Most people in the world have bad money karma- which means they are hurting for money. This is true even in the United States, which is the richest country in the world. Most people experience one or more of the following:

1. Living from paycheck to paycheck.
2. No paycheck at all.
3. Living with their parents.
4. Driving a junky car.
5. Taking a bus to work because you don't have a car.
6. Job is constantly ending and continually looking for another.
7. Surviving on cash advance from credit cards.
8. Borrowing money from others.

If you go to a financial counselor he would say one or more of the following:

1. You have no job skills that are marketable.
2. Go back to school and acquire some education.
3. Get 2 full time jobs to supplement your income.
4. Get more hours wherever they are available.

I am not going to emphasize any of the aspects mentioned above. Not that I disbelieve them, but they are commonplace knowledge and many people, if not everyone, know about them. I want to give you some uncommon and spiritual methods for addressing your money karma.

Why do you hurt for money? There are many reasons for why you don't have money. Let me begin from the beginning of your life. You mother has just delivered you. But, unfortunately, you are not born with a silver spoon in your mother. Thank god that you were not born in Afghanistan to be subjects to the Taliban tribal laws. Nevertheless, one's birth circumstances with money constraints have serious consequences.

As a child growing into adulthood, you are not going to have an easy life unless your parents do something to improve the finances. But as the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad indicates, most of our dads (including mine) had no clue as to how to make money. In a negative parental environment like this, you can do very little to get up and running. Your consciousness is clouded and you have no energy. You can't go to a good school because you can't afford the tuition. Why is this happening to you and not to Prince Williams or the sons and daughters of a millionaire?

This is only one answer to the question: YOU ARE BORN WITH BAD MONEY KARMA.

How do I change my money karma? I have come to this earth plane primarily to help people change their karma. In order for you to have maximum results, you should follow my advice meticulously:

1. Get rid of your own philosophy about money. This has not helped you. Remember, even without your knowledge, your philosophy will sneak in. Get rid of them, period.
   
2. Start my two-fold program to improve your bad money karma outlined below:

   First, get rid of your past life karma that is disallowing you to make money. When you wake up in the morning, do the Thiru Neela Kantam meditation at least for 3 minutes while still in bed. Chant the mantra Thiru Neela Kantam in the throat visualizing a blue light. Both the mantra and the light should stay in the throat. Make a prayer to me to empower the mantra for you to remove your bad money karma.

   Later on when you shower, do the mantra again as outlined. After the shower, it is important that you take a few flower petals and roll them on your head, throat, neck, shoulders and chest. Imagine that the flowers have absorbed all your past lives and present-life karma and crush them with the mantra Thiru Neela Kantam. Those of you who have my Thiru Neela Kantam CD should listen to it everyday.

3. Your money karma is carried out in life through the planets. I recommend that you find out which planets are directly involved in creating financial hardships for you and do some remedies to change those bad influences. You may ask, "If we are doing Thiru Neela Kantam, why bother with planets?" The answer to this question is: Thiru Neela Kantam is your general physician. He knows everything about your body, but he needs to send you to an eye doctor or an orthopedic doctor as the need arises. IN ORDER TO HELP YOU DURING THE RECESSION, MY ASTROLOGERS IN INDIA CAN DO A FINANCIAL ANALYSIS FOR YOU TO IDENTIFY THE MALEFIC PLANETS. THEN I WILL COME UP WITH THE REMEDY.

Blessings. There are very important messages in the Bible that come through the life of Jesus. People told Jesus that they would believe him if he could manifest bread for them from heaven just as Moses did. Jesus said that he could do even better and give them eternal life.

People couldn't have cared less, and I don't blame them. At the end of the day what matters is if you have bread on your table. Jesus then manifested food for 5000 people.

When I go around the world giving talks, people ask me if I can manifest a trinket for them like Sai Baba does. I tell them, "No, I can't do it. However, I can manifest a Mercedes Benz for you, although you may have bad credit and no money for downpayment."

