A friend sent me the link to a beautiful music video of Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End of Love“, about love in youth and in old age. A lyrical song, which also has another, deeper dimension: Wikipedia says about the song:

“Although structured as a love song, the song was in fact inspired by the Holocaust. In an interview, Cohen said of the song:
‘Dance Me to the End Of Love’ … it’s curious how songs begin because the origin of the song, every song, has a kind of grain or seed that somebody hands you or the world hands you and that’s why the process is so mysterious about writing a song. But that came from just hearing or reading or knowing that in the death camps, beside the crematoria, in certain of the death camps, a string quartet was pressed into performance while this horror was going on, those were the people whose fate was this horror also. And they would be playing classical music while their fellow prisoners were being killed and burnt. So, that music, “Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin,” meaning the beauty there of being the consummation of life, the end of this existence and of the passionate element in that consummation. But, it is the same language that we use for surrender to the beloved, so that the song — it’s not important that anybody knows the genesis of it, because if the language comes from that passionate resource, it will be able to embrace all passionate activity.”

I loved his songs already 37 years ago (Suzanne, Bird on the Wire, Songs of Love and Hate…). And he is also a deeply spiritual personality. Wikipedia: “His work often deals with the exploration of religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships. Famously reclusive, having once spent several years in a Zen Buddhist monastery, and possessing a persona frequently associated with mystique, he is extremely well-regarded by critics for his literary accomplishments, for the richness of his lyrics, and for producing an output of work of high artistic quality over a five-decade career.”

Have a look at his YouTube channel.

From the video

An Argentinian friend did a series of comics dedicated to illustrate spiritual principles from the wisdom teachings. The hero of the comics is Swami Urukrama, and his adventures lead him through various strange situations. He is teaching “by way of negative examples”, how it should not be… I had the good luck of proof-reading the adventures of the Swami.  They will be published on the website of WTT-Americana, you find here the first of the series. Or directly to the slideshow.

By the way, they also publish the Lunar Messenger on the website of WTT Americana.

Swami Urukrama

Last Friday and Saturday we were in Einsiedeln for a meeting of the Executive Board of WTT-Global. It was a very constructive meeting, where we worked out a re-distribution of responsibilities. Great care was taken of the condition and sensitivities of each individual, which is very important for a good development of such a process.

For me it was an inspiring experience to see how this group now can function, after having gone through different clarification processes in the past. It was not a top-down process, but everyone involved expressed his or her views about who is doing best a certain task and where new assignments could bring relief. Then the persons involved declared which tasks they could take over. So we slowly approached a new structure of responsibilities and cooperation, which for the moment is being finalised. Everybody felt well with the procedures we decided upon and could agree with the results.

Here are some shots of Saturday morning sunrise seen from the balcony and the flat of a group member.

Mandalas are very old geometric structures illustrating rhythmic principles of universal order. A friend sent me the link to a website with an extremely beautiful mandala animation and exquisite music. You can create changing mandalas by moving the mouse or playing with the keyboard. The first music playing is a sublime intonation of the age-old Gayatri mantram. The site is called “Light-Weaver.com” and inspired by the teachings of the Tibetan Master / Alice A. Bailey. It has the motto: “To the Glory of the One”. The site also offers a calendar of the Full Moon and New Moon dates and times, similar to the calendar of the month of the World Teacher Trust.

On the site you also find very beautiful free mandalas

A free mandala from the website light-weaver.com (c)

I’m often astonished about synchronicities in events. Since one week I could not publish any news on the entrance page of the intranet of my office. We tried to find out the cause, but neither the technicians nor the web-team could get it run again. One technician of the agency who had set up the system was in hospital, another was away with other duties. Speaking with the responsible person I told him that we have come to the conclusion that there must be some gremlins in the system who come out during the night doing mischief… We have to wait until next week if they find out another cause

At home I then encountered problems this week sending mails and operating the group coordination mailing list. Mails did not get out, were stuck on the server. I yesterday had long telephone calls with the provider, it first seemed that we go the problem, but I later realised that not yet. He is working on it…

Furthermore the mails of the hotmail subscribers of the blog were returned – Microsoft found another “interesting” way of spam protection, thus blocking legally subscribed mails. In the return-mails they give a link to their “live”-postmaster page, where you get into a labyrinth of questions and answers – however, it seemed that my case is not described there and the “link” to the troubleshooting contact in case none of the answers helps was dead (at least in the German version of the page I could see). Moreover, they offer for commercial mailers a “Sender Score Certified-Programme” for quite some bucks – and there is no category for anything like free spiritual newsletters and blogs – a dead end with the Microsofties. I did not find a solution with them nor did I find a contact address… At least I now changed the mode of sending mails from the blog, hoping that now these mails get through.

