Guest guest Report post Posted July 20, 2009 Aum Namo Narayanaya Dear Sisters and Brothers…. Trust The Holy Trio is keeping you all well… There are different types of initiation. Guru is God... we cannot limit the amount of spiritual power a Guru radiates or transfers, similarly, we cannot limit God. When the soil is right, the seed is planted and the tree will grow… likewise, when the mind is ready, the Guru will come. Guru actually takes away 20 percent of a disciple’s sins… If u seeking a Guru, He will come when the time is right. Have faith in the Holy Master, surely He is watching over you. Ask Him for guidance and He will surely attend to your request. Revered Swami Vimokshanandaji Maharaj has related stories to devotees of initiation by a look to a devotee. Anything is possible. There is never a shortage of worthy Gurus…. Especially when one looks to the Ramakrishna Math and Misson. Take the mantra of your Istha Devata…. When the time is right… your Guru will come. Have a pleasant day! J Aum Ramakrishna [Ramakrishna ] On Behalf Of mrrusskennedy 11 July 2009 16:16 Ramakrishna [sri Ramakrishna] Question Dear All, I have a question; I am not sure that there will be a simple answer. What is initiation? Does it absolutely have to be a guru whispering a mantra or whatever happens or might it happen by a look, handshake or thought? Would you be sure if this had happened? If a person can't find formal initiation surely that can't rob them of their real existence? Surely if they are sincere God would do what needed doing without having to resort to rituals and what not? When I think about Sri RamaKrishna and Swami Vivekananda I remember that the master had several initiations and that his sad guru didn't seem to feature all that heavily. Likewise with Swamiji, I don't think I read anything about his sad guru (excuse me if I mix up the Sanskrit, by sad guru I am trying to refer to the guru who gives the initiation). Lastly if formal initiation is a requirement and you can't find any god-realised people around to give it what do you do? Do you just carry on and choose your own mantra from the net, is it wrong to go around looking for someone to initiate you? Doesn't that go against the principle of surrendering yourself to the will of god? Thanks everybody; I really appreciate your time and thoughts today and with my other questions in the past. Russ Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.392 / Virus Database: 270.13.20/2249 - Release 07/19/09 17:59:00 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted July 20, 2009 Hi Russ and everybody, It is may be good to remember what Swami Vivekananda said about initiation and discipleship. I have copied from two of his lectures, "Discipleship" and "The Teacher of Spirituality". More on this point could be found also in his "Bhakti Yoga." "Now in intellectual development we can get much help from books, but in spiritual development, almost nothing. In studying books, sometimes we are deluded into thinking that we are being spiritually helped; but if we analyse ourselves, we shall find that only our intellect has been helped, and not the spirit. ... It is because books cannot give us that impulse from outside. To quicken the spirit, that impulse must come from another soul... That soul from which this impulse comes is called the Guru, the teacher; and the soul to which the impulse is conveyed is called the disciple, the student. In order to convey this impulse, in the first place, the soul from which it comes must possess the power of transmitting it, as it were, to another; and in the second place, the object to which it is transmitted must be fit to receive it. The seed must be a living seed, and the field must be ready ploughed; and when both these conditions are fulfilled, a wonderful growth of religion takes place... It is a mysterious law of nature that as soon as the field is ready the seed must come, as soon as the soul wants religion, the transmitter of religious force must come... How are we to know a teacher then? In the first place, the sun requires no torch to make it visible. We do not light a candle to see the sun. When the sun rises, we instinctively become aware of its rising; and when a teacher of men comes to help us, the soul will instinctively know that it has found the truth... In the teacher we must first see that he knows the secret of the scriptures... The second condition necessary in the teacher is that he must be sinless... The third condition is motive. We should see that he does not teach with any ulterior motive, for name, or fame, or anything else, but simply for love, pure love for you. When spiritual forces are transmitted from the teacher to the taught, they can only be conveyed through the medium of love; there is no other medium that can convey them. Any other motive, such as gain or name, would immediately destroy the conveying medium; therefore all must be done through love. One who has known God can alone be a teacher". The Teacher of Spirituality, CW of Swami Vivekananda, vol.IV "It is not easy to be a disciple; great preparations are necessary; many conditions have to be fulfilled. Four principal conditions are laid down by the Vedantists. The first condition is that the student who wants to know the truth must give up all desires for gain in this world or in the life to come. ... The second condition is that the disciple must be able to control the internal and the external senses and must be established in several other spiritual virtues. ... Next, the mind must be made to quiet down. It is rushing about. Just as I sit down to meditate, all the vilest subjects in the world come up. The whole thing is nauseating. Why should the mind think thoughts I do not want it to think? I am as it were a slave to the mind. No spiritual knowledge is possible so long as the mind is restless and out of control. The disciple has to learn to control the mind... The next