Wonderful Paintings Of God For Us

The Day the Paint Box fell from Heaven".

(This is a real place outside Bakersfield,California)

We live in an awesome world. Make it an awesome day. Peace To All and May God Bless You Live simply. Love generously.Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.

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Saint Ramnuja The Great Visionary

Great visionary
By Sri.V.S.Karunakaran

Courtesy The Hindu

A person who is popular among the laity will not appeal to the intelligentsia, while an intellectual will be appreciated only by a few. This is a common phenomenon one can observe in the world but Ramanuja was an exception to this. He had a mass following and also a broad spectrum of disciples ranging from an exceptional logician to a dumb person. His compassion for suffering humanity made him consolidate the system of Visishtadvaita into an inclusive philosophy, which is apparent from a perusal of many incidents in his life.
it was evident that Ramanuja was a visionary even in his youth. One oft-quoted example of his ingenuity was the manner in which he interpreted a scriptural verse when his teacher Yadavaprakasa’s explanation hurt his sentiments. Ramanuja provided many meanings much to the astonishment of Yadavaprakasa, an acclaimed scholar who had a dictionary to his credit. This made the teacher jealous and Ramanuja had to part ways with him, but in his old age Yadavaprakasa acknowledged Ramanuja’s greatness and became his disciple.
Ramanuja’s prowess as a commentator has to be appreciated from the insight he brings to bear on every verse. In his commentary on the concluding verse of the Bhagavad Gita, “Wherever there is Sri Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, and wherever there is Arjuna, the wielder of the Gandiva bow, goodness, victory, glory and unfailing righteousness are there: such is my conviction,” he states that this is Sanjaya’s reply to Dhritarashtra’s question to him in the beginning: “Gathered on the sacred soil of Kurukshetra, eager to fight, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do?” Desika points out that the description of Arjuna as the wielder of the bow is elucidated in the commentary as his surrender to the Lord after listening to His teaching. So a total transformation took place in Arjuna. He who had thrown down his bow and arrow refusing to fight when confronted with the reality of fighting with his kith and kin when the two armies had assembled at Kurukshetra, in total obeisance to Krishna prepared to do his duty took up arms

Ramanuja's Place in the History of Indian Philosophy
Ramanuja stands in the Indian philosophical tradition as one of its most important figures. He is the first thinker in this tradition to provide a systematic theistic interpretation of the import of the Vedas. His uncompromising stand on the side of common sense and moral realism stands as a striking contrast to stereotyped accounts of Indian philosophical thought as otherworldly and amoral. And while his significance in the history of Indian philosophy may be under appreciated, his greater influence on the character and form of popular Hinduism may also be under-recognized, despite the fact that he is regarded as a saint in many parts of Southern India. According to Karl Potter, "…Ramanuja's tradition can be said to represent one of the main arteries through which philosophy reached down to the masses, and it may be that Vishishtadvaita is today the most powerful philosophy in India in terms of numbers of adherents, whether they know themselves by that label or not" (Potter p.253). Whether Potter is correct or not, Ramanuja is an Indian philosopher who defended the symbiosis of the spiritual, moral and practically earnest life.

The Tailors Needle

The Tailor's Needle
A tailor was at work. He took a piece of cloth and with a pair of shining, costly, scissors, he cut the cloth into various bits.Then he put the pair of scissors at his feet. Then he took a small needle and thread and started to sew the bits of cloth, into a fine shirt. When the spell of sewing was over, he stuck the needle on to his turban.The tailor's son who was watching it asked him: "Father, the scissors are costly and look so beautiful. But you throw them down at your feet. This needle is worth almost nothing; you can get a dozen for an anna. Yet, you place it carefully on your head itself. Is there any reason for this illogical behaviour?"
"Yes, my son. The scissors have their function, no doubt; but they only cut the cloth into bits. The needle, on the contrary, unites the bits and enhances the value of the cloth. Therefore, the needle to me is more precious and valuable. The value of a thing depends on its utility, son, not on its cost-price or appearance."Similarly, there are two classes of people in the world-those who create dissensions and disharmony, who separate man from man; and those who bring about peace and harmony, who unite people.The former are generally the rich people, powerful politicians and kings; the latter are generally the poor devotees of God, the penniless wandering monks, and mendicants. The Lord makes use of both to carry on his function of providing the field for the evolution of individual souls. He throws down on the dust the mighty kings and millionaires who create wars and disharmony; and He keeps the poor, pious devotee over His own head. In His eyes the scale of values is entirely different!

