Positive Thoughts & The Difference between Shiv & Shankar

The Difference between Shiva & Shankar

First of all, who is God Shiva and what is our relationship with Him? Shiva - the name means benefactor - is referred to as paramatma or the Supreme Soul, while all the other gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon are called devi devatas or deities. That is why the prayer, Brahma devaya namah, Vishnu devaya namah, Shankar devaya namah… ends with Shiv paramatmaya namah.

The Supreme Soul, who is incorporeal, is the father of all human souls. That is why all humans, irrespective of the faith they profess, regard and worship God as an incorporeal entity. Being incorporeal, God Shiva cannot be represented by an idol. Therefore Hindus worship Him in the form of the Shivling.

Many people confuse the deity Shankar with Shiva. But the depiction and the attributes of the two should make it clear that they are two different entities. Shankar is a deity having a human form and he is always shown sitting in a meditative state, often before a Shivling. It is clear that He is remembering an entity higher than him, which can only be the Supreme Soul. Shankar is one of the creations of the Creator, Shiva. He is bestowed with the task of destruction of the world when it reaches a state of extreme degradation at the end of Kaliyug, the Iron Age. It is because Shiva and Shankar are two different entities that Shivratri is never called Shankar-ratri.

To learn more about Shiva and Shankar and the proper techniques of Raja Yoga Meditation, please visit your nearest Brahma Kumaris Centre. There is no charge.

Brahma Kumaris Centres in India & Nepal:

http://bkmedia.net/bkcentres/bkcentres.php

http://www.brahmakumaris.com/brahmakumaris-centers.html

Brahma Kumaris Centres Abroad:

http://www.brahmakumaris.org/

Please watch:

Unlock the Mysteries of Shiva - English - Full Movie - Brahma Kumaris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev08hnIcV6U&list=UUVMgCAmuQt7kMEX-2JZ0bXA&feature=c4-overview

Positive Thoughts

To be focused on the goal is to use our potential well.

When I am focused on my goal, I will not be caught up with the side scenes that come my way. Distractions need not necessarily be positive; it can also be in the form of my own weaknesses or challenges from others. When I understand that I am on a journey and I have to move forward to my goal, I will not be distracted by any good or bad scene that comes my way. Today I will clarify my goal and focus my energies towards it. I will do at least one thing that will make me move towards that goal. And if anything happens that disturbs me, I will remind myself that getting stuck there would not help me move forward in my journey.

Be Peaceful

To be successful in every task, you need to have values which you bring
into that task. Whenever I have to do something let me do it with
love, truth and honesty. Let me not be something inside, and something
different outside. This will show through to others. Let me speak
less and do more. Let me do things with peace. So in order to receive
this gift of peace from God, no matter what the circumstances, let me
have true feelings inside and always have the desire to be peaceful. I
am a soul, an embodiment of knowledge, peace, love and bliss. By being
blissful, there is peace in the head and love in the heart - for the
self, for God and for others. People have so many things in their
lives, but if they haven't learnt this, then what's the use of all
those things? Keep this gift with you, and let it show on your face,
so that everyone can see it.

The Invisible Impressions That Shape Me

While the mind and intellect are two faculties of the soul which play their role on the surface of our consciousness; at a deeper level, hidden beneath these two faculties, there lies a third faculty commonly called the sanskaras. The sanskarasis not only a store house of personality traits, as we commonly know it to be, but a store house of millions and millions of impressions or imprints. Such a large number of impressions are created by millions of experiences that I go through my sense organs not only in this life but in all my lifetimes. Everything that I hear, see, touch, taste, etc. I process or analyze or summarize in my own unique way; basically I give the experiences a unique form depending on my personality, before this form gets stored in the form of impressions inside me.I even process my subtle experiences, which are in the form of thoughts and feelings.

This process of experiencing and processing takes place during each and every second of my life including the time I sleep, when my mind may not be experiencing a lot but it is busy processing the physical and subtle experiences of the day that has gone by and storing the processed information in the form of impressions. From this, one can get an idea of the magnitude of the database of impressions stored within me, the being. These imprints which are unique to me, make up my sanskaras, and shape up my unique personality in a cyclic process. My personality shapes what type of impressions are created out of my experiences and the impressions in turn shape my personality, my thoughts, words and actions e.g. if I constantly keep the company of people who gossip, a large number of respective impressions based on the experience of gossiping keep getting stored inside me, which in turn influence my personality, the personality characteristic gets stronger and over a period of time I do not find anything wrong with it and indulge in it more and more. As a result more such impressions get stored. Thus it is a cyclic process.

Blessing: May you be a great donor and give souls a drop of happiness, peace and love through your constant and stable mood.

The mood of you children should always be stable in happiness. It shouldn't be that you sometimes have an off mood and sometimes a happy mood. Those who are constantly great donors never change their mood. To be one who becomes a deity means to become a bestower. No matter what someone gives you, you children who are great donors give all souls a drop of happiness, peace and love. Along with service through the body, remain busy in serving through the mind and you will accumulate double charity.

Slogan: Your specialities are Prabhu-prasad (holy offerings from God). Do not use these just for yourself, but share them with others and increase them.