qualification is that the disciple must have faith in the Guru (teacher). In the West the teacher simply gives intellectual knowledge; that is all. The relationship with the teacher is the greatest in life. My dearest and nearest relative in life is my Guru; next, my mother; then my father. My first reverence is to the Guru. If my father says, "Do this", and my Guru says, "Do not do this", I do not do it. The Guru frees my soul. The father and mother give me this body; but the Guru gives me rebirth in the soul. ... But first you must find a teacher, a true teacher, and you must remember that he is not just a man. You may get a teacher in the body; but the real teacher is not in the body; he is not the physical man — he is not as he appears to your eyes. It may be the teacher will come to you as a human being, and you will receive the power from him. Sometimes he will come in a dream and transmit things to the world. The power of the teacher may come to us in many ways. But for us ordinary mortals the teacher must come, and our preparation must go on till he comes… We must all wait till the Guru comes, and the Guru must be worshipped as God. He is God, he is nothing less than that. As you look at him, the Guru gradually melts away and what is left? The Guru picture gives place to God Himself. The Guru is the bright mask which God wears in order to come to us. As we look steadily on, gradually the mask falls off and God is revealed… The next condition the disciple must fulfil is to conceive an extreme desire to be free. ..." Discipleship, CW of Swami Vivekananda, vol.VIII Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted July 20, 2009 Hello Everyone This is my first time I am writting a question in. I was young when mu father's guruji had put a " Kanthi " around my neck. For the world of me I cannot remeber anything more. I feel confused sometimes when people say you have to have a guru to guide you on the path. My guruji left this world nearly 15yrs ago. I read and listen to discourses given my different guru's from different sanstha's or organisations. I try to practise the teachings and must say that i feel i have changed in a lot of respects. The only thing I feel is that I am looking for something but donot know what.Can anyone shed a bit of light on this matter Thanking you in advance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted July 21, 2009 Dear bens5220000 Can you tell us which movement or sectarian body your family belongs to? Our mentor: Ramakrishna always suggested that we should follow the spiritual path that fits with our background. regards jay - " bens522000 " <pghaghada <Ramakrishna > Monday, July 20, 2009 12:17 PM Re: [sri Ramakrishna] Question > Hello Everyone > This is my first time I am writting a question in. I was young when mu > father's guruji had put a " Kanthi " around my neck. For the world of me I > cannot remeber anything more. I feel confused sometimes when people say > you have to have a guru to guide you on the path. My guruji left this > world nearly 15yrs ago. I read and listen to discourses given my different > guru's from different sanstha's or organisations. I try to practise the > teachings and must say that i feel i have changed in a lot of respects. > The only thing I feel is that I am looking for something but donot know > what.Can anyone shed a bit of light on this matter Thanking you in advance > --- > > Sri Ramakrishnaya Namah > Vivekananda Centre London > http://www.vivekananda.co.uk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted July 21, 2009 Dear, If you ask me what is the taste of mangoe then I cannot describe the taste if you want to have a glimpse of taste you should take one mango and taste it yourself. I think you have got the hints. Thanking you Somnath Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted July 21, 2009 Dear Jay Thank you for your prompt replyMy parents guru was Hirji bapa from nakuru Kenya. Both of them followed his teachings. So as you have asked there was no actual movement or sectarian body they belonged to. regards Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted July 21, 2009 > Hello Dear, I think it is good that you are looking for something, something about which you do not have any knowledge. It proves that certainly due to your past virtues,there is now a chink in the armour of your Avidya(Maya/Illusion) that does overwhelmingly build up one's world where the soul lives in a dark cocoon. It further proves that you must be missing somewhere the sense of contentment with which you were so long happy and consequently looking for something else, may be consciously or unconsciously. Perhaps this search is called the Soul-searching. So carry on My Dear,he is the lucky one who seeks himself. When time will come,Truth will spontaneously reveal Himself before you and all your questions will be answered instantly. As Thakur often used to say that if a matchstick is lighted,the darkness is dispelled at the very moment even if the darkness might have accumulated there since decades. Jai Thakur! