On Thurs 7 Aug 08 @9PM I had a deeply moving and spiritual experience when I lit candles and deeyas for Tibet. This was in unison with everyone in my time zone and done globally. I'd like to explore this and share my experiences with you and hear yours as we participate in universal collective prayer events together. I hope to work together with all the universe's beings as we move toward the ideal of Universal Collective Prayer.
Come join me in Universal Collective Prayer!
May God Bless Us All!
UCP-Universal Collective Prayer is produced by Meady's Musings Production . Copyright 2006-2011
We return to the elements once more on the God Series as we explore the concept of God as Water. We also join in with our parent blog Meady's Musings as they mark Blog Action Day 2010(by discussing water and the need to get it world over) and Global Handwashing Day!
First of all let's recall past blogs on UCP about the concept of water as deity...as we did this before when we marked the Hindu festival of Kartik Snaan where we spoke about how Hinduism worships water as the Goddess Ganga (also the name of the largest and most powerful river in India.)
Water is also seen as an important conduit between the divine and man in most major religions...for example in Christianity it is often used in Baptisms.
In Greek mythology water was also deified as in Hinduism but unlike in Hinduism it was seen as masculine taking on the name Poseidon when seen as a king...so Poseidon is the King of the sea! Poseidon has a similar counterpart in the Roman God- Neptune.
There is another subtle difference from in Hinduism as well...because in Hinduism Ganga is see as a Goddess but she is also the Water itself...where as in these mythologies i.e. Greek and Roman Poseidon and Neptune are Gods of the Sea. So they aren't exactly the water itself but have power over it and so can manifest some of its attributes but still not the water itself like how Ganga is!
And that difference although subtle makes all the difference to us on UCP. You see to deify the actual element itself as Hinduism does...it takes on a whole different meaning...it tells us how much this element means to man directly...it is man's very life blood...without it he could not live...yet it can also destroy man if it goes rampant in nature...and on the spiritual side it is man's conduit to the divine...Oh WATER! No wonder we here at UCP have written more than one ode to you and poets everywhere have saluted you...and will continue to do so for eternity!
Today on UCP we take a break from the elements although we have one more element to go...WATER! However we do so with good reason...you see our parent blog Meady's Musings along with its Purple Elephant and Little Mouse are celebrating Blog Action Day 2010 and the action on that day is well...WATER! It's about getting water to the world over! It's also Global Handwashing Day courtesy the people at Clean the World...so we are planning to join forces with them also on that day so on UCP we will celebrate God as WATER!
However it is also fitting to celebrate mother on the God series right now anyway as in Hinduism it's the festival of Nav Ratri...the nine nights celebration of the Mother as Divine!
Now we here on UCP since its inception have been surrendering to the Divine Mother...sitting on her lap...and even at times if necessary suckling at her breasts for nourishment...so we are no strangers here to celebrating God as Mother...so we need not even write a fresh post on this but merely dance forth and celebrate with her instead as we recall all our loving memories with her over the years! :) So let's crank up ours and one of the fav bhajans of all time by all Hindu fans of the Divine Mother as well...'Mein To Aarti Utaaroon' from the classic film 1970's film- 'Jai Santoshi Maa'!
The Divine Mother Leadership Series lasted for nine nights earlier this year as we celebrated each night of that Nav Ratri Festival with a post as follows: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9
Hanuman (the shadow of a hanging pendant) Meady's Musings Production 2010.
As we continue our look of the perception of God as 'the elements' on the God series today we look at the element of Wind! In Hinduism the God of Wind is called Pavan but he isn't as popular as his son...Hanuman who is often referred to as Pavan-Putra Hanuman i.e. the son of the Wind God, Hanuman. In keeping with the twists and turns that is Hinduism the God of Wind in Hinduism has other names than Pavan...here are just a few of them:
-Vayu -Vata from the root of the Sanskrit word for atmosphere vatavaran
So technically Hanuman could have been called Vayu-Putra Hanuman or Vata-Putra even! :) However he is most often called Pavan-Putra Hanuman!
Then there is the all famous Prana or vital breath in Vedanta! The Prana makes up one of the five organs of vitality or sensation in Vedantic philosophy. The five organs are listed as follows:
So they altogether represent the physiological organs: nose, mouth, eyes, ears and mind respectively.
