The message and task of Libra is poise, harmony and equilibrium. We find balance not by withdrawing from responsibilities, but by establishing a dynamic harmony between the different areas of our lives – between inner and outer life, between rest and activity. If the balance is disturbed, disorder and crises arise. We need to make right decisions and act appropriately. The Wisdom Teachings tell us right choice is always made when we align with the Will to Good.

The symbolism of Libra is visualised in the twelve Libra paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

In the wisdom teachings, creation is described as a wheel without beginning and end, which appears cyclically. Each new cycle has its own freshness, but the basic structures remain largely the same. When the impulse for a creation comes, the wheel begins its movement and radiates time and space. The point at the beginning of creation radiates and expands becoming a globe. With the movement of time, rays of light come forth. Objectivity emerges from subjectivity. The forms gradually take on denser matter; the cosmos and its stars are born and form the visible creation.

The underlying essence of everything is called Narayana in the East, the indwelling God Vasudeva and the all-pervading God Vishnu. Libra symbolises the principle of the fulcrum that causes the wheel to turn.

For the visualisation of the Wheel of Creation, I used a photograph of the Sombrero Galaxy taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (NASA/ESA). I worked on the image of a statue of Vishnu as Vishvarupa, the embodiment of the cosmic person. It stands on the serpent Ananta, the endlessness. Its many heads symbolise the variety of phenomena. The planes of creation emerging from the centre of existence are indicated by the rainbow circle.

The symbolism of Libra is visualised in the twelve Libra paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

I will give a Zoom presentation for the Theosophical Society, Seattle, Washington, USA about “Creativity and Originality. From the Inside to the Outside and Back.” It is on Sunday, 10 October 2021 04:00 pm PDT (US West Coast time, – October 11th, 01:00 am Central European time). You can register for this talk via their website.

There will be the same talk already next Wednesday, 8 September, 07:00 – 08:00 pm Central European time) in German. It is part of a series of lectures of the German-speaking community of the World Teacher Trust on various topics with a spiritual background broadcasted via Zoom. You find here the program with the login details.

On the website of the Theosophical Society, it says about the presentation:
“Ludger will explore different aspects of originality and creativity showing subtle aspects of the creative process and how this manifests through external creations and their affect on us. By discussing a piece of his own art work, he will show the evolution of the creative process that came out of his own inner exploration and realizations. His artwork is dedicated to express occult ideas and themes to convey a visual access to sublime spiritual concepts.”

Virgo stands for the germ of the soul that is in gestation in matter. Wrapped in the robe of matter, the light of the soul can only shine forth if the sheaths of the body are pure and transparent. We should work on ourselves to acquire a pure and transparent mind. Purity of speech is the first step to transmit the energies of the soul. Virgo is seen as a state of probation or a state of awakening.

The symbolism of Virgo is visualised in the twelve Virgo paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

Creation comes forth from light, which, in the Vedas, is called Aditi or the Mother of the World. We are part of this original light and are, by our very nature, immortal beings of light. However, having forgotten our true identity and having assumed a false identity, we have become mortal. Whenever violation of the natural law threatens to lead humanity to self-destruction, immortal divine beings descend to earth to once again give the law and help humanity recognise its original identity. The immortals pave a way through which mortals can once again find access to the subtle realms. When the etheric body is built from out of golden light, we can experience immortality once again.

In Norse mythology, Ydun is the goddess of immortality. She guards the golden apples that confer eternal youth and thus immortality.

The figure of Ydun in the centre of the painting was created using a photo of a statue of Ydun by the Danish sculptor Herman Wilhelm Bissen (1798 – 1868). Ydun descends from the golden light to grant access to immortality with her apples. The sphere of the upper part of the picture shows the subtle world, the lower part of the picture indicates the dense physical world – both created with images from the virtual globe “NASA World Wind“. The light structures at the bottom were designed with autumn-coloured leaves foliage of the ivy called Virginia creeper.