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted July 22, 2009 Dear Jay Thank you for your prompt replyMy parents guru was Hirji bapa from nakuru Kenya. Both of them followed his teachings. So as you have asked there was no actual movement or sectarian body they belonged to. regardspravina ----------------------------response---------------- Dear Pravina-ben. I know that Hirjibapa was a respected figure in Kenya. I do not know any more about him - as you said there is no sectarian movement in his name. Our group is dedicated to a recent proponet called Sri Ramakrishna. At the moment Aastha tv (on sky 807) are showing recording of his story every Sunday at 4pm. We are in the process of further recording the story of Vivekananda (his chief disciple) for broadcast on aastha tv. The recordings are done in Wembley/Finchley/Wimbledon. If you wish to attend any of these please let me know. Many other recordings are shown on aastha every evening at 10pm. regards jay lakhani Hindu Academy http://www.hinduacademy.org Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted July 22, 2009 Hi Somnath J Trust you are well… Where is the harm in asking? Even Master asked Mother Kali for her Grace. I think there is a difference between genuine enquiry and mere question asking. As our Master says: “As long as I live so long do I learn!” How can one learn if one doesn’t not enquire? Kind regards Aum Ramakrishna [Ramakrishna ] On Behalf Of babanburi 21 July 2009 08:34 Ramakrishna [sri Ramakrishna] Re: Question Dear, If you ask me what is the taste of mangoe then I cannot describe the taste if you want to have a glimpse of taste you should take one mango and taste it yourself. I think you have got the hints. Thanking you Somnath Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.392 / Virus Database: 270.13.20/2251 - Release 07/20/09 18:29:00 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted July 22, 2009 Dear Jay Thank you very much for your email. I do listen to you on the Aastha channel and will definatelt be watching the story of vivekanandji. kind regards Pravina Ramakrishna From: vivekanandaDate: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:57:08 +0100Re: [sri Ramakrishna] Question Dear Jay Thank you for your prompt replyMy parents guru was Hirji bapa from nakuru Kenya. Both of them followed his teachings. So as you have asked there was no actual movement or sectarian body they belonged to. regardspravina ----------------------------response---------------- Dear Pravina-ben. I know that Hirjibapa was a respected figure in Kenya. I do not know any more about him - as you said there is no sectarian movement in his name. Our group is dedicated to a recent proponet called Sri Ramakrishna. At the moment Aastha tv (on sky 807) are showing recording of his story every Sunday at 4pm. We are in the process of further recording the story of Vivekananda (his chief disciple) for broadcast on aastha tv. The recordings are done in Wembley/Finchley/Wimbledon. If you wish to attend any of these please let me know. Many other recordings are shown on aastha every evening at 10pm. regards jay lakhani Hindu Academy http://www.hinduacademy.org Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted July 23, 2009 Russ, I totally and wholeheartedly agree with you that if one seeks God seriously and with all his heart there is no need for initiation from a Guru who may have more knowledge than the average individual. Bhakti and devotion are all that are needed to realize self or God. Going to school does not necessarily make you a better person but a person with more knowledge than someone who may not have gone to school, the thirst to reach God is not as cut and dry as doing one's homework and going to school. Initiation seems to me like going to school and following a particular method towards success. There are different ways that people can follow to reach God, there is no one method or stream of formula to be able to succeed in one's pursuit of reaching God. Surely, some people would love for somebody else to show them a method of worship, this is not necessary for everybody who wants to realize God. Thanks--- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted July 25, 2009 Ramakrishna , " chakranir " <chakranir wrote: > > > > > Hello Dear, > I think it is good that you are looking for something, something about which you do not have any knowledge. It proves that certainly due to your past virtues,there is now a chink in the armour of your Avidya(Maya/Illusion) that does overwhelmingly build up one's world where the soul lives in a dark cocoon. It further proves that you must be missing somewhere the sense of contentment with which you were so long happy and consequently looking for something else, may be consciously or unconsciously. Perhaps this search is called the Soul-searching. > So carry on My Dear,he is the lucky one who seeks himself. When time will come,Truth will spontaneously reveal Himself before you and all your questions will be answered instantly. As Thakur often used to say that if a matchstick is lighted,the darkness is dispelled at the very moment even if the darkness might have accumulated there since decades. > Jai Thakur! Thanks for your good words, As per Sri Ramakrishna paramahamsa it is prerequisite to activate your kundalini to visualize or realize god. I have awakened my kundalini. The kundalini shakthi is flowing in my body. Now i really don't know in which stage i am. I am bit confused. I am in search of a GURU. Can any one please guide me, where can i find a GURU who has realized god. I say in bangalore, India. Thanks and Regards vinay Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted March 4, 2010 Namaste Michael, Greetings! Good to see you again. Yes a 12 mukhi Lord Surya bead can help when its strung with small 5 mukhis and two beads of 3 mukhis Lord Agni rudraksha. Note: 5 mukhis monitor heart and cardiac ailments. 3 mukhis can help with deficient blood circulation. Alternatively, a 16 mukhi Mahamrityunjaya bead can be strung with small 5 mukhis and two beads of 3 mukhis. Note: For stringing of malas please contact Rudra Centre: /sendEnquiry.php Yet two other options are: 1) Dhanvantri Mala; 2) Mala and bracelet set for hypertension and blood pressure: /dispProduct.php?blood-pressure/-asthma/-allergies\ /-hypertension & prodId=5690 Hope the above options will help. Best wishes. , mta <spiritmed wrote: > > Hi Narasimhaye, > Greetings once again. I haven't been following the comments here lately but still once in a while. Hope all is well. > I wanted to ask what would be good for heart issues--angina, palpitations, blood pressure etc. Sun rules the heart, right, so 12 mukhi would be appropriate? > Thanks a lot, pranams, > Michael > Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
