One evening Hanuman was meditating before sunset, on the sea shore. At that instance, the son of the Sun, Sani (Saturn), thought that he was so powerful and that every human, god and demon was afraid of him. Sani with his ego came to the seashore where Hanuman was meditating. Sani thought that he will fight with Hanuman and defeat him. Then, Sani, in his egoistic tone, said that he is here and wanted Hanuman to stand up. Hanuman gently asked him to repeat what he just said and asked the particulars of why he was there and why he was bothering him. Sani arrogantly replied that he is the son of the most brilliant Surya and is super strong, called by the name Sani, and that all beings in the universe start shivering with fear the moment they hear his name. He said he came to test Hanuman's strength. He also warned that he is coming into Hanuman's zodiac (astrological chart) to influence his future. Hanuman replied with humility that he is an old monkey and that he is meditating and asked him not to disturb him. Sani, with pride, said that he cannot go without conquering him. Then Hanuman said with a humble tone that he doesn't have the ability to fight. Then Sani said in an insulting way that he is a coward and scared to fight with him. Sani started pulling Hanuman's hand. Then Hanuman sarcastically laughed, saying that Sani does not understand when he is trying to give him advice. Hanuman lengthened his tail and wrapped it around Sani's body up to the neck. Sani tried to release himself from the tightened tail of Hanuman. Hanuman meanwhile realized that he needed to perform pradhakshina around the bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka. Then Hanuman started to go around the bridge and hit his tail on the stones of the bridge. Even though Sani tried with all his strength to escape he could not succeed. Hanuman continued for 108 rounds, hitting his tail on the stones of the bridge built by Rama. By these strokes, Sani's body was severely wounded and started bleeding. Then Sani prayed to Hanuman with a panicked voice, pleading with him and telling him he is great. Hanuman was pleased with Sani's prayers and told him he will leave him off if he agrees not to enter the Zodiac of any of Hanumans devotees. With a moaning voice Sani agreed to this condition. Then Hanuman released Sani from his tail. All of this happened on Sani Trayodasi. Sani Trayodasi occurs when the thirteenth day of the lunar month falls on a Saturday (Saturn's day). Sani now changed his tune. He expressed his gratitude to Hanuman, who had freed him when he was hung upside down by the demon Ravana. He asked forgiveness for his misbehavior and arrogance to Hanuman. Since then, to heal his wounds, Sani desires abhishekham (ointment) with sesame seed oil. Therefore, those who perform abhishekham to Sani on Sani Trayodasi have the radiation of Sani cooled down and are blessed by Sani. Sani is thought to have a negative influence. Certainly this is true. But Sani also has a positive influence! When we become arrogant (like Sani, in the story above), then Sani sends negative influences to beat us up , destroy our ego, and give us humility. Two Sani Trayodasis fall in the near future. One is October 31, and one is November 14, when it is wise to perform a special Rudra Abhishekam and prayers to Sani. Regular worship of Sani and Hanuman give great relief from suffering and problems.

If you seek the good in every soul, you will always find it, for God is in all things; still more He is in all beings.
--SUFI saying

When we dare to doubt what we are told and take a fresh look at what's going on, we are in for lots of pleasant and fascinating and useful surprises. A new and more satisfying way of life begins to open up, just by noticing what we see.

~ by Douglas Harding www.Headless.org

Source: www.hinduismtoday.com

A sannyasin of great spiritual attainment came to the outskirts of a village in India. He was camped under a tree for the night when suddenly a villager came running to him, screaming, The stone! The stone! Give me the precious stone! Which stone? asked the sannyasin. Last night, Lord Siva appeared before me in a dream, said the villager, and told me that if I went to the outskirts of the village at nightfall, I would find a sannyasin who would give me a stone which would make me rich for the rest of my life. The sannyasin rummaged through his knapsack and took out a stone. Probably he talked about this, he said, extending the stone to the villager. I found it lying on the path in the forest a few days ago. Take it, I give it to you, offered the sannyasin with all simplicity. The villager looked at the stone in amazement it was an enormous diamond. He took the diamond and went away quickly. All that night he tossed in his bed and could not sleep. The next day at dawn he woke up the sannyasin, returned the gem and asked, Give me the inner wealth which has made it possible for you to part with this diamond so easily. Indian village tale.