An American friend and astrologer wrote to me this morning: “You will have to call a conference with Mercury, Mars and St. Isidore, patron saint of the internet, computers, technology and of farmers…” And yesterday she told me: “As Mars now moves forward (from its retrograde), things will begin to even out. Mars (activity, intentions, etc.) is still slowly trying to catch up with its retrograde degree… also, Mercury just left Pisces… as it’s now in Aries, that will help.” May the planetary energies be favourable!

Another, less troublesome synchronicity was the topic of serpent power – also the one of our planet. The last weeks I had been encountering in several instances the “serpent” or kundalini power – in images of imagination, talks with friends, symbolism. Last week I even painted a picture (which I don’t want to publish yet) about a “serpent flower”. And 3 days ago I got a letter from a German artist who had just come across the Good-Will website writing (in German):

“As a gardner I culture the joy with the nature and in it to have a dialog with the earth. A dialog which sometimes gets me take fire with the earth fire (earth kundalini, I call it earth serpent). It is a meditation lasting since years, about the root ways of the plants, which according to my experience aways grow very purposefully into the heart of the earth. Having a dialog with this mystical space, the heart of the earth, is very dear to my heart.”

Aslepios, the great healer, with the “earth serpent power” in Epidaurus, 2005.

Yesterday evening when going home from the office I made a stop at the hairdresser’s shop to fix an appointment for a haircut. The young lady at the reception said if I had time and no preferences to who cuts my heair I could immediately get it done. I said, fine, and she started cutting.

At the end she asked me if everything was fine, and I remarked that the hair in front of my left ear was still a bit longer than on the right side. She hold her fingers on both sides, looked and said: “No, it’s o.k., with some the ears are not at the same height.” I looked a bit incredulously, smiled, paid and went home.

Looking into the mirror I saw that on the left side the hair was about 1.5 cm longer than on the right side. I thought, “Oh, now also my eyes start shifting, my whole head is getting into a transmutation.” I took the razor blade, cut away the hair on the left side and thus did a “surgery” to bring back the proportions of my poor head.

The story reminded me of my parents who used to tell me that when I was a little boy and had to clear up the toys spread on the floor, “Oh, I can’t do it, my arms are too short.”

Also in spirituality you come often across what we call “spiritual excuses”: You can’t do this or that because, and then comes an explanation in which you try to believe yourself: “It is my Aries moon which makes me so aggressive”. “The sun in Gemini gives me difficulties concentrating…”

My wife and I like playing with it, looking if the other is witty enough to look through the disguise of the excuse…

Man is very creative in inventing all kinds of excuses… (Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci)

I today got the following story in Spanish, which I translated with the help automatic translation and “polishing”:

There was once in ancient China an extraordinary painter whose fame crossed all borders. On the eve of the Year of the Rooster, a rich merchant thought that he would like to have in his rooms a painting that represents a rooster, painted by this famous artist.

So he moved to the village where the painter lived and offered him a very generous sum for the task. The old painter consented immediately, but put as the only condition that the man should return one year later to look for his painting. The merchant became a little disappointed. He had dreamt to have the picture as soon as possible and to enjoy it during the year governed by this animal. But as the painter’s fame was so big, he decided to accept and he returned to his house without complaining.

The months passed by slowly and the merchant awaited the coming of the desired moment to look for his painting. When finally the day arrived, he got up early in the morning and immediately went to the painter’s village. He knocked at the door and the artist received him. At first he didn’t remember who the visitor was.

“I came to look for the painting of the rooster” the merchant told him.

