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How to say "I love you" in 100 different languages

Ananta — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:17:12 GMT

English - I love you Afrikaans - Ek het jou lief Albanian - Te dua Arabic - Ana behibak (to male) Arabic - Ana behibek (to female) Armenian - Yes kez sirumem Bambara - M’bi fe Bengali - Ami tomake bhalobashi (pronounced: Amee toe-ma-kee bhalo-bashee) Belarusian - Ya tabe kahayu Bisaya - Nahigugma ako kanimo Bulgarian - Obicham te Cambodian - Soro lahn nhee ah Catalan - T’estimo Cherokee - Tsi ge yu i Cheyenne - Ne mohotatse Chichewa - Ndimakukonda Chinese Cantonese - Ngo oiy ney a Mandarin - Wo ai ni Comanche - U kamakutu nu (pronounced oo——ka-ma-koo-too——-nu) — Thx Tony Corsican - Ti tengu caru (to male) Cree - Kisakihitin Creol - Mi aime jou Croatian - Volim te Czech - Miluji te Danish - Jeg Elsker Dig Dutch - Ik hou van jou Elvish - Amin mela lle (from The Lord of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien) Esperanto - Mi amas vin Estonian - Ma armastan sind Ethiopian - Afgreki’ Faroese - Eg elski teg Farsi - Doset daram Filipino - Mahal kita Finnish - Mina rakastan sinua French - Je t’aime, Je t’adore Frisian - Ik hald fan dy Gaelic - Ta gra agam ort Georgian - Mikvarhar German - Ich liebe dich Greek - S’agapo Gujarati - Hoo thunay prem karoo choo Hiligaynon - Palangga ko ikaw Hawaiian - Aloha Au Ia`oe Hebrew To female - “ani ohev otach” (said by male) “ohevet Otach” (said by female) To male - “ani ohev otcha” (said by male) “Ohevet ot’cha” (said by female) Hiligaynon - Guina higugma ko ikaw Hindi - Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hae Hmong - Kuv hlub koj Hopi - Nu’ umi unangwa’ta Hungarian - Szeretlek Icelandic - Eg elska tig Ilonggo - Palangga ko ikaw Indonesian - Saya cinta padamu Inuit - Negligevapse Irish - Taim i’ ngra leat Italian - Ti amo Japanese - Aishiteru or Anata ga daisuki desu Kannada - Naanu ninna preetisuttene Kapampangan - Kaluguran daka Kiswahili - Nakupenda Konkani - Tu magel moga cho Korean - Sarang Heyo or Nanun tangshinul sarang hamnida Latin - Te amo Latvian - Es tevi miilu Lebanese - Bahibak Lithuanian - Tave myliu Luxembourgeois - Ech hun dech gaer Macedonian - Te Sakam Malay - Saya cintakan mu / Aku cinta padamu Malayalam - Njan Ninne Premikunnu Maltese - Inhobbok Marathi - Me tula prem karto Mohawk - Kanbhik Moroccan - Ana moajaba bik Nahuatl - Ni mits neki Navaho - Ayor anosh’ni Ndebele - Niyakutanda Norwegian Bokmaal - Jeg elsker deg Nyonrsk - Eg elskar deg Pandacan - Syota na kita!! Pangasinan - Inaru Taka Papiamento - Mi ta stimabo Persian - Doo-set daaram Pig Latin - Iay ovlay ouyay Polish - Kocham Ciebie Portuguese - Eu te amo Romanian - Te iubesc Russian - Ya tebya liubliu Scot Gaelic - Tha gra\dh agam ort Serbian - Volim te Setswana - Ke a go rata Sign Language - „,/ (represents position of fingers when signing ‘I Love You’) Sindhi - Maa tokhe pyar kendo ahyan Sioux - Techihhila Slovak - Lu`bim ta Slovenian - Ljubim te Spanish - Te quiero / Te amo Swahili - Ninapenda wewe Swedish - Jag alskar dig Swiss-German - Ich lieb Di Surinam - Mi lobi joe Tagalog - Mahal kita Taiwanese - Wa ga ei li Tahitian - Ua Here Vau Ia Oe Tamil - Nan unnai kathalikaraen Telugu - Nenu ninnu premistunnanu Thai - Phom rak khun Tunisian - Ha eh bak Turkish - Seni Seviyorum Ukrainian - Ya tebe kahayu Urdu - mai aap say pyaar karta hoo Vietnamese - To female - Anh ye^u em Welsh - ‘Rwy’n dy garu di Yiddish - Ikh hob dikh Yoruba - Mo ni fe Zazi - Ezhele hezdege Zuni - Tom ho’ ichema

tao te ching -limitless

Ananta — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:45:46 GMT

The Way is a limitless vessel; Used by the self, it is not filled by the world; It cannot be cut, knotted, dimmed or stilled; Its depths are hidden, ubiquitous and eternal; I don't know where it comes from; It comes before nature. ---------------- If we could discard knowledge and wisdom Then people would profit a hundredfold; If we could discard duty and justice Then harmonious relationships would form; If we could discard artifice and profit Then waste and theft would disappear. Yet such remedies treat only symptoms And so they are inadequate. People need personal remedies: Reveal your naked self and embrace your original nature; Bind your self-interest and control your ambition; Forget your habits and simplify your affairs. ------------------ Cultivate harmony within yourself, and harmony becomes real; Cultivate harmony within your family, and harmony becomes fertile; Cultivate harmony within your community, and harmony becomes abundant; Cultivate harmony within your culture, and harmony becomes enduring; Cultivate harmony within the world, and harmony becomes ubiquitous. Live with a person to understand that person; Live with a family to understand that family; Live with a community to understand that community; Live with a culture to understand that culture; Live with the world to understand the world. How can I live with the world? By accepting. ----------------- Without taking a step outdoors You know the whole world; Without taking a peep out the window You know the colour of the sky. The more you experience, The less you know. The sage wanders without knowing, Looks without seeing, Accomplishes without acting.

Political correctness baffles Dalai Lama

Ananta — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:23:00 GMT

Political correctness baffles Dalai Lama September 11, 2009 The Dalai Lama on Thursday added a new entry to his English vocabulary - "political correctness" - oddly enough in Prague, a liberal city known for leniency towards the incorrect. Tibet's spiritual leader, who is in the Czech capital to speak about human rights in Asia at a conference on Friday, found himself lost for words when a Czech journalist asked him what he thought about political correctness. "What do you mean?" he blinked, genuinely puzzled. His expression forced laughs from the crowd and an eloquent explanation from the journalist, but the Dalai Lama still looked stumped. "What do you mean?" he repeated, shaking his head and turning to his assistants for help. After a lengthy discourse, the Dalai Lama straightened up but still radiated uncertainty. "I don't know... I openly express - if someone's short, I express it as short. If someone's very tall, I say very tall," he mused. "Of course, if you create embarrassment, you can't be saying this. But otherwise, black is black, white is white, yellow is yellow. And that's it."

LOVE-LANGUAGE

Ananta — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:54:02 GMT

LOVE-LANGUAGE I’d like to tell You that I love You in words completely different. In some language not invented yet, which would capture better all my feelings and do justice to my every mood. Like this, I’m repeating myself, though it’s never the same; though we’re both ever new… “I love You” is too small, yet it tries to say it all. And although I know that You also know, it’s not enough. I’m so much greater than these little words, and this love bigger than my small heart, but I can’t express neither its sweetness nor its bitterness; neither its roughness nor its tenderness the way I’d really like… And I think You like to hear it; I think it’s You Who urges me to say that I love You, in various styles all the life through. That’s how You make me come to You: sometimes bare and simple, sometimes richly adorned, sometimes bright and clear, sometimes all confused… and You take me every way, always, always amused. So, I love You, I love You, I love You… - I’ll never be tired of feeling and saying it and You of hearing it be said. Maybe one day I’ll see it for what it is: You whispering to me - through myself - that You love me, again and again… Didi Ananda Arpan'a'

Annie Besant's Mantra

Ananta — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:28:47 GMT

Oh hidden Life Vibrant in every atom Oh hidden Light Shining in every creature Oh Hidden Love Embracing all in Oneness May all who feel themselves As one with Thee Know they are therefore One with Every Other

THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE...

