• Chanting,  Spirituality

    “How to be victorious?” according to Lord Rama

    I had written a poem about Buddha couple of years back and posted it yesterday in this blog because it was Buddha Purnima. It went like this: “With Dhamma as its wheel, Equanimity as the goal, Truth as its chariot, Buddha as the charioteer, Move forward in the path of Liberation.” Poem “Buddha” by Sri Laxmi I had a nice synchronicity yesterday evening as I was reading Lanka Kanda in Goswami Tulsidas Ji’s Ramcharitamanas which had a wonderful scene where Lord Rama explains how to attain Victory at all times. Lord Rama is seen going to the war barefoot and without a chariot. Vibhishana is disconcerted by seeing this and…

  • Chanting,  Spirituality

    The unexpected gift

    I have been reading Goswami Tulsidas Ji’s Ramacharitmanas since 2012 usually around Ram Navami. I learned about this sacred scripture from a Shukla Yajurvedi priest in the temple I used to frequent in the U.S. I just joined and started chanting the Manas as part of Akhanda Ramayan (24 hour) path or as Saptah (as 7 day or 9 day parayana) in the temple community. The language Awadhi is simple and anyone can start chanting. That is one of the greatest beauty of this scripture. So I used to read it with around 8-10 others in the temple in U.S. as part of Ram Navami celebrations. This year I got…