PSYCHEDELIC SCIENCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY will be held at the Holiday Inn San
Jose, on April 15-18, 2010. This conference is authorized to provide CME
credit to psychiatrists and other physicians, and to ancillary healthcare
professionals who attend. Presenters include Jose Carlos Bouso, Rick Doblin,
Carolyn Garcia, Peter Gasser, Alex Grey, Allyson Grey, Charles Grob, Stan
Grof, Sergio Marchevsky, Annie Mithoefer, Michael Mithoefer, Dave Nichols,
Peter Oehen, Verena Oehen, Ingrid Pacey, Jordi Riba, Alexander Shulgin, Ann
Shulgin, Franz Vollenweider, Andrew Weil (by video link), and others. For
more information, see http://www.maps.org/conference

We must learn to see the beauty, it is not everyone who sees it, often the critical spirit is occupied in gazing at the object which lacks beauty, the more you look for beauty, the more you see it as a whole. It is seeing the vision in part that deludes, you look at the side of a man's nature that may not be attractive, but if you will seek for good in everything, you will always find it, for God is in all things, and still more He is in all beings.

Purity of mind is the principal thing upon which the health of both body and mind depend. The process of purifying the mind is not much different from the process of cleaning or washing any object. Water poured upon any object washes it, and if there is a spot which cannot be washed away by the water, some substance which can take that spot is applied, to wash it thoroughly. The water which washes the heart is the continual running of the love-stream. When that stream is stopped, when its way is blocked by some object which closes the heart, and when the love-stream is no longer running, then the mind cannot keep pure. ... True happiness is in love, which is the stream that springs from one's soul. He who will allow this stream to run continually in all conditions of life, in all situations, however difficult, will have a happiness which truly belongs to him.

It is more important to find out the truth about one's self, than to find out the truth of heaven and hell.

-- Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

The Deepest Bow ~ Poetry

Old habits of mind
Want to box and label
What is seen,
Safely containing
All things, all experience,
In the known world.

But a new wind
Blows through the mind
Not looking for refuge from life.
Seeing beyond itself
Into the alive world
Of happenings and presences,
Mysterious and unfathomable.
So far beyond thought
That mind lies down
In the deepest bow possible
Dumbfounded and reverent.

Then rising again,
From its bow
In hopeful adoration
Only wanting to serve
What it doesn’t understand.

~ by Alice Gardner

"Speak truth, speak pleasantly, and do not speak untruth." - Old Saying

Truth is the fundamental basis of everything. Where there is Sathya (truth), there is Dharma (righteousness). Where there are Sathya and Dharma, there is Santhi (peace). Where there is peace, there is love. Where there is love, evil qualities like anger, hatred, jealousy and conceit cannot exist there. Where there is love, there cannot be any unrest. A person who has love in him will remain unharmed in the face of all dangers.

- Sathya Sai Baba

Source: www.hinduismtoday.com

An old brahmin priest spoke with his Lord Siva about heaven and hell (which is called Narakaloka in Sanskrit and differs from other hells in not being eternal, but a temporary state of souls between births). The Lord said to the aging pandit, “Come, I will show you hell.” They entered a room where a group of people sat around a huge pot of wonderful smelling vegetable curry. Everyone was famished, desperate and starving. Each held a spoon that reached the pot, but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their arm that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths. The suffering was terrible. “Come, now I will show you heaven,” Siva said after a while. They entered another room, identical to the first the pot of luscious curry, the group of people, the same long-handled spoons. But everyone was happy and well-nourished. “I don’t understand,” said the Brahmin. “Why are they happy here when they were miserable in the other room where everything was exactly the same?” Lord Siva smiled, “Ah, it is simple,” He said. “Here they have learned to feed each other.”

