The Holy Week: Good Friday-The Ultimate Surrender?

Good Friday is usually too sad for us to post many words here on UCP in fact last year we said nothing but put up two potent segments from the movie "The Passion of the Christ". But this year we will painfully try...

From our Hindu centric eyes we see it as "The Ultimate Surrender" and this year around we still can't see it any other which way...for us when Jesus says:


"Father, into your hands...I commend...my spirit."

Really we see it that he has reached the point of Ultimate Surrender onto the Universe and thus merges and becomes one with it...i.e. Bodhisattva is he! However we've been reading that Christians see this in a different way tough but we can't even explain it...it's like looking at one of those images that has two pictures in them but we only see the one picture...so for us here on UCP, Jesus the Christ is a Bodhisattva...an enlightened one...and so really it means from the eastern perspective he is God so don't we then all agree? It is just that we believe that others can follow to become Bodhisattva too a lone Bodhisattva is not he! But on such a sad day why argue? Of course it is not entirely sad in that a Bodhisattva is born and this is usually a very rare occurrence...but as one such enlightened being is born so many others revel in sin...and that is just sad...very sad when you recollect on this day the sinful things that were done...sad!

So it is why we normally try not to speak much but mark silence on such a day so we've said enough really but will talk on only because our dharam or duty calls and we had promised to explore the leadership role of women here too...And really to be a mother is to be a leader...you are the ultimate leader then as you mold a child...but like all leaders know there comes a time when you must let go...however in Christianity the Holy Virgin Mary had to let go big time...as she let her son go to the wider community...and then to the Universe by the time he was in his thirties...and she never abandoned his side despite all of this...And before Jesus the Christ made the Ultimate Surrender he made one last act perhaps this last act was required to fulfill all his karam and dharma on the material plane...and this was it as he said:


". . . Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple,
Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her
unto his own home."
John 19:26b-27, KJV

And in doing so he gave his material plane mother someone to call son and to to be called mother by and treated as such while she remained on the material plane and he moved on...

So now we will put up the videos again but not ourselves watch them...as just too sad...sad! And profound!

Good Friday: The Ultimate Surrender!

Universal Collective Prayer: Hanuman Jayanti and Holy Thursday...Bhakti Yoga at Its Best!

In the myriad of Hindu festivals that are out there...today is Hanuman Jayanti...I don't do anything special on the day as such as I often hang out with the Monkey man myself(no offense Hanuman Bhakts I'm one myself in a kinda way and he told me I could call him that if I like). So I need no special reason to worship him...but I guess like with any friend you mark their Bday so Happy Bday Monkey Man! :)

Seriously Hanuman Baba is one of my Ishq Devtaas I find as I wrote about back here. So I metaphorically hug him all the time and then ask him for strength and in general seriously we just hang around and monkey about a lot! :) In my understanding of him growing up Hindu and in the Ramayan stories he for sure has to be a really funny being so I figure if he was a blogger he would use smiley faces a lot :) and LOL (laugh out loud)! plenty! :). What you think? :)

According to the Ramayan he was a really smart monkey...incredibly learned...yet despite that a real Bhakti kinda guy capable of 'The Ultimate Surrender' onto the Lord...also a real humble player too...the kind that even forgets his own powers and needs to be reminded about it...cool guy huh? Now you must know why I often hang out with him if only in the metaphorical sense! :)

Check out this excerpt about the Ramayan tale referring to my long time friend from Wiki:

'Having seen Rama and Lakshmana, Sugriva sends Hanuman to ascertain their identities. Hanuman approaches the two brothers in the guise of a brahmin. His first words to them are such that Rama says to Lakshmana that none could speak the way the brahmin did unless he or she had mastered the Vedas. He notes that there is no defect in the brahmin's countenance, eyes, forehead, brows, or any limb. He points out to Lakshmana that his accent is captivating, adding that even an enemy with sword drawn would be moved. He praises the disguised Hanuman further, saying that sure success awaited the king whose emissaries were as accomplished as he was.[8]

When Rama introduces himself, Hanuman reveals his own identity and falls prostrate before Rama, who embraces him warmly. Thereafter, Hanuman's life becomes interwoven with that of Rama. Hanuman then brings about a friendship and alliance between Rama and Sugriva; Rama helps Sugriva regain his honour and makes him king of Kishkindha. Sugriva and his vanaras, most notably Hanuman, help Rama defeat Ravana and reunite with Sita.

