Diwali, A Festival of Lights

Message By H.H. Sri Sri Ravishankar

Diwali is lighting:

The lamp of love in one's heart;

The lamp of abundance in one's home;

The lamp of compassion to serve others;

The lamp of Knowledge to dispel darkness


Every lamp that you light is symbolic of a good quality. There are good qualities in every human being. Some have forbearance, some have love, strength, generosity; others have the ability to accept all as one' own, yet others have a scientific temperament that will uplift humanity; and others have the ability to unite people from all religions. A latent talent is a lamp. When latent talents awaken, that is Diwali.

Don't be satisfied with simply lighting one lamp; light a thousand. Eg. If you are a good sevak, don't be satisfied only with that; light the lamp of wisdom in you. Acquire knowledge. If you are interested in acquiring knowledge, don't limit yourself only to that. Take an interest in the creative arts, in dance, music etc.

Do you know why we do aarti? It is so that light of our life always rotates around the Divine.

Do you know why we burst crackers? We suppress many emotions within ourselves; cravings, aversions, hatred or too much attachment and we reach bursting point. When there are a lot of worries, people say, "I feel my head is going to burst." If there is a lot of sorrow, people say, "My heart is going to burst." Knowing this experience, the ancient people said that when you see an explosion outside, you feel similar sensations within you as well. Along with the explosion, there is so much light. Similarly by lighting the crackers, when there is an explosion outside, you release the suppressed emotions and become hollow and empty. You become free and are able to celebrate the festival and distribute sweets. The darkness is dispelled, light has come into the house, and joy spreads. This is a festival of joy. { That's does not mean one should light the crackers, Guruji has given far valuable (Amulya) gifts like Sudarshan Kriya to release stress and suppressed emotions }

It is said that for the fool, Diwali only comes once a year. But for the wise man, Diwali is every moment and every day. I would like you all to be wise and to celebrate Diwali every moment and every day of your life.

Jai Gurudev!

To Know more click - Diwali

Tour de Lavasa with Cycle Veers !!!

After persistent requests finally on one beautiful sunny Sunday I decided to

accompany cycle veers Sumit (Pal-Da), Prasad, Utpaal, Rupesh and Vipul and that too on my motor bike:). It was tour de Lavasa. It is a place 40 Km from Pune city and the road is just amazing. These guys practice regularly on this road on week-ends.

Sexy, Curvy Road to Lavasa

I used to ride bicycle, jog a lot and do hell lot of other things. I was running here n there in search of something which I was not aware. One day suddenly a question rose my mind why am I running and for what? At that magical moment I realized I am already having what I am running for and next moment my running ceased. Suddenly an intense urge for the deep rest rose and after that I stopped running unnecessarily. Many of friends including these cycle veers started questioning this change in behavior and too answer them was impossible as it can not be expressed. Anyway, now that does not mean that I do not run or ride bicycle I do still however now on whenever life say so, not on my own will :). Now the very effort has been dropped. On the other hand I do not discourage (in fact encourage) others from riding, running as each n every person has a different path to reach to the same point. Each n every person in this universe is in search of something and he/she expresses this search in different forms like sports, music, art, business, family etc etc to reach that destination.

Back from Lavasa I could not resist my temptation for Prasad's FireFox and tried my legs on her ;). Wow the bike is beauty. She is slender, sleek and catches speed like a fire against the wind and yes definitely sexy ;)

REST after FIRE

Well, these cycle veers toured Leh from Manali on their bicycles in 9 days. Vows to them !!. They are now preparing for Pune - Mumbai bicycle race. As a part of their preparation, tomorrow Pal-Da and Prasad are going to ride from Pune to Kolhapur. All the best to you :).

Pal-Da, Prasad, Utpal

Mind you its not everybodys job, it requires hard work, practice, endurance and most important ability to absorb the pain. That's why sports has a special signifcance in life. I will cover it in a separate article.

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. --- Lance Armstrong

Here are few more photos taking during this tour.

Children playing on Jamun tree

Girl having her Happy Time

More awesome photos of Tour De Lavasa by talened Photographer Rajiv


Tour De Leh Photos by Rajiv :)


Jai Gurudev!