So it seems what Hinduism is saying is without the wind we could not be alive...makes sense after all as us humans are aerobic beings i.e. we need to breathe in the oxygen from air to survive and also to be able to expel carbon dioxide as if it is accumulated in our body it would kill us! So there! :)
However Hinduism is also mystifying the Wind...making an ode to him...glorifying him in poetry...deifying him even...so you have the Wind God...and he even had a son who is way more famous than him...and it seems Hinduism attributed strength to the wind cause all his sons were mighty strong guys! :) You see Bheem from the Mahabharat is also said to be a son of Vayu...so you have Hanuman and Bheem...the strong guys...sons of the Wind! So it must be they got their strength from good ole 'elemental' daddy! :)
So UCP salutes you oh wind! And to do so we hail your famous son in the form of the Hanuman Chalisa and then follow it with a celebration of you in what we here at UCP like to call John Denverism....but I guess can be seen to as a form of religion that worships nature itself...well and I think that religion is called...well...Nature worship! So John play on...and sing your windsong!:)
Our last episode in the God series looked at God as Fire. We would like to continue on that trend and cover all the elements on the next few episodes of the series. As a result we felt it fitting to cover the element of Earth today since it is a Friday and normally based on Hindu centric views we usually surrender to the Divine Mother on a Friday and the Earth is always seen as Mother as well. We’ve never come upon a single religious or cultural view hence far that has seen Earth as Father...don’t know why really...although I can see why they’d see Earth as Mother but not sure why not Father as well...
But anyway let’s stick with the world traditions here and go along and explore the concept of God as Mother Earth!
We’ll start with Hinduism then...
The Earth is worshipped in Hindu rituals all the time and Hindus bow to the Earth in fact they often beg her forgiveness before they allow their feet to trample upon her each morning...just check out this lovely prayer noting this!
However UCP’s favourite concept of God being perceived as Earth is when in the Ramayan, Sita Maa is seen as born from the earth and eventually returns to her Mother...and this touching scene in the TV serial version of The Ramayan where she begs Mother Earth to open up and receive her again epitomises it for us!
As a whole we here at UCP can see why man as a whole even if it is seen from a scientific evolutionary path...divorce of all UCP and spirit...would hold great respect and awe for Earth. And why as a result worship of the Earth or its personification as God would have eventually developed. After all we live on planet Earth and it is from her we are nourished and it is where we are sheltered and eek out our existence. I guess it is why she is always personified as a her ...as a mother not a father...because she is seen as the ultimate nourisher...we are in a sense in our particular mother’s wombs as we stay grounded to planet Earth by gravity while she holds all of us in her womb....feeding us...sheltering us...Mother Earth is our foothold in this great and wild Universe! In fact some from the Production House have celebrated Mother Earth for Preserving Our Lives in the past at this Diwali Festival Show!
So next up on the God series is Wind! So we'll catch you then!
A Havan fire in a Hindu ceremony, Trinidad and Tobago Meady's Musings Production 2010
Worshippers at Jing'an Temple, Shanghai China Jun 2010. Meady's Musings Production 2010
Today on the God series we examine the concept of God as fire…from the Ancient Vedic Homa and Havan to the Old Testament’s fiery appearance before Moses to UCP’s recent visit to China where it was pyrotechnics galore…what’s man’s obsession with God like fire?
Well we here at UCP have been thinking…the gyan yoga caps on…not the bhakti ones…so we thought and thought and thought some more just like Winnie the Pooh and here is what we came up with after we thought even some more!
Well if we look at what fire is used for and if we go with what modern science tells us about the ‘evolution’ of man well if they were cave men…well they must have once they discovered fire’s presence first of all…either when lighting struck something and it burned or when a volcano erupted or a fire just burst out on its due to the searing heat focusing on dry wood for instance...well they must have been amazed! And I guess first they would have been scared of it but then they would have played around with it and realised that if they was its friend well hmmm...it could do loads for them couldn't it? Warm them from the cold...cook their food so it could taste better...melt some materials so they could join together...all sorts of things...but the fire had to be feared too...I mean it could burn you...kill you even...it could be a fierce beast let me tell ya! LOL!
So perhaps if we go on and on...in this analysis we could see how Man started to revere and at the same time fear fire...and so as a society evolved it's practices, rites and rituals would have incorporated this and made fire become an integral part of religions world over! Myth upon myth being woven around it...but hey this is not that sort of blog...it's UCP of course...we engage in Universal Collective Prayer here not analysis and speculation of how man and societies evolved! LOL! So let's get back to the UCP of it!
