The Vaisakh Festival (also written Wesak) is an important annual event for receiving the cosmic energies of Will coming from the “Eye of the Bull” and giving us a fresh dose of Will energy to carry out the work of good will. The festival is celebrated at Taurus Full Moon. The full moon phase is from 13 May, 10:45pm – 14 May 09:16pm CEST.

You can read more about the significance of the festival on the WTT website. In the book “Mars – The Kumara” by Dr K. Parvathi Kumar there is also a chapter about the deeper meaning of the Vaisakh Full Moon. Here is an extract as a PDF.

The Lucis Trust has just released a new beautiful video about the Wesak Festival 2014.

Taurus – The Vaisakh Festival, (Images of Synthesis 2010)

The 8th of May we celebrate “The White Lotus Day”, in loving remembrance of the departure of the great soul that we know as HPB or Madam Blavatsky.

She was a fearless fighter for the Truth; she started her book “Gems from the East” (London 1890) with the words:

“UTTISHAT! Arise! Awake!
Seek the great Teachers, and attend! The road
Is narrow as a knife-edge! Hard to tread!”
“But whoso once perceiveth HIM that IS –
Without a name, Unseen, Impalpable,
Bodiless, Undiminished, Unenlarged,
To senses undeclared, without an end,
Without beginning, Timeless, Higher than height,
Deeper than depth! Lo! Such an one is saved!
Death hath not power upon him!”

– THE SECRET OF DEATH (from The Katha Upanishad)

In the book “The Golden Stairs”, Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar describes HPB with the following words:

“Madam Helena Petrovna Blavatsky is as tender as a freshly unfolded white lotus. The tenderness of her being cannot be expressed in any language. In her case incompatibles have become compatibles. She is as fiery as she is tender. Her being is essentially and naturally tender and extremely motherly. But at work she is an embodiment of fiery Will. She was the chosen darling of the Hierarchy to inaugurate an era of enlightenment. She did her job ruthlessly, dedicating her life to the noble work of the Hierarchy. She has broken many distorted and crystallized concepts of TRUTH. She synthesized the universal wisdom; she presented afresh Cosmogenesis and Anthropogenesis, which are the world scriptures for posterity. She explained dexterously the story of man on earth. Through the key of Manvantara cycles and races she reintroduced the most ancient wisdom relating to globe chains, the seven rays and their universal application. She skilfully utilised the keys of astrology, etymology and cycles of time to unlock wisdom from the most ancient manuscripts of cave temples that exist in the Himalayas. She was as much in the subtle as she was on the physical and was therefore able to grasp the truth in its variety of dimensions. She was a fully inspired lady who inspired many through looks, through speeches and through mere presence. She was even seen as a reincarnation of Buddha in places like Sri Lanka.

She is regarded as the white lotus that unfolds afresh the beauty and fragrance of new age wisdom. She is respected as Upasika, the one who is in connection with the ruling light of the planet, which is said to be mysteriously posited in the subterranean regions of Gobi desert of Mongolia.

Inspired by her teachings ever since, thousands of groups sprang up in all the four corners of the globe, trying to find the way afresh with the help of knowledge that she unfolded for the forward march of the present humanity.”

HPB was the first one who not only brought the existence of the Masters of Wisdom, the Mahatmas, to a larger global notice but who also had frequent contact with them. It was part of the divine plan to bring back the eternal wisdom to a larger understanding and to uplift human consciousness – a most difficult task.

On the Theosophical Society Wiki you find a page about “People who encountered the Mahatmas“, a very impressive collection of reports of encounters in the subtle and the physical realms with the Masters, also about HBP. And the Blavatsky Archives also contain a “Casebook of the Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas”.

In spite of the many proofs and great evidence there were many sceptics who refused to accept what was before their eyes and even massive attacks from various sides. However, the Path which was opened by the work of Madam Blavatsky has led many serious seekers to strive along the “Golden Stairs” to the temple of divine wisdom.

