Guest guest Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 OM AMRITESWARAI NAMAH IMMORTAL LIGHT - Homelife Hang spiritual pictures of your chosen deity Children, we should always strive to cultivate the visiion of unity, not of diversity. There is no need to place anything other than the pictures of the beloved deities of the family members and of the guru in the meditation room. The room and the pictures should be cleaned daily. Some people will have some special pictures of gods and goddesses to be hung on festival days like Krishna's birthday, Shivaratri, etc. There is nothing wrong in doing so. Milk, by any name, is the same nourishing substance. Likewise, the Lord, even though He is known by many names, is only One. It is good to hang a picture of our guru or beloved deity in a visible place in every room. Dusting and cleaning them daily will help enhance sraddha (awareness and attention) and devotion. :: >From the book of Immortal Light - Advice to Householders (english translation of the original Malayalam "Amrita Jyoti") Amma Sharanam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 14, 2004 Report Share Posted February 14, 2004 - chembalacnair Ammachi Saturday, February 14, 2004 12:11 AM IMMORTAL LIGHT - HOMELIFE Namaste, Thank you so much for this posting; my mind has just turned to spring's approach in the past few days and this was exactly what I needed. As you know, I live in rural WV (yes, I know: sounds funny but some parts ARE more rural than others!). When I moved out here five years ago, my husband had really let the "yard" (2 1/2 acres that we've almost won from the woods!) after his first wife died. I have worked unbelievably hard to reclaim it and to establish flower beds, but had wondered whether I felt like continuing such a monumental task this year. Remember, I'm talking about two and a half acres - I have an arbor with 14 heavily blooming, climbing rose roots on it and the overall effect is a dot of pink from the far side of the yard! My first effort, what I call my "blind garden" is full of the most heavily scented flowers I could grow here- like many Native Americans, I'm diabetic and figured if I went blind from the disease, I could still enjoy the flowers I love so much. Unfortunately, as I've tried to establish other flowering areas, my blind garden has become a tangle of sycamore starts, weeds, and berry brambles. Other areas are going the same way because I simply can't keep up with the work involved to maintain them all. Your post made me consider my flowers from an entirely new perspective and will probably encourage me to continue on what I had assumed to ultimately be a lost cause. Love, Snehalata OM AMRITESWARAI NAMAH IMMORTAL LIGHT - Homelife The value of sacred plants Children, in former times in India, every house had a sacred Tulasi (basil) plant and a spot to grow it. Also, it was a common practice to grow plants that produced fragrant flowers for daily worship. Today, their place is taken by decorative plants and cactus. These reflect the change in the inner disposition of people. A basis plant or crataeva tree are considered holy and believed to bring prosperity to the house where they are nurtured and revered. They should be watered daily and whenever we go out or come into the house we must offer our salutations to these plants. The ancients used to touch Mother Earth in reverence before planting their feet on the ground when they got up from the bed in the morning. They used to blow to the rising sun as the embodiment of divinity and give of life. They lived in harmony with Nature. They saw God's essence in everything. They had joy, peace and health born of this attitude. Plants such as tulasi and many fragrant flowers used for worship have medicinal qualities as well. Growing them near the house is good for purifying the atmosphere. Those who have enough land aroud the house may grow a little flower garden. We should always chant our mantra while gardenig. At the same time, the awareness that the flowers are for worship will help to retain the remembrance of God within us. Each household should use a portion of its land for growing trees and plants. This will purify the environment. It wil maintain Nature's harmoney. In the old days, each house had a grove and a pond attached to it. Not only the householders, but the whole society enjoyed their benefits. :: From the book of Immortal Light - Advice to Householders (english translation of the original Malayalam "Amrita Jyoti") Amma Sharanam Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha! Links Ammachi/ b.. Ammachi c.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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