“Ah, of course!” the old painter answered.

And then he spread a canvas on the table, and before the merchant’s eyes with a fine paintbrush he drew a rooster with a single line. It was the simple image of a rooster and, somehow magic, it also contained the essence of all the roosters that exist or that ever existed. The merchant was open-mouthed about the result, but he could not avoid to ask him:

“Master, please, answer me a single question. Your talent is unquestionable, but was it necessary to make me wait for a whole year?”

Then the artist invited him to come to the back-room, where there was his shop. And there the anxious merchant could see the walls and the floor covered, there were enormous piles up to the roof with hundreds and hundreds of sketches, drawings and paintings of roosters – the intense work of an entire year of search.

Perfection is only seemingly light like a feather.

Some days ago my wife told me she just learned what downloads are. I looked a bit strange, and she said: “Oh no, not computer downloads – karma downloads.”

Two acquaintances had been in our apartment. One of them was an organizer of esoteric seminars – channeling sessions, cosmo-visions, spiritual discovery journeys, esoteric healing and the like. She said that karma downloads are the dernier cri: An “esoteric specialist” offers to take away (download) the karma of persons  for money and that there are people who even take on dept to get rid of their karma.

My wife and I had to laugh heartily about such a blind ignorance. It reminded us of the selling of indulgences of the Catholic Church some centuries ago. Karma downloads? – Money downloads…

My wife told me that she came to know from the seminar organizer that there are trends with ups and downs in what we call “the esoteric courses supermarket”: At the moment Tai Chi is out, channeling beings like “Kryon” in. The two women were having a channeling session in our living room while my wife was cooking for them and I was in the office…

It seemed to me like an annual where butterflies are attracted, and as soon as the flower is sucked dry, the butterflies go to another flower.

My wife said to me that in the last weeks she had a crash course in spiritual diplomacy: We had a number of encounters with people of different esoteric backgrounds. Even if their belief system is for you a bit weird, you nevertheless can meet from heart to heart as humans – you just have to leave away touching the points of difference. This isn’t dishonesty, but focusing on what is common and uniting and leaving away what is separating. This way you can leave your discrimination intact and nevertheless have a friendly contact.

My wife said: “However, I don’t wish to become bosom friends with such people…”

Fountain in Paris, photo of a friend

Wednesday 20 January the group left the Retreat Centre around 3 am to the train station. Around 5.30 pm we arrived at Chennai, where the Indian brotherhood arranged transportation from the Central station to Egmore station, from where the night train was to depart at half past 10 pm. We were served a dinner at the station and then continued our ride to Kumbakonam, where we arrived next morning at about 8 am.

Busses then transported the group from the different hotels to gather near the Yoga School Friends’ Society building, which Master CVV had started in the beginning of the last century. Since our group arrived early, we went into Master CVVs house and had a short meditation in the room of Master CVV. A vibrant energy could be felt.

In front of the house of Master CVV

Inside the room where Master CVV meditated and received the Aquarian energy.

We then assembled en face in an assembly hall, where Master Kumar gave a short introduction:
“A heartening welcome to all of you to Master CVV Yoga Centre, from where the yoga has spread all over the globe. It was conceived that the fusion of East and West meets in the Master Centre, which is the heart centre in us. And it was chosen by the Higher Ones as the centre of the energies of synthesis. You may not be conscious of what is happening here. In the prayer hall the Master did prayer for 11 years and 11 months and he received the energy in the house on the other side of the road. Those who are his friends never know what he does, some have done the prayer, some not. You are all friends, that is how it started, and the speed has taken on by the effect of the Master all over.
… During the prayer we are at the centre where the yoga emerged. Do not have an expectant mind, do not think about emotional attitudes, it blocks the mind. Close your eyes, the Master works. “It is a direct line, mine is a direct line.” When the mind is clean and vibrant, it will happen. There are many people who do not pray morning and evening, for them also the grace is granted, this is for sure, don’t block it. We are the only obstruction, the personality obstructs the soul. Do not stand in the way. ”

When we arrived there was still a scaffold in front of the Yoga hall, fixing the decoration.

