read more

Holi is a celebration of good over evil, It is a celebration of love over hatred. It is a celebration of clear thinking over confusion. The celebration of good over evil is based on the incident found in Bhagavatam Purana, King Hiranyakashipu was the king of Asura-s, who were given to adharma. Through his tapasya, he had earned a boon that gave him five special powers: he could be killed by neither a human being nor an animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at day nor at night, neither by astra nor by any shastra, and neither on land nor in water or air. Hiranyakashipu g ..read more