Vishnu The God Kind

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Vishnu

Vishnu, preserver of human life is one of the three gods of the Trimurti. He is a generous God and known as being ‘Sattvaguna’ (kind and merciful). Vishnu is the only God of the Trimurti who is reborn whenever there is a crisis on earth.
If ‘Dharma’ (righteousness) is disturbed, Vishnu descends to earth as an avatar (a human form) to fight the forces of evil.
The Puranas list the Dasavatars’, ten avatars, Vishnu took on to sustain the cosmos. Seen in order, they represent the evolution of mankind from the fish stage to ‘Purusha’ (man).
These avatars were Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar ), Nara-simha (man-lion), Vamana (dwarf), Parashurama (a powerful warrior), Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki (white horse).
A romantic aspect of the myths, is that whenever Vishnu descends to earth he marries Lakshmi (his Goddess wife). They are destined to marry on earth as in heaven. When Vishnu is Rama, Lakshmi is born as Sita. As Krishna he marries her as Rukmini.
Matsya (Fish)
The story of the fish avatar, is Hindu, but the likeness to Noah is uncanny. A great flood threatened to submerge Manu (a patriarch who once ruled the earth). Manu asked a for a bowl of water which he needed for his religious rites. In the bowl was a fish who told Manu that if he looked after him, Manu would be saved from the flood. Manu agreed and took the fish to the ocean.
In the ocean the Matsya grew to whale-like proportions. Taught by Matysa how to build a ship Manu could sail during the flood.
While the deluge ripped the land apart and treacherous waves rose from the ocean, Manu was safe. Matsya was his tether who towed the ark to safety. When they reached the shores they found a dead and barren land ravaged by the storm .
Manu found the cargo contained the seeds for every form of life, from which he could sow the world. Vishnu as Matysa supported Brahma who renewed the world together.
After the deluge, many cosmic treasures sank deep into the ocean. The Asuras (demons) were in race against the Devas (minor gods) to churn the oceans for amrit (the nectar of immortality).
Vishnu appeared as Kurma (the tortoise) who sided with the Devas. Together, they decided they would create a churn for obtaining the amrit.
The serpent Vasuki was threaded around Mount Mandara to create a churn. Kurma dived to the floor of the ocean and balanced Mount Mandara on his back. In the grip of Kurma’s cosmic force, Mount Mandara could not sink into the ocean bed.
The Gods churned, and the nectar of immortality came to their hands. As they continued to churn, fourteen treasures appeared. For Kurma the most precious was Lakshmi, the Goddess of beauty and good fortune who would be his wife.
When the demon, Hiranyaksha dragged Bhoomi Devi (Mother Earth) underwater, Vishnu took the form of Varaha (a wild boar). After a fierce battle he overpowered the demon and lifted Bhoomi Devi from the waters. He pushed with his snout and the land puckered forming the Himalayan Mountains. He dragged more land from the sea and shaped the Indian subcontinent.
During the satayuga (first epoch) a tyrannical Daitya (demon) tormented the world. No god could overcome him and with each battle he won, the Daityas pride grew. Crazed by his invincibility he shot an arrow at a pillar to defy Vishnu. Vishnu burst out as Narasimha (man-lion) and tore Daitya to shreds.
Later Bali, the King of the Daityas had become ruler of the world. He had wisely worshipped Vishnu who had granted him a special boon. Protected by this boon Bali became a cause for celestial concern. When all the other Gods were overcome they pleaded to Vishnu for help.
Vishnu took the form of Vamana (a dwarf), and was born as the stunted child of Kasyapa and Aditi. He went as Vamana to a yagna (sacrifice) being performed by Bali.
Bali was offering sweets to all those present at the yagna.. Vamana held out his hands and said he was a poor peasant. He asked for as much land as he (Vamana) could cover in three steps. Bali took a look at the dwarf peasant and granted him this boon.
Vamana expanded to a cosmic size. His first step covered the earth, the second reached heaven. Vamana’s third step would have reached the lower world but Bali bowed before Vamana realising he had to be Vishnu. Pleased by Bali’s humility, Vishnu spared him and gave Bali a kingdom of his own in the netherworld.
In the Treta epoch, (the age of the sacred fires) the warrior class were becoming dominant. Their weaponry made them aggressive. They were subjugating ordinary people. The Gods wanted power to revert to the priests. Vishnu appeared as Parashurama, and took away the powers of the warriors returned it to the scholars.
As Rama, Vishnu came on earth to slay the demon Ravana. A legendary man, his compassionate nature and his belief in duty elevated him as ‘Maryada Purusha’, ideal man.
In his eighth Avatar, Vishnu was Krishna the greatest teacher whose words form a priceless Hindu scripture, ‘The Bhagwad Gita’ or the guide to life.
As the Buddha, Vishnu is a great religious teacher of India. He revealed the secrets of moksha and the path to Nirvana.
Vishnu’s final avatar will be as Kalki (white horse). At the end of the present age (Kal-Yuga) he will come back riding a white horse. Predictions say Kalki will brandishing a flaming sword and destroy last demons on earth.
In his cosmic form Vishnu is seen reclining on a many headed serpent called Ananta and the oceans lie subdued under him. He holds a chakra (discus) in a hand with which he maintains order in the universe. The shankha or conch was retrieved by him during the churning of the oceans, and its deep humming sound is an evocation of the sea. He holds a lotus for peace and a gada (mace) a controlling weapon. Garuda the eagle is his celestial vehicle.
As god and in each of his avatars Vishnu plays the role of the preserver making the earth a safe heaven for his believers.

