If you have a husband and you are on good terms with him and you don’t have suspicions about him then you will help your husband. You wash his clothes and do everything for him – and he does everything for you too. This is only possible when you have understanding between you. In a spiritual relationship it is the same. In order to surrender you must have understanding. Understanding is necessary for surrender…
Early morning bhajans in the month of Margali – by an Ashram resident
In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna tells us that, of all the months, he is Margali. Margali is a Tamil month that begins in mid-December and ends in mid-January. It is also said that to the Devas – divine beings – one of our years is for them one day, and our month of Margali is the brahma muhurtamof their day.
In 1992 I had the opportunity of being in the Ashram during that auspicious time. Back then the daily Ganesha abhishekam began at 5:30 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. as it does now. Swamiji asked us all to come together at 4:45 a.m. every day during this special month and go around the Ashram singing bhajans. Swamiji, of course, went along with us and sang too! It was so much fun. Every day he would ask a different Ashram resident to prepare a warm drink for everyone and we would end our nagarasankeertanamat their place. After having the tea, coffee, chocolate milk or other drink, we would then all go to the Ganesha abhishekam together…
Swamiji, if I were to follow the spiritual path would there be a change in me? What are the benefits of following the spiritual path?
By following the spiritual path, our thoughts and aims in life would be diverted in a more beneficial direction. We would get an insight into the wrong deeds that we have committed in our lives. We would also be able to realize what is true and what is false in this world. We would have a very clear perception of life. Therefore, by following the spiritual path, the right way of living would be clearly shown to you. The spiritual path identifies the purpose of human life. Many human beings are born and go through the worldly life without realizing its purpose…
Mahadeva (the Great God), Paramatma (the one unbounded universal Self), pure bliss, pure love, the first yogi, the first guru, That which is not – Shiva is all of these, and ‘The Great Night of Shiva’, Mahashivaratri, is one of the most important spiritual observances in Hinduism, a celebration which occurs once a year on the 14th day of the Hindu month of Magha (in February-March), just before the new moon. Why on this date and why is it so significant? At this exact time the planetary influences or forces of nature are such that they offer us the opportunity to make the very best use of our natural energies to merge with the Divine, with Shiva, and to receive his grace.
The scriptures, and indeed Swamiji, encourage devotees to observe Mahashivaratri by fasting and staying awake all night while keeping our thoughts continuously on Lord Shiva, and engaging ourselves in various spiritual practices. In the Ashram those practices include meditation, abhishekams, chanting ‘Om Namah Shivaya’, singing devotional songs, as well as taking part in or watching devotional dramas, dance and musical performances.
In Sri Premananda Ashram there is a beautiful Shiva-Shakti temple which was planned by Swamiji long ago. In 1993 Swamiji said, “After this body dies and goes into mahasamadhi the divine vibration from it will help the world for the next 2, 500 years.” Swamiji started building the temple in 2008. He said he would imbue the lingam with a divine power so that all the people’s problems would be solved and therefore it would be ‘Kurai Teerkum Shiva’ – Lord Shiva who solves all your problems…
“Embodiments of the Divine,
May God bless us in this human life that we may utter the name of the Divine.
Truly, our life span is very short. In this short time, what should we achieve? Whatever it is, we should not forget it. What do we need in order to achieve our aims? Devotion and patience are what is required. The quality of our lives depends upon the extent of our patience. (…)
By the grace of God you should all reach a high level. In order to establish righteousness in this world some great beings are destined to be born here. It is for this reason that saints, sages, and avatars are born – to re-establish devotion in this world, to immerse the world in devotion. They do this because there is much adharma, unrighteousness in this world, and less dharma. When they live in this world we do not really understand them, but when they are no longer here we think about them. (…)
Therefore, realize that your life is very short and in that short time you should know what you should realize, what you should know, and what you should attain. In your life time you should try to understand these great spiritual beings, their righteous paths and realize what they taught.”
“… bringing Swami Premananda’s divine light…”
Swamiji blessed Ashram delegates to go to all the Sri Premananda Centres and Groups around the world who invite them, and to take the powerful pink Lingam with them on such world tours.
He blessed them to go to all the Centres, to give blessings with that Lingam, to solve the devotees’ problems through the greatness of that Lingam, to give people the opportunity to receive Swamiji’s divine, spiritual grace, and to spread Swamiji’s divine light. These tours are for everyone’s benefit and peace of mind, for the growth of spirituality, and to spread Swamiji’s message.
Skanda Shashti is a six-day festival celebrating the tremendous fight between the forces of evil, represented by Surapadma, and the forces of light and dharma, represented by Lord Skanda and his Vel. This battle lasted six days…
Guru Poornima is a day to remember the saints, sages, avatars and spiritual masters who guide us on the spiritual path and who have been born on this earth from the time the world was created.
This day comes once in 365 days. On this day, let us think about those great souls and in our minds chant, “Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devor Maheshwaraha” and think of the Supreme who is the Guru of Gurus. Then think of the spiritual master you have accepted as your Guru and chant his or her name nine times. This will be equal to receiving the grace of your Guru for the entire year…
In worldly matters you have attachments, a jealous mind and other thoughts related to the world. In worldly matters such as in business, you may have doubts and want to know what is true and what is a lie because you have some worldly attachments. This is completely different from the spiritual perspective. When you come to the spiritual path you can very quickly find out what truth is and what a lie is. Initially it is very difficult to discriminate between truths and lies because sometimes your own ideas get in the way. Don’t allow your mind to be clouded by your own ideas, just observe.
