December's Chitra Puja

The monks interrupted their Sadhu Paksha period to worship Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in the early morning hours

The sky shines pinkish red, enveloping the trees that hover above. Each morning for two weeks our monks wander the property in search of Siva.

Where is He? Is Siva in the sky? The trees? Light and dark?

Let\

s enjoy some quotes from Gurudeva on his day of worship'

By following mita hara you can be healthier, and you can be wealthier.

A vegetarian diet helps to open the inner man to the outer person and brings forth higher consciousness.

The rishis of yore taught us to restrain desire. They used the words restrain and moderate rather than suppress or eliminate.

We must remember that to restrain and moderate desire allows the energy which is restrained and moderated to enliven higher chakras, giving rise to creativity and intuition that will actually better mankind, ones own household and the surrounding community.

A clean personal environment, wearing clean clothes, bathing often, keeping the room spotless where you meditate, breathing clean air, letting fresh air pass through your house, is all very important in the fulfillment of purity.

We see purity in the brilliancy of the aura of one who is restraining and disciplining the lower instinctive nature.

Changing to a purer life can be so simple. You dont have to give up anything. Just learn to like things that are better. That is the spirit of purity.

Be mature about it when you give something up. The immature spiritual person will want everyone else to give it up, too. The spiritually mature person quietly surrenders it because it is simply his personal choice and then goes on with his life. The spiritually immature person will make a big issue of giving anything up and want everyone to know about it.

People, in their heart of hearts, do admire the modest person, the truthful person, the patient person, the steadfast person, the compassionate person who shows contentment and the fullness of well-being on his face and in his behavioral patterns.

Man is self-assertive, arrogant and vain only in the early stages of his spiritual growth. As he matures and yields the harvest of divine knowledge, he too [like a stalk of wheat] bends his head.

A monastery is no place to settle down and live. It is a place to be on ones toes and advance. One must always live as if on the eve of ones departure.

Those who are bound by the past constantly remember the past and relive the emotions connected with it. Those who are free from the past remember the future and move the forces of all three worlds for a better life for themselves and for all mankind. This is the potent Vedic hri. This is true remorse, humility and modesty. This is hri, which is not a weakness but a spiritual strength.

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