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	<title>Mount Soma Blog</title>
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	<link>http://www.mountsoma.org</link>
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		<title>Discourse on Devotion and Enlightenment</title>
		<link>http://www.mountsoma.org/discourse-on-devotion-and-enlightenment/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mountsoma.org/discourse-on-devotion-and-enlightenment/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 11:18:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Soma]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mountsoma.org/?p=3404</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you are enjoying my blogs, please make it a point to read the comments.  I often add my own comments in response to them.  It is sometimes a lively interchange with those who choose to participate.  I welcome you to join in or just monitor the interactions. Recently, I added this response in comments [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3405" title="plants" src="http://www.mountsoma.org/wp-content/uploads/WJ9A2829-300x179.jpg" alt="plants" width="300" height="179" />If you are enjoying my blogs, please make it a point to read the comments.  I often add my own comments in response to them.  It is sometimes a lively interchange with those who choose to participate.  I welcome you to join in or just monitor the interactions.</p>
<p>Recently, I added this response in comments to the Devotion blog:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>My devotion along the path was to knowledge… to truth. I was not the least bit biased or vested in what I found… how it looked… or where I had to go to find it. My pursuit was for understanding… not over-standing. “I” was completely secondary to “Truth.” What I found left me in total awe. In that moment “I” ceased to exist, though it took time rest with it. That is to say it required a period of time for me to adjust. In fact, it is fair to say that there are not really levels of enlightenment… there are just levels of getting accustomed to it once it is gained.</em></p>
<p><em>When it first happened, I had to reconstruct everything I thought I knew. Everything changed. My “spiritual knowledge” was turned upside down and inside out. And that was after much study of spiritual books and the teachings of masters.</em></p></blockquote>
<p>In a talk I gave yesterday at a meditation retreat here at Mount Soma, I went further into the discussion.  I will ask the Mount Soma staff to make that recording available and post here in comments how you can receive it.</p>
<p>Tomorrow (Sunday, May 20, 2012) I will be going to Carey, NC, to address a group at an international conference on Vedic studies and culture.  If possible, we will make a recording available.</p>
<p>Also, I am thinking to make live video of my lectures available on the internet.  We will look into the practical aspects of making that happen.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Am I really in control of my own life?</title>
		<link>http://www.mountsoma.org/am-i-really-in-control-of-my-own-life/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mountsoma.org/am-i-really-in-control-of-my-own-life/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 11:00:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spirituality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mountsoma.org/?p=3398</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was asked the following question: I was in Deep thought the other day and I couldn&#8217;t get the words of Maharishi Raman out of my head. &#8220;The ideas of purpose and responsibility are purely social in nature and are created by mind to exhort Ego. God is above all such ideas. If God is [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3399" title="landscape" src="http://www.mountsoma.org/wp-content/uploads/WJ9A2801-214x300.jpg" alt="landscape" width="214" height="300" />I was asked the following question:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>I was in Deep thought the other day and I couldn&#8217;t get the words of Maharishi Raman out of my head. &#8220;The ideas of purpose and responsibility are purely social in nature and are created by mind to exhort Ego. God is above all such ideas. If God is immanent in all and there is no one except him, who is responsible for whom? Creation is expression of inherent laws in the source of creation.&#8221; This just kept bring up the question, “Am I really in control of my own life? Or am I a mere puppet to be played with?”</em></p></blockquote>
<p>To which I respond:</p>
<p>There is only karma and dharma. Both can be considered the will of God.</p>
<p>Karma is simple action of cause and effect… you have no free will in that arena.</p>
<p>Dharma is action in harmony with your nature… your true will, which is one with God.  Freedom.</p>
<p>Dharma means action in accord with Nature.  Your true nature is one with Mother Nature.  Though rules of dharma exist and do have a valuable purpose, your true dharma cannot be imposed upon you. It must be discovered within you as you progress along the path of evolution.</p>
<p>You cannot just decide to be free… that can still be karmic.  Just because you think you are free or you feel free, does not mean you are free.  Most lives are more karmic than dharmic.  Most people have less freedom than they think.</p>
<p>As you evolve, you live more dharmicly and less karmicly.  The spiritual path is the path of evolution, is the path to freedom.  It leads to a life lived in Oneness with God… free and unbounded.</p>