It’s not the strongest that survive
Nor the most intelligent
But the ones most responsive to change

--Darwin

The spirit of generosity in nature builds a path to God, for generosity is outgoing, is spontaneity; its nature is to make its way toward a wide horizon. Generosity, therefore, may be called charity of heart. It is not necessary that the spirit of generosity be shown always by the spending of money; in every little thing one can show it. Generosity is an attitude a person shows in every little action that he does for people that he comes in contact with in his everyday life. One can show generosity by a smile, by a kind glance, by a warm handshake; by patting the younger soul on the shoulder as a mark of encouragement, of showing appreciation, of expressing affection. Generosity one can show in accommodating one's fellow man, in welcoming him, in bidding farewell to one's friend. In thought, work, and deed, in every manner and form one can show that generous spirit which is the sign of the godly.

The reality of your own self-nature, the absence of cause and effect, is what’s meant by mind (in Zen truth-teaching). This mind has no form or characteristics. It is basically empty, neither pure nor impure. It has never lived or died, appeared or disappeared, increased or decreased. It’s like space. It's not the same as the sensual mind.
Only the wise know this mind, this mind called dharma-nature, this mind called liberation. Its names vary but not its essence. The mind's capacity is limitless, and its manifestations are inexhaustible. Your nature is essentially pure. Your real body is basically pure. Is has no sensation, no hunger or thirst, no good or bad.

~ by Bodhidharma: the first patriarch of Zen (translation by Red Pine).

Just a note to let you know that from 4:40 a.m. on October 20th, until 1:49 p.m. on October 22nd, (Central time) Moon will be in its debilitation sign of Scorpio.
At the same time, Sun, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter are also debilitated.
So there will be five planets in their debilitation signs at the same time!
I have never seen this in the past 22 years of studying Vedic astrology, and I do not think this is an ideal time.
(Debilitated planets lack the power to protect and promote their own significations.)
The only good news is that there are no close afflictions going on at this time with Rahu and Ketu.
Either way, I think it would be prudent to exercise a lot of care extra and patience on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week.

The development of love is often hindered by different obstacles in life. The first obstacle is ourselves. We begin our life with selfishness, and all that we want is for self, and if there is a tendency to love, it is for one's own happiness, and one's own joy. When the question comes, 'How much do you love me, and how much do I love you?' it has come to be a trading in love. 'I love you, but you do not love me' is as much as to say, 'I have bid so much, and I expect a return of love'. This is trading in love, and trade cannot lead anywhere, because it makes one think of the self, and love is beyond that. To love is to give; it is not to take at all. The true lover never speaks of what he has done for his beloved, for he loves for love's sake, not for the sake of a return.

The nature of life on earth is illusory and in the Sanskrit tongue it is called Maya or illusion, and every soul having the spark of the divine love, forgets the use and the purpose of that spark and begins to love itself most.
By a keen study of human life, man will find that as a rule, when he claims that he loves, in reality he loves himself, he loves his own benefit in life, he loves another for the help that other gives, for his goodness, for his kindness, for his service, but in all this he surely loves himself, and it is for himself all the while he thinks he loves another.
It is a very high stage in the path of love when man really learns to love another with a love that asks no return, when he does not seek love for the sake of love in return, then love becomes pure, the lover gives, and gives and gives, but even that is not the purpose of life, it is still greater. The Perfect One who is the source and origin of the whole creation, is the Perfection of Beauty. All beauty on earth or in heaven belongs to Him, and the purpose of the creation of every soul is to progress in the path of love until the soul arrives at a stage where it may find the Perfection of Beauty.

It is a very high stage on the path of love when a man really learns to love another with a love that asks no return.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

The exact New Moon occurs on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 1:34 AM, EDT
(Oct. 18, at 11:04 AM in Gujarat) and the energetics will imply:
"Development, Gradual Progress".

Sun in Libra:
The debilitation of the Sun denotes that the Sun loses its power as it travels into the sign Libra. The Sun gets debilitated when he moves to the constellation of Libra on October 17th. This happens to be a Saturday and the same day the Moon merges with Sun forming New Moon. The day lord is Saturn. This will effect personal and collective economy, and how it specifically effects you will depend on your natal SUN position. I can tall you so much more; time to get a birth chart erected and interpreted! Check my wwwsite: www.ompalace.com under Personal Support for details.

