Lessons from Trees

While surfing the net I found a very beautiful teaching that a tree is giving to us ..I strongly felt it should be the part of my blog ..

1. It's important to have roots.
2. In today's complex world, it pays to branch out.
3. If you really believe in something, don't be afraid to go out on a limb.
4. Be flexible so you don't break when a harsh wind blows.
5. Sometimes you have to shed your old bark in order to grow.
6. If you want to maintain accurate records, keep a log.
7. It's okay to be a late bloomer.
8. Avoid people who would like to cut you down.
9. As you approach the autumn of your life, you will show your true colors.
10. You could be Brilliant! in other words "bloom where you are planted."

IMPROVE YOUR LUCK THROUGH TREE PLANTATION

Few days before I was walking on road ,enjoying the drizzling and suddenly I started observing

 so many mango peepal madar gular gulmohar etc  saplings are growing near drain ,wall or road side.. I felt very much sorry for them  becoz I know their life is only for few months then they will die due to lack of proper space and care..

EVER SINCE the birth of human beings on planet earth, man has been completely dependent on natural resources around him for his survival and basic needs. The story of evolution of civilization is the story of acquisition of knowledge regarding these natural resources and their utilisation for human welfare. Since the very beginning, men have used plants for' their basic requirements of food, fodder, fuel, fiber, spices, condiments, oil, timber and medicine. If plants can express themselves, they will have the same opinion for men as man has for the parasite like the flea and germ living on him

In Indian astrology every nakshatra and zodiac sign has a governing tree.

The herbal properties of these trees are also known since ages.It is said that one should sit to meditate below the governing tree of ones nakshatra as it helps to calm down the mind . Plantation of these trees ward off the evil effect planets in the  birth chart  and helps the person to improve his prosperity..

 *Astrologically, Mercury governs the brain and its activity is governed by the Sun. Both these planets govern the walnut.
 The two lobes of the' seeds of coffea arabica (coffee) are apparently identical to the two cerebral lobes of the brain which are governed by Neptune .
 The seeds of dolichus labab (kidney bean) and anthyllis vulneraria (kidney vetch) resemble the kidneys.
 Venus governs kidneys and these plants are also governed by Venus.
Sabal serrlata governs the diseases of kidney, prostate and ovaries which are again ruled by Venus.
The Sun governs cardiospermum viola which is used for relief m cardiac troubles.
 The Moon governs lunuraria annua (moonwort) and pennisetvm sagina (pearl). 
  Mercury governs mercurialis anuua (Mercury weed).
Tylophora asthmatica is governed by by Moon and acts as a medicine for the cure of asthma which is also governed by the Moon.
 Jupiter governs liver and Jupiter governs marchantia potymorpha (liverwort) is used as a medicine for the cure of liver attaints.
Saturn governs gout and also aeogopodbm padagraric (goutwort), a medicine for gout
 Mercury governs memory and bacopa moniera (Brahmi) governed by Mercury acts as a medicine for memory.
This clearly indicates that the plants, which are governed by a particular planet, have the property to cure the diseases caused by the respective planet .
Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi) and Ocimum album chiefly govern skin diseases,, worms, leprosy and chronic disorders.
Mercury and Venus govern all these diseases as well as both the plants at the time of flowering.
 Strobilathus kuchenchinevsis flowers after 18 years and astrologically, the 18-year period is assigned to Rahu.

Planets, Herbs and Stones Another type of analogy between planets and herbs is that some parts of herbs used as a substitute for a particular gem are assigned to a planet as has been shown in Table I.

To reduce the ill-effects of planets, meditation, contemplation, havan and precious stones were often   resorted to, but precious stones being costly, were, at times, not within the reach of the common man. Therefore, roots of the plants have been used as a substitute for precious stones as shown in Table 1. Table 1 Plants, Planets and Gems