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		<title>Devotion</title>
		<link>http://www.mountsoma.org/devotion-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mountsoma.org/devotion-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 11:05:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mount Soma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spirituality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mountsoma.org/?p=3393</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today is the one-year anniversary of our Sri Somesvara Temple at Mount Soma.  We will be at the temple throughout the day.  Yesterday we had a beautiful Hanuman puja.  Hanuman is devotion.  I had intended to write about devotion… what it is… how it consumes ones life.  I did speak about this at the temple. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3394" title="Devotion" src="http://www.mountsoma.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_8213-Version-2.jpg" alt="devotion" width="357" height="400" />Today is the one-year anniversary of our Sri Somesvara Temple at Mount Soma.  We will be at the temple throughout the day.  Yesterday we had a beautiful Hanuman puja.  Hanuman is devotion.  I had intended to write about devotion… what it is… how it consumes ones life.  I did speak about this at the temple.  It was very moving for me to do so.</p>
<p>Somehow, I am having a hard time bringing myself to write about it.  The feelings run too deep.  It is too intimate.  Some things are best whispered at only the just right moment.</p>
<p>It is beautiful here at Mount Soma.  We are creating a field of harmony, which will radiate peace and coherence to the world.  Liberation means freedom from conditioning.  It means flowing with the stream of your own Divinity.  It means flowing with the Cosmic Flow that permeates and feeds all of life.  That means finding God within you.  This is the deepest meaning of devotion.  Total surrender to your true nature… to God.  Emancipation.  A life of devotion.</p>
<p>But how can this be conveyed? Devotion on that level is not an emotion… not an attitude… not something done to gain anything… not done to gain even enlightenment. It, in fact, only comes after enlightenment.  It can be compared to nothing worldly.</p>
<p>Where do you see such devotion?  It is rarely ever seen.  When it is seen, it is not understood… not comprehended… not believed.</p>
<p>In this age of ignorance called Kali Yuga, life lived in &#8220;devotion&#8221; often seems to be devotion to making money.  There, one may tirelessly effort without reservation. One may continually burn the midnight oil with pride and conviction, willingly depleting the life blood in pursuit of that… one pointedly focused and committed.</p>
<p>Imagine a life of such devotion, multiplied to infinity in purity and commitment, to the Divine flow that feeds and supports all the world… all that is.  Who can even imagine that?  Who can perceive that, even after they see it… who can believe it? Every breath, every moment… lived in full devotion.  Not just an emotion or attitude, but a life lived fully.</p>
<p>Many aspire to enlightenment.  Why?  What do you reach for?  What do you want? Is it about you as a human being?  Or is it about you as a Divine Being?   And what does that mean to you?  Devotion is not an emotion.  It lies much, much deeper.  Though it permeates thoughts and emotions, it lies infinitely deeper.  Devotion to God is union with God is enlightenment is Hanuman.</p>
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		<title>Abundance</title>
		<link>http://www.mountsoma.org/abundance-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mountsoma.org/abundance-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 May 2012 12:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spirituality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mountsoma.org/?p=3388</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I received the following question: Q: Please give some clarity about Abundance. I am noticing that through the  teachings of abundance, I feel as though people get wrapped around the monetary aspect to gain materialism. I have experienced Abundance on that level and know that it is not the key to connecting to the divine, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-3389" title="Lakshmi" src="http://www.mountsoma.org/wp-content/uploads/Deities-9.jpg" alt="Lakshmi" width="234" height="400" />I received the following question:</p>
<p>Q: Please give some clarity about Abundance. I am noticing that through the  teachings of abundance, I feel as though people get wrapped around the monetary aspect to gain materialism.</p>
<p>I have experienced Abundance on that level and know that it is not the key to connecting to the divine, nor spiritual growth. Can you bring some light to this?</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>A:  Lakshmi is the Goddess of Abundance.  She is represented in pure gold.  She is the fullness of the abundance we experience on a beautiful lush, fully resplendent summer day.</p>
<p>She is a rose in that moment of perfect full bloom in the morning mist.  She is abundance on all levels of life… spiritual fullness and contentment… abundant good health… fullness of love, joy, and friendship… peace and happiness.  Material wealth is only a small aspect of her domain.</p>
<p>In Kali Yuga, most who go to her seem to be asking for money.  However, a fulfilled life and material wealth… well… you get the idea.</p>
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		<title>Your Choice</title>
