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Brighter side of web - inspiration
A new collection of photo albums by Unmesh at Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries
The Great Pyramid's have long been a source of interest, inspiration and fascination. Built in ancient Egypt, long before the advent of so called "civilisation", the Pyramids are testament to a monumental architectural achievement. Yet, I have always felt the Great Pyramids and Sphinx to be more than just one of the great physical wonders of the world.
I remember once reading a spellbinding account of one Paul Brunton's secret exploration into the inner sanctum of the Great Pyramid. Paul Brunton, who was a disciple of Ramana Maharshi, felt that the inner sanctum of the Great Pyramid was a place of spiritual initiation. His story can be read in his book "A Search in Secret Egypt"
Anyway, the question of "Who built the Great Pyramids" has long vexed scholars alike. Recent evidence suggests the Sphinx and The Great Pyramids were built long before the mainstream belief of 4th Century BC.
See article: Who built the Great Pyramids? at Hall of the Gods.
Related interest
Princess Diana
Much has been written about Princess Diana there seems little to add. Since her death her legacy seems to have been overshadowed by endless speculation about the nature of the car crash. It must have been on the front page of the Daily Mail more often than their beloved “House price crash imminent stories”. Anyway ignoring all the flotsam and jetsam Princess Diana did do much good work for charity she was definitely sincere in her aspiration to alleviate the suffering of even those who were marginalized by society.
I look forward to following the journey of Peter Foster as he travels down the River Ganges. The river Ganges is held to be sacred in India. Beginning high in the foothills of the Himalayas the Ganges is viewed as the personification of the deity Ganga. It is the Hindu belief that bathing in the Ganges can purify your sins.
Features blog and pictures by Heathcliff O'Malley
The picture of the Ganges in this blog entry is by Unmesh Swanson, Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries.
There is a saying that a thief will see others as a thief, but a saint sees everybody else has a saint. There are innumerable reasons to be miserable when we look at the teeming problems of the world. If we are not careful the problems and troubles of the world can see overwhelming but at the same time it is possible to look always on the bright side of life.
“A saint always sees everyone in the world — even the worst possible thief — as a saint. Similarly, a thief will see even the most divine saint as a thief. We judge others according to our own standard, according to our own realisation.”
- Sri Chinmoy [1]
J.K. Rowling has recently announced she has finished her latest and final installment of Harry Potter. "The Deathly Hallows" will be released in July of this year.
This is a short biography of J.K.Rowling. Her inspiration for writing Harry Potter first came on a delayed train journey from London to Manchester. God bless British Rail!
- J.K.Rowling Biography by richard
This list is inspired by the BBC series created by Melvyn Bragg. I didn't agree with many of his choices, so here is my choice in no particular order.
1. The Upanishads. This one of the world’s most ancient scriptures. It forms the basis of Hindu thought. The message of the Upanishads is “Know Thyself”
"From delight all beings have come, by delight they all live,
and unto delight they all return."
2. The Bible. The Bible has been the cornerstone of Western morality and religion for the past 2,000 years. Of all the books in the bible, the most influential have been the 4 Gospels, which record the life of Jesus Christ. He offered a new interpretation of the Old scriptures urging followers to “Love thy neighbour as thyself.”
"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"—Matthew 19:19.
4. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. No other book has been so widely read or studied as the Complete works of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare has shaped English language and left an indelible mark on Western culture and the arts.
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages."
At school the only thing I ever remember learning in art was how to draw a straight line freehand. Every now and then I enjoy showing off to my students how I can draw economics diagrams without a ruler...
This Guy really is amazing though being able to draw a perfect circle.
Abbe Pierre was one of France's most popular figures. For a time he was a monk and later a priest. His life's calling was to serve the disadvantaged, in particular the homeless. He led a varied and fulfilling life. During the second world war he helped save Jews from deportation. After the second world war he set up a charity Emmanus to campaign for shelter for the homeless. He also sought to give renewed hope for the downtrodden so they would be able to work out their own problems and difficulties.
I wrote a short biography here: Biography Abbe Pierre
J.R.R. Tolkien
I have not read very many fiction books, but once I started to read Lord of the Rings I was hooked and used to make it annual devotion to read it from start to finish. As well as writing Lord of the Rings, Tolkien also wrote a very detailed account of the early histories of Middle Earth, mostly contained in The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. Suprisingly one of his primary motives in writing the Silmarillion and later the Lord of the Rings was to provide a backdrop for the languages he had created. For example, Quenya for the Elves (based on Finnish.)