In their search for Sita, a group of Vanaras reaches the southern seashore. Upon encountering the vast ocean, every vanara begins to lament his inability to jump across the water. Hanuman too is saddened at the possible failure of his mission, until the other vanaras and the wise bear Jambavantha begin to extol his virtues. Hanuman then recollects his own powers, enlarges his body, and flies across the ocean. On his way, he encounters a mountain that rises from the sea, proclaims that it owed his father a debt, and asks him to rest a while before proceeding. Not wanting to waste any time, Hanuman thanks the mountain and carries on. He then encounters a sea-monster, Surasa, who challenges him to enter her mouth. When Hanuman outwits her, she admits that her challenge was merely a test of his courage. After killing Simhika, a rakshasa, he reaches Lanka.'

So you see there is a lot to learn from my monkey friend...humility...excellence...wit...strength...bravery...but above all how to complete 'The Ultimate Surrender'...it is that ability that really keeps we coming back for more with him...it is why I still visit just to hug him as he surrenders at the feet of his Lord...such a pure, sweet monkey he is then...interestingly I find too that all beings when they are doing 'The Ultimate Surrender' well they become as one...not just in Universal Collective Prayer but in everything...any being doing 'The Ultimate Surrender' cannot be distinguished from any other being doing it...they all become one...merging into the cosmic fluid I guess...no distinguishing 'em again...just oneness...dissolving into the cosmic dancer that is the Shiv man perhaps...or Bodhisattva...

So on this Holy Thursday as I also continue to share in the Holy Week...I also recall another Bodhisattva in my mind...as I wrote about him just earlier in the week...for sure Jesus Christ of Nazareth completed 'The Ultimate Surrender' too...here is the excerpt from this post earlier this week where I rejoice in his surrender up on the Cross...

'You have to feel pain before you can transcend it and that does not come easily...in my understanding of Jesus he never became detached to it but what he did...you see he was the greatest Bhakti yogi....so after he felt and took the whole pain and sufferring of the entire human race on him...he said to the father...the lord of the Universe ...or the Universe...God...to take it from him...he then made the ultimate surrender...he offerred it all up to the Lord or the Universe...and it is in that moment he became one with it...enlightened...due to his Ultimate Surrender...but it is the process of going into the pain...feeling the pain of others...so much compassion...that made him capable of this ultimate surrender...it showed him the way...the love and the light...so in reflecting on the pain of him and his mother the Holy Virgin Mary...I think we learn from them...and become ourselves closer one day to the Ultimate Surrender...'


So I leave you with my favourite Hanuman Chalisa sung by Hari Om Sharan who to me is the only fitting singer for my friend on his Bday...Hari Om Sharan is no longer on the earthly plane and to me, he for sure was a very elevated being perhaps a few wavelengths off from being Bodhisattva himself...so wherever he is in the now...earth or spirit realm...I bow to his pure devotional voice which he possessed and recorded while here on the earthly plane in the form he had back then as the singer...Hari Om Sharan...

Enjoy! Happy Birthday Monkey Man! And let's continue dancing through the Holy Week!

Commemorating the Holy Week: A Pilgrimage and Messages from the Tea Gang or Is It the Fab Four?!

In the true nature of Universal Collective Prayer as I celebrated the Hindu festival dedicated to the nine nights celebration of the Divine Mother-Nav Ratri I began to contemplate on the Divine Mother as celebrated in Catholicism and I expressed it in this post. It took me on a pilgrimage...it wasn't planned but like outlined in the video about the Virgin Mary in that previous post...I was up on the Mount St. Benedict church on the first Sat of the month. I had gone with the thinking to take part in my first mass ever and perhaps even share in the communion...but I didn't realise that the special masses that were being done every 30 minutes for Lent were not on anymore as it was the Saturday before Palm Sunday and so instead busy preparations were being made for the start of the Holy Week! :)

So I was up there visiting the statue of the Divine Mother inside the church (out of reverence I did not take any photos inside the church and I'm not clear if it is allowed or not officially anyway). So in a way I was worshipping her on the first Saturday of the month of April so I've since decided like in the video to go up to the Mount for the five consecutive first Saturdays...assuming I'm on the island through out that period. I intend to carry out the meditation in my own Hinducentric way however...here is how I feel about the Divine Mother as I expressed when having to comment to a fellow Intent member who is of a Protestant background and from Sweden who I loving refer to as The Fairy Godmother Sara! :)These we my comments to her when she shared her views about the said post I did previous to this one on the Divine Mother.