Well you see for whatever speculative reason it may be...Man for sure does revere fire and also fear it and it for sure forms major parts of practically all the world religions. In Hinduism it is seen as an integral portal between the divine world and the material/human plane on which we live. Contact can be made with God throught the Vedic Homa or Havan. In fact sometimes God even appears or manifests in the Havan! And they've also given fire it's on status as the God Agni. Man infact a whole line of Brahmins have even been dedicated to working the fire! Yep...the Agnihotri Brahmins. For sure I think the Hindus have to be one of the top rankers when it comes to perceiving God in the form or fire. However you see it in Buddhism and Catholicism in their rites and rituals too!
However to me the classic case of fire getting on 'bad' is in the movie, the Ten Commandents...I mean it is so clear cut here God coming as fire in the burning bushnell no doubt! :) To talk to Moses and look how 'bad' he gets on! Whoa! Moses had to be some brave man to stand up and take that message! :)
We here at UCP are sorry that we haven't be progressing the God series as quickly as we like but we seem to keep getting detained here, there and everywhere!Haha! Get it...just like God is here, there and everywhere! :) OK corny jokes aside...we really are sorry but our day job and other actual UCP events have us tired out by the time we come to the computer to write...so the blogs are in our head but we can't get the song and dance typed out here! Oh dear!
We are however going to try with all our might and prayer...Inshallah to get those blogs out to you next week though so look for these topics in the God series next week:
Wed: God in the form of fire Fri: God as the Divine Mother
However we had to come on here to let you know we've linked! A couple months ago while still on vacation in China we were contacted by Lily and Xavier who like us are exploring spirituality but in their own way. While we engage and explore this thing we call UCP-Universal Collective Prayer they have something going on to find and explore the truth and they call it the Truth Contest! What a cool name! :) It's not really a contest though. It is Lily and Xavier's attempt to well hey let me put it in their own words...here is what they wrote to me: "We are college students who run a website dedicated to seeking, defining, and spreading the truth of life. We have studied your website, and we like what you are saying..."
So hey...let's move forward with our dancing feet in this universe and explore the truth out there as we join in UCP-Universal Collective Prayer! They have linked UCP on their site here.
Welcome Truth Contest and Lily and Xavier...We've put up an official link to the Truth Contest on our side bar but you can link to them from this blog post as well by clicking here. Currently the top five topics that are being discussed on their blog are: The Present (universal truth) The Present (with religion) Truth Is The Way The God Memorandum Integrity
Hmmm...so as our God series unfolds we can see us interacting with them for sure! :)
Today as I launch the God series I approach you my readers in the same free flowing formless manner in which I perceive God! I don't know where I want this to go and I don't know what shape or form it will take or evolve or unfold into! ‘Neti neti!’- The famous Vedic Sanskrit two liner that announces ‘I am not this! I am not that!’ comes to mind and my estimation of it seems to suggest if ‘I am not this’ and ‘I am not that’ then perhaps I'm either nothing or everything!
So I launch the God series today with the discussion that God can be perceived as formless. Of the major modern religions I think Islam focuses on this formlessness the most! So much so that there is strictly no use of imagery or iconography what so ever when discussing God or Allah in Islam. However most Eastern religious traditions although on the surface may appear to be shrouded in iconographies also at their core embrace this formless concept or perception of God. My understanding is though that for instance in Hinduism it is believed that not everyone can perceive God as formless as their minds are not able grasp this and so they need more concrete things and manifestations to be able to grasp the infinite. Hence the Bhaktivedantic approaches where for instance God is perceived in the form of Krishna. Here the devotee is asked to focus on God in a particular form to start with but even then the devotee is eventually shown and expected to see when he is ready that God transcends this form.
However, like with most things in life, balance is the key and one can always argue that when is too much too much? Can a devotee on this path never end up seeing the forest from the trees and get lost forever in the world of iconography and fixation on a particular form! Hardly likely though at least in Hinduism since even then the devotee is usually exposed to a myriad of forms and so that alone should give a signal to him that God is not one particular form or shape. And then too in Hinduism the devotee has an eternity of infinite lifetimes to figure it out so what’s the hurry already? LOL!