The symbolism of Virgo is visualised in the twelve Virgo paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

[Correction:] A friend just sent me the link to a video of Factly, an India fact checking site explaining that the video is not from the Olympic Games 2021 but from a visit of the Indian Prime Minister Modi in Mongolia in 2015. It is not from Olympic Games in Japan, so I changed the title of this blogpost . The video as such is authentic, the explanation not. It is nevertheless inspiring. So I keep sharing it.

A friend today shared a video from the opening celebration of the [wrong: Olympic Games 2021 in Tokyo]: A large group is performing Yoga Asanas in artistic arrangement, while “OM Maitrey Namaha” is being sung.

Very nice that this is being performed at such a major event, which is currently the focus of attention worldwide. May this be an example for other occasions and other countries.

Leo is the sign of self-consciousness. Sun in the heart lotus, is its symbol. The transit Sun moving through Leo is noble, straightforward and protective. But the self-conscious nature of Leo has its two-fold nature. A Leonine person can be excessively self-conscious leading to pride or can be deeply contemplative to be conscious of Self. Conscious of Self is different from self-consciousness. The former leads to soul awareness, the latter leads to self-pride. Pride is the threshold in Leo. This lion needs to be conquered.

The symbolism of Leo is visualised in the twelve Leo paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

Leo is related to our heart centre. The heart is the home of the soul. By turning inward, we enter the cave of the heart, lion’s den. The heart centre when opened transforms us into the man-lion.

In the Eastern Puranas, the opening of the heart centre is symbolically veiled in the story of Narasimha, the Lord with the head of a lion and the form of a man. The story tells of a father and his son. The son knows that the Lord is within as well as without, even within a pillar. The father doubts this, and he breaks open the pillar. Out of the pillar Narasimha manifests to help his disciple Prahlada and to kill the tyrannical father. Killing the father by ripping open the chest represents the transformation of man through the opening of the heart centre and overcoming the limitation of the lower self.

The image was designed with a photo of a lion’s head and a photo of a statue in the temple of Simhachalam, India. It depicts Narasimha opening the chest of Hiranyakashipu. The stone structures on the right and left indicate the opened column. It is a symbol of the column of consciousness, our vertebral column, from which the centres emerge like flowers.

The symbolism of Leo is visualised in the twelve Leo paintings done between 2010 and 2021. For detailed detailed descriptions please see the ludgerphilips.org website.

Last week I did the first trip over several days, after 19 months “pause”. Good friends from Heiligenberg (“Holy Mountain”) in the German Lake Constance area had invited me for a visit. Since the pandemia regulations have now become less strict, I could cross the frontier again without any controls…

The couple lives in a house at the foot of the Heiligenberg mountain with a gorgeous view towards the lake and the Heiligenberg Castle above. On arrival, I noticed that my camera had taken holidays from me and stayed at home – so I borrowed the mobile of Sabine to take at least some shots.

Even without meeting physically, we have a lot of contact with group activity exchanges. But physical meetings cannot be replaced by zooming… It was a very hearty stay.

Thursday afternoon Manfred and Sabine took me on a trip to a beautiful ridge along the lake overlooking vineyards near Meersburg. And Friday morning we went to the Beuron Archabbey, a monastery now of the Benedictine order and in earlier centuries of the Augustinians. It was founded in the 11th century AD and is located in the upper Danube valley.

When we entered the church, a mass was going on. The air was full of frankincense smoke and organ music was filling the space. We preferred to do a little walk along the Danube and to come back later. The monastery has beautiful artwork of the Beuron Art School. The church ambiance brought up reminiscences of long-gone childhood times – I first went to a kindergarten in a monastery near my parents’ home and later served there as an altar boy over years. Parents and relatives wanted to make me a priest. I escaped to other directions but impregnations remained… In the souvenir shop, my friends bought for me a candle with a beautiful blue angel…

Later we drove to the nearby Campus Galli, a kind of museum and construction site (see their German website), where craftsmen and volunteers are using 9th century resources to create a monastery based on the St. Gallen monastery plan. It is the only surviving major architectural drawing from the middle-ages and copies of it were displayed at the site. The workers not only help with the construction, but also act as costumed interpreters. It was very impressive to see blacksmiths, weavers, carpenters, crockers, or coopers doing their work and to talk to them. How many steps were needed to come to the present way of living…. On the marketplace, we had our lunch with “dinnele”, a medieval kind of warm flat bread from a stone oven with cheese.

