Thursday, August 29, 2013

Thursday Quote




"....On August 28th, 1963, the nation's capital was in a state of emergency. Thousands of troops surrounded the city. Workers was told to stay home that day, liquor stores were closed, but the march was so orderly, so peaceful, it was filled with dignity and self-respect because we believe in the way of peace, the way of love, the way of nonviolence. People came that day to that march just like they were on their way to religious service. As Mahalia Jackson sang, how we got over, how we got over, she drew thousands of us together in a strange sense. It seemed like the whole place started rocking.

"We truly believe that in every human being, even those who -- violent -- who were violent toward us, there was a spark of the divine.

"And no person had the right to scar or destroy that spark. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us the way of peace, the way of love, the way of nonviolence. He taught us to have the power to forgive, the capacity to be reconciled. He taught us to stand up, to speak up, to speak out, to find a way to get in the way....

"People were inspired by that vision of justice and equality, and they were willing to put their bodies on the line for a greater cause greater than themselves. Not one incident of violence was reported that day. A spirit had engulfed the leadership of the movement and all of its participants.

"The spirit of Dr. King's words captured the hearts of people not just around America but around the world. On that day, Martin Luther King, Jr. made a speech, but he also delivered a sermon. He transformed these marble steps of the Lincoln Memorial into a modern day pulpit. He changed us forever....

"Fifty years later we can ride anywhere we want to ride, we can stay where we want to stay. Those signs that said "white" and "colored" are gone. And you won't see them anymore -- (cheers, applause) -- except in a museum, in a book, on a video.

"But there are still invisible signs buried in the hearts in humankind that form a gulf between us. Too many of us still believe our differences define us instead of the divine spark that runs through all of human creation.

"The scars and stains of racism still remain deeply embedded in American society, whether it is stop and frisk in New York or injustice in Trayvon Martin case in Florida, the mass incarceration of millions of Americans, immigrants hiding in fear in the shadow of our society, unemployment, homelessness, poverty, hunger or the renewed struggle for voting rights....

"And the dean of the civil rights movement once said, we may have come here on different ships, but we all are in the same boat now. So it doesn't matter whether they're black or white, Latino, Asian- American or Native American, whether we or gay or straight -- we are one people, we are one family, we are all living in the same house -- not just the American house, but the the world house.

"And when we finally accept these truths, then we will be able to fulfill Dr. King's dream to build a beloved community, a nation and a world at peace with itself."



-Rep. John Lewis, from his speech yesterday marking the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's march on Washington.



Read the complete transcript here.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Monday Music





Lord Krsna's birthday is Wednesday, August 28.
Celebrate locally here and here.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Thursday Quote


"Oh Lord, make me fit to love Three now, as I have loved sin in the past."


-from the 8th prayer in the Morning Prayers of The Lay Prayer Book of the Russian Church

Monday, August 19, 2013

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Thursday Quote


"Yoga as a spiritual practice is only possible for the soul, for a person who has awakened his or her spiritual aspiration and longs to go beyond the cycle of rebirth. Yoga as spiritual practice is not possible for the unawakened or immature ego, which will use it for purposes of self-aggrandizement or personal enjoyment. To awaken at the level of the soul is the first step of genuine yoga practice and precedes even the yamas and niyamas, which require a soul awareness to be able to practice. If you wish to practice yoga, you must ask yourself: 'Is the soul awake within me and ready to return to divinity?'"

-Vamadeva Shastri (Dr David Frawley)

Monday, August 12, 2013

Thursday, August 08, 2013

Thursday Quote




"Consider a deer wandering in the garden. It has found a mate and the garden is full of green grass on which it can live for its entire lifetime. The flowers growing there and the gentle breeze wafting across the garden make the deer so happy that the thinks there is nothing which can ever spoil his bliss and his contented life there. But all the while, the dread wolf which is bent in eating it up, is standing there, in front of it. In its preoccupation with its mate and the beauty of the garden, the heavenly taste of grass, and the wonderful breeze which is blowing across the garden, the poor deer does not see the wolf. Nor is it aware of a hunter who is even now aiming his dread arrows at it from behind. Man's life on earth is even like that of the unfortunate, careless deer.

"The pleasures of the world are as evanescent as the scent of the flowers in the garden. Man and woman wander around in this little garden in search of the fleeting pleasure found in each other. All the while, Time, in the form of a wolf, is waiting there in front of him and he does not notice it. Behind him is Death with a thousand diseases in the form of arrows. He sends the arrows one by one and yet man does not understand the message - does not heed the warning."

-Narad, in the Srimad Bhagavatam

Monday, August 05, 2013

Thursday, August 01, 2013

Thursday Quote




"One must learn to call upon the name of God, even more than breathing - at all times, in all places, in very kind of occupation. The Apostle says, 'Pray without ceasing.' That is, he teaches us to have the remembrance of God in all times and places and circumstances. If you are making something you must call to mind the Creator of all things, if you see the light, remember the Giver of it, if you see the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, wonder and praise the Maker of them. If you put on your clothes, recall whose gift they are and thank the one who provides for your life. In short, let every action be a cause of your remembering and praising God and lo! you will be praying without ceasing and therein your soul will always rejoice."


-Peter the Damascene in The Philokalia