HPB and her mother, Helena Andreyevna Hahn, (born de Fadeyev), painting from the museum in Dnepropetrovsk
Who would have guessed that this delicate young girl would be a fearless messenger of the new age, a tiny rivulet unfolding to a huge stream?

Today, at Easter, we enter into the month of Taurus. So here is the picture to the month.

In the symbolism of Puranic scriptures the flow of life is described as the cosmic waters of space that had to be brought down to earth from the plane of the creator, Brahma. There was no one on earth who could receive the intensity of the fiery flux called Ganga (Ganges) but Shiva, the Lord of Divine Will. So a solar king ardently prayed for a long time until Shiva agreed to receive Ganga.

Shiva, who carries the crescent moon on his head, opened his hair, and when Ganga came down, she was caught in the hair and her impact was reduced before she was allowed to descend from his head to the heart and then to the planes.

The head of Shiva represents Shamballa and the heart of the planet is Spiritual Hierarchy. The human beings live in the planes. Each year in Aries, a new annual impulse is received in Shamballa and in Taurus it is passed on to Hierarchy and in Gemini to humanity.

For this painting I chose a picture of Shiva with a beautiful smile. I transformed it a bit, added the crescent moon onto Shiva’s head and placed a picture of Mount Kailash into the background. Then I created the sphere with the downpour of the energies onto Shiva’s head and from there, changing colours to golden yellow, down to earth. The air is filled with the flow of etheric energies.

It must be like this to stand in the full flow of life.

See more pictures on the site with my paintings.

A touching commercial as a viral video about an “Unsung Hero” (more than 6.6 million views). The “Good Story” by Thai Life Insurance is about good will and selfless sharing without seeking to get attention. Well done!

A pic from the video (c)

At Spring Equinox, from 21st to 23rd of March, a group of 26 group members of WTT from Denmmark, France, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland gathered at the seminar centre “Lichtblick” (Bright Spot) in Hude near Bremen, North Germany for the 5th “CVV Sharing” in the spirit of Synthesis. The motto given by Sri Kumar for this meeting was:

May power be balanced thru sharing.
May ignorance be balanced thru wisdom.
May the West be balanced by the East.
May Peace prevail over prosperity.”

The energy of synthesis was very much present while the program with group activities and contributions by various members unfolded: Meditations, exchanges in the plenary and in small groups about topics such as a selection of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and their relevance for one’s life, Greek mythology and astrology, “Dealing with crises”, “How can the group experience of synthesis be brought into the individual groups and lives?”, sharing how the individuals found into their spiritual paths. There were group exercises of Qi Gong, Mantra chanting, visualisations from Master EKs “Spiritual Astrology” on Aries or of the energies of the double pyramid. For one of the visualisation exercises a beautiful music was used, “Internal Flight” by the Russian guitar player Estas Tonne.

Saturday evening a water ritual was conducted and Sunday at noon the Diamond Network meditation. When we opened our eyes after the Saturday evening prayer, there was outside a great double arc rainbow in glowing colours over the nearby forest – the externalisation of the rainbow bridge to the higher circles.

The seminar place was at a very beautiful place surrounded by meadows and forests. The team of the house gave us a very warm welcome and served a delicious food in a very dedicated manner. Talks and exchanges about future forms of cooperation strengthened the bonds of the hearts, and when we left again all felt deeply enriched by this beautiful experience of group sharing in the spirit synthesis, the CVV energy.

Tomorrow there is Spring Equinox and the beginning of Aries. Aries opens the astrological year and stands for the birth of spiritual man. It also symbolises the birth-place of an idea, of a spiritual impulse taking to a form.

The butterfly is a symbol of the soul. Just like the caterpillar is totally different from the chrysalis, the butterfly emerging out of it is again a totally different state: its light movements make it difficult to believe that such a being comes forth from the previous states.

In this painting I tried to illustrate the state of transformation we go through on our way to spiritual birth: you see a human head like a cocoon from out of which emerges a being of light with wings like a butterfly. I constructed the head using different layers of a picture of myself fused with a picture of Master CVV. In front of the head you see the merged pictures of an enlarged empty cocoon, a chrysalis with the butterfly still inside, and a butterfly just emerging – pictures of a Plain Tiger from an Indian friend. There is another butterfly in front of the head, like emerging out of it, and other ones are seen flying into the vastness of space.