More than a religious festival or the festival of a community or
race, Deepawali is perceived as the battle of light against
darkness - a tiny lamp's determination to illuminate the earth
and the sky setting them free from the all-enshrouding darkness.
Deepawali celebrates this victory of the tiny lamp, its humble
effort to fight out the gigantic darkness. People see in the
effort of the tiny lamp their own effort to wade across the ocean
of adversities, and this sense fills them with renewed confidence
and fresh vigour for the days to come.

To become cold from the coldness of the world is weakness, to become broken by the hardness of the world is feebleness, but to live in the world and yet to keep above it is like walking on the water.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

External Lamps and Your Own Inner Lamp!

The flame of a lamp banishes darkness. Baba has discussed how the fire element always has a continuous upward movement. The simple act of lighting a lamp encourage us toaspire for great heights in life by destroying the negative forces within ourselves. The purifying energies of fire can lead us toward Truth. The sages have therefore acclaimed the lamp of wisdom as the flame that "leads men to higher states.
The human condition should be governed by sacred qualities
This calls for the purity of body, mind, and speech!
If the darkness of ignorance is to be dispelled, a person needs a container, oil, wick and a matchbox corresponding to what an external lamp needs. For people, the heart is the container. The mind is the wick. Love is the oil and vairagya, sacrifice is the matchbox. When all four of these are united, the Divine flame of the Spirit radiates good fortune upon us all. During Diwali, we are reminded that this Light of Knowledge shines and dispels the darkness of ignorance forever.
Diwali is an excellent time to begin the following in your life:
Consciously work to discard old prejudices.
Adopt habits of love and mutual respect for all.
Transform old enemies into friends.
Shower understanding and compassion everywhere you go.
This is the power of Diwali! As external lamps ignite, so does our inner joy and happiness. It is Astroveds aim to augment the energy of this time 10,000-fold so that you can reap the benefits of this sacred day all year round.

Human love is given to illuminate by its sincerity the heart of another, there is no greater power to inspire than the power of love. The desire for service, gentleness, tolerance, kindness, forgiveness, all come from love. Love alone is a fountain from which all virtues fall as drops of sparkling water.
Love is given to inspire divine love in the heart of man, and all the beauty that man sees on earth is beauty created by the power of love, and by the power of love he learns to recognize it as a reflection of the beauty of heaven. Thus may earth become heaven, and heaven and earth one single vision of the glory of God.

Source: www.thaindian.com

TORONTO, CANADA, October 10, 2009: The Canadian parliament celebrated Diwali this week with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other top leaders lighting the traditional lamps. They were among the 450 dignitaries to attend the festivities Thursday night.
High commissioner Shashisekar Gavai of India and Hindu envoys from Pakistan and Malaysia were also among those who attended the evening gala. After lighting the traditional lamp, Prime Minister Harper said the growing Indo Canadian community is at the forefront of Canadas quest to build an even better country for generations to come. Since 1998, Diwali on Parliament Hill (the seat of the House of Commons) has grown in significance and stature, and today can truly be considered as Canadas National Diwali Festival, said Deepak Obhrai, who is parliamentary secretary to the foreign minister.

When a person begins to see all goodness as being the goodness of God, all the beauty that surrounds him as the divine beauty, he begins by worshipping a visible God, and as his heart constantly loves and admires the divine beauty in all that he sees, he begins to see in all that is visible one single vision; all becomes for him the vision of the beauty of God. His love of beauty increases his capacity to such a degree that great virtues such as tolerance and forgiveness spring naturally from his heart. Even things that people mostly look upon with contempt, he views with tolerance.

O Divine Mother
May All my speech and idle talk be mantra
All actions of my hands be mudra
May all eating and drinking be the offering of oblations unto Thee
All laying down prostrations before Thee
May all pleasures be as dedicating my entire self unto Thee
May everything I do be taken as Thy worship

http://www.oprah.com/media/20091009-obc-angelique-kidjo

A true worshipper of God sees His presence in all forms, and thus in respecting others he respects God. It may even develop to such an extent that the true worshipper of God, the Omnipresent, walks gently on the earth, bowing in his heart even to every tree and plant, and it is then that the worshipper forms a communion with the Divine Beloved at all times.