Sabine is a language teacher and Manfred is a former engineer and manager of a huge German electronic enterprise. He later deeply went into the knowledge about herbs and the healing powers of plants. He built up a large network of people interested in cultivating existing herbal knowledge, applying it and making it available in an understandable way. And he developed a beautiful garden with many kinds of roses and other plants – I very much enjoyed relaxing there under an apple tree, smelling the roses in the air….

Saturday morning Sabine took me to the market in Überlingen. A regional horticultural show is going on over the summer. Plenty of people were strolling along the lake and through the lanes. Near the ship landing point a group of artists was playing the “Pandemia Fairy Tale”… Life seemed to be nearly “back to normal”, with a Mediterranean ambiance.

In the afternoon two friends came for a visit – meditation and intense exchanges, which weren’t possible since a long time.

Sunday morning Sabine and I had an intense working session on the navigation structure for a future website of the German speaking WTT community – a team project. The time was running by, the sunny days as well. Soon I was back to the highway. Rich memories remain.

Some days ago, Ch. SathyaDev (Sattibabu), an Indian friend of mine from Visakhapatnam, shared the “Song or Lyric on Shambala“, which he had written on 10 June 2021 – new moon day:

OM Shambala –
Sreem Shambala !
Sham Shambala –
SanMangala !!

1.
Sri Krishna Devuni
Mandra Gaanam
Sanathkumaruni
Sannidhaanam !
Maitreya Buddhula
Paramaa Raamam
– Shambala !!

2.
Maruvu Devaapi Jwaalakuludu
Parama guruvula –
Param dhaamam !
Paramaaanandam –
Paramaayushyam
Nissreyasham! Nirmalam!
– Shambala !!

3.
Kalkyavatharanam-
Janma Kshetram
Lokaa Lokam-
Moksha Kaarakam !
Divya Darsanam –
Navya Sparshanam..
Sanaathanam! Sushobhitham
– Shambala !!

Simple word meaning of the Song on Shamballa:

OM is the name of God or Para Brahma or the Almighty or the Father in Heaven.
Sreem is the seed letter of splendour.
Sham is the seed letter of peace.
SanMangala means ‘That which brings auspicious things’.

Mandra Gaanam is the Music of the Soul.
Sannidhaanam means ‘The Presence’.
Paramaaraamam is the Highest Abode.

Viraajitham means ‘That which shines.’
Supoojitham means ‘well worshipped.’
Parama Guruvulu means ‘The Masters of Wisdom.’
Paramdhaamam means ‘The Highest Abode’.
Paramaaanandam means ‘highest Bliss or Happiness’.
Paramaayushyam means ‘bestows higher longevity’.
Nissreyasham means ‘which bestows liberation’.
Nirmalam means ‘pristine and pure’.

Kalkyavatharanam means ‘The descent of the future Avatar as Kalki’.
Janma Kshetram means ‘place of birth’.
Lokaa Lokam means ’causes salvation in both visible and invisible lokaas’ (planes of existence).
Moksha Kaarakam means ‘The cause of liberation.
Divya Darsanam means ‘Divine Vision’.
Navya Sparsanam means’new divine touch’.
Sanaathanam means ‘Ancient Most’.
Sushobhitham means ‘well illuminated’.

Sattibabu wrote, “With the Grace of our beloved Master E. K… Dedicated to The World Teacher Brotherhood”. He submitted the ‘Song on Shamballa‘ to Master KPK, who answered:
“Dear Sattibabu, I just listened twice the song. I also noted Siva’s inspiration. May the effort be blessed. May you two be blessed.”