SI. Na	Botanical name of plant	Vernacular Name	Planet	Stone or Gem
1	Aegle marmelos	Bael	Sun	Ruby
2	Mimusops hexandra	Khimi	Moon	Pearl
3	Hemidesmus indicus	Indian sarsaparilla	Mars	Coral
4	Opuntia dillenii	Nagfani	Mars	Coral
5	Clerodendron serratum	Bharangi	Jupiter	Topaz
6	Curcuma longa	Haldi	Jupiter	Yellow sappier
7	Musa saplmtum	Keta	Jupiter	Yellow agate
8	Tephrosia purpuma	Purple	Venus	Diamond
9	Punfca granatum	Anar	Venus	Diamond
to	Rubia cordifolia	Indian maddar	Venus	Diamond
11	Ricinus commnuis	Eranda	Venus	Zircon
12	Rumex vesicarkis	Sorrel	Venus	Zircon
13	Lettsomia nervosa	Argyreta	Mercury	Emerald
14	Pterocarpus santalanus	Latchandan	Saturn	Blue sapphire
15	Santalum album	Chandan	Rahu	Gomed
16	Rauwolphia seipentina	Sarpagandha	Rahu	Alexandria
17	Withania somnifera	Ashwagandha	Keta	Cats eye

Indeed, havan is a scientific method to cure disease though inhalation of the vapour and smoke emanating through the havan. Plants were classified into 9 groups to match the 9 planets for offering into the havan as samidha. Table 2 shows the classification as given in Garuda Purana.

Table 2

Samidha for Planets for yagya and havan.

Planet	Vernacular Name	Latin Name
sun	ArK (Niaoar)	Calotropis procera
Moon	Palash (Dhak)	Butea monosperma
Mars	Khadir (Khair)	Acacia catechu
Mercury	Apamarg (LaQira)	Achyranthus aspera
Jupiter	Pipal	Ficus religiosa
Venus	Audumbar (gular)	Ficus glomerata
Saturn	Shami	Prosopis cineraria
Rahu	Durva	Cynadon dactylon
Ketu	Kusha	Desmostachya biptnoata

According to Bhahvishya Purana, Rajdharma Kaustubh Khand:
By planting 1 peepul (ficus religiosa), 1 neem (Azadiracht indica) 1 bargad (ficus bengalensis / banyan), 10 Imli (Tamarindus indica), 3 Kaith ( (Limonia acidissima / elephant apple), 3 vilva (aegle marmelos / bilva), 3 amla (Indian gooseberry- Phyllanthus embilica), and five mango (mangifera indica), one can never go to hell.

Beside this from my fifteen years of the study of astrology I could say that,

if your horoscope have  Rahu shani yuti  then  plantation of peepal sapling could please the shani.
Plantation of two banana trees near temple is a one remedy of rahu guru yuti..
Plantation of  mango tree or the donation of mango tree with land is the one remedy of rahu mangal yuti. Plantation of neem tree is also a remedy of planet mangal..
plantation of peepal or Vat  could lessen the effect of Pitru dosha in the kundali..
plantation of amala tree strengthen the planet Mercury.
Plantation of five tulsi in the house is also a gud remedy of budh..
planet Sun could be strengthen by planting sunflower..
Plantation watering to bel( bilva) makes lord shiva happy. plantation of bilva along with shewt aark(shewt madar) is auspicious.
Banana tree represent lord vishnu and its plantation with tulsi is a easy way to appease  lord satynarayna.

• Ashoka  as name suggest removes shok and santaap.
  
  The following trees can be planted for planetary benefits depending on the twelve  moon signs and ascendants :
  
  1. Aries - Mesh: Apple, Mango, Litchee, Guava, Papaya, Rose, China rose ,Amala.
  2. Taurus - Vrishabh: Lemon, Grapes, Rajanigandha, Chameli, Sandalwood, Peepal, Neem.
  3. Gemini - Mithun: Amla, Ashoka, Tamarind, Chameli, Grapes, Neem.
  4. Cancer - Karka: Chameli, Banana, Papaya, Mango, Rose, Guava, Silver oak Ashoka. 
  5. Leo - Simha: Sheesham, Mango, Sunflower, Rose, Guava, Orange.
  6. Virgo - Kanya: Neem, Amla, Lemon, Neem, Peepal.
  7. Libra - Tula: Sandalwood, Rajanigandha, Neem, Peepal, Banyan, Lemon, Chameli, Harsingar.
  8. Scorpio - Vrishchik: Rose, Guava, Mango, Apple, Pineapple.
  9. Sagittarius - Dhanu: Banana, Papaya, Mango, Rose, Apple, Orange, Belphal.
  10. Capricorn - Makar: Banyan, Peepal, Neem, Chameli, Sandalwood, Jojoba.
  11. Aquarius - Kumbh: Banyan, Peepal, Neem, Lemon, Harsingar, Jojoba.
  12. Pisces - Meen: Mango, Papaya, Banana, Apple, Rose, China Rose, Belphal. 
  