Spiritual attainment is not a thing to be brought before people to prove that it is real, or as a show. What is real is proof in itself, what is beyond all price or value does not need to be made much of before people. What is real is real, and the precious is precious in itself: it needs no explanation, nor pleading.

The greatest lesson of mysticism is to know all, gain all, attain all things and be silent. The more the disciple gains, the more humble he becomes, and when any person makes this gain a means of proving himself in any way superior to others, it is a proof that he does not really possess it. He may have a spark within himself, but the torch is not yet lighted. There is a saying among the Hindus that the tree that bears much fruit bows low.

Planetary Transits ignite the flames under your birth chart. They trigger and highlight one's own emotional framework. The victory you achieve, challenges you face, your mental and physical stamina are highly influenced by planetary transits. By becoming conscious of this and taking timely and appropriate measures, you can ensure smooth sailing throughout your life. A good time to get your natal chart done to comprehend how to navigate and ensure a smooth sailing thru life.
Do ponder the potentially serious consequences of the 4 major planets Jupiter, Sun, Venus and Mars going into debilitation this month. Debilitation is a measure of discovering the strength of the planets in your chart. While in its sign of debilitation, a planet is considered weak. It causes stresses, sorrow, unhappy events, mental turbulence, unfavorable events and misery. A debilitated planet can trouble you by way of enemies, poverty, and unhappiness and so on.

Planet in Debilitation Dates

Mars in Cancer October 4th, 2009 - May 30th, 2010
Jupiter in Capricorn now - December 19th, 2009
Venus in Virgo October 9th - November 3rd, 2009
Sun in Libra October 17th - November 16th, 2009

"What is this "I"? You will, on close introspection, find that what you really mean by "I" is the ground-stuff upon which all experiences are collected."

~ by Erwin Schroedinger

O, friend! Nobody veils you, but yourself.
In your path there is no thorn or weed, but yourself.
You asked: shall I reach the Beloved or not?
Between you and the Beloved there is nobody, but yourself.

Awhadoddin Kermani

fast
a way to catch up with the future
just a break, so there is no break
a hop along chaos to regular rhymes
the bardo for defining rules of life
or fatten
to fullness
yet to fast again
yoYo

krsnadas.org

The accepted, official version of anything is most likely false. All
authority is based on fraud.

- Kenneth Rexroth,

Source: wii.ign.com

TORONTO, CANADA, : The new game Yoga for Wii incorporates specialized hatha yoga routines for health.
In designing Yoga for Wii, we wanted to make sure that players are walking away with not only a great workout for the body but also for the mind, says Markus Reutner, Marketing manager JoWood Productions. We have done extensive research about yoga and the way it can affect different pains and incorporated that into Yoga for Wii.
Players are able to participate in routines that target a specific ailment or pain. For instance, a back pain routine would consist of related poses - the cobra, locust and corpse - all of which help strengthen back muscles.

Spontaneous Evolution introduces the notion that a miraculous healing awaits this planet once we accept our new responsibility to collectively tend the Garden rather than fight over the turf. When a critical mass of people truly own this belief in their hearts and minds and actually begin living from this truth, our world will emerge from the darkness in what will amount to a spontaneous evolution.

http://www.wakeuplaughing.com/
http://new.brucelipton.com/

Facing Our Pain:

Every addiction arises from an unconscious refusal to face and move through your own pain. Every addiction starts with pain and ends with pain. Whatever the substance you are addicted to -- alcohol, food, legal or illegal drugs, or a person -- you are using something or somebody to cover up your pain.
That is why, after the initial euphoria has passed, there is so much unhappiness, so much pain in intimate relationships. They do not cause pain and unhappiness. They bring out the pain and unhappiness that is already in you. Every addiction does that. Every addiction reaches a point where it does not work for you anymore, and then you feel the pain more intensely than ever.
This is one reason why most people are always trying to escape from the present moment and are seeking some kind of salvation in the future. The first thing that they might encounter if they focused their attention on the Now is their own pain, and this is what they fear.
If they only knew how easy it is to access in the Now the power of presence that dissolves the past and its pain, the reality that dissolves the illusion. If they only knew how close they are to their own reality, how close to God.
The pain-body, which is the dark shadow cast by the ego, is actually afraid of the light of your consciousness. It is afraid of being found out. Its survival depends on your unconscious identification with it, as well as on your unconscious fear of facing the pain that lives in you. But if you don't face it, if you don't bring the light of your consciousness into the pain, you will be forced to relive it again and again.
The pain-body may seem to you like a dangerous monster that you cannot bear to look at, but I assure you that it is an insubstantial phantom that cannot prevail against the power of your presence.