Sri Valmiki Ramayana

Sri Rama & Seetha Devi
The prefix Sri to Rama indicates that Rama is always accompanied by Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is an epic poem of India which narrates the journey of Virtue to annihilate vice. Sri Rama is the Hero and aayana His journey. We in India believe that Sri Rama lived in Treta Yug, millennia BC and we are presently concerned with what Srimad Valmiki Ramayana tells us, rather than when it was told.
This epic poem Ramayana is a smriti which is translated as "from memory". Given the antiquity of Srimad Valmiki Ramayana, there have been some interjected verses. Sometimes these verses can be contradicting. However, scholars, grammarians, historians have put lot of effort to standardize the original text, by verifying various manuscripts available from various parts of India, thus trying to stabilize and save the text from further contradictions. An example of this effort is the critical edition of Srimad Valmiki Ramayana. This site aims to study various versions of Srimad Valmiki Ramayana and arrive at a version of Ramayana that is most relevant to modern times.
Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is composed of verses called Sloka, in Sanskrit language, which is an ancient language from India and a complex meter called Anustup. These verses are grouped into individual chapters called Sargas, wherein a specific event or intent is told. These chapters or sargas are grouped into books called Kaandas where Kaanda means the inter-node stem of sugar cane, or also a particular phase of the story or an event in the course of story telling.
Thus the structure of Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is arranged into six Kaandas or Books, and they are:
Bala Kanda ( Book of Youth) [77 chapters]
Ayodhya Kanda (Book of Ayodhya) [119 chapters]
Aranya Kanda (Book of Forest ) [75 chapters]
Kishkindha Kanda (The Empire of Holy Monkeys) [67 chapters]
Sundara Kanda ( Book of Beauty ) [68 chapters]
Yuddha Kanda ( Book of War ) [131 chapters
आपदाम अपहरातारम दाताराम सर्वसम्पदाम !
श्रीरामं भूयो भूयो नामाम्यहाम !!
aapadaam apahartaaram daataaram sarvasaMpadaam।h .lokaabhiraamam shriiraamam bhuuyo bhuuyo namaamyaham.h ॥
" I bow again and again to Sree Rama who removes (all) obstacles and grants all wealth and pleases all. "
This is a salutation offered at the start of reading any scripture as per tradition. This prayer is for removing all obstacles encountered, to Sri,Ram and His consort Seetha in the form of goddess Sri Maha Lakshmi.