Times Of Crises Are Both Dangerous & Important

Discourse: Osho

Times of crises are both dangerous and important. Dangerous for those who have no courage to explore new dimensions of life. They are bound to disintegrate into different kinds of madness, because their mind was made by society. Now with society disintegrating, the mind cannot remain; its roots are in society. It is constantly nourished by society — and now that nourishment is disappearing.
Because society is disintegrating, a great suspicion, a doubt that was never there before, is bound to arise in individuals. And if they were just obedient people who have never gone beyond any limit that society has decided, who have always been respected, honorable citizens, they will immediately go mad. They will start committing suicide, they will start jumping from high buildings.
In times of crises, the danger is for those who have enjoyed the times when society was settled, when there were no problems. These were the people who had enjoyed the obedience of the mind, and these are going to be the sufferers. It is a simple arithmetic. They will go psychotic, they will go neurotic — and these words don't make much difference.
Times of crises are of tremendous significance for those daring souls who have never bothered about society's respectability or about what others think about them, but have done only that which they felt right to do; who have in a certain way been always rebellious, individualistic. For these people the times of crisis are just golden, because society is disintegrating. Now it cannot condemn anybody — it is itself condemned, cursed. It cannot say to others that they are wrong. It is proving itself wrong; its whole wisdom is proving just foolish, superstitious.
The daring individual can use this opportunity to go beyond mind, because now society cannot prevent him, he is free. There has never been so intense a search for spiritual growth, for meditation. But there has never been so much madness either. Both are happening because the status quo is no longer powerful; it has lost control.
Today, the old mind, the old society has lost credibility — and not in one place, but all over the world. There are different kinds of old traditions,but they all have come to a point where so many things are scientifically proved wrong.
The most intelligent people are rushing towards the East to find some way, some method, some meditation — Yoga, Zen, Sufism, Hassidism. Somewhere somebody must know how to get over this critical stage, how to go beyond the traditional mind and still remain centered, sane and intelligent. Thousands of people are moving towards the East.
It is funny because thousands of people are coming from the East to the West to study science, medicine, engineering, electronics, and the people who know all these are going to the East, just to learn how to sit silently and do nothing. But it is a beautiful time. The grip of society is lost. But the people who will go beyond mind will create the new man, the new mind. And the most special thing to be remembered about the new mind is that it will never become a tradition, that it will be constantly renewed.
The new mind has to become continuously new, every day new, ready to accept any unexpected experience, any unexpected truth... just available, vulnerable. It will be a tremendous excitement, a great ecstasy, a great challenge.
So i don't think this crisis is bad; it is good. If the new mind can prevail then life can become an enlightening process. And enlightenment will not be something rare, it will become a very ordinary human experience.

Raman Kulkarni

Raman is a professional photographer having specific interest in wild life and nature photography. He was always interested in Photography from childhood and followed his passion by starting an art gallery "Pugmark Art Gallery" in Kolhapur. He also carries out extensive research in nature and has vast knowledge about various trees, birds, snaks, butterflies etc. He carries his work relentlessly without any expectation. He has won few awards for his photography. Here are few photographs by him.


It requires courage, dedication and faith to follow one's dream and Raman has did it. Hats off to Raman and wishing him all the best luck and prosperity. I am sure he will achieve what he yearns for.

Management !

I don't believe in any management system, I believe in self (management) !!!

Navaratri Is Celebration Of The Universe

Navaratri Is Celebration Of The Universe
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The festival of Navaratri is celebrated with prayers and gaiety in the beginning of autumn and spring. This period is a time for self-referral and getting back to the source. During this time of transformation, Nature sheds the old and gets rejuvenated.
Vedanta says, matter reverts to its original form to recreate itself again and again. The creation is cyclical, not linear; everything is recycled by nature in a continuous process of rejuvenation. The human mind, however, lags behind in this routine cycle of creation. Navaratri is a festival to enable us to take the mind back to its source.
The seeker finds the true source through fasting, prayer, silence and meditation.Night is called ratri because it brings rejuvenation. It gives relief at the three levels of our existence — physical, subtle and causal. While fasting detoxifies the body, silence purifies speech and brings rest to the chattering mind, and meditation takes you deep into your own being.
The inward journey nullifies our negative karmas. Navaratri is a celebration of the spirit or prana which alone can destroy Mahishasura, inertia; Shumbha-Nishumbha, pride and shame and Madhu-Kaitabh, extreme forms of craving and aversion. They are opposites, yet complementary. Inertia, deeply ingrained negativities and obsessions, Raktabeejasura; unreasonable logic, Chanda-Munda and blurred vision, Dhoomralochan can be overcome only by raising the level of prana and shakti, the life-force energy.
The nine days of Navaratri are also an opportunity to rejoice in the three primordial qualities that make up the universe. Though our life is governed by the three gunas,we seldom recognise and reflect on them. The first three days of Navaratri are tamo guna, the second three of rajo guna and the last three of sattva guna.Our consciousness sails through the tamo and rajo gunas and blossoms in the sattva guna in the last three days. Whenever sattva dominates life, victory follows. The essence of this knowledge is honoured by celebrating the tenth day as Vijaya Dashami.
The three primordial gunas are considered as the feminine force of the universe. By worshipping the Mother Divine during Navaratri, we harmonise the three gunas and elevate sattva in the atmosphere.
Navaratri is celebrated as the victory of good over evil. From the Vedantic point of view, the victory is of absolute reality over apparent duality. In the words of Ashtavakra, it is the poor wave which tries to keep its identity separate from the ocean, but to no avail.
Though the microcosm is well within the macrocosm, its perceived separateness is the cause of conflict. For a gyani or a wise person, entire creation comes alive and he recognises life in everything in the same way children see life in everything. The Mother Divine or pure consciousness pervades all forms and has all names. Recognising the one divinity in every form and every name is the celebration of Navaratri. Hence, special pujas honouring all aspects of life and nature are performed during the last three days.
Kali is the most horrific manifestation of Nature. Nature symbolises beauty, yet it has a horrific form too. Acknowledging the duality brings a total acceptance in the mind and puts the mind at ease.
The Mother Divine is recognised not just as the brilliance of intellect buddhi, but also the confusion, bhranti; she is not just abundance, Lakshmi, she is also hunger, shudha and thirst, trishna. Realising this aspect of the Mother Divine in entire Creation leads one to a deep state of samadhi. This gives an answer to the age-old theological struggle of the Occident. Through wisdom, devotion and nishkama karma, one can attain advaita siddhi or perfection in the non-dual consciousness.

Also Please visit following links for more,
Navratri
Mahalxmi Temple Kolhapur
Kolhapur
Durga and feminism