http://www.planetbabaji.com/omline/Blog/Eintrage/2011/10/14_applement.html

taken from www.indiatoday.in:
SHASHANK CHOUHAN NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 13, 2011 | UPDATED 19:34 IST

India visit gave a vision to Steve Jobs

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/india-visit-gave-a-vision-to-steve-jobs/1/154785.html

What was your impression of India?
We were very young and had no preconceptions... we wore khadi kurtas and lungis, trying to blend in, but of course it was obvious enough we were foreigners and the swarms of beggars at first was a shock (for example, when getting off the bus in remote villages). But we did learn to appreciate the deep spiritual culture of India and how that enables so many to live richly fulfilling lives in the midst of material poverty.

We both were big fans of Indian food, thanks to the Hare Krishna Temple in Portland, so that was a daily pleasure. We stayed in the Hotel Vikas in Paharganj and particularly enjoyed the chapatti wallah next door and the dahi wallah on the corner and the burfi at the sweet shop down the block. Our main diet was mangos with dahi and chapatti. We were not much interested in cannabis much less any other drugs. I was naïve about hard drugs and when some sketchy character asked to borrow my enamel mug for 'fixing' I loaned it to him... then when Steve found out, he immediately went and retrieved it for me.

When we were in Kainchi near Neem Karoli's ashram there was hemp growing everywhere, so I dried some and would take a puff from time to time. But really it was the books that had the most interest for us. I remember carrying around the Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, The Book and The Way of Zen by Alan Watts, the Diamond Sutra, and the Dharma Bums by (Jack) Kerouac.

What was Steve like when he was in India?
I think we were both pretty low key about expectations... it was a bit of a disappointment that when we got to the Neem Karoli ashram it was basically deserted - after Neem Karoli had passed earlier in the year, the crowds of western hippies and seekers were encouraged to disperse and they did! Then we made a long trek up a huge dry riverbed to an ashram of Hariakhan Baba, a reincarnating avatar as the story went. It was a long difficult trek then we had to climb a hundred-plus steps up a cliff to get to the ashram. The Hariakhan Baba we encountered was surprisingly young, and accessible enough, but he didn't strike either of us as being particularly profound. He did give us both 'secret' spiritual names... I regret now that I wasn't keeping a travel journal and can't remember mine!

What did you and Steve take back from India that stayed with you?
It seems in retrospect that we spent a lot of time on endless long hot crowded bus rides from Delhi to Uttar Pradesh and back, then up to Himachal Pradesh and back. We enjoyed our trip to the hill town of Manali, which was burdened with many Tibetan refugees at the time due to the Chinese occupation of Tibet. We visited many temples, especially in Delhi where during the later part of the summer it was too hot to go out during the day but we'd go for long walks at night. I think what stayed with both of us was an appreciation for the rich culture of India and the huge contrast between opulence and poverty to be found there. The most memorable incident was probably when we were making the day-long hike back from the Hariakhan Baba ashram and a violent thunderstorm caught us out in the open with no place to take shelter. We were huddling under our loincloths from the pelting rain, afraid we'd get hit by lightning... happy when we got back to the nearest village that evening.

How was Steve influenced, if at all, by the experience?

I think the trip influenced us both in a general sense of broadening our experience of life on earth and putting our lives in the US in a wider perspective. Neither of us found a 'guru' or had a 'miracle story' or an encounter with someone with advanced yogic powers but I would say that wasn't particularly a disappointment. Steve's return date was several weeks before mine so I went up to Dalhousie and took back-to-back 10-day Vipassana retreats with Goenka, which was a great experience and has served me well throughout my life. Steve was mostly drawn to Zen meditation and he went to the zendo in Los Altos regularly after his return from India ...

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/india-visit-gave-a-vision-to-steve-jobs/1/154785.html

Here is the receipt from Babaji's Hospital as a result of all the clicks on the blog at www.planetbabaji.com during Navaratri.

Navaratri is over but KEEP ON CLICKING everyday so more support can be generated for the EYE CAMP.

The Amount above gives THREE eye operations to restore vision to the local people.

Om Namah Shivaya

 

" At the very moment

whenever you have anger or a judgement

on another

to look first at your self

and see

how many mistakes

you yourself

have made ..."

Sri Munirajji in Moscow 2011

Om Hreem Shreem Kleem

Om Shri Maha Saraswati Namah
(Roxanne Wach Artwork; please do not copy)

.

NAVARATRI Nine: (final day)
SARASWATI: The last three days are devoted to Saraswati, the Goddess of Wisdom, Knowledge and the Arts, wife of Brahma; it is a time of receiving Divine Guidance on how to properly use all resources sent your way. This is making most efficient and purposeful use of everything you are given.

The Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and swa means "self." Thus Saraswati means "the essence of the self."