Ananta — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:37:39 GMT

"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within." --James Baldwin ------------------------------------------------------------ "I am two fools, I know, for loving, and for saying so." --John Donne ------------------------------------------------- "There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer, no disease that enough love will not heal, no door that enough love will not bridge, no wall that enough love will not throw down, no sin that enough love will not redeem... It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble, how hopeless the outlook, how muddled the tangle, how great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all. If only you could love enough, you could be the happiest and most powerful being in the world." --Emmet Fox ------------------------------------------------------ "There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness." --Friedrich Nietzsche --------------------------------------------------- "The heart has its reasons which reason knows not of." --Pascal ------------------------------------------------ "The entire sum of existence is the magic of being needed by just one person." --Vi Putnam --------------------------------------------------- "To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead." --Bertrand Russell ------------------------------------------------- "Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds." --William Shakespeare --------------------------------------------------- "To fall in love is easy, even to remain in it is not difficult; our human loneliness is cause enough. But it is a hard quest worth making to find a comrade through whose steady presence one becomes steadily the person one desires to be." --Anna Louise Strong ---------------------------------------------------- "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." --Mother Theresa ------------------------------------------------- "Between whom there is hearty truth, there is love." --Henry David Thoreau ----------------------------------------------- "Love must be as much a light, as it is a flame." --Henry David Thoreau ----------------------------------------------- "There is no remedy for love but to love more." --Henry David Thoreau ----------------------------------------------- "The first duty of love is to listen." --Paul Tillich -------------------------------------------------- "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves. Love never fails..." --1 Corinthians 13:4-8 -------------------------------------------- Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love. ~ Erich Fromm ~ -------------------------------------------------- The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration. ~ Pearl S. Buck ~ -------------------------------------------------- The life and love we create is the life and love we live. ~ Leo Buscaglia ~ --------------------------------------------- Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, While loving someone deeply gives you courage. ~ Lao Tzu ~ ---------------------------------------------------- The night has a thousand eyes, And the day but one; Yet the light of the bright world dies, With the dying sun. The mind has a thousand eyes, And the heart but one; Yet the light of a whole life dies, When love is done. ~ Francis W. Bourdillon ~ ----------------------------------- The greatest tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love. ~ W. Somerset Maugham ~ ---------------------------------- The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along. ~ Maulana Jalalu'ddin Rumi ~ ------------------------------------- "Tell me who admires you and loves you, and I will tell you who you are." Charles Augustin Sainte-Beauve -------------------------------------------------------- Love doesn't make the world go round, Love is what makes the ride worthwhile. ~ by Elizabeth Browning ~ ----------------------------- If I know what love is, It is because of you. ~ by Herman Hesse ~ ------------------------------------ Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age. --Jeanne Moreau, French Actress ---------------------------------- To love a person is to learn the song That is in their heart, And to sing it to them When they have forgotten. ~ Arne Garborg ~ ------------------------------------- Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never ever the same. ~ Flavia Weedn ~ ------------------------------------ Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. --Margery Williams The Velveteen Rabbit -------------------------------------- Love is a perky elf dancing a merry little jig and then suddenly he turns on you with a miniature machine gun. --Matt Groening~ ------------------------------- For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of our tasks; the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation. --Rainer Maria Rilke --------------------------------- If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love I gain nothing Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away...And now these things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. --1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13 ---------------------------------------- We must love one another or die --W.H. Auden poem - September 1, 1939 ----------------------------------------- "Tell me who you love, and I'll tell you who you are." Creole Proverb ----------------------------------------------------- If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with --Stephen Stills --------------------------------------- If you have it [love], you don't need to have anything else, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter much what else you have. --Sir James M. Barrie ------------------------------------------- If the universe has any purpose more important then topping a woman you love and making a baby with her hearty help, I have never heard of it. --Robert A. Heinlein Lazarus Long ---------------------------------------- Love is eternal -- the aspect may change, but not the essence There is the same difference in a person before and after he is in love as there is in an unlighted lamp and one that is burning. The lamp was there and was a good lamp, but now it is shedding light too, and that is its real function. And love makes one calmer about many things, and that way, one is more fit for one's work. --Vincent Van Gogh ----------------------------------------- There is always something left to love. And if you haven't learned that, you ain't learned nothing. --Lorraine Hansberry ---------------------------------------- This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love; the more they give, the more they possess --Rainer Maria Rilke -------------------------------------- To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your life depends on it; and when the time comes, to let go. --Mary Oliver -------------------------------------- Love is space and time measured by the heart. --Marcel Proust (1871-1922) -------------------------------------------- Let no one who loves be called altogether unhappy; Even love unreturned has its rainbow --Eaton Stannard Barret ----------------------------------------------- The greatest thing you ever learn is just to love and be loved in return. --Nat King Cole --------------------------------------------------- Love is, above all, the gift of oneself. --Jean Anouilh --------------------------------------------------- Love is not something you feel. It's something you do. --David Wilkerson -------------------------------------------------- When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person, you know that a man can have no vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him. In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. --Albert Camus ------------------------------------------------ Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything. --Katherine Hepburn -------------------------------------------------- Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk everything, you risk even more. --Erica Jong ---------------------------------------------------- Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness. --Bertrand Russell ---------------------------------------------------- Most of us remain strangers to ourselves, hiding who we are, and ask other strangers, hiding who they are, to love us. --Leo Buscaglia

Anti-Diamond Petition

Ananta — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:48:44 GMT

The time has come to stop supporting tribal warfare, genocide, and acts of terror. The time has come to end the manipulation and brainwashing that the corrupt De Beers company has enacted these last eighty years. The time has come to stop buying diamonds. Completely. No diamond rings. No diamond earrings. No diamond necklaces or bracelets or watches. When we wanted to stop elephants from being poached, the world had to stop buying ivory. If we want to end the wholesale slaughter of Africans, we must stop buying diamonds. And, we must do it now. Diamonds are used by rebel forces to finance arms. Al Qaeda amassed millions of dollars by selling diamonds mined by Revolutionary United Front rebels in Sierra Leone. Please don’t tell me the lies about only some diamonds being conflict diamonds. Everyone knows that’s untrue. Blood diamonds are increasingly laundered through other countries. It’s no coincidence that countries formerly classified as mineral-poor have “discovered” growing numbers of diamonds since the world became aware of conflict diamonds. The horror must stop. And Americans, as consumers of 75% of the world’s diamonds annually, can stop it. Utah, in particular, owing to it’s high marriage rate, purchases more than its fair share of diamonds. We should shut down the diamond stores by refusing to buy diamonds. Those who work for jewelry stores should find other employment. No longer can Americans claim ignorance of the African plight. We can do something and it’s clear that we must act. Let’s not be derailed by attempts to enact “partial boycotts”, since diamond origins are unknowable; we must ban them all. conflict-diamonds-boy-gun.jpgIn a 2002 report, Liz Stanton, Center for Popular Economics Staff Economist, lists Ten Reasons Why You Should Never Accept a Diamond Ring from Anyone. Among those ten are these few, highlighting the reality of the horrors that is the diamond industry: * Conflict Diamonds Fund Civil Wars in Africa o There is no reliable way to insure that your diamond was not mined or stolen by government or rebel military forces in order to finance civil conflict. Conflict diamonds are traded either for guns or for cash to pay and feed soldiers. * Diamond Wars are Fought Using Child Warriors o Many diamond producing governments and rebel forces use children as soldiers, laborers in military camps, and sex slaves. Child soldiers are given drugs to overcome their fear and reluctance to participate in atrocities. * Small Arms Trade is Intimately Related to Diamond Smuggling o Illicit diamonds inflame the clandestine trade of small arms. There are 500 million small arms in the world today which are used to kill 500,000 people annually, the vast majority of whom are non-combatants. * Slave Laborers Cut and Polish Diamonds o More than one-half of the world’s diamonds are processed in India where many of the cutters and polishers are bonded child laborers. Bonded children work to pay off the debts of their relatives, often unsuccessfully. When they reach adulthood their debt is passed on to their younger siblings or to their own children. There is ongoing warfare in the Darfur province of Sudan, in Ethiopia, in Zaire and elsewhere. Fighting takes weapons and bullets and those cost money. Shutting down the world diamond market will eliminate much of their financial backing. http://www.diamondboycott.com/

Spiritual Quotes from Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

Ananta — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:21:29 GMT

Spiritual Quotes My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness. All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness ... the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives. The very purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticise others. Rather, we must criticise ourselves. How much am I doing about my anger? About my attachment, about my hatred, about my pride, my jealousy? These are the things which we must check in daily life. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. It is maybe not the best choice to have a favorite anything. It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come. Human happiness and human satisfaction must ultimately come from within oneself. It is wrong to expect some final satisfaction to come from money or from a computer. Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change. In my view, science and Buddhism share a search for the truth and for understanding reality. By learning from science about aspects of reality where its understanding may be more advanced, I believe that Buddhism enriches its own worldview. Through awareness, you get a certain attitude. That's the way, you see, to achieve more peaceful, more compassion, more friendship through that way. Through difficult experiences, life sometimes becomes more meaningful. By bringing about a change in our outlook toward things and events, all phenomena can become sources of happiness. It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance. There is often a big disparity between the way in which we perceive things and the way things really are. What I believe, according to my own experience, is that a calm, peaceful mind is a very important element for sustaining the body in a balanced way. So the smart brain must be balanced with a warm heart, a good heart -a sense of responsibility, of concern for the well-being of others. I believe each human being has the potential to change, to transform one’s own attitude, no matter how difficult the situation All sentient beings have the seed of the Buddha within them. As far as ignorance is concerned, not just Buddhism, every religion recognizes it as the source of suffering. I believe that whether a person follows any religion or not is unimportant, he must have a good heart, a warm heart. This is essential for a happy life, which is much more important than Buddhahood. Compassion automatically brings happiness and calmness. Then, even if you receive disturbing news, it will be easier to take, as your mind is still. So the first step in seeking happiness is learning. We first have to learn how negative emotions and behaviors are harmful to us and how positive emotions are helpful. World economies are always so tenuous and we are subject to so many losses in life, but a compassionate attitude is something we can always carry with us. I think in many ways narrow minded-attitudes lead to extreme thinking. There are five billion human beings and in a certain way I think we need five billion different religions. This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. In the final analysis, the hope of every person is simply peace of mind. The highest happiness is when one reaches the stage of liberation, at which there is no more suffering.

China's Plastic Bag Ban Will Save 37 Million Barrels of Oil

Ananta — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:12:03 GMT

China Leapfrogs Other Nations with Simple Message: Bring Your Own Bag China has never been considered an environmental role model. Given a population of 1.3 billion, unprecedented carbon emissions and a slew of recent lead-toy scandals, many would say the country stands as a — if not the — prime example of environmental failure. Yet, in a bolt from the blue, it looks like the red has embraced green. Yesterday, China’s State Council put a nationwide ban on plastic bags. The cabinet has demanded all stores (from major supermarkets to small shops) go plastic bag-free after June 1. According to the Daily Mail, China uses more plastic bags than any other country. China squanders 37 million barrels of crude oil on plastic bag production every year. The nationwide ban will no doubt help correct China’s tarnished image, especially before the Beijing Olympic Games. With nations from Ireland to Uganda — and now China — topping the bag-ban list, lets hope the United States will make moves to follow the trend.

