The Festival of Shiv: Day 3-Render onto Shiva the things that are Shiva's...

One of my fav quotes from the Bible that is attributed to Jesus is:

“Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (“Ἀπόδοτε οὖν τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ”) (Matthew 22:21).

So I thought it would a be a good touch of UCP to draw from that phrase and today on Day 3 of the Festival of Shiv consider rendering onto Shiva the things that are Shiva's!

But exactly what are Shiva's things? :)

Well essentially I guess we all are Shiva's things if we see him as the cosmos itself...we are just a subset of Shiva then...and in the metaphysical or spiritual sense we are all just spirits which when united...well perhaps when united in UCP-Universal Collective Prayer become One...and that One is Shiv...

But perhaps in particular what Jesus meant in that quote about Caesar and his things and Shiva and his things is really that the things of the material plane give those to Caesar let him have it...but the things for Shiva well those were of the spirit...

So tonight on UCP I ask you to join me once again in this Universal Collective Prayer and surrender onto Shiva or God or the Universe or the Cosmos in whatever form or fashion you perceive it...

Do as Jesus said and render onto God the things that are God's!

OM NAMAH SHIVAY!

The Festival of Shiv: Day 2 of Salutations from One to the Other!

Yesterday on the prayers as we celebrated Day 1 of The Festival of Shiv we learnt that sometimes Bramha, Vishnu aur (and) Mahesh (Shiv) are up to games with each other or picking on each other in arguments and fights just like any gang of teenage guys! I mean Shiv taking the form of a beam of light to end a dispute between the other two...and saying catch me if you can...find my head and feet...what's with that? And with Brahma and all this lying business? Saying he found a flower atop Shiv's head when really it had fallen from Shiv thousand of years before! LOL! What's with you guys already!

I figure the games the Creator (Bramha), Sustainer (Vishnu) and Destroyer (Shiv/Mahesh) must play are not just meant to be boyish games...although that too! :) But also for the spreading of the energy you know...perhaps when Shiv spreads himself as a beam of light...that was some universal energy being stretched out (the universe expanding...entropy)and then when Bramha went above the energy (looking for a head)he also created something (apart from just pure mischief)...perhaps a world or two...and as Vishnu foraged below the beam of energy looking for Shiv's feet he must have stablised Shiv's energy in the Universe...you know keeping it put (sustaining it) while Mr. Bramha the creator drew from the energy of Shiv to do his thing above Shiv's energetic head...creating another planet perhaps...who knows to make up for Pluto that is a planet no more :(

And I guess if Shiv's energy is left fully unleashed it can destroy said worlds created by Bramha in a supernova for all to see! SO HE IS INDEED ALSO THE COSMIC DESTROYER..and perhaps he does his destruction in one swooping dance!...NATARAJ! Then said energy is harnessed again by Vishnu so that Bramha can create yet another world and so it goes...so it goes...

So no doubt there is always this strong interplay in particular between Vishnu and Shiv as one has to harness the other! And no doubt to do so one has to salute the other...such is their love for each other that when Vishnu's energy was shrunk into a human form on earth as Shri Ram...well guess what for Maha Shiv Ratri just like other humans (the form he had taken) he prayed to Shiv! And now tonight as we celebrate Day 2 of The Festival of Shiv...look at those two as they now behave like serious and loving men and bow in salutation to each other as they sing, pray, play musical instruments and dance for each other! :)

'A prayer to Lord Shiv by Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan. The translation below is provided by Youtube user sherpa21987.

Om namaha Shivaya, Om namaha Shivaya, Om namaha Shivaya, Namaha Shivaya, Namaha Shivaya

Damaru paani shool paani hey Natarajan namo namo
(Bearer of the resounding drum, bearer of the awesome trident, I bow to You O' Cosmic Dancer)

Sheesh ganga bhasma anga karte dharan namo namo
(On Your head the holy Ganga, on Your body ascetic ashes)

Damaru paani shool paani hey Natarajan namo namo
(Bearer of the resounding drum, bearer of the awesome trident, I bow to You O' Cosmic Dancer)

Tum aadi-dev anaadi ho, tum anta-heen anant ho
(You are the primal Godhead without beginning, You are eternal, without end)

Om namaha Shivaya

Shrimant ho bhagawant ho, hey naat girijaa kant ho
(Yours is divinity, Yours benediction, You are the adored Lord of Uma, Daughter of Himalayas)