Mantra for Saraswati played here: http://www.sanatansociety.org/indian_music_and_mantras/mantras_saraswati_mantra.htm
Night and Day Nine:
Siddhidatri - She Who is of great spiritual Powers and knowledge
Siddhidatri begins at Sunset October 5 and ends at Sunset October 6.
(Usually, the final day's activities wrap up after lunch time on the ninth day.)
http://www.isamaj.com/bhakti/festivals/navratri/siddhidatri.htm

Siddhidatri: Siddhidatri means the giver of siddhis (magical or spiritual powers for the control of self, others and the forces of nature). It is said in Devipuran that the Supreme God, Lord Shiva received all of these powers by propitiating the Maha Shakti. The Goddess is sometimes shown atop a lion and sometimes atop a lotus. She is shown as having four arms, which hold a club, a conch shell and a lotus. The fourth hand forms a gesture of granting. Siddhidatri is considered to be the most powerful of all the nine forms of Durga.
Durga is said to be extraordinarily beautiful; she does not use her beauty for seduction, but rather entrapment. She entices her victims and then defeats them. She rides a lion, and it appears whenever her strengths are needed. Her role is not that of creator, but rather that of a maintainer: she maintains cosmic order by defeating demons that plague the universe.
Durga is not only a powerful force for cosmic order but also a protector of her devotees. She listens to her devotees and attends to their needs.
Goddess Durga keeps up the play of the divine universal God through the three attributes of Nature, namely, Satva (equilibrium and serenity), Rajas (dynamism and kinesis) and Tamas (ignorance and inertia). Knowledge, peace, lust, anger, greed, egoism and pride, all are Her forms. Maha Saraswati is Her Sattviki Shakti or power of equilibrium. Maha Lakshmi is Her Rajasik Shakti or power of activity. And Maha Kali is Her Tamsik Shakti the power of destruction. All these are feminine forms.

Shiva's power is Shakti, the dynamic creative mother aspect of the Godhead. It is she who creates and at the time of dissolution, it is she who swallows her own creation. Shakti cannot exist without Shiva and Shiva cannot personify without Shakti.

Our beloved Mother, Saraswati, the goddess of learning, knowledge, music, speech and all the creative arts. She is the Flowing-One. She represents the union of power and intelligence from which organized creation arises. Saraswati possesses all the learnings of the the Vedas, scriptures, dancing, musical power and poetry. She revealed language and writing to man. Her origin is the lost Vedic river Saraswati. This is the source of her profound connection to fluidity in any aspect (water, speech, thought...). She is wisdom, fortune, intelligence, nourishment, brilliance, contentment, splendor and devotion.

As I told you on Day 8, the last Havan of the Navaratri is when participants bring their personal instruments of work for a blessing. These could include pen, office stuff, laptop, stethoscope, musical instrument, or anything that relates to a person's life work or career. Saraswati offers a special blessing for abundance and prosperity within this work. Blessings to all!

My deepest gratitude for your participation
in this Auspicious Occasion of Navaratri!

Jai Maha Maya ki Jai!

May all your dreams come true as a

result of your inner work nurtured along

by Divine Mother for the past nine days!

She emanates compassion, understanding,

and unconditional love. As we fill ourselves

with those qualities, we can also offer them

to all the 'children' in this world!

Let Divine Mother flow deeply within each one of us,

helping us to live in truth, simplicity, love and service.

ONE MORE DAY TO PUT YOUR PRAYER INTENTIONS ON THE ALTAR DURING THIS SPECIAL TIME OF THE DIVINE MOTHER!
Send to margdevi@yahoo.com.

Remember to ask the Divine for what you want. The rule is they cannot help unless asked.... they LIKE to be asked--it's their Divine Purpose to be of help to all of us.

Om Namah Shivaya
Love and light,
Margewww.babaji.net  

Babaji Painting from "Soul Landscapes"http://www.vishwagifts.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=219

http://planetbabaji.com/omline/planetbabaji-tv.html
Mantras: First Section of Sapta Sati--  http://www.babaji.net/PDF/shri_haidiyakhandi_saptasati.pdf

Navaratri Eight:

SARASWATI: The last three days are devoted to Saraswati, the Goddess of
Wisdom, Knowledge and the Arts, wife of Brahma; it is a time of receiving Divine Guidance

on how to properly use all resources sent your way. This is making most efficient and purposeful use of everything you are given.


Night and Day Eight:
Mahagauri - The Great White Goddess
Mahagauri begins at Sunset on October 4 and ends at Sunset on October 5.

Goddess Saraswati is generally depicted with four arms (some pictures may show only two arms),

wearing a white sari and seated on a white lotus. She holds a book and a mala in Her rear two hands,

while the front two hands are engaged in the playing of a lute (veena). Her right leg is shown slightly

pushing against Her left leg. She uses a swan as Her vehicle.