Fairy Godmother Sara:
Hi, Babita. I watched two of these videos so far. The first one I stopped after a while because it made me smile a bit with all the violence but the second one I really appreciated. Thank you for sharing this beautiful inspiring and fantastically performed artwork. There is so much RICHNESS in hindu art and icons.

The clip with mother Mary was also inspiring. I have never come that close to catholic worship, living in a sekularised protestant country with agnostic parents. Not that I'm complaining. I'm grateful for the freedom it has given me. Now I feel I understand better why some catholics are so intense about defending their faith, which means alot to me. I love understanding, thank you :)

Repairing her heart... beautiful. The Holy Mother, indeed....However the thought strikes me that if they want to repair her heart maybe they shouldn't keep depicting it with swords and arrows in it and keep reminding themselves about her suffering. It seems they repeat the cycle every sunday? Poor spirit of motherhood...

Love to you, Babsy! I hope you are doing well.
Sara

Me:
Hey Sara....Fairy Godmother...Maa Durga she is a strong form of Shakti in Hinduism...pretty independent and yep can appear fierce at times...notice her chariot is usually a tiger or a lion...and they alone can do real damage...she is known to kill many a demon a.k.a. raksha in Hinduism and so yep can come across as violent or fierce...but it is just the eternal battle between good and evil...a turmoil within...it is just the iconography of it my dear Godmother...

About the Mary one ...dunno I don't see it like you...in feeling the pain of her and Jesus...I don't know for me it is deeply spiritual...you have to go deep within and feel it then come back out of it...the reason it is repeated I believe is cause we need to continually go in and feel deeply until we become enlightened...upon enlightenment we can feel the pain but be inwardly disidentified to it...or detached...in Hinduism it is said to be loving but detached...different from just ignoring it or not going into it...which is the mistake many make...

You have to feel pain before you can transcend it and that does not come easily...in my understanding of Jesus he never became detached to it but what he did...you see he was the greatest Bhakti yogi....so after he felt and took the whole pain and sufferring of the entire human race on him...he said to the father...the lord of the Universe ...or the Universe...God...to take it from him...he then made the ultimate surrender...he offerred it all up to the Lord or the Universe...and it is in that moment he became one with it...enlightened...due to his Ultimate Surrender...but it is the process of going into the pain...feeling the pain of others...so much compassion...that made him capable of this ultimate surrender...it showed him the way...the love and the light...so in reflecting on the pain of him and his mother the Holy Virgin Mary...I think we learn from them...and become ourselves closer one day to the Ultimate Surrender...

So...my dear friends in this dance that is Universal Collective Prayer I intend to go about the rest of the Holy Week in this vein and in my five consecutive first Saturday visits to the Mount.

However being up on the Mount and seeing all the preps for the Holy Week...It made me all excited...I wished I could be a part of the celebs but my full time job and my energy levels simply don't permit...perhaps one day Universal Collective Prayer however will be able to get more immersed into the celebs and take footage of the events and bring them to you on here. However for now I instead asked my dear brother in sharing (metaphorically) the Eucharist that is the Christ-Deacon Greg Kirk to share his thoughts on the past Lent season and his thoughts for the Holy Week. I will re-post what he wrote for me here now, along with the thoughts of my other Mexican Brother Ezequiel Rodriguez and to honour him I will publish it in the original Spanish it was written and then the English translation done by my soul sister Adriana Ochoa whose thoughts on how she will spend the Easter holidays with her family will also be shared.

