Bhaja Govindam is the the immortal composition of Adi Sankaracharya, 10 verses of this hymn divinely rendedered by MS Subbulakshmi.
It is said that Adi Shankaracharya, accompanied by his disciples, was walking along a street in Varanasi one day when he came across an aged scholar teaching the rules of Sanskrit grammar to his students by rote. Taking pity on him, Adi Shankaracharya went up to the scholar and advised him not to waste his time on grammar at his age but to turn his mind to God in worship and adoration, which became the origin for this hymn.

Mumukshu Musings

15 Feb 2012
"worldly fools search for exotic masters, not
realizing that their own mind is the master."

5 Steps to Healthier Living by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Health is not merely absence of disease. Health is being established in the *Self. It is the dynamic expression of life. One can be said to be in a perfect state of health when one is physically fit, mentally calm and emotionally steady. So how does one achieve this state of all-round health in today's fast-paced life? As we get ready to ring in 2012, here are a few steps we can take to help improve our health and the quality of our lives.

Know About Your "Self"

We need to know a little bit about the different layers of our existence -- body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, ego and the self. When we understand that the body and mind are connected through the breath, we are in a better position to manage our thoughts and emotions. The awareness that everything changes -- the body undergoes changes and so does the mind -- brings a sense of equanimity within us. The mind is the sense of perception in your consciousness and the thoughts that change all the time. Likewise, the intellect, memory, and ego also change with time. But there is something within us that does not change -- it is the point of reference through which we are able to recognize that everything else changes. This subtlest, unchanging aspect of our existence is the self. The ancient science of Ayurveda deems that a person cannot be called truly healthy, until one is in touch with this subtlest aspect, and there is harmony among the different layers of existence. This knowledge of the self helps one live in the present moment and be in a state of perfect health.

Spend some time to learn about yourself. Take a week off one to two times a year and align yourself with nature. Wake up with sunrise, practice yoga, eat light food, and spend some time creatively.

Make Meditation a Part of Your Life

Meditation is a vital ingredient for personal development. It provides deep rest. The deeper one is able to rest, the more dynamic one will be in activity. For sustainable good health, meditation is key.

What is meditation? It can mean different things to different people. It is anything we can do to achieve a mind without agitation, hesitation, or anticipation. It can be a hundred times more refreshing than sleep because it helps us live in the present moment and frees us from anger about the past and worry about the future. It gives us depth and stability.

Spend 20 minutes in the morning and evening in meditation, and make it a part of everyday life.

Learn About the Breath

Our first act in this world is to take a deep breath in, and our last act will be taking a deep breath out. Breathing is life. Yet, we are typically not taught -- at home or at school -- about the importance of the breath and its impact on the mind and body.

Observe how you breathe. There are different patterns that relate to different emotions. Just as your mind influences the breath, you can influence the state of your mind through the breath as well. Breathing techniques like **Pranayamas and Sudarshan Kriya can help us calm our minds and emotions. We can control negative emotions like anger and fear, and manage stress levels using the breath.

Eat Right

The type and amount of food that we consume has a direct impact on the state of our physical body, and consequently our mind. Observe what you eat. Fresh fruits and vegetables have more prana (life force), while frozen and canned foods have very little prana.

Eating the right types and amounts of food promotes all-around wellbeing and can increase energy levels that can help us manage stress more effectively.

Make Time for Yourself

In this modern age, we all seem to be constantly engaged in gathering information, or performing some mental activity all the time. We seldom take time for ourselves to think and reflect. As a result, there is information overload, and we can feel dull and tired.

The moments of stillness in our mind are the moments of creativity and innovation. Silence heals and rejuvenates our minds. Sometime during the day, sit silently for a few minutes with your eyes closed and reflect upon the meaning and purpose of your life.

www.artofliving.org

“The Song of the Sannyasin” -by Swami Vivekananda

Few only know the truth. The rest will hate
And laugh at thee, great one; but pay no heed.
Go thou, the free, from place to place, and help
Them out of darkness, Maya's veil. Without
The fear of pain or search for pleasure, go
Beyond them both, Sannyasin bold !

Say—
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"

Guru Ravi Das: One of the greatest saints from the lowest class of the society

Today is Ravidas Jayanti

Guru Ravidas  (also known as Raidas), was born in the fifteenth century at Varanasi (Benares or Banaras or or Kashi) in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. His birthday comes every year at Puran Mashi in the month of Magh. His mother's name was Mata Kalsi and his father's name was Baba Santokh Dass. In his poetry, he describes himself as a leather worker, someone whose contact with dead animals would have marked him as an untouchable in Indian society.

Since early childhood, Guru Ravidas was very much inclined toward spirituality. He used to go to attend holy discourses and showed great respect and devotion to holy men. This worried his's aparents and they tried to divert his attention by engaging him in their family profession of shoe making and repairing. He learned the profession, yet his love and devotion for God continued undiminished. With a view to make him more interested in worldly affairs, his father got him married to Bagavati (Lona Devi) at an early age. But even then it didn't change his attitude or his behaviour.

According to Ravidass Puran Guru Ravidas had a son named Vijaydas.

From early childhood he was very much devoted to worshipping the real God. The high caste Brahmans created so many problems for him and tried their best to restrict him. Because of this he had to appear before the King Nagar Mal many times. In the end the King was persuaded and became a follower of Guru Ravidas. Guru Ravidas taught the lessons of Universal Brotherhood and tolerance.

Influenced by Guru Ravidas's teachings, the Maharaja and the Rani of Chittor became his disciples. It is generally thought to have been a younger contemporary of Kabir. According to some sources, Ravidas was initiated by Kabir's famous guru Ramananda. And some traditions assert that Ravidas was, in turn, the guru of the great female poet-saint Mirabai.

