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#Ramayana #LecturesOnTheRamayana

In the past, we had a glimpse of Lakshmana's devotion towards Sri Rama, his brother and father figure.

However, it is interesting to note his unique relationship with Sita, especially as seen by from her perspective.

Thread below

1/

We all know about the Golden Deer / Maricha incident and the way Sita influences Lakshmana to go in search of his brother.

Personally, I am unable to get 2 strong emotional points in one thread and hence, I will skip this incident for today.

2/

In Sundara Kanda, when Hanuman meets Sita, she says the following

सिंहस्कन्धो महाबाहुर्मनस्वी प्रियदर्शिनः।
पितृवद्वर्तते रामे मातृवन्मां समाचरन्।।

Lakshmana, who has lionshoulders and strong arms, who is handsome, who takes Rama as his father & treats me as his own mother

3/

ह्रियमाणां तदा वीरो न तु मां वेद लक्ष्मणः।
वृद्धोपसेवी लक्ष्मीवान् शक्तो न बहुभाषिता।।

Heroic Lakshmana, did not know while I was borne away. He is prosperous, foremost in serving elders. He is energetic and reserved in his speech like my father-in-law ..

4/

He is a prince dear (to his brother).

These are from Sarga-38, shlokas 60 and 61.

There are 3 distinct points which I want to draw the attention of the reader to.

1. She also compares Lakshmana to Dasaratha much like how Rama did when he constructed the hut in panchavati

5/
If you have a spiritual practice, this would be a good time to double down on it.

If you don’t have a spiritual practice, this wouldn’t be the worst time to start one.

1/x


Thread on why


Do yr spiritual practice. Even when you don't feel like it.

“Hardly does our head begin to ache than we stop going to choir, which won’t kill us either. We stay away 1 day bc our head ached, another bc it was just now aching & 3 more so that it won’t ache again.” Teresa of Avila

Ok: a spiritual practice. Something that you do regularly, and if you do it with the right intention, can transform your relationship to yourself, other people, the world and your place in it and (if this resonates with you) the divine.

Prayer. Meditation. But also: making art. Walks in nature. Going running, for some people. I wrote a whole entire book on parenting as a spiritual practice. Intention matters.

You don’t have to be religious to have one.
"Mantras without Initiation"

Mantras are science. Different types of mantras exist based on different Rishi's and Yogi's works.Mantras had enormous efforts in place.Rishis performed intense Tapasyas through which they realized the existence of them.


Sanaskritam is a very tricky language. It has beautiful placement of words and one needs good wisdom to understand the origin of it's placement and Tatparya. Mantras are segregated into various categories based on it's usage in Aachara. There are several acharas like Vedic, Vama

Kaula, Vaishnava, Madhwa etc. Different mantras require different level of repetitions to attain Sidhis or say the ability to use the mantra for said cause / mostly Loka Kalyana for large cases. There are many controversies regarding chanting a mantra with or without Guru.

It is purely a human specific in Kali Yug to decide, BUT as per shastras a Guru is required for initiating a person into intense mantras. This is for the good of the seeker and guru gets nothing except the satisfaction of transferring his Tapoh shakti into the shishya.

Vedically Mantra has to be used in a prescribed way and it has 3 to five major components of usage

Components of a Mantra
1. Rishi - Who Worked
2. Chandas - How it is spelled
3. Devata - Whom do we pray
4. Beeja - What is the source syllable
5. Shakti Tattva - Which is the type
just a my thought...

❶/12 Roughly speaking, primitive Buddhism was about liberation from the inner suffering of the ordained individual. In contrast, Mahayana Buddhism, especially the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, emphasises 'the salvation of all people, together'.


❷/12 In short, people of Mahayana Buddhism do Practice as Bodhisattva for all in the secular world. Strictly, these are different religions, and primitive Buddhism is not well suited to being associated with the state or secular communities.

❸/12 I believe that if anti-secular primitive Buddhism had arrived in ancient Japan it would not have spread very far. In Japan, where rice cultivation is very important, the idea of destroying the community would have been a threat of people's survival.

❹/12 By the way, it's perhaps inevitable that the purity of the teachings will diminish depending on how they are disseminated in society. In other words, I think that, roughly speaking, what develops away from the original form can even become a civilization.

❺/12 But anything that significantly reduces the quality of the original should be called a degeneration. I think that Christian civilization, although flawed, has built a civilization in tension.
Adi Shankaracharya & Atma Shatakam🚩

ATMA SHATAKAM or NIRVANA SHATAKAM is a wonderful composition written by Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya summarizing the basic teachings of Advaita Vedanta

When Adi Shankara was a young boy of eight and wandering near River Narmada.....


seeking to find his guru, he saw Govinda Bhagavatpada who asked him, "Who are you?". The boy answered with these stanzas, which are known as "Nirvaṇashatkam"/ Atmashatkam". Govindapada accepted Adi Sankara as his disciple. The verses are highly valued which


lead to Self-Realization.

Here are the Versus

मनोबुद्ध्यहङ्कार चित्तानि नाहं
न च श्रोत्रजिह्वे न च घ्राणनेत्रे ।
न च व्योम भूमिर्न तेजो न वायुः
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् 
means👇

I am not the mind, intellect, ego or memory,
I am not the five elements, I am Shiva..


न च प्राणसंज्ञो न वै पञ्चवायुः
न वा सप्तधातुः न वा पञ्चकोशः ।
न वाक्पाणिपादं न चोपस्थपायु
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥२

I am not breath, matter, nor the 5 sheaths of consciousness, speech, the hands, or the feet, I am Shiva... I am Shiva...


न मे द्वेषरागौ न मे लोभमोहौ
मदो नैव मे नैव मात्सर्यभावः ।
न धर्मो न चार्थो न कामो न मोक्षः
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥३॥

There is no like or dislike in me, no greed,
pride, jealousy, no desire for wealth,
I am Shiva...I am Shiva...👇