Om namaha Shivaya, namaha Shivaya, namaha Shivaya, namaha Shivaya

Shashi lalaat tanaha viraat, hey trilochan namo namo
(Your cosmic being dances as primordial energy, I bow to you, O' bearer of the fiery third eye)

Damaru paani shool paani hey Natarajan namo namo
(Bearer of the resounding drum, bearer of the awesome trident, I bow to You O' Cosmic Dancer)

Nis-saar is sansaar mein, Shiv naam kewal saar hai
(In this world devoid of meaning, Your name is the only meaning)

Om namaha Shivaya

Shiv shakti hai, Shiv bhakti hai, Shiv mukti ka aadhaar hai
(Shiv is power, Shiv is devotion, Shiv is the means to salvation)

Om namaha Shivaya, namaha Shivaya, namaha Shivaya, namaha Shivaya

Rom rom om om, hey aghanaashan namo namo
(I worship You with every atom of my being)

Damaru paani shool paani hey Natarajan namo namo
(Bearer of the resounding drum, bearer of the awesome trident, I bow to You O' Cosmic Dancer)

Damaru paani shool paani hey Natarajan namo namo
(Bearer of the resounding drum, bearer of the awesome trident, I bow to You O' Cosmic Dancer)

Om namaha shambawaiyachaha mayobhavayachaha
Namaha shankarayachaha mayuhskarayachaha
Namaha shivayachaha shivatarayachaha'

The Festival of Shiv: Day 1 of Shapes and Light! :)

There is this great story in Hinduism that Shiv took the form of a great beam of light to stop a dispute between Lord Vishnu and Bramha as quoted from this site:

"According to Indian mythology on the origins of Karthigay Deepam Lord Siva came down to earth in the form of a huge beam of light to intervene in a dispute between Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma, whom were both proclaiming to be greater than the other. Lord Shiva said to them that whoever could find his feet or head would be deemed the greater.

Lord Vishnu took the form of a boar and dug deep into the ground in search of Shiva’s feet while Lord Brahma took the form of a swan and flew into the skies in search of Shiva’s head. Lord Vishnu failed in his search and returned. But Lord Brahma, found a piece of a flower said to have fallen from Shiva’s head some thirty thousand years ago, he grabbed this flower and proclaimed to be the greater.

Lord Siva realized Brahma’s deception and pronounced that there would never be a temple for Lord Brahma in this world. Lord Shiva then took the form of a great flame on earth known as Maha Deepam, and every year ever since that flame has been worshipped on the auspicious day of Karthigay Deepam."

Sometimes it is also said that Shiva entered the Lingam by riding a beam of light as quoted from this site:

'The Legend

In ancient times the city of Ujjain was known as Avantika. Once an ardent devotee of Shiva, Vrishabhsen ruled the city. The neighboring kings were envious of the riches of Ujjain and decided to launch an attack together and ransack the city. They sought the help of an asura named Dushan, who had been given the boon of being invisible by Brahma. They let mayhem loose in the city. A boy by the name of Shrikhar and a priest by the name of Vridhi led prayers to Shiva. The Lord heard their pleas and appeared from the ground in the avatar of Mahakaleshwar and vanquished the neighboring kings along with Dushan. Shrikhar and Vridhi further requested Shiva to reside permanently in Ujjain as the patron and protector of the city. On its own the lingam of Mahakaleshwar was formed and riding a beam of light Shiva entered the lingam.'

For me when I think of Shiv my super yogi I can easily see him dancing about in that beam of light!:)

And when I meditate on his form in my fav image of the statue of him at Rishikesh I see so many shapes!:)

I see the rectangle that forms between his arms, chest and lap. And also his legs are crossed sitting in a triangular perch...and the time I dreamt him on my head well he did come down in a spiraling swirl...as did the snake that entwined his neck and as did his hair that entwined the mighty Ganga! :)

Om Har Har Har MAHADEV! :)

UCP Salutes Pandit K. Dinnanath Dubay as He Leaves the Mortal Coil!

Here on the prayers we are in a slower dancing pace as we mark the release from the mortal coil of one of the great pundits/pandits of Trinidad and Tobago and also the father of the creator of UCP. As a result, UCP itself as a blog (and its other related blogs)are marking a mourning period and so the scheduled festival of Shiv on this blog that was carded for all February long will be delayed by one week and re-commence on Mon 8 Feb 2010.