We then went into the Yoga School and had 72 minutes prayer. We were a group of 195 members, many Indian members had come from different parts of the country to join this celebration of 100 years of Master CVV Yoga.

Friday 22 Jan. 10: In the morning after prayer and breakfast the group assembled in the lecture hall, where the Master introduced to us the most senior member of Master CVV Yoga, Sri Shanmugam. He had taken initiation into the yoga of Master CVV on 28th May 1944. He has been with the yoga the whole time and has been the guardian of the Yoga School. Master Kumar honoured him and the work he does. Then he introduced to us the great-grandson of Master CVV.

The city is called Kumbakonam (meaning the “Aquarian Angle”) because one great cycle of 26’000 years ago, at the beginning of the previous Aquarian age, the energies of Aquarius had chosen this place for a descent, and Master CVV also decided to descend in Kumbakonam for the present cycle. There is a temple called Kumbha Ishvara, the primary Master of Aquarius. The descent happened there and then went into the tank (a little lake), where it was anchored. It is most sacred in this region and Master Kumar proposed that we take a chance of bathing in that tank either in the morning or evening hours. “The outer structure of the temple changed, but the place is protected. Therefore it is suggested to visit the temple in the morning with singing OM Namah Sivaya.”

The group went to the Adi Kumbeshvari Temple in which a Shiva lingam is worshipped. At the entrance of the temple there was a temple elephant blessing those who seek its blessings. In the temple priests were performing a little Pooja, while the group was singing OM Namah Sivaya.

Later the group assembled in the hall of the Yoga School Friends’ Society for the noon prayer and also in the evening.
At night I took a bath in the tank, with a beautiful moonlight shining over the scenery.

Saturday, 23 January we visited the temple of Thanjavur (English: Tanjore), about 40 km from Kumbakonam. The temple is about 1000 years old and it has a large Shiva lingam inside. In front of the main temple there is a huge statue of Nandi, the vehicle of Lord Shiva.

The Master gave some explanations about the temple and said:

“Moving around the temple should always be done in the right direction. Moving to the right is turning to the spirit. Three times going around the temple is the physical, vital and mental planes. It is not recommended moving to the left, anti-clockwise. Moving to the left stands for materialisation, the right side is spiritualisation. … Every temple has its own number, symbol etc. Here it is the 5, the 5-pointed star, OM Namah Sivaya. All temples are built by Masonic measures. … There are so many bulls on the walks of the temple all around, hundreds, they carry a watchful eye. There are more than 1000 bulls there. Normally to see the details of the temple takes one day. You also have Shiva lingams all around.”

We visited the temple and experienced the presence of the Siva Lingam. Later we went back to Kumbhakonam.

On Sunday we had two more prayers in the Master CVV Yoga School Friends’ Society, and afterwards  the group members set on their ways home or to other places in India. We joined the group to Bangalore, where our train arrived in the early morning hours of January 25th.

We received a very warm welcome and stayed in the beautiful site of Sadguru Tapovan, a colony of houses of WTT group members.  There were cordial exchanges and in the evening a question-answer session.

In front of the lecture hall the group was about to finalize the erection of a beautiful stupa (pillar) of grey marble, 100 inches high with a big rock crystal on the top to be inaugurated the next day, in commemoration of 100 years of Master CVV Yoga.

Tuesday 26 January around 11.30 am the group assembled in front of the hall for the inauguration of the stupa. At first Master Kumar and his wife Kumari Garu intonated different mantrams, followed by some talks and honoring of the members who had contributed to the realisation of the stupa within less than 4 weeks. Master Kumar then said:

“As much as we open ourselves, so much The Master descends into us. We feel that not we exist, but the Master exists. The lower self is absorbed into the higher, then we don’t have a mind. … All becomes possible when the mind cooperates. The mind is exceedingly oriented to the matter, it cannot receive the influx from the Master. … The crystal (on the top of the obelisk) can bring down energy tremendously. Wisdom science can enter into you, and the sciences can enter when you let the energy flow into you, it is like a fish taking to water. It is a daily dedication of the mind. … More and more you are absorbed into him and he expresses through you. … It is a multiplication of abilities, and things happen with greater ease. … Master CVV received the energy and transmitted it. It gets into you, penetrates and transforms everything into light, and therefore it is a happy story and you enjoy it. ”

Afterwards the Master and Krishna Kumari unveiled the stupa and decorated it with flowers. Then the different groups came to the front for a group photo. Afterwards a delicious lunch was offered to all members present. It was a beautiful end of our time in India. More information can be made available on request.