~ by Eckhart Tolle

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/photos/2009/09/hubble-telescopes-latest-image.html

There are those who are like a lighted candle: they can light other candles, but the other candles must be of wax - if they are of steel, they cannot be lighted.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

October Is One Of The Tough Months:

5 major Planetary debilitations (planets without dignity and strength to empower our lives and direction).
We will all feel this. Jupiter is debilitated until December 19th. Mars is debilitated October 4th ~ May 26th.
Venus is debilitated October 9th ~ November 2nd. Sun is debilitated October 17th ~ November 16th.

Debilitated planets lack the power to protect and promote their significations. As per Professor V.K. Choudhry
(INDIA), Things are likely to improve to a good extent once the persisting transit afflictions are over towards
the end of the year. Until then, everyone please be extra careful and patient. In my tradition it is recommended
to do charity, partake in pujas, practise upayas (as per your individual chart) and fast on Tuesday (for MARS) as
he will be the weakest of the pantheon.

Good time to have your natal chart or transits done! Check my wwwsite under PERSONAL SUPPORT, www.ompalace.ca

Each individual composes the music of his own life. If he injures another, he brings disharmony. When his sphere is disturbed, he is disturbed himself, and there is a discord in the melody of his life. If he can quicken the feeling of another to joy or to gratitude, by that much he adds to his own life; he becomes himself by that much more alive. Whether conscious of it or not, his thought is affected for the better by the joy or gratitude of another, and his power and vitality increase thereby, and the music of his life grows more in harmony.

He who is afraid of vice is subject to vice;
He who is addicted to vice is its captive;
He who acquaints himself with vice is the pupil of vice;
He who learns his lesson from vice, who passes through it and rises above it, is master and conqueror.

Study Sacred Art with Mavis Gewant in Haridwar, India, Oct 2010

Experience the sacredness of India, in a town filled with saddhus, temples and the holy river, Ganga. Mavis Gewant will guide you along your journey of healing and transformation as you paint a yantra or deity especially chosen for you. We will paint on the banks of the Ganga at the home of my teacher Sri Harish Johari. Our host, Seema Johari, will take us to local temples, ashrams and Rishikesh. Comfortable accommodations in the Johari residence, meals, ground transportation and local trips are all included.
For more information, exact dates and fees go to http://www.sacredmotherarts.com/id14.html or sacredma@yahoo.com

The mind is like milk. If you keep the mind in the world, which is like water, then the milk and water will get mixed. That is why people keep milk in a quiet place and let it set into curd, and then churn butter from it. Then that butter can easily be kept in the water. The mind will float detached on the water of the world.
~ Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa

"Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can."

John Wesley

Human beings living in their shells are mostly unaware of the privilege of life and so are unthankful to the Giver of it. In order to see the grace of God man must open his eyes and raise his head from his little world. Then he will see -- above and below, to the right and the left, before and behind -- the grace of God reaching him from everywhere in abundance.

AUM is the first syllable. From it comes out all manifestations of the universe. It is also the great Maha mantra. All the other mantras of the Veda are contained in this seed syllable. They are just elaborations on this one sound.
In the same way, love is the one principle that is the basis of all religious and public life. All codes and principles are just elaborations of this one principle. Therefore, to live a good life, do not hate anyone. Do not envy the good fortune of others. See good, do good, be good.

I am teaching out of town as well as visiting the ashram of AMMA in the Halton Hills, subsequently the free meditation on sunday afternoon, the full moon, at OM is cancelled,

blessings of OM GURU OM