J.R.R. Tolkien seems to be have been kind, modest Oxford professor who became a little suprised at the huge interest his books developed.
I don't think anybody has come close to matching his depth and scope of creative fiction. He didn't just write a novel; but created an almost entire universe with its own underlying moral and spiritual values. I have written a short biography of J.R.R.Tolkien at Biography Online
"Death is not the end. Death can never be the end."
"Death is the road. Life is the traveller. The soul is the guide."
"When the traveller is tired and exhausted, the guide instructs the traveller to take either a short or a long rest, and then again the traveller's journey begins."
13 is my favourite number so when I saw this blog about compiling list of best 13. Thurday Thirteen I thought I would contribute by offering 13 Best Speeches. I'm sure there are a few deserving ones I am unaware of, or have forgotten, but these talks and speeches each add something most signficant. Also it is hard to place them by order:
13 Illumining Speeches
- I Have a dream – Martin Luther King; Washington August 28, 1963
- Opening Address to the World Parliament of Religions by Swami Vivekananda, September 11th, 1893
- Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson July 4, 1776
- Sermon on the Mount – Jesus Christ AD 33
I have put 2 great speeches ono my Write Spirit Blog.
The first was delivered by Swami Vivekananda at the World Parliament of Religions in 1893. Swami Vivekanananda was representing the Hindu religion but he spoke very eloquently on underlying unity of the world religions. He didn't wish to convert people to Hinduism but wanted people to follow their own religion more faithfully. He also made a powerful call for an end to fanaticism
I Have a Dream - Martin Luther King
The second speech is by Martin Luther King. The words are very powerful but to hear a live audio recording is even better. He had tremendous passion for his beliefs in a fairer society.
Winged Migration is a remarkable film, in that for 98 minutes, the only thing we see is flying birds. Such a documentary, if not done with exceptional skill and scope could have easily been boring. However it is testament to the film producers that they manage to create an epic documentary that is both visually stunning and informative. The film took 4 years to make and you can understand why, as they seemed to leave no location or continent unvisited. In fact they visited over 40 countries and the production team totalled more than 450 people and 17 pilots.
From Google video. Not highest quality
Top 20 Ways to Well Being in Independent list 20 things to improve well being. First is cycling Also glad to see drink coffee, tea and dark chocolate in their. Another interesting one is singing and not sleeping in at the weekend. The most obvious one is to be happy. This is a poem by Sri Chinmoy on happiness.
I am happy because I always choose the right moment.
I am happy because I am a good listener.
I am happy because I keep my voice down.
I am happy because I do not try to convince others.
I am happy because I do not complain.
I am happy because I do not do two things at the same time.
I am happy because I never think of two objects at the same time.
I am happy because I have realised the truth that the most important thing in my life is self-improvement.
I am happy because I unreservedly accentuate the good in others.
Akbar
Akbar was a great Moghul Emperor. He succeeded in uniting a large part of India into a great Moghul Emperor. He was a great military strategist, immensely rich and very powerful. However he did not misuse his power. He sought to honour the religious diversity of India. Although a Muslim he took a great interest in Hinduism and Buddhism.
Sri Chinmoy has written many stories about Akbar. This is one of my favourite when Akbar went to visit the Hindu princess Mirabai.
Recently I saw a very good play performed whilst in Turkey about Mirabai and Akbar. It was written by Sumangali Morhall. "Music and Religion" - A rhyming play based on Sri Chinmoy's writings
Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper
The Last Supper was painted onto the walls of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie near Milan. Leonardo spent three years painting the work, and much of that time was spent searching the streets of Milan for models of Christ and Judas. It is said that only Leonardo's threats to paint the Prior of the convent as Judas bought him the time he needed to finish.
The Last supper and other paintings of Leonardo.
I wrote a biography of Leonardo da Vinci at Biography online
Ashrita setting new record
Ashrita set a new record for spinning top here in Turkey. The record involved spinning a top for a distance of one mile along a hotel floor. Ashrita broke the record in a time of under 1 hour 30 mins.
View: Ashrita's new blog
View: An Embarrasing Moment - from Ashrita's training.
"One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any man, however much we have suffered from him."
"I am not an Athenian, or a Greek, but a citizen of the world."
- Socrates
Socrates was one of the greatest philosophers of the ancient world. He never wrote anything down but his discourses were recorded by his students.
Leonardo's flying machine.
