FREE TALK : Yoga and Science - February 11 and February 12, 2012

Vanakam and Namaskaram to All Atma,
Atma Namaste , Atma Jothi and Atma Sakti.
Om Namasivaya and Anbe Sivam to All Jeevatma.

A fantastic talk by an ardent Yoga Teacher , Yogiraj Lingam who has been practising Yoga for past 40 years. An accomplished Yoga teacher who has vast experience teaching overseas also.

He will be giving a talk about how Yoga is a science , and that everyone should learn and practise. He says that Yoga is Your Birth Right.

The talk will be held at his centre in Old Klang Road , KL.

Date : Saturday 11 February 2012 5.00 pm to 6.30 pm

Date : Sunday 12 February 2012 5.00 pm to 6.30 pm

Venue : First floor Yoga Centrum Danz Center , Lee Chong Wei Sports Arena Centre

Jalan Seri Sentosa 2A, Taman Sentosa , 58000 KL

Contact : 016 3929939 , 016 2325664

Entrance : Free but need to book your seat as the place is limited .

Email : artha.dharma@facebook.com.

Choose one of the day.

Inform and forward to all your friends.
Bless and Love.
Om Shanti

Sivajnani Nagappan
Artha Dharma Concept Builders

This program is supported by Artha Dharma Concept Builder

Free Talk : Friday 3 February , 2012 - Spirituality and Prosperity

Blessed Atma
Beloved Atma,
Divine Atma,
Pure Atma,
You are the Atma,
Atma is God.
Spirituality and Prosperity are connected.
Attend the Free talk.



FREE introductory talk in English on
"Spirituality and Prosperity in our day-to-day life"
Venue: Shree Lakshmi Narayan Mandir (Ground floor Hall)
Date: Friday 3rd February 2012
Time: 6.30pm to 9.30pm

All Are Welcomed


Speaker: Shri Prem Nirmal

We are very privileged & fortunate to have Shri Prem Nirmal share some interesting insights on how one can attain Financial Freedom with happiness while journeying on the spiritual path. Participants will immensely benefit from the Secrets they learn. It is all about techniques of accessing the powers of the subconscious mind and use it to our benefit in a systematic & easy-to-practice manner. It is researched and designed in an experiential form, based on Cybernetics, Vivek management, Eastern Wisdom and esoteric secrets from various modern and ancient civilizations who knew ‘Money Mantras’ and had established the norms of money management in form of ‘Money Manuals’.

About The Facilitator, Shri Prem Nirmal,

Prem Nirmal, born in 1960, is a graduate in Electrical & Power Electronics Engineering and postgraduate in Cybernetics. He has done extensive research in the areas of Stress Management, Intuition development, Aura Reading and Meditation Therapy. He is the visiting faculty to various Management Institutes & professional keynote speaker for many social events. He is known for his sharp - edge western scientific approach balanced by deeply insightful eastern wisdom. He has wide experience in Personal Counseling, Consultancy and Training and has deep insights in human behavior and body-mind healing.

He is the visiting faculty for Stress Management at IIT Powai & Welingkar Institute of Management, Matunga. He is empanelled with the Life Positive Holistic Practitioners board.




for and on behalf of
The Management Committee of
Shree Lakshmi Narayan Mandir
(Sanatan Dharam Sabha Kuala Lumpur)
68 & 69 Jalan Kasipillay, off Jalan Ipoh
51200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 603-40412993, Fax: 603-40455857
Mobile: 012-3979776
Email: mandir@sdskl.com
FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/sdskl


Bless and Love.
Om Shanti

Sivajnani Nagappan
Artha Dharma Concept Builder

Blood Donation and Helpers Needed by NGO

Serve the Lord by Serving Mankind.
That is the kindness thing that you can give back to Mankind as the Mankind is God Himself


Blood Donation on February 6, 2012 by Sai Baba Organization

Dear Everyone,
The Thaipusam Blood Donation Campaign, will take place on 12noon 6th Feb (Mon) to 6pm 7th Feb (Tues), below the flyover opposite Bt Caves temple main entrance. It is going to be 30 hours non-stop campaign. Please come forward to help save life.

To the consistent donors, who are donating in name of God, our thanks and we are really looking forward to have you all again. Please do continue this great form of Venduthal, because some stays alive due to your contribution.

Volunteers are welcomed. Thanks.
Email :sairesh_76@yahoo.com



Divine Life Society :Vegetable Cutting and Annathanam 5 , 6 , 7 February

Hari Om,
Blessed self,

Om Namo Narayanaya.Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya.


Divine Life Society - Sivanandashram, Batu Caves has been involved in Thaipusam “Annathaanam” for many years as part of our contributions to serve the Devotees.

We serve around 20,000 people every year and planning the same for this year 2012.
We seeking more support from volunteers who can assist us in serving people.

Volunteers can help us in “Annathanam” Serving session and also for Cutting Vegetables.
The volunteers are needed for session as below :

5th. FEBRUARY 2012, SUNDAY.
6pm – 11pm - Cutting Vegetable and Banana Leaf Preparations.


6th. FEBRUARY 2012, MONDAY.
Annathaanam Serving :
8am - 11am - Breakfast
11am - 4pm - Lunch
7pm - 12am - Dinner
12am - 4.00am (Monday Midnight) - Supper

Cutting Vegetables :
7.00am till 5.00pm – Vegetable preparations.


7th. FEBRUARY 2012, TUESDAY – THAIPUSAM DAY.
Annathaanam Serving :
8am - 5.00pm - Breakfast & Lunch


Please let us know which session you can join us in helping and how long you can spend in doing this great service. You info will be helpful to us in planning the man power.

If you are Interested, please contact us :
Mr.Logen - 016-3694455 ( logen143@yahoo.com.sg )
Mr.Muthu - 019-3860275 ( muthugel@hotmail.com )
Mr. Kumarajah - 013-3644560 ( kumarajah@ornets.com )
DLS Ashram - 03-61896994


Your kind donation, however small will go a long way to meet the expenses of this feeding. The society takes this opportunity to express its heart felt gratitude in advance for your kind generosity. May the supreme Lord and Worshipful Gurudev bless your good self with long life, radiant health, supreme peace,sustained happiness, prosperity and spiritual illumination. Thank you for your kind attentions.


Blessed are the one who tirelessly serve the mankind without any reward , as every deeds that you do are indeed God's Grace and Blessings.
Forward our information about this noble activities to your friend.
Bless and Love.

Sivajnani Nagappan
Artha Dharma Concept Builders

Volunteers Needed to Serve during Thaipusam

Vanakam and blessed Day to All Wonderful Atma,

Thaipusam is coming which is on 7 of February , 2012.
Many will be fasting and fulfilling your vows towards Lord Muruga.

