ja_mageia

Driving from Mother Pratyangira’s temple, our heads were reeling.  We were all in awe of how the Mother created a Lila (Divine play or illusion) and brought us to Her abode.  We continued our drive and passed many rice patty fields with busy workers, small roadside villages with smokey straw huts and dense green jungles.  Raghudas, sat in the back of the SUV and absorbed the passing sights. We passed several road signs and suddenly he saw a village name that he recognized. Impossible, he thought, he had never been here before.  Just then, Ashok commented to Swami and Amma and they had a short discussion in Tamil.  After a moment the car slowed and Amma informed us that we were going to Parangippetai, and that many years ago it was called Porto Novo.  Raghudas realized he had read about this village and immediately recalled it to be the birthplace of Sri Mahavatar Babaji.

Ekatvam is a beautiful Sanskrit word which means Unity or Oneness with Divine Consciousness. The word is mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita (The Divine Song of God) in 6:31 as follows:

sarva-bhuta-sthitam yo mam
bhajaty ekatvam asthitah
sarvatha vartamano 'pi
sa yogi mayi vartate

JAI BOLANATH HARA HARA MAHADEV TO ALL BELOVED BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

Maha Shivaratri is February 12th.  Shivaratri is the day of Lord Shiva. Shiva is the lord of meditation and the lord of awakening. Thus, Shivaratri is an occasion to awaken one's Self. Shivaratri is a night to be awake and observe by fasting. One should try to be awake throughout the night. It signifies being aware of everything that you have and are grateful for. Be grateful for the happiness which leads to growth, and also for sadness which gives a depth to life. This is the right way of observing Shivaratri.

Just as the honeybee takes nectar from all flowers, big and small, an intelligent human being should take the essence from all religious scriptures. – Srimad Bhagavatam 11.8.10

Swamiji and Amma have been honored to speak at the United Nations' Society for Enlightenment And Transformation (S.E.A.T) following in the steps of a long list of world renowned speakers, including the late Sri Chimnoy, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Lee Carroll, as well as world engineers, scientists and doctors, among many others. The halls of the U.N. have been visited by great world leaders, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Hopi elders, the singer Bono, among many outstanding international statesmen and women.