Darkness Dictionary

Dark night of the soul, spiritual crisis, spiritual madness, spiritual emergency, divine madness, holy madness... these are various phrases that have been used to describe a unique experience - a profound test of faith and spiritual endurance - that seems to be a necessary part of walking the path home to God. You cannot find the Light unless you enter the darkness.

Read more here: » Dark Night Of The Soul: Spiritual Crisis - The Dark Night Of The Soul

The full-moon day in the month of Ashada , is celebraated as Guru Purnima . On this day disciples come together to express their gratitude to their beloved guru , venerated as the embodiment of sage Veda Vyasa. We worship Vyasa as an apostle of truth and wisdom, for having systematised the divine utterances in the form of the four Vedas , the eighteen puranas and the Mahabharata .

Guru Purnima is a special occasion to commemorate Vyasa's service to humanity, and to resolve to follow the path of learning and knowledge.

(See also: Guru Purnima , Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Guru Purnima: Darkness To Light - Guru As Awakener  

The Brahmakumaris practise Raja Yoga, particularly the trataka form of meditation in order to achieve union with God. It involves keeping your eyes open and fixing your gaze on a tiny red spot with total attention. Raja Yoga gives knowledge of self and enables one to attain peace, purity and harmony.

Dawn is preceded by the darkest hour of the night. The Brahmakumaris consider the present time as the most critical period. This will be followed by a new age - the dawn in the great cycle of time. The agent of transition may be the person possessing knowledge of the true self, of a positive soul. One who reaches the highest stage of this knowledge becomes Brahma. The supreme divine being is Shiva, who is an embodiment of knowledge, peace, purity and harmony.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Darkness Before Dawn In Cycle of Yugas

Epiphany: Amid darkness, light

There's a temptation to feel a little bit of a letdown this time of year, even after a really great holiday season. And there's unrest in many places vying for center stage on news broadcasts around the world. Not all the darkness is outside; our hearts have been touched and saddened.

Read more here: » Christian Science: Epiphany - Amid darkness, light

Dreams play a very important part of our subconscious guidance and will often bring messages even important warnings to us.
- You should give a particular attention to dreams offering incredible images, Dr Turi explains in this article.

Read more here: » Meaning of Dreams: Astrological perspective on Dreams

Will we destroy ourselves in ecological catastrophe, human misery, and war? Seismologists and "sensitives" are increasingly talking about major earth changes to come, economic analysts are increasingly talking about a collapse of the global economy, and ecologists are increasingly talking about a breakdown of the entire global ecosystem. Of course we cannot remain in denial about the ecological and political realities on our planet. Somewhere between an ungrounded spiritual escapism based on denial, and a narcissistic preoccupation with gloom and doom, we can choose to intentionally and purposefully envision a brave new world based on the deepest truth of our being. In order to do this we must consciously face our own shadows, seek a genuine hope, commit to rebirth, and open to the light of our guiding truth.

Read more here: » Earth Changes and planetary transformation - the supramental awakening and planetary hope

Very soon the planet is entering into the window some believe is the entrance to the Golden Age; The Venus Transits of June 8 2004 and June 6 2012. This will be celebrated with a global prayer for oneness all over the world. Please join this celebration and help to spread the word. This article by Kiara Windrider gives an inspiring background to the event and its significance.

Please relay the message about the Oneness Celebration to everyone in your network and if you have a website, please feel free to publish this article there.

Read more here: » Venus Transit: A call for Global Oneness

The Blessed Lord said: “Many births have been left behind by Me and by thee, O Arjuna, I know them all, but thou knowest not thine, O Parantapa.

The death and dying and the life after death has always fascinated man. This is an excerpt from the book What Becomes Of The Soul After Death by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Soul After Death: What Does The Gita Say On Life After Death

The year 2005 comes under the banner of 'Spirituality' and is ruled by the strongest God Force represented by number 7.

In Western Astrology, this number is associated with the watery planet Neptune and in Hindu Astrology it swings to the moods of the half-planet Ketu.

It is said that during our time, which is in 'kaliyug' (the era of darkness), Rahu, Ketu and Saturn have become more powerful and active than other planets and exert maximum influence on mankind and the earth as a whole.

(See also: Spiritual Awakening , Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Spiritual Awakening: 2005 - The Year Of Spiritual Awakening  

In the stillness of the night, when not a sound breaks the hushed silence, they timorously creep into your mind. Fragile, flittering forms—often more real than reality—seek you out from the deepest abyss of your soul and open for you a vista of visions—nonsensical, terrifying, fantastic—and sometimes, just sometimes, hauntingly beautiful. You wake up with a lump in your throat that threatens to cascade down your eyes, a lingering nostalgia for something near, yet eternity away. But weren't you closer to believing, even then, that somewhere, all that you saw was real; that, beyond the tangible truth of ticking time, you had lived one moment of timeless infinity? Perhaps that's the secret. The chance to glimpse beyond. Why else should we take a dream, those phantasms of the chaotic unconscious, so seriously?

Read more here: » Meaning of Dreams: Dream Works

Diwali is a time of the year when families, friends and communities come together in a spirit of celebration and joy. Diwali is the time, according to the version popular north of Vindhyas, when Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after spending 14 years in exile.

However, the deeper meaning of Diwali is celebration of the message of Lord Rama's life of sacrifice and dharma.