Another blog has marked his death in a current affairs approach and you can check out that here. And my eldest brother has also shared his memories of our father here. But here on the prayers I'm going to salute him as the many decades long pundit he was.

However before I do that I will also tell you this...he gifted me his favourite harmonium just a few weeks before he dropped the mortal coil...perhaps a hint that I should pick up back with it...I did dabble in it when I was a child. So hmmm...maybe soon just like him I'll be pulling a dhun or two!:)I for sure must have inherited my LOLness (laugh out loudness) from him...for just as my brother recalled on his blog post I've always known him to be a pleasant, humble and down to earth man with a very LOLness nature! :)I must have gotten my eyes from him too and I've often been told I look identical to his mother, my paternal grandmother i.e. my aajee whom I never met as my father was orphaned very young. Also just like him I'm always reading about four books at a time and find vedic astrology fascinating! :)

Indeed it were tough times for my father as it was for many of Indian ancestry back on the island then...and his marriage to my mother did not last...people are not perfect...it is why we take the mortal coil to our lessons learn...and it's why we need to engage in Universal Collective Prayer! My mother is the daughter of another great pundit who graced the island for decades...the late Pandit Parasram Maharaj ...who for me was like this metaphysical being almost and after Shiv he is it for me! Seriously a tower of strength and a powerful patriarch if there ever was one! And my now late father would also attest to that!

Me,along with my two brothers grew up with our maternal grandparents... after the separation...nani and nana, my mother (who never remarried as she believes a Hindu woman only marries once)and the rest of my mother's family. My father eventually divorced my mother, remarried and had four children from that marriage.

But as I was saying those were tough times for my dad and there was always the need to engage in UCP-Universal Collective Prayer! In fact there must have been a significant need for that back in the days when Indians here on the island were mostly labourers on the plantations. And it is a well known story on the island by now that a major source of strength for the Indian community was the Ramayan...and of course why not...you're being oppressed by the 'white man'...he is your boss! And then you have this amazing story where your personal God...your Ishq Devataa (let's say) is this hero of epic proportions...the 7th Avatar of Vishnu come on earth to right the wrongs...the beloved warrior God Shri Ram! :)

So it was a great story to keep in your hearts while you toiled in hardship and found ways to eek a survival while still maintaining your spirit! And it is why tonight I not only salute my father but all pundits who have been at it in the past 150 plus years on the island...THANK YOU! By keeping the Ramayan in your hands and taking it to the people and reciting it in verse and song you gave them that message of hope that one day all would be right again! Again THANK YOU!

My father was into singing the Ramayan and up to late last year he released a CD- Ram Bharat Milap with Ramayan verses and bhajans. In his youth in Hermitage, his pundit training was heavily influenced by Rambharose Pundit and later on during his marriage to my mother he was also influenced by my nana's teachings (my nana was a noted island expert on the Ramayan and could quote and reference it like any Google search may now do!) and one of my mamos the late Pundit Dr. Samsundar Parasram. However my nana was not into this singing business...and in that arena my father found a companion in my other mamo...who thankfully is still alive...Pundit Dr. Rampersad Parasram...whom I'm hoping will pull a dhun or two at the funeral service tomorrow as we salute my father Pandit K. Dinnanath Dubay as he sheds off the mortal coil and sails up, up and away! :)


My father, I am learning since his mortal coil shedding seems to have many a beloved chela...from far and wide...spanning to North America as well...so many messages and notes saying how loved he was...one has even uploaded this video on youtube! :)


But now in true UCP styling I salute you my father the late Pandit K. Dinnanth Dubay with this tune and Ramayan excerpt as we say farewell at the funeral service tomorrow Wed 3 Feb 2010 at your home in Sangre Grande from 9 AM to the banks of the Caroni at 1PM. Please note another Pundit will be saying farewell to the mortal plane tomorrow as well...Pundit Doodnath...farewell Pundit and THANK YOU!

Here it is...Here it is and Here It Goes!

I've been in the meditation cave with Shiv...and I had some insights...then I had to go through some invites and welcome back ins...then some unforeseen news I was to bear...oh dear! But then was what some call the Indian New Year! (Makar Sankranti as celebrated in UP/Bihar ...the states of my ancestors) And I think it finally brought closure to my thoughts...

So here it is...here it is...before my heart grows heavy and my lights grow dim... and here it goes...my New Year's resolutions of sorts...my plans for these here blogs and the sections of my life through which they trisect (seeing as they are three and all!)

