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April 1, 2010

The Mahavidyas: The Powers of Consciousness Conceptualized – Part 2

The name Bhairavi means “frightful,” “terrible,” “horrible,” or “formidable.” The basic idea here is fear. Ordinarily we associate fear with darkness. It is not uncommon to be afraid of the dark, or rather of the dangers that lurk there unseen, but that is not the sort of fear that Bhairavi provokes, for she is said to shine with the effulgence of ten thousand rising suns.
March 1, 2010

The Mahavidyas: The Powers of Consciousness Conceptualized – Part 1

The highest spiritual truth is that reality is One. That reality, when personified as the Divine Mother, expresses itself in countless ways. The ten Mahavidyas, or Wisdom Goddesses, represent distinct aspects of divinity intent on guiding the spiritual seeker toward liberation. For the devotionally minded seeker these forms can be approached in a spirit of reverence, love, and increasing intimacy. For a knowledge-oriented seeker, these same forms can represent various states of inner awakening along the path to enlightenment.
February 1, 2010

In Praise of Japa

Japa is one of the main spiritual practices of the Ramakrishna movement. Combined with prayer and meditation, it forms a triangle—a three-fold method of reaching out for God, establishing him within, and keeping him there. Prayer is simply the act of talking to God.
January 1, 2010

Self-Development According to Vedanta

What is Self-Development from a Vedantic standpoint? “Each soul is potentially divine,” says Swami Vivekananda. “The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal.”[Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (Mayavati: Mayavati Memorial Edition), I.124.] We read such words, and the meaning seems self-evident. Until, that is, we try to define our terms.
December 1, 2009

Teachers All Around – Part 2

Then the avadhuta introduces a second idea. For the realized soul there is no distinction of I and other. The supreme Self is one and indivisible. The light of consciousness reflected in each of us produces the appearance of separate selves, but just as there remains only one sun in the sky no matter how many pots of water reflect it, the supreme Self remains One without a second.