Ching Shih: The Prostitute Turned Pirate Who Led a Vast Pirate Fleet

Ananta — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:23:45 GMT

The Cantonese prostitute turned pirate Ching Shih commanded 17,000 men and several hundred vessels at the height of her power in 1810... Although most of the pirates Westerners remember today were men who operated in the West Indies, there have been a great many pirates, including women, who operated along the coast of South China during the Golden Age of Piracy in the 18th and 19th centuries. One of the most prominent female Chinese pirates at that time was the prostitute turned pirate Ching Shih (alternatively spelled Hsi Ka, Cheng I Sao, and Zhng Sh) who commanded 17,000 men and several hundred vessels at the height of her power in 1810. Her meteoric rise to power, the extent of her control, and her quick retirement at the age of 35 are testaments to her skill and shrewdness as one of the great pirate captains of the early 19th century. Nothing is known about the life of Ching Shih until she was captured at the age of 26 by pirates under orders of the infamous Zheng Yi (AKA Ching Yih) in 1801. At that time, she had been working in a Cantonese brothel and was apparently unhappy to be taken from it. Although she showed utter contempt for Zheng Yi and his men, Ching Shih agreed to marry Zheng after he fell in love with her. She demanded a 50% stake in his criminal enterprises, however, which she obtained. At that time, Ching Shih was already a powerful pirate with command of six fleets. Soon after the marriage, Ching Shih took command of one of those fleets and quickly gained the respect of her crews. In 1807, Zheng He was killed in a typhoon and ownership of the six fleets devolved to Ching Yih. That she, a woman and a former prostitute at that, was able to command the respect and loyalty of all six fleets says a lot about her domineering personality. Indeed, under her leadership, the six fleets grew and became only a part of a powerful organization in South China. At the height of her power, Ching Shih controlled two hundred ocean vessels, eight hundred small ships, and dozens of river boats which were manned by over 17,000 men. That made her the leader of one of the biggest navies in the world at the time. With this vast armada, she was able to exact tribute from merchants all over the South Pacific and enforce her own laws. Indeed, she became the most powerful individual in the South Pacific and rivaled the Chinese government itself in power and authority. Eventually, she became too powerful for the Chinese government to ignore any longer. Even with the help of the British and the Portuguese, the Chinese feared to attack her directly so the emperor sent envoys to her asking her to make peace. Although she knew that she had means enough that defeat in an attack by the combined forces of the three most powerful navies in the world was by no means certain, she realized that it was to her advantage to retire while she was ahead. To that end, she appeared without warning at the residence of the governor-general of Canton to negotiate a peace agreement. Although negotiating with a woman as an equal was highly unusual for the Chinese at the time, the governor-general was willing to do it for fear of risking a long, bloody naval war with the vast pirate fleet under her command. Within, hours, Ching Shih and the governor-general arrived at a mutually beneficial arrangement. In exchange for agreeing to give up their ships and their arms, Ching Shih and her men were given full amnesty and allowed to keep their plunder. Also, Ching Shih received assurances that any of her 17,000 men who wanted to join the Imperial Navy would be allowed to do so. She even managed to obtain a commission for a command of twenty ships for her lover, Chang Pao. Ching Shih herself retired from the pirate life at the tender age of 35 years old, married Chang Pao, and opened a gambling house which she ran until her death at the age of 69.

Evo Morales Announces: "No More Bolivian Soldiers to the SOA/WHINSEC!"

Ananta — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:43:54 GMT

Evo Morales Announces: "No More Bolivian Soldiers to the SOA/WHINSEC!" We are very excited to share that on October 10th, 2007, President Evo Morales announced that Bolivia will gradually withdraw its military from the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), renamed in 2001 the School of the Americas (SOA). Bolivia is now the fifth country - after Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela - to formally announce a withdrawal from this brutal military training school. "We will gradually withdraw until there are no Bolivian officers attending the School of the Americas” said Morales. Questioning the U.S. government foreign policy he noted that “they are teaching high ranking officers to confront their own people, to identify social movements as their enemies.” This is a great victory for torture survivors, social movement leaders and human rights activists of Bolivia and the Americas. The SOA/WHINSEC has played a significant role in Bolivia’s recent political history, Hugo Banzer Suarez, who ruled Bolivia from 1971-1978 under a brutal military dictatorship attended the school in 1956 and was later inducted into the school’s “hall of fame” in 1988. The SOA has trained tens of thousands of Bolivian military officers in the past fifty years. In October of 2006, two former graduates of the SOA/WHINSEC, Generals Juan Veliz Herrera and Gonzalo Rocabado Mercado were arrested on charges of torture, murder, and violation of the constitution for their responsibility in the death of 67 civilians in El Alto Bolivia during the “Gas Wars” of September-October 2003. On the weekend of November 16-18, thousands will gather at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia for the Vigil and the Nonviolent Direct Action to Close the School of the Americas and to end the racist system of violence and domination that the SOA represents. Take a Stand for Justice!

Zen Proverbs

Ananta — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 17:52:42 GMT

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought. Basho An autumn night... don't think your life, didn't matter. Basho There is nothing you can see that is not a flower; there is nothing you can think that is not the moon. Basho At any given moment, I open my eyes and exist. And before that, during all eternity, what was there? Nothing. Ugo Betti The torch of doubt and chaos, this is what the sage steers by. Chuang-tzu It is everywhere. Chuang-tzu To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. Chuang-Tzu If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? Dogen The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass. Dogen There is no beginning to practice nor end to enlightenment; There is no beginning to enlightenment nor end to practice. Dogen And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. T.S. Eliot When you are deluded and full of doubt, even a thousand books of scripture are not enough. When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much. Fen-Yang Should you desire great tranquility, prepare to sweat white beads. Hakuin Zen: Seeing into one's own nature. Hui-neng How do you step from the top of a 100-foot pole? koan It is better to practice a little than talk a lot. Muso Kokushi A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Lao Tzu We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. Lao Tzu So little time, so little to do. Oscar Levant The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there. Robert M. Pirsig The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there. Yasutani Roshi The quieter you become, the more you can hear. Baba Ram Dass Natural and super-natural, temporal and eternal - continuums, not absolutes. Albert Schweitzer (paraphrase) You must neither strive for truth nor seek to lose your illusions. The Shodoka We have two eyes to see two sides of things, but there must be a third eye which will see everything at the same time and yet not see anything. That is to understand Zen. D. T. Suzuki As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself. Shunryu Suzuki Zen is not some kind of excitement, but merely concentration on our usual everyday routine. Shunkyu Suzuki In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few. Shunryu Suzuki The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet. Shunryu Suzuki Life is like stepping onto a boat that is about to sail out to sea and sink. Shunryu Suzuki My heart burns like fire but my eyes are as cold as dead ashes. Sayen Shaku To set up what you like against what you don't like -- this is the disease of the mind. Sheng-ts'an No yesterday, no tomorrow, and no today. Sheng-ts'an Don't seek reality, just put an end to opinions. Sheng-ts'an When you get there, there isn't any there there. Gertrude Stein Water which is too pure has no fish. Ts'ai Ken T'an Nothing is exactly as it seems, nor is it otherwise. Alan Watts Let the dead bury the dead. Western Koan What does mysticism mean? It means the way to attain knowledge. It's close to philosophy, except in philosophy you go horizontally while in mysticism you go vertically. Elie Wiesel Ten thousand flowers in spring the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life. Wu-men Since it is all too clear It takes time to grasp it. When you understand that it's foolish to look for fire with fire, The meal is already cooked. Wu-men [the point of non-extension] The instant you speak about a thing, you miss the mark. If you're attached to anything, you surely will go far astray. Only the crystal-clear question yields a transparent answer. All of the significant battles are waged within the self. Life is the only thing worth living for. Better to sit all night than to go to bed with a dragon. Live every day like your hair was on fire. If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are. When you get to the top of the mountain, keep climbing. The mind should be as a mirror. There is nothing infinite apart from finite things. Everyday life is the way. Great Faith. Great Doubt. Great Effort. - The three qualities necessary for training. If you do not get it from yourself, Where will you go for it? Do not permit the events of your daily life to bind you, but never withdraw yourself from them. Where there is great doubt, there will be great awakening; small doubt, small awakening, no doubt, no awakening. Sitting peacefully doing nothing Spring comes and the grass grows all by itself. Everything the same; everything distinct. Lovely snowflakes, they fall nowhere else! Chop wood, carry water. Possessing much knowledge is like having a thousand foot fishing line with a hook, but the fish is always an inch beyond the hook. A noble heart never forces itself forward. Its words are as rare gems, seldom displayed and of great value. If you meet on the way a man who knows, Don't speak a word -- Don't keep silent! Even a good thing isn't as good as no-thing. This is not the Buddha, this is the Buddha. [the point of non-extension] Studying Zen, learning the way, is originally for the sake of birth and death, no other thing. What do I mean by other things? Arousing the mind and stirring thoughts right now; having contrivance and artificiality; having grasping and rejecting; having practice and realization; having purity and defilement; having sacred and profane; having Buddhas and sentient beings; writing verses and songs, composing poems and odes; discoursing on Zen and the way; discoursing on right and wrong; discoursing on past and present. These various activities are not relevant to the issue of birth and death; they are all "other things". Chien-ju Sayings from the Dhamapada Verses of the Faith Mind Zen Proverbs ebook for iPod: unzip and copy to the notes folder of your iPod City Center SF Zen Center New Buildings SF Skyscrapers [return to top]

Anti War rally jan 27th DC

Ananta — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 19:55:34 GMT

I went to the big Anti war protest yesterday on Jan 27th, it was great, a speaker said that there were at least 500,000 people, I don't know how many people were there but it seemed like there were more people than before when I went to a previous protest last year that was supposedly 300,000 strong. We met on the downtown mall in Washington DC, a few things that I noticed about this protest that was a little different than before was that there were more older people and small children. There were also plenty of republicans against Bush marching with us. Many different groups were represented there. There were many more protesters riding the subways that in past protests, it seemed that at least a third of the subway occupants were protesters. We ruled downtown Washington DC for a day. We not only marched against the war in Iraq and the Bush regime but we also marched to end all wars and occupations. The time is long over due for justice to prevail! We cant let another country full of innocent people like Iran get bombed by the power hungry war mongering neo con regime. Our government is run by criminal corrupt hypocrites interested in capitalistic and militaristic domination and its gone on far too long at the expense of the environment and innocent people all over the world. Let us educate and expand consciousness so that the solution to these problems manifests without delay.