Also you will see some of the beautiful sights up at the Mount one of my favs being those two priests looking at the church...it looks so Merlinish somehow to me...they seem so ancient and wise like Wizards really! :) And I mean that in full respect as I see Wizards in my Universal Collective Prayer as good, wise and showing us the light...if some feel disrespect by that analogy...the prayers apologises as the prayers intent here is really not to be antagonistic to the religious beliefs of others but instead as much as possible to join well in Universal Collective Prayer! Also I believe in taking action after we dance, meditate and reflect in Universal Collective Prayer and you can see I'm proud to be Petrotrin as my company is a major sponsor of the Drug Rehabilitation Centre being built up there at the Mount. The place is truly a thing of beauty, prayer and peace! :)


Brother Greg's Post:
For Babita: Lent, Holy Week and a woman caught in the act of adultery
Babita: I have attempted to answer your request for a blog about my experience of Lent and this coming Holy Week. As you know, the season of Lent is that liturgical season from Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday in which Christians are asked to identify and turn away from the darkness of sin. During Holy Week and especially during the Easter Tridiuum, Christians remember the final events Jesus experienced in this life, prior to Easter and Resurrection. If you had asked me to blog about Lent and Holy Week several years ago, my response would have been tremendously different than the one I offer now. For several years, I strove to fulfill the obligations of sacrifice and penance that Lent calls for including days of fasting and reflection on the suffering of Jesus. My celebration is much different now. I can only explain the change with the following story.

Journeying with the Third Jesus has convinced me that mortification and the glorification of suffering and pain are not helpful on the path to transformation. Moving from town to town, watching Jesus reach out to the marginalized – the lonely, the sick, the suffering - touching them with peace and healing has convinced me that suffering will come to us on its own accord. Our task is to bring light and love to those around us. Joy, peace, wholeness, these are the virtues one should embrace and give birth to in this world. What we place our attention on grows stronger.

For me, everything changed with the woman caught in the act of adultery. It is the event that set the stage for the Passion of Jesus, making the cross inevitable. In a way, it propelled the Christian world to the events remembered during Holy Week.

On a bright sunny morning, I followed the Third Jesus out from the Temple to the portico where a group of eager people had assembled and waited for him, obviously hungering for his message. When Jesus sat down, I knew it was to teach. He had just began his familiar discourse on love, beauty and truth when several “religious men” burst across the portico and threw a naked woman at his feet. “Good teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.” “In the law of Moses, such women are to be stoned.” “What do you have to say about her case?” Jesus looked these men in the eye with a sad knowing. He rose and asked me for my prayer shawl. I took it from my shoulders and handed it to him. He lowered himself to his knees and helped the woman to stand, shielding her from the stares of onlookers with his body while he wrapped the shawl around her. He sat her on his seat. Next he lowered himself to the sandy courtyard and began tracing with his finger in the sand. At first I thought he was doodling or drawing. I moved closer and looked over his shoulder. He had written the following words in the sand “Malachi’s sins.” Under this heading, several sins were listed including the words “lust” and “adultery.” I was horrified. Malachi was the leader of these assembled religious men. It was his voice that confronted Jesus with the question about stoning. Malachi then walked over and read the words of Jesus. At first, his hands gripped the rock he was holding so hard that the flesh on it turned white. His face was a contortion of blood red and anger. Jesus slowly rose from the ground, looked Malachi in the eye and said “let the one among you without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” The older men let loose of their stones first Babita, Malachi held his until the end, finally throwing it down hard at the feet of Jesus. As they withdrew, one by one, I overheard Malachi hiss “this means the death of him, the authorities will not accept this total lack of regard for the law.” When they had left, Jesus touched the woman’s arm gently and with obvious love said “sister, where have they gone?” “Has no once accused or condemned you?” She responded “no one sir.” Jesus responded “neither do I condemn you, you are free, reflect on where on you have placed your attention and what you intend for the future.” His kissed her forehead and we walked out of the portico. After a long silence I asked him what it was all about. Jesus shared with me that the entire incident was a “set up.” He shared that in his culture, there had to be two adult witnesses to adultery other than the accused. He sadly informed me that the “religious men” had formed a conspiracy in order to trap and embarrass him, they were willing to kill a human being in order to enshrine their orthodoxy. He then announced that this is the dark side of Religion, the need to worship the law and follow it to the letter. He smiled and said “follow the spirit of the law, follow love to the letter.” “Always remember little brother, it is people the Divine loves.” “There is something about love that can be so very threatening.” “Afraid of its demands, some would rather extinguish the light of its possibility.” “Always remember, love makes all things possible.”