There is a peacock by Her side gazing at Her. This symbolism illustrates the following spiritual ideas:

a.. The lotus is a symbol of the Supreme Reality, and a white lotus also denotes supreme knowledge. By sitting on a lotus, Saraswati signifies that She is Herself rooted in the Supreme Reality, and symbolizes supreme knowledge. The white color symbolizes purity and knowledge. The white sari that the Goddess is wearing denotes that She is the embodiment of pure knowledge.


b.. The four arms denote Her omnipresence and omnipotence. The two front arms indicate Her activity in the physical world and the two back arms signify Her presence in the spiritual world. The four hands represent the four elements of the inner personality. The mind (manas) is represented by the front right hand, the intellect (buddhi) by the front left hand, the conditioned consciousness (chitta) by the rear left hand, and the ego (ahankara) by the rear right hand.


c.. The left side of the body symbolizes the qualities of the heart and the right side symbolizes activities of the mind and intellect. A book in the rear left hand signifies that knowledge acquired must be used with love and kindness to promote prosperity of mankind.


d.. The mala signifies concentration, meditation, and contemplation, leading to samadhi, or union with God. A mala in the rear right hand representing ego conveys that true knowledge acquired with love and devotion melts the ego and results in liberation (moksha) of the seeker from the bondage to the physical world.


e.. The Goddess is shown playing a musical instrument that is held in Her front hands, which denote mind and intellect. This symbol conveys that the seeker must tune his mind and intellect in order to live in perfect harmony with the world. Such harmonious living enables the individual to utilize acquired knowledge for the welfare of all mankind.


f.. Two swans are depicted on the left side of the Goddess. A swan is said to have a sensitive beak that enables it to distinguish pure milk from a mixture of milk and water. A swan, therefore, symbolizes the power of discrimination, or the ability to discriminate between right and wrong or good and bad. Saraswati uses the swan as Her carrier. This indicates that one must acquire and apply knowledge with discrimination for the good of mankind. Knowledge that is dominated by ego can destroy the world.


g.. A peacock is sitting next to Saraswati and is anxiously waiting to serve as Her vehicle. A peacock depicts unpredictable behavior as its moods can be influenced by the changes in the weather. Saraswati is using a swan as a vehicle and not the peacock. This signifies that one should overcome fear, indecision, and fickleness in order to acquire true knowledge.


- Bansi Pandit

Thank you for your continued loving support of the Universal Peace Center's efforts to spread the teachings of Babaji, with the blessings of Divine Mother of Haidakhan.

Blessings to all!
Jai Maha Maya Ki Jai!
Love,
Marge

p.s. Prepare your 'instruments of work' for Day Nine.
On the last day of Navaratri, devotees are asked to bring something to the ceremonies that depicts their 'line of work.' A carpenter could bring a hammer; a plumber a pipe wrench; a doctor a stethoscope; a writer a notebook; a computer person a 'mouse'; you know what represents your work. Have that ready for your prayers on Day Nine (the last day of the Navaratri).
This item is blessed during the ceremony, for continued work devoted to the Divine and for abundance and prosperity through that work.

Maha Saraswati: Godess of Wisdom and the Arts

http://www.planetbabaji.com/omline/planetbabaji-tv.html

Mantras for today: 700 Names no. 649-700
Navaratri Seven: Kalaratri - Kali Night of no MoonKalaratri is the one who destroys ignorance and removes darkness. She is also known as Shubhamkari.
In this form she is believed to have licked the blood of demon Rakta Beeja who had the capacity to bring out thousand demons from a drop of blood spilt from his body.

This is the most violent form of Durga. This form primarily depicts that life also has dark side – the violent Mother Nature-- and creates havoc and removes all dirt.

SARASWATI: The last three days are devoted to Saraswati, the Goddess of Wisdom, Knowledge and the Arts, wife of Brahma; it is a time of receiving Divine
Guidance on how to properly use all resources sent your way. This is making most
efficient and purposeful use of everything you are given.

Night and Day Seven:
Kalaratri - Kali Night of no Moon
Kalaratri begins at sunset on Oct.3 and ends at sunset on Oct. 4..
The goddess called Night of Time, Kalaratri, represents nirvana.

What is Nirvana?
Nirvana literally means "The blowing out of a candle". The fire that goes out
does not pass away, but merely becomes invisible by passing into a conscious experience of union with All That Is. It refers to entry into another mode of existence and experience. The fire that comes forth is the fire of the self.

This is the "emptiness" which is referred to in many of the teachings. It is an
ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy; the ability to consciously
pause the mind. Om Namah Shivaya.

Babaji tells us that when we feel the 'emptiness' inside--like a black hole-- we have the urge to fill it with the Unreal (emotions, relationships, wealth, power, knowledge) just to avoid the emptiness. Babaji tells us, also, that the "emptiness" is where He resides. He is the No Thing and the No Body.

Enjoy and embrace the emptiness of the Seventh Night of Navaratri.
When it is time to fill it, do so consciously with Truth, Simplicity, Love, Service, and the Name of God.

Bhole Baba Ki Jai!
Where the Mother is honored, the Father also Appears.
Om Namah Shivaya
TSL
Love and light,Marge

P.S. Please keep sending your prayer requests. Donations appreciated. The daily Fire Ceremony is at 10:08 AM Central Time. Sponsorships still available. 
The altar is 'lit up' with the Light of Devotion through your hearts.