Love is all there is.

Ananta — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 21:07:07 GMT

Baba I just came back from a wonderful spiritual retreat, one week of endless bliss, I stayed up all night with some brothers and sisters of all races and ages singing and dancing to blissful kiirtan, Akanda Kiirtan, dancing in a circle, moving like the flow of the universe going back home to the loving Creator. SO much bliss, so much love, I cannot explain, only tears of gratitude. This is going to be the best year of my life, thus far, what a new year’s resolution, one for Spiritual revolution! We are not moving into a new golden age we are not crossing the threshold from one age to another, we have already crossed that threshold, we have already moved into a new age! Now is the time to awake to this reality, to ready ourselves, to open our hearts, to open our minds, like golden flowers opening to a new crimson dawn. Let the dew drops of past limitations evaporate as the rays of golden effulgence illuminate your entire existence and call us back home to the love and light that was there all the time, hidden in a vial of shadow. NO MORE WALLS! Only bridges, we are all bridge makers, we are all creators, creating a world of love and happiness for all. We will solve the complex problems of the world with one simple answer: Love, Love, and Love. Basic necessities are guaranteed for all. We are all children of the same cosmic love. We are all entitled to share the plentiful resources, and caring for each other, and all plants and animals and the sacred mother earth. No more Dogma, no more limitations. No more fear. Let us dance and sing and bring joy to the hearts of those who have forgotten how to smile, how to laugh, how to love themselves. Clean the sacred air with the fresh breeze of love and peace for the entire creation and unmanifested universe. Wake up and smell the Chai! The sweet fragrance of herbs and spices that have always been steeping in your heart of hearts, now is the time to drink it and share, to grow and to change, and become aware of the subtle vibrations that permeate the cosmos, the vibrations of cosmic love that emanates from the universal divine dance.

Globalise Humanity, Localize economy

Ananta — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 02:32:56 GMT

Those who exploit human beings to serve their own self-interests do not want socio-economic freedom to be granted to people. That is why they continue their psycho-economic exploitation in such a way that people do not clamour for socio-economic freedom. They do not directly exploit the people in the social or economic sphere, but in the psycho-economic sphere, and they do it so intelligently that people are totally unaware of it, and hence are unable to develop their progressive outlook properly. Moreover, the exploited masses are also unable to develop economically because the exploiters control the economy in a subtle way. However, a day comes when some intelligent people emerge from the exploited masses having detected the exploiters' techniques to dupe the people, even though the media is controlled. At this stage the exploiters become active intellectually to prevent the germination of the seed of liberation. They take control of the education system, the printing presses and the propaganda agencies in a last and desperate attempt to raise high embankments to contain the surging tide of public discontent. But soon after comes the day of change when the vikśubdha shúdras [disgruntled masses] rise up in revolt and the high sand embankments get washed away by the floods of revolution. After this the masses make an independent appraisal of the type of socio-psycho-economic exploitation they were subjected to. Before the revolution they may have discussed social injustice in private amongst themselves, but if they had tried to propagate their discontent publicly their tongues would have been cut." ~ Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar ~

Spiritual humor

Ananta — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 22:53:21 GMT

(selected from Swamiji.com) I believe in God. I just don't trust anybody who works for him. ------- If it seems like everything is coming at you, maybe you're in the wrong lane. ------- Q: How many yogis does it take to change a light bulb? A: Into what? ------- The enlightened ones have no boundaries, but respect those of others. ------- If you believe in telekinesis, please raise my hand. ------- Gypsy Rose Lee: "God is love, but get it in writing." ------- Q: Why couldn't the Yogi vacuum his carpet? A: He had lost his attachments. ------- Bertrand Russell: "One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important." ------- A temple for atheists is a non-prophet organization. ------- Change is inevitable, except from vending machines. ------- Lily Tomlin: "Why is it when we talk to God, we're said to be praying, but when God talks to us, we're schizophrenic?" ------- George Carlin: "I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death." ------- Woody Allen: "It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." ------- Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