Since 10 days we are at the international group living of the World Teacher Trust (WTT) going on in Visakhapatnam, India. We had a very intense week, with the 3 days of the Guru Pooja festival followed by for days of a seminar with discourses of Sri Parvathi Kumar.

Last Sunday a marriage ritual for a young Spanish couple was done at the house of Sri Kumar, where about 20 media people came to report for different national TV and radio stations and some mayor Indian newspapers, where the event was published yesterday. Such a big publicity was strange, since the work of the WTT is normally done more in silence and with a minimum of publicity.

Sunday evening we had been invited to a very impressive Indian ballet presentation, “Tripadi Ganga”, on the story of the descent of Ganga, the cosmic energies of space coming doown to earth in the form of the sacred river Ganges.

Yesterday we were at the Planetary Healing Centre near Visakhapatnam, whereMaster Kumar gave a detailed explanation of the spiritual meaning of this story. Here are some short extracts from his discourse:

“The river Ganga is the Aquarian energies. When Jupiter is in Aquarius according to lunar calendar, the Kumbha Mela happens once in 12 years. Jupiter in Pisces according to solar calendar corresponds to Jupiter in Aquarius according to lunar calendar… From this month on there is a gathering of millions and millions in Hardwar, that is located at the very heart centre of Ganga. Even the Hierarchy comes and takes a dip. Many disciples experience Lord Maitreya and his team of adepts at Kumbha Mela, it is a great grand festival, and it is in this year…

The entire planet needed someone to receive the energy for the first descent. And no one is able to receive the powerful energy of Ganga. It is the energy of pure consciousness, which carries the energy of will, love and activity. The solar king prayed and the mother Ganga appeared and said, I am pleased with you, I will come down, but please find someone who can receive me. If I directly descend on earth, the earth will break, it will be destruction. So you have to find someone who is able to receive a thunderbolt on the head…

The solar king asked, who can do it, and the mother Ganga said, only Shiva can receive it, others cannot. He has the fire of will, he has the stability, he can receive me, and for that you have to pray for the Lord Shiva….

So the solar king worshipped Lord Shiva. He is very special, he could please the Mother Ganga and also get the clue from her how to get the energy down. And he could also win the favour of Lord Shiva…

The story of Ganga is the story of involution and evolution. Till date, if you follow the course of Ganga you get very inspired. There are so many ashrams and such a strong flow of water at all times, regardless all seasons. It carries the best flow of waters in India. Those who have done bath in Ganga even from our group they feel they cannot come out of the river, it is such an experience. When time permits, you may have a dip into Ganga, it is very useful.”

Master Kumar in the garden of the Planetary Healing Centre

After the discourse at noon we had a beautiful group meditation in the Planetary Healing Centre and then continued to Ramadri, a temple compound developed by the WTT. A that place the sound of Ram, representing the energies of Cosmic Fire is being continuously intonated and millions of written  versions of the mantram have been installed in the earth so as to anchor the energies.

There were pupils of different Mithila schools run for free by the Circle of Good Will, India, for poor children at different places in Andhra Pradesh who had come to this site. In these schools children are educated, who normally don’t have access to regular classes due financial needs. Besides the normal education they are instructed in the ancient Indian values and principles of living.

Tthe teachers of the schools were presented to us and the heads of the schools were honoured by Master Kumar.

Then the children recited verses or songs. It was very impressive and touching to see the devotion with which the children presented their songs.

Today was the close of the seminar part, and tonight the whole group will go by train to Kumbhakonam in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The meaning of the word is “Aquarian angle”, and in that town 100 years ago Master CVV received the energies of synthesis. It says that the name of the town indicates that when the last Aquarian age starte, one platonic year or 26000 years ago, it was in this place that the energies manifested.