  
  ..We could take small initiative like
• Gifting plants on auspicious occasions
• offering  flowers along with  plants to god instead of only flower and later we could plant it in our home/society as Prasad and feel the blessings daily. it will reduce the pollution in river and lakes caused by Nirmalya..
• we could use  four banana plant as pillar in pooja instead of their trunk and could offer whole  tulsi plants to lord ..later we could distribute all plants among devotees as Prasad.

As these plants will grow your prosperity will start increasing...

so in this rainy season isn't a good idea to give these orphan plants a new life...
   
Toxic Indoor Plants
Non toxic Indoor plants
Importance of Peepal Tree
Interesting fact about Basil

*According  to a research paper on astrological factors and the efficacy of Ayurvedic plants based on a study undertaken by the authors who are from Indira Gandhi Academy of Environmental Education, Research and Eco planning, Jiwaji University , Gwalior . - astrological magazine February 2002

Meditation part 5

Basic Meditation Exercise To Try At home

A way to Relax

This is a basic meditation exercise that you can try from the comfort of your own home. I have practiced this with success several times, so I know it works.
If you have a meditation timer, set it for 20 minutes. Otherwise use any regular alarm clock that doesn't have a very strong and loud noise.
Between each step allow a few seconds to pass, so that your mind can absorb and follow the instructions in the meditation script.
Make sure you are alone and rested. Don't meditate if you feel ill or in a bad mood, as it won't work and you will just get frustrated.
If you have any thoughts entering your mind during the meditation, it is ok. All you simply need to do is turn your inner gaze and your focus towards your body. Simply let those thoughts fade away.

The Meditation Steps

1.Sit in your favorite meditation position, using the posture that you are most comfortable with.

2.Close your eyes.

3.Take a few deep breaths and after that simply continue breathing naturally. Don't force your breath to be deep or shallow.

4.Focus your attention to the top of your head. Imagine that you are looking from outside of yourself to the top of your head and your shoulders.

5.Feel your head relax.

6.Focus on your forehead. Feel it relax.

7.Focus your attention on your eyes: your eyebrows, your eyelids and your eye muscles. Sense how they are also relaxing along.

8.Now move gently your inner eyes to your cheecks and let the cheeks relax.

9.Next travel to your nose, feel it relax. Feel how you inhale the fresh air through your nostrils. Let the nostrils do your work while they relax as well.

10.Focus on your mouth, feel your upper lips and your lower lips relax. Let just a tiny space open between your lips. Keep the tongue either behind the lower teeth or touching lightly the upper palate. Let your entire mouth relax.

11.Now travel down to your neck and shoulder muscles. Let them gently relax.

12.Focus your attention on your upper arms, on your lower arms, on your hands, palms and fingers one at a time. As you travel your focus to each of these parts, give each the command to relax, to sleep.

13.Let your inner eye wander over your upper back, your lower back and your hips. Feel them relax with the easy gaze of your eyes traveling along them.

14.Now focus on your chest, your lungs, your stomach and your belly area. Feel each one at a time and then let them relax.

15.Feel your thighs and then let them relax as well.

16.Travel with your mind' eyes down on your legs, starting with the upper legs, your knees, your lower legs, your ankles, your feet and your toes. Feel each part relax gently under the caress of your inner eyes.

17.Once you have reached each spot on your body and let it relax, scan again briefly your entire body for tension spots. If you find any, release those tension spots. Allow them to relax.
Maybe you have a tense muscle in one of your legs. Contract those muscles and then release them to relax. The tension should leave with this fast movement followed by the relaxation instruction.

18.Now simply sit for a few moments in this relaxing position and enjoy the feeling of not having any tension in your body. Feel how your mind is also calm, relaxed.

19.If you have used a meditation alarm clock or timer then simply sit in this comfortable position until the sounding of the alarm.

20.When it's time to end your meditation, with the eyes still closed, come back to the now by remembering something that you did just prior to starting the meditation. This will anchor you back in the present and will ground you.

21.Now open your eyes and enjoy the new calm that you are experiencing.