On Meady's Musings

-Mondays: a blog of choice but this year I plan to focus on my experiments in veganism again and I will be going vegan for all of Feb to coincide with another event (I will be covering on UCP). So you can expect to see some of that thrown in with my stepping and meditation retreats to my Shiv cave!

Also I will again attempt to another garden grow and as I see fit I'll let you know how it grows after you've had your Monday Morning cup of Joe to go! :)

-On Thursdays: Expect an offering from either my reincarnation series then or some dabbling into lucid dreams or anything metaphysical of sorts! ;)We'll go slipping through time tunnels, jump into parallel worlds and fall into a flower garden filled with our dreams! I'm so excited! :)

-Friday Fun: Friday will be for fun...I will attempt to pull out a page from my book literally! Yours truly has been writing a book and I will throw out a bit of it from time to time here...but that's not necessarily fun you say? Or come on now my friends it will be :( Please bear with me! :)

However I'll not only pull out the pages for ya...from time to time I'll whip out something special...let it be a surprise for now until it unfolds...hmmm...a lot like Mr. Universe from those tumultuous Thurs metaphysical talks you say...indeed! :)

And expect to get some visits from my Purple Elephant and little mouse often on these days...I tell ya they are rearing to go! :) The bears may also bless us with a visit or two and we will even sometimes check to see what those mischievous monkeys are up to...hopefully they are still on the straight and narrow since our Advent calendar adventures...you think?


On UCP-Universal Collective Prayer

I won't fix the days here but all February long I'll be celebrating Shiv for sure and during that month just like when I did my Advent calendar I will attempt to blog daily on his exploits...when things overlap you might find I will share of Shiv on the other two blogs too! And of course the big Shiv hoo ha of all will fall on Maha Shiv Ratri and UCP will be there to give you the scoop! :)

That's the only thing I've fixed for this blog thus far...other than that I will continue to explore this thing I call Universal Collective Prayer with you and blog as my exploration demands of me to share it with you! And continue to welcome you to come share in Universal Collective Prayer with me!

OM NAMAH SHIVAY!

On Books and Films Corner

I'll try to blog here at least once a week more than likely on a Friday. I will not rehash what is already out there in the mainstream but try to share with you what I find unique to me and what defines me out there in the great big world of books and films! :) STAY TUNED!

Advent Calendar:The Last Day of Christmas!

Oh well...here it is...here it is...Christmas comes to an end and so too does my Advent calendar...my animals are about to take off their Santa hats which they had donned and they seem to wear a bit of a frown...but chin up my friends as we join Brother Greg in Universal Collective Prayer and then look towards this here new year! :)

Dear God:
Christmas and Epiphany have passed but the spirit of generosity, light and love go on. May we enter into the story of the Magi bearing gifts. Bless us with the wisdom to honor you with gifts. May our gifts include the essence of who we are. May we never fail to offer the gift of our time, our attention, our care, our compassion, our love, especially to the marginalized among us. The star still shines, leading us to peace and truth. The star shines within us, it is the light of our deepest truth and self. Lead us to realize this Truth, this Self. May we never be parted from your light and your love.
Amen

Now taking off from Brother Greg's prayer I've been thinking about this here new year...

In fact ever since Google blessed me with awakeness on Mon by having that apple drop on my head...when F had equalled to ma courtesy the dead Sir Isaac and the F then equalled to me being awakened for the first time into 2010 and so there I went! :)

Wondering and wondering...and it made me think had I just been chasing my tail? Now this is not always a bad thing mind you...I mean we were in the dream state just before and well didn't Kelkule dream up the benzene ring by seeing in a dream a snake chasing its tail and catching it? Indeed he did! So perhaps it's not a bad thing...but I've been wondering as I step forward into 2010 as it unfolds as it should...Have I really moved forward or simply just come full circle again? In fact how I've been feeling is perfectly summed up in R.E.M.'s "Stand"...funny thing I found the perfect song to explain my feelings and it was also sung by a band whose named was R.E.M...yep you got that right the same R.E.M. used to describe the rapid eye movement stage of sleep where we do the most vivid dreaming! :)

So here it that vid of the song "Stand" while I contemplate its lines written by Michael Stipe who on this MTV video stated that he considered the lyrics inane but hey sometimes weird creative types hate their very own creations or what can I say or maybe just fresh out of the dream state we enjoy a lot of things others consider inane! :) But I really did think:

"Stand in the place where you live
Now face North
Think about direction
Wonder why you haven't before
Now stand in the place where you work
Now face West
Think about the place where you live
Wonder why you haven't before"




So as I "Stand" I've been thinking what to do in this new year...hopefully I've not just come full circle in vain just to start all over again...perhaps it is more I've completed a circle and now I shall go off on a tangent from it to create an even bigger circle! As one of my friends pointed out on facebook perhaps if I weren't just being an observer and I took things into my own hands...now I told her but yea but you see I'm not the dancer just the dance...and Shiv is the dancer you see! :) So perhaps I should go to he and ask him what dance he plans to do this year so I can prepare to be part of his wake! (A wake is the region of recirculating flow immediately behind a moving solid body, caused by the flow of surrounding fluid around the body.) So off I go again to sit at my guru's feet...but heading into the meditation cave these are the things with which I shall enter:

-Plans to blog at least twice a week on all three of my blogs.

-So yep indeed it means I will be reviving the Books and Films Corner fully! :)

-Plans to go even further into this thing I call UCP-Universal Collective Prayer which means less and less I will cover actual rites and rituals since I'd have accumulated quite an archive of those by now...so you will continue to see more questioning...and I will be trying to get more povs (point of views) as much as I can get...but don't lose heart it will still continue to be my journey into this thing I call Universal Collective Prayer and I will always surrender unto the Divine Mother! :)

-Plans to perhaps another garden grow? (blogs about it will appear on Meady's
Musings)

-Plans to explore Veganism some more... (blogs about it will appear on Meady's
Musings)

But all these things will be Shiv willing and I will be heading into the mediatation cave with him tomorrow...When I come out I will tell you what things go and what if any stay and if things on the list above stay they should be better honed and planned by the end of tomorrow!

But after talking about going to see such a serious being let's come back to the matter at hand and close this calendar with a bang! :)

Those magi three they have as always come to sing for me...and I am with gifts as today is the official olden calendar's Epiphany when children are given gifts to commemorate the gifts those gentlemen three gave to the Christ child. However often in modern day times the Epiphany is celebrated on the Sun before which was Sun last Sun 3 Jan 2010 but unfortunately I was in the dream state then and did not blog it! But Bro Greg did come and left my three gifts for me(as I'm but a 4 yr old you see!)He said my three gifts were:

Peace

LOVE :x

and tan tana!

JOY!

So until Advent 2010 take care my friends my Purple elephant and little mouse tip their Santa hats to you and the bears send their love...of course we will blog on! As all the elephants just trumpeted and the monkeys continue to stay reformed!
But of course it will now be in a different light us you will see! :)

Don't forget to take those Christmas decorations down after all we must move on! And come on wipe off those frowns as we sing and dance one last time here!:

Advent Calendar:11th Day of Christmas-The Gift of Dreaming!

Here at Meady's Musings Production we love to dream...not just the day dreaming,inspirational kinda thing...although we love that too! But I'm talking about the kind you have when the scientists say you are in the REM part of your sleep cycle...the time when you tend to have the most memorable and vivid dreams! :)

The purple elephant and little mouse are indeed very tired after all the Christmas rush, activities and fun and indeed can do with some sleep and the dreaming always makes it just that more fun!:)So throw us a pillow and let's go!

So today on the Advent calendar we celebrate the 11th and penultimate day of Christmas with the Gift of Dreaming! :) As we also apologise for missing quite a few days of Christmas on here but as we said on Old Year's day we all had had great, big colds so could really have done with the rest and dreaming. In fact we only woke up from the dream state yesterday when Google did the lovely apple animation to honour Newton and F was equal to ma and the force of the apple hit us on our heads and we woke up for the first time into 2010...the apple fall for us was our equivalent of the ball drop in Times square! So thankfully we are here in the New Year! :)


And here is how we'll do it on each blog:

-On Meady's Musings: We will discuss some of the science and metaphysics of dreaming and perhaps where both of them cross paths! We will also recall past talks this year on Meady's Musings about the topic of dreaming!

-On UCP: In all the great religions of the world divine revelation often comes to the mortal coil during the dream state! We will recall some of our favourite such moments!:)

-On Books and Films Corner: We will recall some of our favourite movies out there that involve dreams and explore the line between that world and the waking state! :)

DIVINE REVELATIONS!