2019 Skanda Shashti

Vel Muruga!

Several days ago the monastery celebrated the final day of Skanda Shashti with a powerful abhishekam to Lord Murugan in Kadavul Temple.

From Dancing with Siva:
Lord Karttikeya flies through the mind's vast substance from planet to planet. He could well be called the Emancipator, ever available to the call of those in distress. Lord Karttikeya, God of will, direct cognition and the purest, child-like divine love, propels us onward on the righteous way through religion, His Father's law. Majestically seated on the manipura chakra, this scarlet-hued God blesses mankind and strengthens our will when we lift to the inner sky through sadhana and yoga. The yoga pada begins with the worship of Him. The yogi, locked in meditation, venerates Karttikeya, Skanda, as his mind becomes as calm as saravana, the lake of Divine Essence. The kundalini force within everyone is held and controlled by this powerful God, first among renunciates, dear to all sannyasins. Revered as Murugan in the South, He is commander in chief of the great devonic army, a fine, dynamic soldier of the within, a fearless defender of righteousness. He is Divinity emulated in form. The Vedas say, "To such a one who has his stains wiped away, the venerable Sanatkumara shows the further shore of darkness. Him they call Skanda."

\"We are not always sitting down concentrating on a flower in the search for the Self.\"

\"Once you have decided that Self Realization is the ultimate goal for you, go on living your normal life.\"

Everything that you do in life can collectively be channeled toward the ultimate goal

for what you need is a dynamic will.

You need a strong willpower.

Willpower is the channeling of all energies toward one given point for a given length of time.

This will can be brought out from within in everything that we do through the day.

It\

s a powerful will. It\'s available to everyone.'

It is channeling the rarefied energies of the body, of awareness itself, into attention and concentration upon everything that we do through the day.

How do we cultivate the willpower? What do we mean by will?

Will means that if you\

re going to complete something, you complete it.'

Finish that which you begin.

Finish it well, beyond your expectations, no matter how long it takes.

If you are going to do something, do it well, no matter if it is a simple task or a complicated one.

If you\

re going to read a book and intend to finish the book, then read the book, finish the book, and understand what it had to offer you, for that was the purpose for reading it.'

It is not developing a strong will by having a lot of half-finished jobs.

It is not developing a strong will by starting out with a bang on a project and then fizzling out.

These only attach awareness to that which it is aware of and lead us into the distraction of thinking the external mind is real.

Then we forget our inner goal of Self Realization because the subconscious becomes too ramified with, basically, our being disappointed in ourselves

or the willpower being so diversified, or awareness being so divided in many different ways that whatever we want to do never works out

because there is not enough will, or shove, or centralization of energy

or awareness is not at attention over the project enough, to make it come into completion.

A tremendous will is needed on the path of Self Realization

of drawing the forces of energy together

of drawing awareness away from that which it is aware of constantly

of finishing each job that we begin in the material world, and doing it well, so that we are content within ourselves.

Make everything that you do satisfy the inner scrutiny of your inner being.

Do a little more than you think that you are able to do.

That brings forth just a little more will.

Aum Skandaya Namah

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