I am a spiritual teacher, but I am a realist, too. A few minutes ago I was explaining to a few students about how long does it take to save a million dollars. I said it takes 10 years if you save $100,000 a year. In order to save $100,000 a year, you will have to make at least $350,000 a year. I know my numbers are right.

I am not trying to scare you. I am not a pessimist. Nevertheless, I don't want to lose touch with reality.

Yes, I can help you spiritually and practically. Both methods are important. Spiritually, I want you to believe that I can help you. How can I help you if you don't believe? Secondly, I want to offer you a collective business idea and that's to become an affiliate member.

As an affiliate member, it is my intention that you will make the extra cash that you need to buy a house or car. I want to be largest online catalogue guy on the face of the earth. I want this not only for me, but for all my students.

I know in my heart without doubt that this affiliate program is the way that I can help you practically.

God Bless all of you.

Satan moves your mind from thought to thought because he wants to keep you in anxiety and fear. Satan is a master of negative consciousness. He knows that if he can plant doubt in you, then he can keep your mind restless. In fact, doubt and Satan are synonymous. Doubt doesn't allow you to settle down. It creates uncertainty in your finances, relationship, health and even in your relationship with God.

God is Faith, and the Devil is doubt. The Devil's whole endeavor is to kill your faith, not only in God, but also in positivity in general. God, or faith, is a principle of affirmation, whereas the Devil is the principle of negation.

You must very carefully understand the two principles of affirmation and negation. Affirmation is creation. It is saying "yes" and allowing a free flow of energy. Negation, on the other hand, is destruction. It is saying "no" and thereby obstructing the free flow of energy. If you affirm and say "yes," you will calm down. The Devil doesn't want to calm down. He likes to storm the mind, so that it can be constantly on the move. Why do thoughts move so much? Because the mind is under constant pressure.

Mind and Making Money

Just look at your own inner dialogue concerning money. Everyone is engaged in this dialogue almost constantly. You may think of a particular plan to make money. You encounter several obstacles. Perhaps, there is no capital or no reliable partners or you have no genuine interest in the principle - and so on. You go through the traumatic experience of fighting against every odd. You are constantly worried about the availability of money for the future.

So, this keeps you thinking about the future and planning for it. One plan is replaced by another, one strategy through another. Finally, for a long time, in the last analysis, nothing seems to work. The Devil is very happy about this inner development. He, in fact, is rejoicing over your confusion and uncertainty. He is happy that nothing works for you. Fighting over or with girls or boys delights the Devil. As long as you are unsettled, the Devil is settled. What is unsettling for the Devil is if you are at peace. For once you are in peace, the Devil will go without work.

You Can't School The Devil

You can't school the Devil, but you can screw him. You can open the front door for the Devil, make him wait in the living room while you sneak out through the back door.

What this means is you accept the thoughts that the Devil gives you, pretend to be munching on them, but actually you are spitting them out. You may ask why open the front door at all? You have no other choice. Otherwise, he will keep hanging by the door. However, never get into a conversation with the Devil and try to school him. You have only one choice. Either you screw him, or you get screwed. I think the former is better.

When the Devil is pumping thoughts into your mind, develop a sense of detachment. Witness the thoughts moving in the mind like the clouds moving in the sky. As your witnessing habit takes a stronger hold, you will then see the clear sky which is the non-mind, full of emptiness.

Thought watching is an important meditation for the Buddhists.