(See also: Diwali , Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Diwali: The Significance of Celebrating Diwali  

Very few recognise the importance of seeking out a guru whom they can look to for guidance.

Guru is not God but God is guru because the guru leads the disciple from darkness to light. God encompasses both light and darkness; He is formless, omnipotent, immovable, and immortal. The guru is a glass of water from the ocean called God. An ideal guru-shishya relationship would be one of friendship and the student should feel free to question his teacher. Both are united by unconditional love, in a relationship that transcends the physical, mental, emotional and the intellectual involvement. Such a relationship has the capacity to weather any storm.

(See also: Advantage of Guru , Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Advantage of Guru: Reach for the Rays Of Truth Within - About Guru  

Most world leaders, international organisations and so-called peace summits tend to define peace in the shadow of war, as 'a situation where there is no war"between nations.

By doing so they are actually taking a negative view. By viewing the positive element in contrast to the negative, we will end up underrating the former'spotential. By defining light as the 'absence of darkness"or, life as the 'absence of death", we assign greater importance to the powers of darkness and death, or in the case of peace, to war, rather than peace.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Peace Is More Than No War

There are varieties of hells that a Jiva has to experience in accordance with the Karmas which he does through sin and passion. Twenty-nine kinds of regions of sufferings are described in the Bhagavata, when Jivas are said to be born due to their Karmas

This is an excerpt from the book What Becomes Of The Soul After Death by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Lokas Or Planes: Karmas And Hells

December 21 - Winter Solstice - Yule

'Yule' means 'wheel', for now the wheel of the year has reached a turning point, with the longest night of the year. This is the seedpoint of the solar year, mid-winter, time of greatest darkness when we seek within ourselves to comprehend our true nature. In virtually all Pagan religions, this is the night the Great Mother Goddess gives birth to the baby Sun God, because from this day forward, the days begin to lengthen, light is waxing. The Christian religion adopted this theme as the birthday of Jesus, calling it 'Christmas'. The alternative fixed calendar date of December 25th (called 'Old Yule' by some Covens) occurs because, before various calendar changes, that was the date of the solstice.

Read more here: » Wiccan Holidays: December 21 - Winter Solstice - Yule

The Indigo life is no bed of roses. If you have read some of the particular traits of Indigo people, you have learned that we have quite a bit stacked against us in our early lives.

In fact, we are classic late bloomers, and because of this, Indigo youth have a very high amount of difficulty assimilating into the mainstream. This is mostly because the mainstream caters to the average mind and intellect, and most Indigos are far from average. This can result in the flaring of depression, and also the abuse of alcohol and drugs. Sometimes it leads to suicide.

Misdiagnosis of ADD and other 'new age' illnesses add to the confusion, and the youngster is often drugged into submission at a point of life where they need to develop their minds the most.

(See also: Indigo Children, What is Indigo Children, Parenting Indigo Children, Adult Indigo, Indigo Children Channeling)

Read more here: » Indigo Children: Indigo Passages and Purposes  

Hatha Yoga has risen to great heights of popularity at the same time that our War on Terror was being incubated and finally erupted in the United States. It is surprising to see how much Hatha Yoga and the War on Terror actually have in common.

Read more here: » Yoga: Hatha Yoga and The War on Terror

Sri Aurobindos teachings and what he terms supramental descent explained by Kiara Windrider.

Read more here: » Sri Aurobindo and the Supramental Descent

The Native American Sweat Lodge, Temazcal, is an ancient practice from the native indians of America; a sacred ritual for Healing and Purification. Participants at the Oneness Festival will be able to experience this very powerful ritual both at day time, and, when it is as most powerful, at night time.

Read more here: » Sweat Lodge: Temazcal I/III - The Traditional Mexican Sweat Bath

Studying the myths of various cultures leads to a better understanding of their social and religious underpinnings. By turning the myths inwards, inviting them into our lives and learning their language of imagery and symbolism, we learn more about ourselves.

In almost every culture, the metaphor of descent serves as a powerful, sacred and mythic image for women. One of the earliest such accounts is the story of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess and Queen of the Upper World. She was worshipped in Sumer from the third millennium BCE (before the common era) to the first millennium BCE.

(See also: Spiritual Mythology , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Spiritual Mythology: Mythology Reveals Power of Descent  

Sacred Fire of the Zoroastrian Faith

Fire has been revered and worshipped in ancient cultures worldwide. In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus, out of his great love for mankind, disobeys Zeus and steals fire from heaven and brings it down to earth for human use. As punishment, Zeus chains Prometheus to the Caucasus mountain since mankind was not yet considered to be ready for this great gift of the gods.

Read more here: » Zoroastrian Religion: Sacred Fire of the Zoroastrian Faith

A beautiful assembly of poems and prayers on the theme of LOVE and TRANSCENDENCE.

“We will read them during the transit tomorrow on the most sacred places on the Isle of Wight.
We invite you to pray for World peace and love during the Transit of Venus at 11am GMT on 8th June 2004 for fifteen minutes. This will be the biggest global mass prayer meeting in the history of the World. You will find some multifaith prayers and poems, and a list of goddess names for your use on this page. Or make up your own prayer in accordance with your own faith or lack thereof. Or, do what thou wilt.”

Read more here: » Venus Transit: Multifaith prayers and poems, and a list of goddess names