Author: Arun Ganesan

This year Shivaratri falls on the 11th of March. We must not think of Shivaratri as only the night of Shiva. Shiva is beyond both night and day and causes the operations of the innumerable stars and planets. Shivaratri is that night on which we remember and offer our worship to Him by staying awake. Lord Shiva has taught us many valuable lessons. He cannot be won easily. One needs to surrender. Vasanta Deva, the god of flowers and spring, and Kamadeva, the god of love, tried, with all their tremendous might, to help Goddess Parvati win Lord Shiva....

The following is an incident that occurred in the 1980s: Amma was feeding her children with balls of rice from a food packet someone had brought. Suddenly there was a commotion outside. People were trying to catch a rabid dog. Many had already been bitten. It was one of Amma’s two dogs who had stood by her, like warrior guards, in her early days.  “Son!” Amma called the dog. It ran to her. “Hey, what happened to you?” She patted it with much affection. It wagged its tail as if nothing was wrong and burrowed its head into her...

Begging Bowl A beggar once came to an emperor and warned the king not to give him anything unless he could meet a condition. “What do you mean? What condition?” “If you can’t fill my bowl, don’t give me anything at all.” “What do you take me for? A beggar? Don’t you think I can fill this dirty little bowl?” “Then perhaps you should try.” The king called his vizier and told him to fill it with precious gems. Let this beggar know who he was dealing with. But the bowl could not be filled. Everything disappeared into it....

Swamiji is the Vice-Chairman of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math and the senior-most disciple of Indian spiritual leader Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma). He is the author of several books, the latest of which is titled The Irresistible Attraction of Divinity. Religious texts of all faiths present God as the embodiment of compassion, love, selflessness, and other noble qualities. But is it possible to speak with God? Can that Divinity be seen, touched, felt, and experienced?It can be — in and through the perfected spiritual masters. Thus, it is the Guru who serves as the bridge — a link between the...