Ishavasyam idam sarvam, Yat kincha jagatyam jagat Tena tyaktena bhunjitha, Ma grudha kasyasvid dhanam.

The rishi says – Ishavasyam. One traditional meaning is that it is an exhortion on the part of the rishi to the student to cover ‘this’ with the Lord. What is Lordship? If it is the Lord then anyway it permeates the whole of creation. Why do you need to cover once you have recognised the lordship?

idam sarvam – once idam (this) is specified then why is sarvam (all) also said. Obviously it is a means of saying that for whatever object one perceives as ‘this’, separate from myself. Thus all objects that i consdier separate from me is referred to in idam sarvam. For eg. I would perceive a loved one as this for seeing it as different I can experience and relate to the love. Anywhere that we assign an identity as separate from myself that is idam sarvam. This identification could change. For eg. when we are in company of sadhaks we might have different identity. However with outsiders it could be different.

more to follow…

Guruji spoke on ganesha today. It was amazing to see how beautiful it is when He speaks on our ancient scriptures. The story from the puranas was something we have heard from childhood. Yet it never occured, to me at least, to question it in the way some of the intellectuals of today tend to question things. And since I never thought of questioning it, it never occured to me to find answers to such questions. At most, even if such a question did pop up in the mind, it would have been brushed aside with the kind of disdain reserved for immature and imbecile kids interrupting in a particularly interesting discussion…

Its so important to be asking the right questions for then the right answers manifest. For me its amazing how Guruji can think from so many perspectives. For a devotee, its very easy to brush off anything that goes against the grain, so to speak, yet for a person who has just started treading the path, it is an easy opportunity for the faith to get shaken. The Guru, in His benevolence, takes care even then. How lucky we are to gain the company of a Master such as Him.

As I thought about it, the satsang came to a resounding end with Jai Jai Radha raman and we all went back to our routine… Yet the thought remained, what did we do to deserve all this..

Somewhere a reply hovered around – it wasnt in your hands anyways.

The number 108 has always held a mysterious aura and has been considered special in Indian spirituality. A japa mala (rosary) has 108 beads (or 54). The number 108 also comes in the title of spiritual leaders in India. I was curious about the significance of this number and decided to use google to search for an explanation.

There are 9 planets and 12 houses according to indian astrology. And these create 108 different influences on the individual. Another way of looking at it would be 27 nakshatras and the 4 directions would create 108 different influences. Maybe some people wouldnt believe in astrology – how would i be able to get across to them too.

I fell upon an old email that I had save in a folder titled ‘interesting’. And it turned out to be really interesting. Look at the following facts.

Mean Distance of Sun from Earth: 149.60 million km
Mean Diameter of the Sun: 1.39 million km

Ratio (rounded off to the nearest integer) : 108 !!!!
If you are wondering where the data is from – its from NASA (click here).

Thats not all.

Moon diameter : 3474.8 Km
Distance of moon from earth : Varies from 356,400 km to 406,700 km.

Ratio : 102 to 117 – Average : 109 !!!

Thats still not all !!!

Equatorial Diameter of earth : 12756 km
Ratio of diameter of sun to diameter of earth : 109 !!!

The ancient Indians were excellent mathematicians and 108 is:

1 x (2×2) x (3x3x3) = 1 x 4 x 27 = 108

Still more:

Average human respiratory rate : 15 breaths a minute

So in a day (24 hrs ) : 15 x 60 x 24 = 21600 = 108 x 200

Isnt it amazing!!!!

Q.: What is the importance of a name?
Sri Sri: Well, you need something by which people can call you! One name is the name our parents gave to us at the time of birth. We are deeply connected to this name. To be completely free, the last attachment that we let go is that of our name. Connect and attach yourself to the name (the mantra that you receive from the Master). The mantra establishes you in the witness consciousness. Of the mantras, the highest is the ‘ajapa jap’, the mantra which resonates effortlessly and spontaneously in our consciousness. It is not a doing but a happening. That is So Ham. It resonates eternally. When we experience this with awareness, it becomes meditation.
HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Bangalore, 15 June, 2009
(for the complete talk goto the wisdom blog

This soooooo amazing. Guruji gives such a precise explanation of how the kriya works. The ajapa japa – japa that is not a japa – is one in which there is no effort. This is the rhythm of the universe. What an amazing thing to know. For someone to realise that there is a rhythm in the universe is so amazing. The universe seems to be so unconnected. How can my thoughts be connected to some butterfly flapping its wings in amazon. The indian view has always been that they are connected. And the amazing thing is that today science also confirms this view.

It is so reassuring to know that the kriya connects us to this rhythm. And if this awareness of the rhythm is maintained, that is meditation. And the breath is the tool that makes it so easy. Its so easy once we catch on to the rhythm to get back to it.
The beauty of the technique is that it gives the direct experience.
The beauty of the knowledge is that it establishes that experience permanently.

Here is a question I got on my mail. I felt it would be good to share with all of you so here goes:

btw, I also wanted to ask you abt Rudraksh. Is it really effective? If so, why is rudraksh so powerful in capturing the mantra-effect? I am very intrigued about the mechanism… Coluld you please shed some light over it?

Rudraksha literally means ‘eye of rudra’ – rudra – aksh. Rudraaksha, in one sense, means the one who is capable of viewing and doing everything (e.g. the third eye).

There are many meanings for the word rudra. ‘Rut’ means sorrow of the
materialistic world. One who vanquishes and overcomes it is Rudra. Rut also means the truth, that is the Upanishads etc. One who has realised or expounded this truth is Rudra. Also one who bestows this to worshippers is Rudra.

So in all forms rudra signifies the all powerful, all knowing divinity. The eye
of rudra would signify the fact that it is possible to experience the divinity
through the rudraksha.

Now of course this is conjecture but this is how i think it works.

The mantras are amplified by the crystal lingam. The thin layer of water that covers it all the time during the abhishekam would also have a role to play.
It is well known that water has amazing properties to absorb all kinds of
things. (See Masuro Emoto) &
What the bleep) This combination of mantra, linga and the water itself would then transfer the power to the rudraksha or yantra.

We know that mantras are vibrations and it is possible to maintain vibrations for a long time at specific harmonics. eg. a guitar string or a zen bowl.

The mantras are thus transformed by the action of the water and the crystal into a form that is absorbed by the rudraksha or the silver coin with the yantra. Hence the coin or the yantra by itself is an ordinary thing but after it is kept in the puja and sanctified, then it acquires the powers. In fact with saints any object can be imbued with their power. Hence one of the ways of diksha – initiation is through an object given by your guru. (Not necessarily the only way of initiation)

If you have any thoughts on this, please feel free to comment.