Ganga the river of the heavens descends to earth for mankind…

Paintings by Rajee Ba at Yogada in the Himalayas. www.yogadaindia.com

Ganga the river of the heavens descends to earth for mankind………….

देवि सुरेश्वरि भगवति गङ्गे त्रिभुवनतारिणि तरलतरङ्गे ।
शङ्करमौलिविहारिणि विमले मम मतिरास्तां तव पदकमले॥

“O Devi Bhagavati Ganga, the Goddess of the Devas, you liberate the Three Worlds with the merciful water form of yours |
O the Stainless pure one who resides in the Head of Shankara, May my devotion remain firmly established on you Lotus Feet.”

According to Hindu mythology, there was a powerful king in India named Sagar. He decided to conduct Ashwamedha Yagya, a horse sacrifice, to declare his supremacy over the gods. The King of Heaven, Indra grew jealous of King Sagar and decided to steal the ritual horse. Indra successfully abducted the horse and tied him in the ashram of Sage Kapil, who was silently meditating for many years. King Sagar ordered his 60,000 sons to search and find his sacrificial horse. After a long search, they found the horse tied at the ashram and began assaulting the great sage thinking he was the culprit who stole the horse. The sage awoke from his trance and in his anger started to destroy all the sons of king Sagar who were accosting him. Anshuman, the grandson of King Sagar, pleaded for forgiveness. The sage told him that he could save his life by bringing the sacred river Ganga down from the heavens to purify the souls of him and his ancestors and help them to attain nirvana.

King Dilip, son of Anshuman pleaded with Lord Brahma to help them bring the Ganga to earth. He failed to appease Brahma so he passed the task to his son, Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha was able to please Brahma, who ordered Ganga to descent to Earth. The furious Ganga felt this as an insult and decided to destroy Earth with her force while descending from heaven. Bhagiratha was warned by Brahma that earth will not be able to hold Ganga while descending from heaven, so he must seek the help of Lord Shiva, the only one who can withstand the power of Ganga. Bhagiratha pleaded with Lord Shiva to help him and Shiva agreed to receive Ganga in his matted locks. Ganga was arrogant and tried to drown Shiva by pushing him to the core of the earth, but the mighty Shiva easily held her in his locks. Shiva’s tie was so strong that Ganga became helpless.

Lord Shiva wanted to teach Ganga a lesson but instead released her in seven streams as he was satisfied with the prayers of Bhagiratha. The seven streams of Ganga are Bhagirathi, Janhvi, Bhilangana, Mandakini, Rishiganga, Saraswati, and Alaknanda. Ganga became calm and followed Bhagiratha, who leads her to his ancestors and with her purity, released their souls.

There are a number of legends associated with Ganga and the different names she has at different places. This is but one.

Ganga is considered to be the most sacred river in India and it originates from the depths of Gangotri glacier. Ganga, otherwise known as the Ganges, brings purity to human life. By bathing in her sacred waters one is purified to the core of their being.

Bhagiratha’s great effort in bringing Ganga to earth is known as “Bhagiratha Prayatna”. What would you consider to be the noble quality of Bhagiratha – his strong affection to his ancestors or his determination to meet any challenges to attain the ultimate goal?

Rajee Ba in Rishikesh @www.rajeeba.com

Wishing you a Happy Dussehra to all of you.

Paintings by Rajeeba @ www.yogadaindia.com
Rawana: Portraying (we all) in life.

Wishing you a Happy Dussehra to all of you.

In Indian Mythology Rawana is one of the most important characters. The King Ravana had ten heads, a beautiful metaphor, ten faces; everybody has. Who can have only one single face? – only a Buddha (the enlightened one), the original face; otherwise everybody has many faces.
We all relive rather play the character of Rawana in our day to day life.

You need one face with your wife, another face with your friend. You can’t function with the same face with them both. You need one face with your servant, another face with your boss. If the servant and the boss are both present, when you look to the left, at the servant, you show him one face, and when you look to the right, at your boss, you show him another face; you start smiling and wagging your tail.

But don’t stop at the number ten either – don’t take ten as just ten. Ravana’s ten heads are just an indication, a symbol. Ten is the last number in counting before repetition begins, hence the mention often. The actual number of faces you have runs into thousands, but all over the world counting ends at ten. Everything above ten is repetition; thus eleven means one over ten, and twelve means two over ten. Ten is the symbolic end because man began to work with numbers by counting on his ten fingers; above ten, repetition begins.

So those ten faces of Ravana are to indicate the upper limits of counting – there is really no end to the number of faces you have, and all day long you are changing them. Rama has only one face: whether you meet him in happiness or in unhappiness, whether he is sitting in his palace or in the middle of the jungle, he does not wear different faces.

And whoever comes to have only one face becomes Rama.
To have only one face means to have become authentic, to show your true inner face; not to mask your truth on the outside, not to be influenced by circumstances but to let your face reveal your inner being. Rama’s face remains the same whether you blame or praise him; no mere circumstance can manipulate his features now. His face has become stable, and the name of this stability is Rama.

Rama if the exemplary King who is lives in India in every house from time immemorial. The above text is in line with Osho’s views.

Rajee Ba @ www.rajeeba.com