Also at the same time , many volunteers are needed to serve the people and help up with the cleanliness of the place.

Hindu Seva Sangam
This NGO has been serving the Hindu community by serving food to about 50 000 people for the past 9 years. This year is their 10th year. They need a lot of volunteers to cut the vegetables and serve the food. They will need your service from 5th to 7th of February, 2012.Also if you cant make it but want to donate also welcomed. Contact person : Shri Maniventheran 0193266542 and Kumari Malar 0172003530. Check payable to "Hindu Seva Sangam"

Thaipusam Cleaning Project in Penang.
"Volunteers needed for Sampah Masyarakat Penang Thaipusam Clean Up. Bus departs Brickfields Mahavihara on Mon 6 Feb at (est) 10pm, depart from Penang on 7 Feb (est) 11pm. Since its a charter bus, seats are on FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS. for more info, email shyampriah@gmail.com.

Bless this NGO , Individuals and others who are involve in such noble act of serving the community and mankind.

Makkal Seva Mahesan Seva.
To Serve Mankind is to Serve God.

Om Shanti.

Artha Dharma Concept Builders

KUIL ARULMIGU SRI RAMALINGESWARAR - MAHA KUMBABISEGAM- 29 January 2012

A DIVINE INVITATION

YOU, FAMILY & FRIENDS ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO THE

3rd MAHA KUMBHABISHEGAM
OF THE SRI RAMALINGESWARAR TEMPLE, BANGSAR

ON 29th JANUARY 2012 (Sunday)
BETWEEN 8.30am To 9.30am

A Beautiful and Magnificent SIVA temple located in the HEART of Kuala Lumpur City at Bangsar (Jalan Maarof) with SHIVA both as THE LINGAM & LORD NATARAJA, dancing gloriously, vibrating the entire universe, showering HIS Grace to entire mankind. This temple was initiated, strictly by following the ancient AGAMIC rules. It was this Temple in Malaysia, that was chosen and closely monitored in the process of it being built, by the Great Disciple of Swami Gnanananda Giri, - Saint, Sri Swami Haridas Giri. It is very rare that one would come across temples in Malaysia built under the guidance of Saints and highly Spiritual persons.

Sri Swami Haridas Giri on 4th September 1994 disappeared (Jala Samadhi), when he entered the Holy river at Koteeswarar Temple near Rudraprayag in the Himalayas, India. That itself proved to be a mysterious event, since he had done it quietly, to the wonder of his devotees.

LORD NATARAJA'S statue in this temple is believed to be more than a 100 years old. Sri ATHI RAMALINGESWARAR's statue in this temple too is more than a 100 years. Once before, prior to the 1st Kumbhabhisegam, it was decided to send-off this statue into the waters of the sea. Our LORD was brought to the seaside and was tied to a rope and put into the water to sink. A voice was heard, saying, behold, do not, do not...take me back.... Those entrusted with the duty ignored the call and continued to sink THE LORD into the sea. A miracle happened, whereby a passing police patrol vehicle pulled up, and two policemen stopped to witness the event, and ordered the workers to take back the LORD, and thus, OUR LORD "came back" to this temple to grace His devotees.

Other uniqueness about this temple include:-

1) To be the first "GO GREEN - SAVE THE PLANET" place of Hindu worship, on the materials used for construction, a role model temple in Malaysia. Thus, an eco-friendly monument.

2) To be the first "HANDICAP FRIENDLY" temple in Malaysia, which caters for all handicap persons to be able to reach the front of the sanctum sanctorum.

3) To be the only temple in the world, (outside India) where one is able to witness the yearly Chariot Procession for the 63 Saivite Saints (Nayanmars), going around the vicinity in Bangsar, accompanied by musicians, together with the melodious songs of Thirumurais being recited, vibrating entire Bangsar. You need thousand (1,000) eyes, to witness the beauty, of this occasion.

AUM
SIVAMAYAM
ARULMIGU SRI RAMALINGESWARAR TEMPLE

Lot 61, Jalan Ma'arof, Off Jalan Bangsar
59000 Kuala Lumpur

ALL DEVOTEES ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE AND GET THE BLESSINGS OF ARULMIGU SRI RAMALINGESWARAR & SRI PARVATHA VARTHINI AMBAL

Rites & Rituals pertaining to the Maha Kumbhabishegam ceremony:~

Date
Time
Event
Sunday 22-01-2012
8.30 am
Anugnyai,Sri Vigneswara Pooja,Punniaga Vasanam,Panja Kavya Pooja,Mugurtha Nirnayam,Pathirikai Vaasithal,Thevatha Anugnyai,Sri Ganapathy Homam,Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham

7.30 pm
Sri Vgneswara Pooja,Punniaga Vasanam,Ghraama Saanthi,Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham


Monday 23-01-2012
8.00 am
Sri Vigneswara Pooja,Punniaga vasanam,Navakraga Homam,Thiraviahoothi,Poornahoothy,Navakraha Abishegam,Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham


6.00 pm
Sri vikneswara Pooja,Punniaga Vasanam,Pravesa Pali,Vaasthu Saanthi,Rakshokna Homam ,Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham



Tuesday 24-01-2012
8.30 am
Sri Vigneswara Pooja,Punniaga vasanam,Saanthi Homam,Thisa Homam,Theepaaraathanai ,Distribution of Arul Prasatham


6.00 pm
Sri Vigneswara pooja,Punniaga vasanam,Maha Lakshmi Homam,Thana Pooja,
Koh Pooja,Thiraviahoothi,Poornahoothi,Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham







Wednesday 25-01-2012
8.00 am
Sri Vigneswara Pooja,Punniaga vasanam,Thisa Homam,Samhitha Homam,Thiraviahoothi Poornahoothi,Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham


5.00 pm
Sri Vigneswara Pooja,Punniaga Vasanam,Miruthsangirahanam,Angguraarpanam,Ratcha Panthanam,Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham







Thursday 26-01-2012
8.30 am
Sri Vigneswara Pooja, Punniaga vasanam,Prasannabishegam,Maganniyasa Ruthra Abishegam,Theertha Sangiraganam,Thiraviahoothi Poornahoothi,Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham

4.30 pm
Sri Vigneswara Pooja, Punniaga Vasanam,Soma kumba Pooja,Ratcha Panthanam,Kumbalangaram,Kalagarshanam,Yaagaa Salai Pravesam,Muthalam Kaala Yaaga Velvi,Moola Manthira Homam,Thiraviahoothi Poornahoothi,Thhpaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatnam






Friday 27-01-2012
8.30 pm
Sri Vigneswara Pooja,Punniaga vasanam,Vishesa santhi,2nd Kaala Yaaga Velvi ,Moola Manthira Homam

9.30 am
Sthoopi Stabanam,Thiraviahoothi Poornahoothi,Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham

5.30 pm
Sri Vigneswara Pooja ,Punniaga Vasanam,Vishesa Santhi,3rd Kaala Velvi

6.00 pm
Yantra Sthabanam,Navarathina Stabanam(Devotees place Gold,Diamand,Silver and Navarathanas – until night)Thiraviahoothi Poornahoothi,Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham

10.00 pm
Bimba Sthabanam (Swami Prathistai Seithal)Ashta Panthan Marunthu Sathuthal









Saturday 28-01-2012
8.30 am
Sri Vigneswara Pooja ,Punniaga Vasanam,Vishesa Santhi,4th Kaala Yaaga Velvi

9.30 am
Thaila Kaappu (Devotees put oil for deities – from 7.45am till 9.00 pm)
Thiraviahoothi Poornahoothi, Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham

5.30 pm
Sri Vigneswara Pooja , Punniaga Vasanam,Vishesa Santhi,5th Kaala Yaaga velvi ,Koh Pooja ,Panjamuga Ruthra Thirisathi Archanai,Thiraviahoothi Poornahoothi,Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatham

10.00 pm
Bimba Suthi ,Bimba Ratcha Panthanam






Sunday 29-01-2012
4.30 am
Sri Vigneswara Pooja , Punniaga Vasanam, 6th Kaala Yaaga velvi ,Naadi Santhanam,Isparsahoothi,Thiraviahoothi,Maha Poornahoothi,Yaathir Thanam,Kadam Purappadu

9.00 am
All Vimana(Kobura) Maha Kumbabishegam

9.15 am
All Moolasthana Vighraga Maha Kumbabishegam

9.30 am
Maha Theepaaraathanai ,Distribution of Arul Prasatham

10.30 am
Pattu Sathuthal Function

12.00 noon
Maheswara Pooja,Annathanam

4.30 pm
Moola Manthira Homam,Maha Abishegam

6.00 pm
Nithiya Pooja,Theepaaraathanai

7.00 pm
Thirukkalyana Vizha (Holy Wedding Festival)Swamy Temple Ula Varuthal, Theepaaraathanai,Distribution of Arul Prasatnam

KUIL ARULMIGU SRI RAMALINGESWARAR
LOT 61,Jalan Maarof,Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur,Regd. No. 1556 (Selangor)

The 3rd MAHA KUMBHABISHEGAM (Consecration Ceremony)
29-01-2012 (Sunday) Between 8.30 am and 9.30 am

Lots of Love and Blessings.
Om Shanti.

KL Tamil Toastmaster Meeting- January 22, 2012. 3.30pm.

Join us and together we can make Tamil a powerful communication tool.
Date : January 22, 2012
Time : 3.30 pm
Venue : 25-1 Citras Hall, Jalan Thamby Abdullah 1 , off Jalan Tun
Sambanthan,Brickfields KL
Contact : Please call or sms to book a place .

Contact persons : 0162325664, 0163963242
Email : artha.dharma@gmail.com


Toastmaster Meeting is a powerful tool to help develop your self esteem and self confidence and instil and build a powerful leadership.

Who should attend ?
Any individual who wants to develop good leadership and build self confidence and self esteem. Business owners , Trainers, Working People and any person.


Some Tips on Leadership
Delegating Authority

The best way to wield power is to share it responsibly.

A leader is only one person and can only do the work of one person. In order to best accomplish the team’s goals and objectives, he or she must carefully delegate authority to team members.

Why we don’t delegate
Some leaders hesitate to delegate authority for the following reasons:
1.They think they can do it better themselves.
2,They fear others will make mistakes.
3.They think team members won’t like them if they give them a lot of work and responsibility.
4.They’re afraid the person will perform too well and make them look bad.

Truth is, the careful delegation of authority is one of the most important aspects of team building. When done right, it plays to the team’s strengths and gives team members valuable experience. It also gives people the opportunity to shine while freeing up the leader’s time for more important or appropriate activities.

How to delegate
While delegating authority and responsibility is crucial to team success, there are a few guidelines that should be followed:

1.Choose the right person. Select someone who is capable, able and willing to take on the responsibility.
2.Make expectations clear. Describe the project or task to be completed, the results expected and the timetable.
3.Establish how and when you want feedback on progress. Do you prefer daily reports? A weekly email?
4.Give appropriate authority. Don’t give a team member a project that he or she does not have the power to complete! For example, don’t assign someone a task that requires access to a database that they can’t get into.
5.Get the person’s agreement. The team member should commit to and be willing to carry out the work.
www.toastmasters.org

Bless and Love.
Sharing is Caring.
Share this information to all your Friends.

How to Lead a Spiritual Life in Our Daily Life? First Principle of Niyamas :Remorse & Modesty - Hri

Summary
Allow yourself the expression of remorse, being modest and showing shame for misdeeds. Recognize your errors, confess and make amends. Sincerely apologize to those hurt by your words or deeds. Resolve all contention before sleep. Seek out and correct your faults and bad habits. Welcome correction as a means to bettering yourself. Do not boast. Shun pride and pretension.

Explanation
Hri , the first of the ten niyamas, or practices, is remorse: being modest and showing shame for misdeeds, seeking the guru’s grace to be released from sorrows through the understanding that he gives, based on the ancient sampradâya, doctrinal lineage, he preaches. Remorse could be the most misunderstood and difficult to practice of all of the niyamas, because we don’t have very many role models today for modesty or remorse. In fact, the role for imitation in today’s world is just the opposite. This is reflected in television, on film, in novels, magazines, newspapers and all other kinds of media. In today’s world, brash, presumptuous, prideful—that’s how one must be. That’s the role model we see everywhere. In today’s world, arrogant—that’s how one must be. That’s the role model we see everywhere. Therefore, to be remorseful or even to show modesty would be a sign of weakness to one’s peers, family and friends.

Modesty is portrayed in the media as a trait of people that are gauche, inhibited, undeveloped emotionally or not well educated. And remorse is portrayed in the world media as a characteristic of one who “doesn’t have his act together,” is unable to rationalize away wrongdoings, or who is not clever enough to find a scapegoat to pin the blame on. Though modesty and remorse are the natural qualities of the soul, when the soul does exhibit these qualities, there is a natural tendency to suppress them.

But let’s look on the brighter side. There is an old saying, “Some people teach us what to do, and other people teach us what not to do.” The modern media, at least most of it, is teaching us what not to do. Its behavior is based on other kinds of philosophy—secular humanism, materialism, existentialism, crime and punishment, terrorism—in its effort to report and record the stories of the day. Sometimes we can learn quite a lot by seeing the opposite of what we want to learn. The proud and arrogant people portrayed on TV nearly always have their fall. This is always portrayed extremely well and is very entertaining. In their heart of hearts, people really do not admire the prideful person or his display of arrogance, so they take joy in seeing him get his just due. People, in their heart of hearts, do admire the modest person, the truthful person, the patient person, the steadfast person, the compassionate person who shows contentment and the fullness of well-being on his face and in his behavioral patterns.


