Aboard the plane returning home from California class, I sit with the fine feelings of love and kindness that filled me over the past several days. From the moment I arrived at the SF airport on Wednesday, and throughout my visit, the nurturing support fed my soul. As I look back upon the past 25 years of the school, the major theme of the classes seemed to be the exquisite knowledge we have been given. Though the knowledge was certainly there this class, for me the theme of this visit was the kindness and love we all shared, starting the day I arrived early to enjoy the city with some of you, extending throughout the days of class, and continuing with another visit to the city on Sunday. I am renewed by the waves of love and support you gave through your presence—now received again aboard the plane as I read your kind emails, texts, and cards.
The task of bringing forth the teachings I was able to offer all these years was certainly not without its challenges, heartache, struggles, and opposition. The unavoidable realities of the mechanics of the process were a good portion of the class topics this past weekend as we all sat together and allowed ourselves to be with whatever was… reflectiveness, knowledge, fatigue, communion, commitment, and love. This class was a deeply emotional experience for me and, I believe, for all who attended. The children there, as well, were such a precious part of my week.
Taking now a year to reflect will provide the space needed to continue moving our long term plans forward, forward, always forward. A most warm and heartfelt “thank you” to all who attended the class. Your loving support nourishes my soul and will never be forgotten.
Please note that our blog notification system has been down for a few weeks; thus the delay in this post.
During this autumn’s Nine Days of Mother Divine, we had the annual 6 hour Durga Havan. It is such a tremendous Havan. The power builds and builds. By the end, the Shakti is incredibly palpable. All the people are so wonderful. It is such a feeling of family, friendship, and community. I feel so honored to be a part of it. My humble gratitude to each and every one of you.
A few days before, I mentioned to Panditji that I would be buying a pumpkin because, as he has said, this is the time of year to put a pumpkin on the front porch as it will dispel any negative energies from the home and residents. He told me to bring it to the Havan so it would be blessed and become powerful. One thing led to the next and MB ended up donating 10 pumpkins to the Havan for others who would like to also have one. Panditji said that all the power of the Havan would be there in the pumpkins to protect the homes where they were placed. Based upon the wise response, one thing is for sure: next year, we are going to need more pumpkins!
Thanks to Mary for submitting the following link in response to the Toothpaste, Diatoms, and World Peace blog. Evidently, a bacterium that consumes plastics in the ocean is already in the works! Next will be mercury and air pollution. Rather ironic, isn’t it, that bacteria and viruses may go a long way in the healing of our planet.
The past number of years have been particularly challenging. When SK, our temple Sthapati from South India, recently visited Mount Soma, he came to my home. There, he saw that the Vastu fence was not correct. I am chalking the error up to lack of proper communication with another Vastu expert who designed the fence.
Generally, in private homes, the Vastu is not so critical and is rather forgiving. In fact, in most non-Vastu homes, there is just not much energy in the structure and therefore, not much influence. A Vastu home harnesses and enlivens the energy. Yet, in most Vastu homes, there is a good deal of flexibility because the energy is not extreme. However, Mount Soma harnesses the wholeness value of the entire community… Temple and all. As a result, the power of the Vastu is profound. That is why so many people comment on the tremendous uplifting feeling they experience when visiting Mount Soma.
Because I am the founder and head of the community, my home is the Guru Shala, and is positioned in the southwest corner of Mount Soma. For that reason, the Guru Shala home was designed with great precision. SK reviewed the design of my home after his recent visit and verified that it was correct.
The southwest corner is where negativity (the Rakshasa value) enters, and the Guru Shala is designed to protect the community from all that negativity. Mount Soma is powerful, and as I have said in the past, if you run off the road, it is better to do so in a child’s toy wagon rather than a speeding sports car. SK pointed out that because the fence around my home was not designed properly, all the Karma/negativity poured in upon me. He said that as it was, that karmic influence brought “endless tears.”
It was all baffling until SK explained the situation with the Vastu. The new fence should be completed soon and everything should get better. Our thanks to SK, and his wife Krithika, for their heartfelt commitment to Mount Soma and all the time they spent reviewing the design of not only my home, but all of Mount Soma.