Meditation part 4

                                                                Chakra balancing meditation

Chakra balancing meditation helps your body with opening, clearing and harmonizing the chakras through meditation techniques.
The chakras, most commonly, refer to the seven major energy centers in the body that run along the spine. They start at the tailbone and go upward to the crown of the head. The word, chakra, simply means wheel, and these are typically seen as spiraling circles of light.
Before starting a chakra meditation, it is important to ground and center. One of the best ways to center and balance that is by sitting in a comfortable position on the chair with the feet touching the floor.

•Take a few deep breaths to relax and calm my mind.
1.Bring your focus to your breath for ten long, deep inhales. Let it fill your belly, then your lungs until both are stretched to capacity.

2.Then, gently let the air out from the chest, then the belly, by blowing it through your teeth.

3.After ten breaths you should feel very relaxed. Keep breathing long and deep as you begin to focus at the base of the spine.
•Next imagine (or visualize or feel) roots growing from my feet going down to the center of the Earth. It starts a a thin root, and eventually it grows big and thick so that the connection to the Earth becomes very strong.

4.Start at the spot between your legs, where the root chakra lies. You want to shift your mental attention and breath to this area. Picture a spiraling ball of light and start to make it grow with your mind until it surrounds your entire being. Imagine that the ball is spinning clockwise. Let it fill the room, the world or the universe. Let it become as big or small as it wants, but don't shrink it from its original size. Then, bring it back to a normal size and put it back in place in the body. You, may notice it is glowing more intensely now.

5.Next, bring your focus just below the tailbone, where the sacral chakra is and picture a small, swiftly circling ball of orange light. Grow it outward just as you did the color red, letting it fill your mind, then your body, and then letting it become as big as it wants before bringing it back down and placing it in its position.

6.Shift your attention, now, to the belly button. This core chakra called the solar plexus chakra uses the color yellow. Work with it in the same manner as the last two colors.

7.Then, move on to the heart chakra, located in the center of the chest. The color for this chakra is green. Feel free to pull your shoulders back and down slightly and straighten your spine upward, lifting the heart as you meditate on this center. Typically, we experience a large chakra blockage here.

8.Spend as much time as you like, then move on to the throat chakra, just behind the front of the throat, and see the color blue. If you get the urge to sing out or chant, allow that to happen. Don't try to control what is said, and don't judge yourself for it. If, instead, your throat feels constricted, feel free to stretch it by letting your head drop down and back, exposing your throat to the sky or ceiling.

9.After the throat chakra, bring your focus between the eyes and up slightly to the third eye. The third eye chakra likes the color  indigo. Meditate on this color the same as before.

10.When you are ready, move to the seventh and final crown chakra, which likes the color violet, or dark purple, and the color white. Let these colors pour out of the crown of your head, and then imagine each color rising up the spine and blending into pure white light as it leaves through the top of your skull.

Main Benefits

Balancing the chakras with a chakra clearing meditation by beginning to work with them helps clear away ignorance and bring about clear seeing.
It opens us to the wisdom and power of the universe, while simultaneously strengthening us, healing past wounds, and opening our hearts.
Relationships, issues with money, and grief we cannot let go of are all examples of the obstructions being cleared away as we focus on these energy centers and cleanse them. Each time we do a chakra cleansing or balancing meditation, it yields new insights, and refreshes us mentally and spiritually.


 

meditation part 3

                                         Zen meditation

This meditation is the process of sitting quietly in the meditative sitting position which allows you to empty your mind from any chit chatter and appearing thoughts.
Modern Zen meditation technique comes to us from Mahayana Buddhism. Zen meditation is, at its base, the practice of sitting still, of doing absolutely nothing.

That may sound very simple and easy, but for those of us in the tumult of the modern world, reaching that Zen level can take quite a bit of effort.
To understand the purpose of the Zen meditation technique below, you must first understand how your mind works.
We have two sides of the brain, the left side and the right side.
Your left side is logic. This is where your thoughts are formed and processed, the thinking side of your brain.
The right side is your creativity center. Music, art, love, hate, and all other emotions are processed on the right side. The right side is your ‘feeling’ side.

When following the Zen meditation technique, the right side of the brain is used so that thoughts will not be processed as they are in your daily life.

