The Aerial Cinema experts at Teton Gravity Research released the first ultra HD footage of the Himalayas, shot from above 20,000 ft, with the GSS C520 system. It is said to be the most advanced Gyro-Stabilized camera system in the world. Filmed from a helicopter with a crew flying from Kathmandu at 4,600 to 24,000 ft.

Breathtaking. Never seen the Himalayas so beautiful. With Mt. Everest and nearby peaks.

Must watch video. Full screen.

Once actor Balraj Sahni asked the Nobel Laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore, “You have written the National Anthem for India, can you write an International anthem for the whole world?”
“It has already been written, not only international but for the entire universe, in the 16th century by Nanak”, replied Tagore. He referred to the Sikh Arti (ceremony of light) Gurudev Tagore was so enamoured of this arti that he personally translated it into Bangla language.
As legend has it, in 1508 CE
Guru Nanak Dev visited the famous temple of Jagannath at Puri in Orrisa, which was very well known for its arti for Lord Krishna. In the evening, priests brought a platter full of many lighted lamps, flowers, incense and pearls and began the arti…
Guru Nanak Sahib meanwhile spontaneously gave words to the wonderful arti which was being hummed by Nature before the invisible altar of God, the creator of this universe:

रागु धनासरी महला १ ॥
Raag Dhanaasree, First Mehl:

गगन मै थालु रवि चंदु दीपक बने
तारिका मंडल जनक मोती ॥

(Upon that cosmic plate of the sky, the sun and the moon are the lamps. The stars and their orbs are the studded pearls)

धूपु मलआनलो पवणु चवरो करे
सगल बनराइ फूलंत जोती ॥१॥

(The fragrance of sandalwood in the air is the temple incense and the wind is the fan. All the plants of the world are the altar flowers in offering to You, O Luminous Lord)

कैसी आरती होइ ॥

(What a beautiful Aartee, lamp-lit worship service this is!)

भव खंडना तेरी आरती ॥

(O Destroyer of Fear, this is
Your Ceremony of Light)

अनहता सबद वाजंत भेरी ॥१॥ रहाउ ॥

(The Unstruck Sound-current of the Shabad is the vibration of the temple drums)

सहस तव नैन नन नैन हहि तोहि कउ
सहस मूरति नना एक तोही ॥

(You have thousands of eyes, and yet You have no eyes. You have thousands of forms, and yet You do not have even one)

सहस पद बिमल नन एक पद गंध बिनु
सहस तव गंध इव चलत मोही ॥२॥

(You have thousands of Lotus Feet, and yet You do not have even one foot. You have no nose, but you have thousands of noses. This Play of Yours entrances me)

सभ महि जोति जोति है सोइ ॥

(Amongst all is the Light -You are that Light)

तिस दै चानणि सभ महि चानणु होइ ॥

(By this Illumination, that Light
is radiant within all)

गुर साखी जोति परगटु होइ ॥

(Through the Guru’s Teachings, the Light shines forth)

जो तिसु भावै सु आरती होइ ॥३॥

(That which is pleasing to Him is the lamp-lit worship service)

हरि चरण कवल मकरंद लोभित मनो
अनदिनो मोहि आही पिआसा ॥

(My mind is enticed by the honey -sweet Lotus Feet of the Lord. Day and night, I thirst for them)

क्रिपा जलु देहि नानक सारिंग कउ
होइ जा ते तेरै नाइ वासा ॥४॥३॥

(Bestow the Water of Your Mercy upon, says Nanak, the thirsty song-bird, so that he may come to dwell in Your Name).

Guru Granth Sahib, page 13

Late one afternoon, Master and Brother Anandamoy were walking behind the retreat at 29 Palms. Master pointed to the rear gate and said: “Could you pour a slab of concrete by that gate?”

Brother replied: “Sure, I’ll do it first thing in the morning.”

“Do it now!” was Guruji’s response.

Brother said: “But, sir, that is impossible. In just a little while the sun will set and it will be dark. There is not enough time.”

And Master concluded their conversation by saying: “You can do it.” Then he left.

Brother doubted that he would be able to finish in time. But he figured that he could always sledge-hammer the slab, break it up, if it didn’t work out. However, wishing to be obedient to his Guru, he immediately got busy. So he dug up the ground, built the frame, mixed the cement. And he didn’t have a cement mixer. He had to mix the sand and concrete and water by hand. And then, not having a wheel barrel, he had to transport the fresh cement with buckets. But even though he worked as fast as he could, he just wasn’t able to complete the job in time. The sun had set and it was too dark to continue.

Brother sat there beside his buckets of hardening cement and felt utter despair. His consciousness was a whirlpool of dejection. He had not fulfilled his Guru’s wishes. And what’s more, Master had even told him he could do it.