With all the mountain rain run-off and underground mountain streams, I had to put a water retention pond in my backyard. This year, I decided to clear up the algae in the pond water. I learned (and am continuing to learn) a lot. Bottom line: A pond is a delicate multivariable ecosystem world. To be healthy, it must be cultured as such.
Twenty percent of our world’s oxygen comes from diatoms, which are a particular type of algae with a clear, silica, glass-like cell wall. When the pond is considered as a whole and is balanced, healthy diatoms outcompete unhealthy algae. The water becomes clear and healthy. A minuscule amount of a balancing and culturing approach can quickly transform unhealthy into healthy.
Revitin is a new toothpaste that all but eliminates tarter by introducing a balanced ecosystem in the mouth. Simple, with dramatic results!
Similarly, a healthy world is a delicate balance of limitless variables. For health, for world peace, the wholeness value of the ecosystem must be addressed as the central theme. The whole is more than the sum of the parts. The world will not be healed by isolating parts without focus on the wholeness value.
As with diatoms and a backyard pond, with a proper approach, pollution of the planet and hearts and minds of its people can be transformed, as if magically. Diatom-like substances will then be developed that will, in minuscule amounts, clear the sky of pollution and clear the oceans of plastics and mercury. When done wisely, a seemingly minuscule introduction of a balancing influence can transform a turbulent world into a world of peace and harmony. However, the health is rooted in the source of wholeness, the Transcendent, Ishwara. Mount Soma is dedicated to the introduction of that culturing and balancing influence as prescribed through Vedic technology.
An interesting point: In the transformation process of a pond, the period of time can occur when the pond’s appearance becomes worse—cloudier. Similarly, when a whole-istic healing influence is introduced in the world, it can trigger confusion, anger, and resistance in the hearts and minds of people. Everything maps. We can learn a lot about the attainment of world peace from diatoms and toothpaste.
Dr. Michael Mamas started this school in August, 1994. So, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary at Mount Soma. We’ll be doing a special blessing for the school in commemoration of the anniversary at the Havan for Sarvadevatas on Thursday, August 8. Congratulations to Michaelji and everyone through all these years who has helped make this possible!
There are laws of nature inherent to our world. Different animal species have their natural behaviors. Plants, the movement of planets, the changing of season—all things have their nature. We humans are part of nature. We have our nature. Living life in accord with our nature is what it means to live in harmony with natural law. The idea is that we have certain inalienable rights determined by nature, by natural law. It is considered the responsibility of government to uphold those rights, as is referred to in our Declaration of Independence.
Photo by Abha Singh
However, there is an opposing philosophy. The idea is that we humans can, and must, overcome our nature. We can think and use our intellect to thereby know better than what our own nature dictates. Katharine Hepburn said to Humphrey Bogart in the movie, The African Queen, something like, “Your nature, sir, is what you are on this earth to overcome.” Sadly, it is considered then, the responsibility of government to overcome our nature, determine what human behavior should be, and to enforce that behavior.
I believe that in a stressed out, unhealthy world, people confuse their nature with their distorted perspectives. When the stresses and strains in the psychophysiology are released, people behave in harmony with their true nature spontaneously. The intellect and government would thereby naturally and spontaneously support living in harmony with nature. Yet, we must keep in mind that we can justify anything with the intellect and do. Until the hearts and minds of the people are free from stress and strain, our beliefs are not consistent with our true nature. At this time, what we feel and think is our nature is really just stress and strain dictating what we believe.
It is not hard to see that we live in a time when judgement, anger, and polarization seem to be in our nature. Peace and harmony is a shared ideal, but it is not what rules. Our world, our nations, our communities, and our associations are plagued with such distortions. We view others through the colored glasses we look through to see the world. That is what we believe. Thus, that is what we create.