We Hindus who understand these things know that hrî, remorse, is to be practiced at every opportunity. One of the most acceptable ways to practice hrî, even in today’s society, is to say in a heartfelt way, “I’m sorry.” Everyone will accept this. Even the most despicable, prideful, arrogant, self-centred person will melt just a little under the two magic words “I’m sorry.” When apologizing, explain to the person you hurt or wronged how you have realized that there was a better way and ask for his forgiveness. If the person is too proud or arrogant to forgive, you have done your part and can go your way. The burden of the quandary you have put him into now lies solely with him. He will think about it, justify how and why and what he should not forgive until the offence melts from his mind and his heart softens. It takes as much time for a hardened heart to soften as it does for a piece of ice to melt in a refrigerator. Even when it does, his pride may never let him give you the satisfaction of knowing he has forgiven you. But you can tell. Watch for softening in the eyes when you meet, a less rigid mouth and the tendency to suppress a wholesome smile.

Body Language and Conscience
There is another way to show remorse for misdeeds. That is by performing seva, religious service, for persons you have wronged. Give them gifts, cook them food. Some people are unreachable by words, too remote for an apology, which might even lead to an argument, and then the wrong would perpetuate itself. Be extra polite to such people. Hold the door open as they walk through. Never miss an opportunity to be kind and serve. Say kind words about them behind their back. The praise must be true and timely. Mere flattery would be unacceptable. This kind of silent behavior shows repentance, shows remorse, shows that you have reconsidered your actions and found that they need improvement, and the improvement is shown by your actions now and into the future.

Often people think that showing shame and modesty and remorse for misdeeds is simply hanging your head. Well, really, anyone can do this, but it’s not genuine if the head is not pulled down by the tightening of the strings of the heart, if shame is not felt so deeply that one cannot look another in the eye. When the hanging of the head is genuine, everyone will know it and seek to lift you up out of the predicament. But just to hang your head for a while and think you’re going to get away with it in today’s world, no. In today’s world, people are a little too perceptive, and will not admire you, as they will suspect pretense.


There is an analogy in the Saivite tradition that compares the unfolding soul to wheat. When young and growing, the stalks of wheat stand tall and proud, but when mature their heads bend low under the weight of the grains they yield. Similarly, man is self-assertive, arrogant and vain only in the early stages of his spiritual growth. As he matures and yields the harvest of divine knowledge, he too bends his head. Body language has to truly be the language of the body. It’s a dead giveaway. Body language is the language of the mind being expressed through the body. Let there be no doubt about this. To cry, expressing remorse—the crying should not be forced. Many people can cry on cue. We must not think that the soul of the observer is not perceptive enough to know the difference between real tears and a glandular disturbance causing watering of the eyes. Hrî is regret that one has done things against the dharma, or against conscience. There are three kinds of conscience— one built on right knowledge, one built on semiright knowledge and one built on wrong knowledge. The soul has to work through these three gridworks within the subconscious mind to give its message. Those who have been raised with the idea that an injustice should be settled by giving back another injustice might actually feel a little guilty when they fail to do this. Those who are in a quandary of what to do, what is right and what is wrong, remain in confusion because they have only semi-right knowledge in their subconscious mind.

We cannot confuse guilt and its messages with the message that comes from the soul. Guilt is the message of the instinctive mind, the chakras below the mûlâdhâra. Many people who live in the lower worlds of darkness feel guilty and satisfy that guilt through retaliation. This is the eye for an eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth approach. This is not right conscience; it is not the soul speaking. This is not higher consciousness, and it is certainly not the inner being of light looking out of the windows of the chakras above the mûlâdhâra. Why, even domesticated animals feel guilty. It is a quality of the instinctive mind.

True conscience is of the soul, an impulse rushing through a mind that has been impregnated with right knowledge, Vedic, Ågamic knowledge, or the knowledge that is found in these yamas and niyamas, restraints and practices. When the true knowledge of karma is understood, reincarnation, saμsâra and Vedic dharma, then true remorse is felt, which is a corrective mechanism of the soul. This remorse immediately imprints upon the lower mind the right knowledge of the dharma—how, where and why the person has strayed and the methodology of getting quickly and happily back to the path and proceeding onward. There is no guilt felt here, but there is a sense of spiritual responsibility, and a driving urge to bring dharma, the sense of spiritual duty, more fully into one’s life, thus filling up the lack that the misdeeds manifested through adhering to these twenty restraints and practices and the Vedic path of dharma, which is already known within the bedrock of right knowledge, firmly planted within the inner mind of the individual.


Compensating for Misdeeds
The soul’s response to wrong action comes of its own force, unbidden, when the person is a free soul, not bound by many materialistic duties—even while doing selfless service— which can temporarily veil and hold back the spontaneous actions of the soul if done for the expectant praise that may follow. The held-back, spontaneous action of the soul would, therefore, burst forth during personal times of sâdhana, meditation or temple worship. The bursting forth would be totally unbidden, and resolutions would follow in the wake. For those immersed in heavy prârabdha karmas, going through a period of their life cycle when difficult karmic
patterns are manifesting, it will be found that the soul’s spontaneity is triple-veiled even though the subconscious mind is impregnated with right knowledge. To gain absolution and release, to gain peace of mind, one should perform pilgrimage, spiritual retreat, the practice of mauna, recitation of mantras through japa, deep meditation and, best of all, the vâsanâ daha tantra. These practices will temporarily pierce the veils of mâyâ and let the light shine in, bringing understanding, solutions and direction for future behavior.

Having hurt another through wrongdoing, one has to pay back in proportion to the injury, not a rupee less and not a rupee more. The moment the healing is complete, the scar will mysteriously vanish. This is the law. It is a mystical law. And while there are any remaining scars, which are memories impregnated with emotion, much work has to be done. Each one must find a way to be nice if he has been not nice, say kind words if previous words have been unkind, issue forth good feelings if the feelings previously exuded were nasty, inharmonious and unacceptable. Just as a responsible doctor or nurse must bring the healing to culmination, so the wrongdoer must deal with his wrongdoing, his crime against dharma, his crime against right knowledge, Vedic Ågamic precepts, his crime against the yamas and niyamas, restraints and practices, which are in themselves right knowledge—a digest of the Vedas, we might say. He must deal with his wrongdoings, his errors, within himself until rightness, santosha, returns.