Another important factor for your consideration is the management of time. Time has a good side and a bad side. The good side of time is when something difficult gets accomplished easily and effortlessly. Time in this case acts as the bringer of luck. When a surprise gift of luck is offered, take it. It is usually a result of Divine Providence. In its bad aspect, time is like a thief who steals life. When one becomes lethargic, one experiences a bad aspect of time. When lethargy is there, one feels unable to work or be productive. You suddenly realize that a long span of time has passed, even ten or twenty years, and you are about to retire. Another bad aspect of time comes in the form of habitual negative thinking. You experience this as a constant internal struggle, a constant battle with negative thoughts. This aspect is not as bad as lethargy because thought usually leads to action. The problem is that negative thought leads to actions that are limited or unrewarding. So, constantly check your time management. Time and thought are both synonymous. When you become aware of your thoughts, you also become aware of time. Always ask the question,"Who thinks these thoughts? Why should I host these thoughts?" You need to keep a calendar. It is very important to see how you spend your time. If you have a calendar, you will be able to clearly see how your time is spent. It is good to keep track not just of the days, but also the hours. You can then become aware of when you have wasted a large block of time. Perhaps you watch television or talked on the telephone or played a game. So, it is important to regulate your awareness of time through the calendar. Universal Thinking A technique to bring your consciousness to unlimited thinking is to move from individual consciousness to universal consciousness. Why does this work? Let me give you an example. One day around the deadline to file income tax returns, I was watching TV. A reporter asked the President if he filed his return. The President told the reporter that he did not know. How did he not know? Because he gave someone else that job. His time was more precious. By contrast, most of you just spend time taking care of your own personal needs. In the case of the President, he moved from personal consciousness to universal consciousness. The President plays an important role nationally and internationally. He concentrates on the large concerns and must leave some of his personal business to others. It is very important to think beyond yourself. When you begin to have that type of thought, your consciousness expands to make your thinking universal. Once while riding in a car, a devotee of mine asked, "Dattatreya Siva Baba, what is the craziest thing you have done in your life?" I told her that the craziest thing I that I have done is the way that I have spent my last moment. I know the stupidity of it. I am conscious of every moment and regret spending the moment the way I did. That is crazy. The Source of Pain The bulk of humanity is in pain. When will we find a permanent solution to the pain? This pain is related to matter. Matter is the source of pain. The body is the material source through which we experience pain. The body is also a source of pleasure. The pleasures that arise from the body are short-lived. The pain is long-lived. We cannot deal with the pain successfully until we have transformed the nature of matter. Let me illustrate this idea. I said that the body is the source of both pleasure and pain. We are willing to take the pleasures that come out of the body, but we do not want the pain. How can we deal with pain? Not certainly through painkillers which provide only temporary relief. We have to find a permanent solution. We won't be able to end the pain until we have dealt with matter itself. We must learn matter's nature, and then we must raise that nature to a higher dimension. So, any loss of pain will coincide with the evolution of matter. When matter sheds its negative nature, it sheds the properties that cause decay which is the source of pain. So, the body will no longer be a source of pain when we reach a dimension where the body's decay is stopped. The Purpose of the Human Race How can we evolve the body to a level of non-decay? We can do this by turning the body into finer elements. If we turn the body into light, it transcends the boundaries of matter and enters into an unlimited dimension. The body's evolution should not stop with light but should continue to evolve into the dimensions of air and then ultimately ether or "akash," in Sanskrit. Akash is a very fine vibration. Once we vibrate at the level of the akash, we reach a tremendous speed and have the freedom of unbound nature. And that is the purpose of the human race. Time Time affects matter more than it affects spirit. Spirit is timeless and unaffected by the ravages of time. Like all matter, the body is a victim to time. Time causes the involuntary decay in aging of the body without the body's permission. Time is tied to karmic law. Ease It is effortless to get anything done when one is at ease. You experience a situation more easily and openly when you are not tense. There is a natural tendency to complication. The mind has an innate need to introduce complication because the mind expects time to pass for actions to be completed. The mind will think, 'It is impossible for anything to happen easily.' The mind fights ease because when one is at ease, the mind disappears. The mind experiences the concept of ease as something that threatens its survival. So the mind fights. Ego I have seen many spiritual people who are very, very poor. What I have found in common in all of them is that they have a very strong ego. It is as if the only thing they have is their ego. These people may not have next month's rent or have money for their current bills, but they have an ego, which puzzles me. Their ego is not consistent. Whenever they are threatened by situations that bring them to reality, they stoop down and give up their ego and self-esteem to get things down. If they have to pay the rent, they will beg, borrow or steal. Once the rent has been paid, their ego will shoot up to the moon. This is what they have to perceive. Once they can see what they are doing, it is possible for them to turn their life around. Manifestation and Dreaming Manifestation is just dreaming. There is a very close relationship between getting rich in a dream and getting rich in reality. Both are dreams. You think that only the dream at night is unreal. But the reality you experience in the waking state is also a dream. When you realize that, you are enlightened. Now, what you might want to consider is how to dream in the waking state reality. How, say, you can dream a house or a relationship or a job or whatever you want into your reality. Carlos Castaneda talks about his master who taught him the art of dreaming. His master tells him, "Just start dreaming and dreaming and dreaming to understand a great deal of the secret of the relationship between matter and spirit." All that you need to do is to live in this dream state, even while you are awake. How? Just remember the dream. You make your cells remember that you are living the dream. Or say you are sitting at a dirty table eating breakfast. You may as well want a nicer table. And then you see a servant bringing your breakfast. You look up and around and you see a magnificent French crystal chandelier on the ceiling and paintings of famous contemporary artists all over the walls. While you eat, you imagine yourself looking out the window and you see one of your gardeners working on the grounds. So your dream of a mansion begins to take on form. And you begin to live your dream. Learn to substitute the positive dream for the negative dream. This is very important.

