Ravi S. Iyer: Spiritual

Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavat Purana) Skandha (Canto) 2, Adhyaya (chapters) 1 to 3 relate the response of Rishi Shuka to King Parikshit about what a man should do to attain beatitude (especially a man who is about to die) The links for above chapters and verses are: 1) Bhagavata Purana Motilal Banarasidass (only English),  https://archive.org/details/BhagavataPuranaMotilalEnglish/page/n156/mode/1up (viewer page 157, book page 152) [starting verse] A few extracts from above link: Chapter 1 verses 4 to 6: 4. Being attached to his body, children, wife and other attendants, dependents etc., even though they are unreal, he does not discern their destruction, though he actually sees them die. 5. Oh descendant of Bharata ! Therefore, the glorious Hari (reliever of bondage, of samsara) the Supreme Lord, the all-pervading soul, should be heard about, eulogised and remembered by a person desiring a state, completely free from fear (i.e* the Final Beatitude or moksa). 6. Narayana is remembered...

Minor update on 27th Nov. 2022 Somehow I had come under the impression that the Ajna Chakra/Third Eye was located at point between eyebrows. Today as I did some reading/viewing up on Third Eye meditation, I saw that some say the Third Eye/Ajna chakra is located in center of forehead vertically above the 'between the eyebrows' point. In other words, it is a little higher up from the 'between the eyebrows' point. But some others say it is at the 'between the eyebrows' point!  I had referred to this 'Third Eye' in a previous post I had put up on meditation when I was presuming it is at the 'between the eyebrows' point. I now have modified that post to remove the 'Third Eye' reference. As I was looking up info. on this matter, I came across the term 'Jangama dhyana' which involves meditating on point between eyebrows. Let me share some info. from its wiki page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jangama_dhyana : Jangama dhyana is an ancie...

Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavat Purana) Skandha 1, chapter 18 verse 24 to chapter 19 verse 40 (end of chapter) relate how King Parikshit got cursed to die within a week due to a relatively minor wrong action of his, and how he responded to the curse by viewing it as a blessing, renouncing worldly life, stopped eating food and awaited death while contemplating on God. Many rishis came to him at this time blessing him. Parikshit asks them about right actions of man especially of one who is close to death. The great Rishi Shuka appears and is ready to respond. The links for above chapters and verses are: 1) Bhagavata Purana Motilal Banarasidass (only English),  https://archive.org/details/BhagavataPuranaMotilalEnglish/page/n144/mode/1up (viewer page 145, book page 140) A few extracts from above link: Chapter 19, verse 24: [Parikshit asks of the Rishis:] Oh Brahmanas, with full faith in you, I specifically enquire about this worth-considering problem as to what one should do in all ( type...

The account is from verses 18 to 59 in Chapter 13. The links for above chapter and verses are: 1) Bhagavata Purana Motilal Banarasidass (only English),  https://archive.org/details/BhagavataPuranaMotilalEnglish/page/n108/mode/1up (viewer page 109, book page 104) 2) ISKCON (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda) version (only English): https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/13/ . 3) Sanskrit only (Entire Canto/Book/Skandha 1): https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_purana/bhagpur-01.html Notes: i) Bhagavata Purana is another name for Srimad Bhagavatam. 

Skandha 1, Chapter 5 Verse 23 to Chapter 6 verse 28 deal with previous birth of Narada Muni. The links for above chapters and verses are: 1) ISKCON (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda) version (only English): https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/5/ (5th chapter with link for next chapter). 2) Bhagavata Purana Motilal Banarasidass (only English),  https://archive.org/details/BhagavataPuranaMotilalEnglish/page/n49/mode/2up (viewer page 50, book page 46) 3) Sanskrit only (Entire Canto/Book/Skandha 1): https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_purana/bhagpur-01.html ------ a) Article based on above chapters & verses: Narada Muni: Śrī Nārada Muni’s Spiritual Transformation, http://www.bhagavatam-katha.com/narada-muni-sri-narada-munis-spiritual-transformation/ . Notes: i) Bhagavata Purana is another name for Srimad Bhagavatam. 