This is truly a very simple method to learn even though it may take a long time to master.

Accessories for this meditation technique

Since Zen meditation is best practiced sitting in a lotus or half-lotus position, you will need a mat and a small cushion to raise your behind a bit.
Make sure you are wearing loose, comfortable clothing.

Proper posture

It is highly suggested that you sit in the lotus position (cross legged with your right foot on your left thigh and your left foot on your right thigh) or in a half-lotus position (cross legged with your right foot on your left thigh and your left foot under your right thigh).
However, if you have trouble sitting cross legged on the floor, using a stool or chair is ok.
You must keep your spine straight and your hands touching in your lap. You should be comfortable but not in danger of falling asleep.

Instructions for Zen meditation technique

1.Once you are situated and in your preferred posture, take a deep and clearing breath, exhale slowly and completely.

2.Begin to breathe naturally.

3.Look at your left hand; do not move the left hand, just gaze at it. If thoughts come to mind, push them aside. Just look, without thinking, at your hand.

4.Become aware of the left side of your body, just sense that side of your body. Allow yourself only to feel it.
This step stimulates your right brain and sets it in motion. All of those random thoughts from the left side of the mind will begin to dissipate.

5.Now, you will begin to take deep breaths counting each inhalation and each exhalation.

6.Inhale deeply…one

7.Exhale completely…two

8.Inhale deeply…three

9.Exhale completely…four

10.Continue deep breathing to the count of ten.

Anapanasati meditation (Anapana)

                               Anapanasati Meditation 

It is also a  Buddhist Meditation. In 10 days vipassana course , we are taught how to do Anapana meditation at first and we have to practice it for first few  days.and believe me it is one of the best meditation I have learnt. With in the first three days of the course, body started detoxifying and mind started to become little bit calm and focused...
While sitting, we simply watch our breath and notice its length without any judgement of why the breath is too long or too short. Focusing on the breath is the only object of this meditation.

The few simple steps to practice the Anapanasati meditation method:

1.Sit on the mat with  back in a straight posture allowing for a straight spine.

2. Allow shoulders relax while placing both hands in your lap facing up..

3.Close eyes and start focusing on breath.

4.Start feeling the spot where   the air blowing out of nostrils including above the lips. When we exhale, that spots gets hit with the air and it trembles slightly.

5.Following that particular spot above the  lips, called anapana (hence the Anapanasati meditation) both when we breath in and breath out.

6. we have to simply observe in our mind when the breath is short, or when it is longer and we should not try to adjust it. The short breath is called Rassam pajanati, and the long breath is called Digham pajanati.


Benefits of Anapanasati meditation

This technique has several benefits that everyone who is practicing it regularly can achieve it:
•Improving focus (due to the constant focus on the breathing)

•Helping with slowing the aging process

Meditation

 Meditation is a process - a fun and relaxing one at that - which allows the mind to get into a state of calm and relaxation that helps the body restore its depleted energy.

Meditation can be anything you want it to be. In other words we can achieve from it anything that you really want to achieve: bliss, a state of zen, enlightenment, communion with God or other higher power, de-stress, relaxation, or body and mind rejuvenation.
You can find out who you really are at your core - who your inner self is - if this is what you are searching for when embarking on learning this practice.
Or, like me when first starting out - you might simply be burned out by the ongoing stress at your 9-5 day job, the endless meetings, angry words with your co-workers, money and financial problems, stress at home, you name it.
There are different types of meditation like Zen meditation, simple breathing excercise, meditation on
God etc. i have collected some tried and tested meditation technique and now i m going to share with u..hope u will  get benefit.

Breathing meditation

   Simple Breathing Excercise

The key to deep breathing is to breathe deeply from the abdomen, getting as much fresh air as possible in your lungs. When you take deep breaths from the abdomen, rather than shallow breaths from your upper chest, you inhale more oxygen. The more oxygen you get, the less tense, short of breath, and anxious you feel.
Sit comfortably with your back straight. Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
Breathe in through your nose.
The hand on your stomach should rise.
The hand on your chest should move very little.
Exhale through your mouth, pushing out as much air as you can while contracting your abdominal muscles.
The hand on your stomach should move in as you exhale, but your other hand should move very little.
Continue to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try to inhale enough so that your lower abdomen rises and falls. Count slowly as you exhale.