		<link>http://www.mountsoma.org/your-choice/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mountsoma.org/your-choice/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 May 2012 11:20:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Personal Process]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mountsoma.org/?p=3382</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[~ ~ ~ Be Selfish, not selfish. &#160; Those are the only two possibilities. &#160; The choice is yours.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3383" title="Mountain State Fair  Mountain State Fair" src="http://www.mountsoma.org/wp-content/uploads/fair.jpg" alt="Mountain State Fair  Mountain State Fair" width="274" height="400" /><span style="color: #ffffff;">~</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;">~</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;">~</span><br />
Be Selfish, not selfish.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Those are the only two possibilities.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The choice is yours.</p>
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		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
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		<title>Another Mayan Calendar Discovered</title>
		<link>http://www.mountsoma.org/another-mayan-calendar-discovered/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mountsoma.org/another-mayan-calendar-discovered/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2012 09:41:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World View]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mountsoma.org/?p=3376</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thanks to E.K. for the following link. http://www.livescience.com/20218-apocalypse-oldest-mayan-calendar.html As many experts have said, and as I have discussed in some of my talks, the Mayan calendar does not end in December 2012.  The calendar is a cycle, like the hands of your watch, going round and round, over and over again.  December 2012 marks the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-3377" title="sky" src="http://www.mountsoma.org/wp-content/uploads/sky.jpg" alt="sky" width="400" height="266" />Thanks to E.K. for the following link.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.livescience.com/20218-apocalypse-oldest-mayan-calendar.html" target="_blank">http://www.livescience.com/20218-apocalypse-oldest-mayan-calendar.html</a></p>
<p>As many experts have said, and as I have discussed in some of my talks, the Mayan calendar does not end in December 2012.  The calendar is a cycle, like the hands of your watch, going round and round, over and over again.  December 2012 marks the transition to another cycle.</p>
<p>The Age of Enlightenment will blossom, just as certainly as the sun will rise again. And just as we can predict when the sun will rise, we can foresee the larger cycles of time as the Mayans pointed out.</p>
<p>Our work is to bring forth the transition as smoothly as possible.  In so doing, you will help more people than you may even be able to imagine.  Just as one little light bulb can illuminate an entire room, it is within our capability to prevent major events that will, if left unchecked, unleash unimaginable havoc.</p>
<p>Vedic Knowledge provides us with the technology to foresee and adjust the future.</p>
<p>We can usher in the Enlightened Age through the portal of world peace and abundance for all humanity.  My lectures have revealed the rationality underlying the method.  To understand and believe this is one thing.  To act on it is quite another.</p>
<p>Live your life, so that, at the end of your life, you do not lament over what might have been, but instead, rejoice over what was.  Life should not be lived on the sidelines.  You have great knowledge.  Act upon it.</p>
<p>Think big.  Your domain is the universe.</p>
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		<title>Supermoon</title>
		<link>http://www.mountsoma.org/supermoon/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mountsoma.org/supermoon/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 May 2012 10:47:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[World View]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mountsoma.org/?p=3371</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Pandit Prasad made the following comments about the Supermoon.  They are excellent and I am passing them on to you here. With a Supermoon, the earth is closer to the moon, bringing more soma; and the moon is closer to the sun, bringing more agni. During a full moon, especially during a Supermoon, the tide [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="size-full wp-image-3372 alignright" title="moon" src="http://www.mountsoma.org/wp-content/uploads/kiawah-316IMG_9518.jpg" alt="moon" width="400" height="266" />Pandit Prasad made the following comments about the Supermoon.  They are excellent and I am passing them on to you here.</p>
<ol>
<li>With a Supermoon, the earth is closer to the moon, bringing more soma; and the moon is closer to the sun, bringing more agni.</li>
<li>During a full moon, especially during a Supermoon, the tide comes in and there are bigger waves.  The same happens to the emotions, which is why there is more lunacy on full moons.  The moon influences emotions, will, and mind.  This choppiness happens on new moons and full moons – people are affected by both.  Brilliant moons are more upsetting than less brilliant ones.</li>
<li>The influence of this Supermoon started on Friday and the moon was brightest and biggest on Sunday afternoon around 2 pm EDT.  This is why this weekend was a difficult one for many.</li>