Last updated on 28th Oct. 2022 After some debate in my mind whether I should write about this or not, I felt that I should do so as it may be of interest to some. I have benefited a great deal from reading such accounts of others and so I think I should contribute back by sharing such accounts of mine.  This post follows up on my post: Enjoying 'I am I'/Awareness-I meditation anandam (peaceful joy) and prashaantam (deep peace) when bodily health is OK, https://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2022/08/enjoying-i-am-iawareness-i-meditation.html , 24th August 2022 . I have been able to increase my stamina for japam (chanting of Sai namam (name) /mantra like Om Sai Ram) & dhyanam (meditation) somewhat more from the August end period when I put up above mentioned post. In particular, I have been able to do dhyanam at night when I am not getting sleep. Earlier I used to hesitate doing dhyanam at night as I felt it will delay me going to sleep and I also was not sure whether it is appropri...

Last updated on 22nd Oct. 2022 1) ISKCON (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda) version (only English): https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/3/    2) Bhagavata Purana Motilal Banarasidass (only English),  https://archive.org/details/BhagavataPuranaMotilalEnglish/page/n25/mode/2up (viewer page 26, book page 22) 3) Sanskrit only (Entire Canto/Book/Skandha 1): https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_purana/bhagpur-01.html a) Article based on above chapter: The Complete List of 24 Avatars of Lord Vishnu, https://vedicfeed.com/24-avatars-of-lord-vishnu/  . Notes: i)  https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/canto informs us that canto means a main division of a long poem. ii) Bhagavata Purana is another name for Srimad Bhagavatam.

I have started reading Kamala Subramaniam's Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavat Purana) (English translation), first published in 1979. That Shri Ghanashyam Das (G.D.) Birla wrote the foreword for it was very interesting to know. Kamala Subramaniam has expressed her gratitude to G.D. Birla in the preface. Please see below pics of parts of related pages of the book. [On PC desktop, to open pic in larger resolution (if available), right-click on pic followed by open link (NOT image) in new tab/window. In new tab/window you may have to click on pic to zoom in.] Note that this book is a summarized version of Srimad Bhagavatam as per the author's preface. But the author clarifies, "As for the tenth canto which deals entirely with Krishna's childhood I have not omitted anything." The Birla industrial family is quite well known for some Hindu temples they have supported or even built, and Hindu spiritual organizations they have supported. There is a famous Birla temple in Shahad...

Last updated on 4th Jan. 2023 I recently bought "Srimad Bhagavatam Hardcover – 1 January 1988" by Kamala Subramaniam, https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/8172764979/ , first published in 1979, getting delivery of it today. Note that Srimad Bhagavatam is also known as Bhagavat Purana and is an important Hindu scriptural text. It is different from Bhagavad Gita which is a part of Mahabharata, another important Hindu scriptural text. [On PC desktop, to open pic in larger resolution (if available), right-click on pic followed by open link (NOT image) in new tab/window. In new tab/window you may have to click on pic to zoom in.] I got delivery of the book today and plan to start reading it in the near future. The book is close to 800 pages and quite thick as can be seen in one of the attached pics. The text size is quite big and so easy to read. For those readers who do not know much about Srimad Bhagavatam/Bhagavat Purana, here is some info. from its wiki page: https://en.wikipedia...

When author of post or comment is not mentioned, it should be assumed that it is me (Ravi S. Iyer). To save time, I am usually not providing my FB post links but only contents. I am also not hyperlinking links. So readers may have to copy-paste links from this post onto a browser link box and then browse to that link. ========================================== Interesting video with the American Swami Tadatmananda (based in New Jersey, USA) communicating very well. Buddhism vs Advaita Vedanta—What's the Difference?, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq2eukYfRoA , around 15 mins. published on Oct 13, 2020 by Arsha Bodha Center - Swami Tadatmananda. He does not say anything about miraculous power of God and how God responds, at times at least, to earnest prayer of devotees. I don't know whether Advaita Vedanta also covers the miraculous power of God and how it intervenes in human affairs at times, usually in response to earnest prayer of devotees. But then Vedanta is a part of the ...