Admist his numerous projects Leonardo had a long standing interest in Flying. He designed several flying machines and drew detailed diagrams. This included a protype of a helicopter which became a reality many centuries later.
This is from Universal Leonardo
"In his fascination with flying, Leonardo attempts to combine the dynamic potential of the human body with an imitation of natural flight. In his notes, he cites the bats, the kite and other birds as models to imitate. He refers to his flying machine as the “great bird” . "
New Record for Balancing 50 Foot Pole.
Ashrita Furman broke one more Guinness World Record in South Turkey recently. This record was for holding up a pole 50 feet in length. Ashrita balanced the pole on his chin for 15 seconds. This was sufficient for a new record, subject to confirmation from Guinness. Ashrita set the record in an ancient Roman amphitheatre in Aspendos. The amphitheatre was built in AD 162 by the Roman architect Zeno. It was built to fit 12,000 spectators and even 2000 years later the ruins make a very impressive venue.
(photo coming soon)
Sri Chinmoy has written many stories about the great Moghul Emperor Akbar the Great. Akbar had a clever court jester Birbal. This is a story called
Four First Class Fools
Once Akbar asked Birbal to bring him four of the world's worst possible fools. So the following morning Birbal began looking for the fools.
Ashrita setting a new record for the spinning top.
In a record breaking year, Ashrita set another Guinnes world record. This time the record was for keeping a spinning top going for the longest time period. The previous record was two hours, 52 minutes and 11 seconds. Ashrita increased this to 7 hours and 1 minute.
Ashrita has been dubbed "Mr Versatility" for his tremendous array of breaking records. This year he has set record for upside down juggling, fastest mile whilst crawling and in the past he has set records such as underwater pogo sticking in the Amazon for 3 hours.
When Ashrita is not breaking records he studies meditation with Sri Chinmoy and runs a health food store in Jamaica, NY.
World Harmony Run in Turkey.
World Harmony Run event in Turkey. Schoolchildren from Istanbul enthusiastically take part in running event for promoting greater harmony and friendship.
Soul Bird
Sri Chinmoy has painted several million Soul Birds. This year he passed the 15 million mark. Often when signing his name he will also draw a "Soul-bird". He can draw them very quickly with a few strokes of the pen. He says Soul-birds symbolise both freedom and the aspirations of our soul.
Photo from Phil Borges
My photographic projects are devoted to the welfare of indigenous and tribal people. My intention is to help bring attention to the value these cultures represent and the challenges they face.
Cirque du Soleil videos at You Tube.
I went to see a Cirque du Soleil performance in London about 6 years ago. It is of course much more impressive when you are there in person, but nevertheless the video clip gives an idea of their tremendous skill and ingenuity.
Thought of the Day at Radio Sri Chinmoy
Sanjaya Spettigue is a friend from the Ipswich Sri Chinmoy Centre. He regularly offers a "Thought of the Day" for a local radio programme. You can listen to it here:
- Thought of the Day (m4a format)
In this short extract amongst other things he discusses the role concentration can play in helping sports players to do better.
Jesper Olsen - World Run
One Earth - 26000km - 2 years - 1 runner
This is the remarkable story of Jesper Olsen who successfully completed the first complete run around the world. The route took 26,000 Km. Jesper also had to carry all his own stuff in a specially designed carrier. highlights from the run included:
"several weeks running through the frozen Siberian winter. "
"Meeting face to face with a Siberian bear at midnight."
"The economical neccesity of winning a 6-day race while running across Australia in the hot summertime "
From: World Run Blog
Jesper also ran through New York and had the opportunity to meet Sri Chinmoy. Jesper also met with many of the runners from the 3100 mile race. The photo is of Jesper with Suprabha Beckjord holding the World Harmony Run Torch. Suprabha has completed the 3100 mile race 10 times.
Quite a while ago I went to the closing ceremony of the World Harmony Run in London. I didn't get chance to post an entry at the time.
Japanese performer at the finishing ceremony
I took some photos but there is a better selection of photos here at the World Harmony Run website
...This reminds me of a Zen story. There was a Zen Master who was very pure, very illumined. Near the place where he lived there happened to be a food store. The owner of the food store had a beautiful unmarried daughter. One day she was found with child. Her parents flew into a rage. They wanted to know the father, but she would not give them the name. After repeated scolding and harassment, she gave up and told them it was the Zen Master. The parents believed her. When the child was born they ran to the Zen Master, scolding him with foul tongue, and they left the infant with him. The Zen Master said, "Is that so." This was his only comment.
continued...