From Freedom to Fascism -- and Back

Ananta — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 01:15:44 GMT

by Steve Bhaerman How unreal are we going to let reality get before we get real? -- Swami Beyondananda The other night, I watched the most heartening disheartening movie I’ve seen in a long time. Huh?? Let me explain. The movie was called From Freedom to Fascism, and while the content was disheartening, the context was heartening indeed. At a time when America has surely been divided and just about conquered, segregated into two rival cultural / political tribes that are discouraged from having civil discourse, here finally is an attempt to create a unifying context. From Freedom to Fascism is the work of Libertarian activist and film producer Aaron Russo (The Rose, Trading Places), and it takes on the illegality of the Internal Revenue Service and the private ownership of the Federal Reserve Bank -- pet libertarian issues generally associated with the right wing. The movie also criticizes the war in Iraq, the Patriot Act, and other recent attempts to turn due process into “doo-doo process.” The result is a film that shows how both political parties operate to the detriment of the vast majority of Americans. Could it be that we the people finally have a unifying tool to help grow the “up-wising?” Consider that earlier this year, Jefferson Public Radio (Ashland, Oregon) talk show host Jeff Golden (author of As If We Were Grown-ups) cosponsored a showing of the movie with a right-wing Rush Limbaugh-clone talk show host from nearby Medford. The film played to a full house, roughly half of whom identified as “progressive,” and half “conservative.” As the final credits rolled, the entire crowd stood up and cheered together. This should be cause for all of us to cheer. While strategically it makes all the sense in the world to throw the Republicans out of power in Congress this fall, throwing the Democrats in will not in and of itself alter the corporate influence in government. A Democratic victory should definitely be seen as the first step for “we the people” taking back America, but it is only a first step. And given the Democrats’ uncanny knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory -- primarily by not facing the fundamental issues that are apparent to more and more Americans daily -- their regaining Congress would be even more an _expression of changing political will in this country. Lasting change of direction can only come when a significant number of Americans choose to step away from the limiting positions of “left” and “right” and come together to thoughtfully face the real issues that confront us: * What really creates safety and security in a shrinking world that could use a good shrink? * How can we use our human and planetary resources to feed the whole -- instead of the “hole” we seem to be feeding now? * How can we nourish independence and interdependence at the same time? * How do we turn issues like global warming, peak oil and environmental reconstruction into economic and spiritual opportunities? But before we talk about what could be happening in this country, it’s essential that we face what IS happening here. Put another way, before we put the body politic on a bodybuilding regimen, we must address the life-threatening situation it’s in right now. First the Good News: The Law of 75 Several years ago, spiritual psychologist Patricia Sun was speaking at a “new age” bookstore being picketed by four Christian fundamentalists. When she suggested going out and talking to the pickets, the bookstore owner rolled her eyes and said, “You can’t talk to those people.” Patricia decided to do it anyway. She went out there, looked them in the eye and spoke from her heart. After a short while three of the four put down their signs. “You’re saying what Jesus said!” they said, and hugged her. The fourth refused and continued picketing This story led me to conclude that three out of four people -- whatever their ideological orientation -- are capable of transcending that belief system in the face of something greater: The power of love and respect. Or as the Swami has said, “Get ‘em by their hearts and their heads will follow.” Hence what I call “The Law of 75.” Of course, in this divide-and-conquer atmosphere where the media tends to spark heat instead of light, the “you can’t talk to those people” mentality prevails. And it doesn’t seem to matter whether those people are Christian fundamentalists or Muslim ones. Merely the disdainful designation as “those people” is enough to tear the thin membrane of mutual respect, even before a word is uttered. A recent article in the Washington Post suggests that “those people” might not be what we’ve been led to think. According to the article, between 20% and 35% of so-called “evangelicals” actually subscribe to progressive values like economic equity, environmentalism (which they call “Care for Creation”) and ending the war in Iraq. So, if these evangelicals make up 25% of America’s population, and at least one fifth of them don’t buy into the religious right’s religious wrongs, that means that the “base” of the religious right is less than 20% of American voters. So how is it that the Neocon Republicans can rule on the basis of such a small base? Well, as we will see it’s not their base that has debased our democracy and put freedom in the basement. It’s their baseness. And Now the Other News: It’s Not the Base, It’s the Baseness This past Saturday night in Santa Rosa, the Swami had the honor of opening for Mark Crispin Miller, author of Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election and Why They'll Steal the Next One (Unless We Stop Them). Miller, a respected writer and professor at NYU, has been -- in the parlance of the 60s -- “radicalized.” That’s when some significant emotional event springs you from the matrix of conventional beliefs, and all of a sudden you find yourself saying things you never dreamed you’d be saying. Miller’s radicalizing experience came when he began investigating election fraud before the 2004 election, and then had his suspicions fully confirmed afterward. As Miller said to open his talk, when you allow yourself to look at the evidence there is no doubt whatsoever that not only are voting machines hackable, they have been hacked and they will be hacked again. The issue, Miller maintains, is not just the electronic voting machines but the electronic counting of ballots, where “black box” technology is used and no one is allowed to monitor the process! “Faith-based vote counting,” Swami calls it. Thanks to an article earlier this year by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in Rolling Stone, the voting fraud issue has broken through the “soundless barrier.” Indeed, a recent Zogby poll indicates that 45% of Americans now believe that it was election fraud that put George Bush in office the past two elections. And the other 55%? They just don’t want to go there. However, as Miller so starkly pointed out, “there” has already come here. Sadly, what has kept this neo-fascist regime in power -- in addition to their willingness to do anything to stay in power -- is “Not-Seeism,” the choice too many Americans have made to not see what’s right in front of them. This is understandable. Who wants to go to bed (or wake up) with the thought that the leaders we have supposedly elected have fixed elections, lied us into war, and possibly allowed or caused our nation to be attacked precisely so that we could go to war? However, as someone who has been a student of politics since I was a kid -- and not someone given to paranoid pronouncements -- I have concluded that this current regime is a different creature from any in America’s history. We keep wanting to imagine them as simply a pesky and persistent brand of “conservatives” who will get their comedownance at the polls someday. In reality, they are the most toxic sociopathogen our body politic has ever had to endure, and their goal is what can only be called “the final solution to the democracy problem.” They have violated, flouted, twisted and defied the most basic common understandings of our 220-year-old political system. Their proven corruption is unbounded, and it doesn’t seem to matter to them who knows it. They act as if they will never really have to face the electorate, nor be held accountable. One alarm bell is that a panoply of true conservatives -- from the far-right Cato Foundation to William F. Buckley to Richard Viguerie to John Dean -- have condemned the abuses of power on the part of the neocons and say that neo-conservatism has no resemblance whatever to real conservatism. Ironically, conservatives with conscience have been more pointed in their critique of this un-American regime than many mainstream Democrats. According to Miller, the recent Bush campaign to “rally his base” by invoking 9/11 and security issues is a ruse. He knows his base is a minority to start with and shrinking daily. The ruse, says Miller, is merely a cover so that if and when the election is stolen -- as in 2004 -- the Republicans can crow that their “base” showed up at the polls, when it was their baseness that showed up instead. And if for some reason the Republicans still lose their grip on Congress? We can expect -- as Thom Hartmann reported on his show recently -- that THEY will cry foul, and say the Democrats perpetrated voter fraud! So ... what to do? From Bad News to Good News: The Antidote for Big Brother is Bigger Brotherhood As anyone who’s ever been to a 12-step program will tell you, the first step is acknowledge you have a problem. So here is the problem as clearly and starkly as it can be stated: We have a de facto dictatorship in America now, and the only thing to prevent it from becoming an “in facto” one is the awakening of we the people. As Mark Crispin Miller pointed out, even if the vote IS stolen the one thing we the people can do to assert ourselves is to vote in record numbers anyway, and to vote for regime change. The more overwhelming the turnout, the less able they will be to steal it -- and in case they do, the more overwhelming the outcry. It’s taken the body politic years to lose its muscle tone, so it would be unreasonable to expect that we can get our “mojo” back all at once. Consequently, we should do all we can to win at the polls this time and realize the “up-wising” and subsequent revitalization of America’s true values is a longer term conversation. We should soberly face the likely truth that the only thing that can shore up their regime is more force, and that their ultimate goal is neo-feudalism disguised as Big Brother totalitarianism. And the only way to outstrip Big Brother is by cultivating “bigger brotherhood.” Let’s remind ourselves of the Law of 75 and realize that at least 75% of American want an open society, not totalitarianism. That means, we should -- as Patricia Sun showed us -- speak face-to-face and heart-to-heart with the “heartland.” I would even suggest replacing the word “Republican” with “Neocon” to describe this regime, and become familiar with what true conservatives and even Republicans (like former Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia) have said about Bush and company. Get a copy of From Freedom to Fascism and show it to friends, family -- and in a public gathering if possible -- between now and election day. Familiarize yourself with the conservative critics of the neocon con, and quote them frequently. While the chances of registering new voters grow slimmer as election day approaches, one of our hopes is to “convert” Republicans to turn away from neocon fascism in favor of true conservatism. A good innocent opening question when talking with those who identify as conservatives is, “Do you trust our government to tell you the truth?” Second question is, “Would you prefer to have a government that is truthful and responsive or one that lies to you for its own benefit?” Then finally, “So what are you going to do about it?” One likely response you’ll get is the cynical one: “That’s the way things are, and that’s the way they’ll always be. There will always be corruption, abuse, etc.” A possible answer to that is: “That’s exactly what they want you to believe -- that greed and evil are our nature. But maybe they want you to believe that to provide cover for their own actions. Are people in your own family greedy and evil? Or are they, just like you, trying to get by and provide for their families?” On the progressive side of the fence, contextualize pet progressive issues from peace to environmentalism to civil rights to social security reform as all part of the bigger conversation of restoring “government of, by and for the people where our government does the people’s bidding, not the bidding of the highest bidder.” From the strategic standpoint, the ONLY thing happening between now and November 7th, is changing those “R’s” to “D’s” in Congress (and not the way Fox did either). Think of all those issues as the body politic fighting a case of the flu. Think of this election as escaping from a burning building. If you were bed-ridden with the flu and the building was on fire, would you stay and nurse the flu or get out of the building? If you can volunteer an hour or two or ten between now and then to call or mobilize voters, to be a poll watcher, to write letters to the editor -- anything -- know that you are a part of a growing energy field, no matter what the results this time around. Consider that the current gang of misleaders have the media in their pocket, have zillions of dollars to spend and have the power of force and fraud on their side. And STILL they are concerned about losing. Keep this in mind: Their greatest weapon is fear, and their greatest fear is truth. Finally the most valuable -- and perhaps underrated -- action you can take is to keep the field of truth moving forward. In every conversation, in every meditation, in every prayer move the truth forward fearlessly. The more the field expands, the more likely change is to unfold, often in a surprising way. Last week, Trudy and I did a prayer and visualization for the body politic to “operate from the qualities of the intelligent heart” and that “the transition to the truth is safe and just.” The next morning, the headlines were full of Rep. Foley’s resignation -- and the subsequent exposure of the hypocrisy of those who hide behind puritanism and yet cynically live by their own rules. The Republican misleadership immediately activated their spin and blame machine, but all indications were people just weren’t buying it. As a “coincidence theorist,” I can only conclude this surprising outbreak of truth was merely a coincidence, and it sure would be nice if we could create more of them. So, here’s my “tell a vision”: Let’s create the greatest coincidence ever -- that the reality of what America is finally coincides with the dream our Founders had. And there’s no one here to do it but us. Although you may not be a subscriber to Notes From the Trail, we are sending you this sample issue one time only. You can subscribe to future issues for free, although donations are accepted (see below) May the FARCE Be With You, Steve Bhaerman 707-525-0711 http://www.wakeuplaughing.com/ Read Swami's 2006 State of the Union Address Give the gift of laughter! Swami Products Page