I, for one, dedicate my life to creating a world where we live in peace and harmony with nature… our true nature… Mother Nature. In spite of judgement, suspicion, and blame, may we all come together to bring forth such a world for all humanity. It is achievable, but we must look beyond the horizon… beyond the toil and turbulence that dominates so many. Yes, the path to a better world can be painful and challenging. Yet, if we keep a steady hand on the rudder, it is attainable.
“Well, the bear will be gentle
And the wolves will be tame
And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes
And the beasts from the wild
Shall be led by a child…
…There will be peace in the valley… some day…”
From the Elvis Presley song, “(There’ll be) Peace in the Valley”, based on the Bible verse Isaiah 11:6:
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”
As I look out over this world, I see such longing for peace and contentment. This is true internationally, nationally, locally, interpersonally, and individually. Yet, on all those levels, I see the seeds of unrest and conflict in the hearts and minds of the people.
Unrest is not the result of circumstance. Circumstance is the result of unrest. Unrest lies within people–within the hearts and minds of the people. As is said, in this age of Kali Yuga, the Rakshasas (the seeds of unrest) dwell within the hearts and minds of the people.
As we look everywhere, we see people striving for peace by striving to change circumstance. In today’s world, that is the deepest that people can seem to understand. It is, as is said, like trying to make a withering plant healthy by painting the leaves green. Furthermore, in those efforts, they become angry, hateful, and vile. However laudable the original intent may be, the winds of Karma still blow. It is the Karma of this age that we look not deep within, but we look outward to circumstance. That is the ultimate denial. That is the tragedy of our times.
I have dedicated my life to healing what lies within people. That is my most fundamental teaching. Few are receptive. Of those few, only a handful look deeper than emotions. Yet, the Kingdom of Heaven lies far deeper than emotions. Yet, for most, spirituality is emotionally based. Nothing deeper feels real to them. So very few hear the call and keep a steady hand on the rudder when the winds of Karma blow.
In my earlier years, I tried to talk people down from their identity with the winds of Karma. That did have a healing effect on many, but most just returned to those Karmic winds and held fast to those viewpoints which they hypnotically embraced as ‘truth.’
My commitment now is to the implementation of Vedic technology to purge the karmic winds from global consciousness—from within the hearts and minds of the people. Sthapatya Veda shows the way. We will build it.
Yet, the winds blow even more fiercely when they are faced. Nevertheless, we will persevere. In the meantime, look inward to the place where the winds of Karma can never reach—beyond mind, beyond touch, beyond emotions.
Have you ever noticed how the mentality of the times seems to shift through the decades, sometimes gradually, sometimes abruptly? We have all seen videos from space of global ‘winds,’ weather currents flowing over our earth. See one here.
Winds (currents) of human mentality, of consciousness, flow in a similar manner. Waves of mentality move over our planet carrying with them the mental and emotional dispositions of the people. Individuals are far more susceptible to these currents than they we would like to believe. Some currents are sunny and bright.Others, not so much. Awareness of this phenomena can help us steer clear of the currents we would prefer to avoid: judgment, hostility, and polarization. Instead maybe: loving, caring, nurturing, peace and harmony? The full spectrum of mental/emotional currents are there. We can be carried by them, or we can create positive ones.
Perhaps this brief video along with the comments can offer some feeling for, some insight into, the nature of those winds. See it here.
We can heal this planet. We can quiet the torrents of conflict. Let not your mentality be determined by the winds, the Karma, of time. Underlying it all is a stream of harmony and Divinity. We can bring that forth. Vedic technology illuminates the path. Mount Soma is dedicated to watering this root of life. Rise up! Free yourself from the dark clouds that sweep through humanity. Be great! Coming together shoulder to shoulder, we can bring forth the Enlightened Age. It is up to us!
Photo by William Putman/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
The rising moon is full, bright, and gold.
The autumn air is fresh and still.
The distant luminous clouds of white silk soak up the moonlight and drape the contours of the layered mountains below.
Nearby, the occasional lamp in a cabin window outlines the neighborhood hills which cradle Nandi, softly aglow, resting quietly before Shiva’s ornamental abode, highlighted in golden light.
The rising moon is full, bright, and gold.