There are no magic formulas. Each one must find his own way to heal himself and others until the troublesome situation disappears from his own memory. This is why the practice called vâsanâ daha tantra, writing down memories and burning them in a fire to release the emotion from the deep subconscious, has proven to be a solution uncomparable to any other. Only in this way will he know that, by whatever method he has applied, he has healed the one he wronged. True forgiveness is the greatest eraser, the greatest harmonizer. It is this process of misdeeds against dharma, followed by shame and remorse, as people interrelate with one another, that moves them forward in their evolution toward their ultimate goal of mukti.

The Japanese, unlike most of the rest of the world, have a great sense of loss of face, and a Japanese businessman will resign if he has shamed his family or his country. This is hrî and is very much ingrained in the Japanese society, which is based on Buddhist precepts. Buddhism itself is the outgrowth into the family community from a vast monastic order; whereas Hinduism is a conglomerate of many smaller religions, some of which are not outgrowths of a monastic community. Therefore, hrî is an integral part of the culture of Japan. They have maintained this and other cultural precepts, as the Buddhist monastic orders are still influential throughout Asia.

A materialist who loses face smiles and simply puts on another mask and continues as if nothing had ever happened. The saying goes, “Change your image and get on with life.” No shame, repentance or reconciliation is shown by such people, as is so often portrayed on American television, and much worse, as it actually happens all the time in public life.


Humility, Shame and Shyness
The Hindu monastic has special disciplines in regard to remorse. If he doesn’t, he is an impostor. If he is seen struggling to observe it and unable to accomplish it all the time, he is still a good monastic. If he shows no remorse, modesty or shame for misdeeds for long periods of time, even though he continues apparently in the performance of no misdeeds, the abbot of the monastery would know that he is suppressing many things, living a personal life, avoiding confrontation and obscuring that which is obvious to himself with a smile and the words, “Yes, everything is all right with me. The meditations are going fine. I get along beautifully with all of my brothers.” You would know that this is a “mission impossible,” and that it is time to effect certain tests to break up the nest of the enjoyable routine and of keeping out of everybody’s way, of not participating creatively in the entire community, but just doing one’s job and keeping out of trouble. The test would bring him out in the open, into counseling sessions, so that he himself would see that his clever pride had led him to a spiritual standstill.

A monastery is no place to settle down and live. It is a place to be on one’s toes and advance. One must always live as if on the eve of one’s departure. Another side of hrî is being bashful, shy, unpretentious. The undeveloped person and the fully developed, wise person may develop the same qualities of being bashful, shy, unpretentious, cautious. In the former, these qualities are the products of ignorance produced by underexposure, and in the latter, they are the products of the wisdom or cleverness produced by overexposure. Genuine modesty and unpretentiousness are not what actors on the stage would portray, they are qualities that one cannot act out, qualities of the soul.

Shyness used to be thought of as a feminine quality, but not anymore, since the equality of men and women has been announced as the way that men and women should be. Both genders should be aggressive, forceful, to meet and deal with situations on equal terms. This is seen today in the West, in the East, in the North and the South. This is a façade which covers the soul, producing stress in both men and women. A basically shy man or woman, feeling he or she has to be
aggressive, works his or her way into a stressful condition. I long ago found that stress in itself is a byproduct of not being secure in what one is doing. But this is the world today, at this time in the Kali Yuga. If everything that is happening were reasonable and could be easily understood, it certainly wouldn’t be the Kali Yuga.

If people are taught and believe that their spiritual pursuits are foremost, then, yes, they should be actively aggressive— but as actively passive and modest as well, because of their spiritual pursuits. Obviously, if they are performing sâdhanas, they will intuitively know the proper timing for each action. Remorse, or modesty, certainly does not meanone must divorce oneself from the ability to move the forcesof the external world, or be a wimpy kind of impotent person. It does mean that there is a way of being remorseful, showing shame, being humble, of resolving situations when they do go wrong so that you can truly “get on with life” and not be bound by emotionally saturated memories of the past. Those who are bound by the past constantly
remember the past and relive the emotions connected with it. Those who are free from the past remember the future and move the forces of all three worlds for a better life for themselves and for all mankind. This is the potent Vedic hrî. This is true remorse, humility and modesty. This is hrî, which is not a weakness but a spiritual strength. And all this is made practical and permanent by subconscious journaling, vâsanâ daha tantra, which releases creative energy and
does not inhibit it.

Bless Bliss and Love.
Om Shanti.
Anbe Sivamayam Satyame Parasivam
Moved forward with Confidence.

Special Message for Ponggal from Sivajnani Nagappan - President of Artha Dharma

Vanakam and blessed day to all my friends and members of Artha Dharma,

Blessings , love , peace and harmony are always flowing continuously from God, Gods and Gurus to You and Your family.

This is a special message on this auspicious day Ponggal.
Please take time and read very carefully this message.
Please take it to your heart and implement it from now on.


Matha Pitha Guru Deivam.
As the saying goes , the first Guru and second Guru are the Parents. For those who are married and have children , please take note of that you are the examples for your children. Both of You must resolve and be faithful to each other. Lots of "affair" are going on at work. This affects the growth and development of the children.You can't hide from your children. They know and observe what is going on in the family. What you do at home and your behaviour , your children will follow and do in future. If you have to discuss anything, do it privately when your kids are asleep or not around. Get your relationship organized. "Give and Take " and "Resolving before Sleep " are important principles that you can practice and will help solve many of the problems in a family. Respect each other and don't put each other down in front of others. When both the parents are on good terms, that itself gives strength to the family and the community become strong. Those days marriage use to be" You listen to me and do it. don't question". it worked at that time because the women don't have much education and the husband was the bread winner. But now the marriage is more like a "Partnership". Discussion needs to take place before decisions are taken. When there is no discussions is going on, the silence will lead to divorce. Just so you know I'm not talking as a single man I have been married to a wonderful woman for the past almost 20 years and have 2 kids aged 13 and 10 this is not just my theory but what has worked to keep our marriage stable and happy for all these years. As you can see, the divorce rate is the high in our community.

Many of our parents are so focused on the education of their children that they are forgotten to educate and teach responsibility to them. Parents please take some serious action to put them to learn , Bharatanatyam , Sangeetam , Indian Music instrument , Yoga or Indian Martial. This will instil our culture in them and build confidence in them. This characteristic will be in them for life. Many parents stop this activity because of major exam. They forgotten that these activities improve their studies too. The life must be balanced between education – academic vocational and cultural activities - non academic vocational.Send the children for religious classes too so that they learn their own heritage. Parents , You are the first Gurus and You are the Pillar of Our community.

