The Divine Mother-Father, Gaytri, Spiritual and Virtual Reality

[Guest guest]

Light and Love Below is an attempt to contemplate about God - Divine

Mother as a Central Power of Creation, about God - Divine Father as an Absolute

with many aspects, Gayatri Mantra, Swami's conclusions concern to the mentioned

qualities and general spiritual science as a higher knowledge, the latest

scientific discoveries and personal insights, conclusions. As we all, so I

am too a seeker of my own Self. Some approaches from different aspects of human

spiritual culture from Vedas to modern science are easily understandable when

they have entwined with Swami's Teaching as today's source of general spiritual

enlightenment. (This story telling is not a reproduction of indicated

below sites. However, the materials from them have used as references. Maybe my

thoughts and conclusions need in some correction, as I’m not a professional of

Vedas. I am thankful for them to all such kind notes). Lord Krishna

declares: "I am the Father- of this Universe. I am the Mother of this

universe, and the Creator- of all. I am the Highest to be known, the Purifier,

the holy OM, and the three Vedas" (Bhagawad Gita 9.17). Through the ages,

the doctrine of the Motherhood of God has established a root in Hinduism. The

Divine Mother is expressed as Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ambika, Uma.

To worship God as the Divine Mother, is easier to attribute motherly traits to

the Lord, such as tenderness and forgivingness. The natural love between a

mother and her child is the best expression of the Lord’s unconditional love

for divine creatures includes human beings. By Vedas the Universe is the

manifestation of the creative power (Shakti) of Brahman (Atman) whose essence is

absolute existence, consciousness, and bliss (in Sanskrit, Sat-Chit-Ananda).

Since all created forms proceed from the womb of the mother, the creative power

Shakti) of God is as the female principle or the motherly aspect of nature - all

are children of the Divine Mother. The motherly aspect of God in nature is

full of beauty, gentleness, kindness, and tenderness, compassion, forgiveness.

When a devotee worships God as Divine Mother, he/she appeals to Her tenderness

and unconditional love. The Divine Mother is the first manifestation of Divine

Energy. With her name comes the idea of energy, omnipotence, omnipresence,

love, intelligence, wisdom. The position of women in the Hindu religion

is dignified because each woman is considered a manifestation of the Divine

Mother. Through the worship of God in the form of Mother there is a unique

reverence to womanhood. Man and woman are as the two wings of the same bird.

Thus, a man is considered incomplete without a woman. By Vivekananda it is not

possible for a bird to fly on only one wing. By Hinduism exist several

Gods or deities, as different aspects of only one God, the Supreme. Brahma,

Vishnu and Siva are not three independent and separate deities, but three

different aspects of the same Supreme God, while engaged in the processes of

creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe, in that order. Other

deities too have considered as different aspects of the Supreme God,

manifesting themselves for specific purposes. The powers of these deities,

which are inseparable from them - just as the power of fire to burn, cannot be

separated from fire itself. This power is conceived in the form of their

consorts, Saraswati, Parvati (or Sakti), Lakshmi. They all are different modes

and aspects of Paramatman, the Supreme Self or God. Besides Vedas and

worship God as the Divine Mother ancient Bharat has gifted to mankind

Siddhartha Gautama Buddha (563 - 483 BC), the great spiritual teacher of

mankind. Buddha's spiritual and moral forces have strengthened and enriched

Hinduism and helped to wean it from perversions, which had set in at that time.

(By glossary Buddhism is non-orthodox form of Vedic\Aryan teaching founded by

the Buddha or enlightened one). Buddha himself has revered as a ninth

Avatar of Lord Vishnu. Through it, Buddha (buddhism) has connected with the

different modes and aspects of the Supreme God and His creative powers in

Hinduism. (It is a good example of unity the different religions). "There

is a Creator for this marvelous and beautiful cosmos, consisting of moving and

unmoving objects. He is Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent. He has been