Lent has been a time of recommitting myself to the path of love again – of saying yes to loving God by loving others Babita. Holy Week will be a time to reflect on the teaching of the Third Jesus and moving closer to the cross and resurrection, to the surrender of the self to Self. Holy Week will find me washing the feet of several parish members on Thursday night in order to remember the teaching of Jesus on selfless love and service to others. Good Friday will find me preaching at two services, encouraging people to make peace with the ego as part of the process of surrendering self to to the Divine. For the person who chooses to love, new possibilities and new life always emerge. This will be celebrated on Easter. It is simply a matter of trust. This coming week is about trusting in the Divine and the new light and love this trust always brings. On the matter of that woman who Jesus freed Babita, I think she went on to discover a new type of love, a love that included healthy love for herself, a love that made everything new. Could the following song be her song? It is a song about transformation. It is the possiblity of this transformation that I will celebrate this week.

Love, Greg



Eze's Thoughts:
LA DIVINA TRINIDAD
Anoche, de nuevo, tuve la grandísima fortuna de tener un encuentro cercano del tercer tipo con la D I V I N I D A D!!! En esta ocasión el Gran Maestro Jesús no me habló. TUVE EL MUY ESPECIAL HONOR DE PODER "MORAR" en su inmenso y muy amoroso corazón! Lo que sentí fue increíblemente único y muy bello. Lo que puedo lograr a traducir a nivelhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4920299974971333050 lógico y objetivo fue lo siguiente:

Vamos muy bien. Si le ponemos número y porcentaje solo he podido comunicarles tan solo un trece por ciento de todo lo que el mundo material y espiritual tiene que ofrecernos. Es por eso que requiero de una mayor participación de parte de todos ustedes, ya que nuestro proyecto logrará ayudar a muchísimas personas en toda la faz de la tierra. Sentí que los que hora me acompañan en este sendero, sendero lleno de LUZ, VIDA Y AMOR DIVINOS para muchos de ellos este será solo un camino temporal. De todas maneras sean bienvenidos, mientras tanto a transitar por este particular sendero. Habrá otros que me acompañarán SIEMPRE! Ya que anteriormente ya hemos estado juntos y hemos trabajado juntos para la Gloria d Dios, nuestro Creador y Señor. A ustedes les digo BIENVENIDOS sean hermanos y hermanas en este glorioso sendero. Lo anterior "solo" fue un pequeño mensaje de Cristo-Jesús. Nuestro hermano mayor y salvador. Aún hay mucho más que compartir, espero hacerlo tan pronto reciba mi nueva computadora. Muchísimas Gracias. Reciban un fuerte abrazo de uno de los muchos mensajeros del Amor del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. AMORIFER-ALDEN

Divine Trinity
Last night I had the privilege of having a; close encounter of the third kind with divinity. In this occasion Jesus did not speak. I had the special honor to bask in his immense and loving heart! What I felt was incredibly unique and beautiful. What I can translate in a logical and objective way is as follows:

We are going through the right path. If I can put numbers and percentages I have only communicated 13% of what the spiritual and material realm have to offer. That is why I require a more eager participation of you, because our Project can help more people on Earth. I feel that the ones that are walking with me in this path, a path filled of LIGHT, LIFE and DIVINE LOVE they will go by my side for a time. Any way be more than welcome, to walk this specific path.

There will be others that will be with me forever. Because we have been together before working for the Glory of God our Creator . I welcome you dears Sisters and Brothers in this glorious path.

This was a small message of Christ-Jesus our elder brother and savior. There is much more to share, I will as soon as I get my new computer. Thank you very much.

Receive a big embrace of one of the many messengers of love from the Father, the Son and the Holy spirit.



Adriana's Plans:

Dear ones:
Now I am catching Pedro over there. He is very excited, because last time we could not make it and stayed in Hemosa Beach, which by the way was fabulous.
We are spending the Holy Week over there. Since I was little I enjoyed this week so much, because I always knew that at the end Jesus's rebirth was the culmination. Infinity is real, love is real.

I loved to watch Jesus Christ Super Star, and the Zeffirelli's movies although I cried and cried with pain.
I want to make it special for Pedro, and get a retreat of love with God consciousness. A week of loving lent.

George and Rodrigo are going to a retreat near Mexico city which is beautiful, silence reclaims its own place.

I wish you all to have the most aware Holy Week ever.

With all my love
Adriana
Also on Intent- Me, Adriana, Greg and Ezequiel are seen as the Tea Gang and at one point we were being called the Rat Pack...but then I always listen to the Beatles and so does my Eucharist sharing friend Bro Greg so one thing lead to another and well...check out this lovely thing Adri created! :)