Many of our young people are very focus on career. That is very good. Life must be balance between Career and Spiritual Life. Spiritual life is not something that is very different or difficult to follow. Those are the life principles that build and develop yourself , personality and character. When you are fully aware of yourself , you will achieve success in your career business and whatever you undertake in this world. Spend time and learn about our heritage and religion. Take time and attend talks or classes that teach us the values that are found in our scriptures like Tirukural Tirumantiram Tiruvasagam Bhagavatgeetha Vedas Agamas Upanishads etc.Check out our blog for more on how to lead a spiritual life and at the same time lead our normal life http://arthadharma.blogspot.com/. All of us have 24 hours. You have to make up the time , time never wait for you.

Also noticing that our younger generation seems to be scared to get married because of divorce rate which is very high in our community. So they don't want to get married .Unnecessary problem to take on.Well true progress will happen only when you take on responsibility. You need to decide that if you don't want to get married , then you need to serve the God by spending your valuable time in serving community. since you have more time as compare with those who got married. Our future of our community depends on our younger people and children. If nobody wants to get married, very soon our Indian Community will in DLL category . Build your career your daily life and spiritual life together. They are some individuals are sacrificing their life for the development our culture music and dance to bring up our children who are the asset of our community.



I personally encourage everyone to take time and be grateful to God Gods and Gurus for what you have. I personally encourage everyone to take action to contribute you TIME and MONEY for the development of our children, young people and teenagers. Make a pledge to contribute whatever percentage you decide and do it every month. Choose where you want to contribute. If you need help , email to me artha.dharma@gmail.com and give you some suggestions. Don't worry about what other people or organization are not doing, what You do matters.

Matha Pitha Guru Deivam.

Pongal Valtukal
Om Shanti.

Sivajnani Nagappan
President and Founder of Artha Dharma Concept Builders.
Serving the community since 2006
Artha Dharma Group : https://www.facebook.com/groups/artha.dharma

How to Lead a Spiritual Life ? Niyamas - Observances

The Ten Niyamas, Observances For Spiritual Life from the Vedas
This is the summary of the ten observances and we will go through it in detail in next couple of weeks.

1. Remorse, hrî:
Being modest and showing shame for misdeeds.

2. Contentment, santosha:
Seeking joy and serenity in life.

3. Giving, dâna:
Tithing and giving generously without thought of reward.

4. Faith, âstikya:
Believing firmly in God, Gods, guru and the path to enlightenment.

5. Worship of the Lord, Isvarapûjana:
The cultivation of devotion through daily worship and meditation.

6. Scriptural listening, siddhânta sravana:
Studying the teachings and listening to the wise of one’s lineage.

7. Cognition, mati:
Developing a spiritual will and intellect with the guru’s guidance.

8. Sacred vows, vrata:
Fulfilling religious vows, rules and observances faithfully.

9. Recitation, japa:
Chanting mantras daily.

10. Austerity, tapas:
Performing sâdhana, penance, tapas and sacrifice.

How to Lead a Spiritual Life ? Tenth Principle of Yamas : Purity - Saucha

Summary
Uphold the ethic of purity, avoiding impurity in mind, body and speech. Maintain a clean, healthy body. Keep a pure, uncluttered home and workplace. Act virtuously. Keep good company, never mixing with adulterers, thieves or other impure people. Keep away from pornography and violence. Never use harsh, angered or indecent language. Worship devoutly. Meditate daily

Explanation
Purity, Saucha , number ten of the yamas, is the outcome of restraining ourselves in all the other nine. Pu rity is the natural heritage of men and women, disciplined in mind and body, who think before they speak, speaking only that which is true, kind, helpful and necessary. People whose thoughts are pure—and this means being in line with the yamas and niyamas—and whose bodies are free from incompatible alien obstructions, are naturally happy, content and ready to perform japa. Japa yoga lifts the spiritual energies and annihilates pride and arrogance by awakening within the superconscious areas of the mind an extraterrestrial intelligence, far surpassing the ordinary intellect one would encounter in the schools and universities of the present day. To be pure in mind means to have a bright, luminous aura filled with the pastel hues of the primary and secondary colors under every circumstance and life situation. Those who practice this restraint have realized that thoughts create and manifest into situations, actual physical happenings. Therefore, they are careful what they think and to whom they direct their thoughts.

A clean personal environment, wearing clean clothes, bathing often, keeping the room spotless where you meditate, breathing clean air, letting fresh air pass through your house, is all very important in the fulfillment of purity. Saucha also includes partaking of clean food, which ideally is freshly picked food, cooked within minutes of the picking. There are creative forces, preservation forces and forces of dissolution. The preservation force is in the continued growing of a fruit or a leafy vegetable. It reaches its normal size and if not picked remains on the plant and is preserved by the life of that plant. As soon as it is picked, the force of dissolution, mumia, sets in. Therefore, the food should be cooked and eaten as soon after picking as possible, before the mumia force gets strong. Mumia, as it causes the breakdown of the cells, is an impure force. When we constantly eat food that is on the breakdown, the body is sluggish, the mind is sluggish and the tongue is loose, and we say things we don’t mean. Many unhappy, depressed situations result from people eating a predominance of frozen foods, processed foods, canned foods, convenience foods, which are all in the process of mumia.

Clean clothing is very important. One feels invigorated and happy wearing clean clothing. Even hanging clothing out in the sunlight for five minutes a day cleanses and refreshes it. An incredible amount of body waste is eliminated through the skin and absorbed by the clothing we wear. It is commonly thought that clothing does not need to be cleaned unless it has been dirtied or soiled with mud, dirt or stains. Very little concern is given to the body odors and wastes that are exuded through the pores, then caught and held by the fabric. Small wonder it’s so refreshing to put on clean clothing. The sun and fresh air can eliminate much of the body waste and freshen up any garment.

Keeping Pure Surround

Cleaning the house is an act of purifying one’s immediate environment. Each piece of furniture, as well as the doorways and the walls, catches and holds the emanations of the human aura of each individual in the home, as well as each of its visitors. This residue must be wiped away through dusting and cleaning. This regular attentiveness keeps each room sparkling clean and actinic. Unless this is done, the rooms of the home become overpowering to the conscious ness of the individuals who live within them as their auras pick up the old accumulated feelings of days gone by. Small wonder that a dirty room can depress you, and one freshly cleaned can invigorate.

In these years, when both mother and father work in the outside world, the house is often simply where they sleep and eat. But if a home receives all of the daily attentions of cleaning it sparkly bright, both astrally and physically, it becomes a welcoming place and not an empty shell. The devas can live within a home that is clean and well regulated, where the routine of breakfast, lunch and dinner is upheld, where early morning devotionals are performed and respected, a home which the family lives together within, eats together within, talks together within, worships together within. Such a home is the abode of the devas. Other kinds of homes are the abodes of asuric forces and disincarnate entities bound to Earth by lower desires.