worshipped as God by many names and in many forms by various people. Unity,

fellow-feeling and devotion are essential for every human being. Based on

teachings of the founders of different faiths, having regard to the

requirements of the time and circumstance of particular countries, and keeping

in view the specific needs of the people concerned, certain rules and

regulations were laid down. On this account, one faith should not be considered

superior and another inferior." (Bhagawan Sathya Sai Baba. SSS. Vol. 23. Chapter

36). The Goddess - Divine Mother and Gayatri (by glossary the Vedic chant

for awakening spiritual enlightenment, for attaining self-realization) is

closely interconnected. The last is one of the most important and known Vedic

hymns consisting of twenty-four syllables. At first, this hymn was addressed to

Lord Surya (Sun) as the supreme generative force. However, later Gayatri

had personified as a Goddess. Gayatri Devi (Gaayathree Dhevee) is the presiding

deity of the Gayatri Mantra. She is shown as having five heads and is usually

seated within a lotus. The four heads of Gayatri represent the four Vedas and

the fifth one represents Almighty God. In her ten hands, she holds all the

symbols of Lord Vishnu. By sacred texts Gayatri is Brahma, Gayatri is

Vishnu, Gayatri is Shiva, the Gayatri is Vedas. "Gaaythri is pervading

everywhere. It consists of three deities, Gaayathri, Saavithri and Sarasvathi.

Of these the first is the master of senses. The second is the teacher of truth

and the third is the master of speech. Hence it is Trinity of the senses, the

mind and speech. Gaayathri is hailed as Chandhasaam maathah (the Mother of all

Vedhas)." (Bhagawan Sathya Sai Baba. SSS, Vol. 28. Chapter 11. The spelling of

quotation is not changed).

 

Clear explanation the essence and significance of Gayatri mantra has given

by Swami in: Bhagawan Sathya Sai Baba. SSS. Vol.5. Chapter 7 "Recruits for my

Army." There He mentions that Gayatri Mantra is the first step towards the

ultimate realization of the Self and explains how practically to perform it.

Historic evidences show the greatness of the Gayatri Mantra. All the yogis

and the rishis in India have experienced Gayatri Mantra since the Vedic times.

They were endowed with super mental powers and were the true winners of

immortal glory on every front of life. Below is a compilation using some

excerpts from:

http://www.akhandjyoti.org/ArticlesJulAug03/GayatriMantra-II.html. When

Alexander the Great came to conquer India, he had a curiosity to meet the

spiritual masters of this land. On his way towards the northwest, he found a

Himalayan yogi lying on the ground, blocking the march of his army. Alexander

was unable to push this avadhuta (one who has shaken off himself from the

worldly attachments and obligations) off the path and asked him to demand

whatever he wanted. The avadhuta calmly asked whether Alexander could shift

sunrise (from the East) to the West? If not, the avadhuta continued, “Then

don’t disturb me; let me enjoy the sunlight from the East…” When the

divine force of the Gayatri Mantra fills the heart of a person it clears all

shadows of darkness and illuminates the inner self with divine light. It

transforms the personality completely. It is this transmutation, which

metamorphosed the royal dancer Amrapali into a devoted disciple of Lord Buddha.

When Amrapali went to Lord Buddha she prayed and asked whether an impure,

debauched and depraved person like her could also get shelter under his divine

grace and enlighten her life. The Buddha asked her too devotedly start the

sadhana of a specific mantra. Gautam Buddha inspired a luxury-intoxicated

beauty queen, a sex trader Amrapali. She transformed into a great disciple of

the Buddha. She spread the divine message of “Bhuddham Sharanam Gacchami,

Sangham Sharanam Gacchami, Dhammam Sharanam Gacchami” amongst millions of

people across the globe and was instrumental in uplifting their lives. The

divine force of the Gayatri Mantra transforms an ordinary mortal being into a

great, enlightened, angelic saint. Many live examples of the past and present

evince and illustrate this fact. Madhavacharya was a saint living in

Vrandavan. He performed the upasana of Gayatri for twelve years but lost

patience thereafter, as he did not get the desired divine benefits. He left the

sadhana of the Gayatri Mantra and began worshiping Bhairav on the advice of a

tantrika. In less than a year's time he succeeded in the sadhana of Bhairav.

The celestial body of Bhairav appeared but stood at his back and asked him to

demand what he wanted to be blessed with. Madhavacharya said; “If you are the

real Bhairav, please appear before my eyes”. Bhairav said : “I can't appear in

front of you, because the brilliance of Gayatri- Shakti infused in you will

burn me”. The devotee was surprised and inquired that if Gayatri sadhana was so

powerful, why couldn't he get the desired benefits for such a long time? Then

Bhairav explained to him how his Gayatri sadhana up till then had destroyed his

sins and burnt out the evils accumulated during his past lives and that it was

only after this purification that he would have deserved realization and

attainment of the divine boons of the mantra. Now there was no doubt left in

Madhava’s mind. He restarted the sadhana of the Gayatri Mantra and was soon

blessed with divine boons. With the awakening of inner intelligence and acumen,

he wrote the “Madhav Nidan”, which remains till date, a crucial treatise for the

education and expert practice of the Ayurvedic System of Medicine. Another

story from history is following. One day Emperior's Akbar prime minister

Mansingh when he was strolling in the forests by the banks of the holy Ganga,

he saw a saintly yogi engrossed in meditation. Suddenly he noticed a boa around

the yogi, which was trying to entrap the latter into its fold and gulp him.