Swami Beyondananda's 2006 State of the Universe Address

Ananta — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 01:19:03 GMT

Swami Calls for an Up-Wising Wise Up, Everybody ... The Evolution Has Begun! By Swami Beyondananda For years now, we've been hearing "shift happens," and wondering when, where and how. Now finally, it looks as if the shift is about to hit the fan. This is good news for all those shift fans who've been wondering if the new age will arrive before old age does. Of course, if you're looking for signs in the news, you won't find them. At least, not yet. The news might as well be called the "olds," because the world still seems stuck in greedlock, ruled by fossilized fools fueled by fossil fuels. But I have been receiving encouraging intelligence reports that say indeed, humans are becoming more intelligent. Yes, people everywhere are wising up. And that's great, because we could sure use an up-wising! The evolution has begun. But before we see changes in the old needy-greedy, we humans must change our consciousness -- and the first step is becoming conscious of how unconscious we've been. As the saying goes, the truth shall upset you free, and last year saw lots of disillusionment. But what better to free us from the far more dangerous condition of illusionment? If we want to stop the abuse of power, the first step is to disabuse ourselves. So, here's some good news: Despite a massive media impropaganda machine that feeds the public "babblum" (strained bullshit made digestible for a simple child's mind), more and more Americans are reading between the lyins' and peering behind the Irony Curtain. In 2005, Americans had to face the sad realization that the Bush Administration's "pro-life" stance appears to be limited to the unborn and the brain-dead. Despite being panned by critics everywhere, the Iraqi Horror Picture Show continued its run, as thousands and thousands of born fetuses - ours and theirs -- lost their right to life. While we may or may not have saved face by staying there, we have most definitely lost ass. And we've been assured we'll be stuck in that morass until -- well, until there's no more ass to lose. Meanwhile, more and more Americans reached another sad conclusion: We're not in Iraq to keep the peace, we're there to keep the pieces. The signs of up-wising are everywhere. Even the most unpleasant stories are beginning to break through the soundless barrier and defy the President's "don't ask, don't tell" policy: "You promise not to ask us what we're doing, and we promise not to tell you." Although we've been inundated with "fear-gnomes" and ominously warned we have to protect ourselves in this dogma-eat-dogma world, a majority of Americans are no longer comfortable with the notion that the only way to defeat the "evil-doers" in the world is to out evil-do them. Although our President has assured us that "we don't torture," it is now common knowledge that we simply send detainees to countries that do torture when we want them to "testify under oaf." As for those progressives who've been whining that the President "never listens" to them, well it turns out he's been listening all along. And thanks to the so-called Patriot Act (which, I understand, is about to be renamed the Eternal Insecurity Act), it looks like he'll be able to listen in even more -- all in the name of making us safe. But now even some Republicans are beginning to see that there's a difference between protection and the "protection racket." And with the recent revelations about Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff and other gold collar criminals, some of the more devout conservatives have come to realize that the "family values" they voted for bear an uncanny resemblance to Soprano Family values. If there was any warm feeling in 2005, chalk it up to climate change. Katrina hit, and in the government's response we saw a future when at last all Americans will be equal -- where everyone regardless of race or creed will be treated like Black folks. Alarming Policies Have Awakened Millions! Fortunately this is the State of the Universe Address, and from a universal perspective, things are humming along quite nicely. It turns out that the Earth is the talk of the Universe these days. In fact, the odds-makers at the Intergalactic Enquirer say the odds are actually in our favor: "We're betting on the human race to reach critical mass before they get to critical massacre." And we could beat the odds, if we finally gave up our addiction to getting even and got odd instead. It stands to reason. If each of us used our unique oddness to improve the odds for everyone, there would be no need for getting even. Yes, the up-wising has begun, and intergalactic observers are saying that we have none other than George W. Bush to thank. How is that, you may ask? Well, I am reminded of a story my guru Harry Cohen Baba used to tell. A well-known minister died and arrived at the Pearly Gates at the same time as a cab-driver from New York. The cabbie was ushered in, but the clergyman was left waiting outside. After waiting and waiting and waiting, he finally called over the attending angel. "Excuse me, but I'm a renowned minister. How come you let that cab-driver in, and I'm left waiting out here?" "Well," the angel said, "when you preached, everyone slept. But when he drove, everyone prayed." For millennia, spiritual teachers have been calling on us to go for the highest common denominator, but we've always seemed to end up with the lowest common dominator instead. And now, George W. Bush has done what preachers, teachers and other far-sighted visionaries have failed to do up until now: His policies have been so alarming, that he has awakened a slumbering body politic that slept through all previous alarms. Where others have failed, he has people all across the world praying, "God help us!" And instead of waiting for an intervention from above -- after all, we cannot expect to be fed intervenously forever -- people are beginning to help themselves, and even more importantly, help each other. Sure, there are still plenty of Not-Sees out there who insist on not seeing that we humans are all in the same boat. The good news is, more and more Americans are getting that sinking feeling that there's only one Earthship, and ignoring a leak because it's "on the other side of the boat," is a mistake of titanic proportions. We Are the Leaders We've Been Waiting For America, the world's only super-power, doesn't need a revolution. We've already had one, thank you. What is needed now -- and what has already begun -- is the American Evolution where enough of us wake up and see that those two political parties have been partying on our dime, and we the people haven't been invited. Time to go beyond choosing the lesser of two weasels. If we want to evolve the dream of our Founding Fathers -- instead of devolve into the nightmare of Big Brother -- we must become the leaders we've been waiting for. I've said it before. The only force more powerful than a super-power is a Super-Duper Power -- the power of the people plus the power of love. And anyone who doesn't believe we are a Super-Duper Power, well they have been super-duped! It's true, many people still feel that the affairs of the world should be left to the bolder and badder among us. But look what that leaves us with: Are you satisfied choosing between Saddam Hussein and George Who's-Not-Sane? Now I know those "God, guns and guts" Old Testament Christians might have forgotten, but Jesus did say that the meek shall inherit the earth. In all undue immodesty, maybe it's time for us meek folks to boldly step forth and accept our inheritance. For just as 2000 years ago Jesus stood up to a class that placed the rule of gold above the Golden Rule, today we face the modern version of the Pharisees -- the Phallusees, I think they are called. They cynically cloak themselves in religious robes, but the only power they trust is the power of the stick. Well, there's another old saying: It doesn't matter how big your stick is, if you stick your stick where it doesn't belong, you're stuck. Another sign of the up-wising and coming evolution is that people are growing dissatisfied with the positionality of "my side vs. your side," and are seeing the whole issue of sides from a new angle: Maybe we're all on the same side. For example, this argument between creationism and evolution is just another way for dueling dualities to steal our energy. I believe in both. I believe the Creator created us to evolve, otherwise Jesus would have said, "Now don't do a thing till I return." I have it on good authority that the Creator is pulling for us: "Come on, you children of God. Time to grow up and become adults of God instead." Time to Overgrow the System From the Grassroots Up The time for revolution and overthrowing has past. Now we need an evolution where we "overgrow" the current dysfunctional system from the grassroots up. You are probably familiar with the story of the Native American grandfather who tells his grandson that there are two wolves fighting inside all of us: The wolf of fear and anger, and the wolf of love and peace. "Which wolf will win?" asks the young boy. "Whichever one we feed," replies the grandfather. And so when people ask me to predict what will happen, I tell them the only thing I can predict with certainty is the uncertainty of any prediction. The future's just too unpredictable these days. This is a Universe of infinite possibilities, so it all depends on which futures we invest in. There is something far more empowerful than predictions, and that is Tell-A-Vision. If you're fed up with the current programming, my advice is turn off your TV and tell a vision instead. That way, we will have healing and functional visions to step into -- and that beats what we've been stepping into. So I will tell my vision for 2006: This is the year of the American Evolution, where all those who prefer the Golden Rule to the rule of gold get past left and right, and come front and center. I see Americans of all political stripes, plaids and polka dots (not to mention solids), choosing to face the music and dance together. Sure, we'll have to learn some new steps, but it's time for a new dance - A-Bun-Dance. That is where we get up off our assets, move our buns, and dance together in rhythm and flow. And what better way to turn the funk into function, and leave the junk at the junction? I see us in a new reality show -- Extreme Planetary Makeover -- where everyone can play and everyone can win. Just think. Something more compelling than reality TV ... it's called reality! I know, I know. Only a crazy person would dare to propose anything that sane. But maybe it's time to declare the current institutionalized insanity illegally insane, and set about building a sane asylum big enough for all six and a half billion of us. As my guru Harry Cohen Baba has said, "Life is like a good deli. Even if something isn't on the menu, if enough people order it they have to make it." So what kind of new world order are we ordering up? Do we feed the wolf of fear and buy into the "it's every man for himself" story? Or do we nourish the wolf of love and evolve into the "we're all in it together" story? If we're going to be a Super-Duper Power, we have to be super-duper powerful in activating the power of love, and cultivating the power of joy. So laugh more. Why not? We all know there's something funny going on. The wall of lies cannot withstand the vibration of laughter. All seriousness aside, only a farce field that combines truth and laughter can bring down the Irony Curtain once and for all. Release the old story -- been there, done that -- and speak the new story into the world. Dare to imagine what we could be doing if we weren't spending so much of our livelihood on weapons of deadlihood. Think about it ... think tanks where they think about something other than tanks. Young people living for their country instead of dying for it. Health and education fully funded, and the Air Force having to run a bake sale so they can buy a new bomber. Can we change the course of history? Can we shift our karma into surpassing gear? I cannot say for sure, but if we choose to give up that old Dodge and trade it in for an Evolvo, that's a good first step. So ... let the Evolution begin. We don't have to wait until the first Big Shot is fired. If we create a powerful enough field, the Big Shots will end up firing themselves. May the FARCE -- as always -- be with us. (c) Copyright 2006 by Steve Bhaerman. All rights reserved. Find out more about the Swami at http://www.wakeuplaughing.com/

Disembodied Souls And Microvita (part 2)