It is very important that the saμskâras are performed properly within a ßaucha abode, particularly the antyesh†i, or funeral, ceremonies so as to restore purity in the home after a death. Birth and death require the family to observe a moratorium of at least thirty-one days during which they do not enter the temple or the shrine room. Such obligatory ritual customs are important to follow for those wishing to restrain their desires and perfect Saucha in body, mind and speech, keeping good company, keeping the mind pure and avoiding impure thoughts.

Purity and impurity can be discerned in the human aura. We see purity in the brilliancy of the aura of one who is restraining and disciplining the lower instinctive nature, as outlined in these yamas and niyamas. His aura is bright with white rays from his soul lightening up the various hues and colors of his moods and emotions. Impure people have black shading in the colors of their aura as they go through their moods and emotions. Black in the aura is from the lower worlds, the worlds of darkness, of the tala chakras below the mûlâdhâra.

Wholesome Company

It is unfortunate that at this time in the Kali Yuga there are more people on the Earth in important positions who have risen into physical birth from the Narakaloka, the world of darkness, than have descended from the Devaloka, the world of light. Therefore, they are strong as they band together in anger, corruption, deceit and contempt for the Devaloka people, who live in the chakras above the mûlâdhâra. It is important for the Devaloka people to ferret out who is good company and who is not. They should not presume that they can effect any sustainable changes in the Narakaloka people. And they need to know that the asuric people, bound in anger, greed, jealousy, contempt, covetousness and lust, can make and sustain a difference within the devonic people, bringing them down into their world, torturing and tormenting them with their callous, cruel and insensitive feelings. To sustain ßaucha, it is important to surround oneself with good, devonic company, to have the discrimination to know one type of person from another. Too many foolish, sensitive souls, thinking their spirituality could lift a soul from the world of darkness, have walked in where even the Mahâdevas do not tread and the devas fear to tread, only to find themselves caught in that very world, through the deceit and conniving of the cleverly cunning. Let’s not be foolish. Let’s discriminate between higher consciousness and lower consciousness. Higher-consciousness people should surround themselves with higher-consciousness people to fulfill Saucha.

Changing to a purer life can be so simple. You don’t have to give up anything. Just learn to like things that are better. That is the spirit of purity. When you give up something because you think you should give it up, that createsstrain. Instead, search for a better life; search for Saucha. From tamasic eating we go to rajasic eating, and because sattvic food tastes better and makes us feel better, we also leave much of the rajasic food behind. Are not all persons on this planet driven by desire? Yes, indeed. Then let’s redirect desire and let our desires perfect us. Let us learn to desire the more tasty, sattvic foods, the more sublime sounds, the most perfect things we can see, more than the gross, exciting and reprehensible, the desires for which will fade away when we attach ourselves to something better. Let our desires perfect us.
The ultra-democratic dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness we can use as a New-Age goal and pursue the happiness of something better than what we are doing now that is bad for us. Let’s go forward with the spirit of moving onward.

A devotee told me, “I gave up coffee because coffee is a stimulant and a depressant. I stopped eating meat because meat is a cholesterol-creating killer and forest decimator.” Another approach would be to give up coffee because you have found a beverage that is better. Test all beverages. Some have found that coffee gives you indigestion and green tea helps you digest your food, especially oily foods and foods that remain in your stomach undigested through the night.
It also tastes good. Others have found that freshly picked, nutritious vegetables, especially when cooked within minutes of the picking, give more life and energy than eating dead meat that has been refrigerated or preserved. Still others have found that if you kill an animal and eat it fresh, it has more nutritive value than killing it, refrigerating it, preserving it, then cooking it to death again!

Be mature about it when you give something up. The immature spiritual person will want everyone else to give it up, too. The spiritually mature person quietly surrenders it because it is simply his personal choice and then goes on with his life. The spiritually immature person will make a big issue of giving anything up and want everyone to know about it.

Bless All. Serve All. Love All. Forgive All.
Om Shanti.

How to Lead a Spiritual Life ? Ninth Principle of Yamas : Moderate Diet - Mitahara

Summary
Be moderate in appetite, neither eating too much nor consuming meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs. Enjoy fresh, wholesome vegetarian foods that vitalize the body. Avoid junk food.Drink in moderation. Eat at regular times,only when hungry, at a moderate pace, never between meals, in a disturbed atmosphere or when upset. Follow a simple diet, avoiding rich or fancy fare.

Explanation
Mitahara , moderate appetite, is the tenth yama. Similarly, mitavyayin is little or moderate spending, being economical or frugal, and mitasÅyan is is sleeping little. Gorging oneself has always been a form of decadence in every culture and is considered unacceptable behavior. It is the behavior of people who gain wealth and luxuries from the miseries of others. Decadence, which is a dance of decay, has been the downfall of many governments, empires, kingdoms and principalities. Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, made the famous decadent statement just before the French Revolution: “If the people have no bread, let them eat cake.” Nearly everyone who heard that imperious insult, including its authoress, completely lost their heads. Decadence is a form of decay that the masses have railed against century upon century, millennium after
millennium.

All this and more shows us that mitâhâra is a restraint that we must all obey and which is one of the most difficult. The body knows no wisdom as to shoulds and should-nots. It would eat and drink itself to death if it had its way, given its own instinctive intelligence. It is the mind that controls the body and emotions and must effect this restraint for its own preservation, health and wellness of being, to avoid the emptiness of “sick-being.”

According to âyurveda, not eating too much is the greatest thing you can do for health if you want a long life, ease in meditation and a balanced, happy mind. That is why, for thousands of years, yogîs, sâdhus and meditators have eaten moderately. There is almost nothing, apart from smoking and drugs, that hurts the body more than excessive eating, and excessive eating has to be defined in both the amount of food and the quality of food. If you are regularly eating rich,
processed, dead foods, then you are not following mitâhâra, and you will have rich, finely processed, dead, dredged-upfrom- the-past karmic experiences that will ruin your marriage, wreak havoc on your children and send you early to the funeral pyre.

For the twenty-first century, mitâhâra has still another meaning. Our ®ishis may have anticipated that the economy of mitâhâra makes it a global discipline—eating frugally, not squandering your wealth to overindulge yourself, not using the wealth of a nation to pamper the nation’s most prosperous, not using the resources of the Earth to satiate excessive appetites. If all are following mitâhâra, we will be able to better feed everyone on the planet; fewer will be hungry. We won’t have such extreme inequalities of excessive diet and inadequate diet, the incongruity of gluttony and malnutrition. We will have global moderation. The Hindu view is
that we are part of ecology, an intricate part of the planet. Our physical body is a species here with rights equal to a flea, cockroach, bird, snake, a fish, a small animal or an elephant.