Amazingly, the dragon-folds of the boa were not able to tighten around the

yogi, nor his poisonous breath able to have any effect. He stood stunned for a

few minutes. Meanwhile, the yogi opened his eyes and effortlessly threw off the

python by the power of his yoga. Mansingh could not believe his own eyes; he was

vividly and concretely witnessed the supernatural strength of spirituality.

Since the time, this cosmic mantra, the boon of Lord Brahma, was beatified in

the Vedic Age, there awakened the dawn of the divine culture on this earth.

Those who practiced its devotional japa, and adopted its inspirations in life

received immense peace, blissful contentment, moral dignity, selfless love and

amicable cooperation in every phase of life. There is nothing illusive or

unscientific about their effects; there should be no doubt whatever about this.

The spiritual evolution induced by the Gayatri Mantra progresses gradually and

steadily - but certainly, with the progress in sadhana. The sublime

force generated by its japa sadhana can vibrate in the subtle as well as the

external world. Its immediate benefit of purification and enlightenment of the

intellect is the key to spiritual refinement and evolution of personality.

Gayatri Mantra is as an integral part of life-style. The vibrations of this

universal mantra can spread this invisible Atmic light to the other people near

or far. Its collective sadhana can arouse collective consciousness and progress

in the world together with the spiritual upliftment of humanity. However, for

that the purity of heart and faith to Almighty, Swami, Swami's Cosmic form is

needed. Nothing can be achieved without developing the necessary abilities and

eligibility. It is more essential for the invaluable attainment of divine

blessings. Blossoming of divine realization also is not possible without the

immersion of the identity of the individual self in the cosmic self.

Below is a general conclusion by Swami in form of a tiny

compilation from: Bhagawan Sathya Sai baba. SSS. Vol. 13. Chapter 34. (The

spelling of excerpts are not changed). "The Gaayathri (Vedic prayer to

illuminate the intellect) prayer enshrined in the Vedas, the most ancient

scriptures of man. It is addressed to the Immanent and Transcedent Divine.

First the Divine is praised, then It is meditated upon in reverence and finally

an appel is made to the Divine to awaken and strenghten the intellect, the

discriminating faculty of man. The Gaayathri is considered as 'the essence

of Vedas.' The Gaaythri is usually repeated at dawn, midnoon and dusk. It

can be repeated always and everywhere, only one has to ensure that the mind is

pure. Your two eyes cannot reveal to you the magnificence and the majesty

of the realm of the spirit. So the Gaayathri manthra has been given to you as

a third eye to reveal to you that inner vision by which you may realize

Brahman. Never give up the Gaayathri. It will protect you from harm

wherever you are - travelling, working or at home. Vesterns have investigated

the vibrations produced by this manthra and have found that when it is recited

with the correct accent as laid down in the Vedhas, the atmosphere around

becomes visibly illuminated." Real effects even from virtual reality to

human health have described in the article by Hunter G. Hoffman

”Virtual-Reality Therapy." Scientific American.com. July 26,

(http://cl.extm.us/?fe871c77706000797d-fe2d1670736004747d1574 for rs).

Before the very brief description of this 'virtual-reality therapy' some

insights concern to faith, rituals, mantras, especially Gayatri and 'Om.' It

is the same not so virtual as spiritual reality what leads a human being

towards his/her real Self. The healing power of spiritual reality when a person

has a deep faith and belief described by Swami and Vedas would be thousands

times stronger than virtual reality of technical world. There are so many

practical examples of healing influence of spiritual reality. The forms of

spiritual reality maybe different but the results are evident when to follow

Swami's Omnipresent Cosmic Form and His advices: "In this world which is

impermanent and ever transforming, the immanent power of the Lord is the only

permanent and fixed entity. In order to realize the eternal and the true, one

has perforce to attach oneself to that source and sustenance. There is no

escape form this path. It is the destiny of one and all, irrespective of age or

scholarship, clime or caste, sex or status." (Bhagawan Sathya Sai Baba. Divine

Discourse: "God as Guide".Guru Pournami, 1 Aug 1956. Prasanthi Nilayam; also:

http://beaskund.helloyou.ws/askbaba/discourses/d1956/d19560801-1.html).