Guru Ravidas travelled quite widely, as his poems indicate a good knowledge of Hindi, Urdu, Persian and many regional languages of India. Guruji's followers are found in many states of India such as Uttar Pardesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.The two oldest sources of his work are the Sikh scripture, the Adigranth, and in the collections of songs compiled by the Dadu Panth. There are 41 hymns of Ravidas included in the Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Ravidass & Meera Bai

Meera regarded Guru Ravidas ji as her spiritual Guru. In 15th century itself Guru Ravidas Ji propagated the message that caste has no meaning and its one's own karmas that decide one's fate.

The incidents of his life have always been inspiration to the people. According to one such incident, one morning Guru Ravidas's disciples were going to take bath in the sacred Ganges and insisted Guru Ravidas to accompany them. Guru Ravidas had promised to deliver shoes to one of his customers on that particular day. So, he was not able to join them. When one of his neighbors persisted, then Guru Ravidas uttered his belief saying that: "Man changa tow kathoti mein Ganga". That is if your heart is pious then the holy river is right in your tub and you need not go anywhere else.

There is a small chhatri in front of Meera's temple. It has guru Ravidas' engraved foot print. As a respect to her guru, Meera once wrote,"Guru Milyaa Raidaasji…."

Guru Ravidass & Kabir

Sri Guru Ravidas is associated with the other great north Indian sant, Kabir, in a story where a great debate between them is represented as a saguna versus nirguna (without qualities) devotion debate. They also show the aspiration to go beyond caste, though the translated poems, available from 'authenticated' collections, lack the bitter condemnation of Brahmanism and caste that can be found in Kabir and Tukaram. The Dohas and Bhakti songs written by Guru Ravidas have always tried to spread love and care among the people's hearts. Guru Ravidas also tried to bring the Hindus and Muslims together and this is evident from his thoughts which have been expressed in his songs. Guru Ravidass uttered his belief saying that "Ka Mathura, Ka Dwarika, Ka Kashi Haridwar,Raidas Khoja Dil Aapna, Teh Miliya Dildar", That is one can meet God in his own heart even if he does not go on any pilgrimage.

http://hmindia.blogspot.in/2009/03/ack-108-guru-ravidas.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Ravidas#cite_note-5

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Yoga for your eyes

Melissa Dcosta, Times of India, 26 Jan 2012

Yoga expert Shameem Akhtar shares exercises that can keep your eyes healthy 

In alternative therapy vision care assumes that the muscles of the eyes, like the rest of those all over the body, must be exercised to remain healthy. We naturally did that as children when we played games, like ball games, running etc. These involved complex eye movements. However, these days, with even children confined to the desk, TV, or media (computer, electronic games) that involve only a confined strain by the eyes the muscles within the eye socket are not worked out. Reworking them, even with gentle movements, including peripheral ones, can help contain degenerating sight. 

A few poses that may be safely practiced to help maintain eye sight: 

Trataka (Yogic focusing exercise) 
Hold your right hand in front of you. Extend the thumb, folding back other fingers lightly. Ensure hand is at eye level. Look at thumbnail. Then switch focus to nose tip. Back at right thumbnail, then switching focus to nose tip. This is one round. Rest your eyes. Do palming (see above). Do up to five rounds. Then switch hands, to do for left hand. Do palming after each round. 

Benefits: This helps with the eye's ability to switch focus from distant to close viewing. Most problems, according to yogic occur when the eye muscles slacken and do not accommodate this important skill. Unlike with reading a book, staring at a computer screen reduces our vision skills, creating eye problems. This exercise rectifies this. Plus, when done regularly can boost mental focus. It is also advised for insomniacs. 

Avoid: If having glaucoma or cataract. 

Palming 
Rub palms together. Place them gently on closed eye-lids so the cups of the hand cover the eye-lids. The palms should feel the eye socket. This would ensure that your holding the hand over the eye in a correct position. There should be no pressure. This is called palming and may be practiced several times during the day for a quick rest, not just for the eyes but for the mind too. If the duration of the final hold (of palm over eyelid) is lengthened and if palming is done several times during the day, it is believed that eye problems will be controlled. 

Benefits: It soothes eyes strained by an effort to see. Also, keeping the eyes in a dark, soothing mode creates a healing impact by tweaking the master glands, like pineal gland, which reacts to excessive exposure to light or artificial lighting by hitting sleep etc. In yogic eye exercises palming is seen as the most important of healing exercises. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/fitness/Yoga-for-your-eyes/articleshow/9149079.cms

Success is to do what you want to do, and to be what you want to be…

The first question is do you know what you want? Do you want anything at all? Do you really need that thing? The second is why you want that thing. The third one you should ask yourself is what's stopping you from getting it….to be what you want to be. Truth is now and here. You don't have to wait. Dale Carnegie rightly said "The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore."

Rāma Bāni Jan 22, 2012

RĀMA BĀNI January 22, 2012

Self discipline is very important for achieving one's goals. The amount of self discipline one has depends on self awareness and one's ability to live the reality. Discipline is difficult to master as it calls for attention to one's thoughts and behavior and willingness to sacrifice the lower goals for the higher ones. Unless a person has tremendous faith in himself, it is not possible to be disciplined. A person who sees himself in poor light, one who is often critical about his abilities, often comparing himself with others or looks at himself through the eyes of others can not generate enough self faith to produce the spirit of self sacrifice and discipline. Therefore, the key to self discipline is accepting and approving of oneself with open arms.