Rama, The Lotus-Eyed One

“What effort does a lotus flower need to blossom in the lake? The lotus does not touch the lake even though it lives in lake. Only the legs touch the lake, not the head. So make effort with the legs and no effort with the head and you will see that you will not have any connection or relation with that in which you are living. This samsara is the lake. If you want to live like a lotus, live in the world with no relationship it. Most people are drowned in the lake and are not called a lotus. They are the creepers growing from the bottom. This is a very special method for the few who want to live free of any relationship and yet be involved in relationships totally. This is the secret. If you are aware and if you need it, you can get it, but not otherwise.”

 
 – HWL Poonja (Papaji)

An article looking more closely at why we love and adore Rama…

Meaning of Diwali

The ‘light’ has always been associated in Indian culture with wisdom and joy, with our higher Self – such references can be found in the Upanishads, ancient mantras and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras to name a few.
Shruti Bakshi delves into the meaning of Diwali – from the traditions associated with the five days of Diwali, to the deeper spiritual significance – in the very first LWP Digest released at this auspicious time of Diwali.

Art, Cosmology and the Divine | Part V

Main photo (above) is a Basohli illustration to the Gita Govinda, ‘Hail, Keshava, Hail! Ruler of Wave and Wood!’, c.1730

The penultimate part of this six-part series (Read earlier parts: Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV) in which distinguished scientist, academic and Vedic scholar Subhash Kak shows how traditional Indian art is not only aesthetically sublime, but is a reflection of the cosmos and of the Divine itself. In Part V we see how the stories of Krishna, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, reflect a harmony between materiality and spirit.

Part V: Krishna’s dance

Krishna, the divine flute player

 

 

Read this article in the LivingWise Project Digest.

 

 

 

Read Part I: Introduction
Read part II: General equivalences
Read Part III: Temples and Gods
Read Part IV: Churning of the ocean
Read Part VI: Indian aesthetic in an age of war