Yet it can be said perhaps when one becomes a true bhakt they may tend to fixate on the one form and maybe…however the flip side to the discussion is…well is there a risk when we just go with the ‘cold turkey’ approach and see God as formless straight up like in Islam well do we then run the risk of never quite being able to connect with God in that manner as if we had transitioned from form to formless? That will always be an ongoing debate. I don’t see one as better over the other to me it is more for one to choose the path this is best suited for him or her. Or like in my case take a bit from each one and make your own mix!
But now on with the discussion about the perception of God as formless! As I told you I take a bit from this a bit from that and create my own mix. So I consider myself a Shiv Bhakt but in this case I see him clearly as explaining the concept ‘neti neti’ because when you describe the attributes of Shiv you see clearly that he is neither this…neither that…he is everything! So God is formless because he is everything?!
Now on with the dance that is UCP because who says I’m going to launch some academic discussion here without the song and dance after all then it just wouldn’t be this thing or dance I call UCP would it?! So here now in the words of one of my favourite Shiv things – the Rudra Ashtakam if you focus closely on the lyrics you will learn that he is everything!
The God series will continue on Friday when we will discuss the perception of God as the Divine Mother!
I bow to the Ruler of the Universe, whose very form is Liberation, the omnipotent and all pervading Brahma, manifest as the Vedas. I worship Shiva, shining in his own glory, without physical qualities, Undifferentiated, desireless, all pervading sky of consciousness and wearing the sky itself as His garment.
niraakaara monkaara-moolam turiiyam giraa gnaana gotiita miisham giriisham karaalam mahaa-kaala-kaalam krpaalam gunaagaara samsara paaram nato ham
I bow to the supreme Lord who is the formless source of “OM” The Self of All, transcending all conditions and states, Beyond speech, understanding and sense perception, Awe-full, but gracious, the ruler of Kailash, Devourer of Death, the immortal abode of all virtues.
I worship Shankara, whose form is white as the Himalyan snow, Radiant with the beauty of countless Cupids, Whose head sparkles with the Ganga With crescent moon adorning his brow and snakes coiling his neck,
The beloved Lord of All, with shimmering pendants hanging from his ears, Beautiful eyebrows and large eyes, Full of Mercy with a cheerful countenance and a blue speck on his throat.
I worship Shankara, Bhavani’s husband, The fierce, exalted, luminous supreme Lord. Indivisible, unborn and radiant with the glory of a million suns; Who, holding a trident, tears out the root of the three-fold suffering, And who is reached only through Love.
You who are without parts, ever blessed, The cause of universal destruction at the end of each round of creation, A source of perpetual delight to the pure of heart, Slayer of the demon, Tripura, consciousness and bliss personified, Dispeller of delusion… Have mercy on me, foe of Lust.
na yaavad umaanaatha-paadaaravindam bhajantiha loke parevaa naraanam na taavat-sukham shaanti-santaapa-naasham praslda prabho sarva bhutaa-dhivaasam
Oh Lord of Uma, so long as you are not worshipped There is no happiness, peace or freedom from suffering in this world or the next. You who dwell in the hearts of all living beings, and in whom all beings have their existence, Have mercy on me, Lord.
na janaami yogam japam naiva pujam nato ham sadaa sarvadaa sambhu tubhyam jaraa janma-duhkhaugha taatapya maanam prabho paahi apan-namaamisha shambho
I don’t know yoga, prayer or rituals, But everywhere and at every moment, I bow to you, Shambhu! Protect me my Lord, miserable and afflicted as I am with the sufferings of birth, old-age and death.
rudrastakam idam proktam viprena haratosaye ye pathanti nara bhaktya tesam sambhuh prasidati
This eightfold hymn of praise was sung by the Brahman to please Shankara. Shambhu will be pleased with whomever heartfully recites it.
What could be up to a 1,000 Buddhas we think! Longhua Temple, Shanghai CHINA June 2010. Copyright Meady's Musings Production 2010.
We come in the company of what could be a 1,000 Buddhas to apologise so you have to give us a chance! We had expected to restart our journey here into this thing we call UCP-Universal Collective Prayer at the end of June...however our production house...Meady's Musings Production seems to be in some difficulty...read their tale here! As a result we hope to be back in full swing over here on UCP by this Wednesday as we plan to share some Buddhist cheer and then launch later on as planned into the quest to find out who is God to you and you and you and I or me! Yes my fellow travellers and dancers into UCP we shall finally be launching our talks on the God concept!Yes indeed we will finally be starting the 'God' series as promised! Inshallah! See you then!
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