Ananta — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 15:31:06 GMT

official source: Microvitum in a Nutshell Gandhayaks'inii. It is said that so-called pretayoniis are of seven types, but in fact they are the seven varieties of negative microvita. Not all the seven varieties of pretayoniis are carried by the smell inference. Gandhayaks'inii refers to the pisha'ca variety of pretayonii which are carried by the smell inference. Although there are seven varieties of pretayoniis -- that is, negative microvita -- there may be some other pretayoniis besides these. Similarly, there are seven varieties of devayoniis -- that is, positive microvita -- and besides these there may also be other varieties of positive microvita. The seven varieties of devayonii are yaks'a, kinnara, gandharva, vidya'dhara, prakrtiliina, videhaliina and siddha. Those who were decent human beings and deeply spiritual, and used to collect money for a noble cause, but in the process of fund raising forgot Parama Purus'a and attached greater importance to their fund raising at the cost of Parama Purus'a -- that is, they remembered Parama Purus'a as part of dharma sa'dhana' and collected money for a great cause, and although Parama Purus'a was the goal collecting money became the dominant desire -- attain the state of yaks'a devayonii after their demise. In feminine gender, yaks'a becomes yaks'inii. Although yaks'inii sa'dhana' is a part of Avidya' Tantra, the yaks'inii itself is an an entity between vidya' and avidya' because the person's mind in whom yaks'inii tendencies or positive microvita come was not a bad person. So gandhayaks'inii refers to that type of microvita which does not come within the scope of positive or negative microvita. As there was a predominant sentiment for dharma in such entities, they are positive microvita, and later as the dominant spiritual sentiment became secondary, they are negative microvita. This sort of positive microvita exerts greater influence on the mind than on the body. They cannot exert their influence when the human mind remains spiritually elevated, but as soon as the mind descends, their influence starts. These microvita do not divert the mind from the path of dharma, but they do not allow the human mind to accept dharma as the dominant propensity. They advise human beings, "Practice dharma sa'dhana' as and where you are. Continue it in perfect adjustment with everything." That is, they advise a kind of selfish adjustment. This sort of negative microvita have both a positive and negative influence on the body, but not a destructive influence. For easy understanding, we may use the term "intermediate microvita" instead of the terms positive microvita or negative microvita. Of these intermediary microvita, which are of the nature of yaks'as -- that is, who did not forget Parama Purus'a, but who wrongly attached greater importance to amassing wealth and accept the smell inferences as their media in the disembodied state -- are called "gandha- yaks'inii". By careful research it will be found that they travel through many special types of smell. Suppose Shyam Babu was about to set out for Calcutta from Burdwan on urgent business, and the purpose of his trip was good. But when he was about to depart from his house, he suddenly developed an acute pain in the abdomen, so he could not leave at the appointed time. After a while, he arrived at the station to catch the next train. At the station, he learnt that the train he was supposed to have taken had met with an accident at Mogra station. As his journey was delayed his work was no doubt inconvenienced, but his life was saved. This was the work of gandhayaks'inii. It may also have happen that Shyam Babu arrived late at Burdwan. He naturally thought that his work would be delayed because as the next train would come much later, he would be late in reaching Calcutta. Meanwhile, the scheduled train arrived. As there was no departure signal at Khona Junction, it was late in reaching Burdwan. This was also the work of gandhayaks'inii. In fact, yaks'inii is not a goddess or any particular entity, but an intermediary microvita which is partly positive and partly negative. Gandharukmin'ii. Let us discuss Rukmin'ii. Rukmin'ii was Krs'n'a's wife. She was the daughter of the King of Arunacala. In the British period, Arunacala was known as N.E.F.A. -- North Eastern Frontier Agency. During the rule of the Ahom Dynasty, it was part of Assam and Kamrup state and its old name was Balirpara. Even in the early part of British rule, the old name was retained. Now, Rukmin'ii had an irresistible spiritual urge. She took an unusual interest in propagating spirituality and helping unfold the spiritual potential of human beings. When ordinary people came in her contact, they felt a tremendous change in themselves, and automatically became more spiritual than before. The positive microvita which are carried through the smell inference try to forcibly take the human mind from ordinary mundane consciousness to the spiritual world, and as a result people notice a sudden change in themselves. They develop a feeling of non-attachment to worldly enjoyments. Their minds rush towards rtambhard tatra prajini' or the underlying omniscient faculty, and they develop a tremendous inner urge for spirituality. Nima'i Pandit (later known as Chaetanya Maha'prabhu), who was full of intellectual pride and would debate with the greatest scholars of the age just to defeat them, was suddenly attacked by an invisible power and was completely transformed. He gave up all his worldly bondages and set out in quest of the truth. The force, the positive microvita, which finally brought him from Navadwip to Katowa, the confluence of the Bha'grathi and the Ajay rivers, was nothing by gandarukmin'ii. Gandharva. Positive microvita are divided into seven main categories, but there are positive microvita beyond these seven categories. These seven categories are as follows -- kinnara, vidya'dhara, yaks'a, prakrtiliina, videhaliina, siddha and gandharva. Just as pretayoniis are divided into seven categories, devayoniis are also divided into seven categories, as just mentioned. Similarly, just as there are seven lokas in the ascending order -- Bhu', Bhuvah, Svah, Maha, Jana, Tapah and Satya -- there are seven lokas in descending order -- Bhu', Tala, Atala, Tala'tala, Pa'ta'la, Atipa'ta'la and Rasa'tala. Kinnara. How handsome, how beautiful, how sweet! Is it a human being or some other entity? Kinnara is equal to "kinnarh". In North India, in the present state of Himalchal, there is a region called "Kinnara". There is some Mongolian influence amongst the people, and the inhabitants of that region are very handsome. In the past, they were called "Kinnara" and the region was called "Kinnaradesha". The ancient name of Tibet was "Kim'purus'avars'a". One meaning of "vars'a" is "land" or "country". For instance, Bha'ratavars'a means "the land of Bharata". The inhabitants of Tibet have very little hair on their bodies, so it is often difficult to distinguish between males and females, just as it is difficult to distinguish between males and females in Bhutan. Hence, in ancient Tibet, people would wonder if a person was a male. In Sam'skrta the land was called "Kim'purus'avars'a". The word "devayonii" means "an entity which has a number of divine qualities". That is to say, devayoniis are positive microvita. Though siddhas are elevated human beings, those who have some aesthetic attraction for physical objects like money, ornaments, etc., become kinnaras after their demise. As spiritual aspirants they are elevated to some extent, and as human beings they are decent, but they prayed to Parama Purus'a for beauty instead of for Parama Purus'a Himself. Such people, after their demise, attain the status of kinnara devayoniis. They will not hurt anyone; they are completely devoid of the instinct of harming others. Ancient people used to pray to kinnaras for guidance in the art of beautification and decoration. The science of cosmetics was once known as "kinnaravidya'". In olden times, very handsome men were called "kinnaras" and very beautiful dancers were honoured as "kinnaris". So, this type of positive microvita represent the psychology of beautification. All theatrical knowledge regarding cosmetics and aesthetics, and the art of beautification or aesthetic taste, came within the scope of kinnaravidya'. Vidya'dhara. The disembodied souls of those who were good people and elevated spiritualists, but who gave more importance to intellectual attainment instead of trying to realise Parama Purus'a, attain the status of vidya'dhara. Maybe vidya'dharas are slightly more developed then kinnaras, but they also will not attain Parama Purus'a. After their accumulated reactive momenta are exhausted, they will have to reincarnate as living entities. Vidya'dharas may or may not have external physical beauty, but they certainly possess mental beauty. Incidentally, let me tell you that devayoniis are composed of three fundamental factors -- ethereal, aerial and luminous. The solid and liquid factors are left on the earth after the death of the physical body. Perhaps you know that mental beauty exercises some degree of influence on the human body. A woman who is unattractive but is mentally elevated or has a loving nature will look beautiful to others. You must have heard that to a child, the most beautiful woman in the world is his or her mother. Vidya'dharas also have a kind of beauty due to their inherent intellectual faculty. Vidya'dhara microvita assist those who seek intellectual attainment. As vidya'dharas are devayoniis, they do not harm anybody. They are a type of positive microvita. In one of my short stories I narrated the following experience. When I was a boy, the day before one of my examinations commenced, I was studying alone past midnight in my room on the third floor of our house. There were two rooms on the floor, covered by a roof. The staircase from the second floor to the third floor was closed with a gate so that thieves could not climb up to the fourth floor, so I was separated from the other members of the household. Suddenly, a peculiar sound came simultaneously from all the four corners of the room, "Learn such and such lines from such and such poem by heart." I did accordingly. When I sat for the examination, I discovered to my utter amazement that a question concerned with the same lines of the poem appeared in the examination paper. But, however good these vidya'dharas might be, they do not attain Parama Purus'a. Yaks'a. Yaks'a refers to a type of devayonii which, in its previous life, asked for material wealth from Parama Purus'a, or gave more importance to accumulating wealth to perform noble deeds than to supreme spiritual attainment. It forgot Parama Purus'a, and amassing wealth became the purpose of its life. In olden times, people would worship yaks'as in the hope of gathering wealth, particularly in the Buddhist and Jain periods. Usually a particular place under a fig tree or banyan tree outside a village was fixed for the worship of yaks'as. Those places are called "Brahmastha'na" today in Bihar and some areas of Ra'r'h, and some people are afraid to visit these places late at night. Yaks'as are not harmful entities. They help human beings, but they cannot attain Parama Purus'a. They will have to be reborn in the form of living beings after their reactive momenta have exhausted. Prakrtiliina. Those who want Parama Purus'a but worship crude matter out of misguided devotion attain the state of prakrtiliina after they die. These disembodied minds are transformed into bricks, stone, wood, etc. Those who pray to the idols made of clay, metal or wood out of misguided devotion can never attain Parama Purus'a because one can never attain supreme knowledge through this type of worship. The state of prakrtiliina is very miserable indeed because human beings who are endowed with a developed consciousness get transformed into crude matter like stone, wood, etc. After their accumulated reactive momenta are exhausted, they attain a human body again, but as they wanted to realise Parama Purus'a, they were devayoniis. If one sits for meditation in that particular place where these devayoniis exist in the form of stone or wood in ardent expectation of their emancipation, positive microvita will help a spiritual aspirant. As they are devayoniis, they do not harm anyone -- rather they assist spiritualists. You must have noticed that while meditating at some places the mind becomes concentrated very quickly. This usually happens due to the grace of the Guru. It also happens through the co-operation of those devayoniis which have attained the state of prakrtiliina. If mental concentration comes with the help of devayoniis, a spiritual aspirant will sense a light sweet smell in the nose, but if this happens due to the grace of the Guru, along with the sweet smell the spiritual aspirant will glimpse fragmented waves of effulgent light, like glittering poppy seeds, whether the eyes are opened or closed. Either by the co-operation of devayoniis or by the grace of the Guru, both experiences are manifestations of divine grace. When spiritual aspirants experience the direct grace of Parama Purus'a during meditation, they perceive a kind of light smell which makes their minds intoxicated with joy. Simultaneously, they visualise fragments of effulgence and experience a state of intoxicated hilarity which makes them oblivious to all kinds of petty differences, and transports them into the realm of cosmic oneness. In that state of blissful communion, the Guru and Iishvara become one, producing a kind of sweet vibration in the spiritual aspirant who realises: Guru krpa'hi kevalam "The Guru's grace is everything." Shri Shri Anandamurti, October 1988, Calcutta Shabda Cayanika' Part 18, pp. 188-208 ***************

Born from Love

Ananta — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 19:25:56 GMT

Rumi Translated By Rezwani and Helminski Ghazel 843 On the Way of Love you must be very alive, the lifeless have nothing to offer. So, who is alive? The one who is born from Love. Listen: Battle drums are beating; the troops of Love are marching; Where is the heroic soul who will give the sign? Thunder will rumble from the heart; from out of the body the soul will flash Just as from a tumbling cloud lightning strikes. Never will sorrow take hold of such a heart; All the world's sorrows only expand its rapture. The whole ocean shrinks before the storm of early spring; The world is sweet because of lovers; though that's not the official story. This lion hunts no deer; his deer is the presence of “Ya Hu” while unbelieving critics babble in this pasture. In Love, search for us! In us, search for This! At times we adore; at other times we feel adored. So, like an oyster shell, That Presence opens its mouth To swallow like a drop this whole ocean called “me and us.”

