My Spiritual Musings

Generally, we see Nandi sitting directly opposite the main door of the temple where Shiva's idol or Shivalingam is located. He is not waiting for him to come out and say something.  He is in waiting .  Nandi is a symbolism of eternal waiting, because waiting is considered the greatest virtue in Indian culture.  One who knows how to simply sit and wait is naturally meditative.  He is not expecting anything. He will wait forever.  Nandi is Shiva’s closest accomplice because he is the essence of receptivity.     Before you go into a temple, you must have the quality of Nandi - to simply sit.  So, just by sitting here, he is telling you, “When you go in, don’t do fanciful things. Don’t ask for this or that. Just go and sit like me."  The fundamental difference between Prayer & Meditation is that - Prayer means you are trying to talk to God. Meditation means you are willing to listen to God.  You are willing to just listen to existence, to the ultimate nature of cr

Source: Buddhism A Brief Introduction by Master Hsuan Hua To end suffering we have to find its cause. The Buddha found that the fundamental cause of suffering is ignorance. Ignorance in turn leads to the arisal of self centered desire. Ignorance and desire combine to blind us to preclude any possibility of realizing our inherent spiritual nature. Confused and dazed we "mistake fish eyes for pearls" i.e confuse the ebb and flow of things impermanent with our true self. Because of ignorance living beings create karma. The word "karma" means "activity". Karma more specifically is activities we do over and over again - activities rooted in desire and governed by the law of cause and effect. The law of cause and effect, simple stated, is that every good or bad act of body, speech and thought, generates a corresponding good or bad result. The cause necessarily brings the result, which differs only in degree and time according to circumstances.

One of my favorite chants is Kandha Guru Kavacham. It is dedicated to Lord Karthikeya also called Lord Muruga. Lord Karthikeya is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Paravathi. He is the brother of Lord Ganesha.  Kanda Guru Kavacham is a very long chant in Tamil dedicated to Lord Muruga. It is a prayer asking for protection and guidance from Lord Muruga. Here is the link to the English translation of the chant. http://www.skandagurunatha.org/…/sk…/skanda-guru-kavasam.pdf The root mantra in this chant is  ஓம் ஸெளம் சரவணபவ ஸ்ரீம் ஹ்ரீம் க்லீம்  க்லௌம் ஸெளம் நம "Om Soum Saravana Bhava Sreem Hreem Kleem Kloum Soum Namaha" "Om" is the pranava mantra. Saravana in reference for God. Soum, Sreem, Hreem, Kleem and Kloum are Bija mantras. Bija mantras or seed mantras are one-syllable seed sounds that activate the energy of the chakras i n order to purify and balance the mind and body. When you chant the bija mantras, you resonate with the energy of the associated chakra,