See more pictures on the site with my paintings.

The signs of the zodiac have their correspondences in the body. Pisces is not only associated with the feet but also with the area above the head, with the pineal gland and the pituitary body. When the higher consciousness awakens, a light starts to manifest between these two glands and gives rise to an ascension via this higher bridge of light beyond the limitations of the body. Pisces represents the ascent of man into God; it is therefore also called the sign of completion, of the meeting of the “alpha and omega” of creation.

For this picture I used a picture of Jesus and of the transfiguration of the Christ, from a painting of Fra Angelico (1442). I transformed this painting and fused the face of the Christ with a picture of Maitreya. I arranged two photos of sunrises on the front of the image of Jesus, thus generating the view of the radiant etheric centres. I increased the intensity of the eyes which are observing the observer and created a fusion of the subjective and the objective spheres.

For the upper background, I warped a photo of waves rolling onto a beach, producing the impression of the vastness of the etheric ocean of space associated with Neptune, the ruler of Pisces. And the colour of the sign is that of the pure sky in bright daylight. I further worked on the head centre in the middle of which you see the blessing figure of Christ.

See more pictures on the site with my paintings.

28 October 2013, pencils and photo work

The Wisdom Teachings speak of Agastya or Master Jupiter as the oldest member of the Spiritual Hierarchy. Since time immemorial, he has been a great sage on the earth and his deeds have been described in the Puranas. In South India, he is also called Agathiyar and worshipped as a Siddha having his abode in the Nilagiris or Blue Mountains. He is closely linked to the energies of Sirius and on the zodiacal level he presides over the sign Aquarius.

The creation of this picture was a paradox for me: I pondered upon it for few weeks. There was the initial impulse for the image of Agastya but I thought it must be something else – and no thoughts came. I felt frustrated but finally followed the original impulse to do the picture with a photo of a statue of Agastya. For the background, I took a photo of the mountain in the Nilagiris which is said to be the location of the ashram of Agastya. Then I integrated a photo of Sirius. Using the computer and pencils, I worked on the colours and details of the expression. When the picture was ready I was thrilled about its radiance.

30 September 2013, pencils and photo work

A beautiful group life in India is just coming to the end. This afternoon the journey back to Switzerland will start. Thursday morning we had a last fire ritual in the garden of Sri Kumar.

Statue of Lord Dattatreya, the three-headed cosmic teacher principle

Kumari Garu distributing prasad (food) after the ritual

We had a question-answer session about the theme of the seminar, the 14 Manvantaras (ages/phases of incarnations of the earth), which I enjoyed very much.

In the afternoon we saw a nice Indian movie, Barfi! (see complete version online) about two deaf and dumb persons, very well played. Sri Kumar gave us a short introduction for a better understanding of the story. (“Set in the 1970s in a pretty corner of India, Barfi! is the story of three young people who learn that love can neither be defined nor contained by society’s norms of normal and abnormal.” From an online description)

Friday morning there was the closing ceremony of the seminar.Members from the 5 different countries present expressed their experiences with  the time of being in India and the seminar, which was different from previous seminars. I mentioned in my words that it was a highly self-governed group which organised well without much obvious central organising.

Sri Kumar the explained: “The 27th Group Life in India is a very good experience. … I experimented to be nearer to the group by being far. It is an experiment. All that you speak confirms that it works. Sometimes by a distance things can be done better. I am always around, like a mother being always around the child. The child would like to play free and yet have the mother. This technique of being nearer to the group by being far –  all of you have grown enough and you don’t need to be organised. We are all self-governing. Out of love some anxiety comes but it organises itself. But it would not work if all think it is going by itself. We have to take things up and not be anxious to take up the organisation. The World Teacher Trust believes in free will. We don’t believe in organising too much. You are all very self-governing persons..