Food for thought...

Ananta — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 00:47:13 GMT

O, friend! Nobody veils you, but yourself. In your path there is no thorn or weed, but yourself. You said: Shall I reach the Beloved or not? Between you and the Beloved there is nobody, but yourself. Awhadoddin Kermani You do not have to struggle to reach God, but you do have to struggle to tear away the self-created veil that hides Him from you. Paramahansa Yogananda Before you ask God for what you want, first thank God for what you have. Talmud, B'rachot 30b How long will you keep pounding on an open door Begging for someone to open it? Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the two my life flows. Nisargadatta Maharaj Worn-out garments are shed by the body, Worn-out bodies are shed by the dweller within the body, New bodies are donned by the Dweller, like garments. Not wounded by weapons, not burned by fire, Not dried by the wind, not wetted by water, Such is the One. Not dried, not wetted, not burned, not wounded, Innermost Essence, everywhere, always, Being of Beings, changeless, eternal, for ever and ever. Bhagavad-Gita Where are you hurrying to? You will see the same moon tonight Wherever you go! Izumi Shikibu There is no difference in the destination, the only difference is in the journey. Inayat Khan In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped. Lao Tzu I see now that all creatures have perfect Enlightenment - but they do not know it. Tathagata

One love

Ananta — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:54:11 GMT

This Saturday, Senator Barack Obama is scheduled to take a public AIDS test in Kenya at a clinic in the village of Nyangoma-Kogelo. This is this village where his father was raised and his grandmother still lives. It is also a country where 2 million of its 33 million people are infected with HIV The AP reports that the men and women in Nyangoma-Kogelo have been preparing for weeks for Senator Obama’s visit by cutting the grass and leveling out the dirt road that leads to his grandmother’s home. But Senator Obama’s visit will be much more than just a homecoming. With the fanfare – and the AIDS test – I hope more awareness and understanding of an epidemic will come. After two decades, HIV it is still stigmatized in many Africa countries. This deters people from even getting tested, which is one of the surefire ways to get the epidemic under control. Successes in a handful of countries, such as Uganda and Senegal, have shown that HIV rates can be brought down through effective AIDS prevention campaigns. Senator Barack sammi — 11:12 PM Aug 24, 2006 i read recently the possibility of this wonderful man and proponent for the work in africa of becoming a candidate for the position of President of the United States. that would be just awesome. i've been an admirer of him for a long time, and those of you who can, consider picking up his biography which has come out this year. Obama Homecoming ochido — 04:44 AM Aug 25, 2006 This is the most achived moment of the people of NYANZA In Kenya and Obamas natives this has been a chance to tell the world how a son of a big tribe left alone to fight its problems is recognised world wide and in kenya as the most educated tribe are left to fight poverty and AIDS. People with AIDS don't suffer alone?the disease attacks their families and communities as well. AIDS has stripped out an entire generation of parents, farmers, doctors, leaders. and unless we take serious action now, Millions of children will have lost not only their parents, but their teachers, nurses and friends too. Businesses are losing their workers, governments are losing their civil servants, families are losing their breadwinners. As a result, entire communities are devastated and economies that are already crippled by poverty, debts and unfair trade policies are further compromised like the people of Nyanza in kenya the people of this community have been left with the Kenya gov to be wiped out..and thats why Obama is sending a message that they need help and the big ONE is AIDS. AIDS has been with us for 20 years. It is not going to go away on its own. The longer we go without sufficiently investing in stopping the global epidemic, the further it will spread worldwide and the more expensive the global bottom line will be in the end. So the world should see that even Railla Kenya most known coming from the same native like Obama is best positioned to lead Kenyas.to save his community and kenyas as a whole.

One Light

Ananta — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 14:41:49 GMT

One Light' What are "I" and "You"? Just lattices In the niches of a lamp Through which the One Light radiates. "I" and "You" are the veil Between heaven and earth; Lift this veil and you will see How all sects and religions are one. Lift this veil and you will ask--- When "I" and "You" do not exist What is mosque? What is synagogue? What is fire temple? Sa'd al-din Mahmud Shabistari(1250 - 1320) Love came flowed like blood beneath skin, through veins emptied me of my self filled me with the Beloved till every limb every organ was seized and occupied till only my name remains. the rest is It. Abu-Said Abil-Kheir (967 - 1049) Those who have not realized God will wander, homeless in this world, destitute in the next. But watch the lovers dance with ecstasy, as they merge into the oneness of God Sheikh Sultan Bahu (1630 - 1691 AD) Intoxicated by the Wine of Love. From each a mystic silence Love demands. What do all seek so earnestly? 'Tis Love. What do they whisper to each other? Love. Love is the subject of their inmost thoughts. In Love no longer 'thou' and 'I' exist, For Self has passed away in the Beloved. Now will I draw aside the veil from Love, And in the temple of mine inmost soul, Behold the Friend; Incomparable Love. He who would know the secret of both worlds, Will find the secret of them both, is Love. Attar (1119 - 1230? I did not come on this earth as a seed, To fall in the circle of births, I am not the elements Earth, water, fire, air and ether I am beyond the primordial universal self and the individual self, I am the Supreme Consciousness. Rupa Bhawani (1621 - 1721)

The true meaning of Brahmacarya

Ananta — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 20:04:26 GMT

Brahmacarya official source: A Guide to Human Conduct The correct meaning of Brahmacarya is "to remain attached to Brahma". "Brahman'i vicaran'am iti Brahmacaryam". Whenever people do some work or think of doing any work extroversally, they look upon the object, with which they come in contact, as a crude finite entity. Because of their constant aspiration for material achievement their mind is so engrossed in material objects that their very consciousness becomes crude. The meaning of practising Brahmacarya Sa'dhana' is to treat the object with which one comes in contact as different expressions of Brahma and not as crude forms. By means of such an ideation, even though the mind wanders from one object to another, it does not get detached from Brahma because of the Cosmic feeling taken for each and every object. As a result of this Preya Sa'dhana' (extroversal approach) is converted into Shreya Sa'dhana' (introversal approach) and Ka'ma into Prema. ([Preya means attraction towards crude material objects, while] Shreya means attraction towards the ultimate reality. Ka'ma means desire for finite objects and Prema means desire for the Infinite). Many misinterpret Brahmacarya to mean preservation of semen. It should be remembered that neither the word Brahma nor the word carya has any relevance to the word "semen". Moreover, even physiologically such a preservation of semen is a bluff. Either owing to the disease in certain glands or by the use of similar other processes, unless one becomes maimed, it is not possible to observe such Brahmacarya. It is certainly true that if the correct meaning of the word Brahmacarya is accepted (that is, to feel the Cosmic Entity in every material object), control in life becomes essential, but such control does not imply disobeying the laws of nature. Control means to abide by nature's laws. The prevention of the discharge of semen by some special measures or prevention of its surplus formation by fasting is ordinarily termed as so-called Brahmacarya. For those who are not married, this so-called Brahmacarya (which is really not Brahmacarya) has some meaning, because it reduces the possibility of sexual excitement and thus prevents a discharge which may occur due to excitement while awake, asleep or dreaming. This is because when there is no formation of surplus semen, there is no physical desire to waste it. Further consideration will, however, show what this so-called Brahmacarya is worth. Are the prevention of formation of surplus semen and the loss of surplus semen not one and the same thing? All that can be said is that the first alternative is good for the unmarried and the second for the married. People who by different suppressive methods seek to prevent the discharge of semen, create a bad reaction on their body and mind. Their bodies become rough and lack in lustre. A suppression of the sexual desire results in other desires, especially anger, taking a more terrible form. In the olden times only the actual meaning of Brahmacarya was accepted. Later, when society was dominated by the intelligentsia, the so-called monks, who had taken to complete exploitation, thought that if ordinary citizens were allowed to pursue spiritual practices, they might lose the machinery of exploitation at any moment, of which they were so fond. If common people are inspired by spiritual ideals their rationality will grow and grow. The monks realized therefore that the people will have to be kept maimed and helpless. Fear and inferiority complex will have to be infused in people to exploit them. They found that such an exploited mass consisted of ordinary worldly people, most of whom were married. If, therefore, the loss of semen was anyhow declared as anti-religious, they would be able to gain their end without difficulty. And the result was promptly achieved. Ordinary worldly people began to think that they, by leading a married life, had committed a serious wrong, a heinous sin: they had indulged in activities against Brahmacarya. The monks observed celibacy and were, therefore, far superior. The so-called recluses took advantage of the situation and have, without difficulty, been exploiting the society. Whether these recluses in fact are naes't'hika Brahmaca'riis (those who do not waste semen at all) cannot be decided by arguments. This can be decided by medical test. But it can be said without doubts that many of the so-called monks will not pass this test. Humanity has to progress towards the ultimate reality by accepting what is truth. That is the path of a sa'dhaka; that is the path of dharma. It may be a privilege to parasitic religious professionals to deny what is simple truth in practical life, but thereby the sanctity of dharma cannot be maintained. It is not the path of satya, it is nothing but hypocrisy. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, A'nanda Pu'rn'ima' 1957