Gurunank Sahib
The great genius of Guru Nanak was that he :
· Simplified the process of devotion (by chanting) to the utmost and named it ‘Naam Simarana’. He had realized that understanding of Vedas esp. the ‘Advaitic philosophy’ of Upanishads for a man of the world was difficult, as availability of teachers had become difficult. This achievement of simplification is even more remarkable for he did not lose the philosophical essence of complex hymns of the Upanishads.
· Established the practice of group chanting daily in a regular and disciplined manner. Thus he developed social harmony and love.
· To avoid rituals, he started a separate temple, appropriately known as ‘Gurudwara’, – door of Guru - for congregational chanting.
· He used the language of common man like some other Sants. He also used Sanskrit for a few Shlokas (couplets).
· He started teaching congregations his message through devotional songs (not just poems but musical compositions), obviously one of the most attractive and effective methods. This was done for the first time probably after the compositions of ‘Saama Veda’ and some Upanishads.
· Although previous Sants had written devotional poems, they had not got them composed musically.
· In Gurudwaras he started the custom of distributing sanctified Karaaha Parsaada, a sweet food (halwa) which is prepared in a Karaaha – an iron cauldron, hence the adjective. In a congregation, while distributing parsaada, no differential treatment was given to any person based on his caste, gender, status or class. This was a very simple and yet extremely effective method of ensuring equality of all before the Supreme One and also in the society.
· Those who accepted his teachings were known as ‘Sikhs’21 literally meaning disciples. In the period of early Gurus, Sikhs basically remained Hindus. After considerable time the word ‘Sikh’ evolved into the meaning that we are familiar with today, and ‘Sikhism’ was established as a religion.
Dualism and non-dualism
The goal of both Sikhism22 and Hinduism is to achieve happiness here and now and also to attain ‘Moksha’ hereafter i.e. liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Looking at the complexity, and difficulty of the other three Paths or Yogas,
Guru Nanak chose the simplest ‘Path of Devotion’. In this Path there are three ways:
1. Dualist Path of devotionThere is the God and separately there is His creation. He gives His grace and is merciful, but no person’s soul can ever unite with the God. Some dualists believe that He has a form (saakaar or saguna i.e. Brahman with form).
2. Non-dualist Path of devotionThere is the Supreme One who is formless (Niraakaar or Nirguna23), and there is His creation, but in essence both are the same. Any person’s soul can unite with Him, indeed the soul is the same in every one, and the Atman and Brahman are the same.
3. Dualist–Non-dualist PathThe Supreme One is indeed formless, but He also takes forms when needed to restore justice. This path believes in ‘awataarawaada’ (the other two paths do not believe in this).
Out of these, Guru Nanak chose the Non-dualist (Advaitic or Nirguna) Path, which had been already used by Santa Naamadeva and Santa Kabir etc. who had been preaching the non-dualistic (Advaitic, Nirguna) Path for the past 200 years. And what I find extremely praiseworthy is that Guru Nanak deliberately uses the names of Hindu gods with forms (Saguna) in far too many places for it to be either a chance or to meet necessities of rhythm for the song, or merely to please any group. Names of Gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh (or Shiva), Rama, Gobinda, Krishna, Paarwatee, Har, Hari etc., who all have ‘forms’, have been used liberally. There is an apparent contradiction in believing in the Supreme One who is both ‘formless’ (Nirguna) and with form (Saguna). This does not throw any doubt on his firm faith in and experience of the non-dual (‘Nirguna’) Supreme One, but indicates that he is preaching that ultimately the Truth or Parabrahma (Supreme One) is both, formless and with form. Thus rather than merely condemn dualists and create a confrontation, he lovingly reconciles24 the difference. He says that Rama, Krishna, Shiva etc are the same as Parabrahma. Indeed Hindu scriptures keep reminding everyone about the same truth.25
Sikhism is not a Revelatory Religion
Sikhism is a realizational religion and not a revelatory religion. In some religions the spiritual Truth is revealed to some chosen person or persons by God. In a realizational religion, the Supreme One is not revealed by some one to some one else, but, the Supreme One is realized74 by the seeker himself; his own Self is the Supreme One.
The Moolamantra
Guru Granth Sahib opens with the Moolamantra (root-mantra; Seed-mantra) which is
“Ik’onkaara Sati-Naamu Karataa Purakhu Nirbhau Nirwairu Akaala - Moorati Ajuni Saibham Guraparasaadi .75”
Its meaning is as follows:
· Ik’onkaara76: He is the One Reality (described above) and there is nothing else. ‘Onkaara’ is the aural form of ‘Om’, the symbol, par excellence, of that One Reality. Amongst Hindus most of mantras or sacred songs or actions begin with the word ‘Om’77 or ‘Onkaara’. ‘Onkaara’ itself is a powerful mantra for chanting His name.
· Sati – Naam: Sat means Pure Existence78, that never changes and therefore Sat also means ‘True’. Naam (also Sabada79) means ‘Name’. Sati-Naam therefore means His name is Truth80 or ‘Pure Existence81’.
· Karataa Purakhu82: He is the Creator and the Doer of all that happens in the sense that every thing happens as per the divine laws83 as promulgated by Him.
· Ajuni84: Not born, without a cause, He has always been there and will remain so. He is the cause of all causes.85
· Nirbhau86 Nirwaira: He is fearless and has no enemy not only because He is all powerful but also because there is no one else, so no one else to fear or to create enmity with.
· Akaala - Moorati: He is formless. His form is beyond time. He is not bounded by space or time87. He created space and time.
· Saibham: He is His own creator. He has no beginning.
· Guraparasaadi: He is realizable through the grace of Guru88.
The Moolmantra means: “The Reality is One Onkaara, whose name is ever True; He is the Creator, Fearless, without enmity, whose form is beyond time, who is without birth, Self created and can be known through the grace of the enlightened Preceptor (Guru).

Spirituality Defined

Spirituality
What is Spirituality? Something concerning with the intellect or what is often thought of as the better or higher part of mind. Or is it the moral aspect of life?Perhaps it may even mean a state of being incorporeal. Whatever way one may define, it may be termed as an ideal that reckons all reality in essence as spiritual. Or simply stated spirituality is one's character or quality that makes one transcend the barriers of worldliness, caste, creed and sensuality; and realize one's connection with the Truth.