Diet and Good Heal

By following mitâhâra you can be healthier, and you can be wealthier. A lot of money is wasted in the average family on food that could go toward many other things the family needs or wants. If you are healthier, you save on doctor bills, and because this also helps in sâdhana and meditation, you will be healthy, happy and holy. Overeating repels one from spiritual sâdhana, because the body becomes slothful and lazy, having to digest so much food and run it through its system. Eating is meant to nourish the body with vitamins and minerals to keep it functioning. It is not meant for mere personal, sensual pleasure. A slothful person naturally does not have the inclination to advance himself through education and meditation, and is unable to do anything but a simple, routine job.

We recently heard of a Western science lab study that fed two groups of rats different portions of food. Those who were allowed to have any amount of food they could eat lived a normal rat life span. Those who were given half that much lived twice as long. This so impressed the scientists that they immediately dropped their own calorie input and lost many pounds, realizing that a long, healthy life could be attained by not eating so much.

People on this planet are divided in two groups, as delineated by states of consciousness. The most obvious group is those ruled by lower consciousness, which proliferates deceit and dishonesty and the confusion in life that these bring, along with fear, anger, jealousy and the subsequent remorseful emotions that follow. On the purer side are those in higher consciousness, ruled by the powers of reason and memory, willpower, good judgment, universal love, compassion and more. A vegetarian diet helps to open the inner man to the outer person and brings forth higher consciousness. Eating meat, fish, fowl and eggs opens the doors to lower consciousness. It’s as simple as that. A vegetarian diet creates the right chemistry for spiritual life. Other diets create a different chemistry, which affects your endocrine glands and your entire system all day long. A vegetarian diet helps your system all day long. Food is chemistry, and chemistry affects consciousness; and if our goal is higher consciousness, we have to provide the chemistry that evokes it.


Take Charge of Your Body
There is a wonderful breathing exercise you can perform to aid the digestion and elimination of food by stimulating the internal fire. Breathe in through your nose a normal breath, and out through your nose very fast while pulling the stomach in. Then relax your stomach and again breathe in naturally and then out quickly by pulling the stomach in to force the air out of the lungs. Do this for one minute, then rest for one minute, then do it again. Then rest for a minute and do it again. About three repetitions is generally enough to conquer indigestion or constipation. This prânâyâma amplifies the heat of the body and stimulates the fire that digests food and eliminates waste. It is especially good for those who are rather sedentary and do a lot of intellectual work, whose energies are in the intellect and may not be addressing their digestive needs adequately.

Take charge of your own body and see that it is working right, is healthy and you are eating right. If you do overindulge, then compensate by fasting occasionally and performing physical disciplines. Most people have certain cravings and desires which they permit themselves to indulge in, whether it be sweets or rich, exotic foods or overly spiced foods. Discovering and moderating such personal preferences and desires is part of the spiritual path. If you find you overindulge in jelly beans, cashew nuts, licorice, chocolate, varieties of soft drinks or exotic imported coffee, moderate those appetites. Then you are controlling the entire desire nature of the instinctive mind in the process. That is a central process of spiritual unfoldment—to control and moderate such desires.

The rishis of yore taught us to restrain desire. They used the words restrain and moderate rather than suppress or eliminate. We must remember that to restrain and moderate desire allows the energy which is restrained and moderated to enliven higher chakras, giving rise to creativity and intuition that will actually better mankind, one’s own household and the surrounding community.

The rishis have given us great knowledge to help us know what to do. Study your body and your diet and find out what works for you. Find out what foods give you indigestion and stop eating those things. But remember that eating right, in itself, is not spiritual life. In the early stages seekers often become obsessed with finding the perfect diet. That is a stage they have to go through in learning. They have to find out what is right for them. But it should balance out to a simple routine of eating to live, not living to eat.

Reasons for Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism has for thousands of years been a principle of health and environmental ethics throughout India. Though Muslim and Christian colonization radically undermined and eroded this ideal, it remains to this day a cardinal ethic of Hindu thought and practice. A subtle sense of guilt persists among Hindus who eat meat, and there exists an ongoing controversy on this issue. The Sanskrit for vegetarianism is ßâkâhâra, and one following a vegetarian diet is a ßâkâhârî.
The term for meat-eating is mânsâhâra, and the meat-eater is called mânsâhârî. Åhâra means “food” or “diet,” ßâka means “vegetable,” and mânsa means “meat” or “flesh.”

Amazingly, I have heard people define vegetarian as a diet which excludes the meat of animals but does permit fish and eggs. But what really is vegetarianism? It is living only on foods produced by plants, with the addition of dairy products. Vegetarian foods include grains, fruits, vegetables,legumes, milk, yogurt, cheese and butter. The strictest vegetarians, known as vegans, exclude all dairy products. Natural, fresh foods, locally grown without insecticides or
chemical fertilizers are preferred. A vegetarian diet does not include meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs. For good health, even certain vegetarian foods are minimized: frozen and canned foods, highly processed foods, such as white rice, white sugar and white flour; and “junk” foods and beverages— those with abundant chemical additives, such as artificial sweeteners, colorings, flavorings and preservatives.

In the past fifty years millions of meat-eaters have made the decision to stop eating the flesh of other creatures. There are five major motivations for such a decision.

1) Many become vegetarian purely to uphold dharma, as the first duty to God and God’s creation as defined by Vedic scripture.

2) Some abjure meat-eating because of the karmic consequences,knowing that by involving oneself, even indirectly, in the cycle of inflicting injury, pain and death by eating other creatures, one must in the future experience in equal measure the suffering caused.

3) Spiritual consciousness is another reason. Food is the source of the body’s chemistry, and what we ingest affects our consciousness, emotions and experiential patterns. If one wants to live in higher consciousness, in peace and happiness and love for all creatures, then he cannot eat meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs. By ingesting the grosser chemistries of animal foods, one introduces into the body and mind anger, jealousy, fear, anxiety, suspicion and a terrible fear of death, all of which are locked into the flesh of butchered creatures.

4) Medical studies prove that a vegetarian diet is easier to digest, provides a wider range of nutrients and imposes fewer burdens and impurities on the body. Vegetarians are less susceptible to all the major diseases that afflict contemporary humanity, and thus live longer, healthier, more productive lives. They have fewer physical complaints, less frequent visits to the doctor, fewer dental problems and smaller medical bills. Their immune system is stronger, their bodies purer and more refined, and their skin clearer, more supple and smooth.

5) Finally, there is the ecological reason. Planet Earth is suffering. In large measure, the escalating loss of species, destruction of ancient rainforests to create pasture lands for livestock, loss of topsoil and the consequent increase of water impurities and air pollution have all been traced to the single fact of meat in the human diet. No single decision that we can make as individuals or as a race can have such a dramatic effect on the improvement of our planetary ecology as the decision to not eat meat. Many conscious of the need to save the planet for future generations have made this decision for this reason and this reason alone.

Bless and Love. Om Shanti. Anbe Sivam.