<li>This Supermoon affects the rest of 2012.  It also influences all the planets.  It especially affects those with a debilitated moon in their Jyotish chart.</li>
</ol>
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		<title>People</title>
		<link>http://www.mountsoma.org/people/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mountsoma.org/people/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2012 18:19:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Personal Process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationship]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mountsoma.org/?p=3368</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is an interesting Einstein quote.  Does it indicate a certain lack of integration with life?  Or is it a profound statement of his understanding of the nature of relative existence? &#8220;If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or objects&#8221;.  – Albert Einstein Though we may [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-3369" title="Kids " src="http://www.mountsoma.org/wp-content/uploads/Kids-8.jpg" alt="kids" width="400" height="267" />This is an interesting Einstein quote.  Does it indicate a certain lack of integration with life?  Or is it a profound statement of his understanding of the nature of relative existence?</p>
<p><em>&#8220;If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or objects&#8221;.</em>  – Albert Einstein</p>
<p>Though we may hurt and disappoint one and other from time to time, life is still all about people…  personified beings.</p>
<p>Life is rooted in perfection. Every individual is rooted in perfect.  Yet like a tree rooted in the stability of Mother Earth, the branches dance with the winds of karma.</p>
<p>Integration means harmony of the depth with the surface.  Love people.  Do not be confused by the winds of karma. And do not be oblivious to them.</p>
<p>Human evolution means the integration of life.</p>
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		<title>Reality Twists</title>
		<link>http://www.mountsoma.org/reality-twists/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mountsoma.org/reality-twists/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 May 2012 10:21:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spirituality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mountsoma.org/?p=3363</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the recent San Francisco class I discussed how consciousness twists and bends relative existence.  From different angles, the following two quotes beautifully refer to this same principle: “As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.” [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3364" title="branch" src="http://www.mountsoma.org/wp-content/uploads/Trees_Flowers-32.jpg" alt="branch" width="400" height="400" />In the recent San Francisco class I discussed how consciousness twists and bends relative existence.  From different angles, the following two quotes beautifully refer to this same principle:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>“As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.”</em>  – Einstein</p>
<p><em>“A fanatic is one who can&#8217;t change his mind and won&#8217;t change the subject”. –  </em>Winston Churchill</p></blockquote>
<p>Reality is a gradient.  The trick is not to straighten out Nature &#8211; nor is it to try to force Nature to conform to your twists.</p>
<p>It is to live in harmony with the twists and turns of the fabric of reality as it flows to the tune of the song of life… of Nature… of Natural Law.</p>
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		<title>Federal Reserve</title>
		<link>http://www.mountsoma.org/federal-reserve/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mountsoma.org/federal-reserve/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 May 2012 21:49:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[World View]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mountsoma.org/?p=3357</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It seems that few Americans know that: The Federal Reserve is a private company. It is not required to disclose who owns it. It is not required to show its accounting books. It prints money (Federal Reserve Notes), just as easily as you go to a print shop and print business cards. It then sells [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-3354" title="money" src="http://www.mountsoma.org/wp-content/uploads/WJ9A19221.jpg" alt="money" width="400" height="352" />It seems that few Americans know that:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Federal Reserve is a private company.</li>
<li>It is not required to disclose who owns it.</li>
<li>It is not required to show its accounting books.</li>
<li>It prints money (Federal Reserve Notes), just as easily as you go to a print shop and print business cards.</li>
<li>It then sells that money to the US Treasury at an interest rate, just as you may have a mortgage with an interest rate on your home.</li>
</ul>
<p>That is how money is created.</p>
<p>Recently, in that manner, a great deal of money (&#8220;Quantitative Easing&#8221;) has been created… out of thin air…. that we, or our children, have to pay back to the Federal Reserve.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>See the <a title="Federal Reserve" href="http://mountsoma.smugmug.com/VideoBlogs/Website-Videos/14531745_tQ56ns#!i=1834447060&amp;k=X6D8XxG&amp;lb=1&amp;s=A">Video Blog.</a></p>
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