See it! Young moon and Jupiter

Pl click the above link and read this story as appeared in http://www.earthsky.org

Natarajan

Source:  http://media.radiosai.org/

Amongst all forms of spiritual practices, devotion or Bhakti is the easiest and holiest. Bhakti is derived from the root ‘Bhaj’, with the suffix ‘ti.’ It denotes a feeling of friendship coupled with awe. For someone who is a product of the attributes or gunas, to understand what transcends the gunas, an attitude of humility and reverence is required. Bhakti calls for utilising the mind, speech and body to worship the Lord. It represents total love. Devotion and love are inseparable and interdependent. Sage Narada declared that worshipping the Lord with boundless love is Bhakti. Vyasa held that it is performing worship with love and adoration. Sage Garga declared that it is serving the Lord with purity of mind, speech and body. Yajnavalkya held that true Bhakticonsists in controlling the mind, turning it inwards and enjoying the bliss of communion with the Divine. Although many sages have expressed different views about the nature of Bhakti, the basic characteristic of devotion is Love. Bhakti is the path to salvation.

Pl click the link below and read the story as published in http://www.earthsky.org

Natarajan

 

Triple lightning hits the sea

Source….www.earthsky.org

Source:http://media.radiosai.org

Thinking evil, speaking evil and seeing evil invariably leads to total ruin. For example, in Mahabharata, Duryodhana always had evil thoughts about the Pandavas and ultimately he brought destruction upon his entire family. The Ramayana had the story of Kaikeyi, who listened to the evil counsel of Manthara, and so lost not only her husband but the regard and love of her son Bharata. Learn to live in harmony and unity. Every organ in the body functions in cooperation with every other part. If your foot steps on a thorn, your eye feels the pain and sheds tears. If your eye notices a thorn or stone on the road, it warns the foot to avoid it. You must also develop the same sense of unity and share your joys and troubles as one family. There is nothing you cannot achieve with unity as your strength. With purity and unity, your genuine devotion to God will also grow. Make purity, unity, divinity your watchwords; they alone will ensure material and spiritual well-being.

Source: http://media.radiosai.org

Today it appears that unity has altogether disappeared everywhere and enmity is on the rise. Do not develop opposition or differences amongst you, wherever you are. It is not healthy. Even if somebody makes you angry, do not fight with them. Understand that by fighting with others, you actually harm yourself. Remember, jealousy gives rise to hatred and is harmful to your well-being. Hence achieve unity and practice to live with unity in all matters. Control your thoughts. This is the quality of a truly educated person. This is the true spirit of ‘Educare’. All are human beings. All are children of God. Therefore, live with unity without giving room to any differences. Everything will become good if you keep your heart pure constantly. The end of education is good character. With good character, you can achieve anything in life. Hence it is very essential for you to always safeguard your character. Such a person is a truly learned one!

 

In The Wash, a squarish estuary on the East coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire, there is a peculiar island, perfectly circular, with a dimple in the middle resembling a giant doughnut. This doughnut, known as the ‘Outer Trial Bank’, is one of two islands constructed during the 1970s to study the feasibility of converting the entire estuary into a fresh water reservoir.

The idea was to build a tidal barrage across half of the Wash to capture freshwater from rivers flowing into the estuary. The plan failed spectacularly because the banks were built using mud dredged from the salt marsh, which was saline anyway, and it salinated the stored fresh water. The plan was shelved but not after £3 million were spent in futile. Now these artificial islands have gained new importance as a breeding bird colony, with around three thousand pairs of sea birds using it as their nest.

Photo credit: Catlin W/Flickr 

Source….Kaushik in http://www.amusingplanet.com

Natarajan

Source: http://media.radiosai.org/

God has no particular form. Brahma, Vishnu, Maheswara are not different from each other. God manifests in the form His devotees contemplate upon. If a woman considers her husband as God, she can realise God in him. God is present in every human being (Daivam manusha rupena). All are embodiments of the Divine. So to answer the question, “Where is God?”, “God is everywhere.” The Soul (Atma) that is present in you in the form of consciousness is present everywhere and in everyone. Hence do not search for the omnipresent God! Close your eyes and contemplate on the form of God that you like the most. God will manifest before you in that very form. Never think that God is present at one particular place or that distant place only! He is omnipresent everywhere, at all times, and permeates every atom of the universe. Make it your objective in this life to experience that Sweet Lord within yourself!

Source: http://media.radiosai.org

People try to obtain peace by accumulating authority and wealth, which gives them power over others and the ability to command conveniences and comforts which will confer peace. But they quickly realise that both these paths are beset with fear, and the peace that one secures is liable to quick and violent extinction. How then can you achieve peace? Only through Love! Peace is the fruit of the tree of life; without it, the tree is a barren stump with zero value. The fruit is encased within a bitter skin, so that the sweet juice may be preserved and guarded; you must remove the skin to taste its sweetness and to strengthen yourself. The thick rind is symbolic of the six evil passions that encase everyone’s loving heart: lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and hate. Those who succeed in removing the rind and contact the sweetness within through hard and consistent discipline attain the peace that is everlasting and unchanging.

Source: http://media.radiosai.org

Why must you compete and quarrel with one another? Nothing in this world can last as such for long. Lord Buddha diagnosed this correctly and declared, “All is sorrow, all is transient, all are but temporary phenomenon of ephemeral characteristics.” Why should you be so animated by these finite objects and petty things? Strive to gain the eternal, the infinite, the universal. One day, you have to give up the body that you have so carefully fed and fostered. How long can you keep all that you have earned and possessed with pride? Trivial thoughts and desires award only sorrow; holy thoughts and desires reward you with divine peace. Therefore cultivate good and beneficial feelings and desires. Keep away from bad company and bad thoughts. Realise the holy purpose of life through pure thoughts and words, and selfless service to your fellow-beings.

Source:http://media.radiosai.org

The Nature around us and with us is the vesture of God, presenting ample evidences of His beauty, goodness, wisdom and power, wherever we look. But the art of recognising Him is strange to us and so we deny Him and live in darkness. We have all around us in the atmosphere the music emanating from various broadcasting stations, but they do not assail your ear at any time. You are not aware of any station. But if you have a receiver, and if you tune it to the correct wavelength, you can hear the broadcast from any particular station; if you fail to tune it correctly, you will get only nuisance instead of news! Similarly the Lord is everywhere – above, around, below and beside you. For recognising Him, you require not a yantra (machine) but a mantra (mystical potent formula). Dhyana (meditation) is tuning to the exact location of the station, love is the tuning fork. Tune in, realise the Divine and enjoy the bliss He confers!