Then, all of a sudden, Brother noticed it began to get lighter. And still lighter. He couldn’t believe it. “How can this be happening? It’s night-time.” In the next moment the full moon rose from behind the trees. “Oh, no!” Brother thought, “I forgot about that stupid moon! But Master didn’t. He knew there would be a full moon.”

Quietly Brother walked over to the retreat and peeked into the window. Master was engrossed in dictating his commentaries on the Gita. Brother sighed in relief and thought: “Master is so busy with his work that he wasn’t aware of my plight, my frazzled consciousness, my lack of faith.”

Then Brother Anandamoy got busy pouring the cement before it became too hard. Finally he troweled the surface and triumphantly stood over the finished slab. His consciousness was as clear as a mountain lake. He turned and started to walk over to the retreat to let Master know he had fulfilled his wishes. Halfway there he ran into Master, who had this knowing smile on his face. Before Brother could get out a word, Guruji began to give him a long lecture on the value of even-mindedness.

(Key: Learning to surrender in the face of something we think we can’t do. Realizing that if we’re willing, it won’t be that bad, the moon will come up, Master will help us.)

~~~~~~~
Story shared in the SRF Devotee Newsletter

Your duty is ‘To Be’ and not to be this or that. ‘I am that I am’ sums up the whole truth. The method is summed up in the words ‘Be still’. What does stillness mean? It means destroy yourself. Because any form or shape is the cause for trouble. Give up the notion that ‘I am so and so’. All that is required to realize the Self is to be still. What can be easier than that?

Ramana Maharshi

Your duty is to be and not to be this or that. ‘I am that I am’ sums up the whole truth. The method is summed up in the words ‘Be still’. What does stillness mean? It means destroy yourself. Because any form or shape is the cause for trouble. Give up the notion that ‘I am so and so’. All that is required to realize the Self is to be still. What can be easier than that?

– Raman Maharishi

The world is addicted to plastic. It was once sold to consumers as the product of the future, a symbol of the modern times to come. But decades later the reality is that the earth is choking on it.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, only 9 percent of plastic is making its way into the recycling stream.

“That’s a people problem. They throw it on the street, or throw it in the ocean. Unfortunately it’s a habit that has to be stopped,” says Leon Farahnik, chairman of Carbonlite.

Know More:

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/techknow/2016/02/choking-planet-problem-plastic-160207112522231.html

God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why we suffer.

– Ramakrishna Paramahansa

If you are a slave to your senses, you cannot be happy. If you are a master of your desires and appetites, you can be a really happy person. If you overeat against you will; if you wish anything contrary to your conscience; if you act wrongly, forced by your senses, against the wish of your Inner Self, then you cannot be happy. People who are slaves to the senses find that their evil habits compel them to do things that will hurt them. Stubborn bad habits bludgeon your will power every time it tries to take the lead and guide your thoughts to the kingdom of right action. The remedy lies in rescuing your will power from the imprisoning power of the senses.

– Paramahansa Yogananda

There are many stories in the Mahabharata, some which may not be mentioned in the orginal. But many of them are very interesting and provide deep insight.

This is one such story:

While the battle of Kurushetra was at its peak, Arjuna and Karna were fighting each other. It was a battle to witness, a flurry of arrows were being exchanged, and even Gods were witnessing this epic battle between the two warriors.

Arjuna would shoot his arrows and the impact of these arrows would be so much that Karna’s chariot would go back by 25-30 feet. People who witnessed this were amazed by the skills of Arjuna.

Karna was no less. When he shot arrows, Arjuna’s chariot would also shake and go back by a few feet.

More than everyone, Krishna would applaud Karna every time his arrow hit Arjuna’s chariot. But not once did He applaud Arjuna’s skills.

At the end of the day, Arjuna asked Krishna: “Oh Lord, I have shot so many arrows at Karna’s chariot, it was being displaced like a feather in wind, but not once did you appreciate me. Rather, you would appreciate his skill despite his arrows just displacing my chariot a little”.

Krishna smiled and replied “Oh, Arjuna, remember, your chariot is protected by Hanuman at the top on your flag, Me as your charioteer in the front and by Sheshnag at its wheels, yet the whole chariot would still sway and displace whenever the valiant Karna hit us with his arrows”.

“But Karna’s chariot is not protected by any such force, he is on his own, yet he fights valiantly”.

It is said that after the battle of Kurushetra was over, Krishna refused to get off the chariot till Arjuna got down. Once Krishna alighted from the chariot, it caught fire and turned to dust.

Krishna said “Oh Arjuna, your chariot was destroyed by Karna a long time ago, it is I who was still protecting it.”

“Never in your life have the arogance to say that you have achieved something. If you have achieved something, it is the divine will, it is the divine intervention that has always protected you, cleared your path and given you the right opportunities at the right time”

This video is of just 20 seconds. It’s absolutely marvelous. A spider spinning it’s web. Look at the remarkable precision with which he engineer’s his structure with beams and bracings