My theme in the whole work is that all who come are devoted to the teachings. The teacher works through teaching. I don’t believe in reproducing what has already been done. I prefer giving it sitting here. I have spoken certain keys by which you can directly experience the manvantaras within you and relate to them, not speak about the whole chronology but make it as real to you as possible, so that we live the wisdom instead of gathering it. Many people gather the wisdom. To gather is heavy. My understanding is, wisdom is coming, whatever wants to manifest. The teaching given is to experience it in your own being.”

Presents were shared, each member received a small token by Sri Kumar and Kumari-Garu.

Unpacking the presents of the group – two wooden elephants

.
Saying good-bye. Sri Kumar was about to leave for Hyderabad in the afternoon.

The remaining members then went to see the Bala Bhanu school, a regular school with 10 classes run by the WTT. It is imparting the normal curriculum together with spiritual values and moral education. It is always fascinating to see the attention and inner attitude of the students.

Navaneetam and Parvathi welcoming the group at the Bala Bhanu school.

We went around the different classes. In the upper floor the children of the 10th standard (last class) had prepared presentations of their projects about different self-chosen topics, ranging from environmental problems, cell biology, urban planification to topics from history and social system – and they were giving us visitors short introductions to their topics at the respective stands (no photo).

In the evening we saw another Indian movie, “The Three Idiots” – a comedy with a good story / message. Here is the total movie online (googling you also find a German version online and the  video from different sources, also YouTube). And a pizza with ice-cream was the evening acclimatisation for soon returning to the west…

Tuesday afternoon we set out for a 5 hs ride to Rajahmundry at the banks of the Godavari River. At a pause I noticed the little talisman at the radiator grill of our bus (I had seen such decorations before) and I asked one of our Indian companions. He explained the symbolism of each of these elements and said that it helps clearing the energy on the road so that no negative energy comes in the way. When some diabolics look at the face of the black mask the energy of their looks get diverted and is thus neutralised… I thought, a practical cleaner – and we had a save journey 🙂

Wednesday early morning we had a morning meditation with our Indian friends. Here is a small Krishna statue on the podium with their altar, surrounded by holy tulsi plants.

On the top of their building there is a little shrine with a statue of Master CVV, which was to be decorated with a flower garland

The 6th descending moon phase over the little shrine

Garlanding the statue of Master CVV

In the meanwhile the rose colour of the early morning sun started piercing through the mist over the Godavari River with its magic light.

We went down to the river to have a bath, greeting the morning sun-rays chanting the Gayatri mantra.

A fantastic golden light painted the scenery with a soft glow.

After breakfast we set out for a 1 h bus ride. We took a smaller bus for the roads were too small for the bigger one. Soon after Rajahmundry we crossed a big dam constructed by the British over 100 years ago for regulation of the river and for irrigating the countryside. There is a very fertile area with many rice fields, banana and coconut plantatations and tree and flower nurseries. First we went to see an old temple of Jagan Mohini in Ryali. In the centre of the temple there was a statue of Lord Vishnu with Mohini, an aspect of the divine Mother, on his back.

A sculpture of Lord Narayana over the entrance

Then we made a short stop at a biological farm for a coconut drink. Afterwards we visited a huge tree and flower nursery of a group member of WTT Rajahmundry. They are exporting flowers all over India and abroad. It was very impressive to see all the many flowers. There were some lotus ponds. When I wanted to take a photo of some lotus flowers and approached one of the ponds, I stepped on a wet slippery ground and fell longside into the mud of the lotus pond. Luckily there was a water pump next to the pond and I could wash of the mud from my clothes, arms, legs and shoes. A soft lotus pond blessing….

Lotus love:

After lunch we went to the Godavari river for a beautiful boat ride

Our boat is approaching

The youngest of the group members stepping into the future

The WTT Centre of Rajahmundry where we spent the night

Around 5 pm our bus started for the night ride back to Visakhapatnam. A short night followed by an early morning fire ritual in the garden of Sri Kumar, again a magic ambiance.