Let's return briefly to 'playground' of researches of modern medicine by

article, mentioned above. The author with the research team from declares

that patients can get relief from pain or overcome their phobias by immersing

themselves in computer-generated worlds. Researchers are finding that

virtual reality can ease pain, both physical and psychological. The researchers

found that severely burned patients, who often face unbearable pain, can relieve

their discomfort by engaging in a virtual-reality program during wound

treatment. The results have been so promising that a few hospitals are now

preparing to explore the use of virtual reality as a tool for pain control. By

the other experiments, virtual-reality applications are capable to help phobic

patients overcome their different kind of irrational fears. The conclusions

have made by pain-related brain activity using functional magnetic resonance

imaging. The Virtual Reality Medical Center, a chain of clinics in

California was organized. There has successfully treated more than 300 patients

suffering from phobias and anxiety disorders. It seems clear that virtual

therapy can reduce the amount of pain-related brain activity. Pain has a strong

psychological component. The same incoming pain signal can be interpreted as

more or less painful depending on what the patient is thinking. In addition to

influencing the way patients interpret such signals, psychological factors can

even influence the amount of pain signals allowed to enter the brain's cortex.

Neurophysiologists Ronald Melzack and Patrick D. Wall developed this "gate

control" theory of pain in the 1960s ("The Tragedy of Needless Pain," by

Ronald Melzack; Scientific American, February 1990). The tests were

carried out with teenage boys who had suffered gasoline burns and showed the

positive result by using certain virtual programs. Research that is more

recent has shown the benefits of virtual-reality therapy are not limited to

burn patients. The team conducted a study involving 22 healthy volunteers, each

of whom had a blood pressure cuff tightly wrapped around one arm for 10 minutes.

Improving the quality of the virtual-reality system increases the amount of pain

reduction. A significant positive correlation between the potency of the

illusion - how strongly the subjects felt they were immersed in the virtual

world - and the alleviation of their pain. Virtual-reality analgesia also

has the potential to reduce patient discomfort during other medical procedures.

Bruce Thomas and Emily Steele of the University of South Australia have found

that virtual reality can alleviate pain in cerebral palsy patients during

physical therapy after muscle and tendon surgery. (Aimed at improving the

patient's ability to walk, this therapy involves exercises to stretch and

strengthen the leg muscles.) Authors’ team at the University of Washington is

exploring the clinical use of virtual reality during a painful urological

procedure called a rigid cystoscopy. As even technical 'virtual-reality

therapy' has a real positive results then the results of 'spiritual-reality

therapy' should be much more significantly powerful. I call the chanting

Gayatri and Its modifications (especially Sai Gayatri) the 'spiritual -reality

therapy'. It influence is significant even by listening to them from CD

performed by Swami. References:

http://hindunet.org/god/concept/index.htm

http://hindunet.org/god/Goddesses/index.htm Namaste - Reet

[Guest guest]

venkata viswanathvalluri <saisivakoti

Cc: reet.priiman

Mon Aug 23, 2004 4:35am

Re: [saibabanews] The Divine Mother-Father, Gaytri,

Spiritual and Virtual Reality

 

Sairam Mr. Reet Priiman,

I am very happy and overwhelmed to receive your article on Divine

Mother Gayathri especially today (i.e. 23rd August), Since today is

my 10th anniversary of upanayanam (Gayathri Manthra Upadesa cermony)

performed in Divine presense of our Beloved Swami on 23.8.1995 as

part of Bhagavan's 70th birthday celebrations.(Mass Upanayanam to

700 children)

vvviswanath

kuwait

 

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Soumendra Bhattacharjee <soumendra_toronto

Sun Aug 22, 2004 3:32pm

Re: [saibabanews] The Divine Mother-Father, Gaytri,

Spiritual and Virtual Reality

 

SA Ram Brother Reet ,

 

It was simply wonderful to know about Gayati mantra and you did lot

of research about the mantra.Thank yu so much for shedding light on

Gayatri mantra it was amazing-Swami bless you brother.I want to hear

more about the mantra as I myself chant the mantra it was mind

blowing to read in depth analysis about the mantra.

 

Let swami bless you profusely.

 

Great Namaste to you,

With lots of accolades to you.

Sai Ram

 

Soumendra

 

 

 

 

saibabanews, "Reet Priiman"

<reet.priiman@n...> wrote:

>

> Light and Love

>

> Below is an attempt to contemplate about God - Divine Mother

as a Central Power of Creation, about God - Divine Father as an

Absolute with many aspects, Gayatri Mantra......