Most people in life have this question: "Why am I not succeeding in life?" There are many answers to this question.

1. Your parenting. Your parents did not know better and you had only negative guidance and bad role models.
2. Your genetic conditioning from a bad family tree.
3. The economic and social environment around you (both childhood and now).
4. Lack of interpersonal skills.
5. Lack of technical or business skills.
6. Lack of energy due to sickness.
7. Doing a job/business with very little financial potential.
8. Lack of interest in life.
9. Idealism vs. practicality, including self-deception.
10. Lethargy and procrastination.

The above are some of the reasons for your failure. This is indeed a short list and, of course, more reasons could be added to the list. Nevertheless, it is important to take a look at the list and do something to change the negative elements. I want to answer every item as much as possible.

1. Yes, parenting plays an important role in the life of an individual. It is important to identify negative elements and consciously rectify them. You can read the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
2. Rub Vibhuti (sacred ash) all over your body and listen to the Thiru Neela Kantam CD.
3. You cannot do much about your childhood environment. You can change the current environment now.
4. Interpersonal skills are very important. No one ever succeeded without them. You should read books and consult a specialist in this area.
5. It is important to acquire technical skills in accordance with your own interest, practicality and astrology.
6. Health is very important. See a nutritionist and a personal exercise trainer, in addition to seeking medical treatment.
7. Most people are victims to jobs/businesses. You need to change your vocation karma.
8. You may be depressed. See a doctor and do more fun things like traveling, listening to music, etc.
9. Some people are either idealistic or self-deceptive. Idealism can be allowed and it may reward you down the road, but a reality check is very important. Self-deception is a form of denial of reality and needs to be addressed immediately.
10. Find a personal trainer who can add discipline to your life.

Dattatreya Siva Baba's Astrological Solutions:

Some of you may have known both the questions and the answers. However, your life remains the same, and what to do? The clue is in the planets. Vedic Astrology has ancient wisdom to offer to help us in the here and now. AstroVed Website has many free features and even a tutorial to help you begin to learn how the planets are influencing your life, and it explains some of the divine remedies you can perform to quickly resolve problems.

The Siddha masters are adepts in the use of yantras to attract things towards them. Yantras are magical diagrams with squares, triangles, circles etc in a certain permutation combination. Each deity has its own magical yantra. The yantra is the conduit through which you connect with the deity. These magical diagrams were cognized by the Siddhas in deep states of samadhi. In Hindu temples in India, they bury the corresponding yantra of the god/goddess underneath the deity in order to energize the statue of the deity.

I will give you a specific example. There had been a money crunch in my computer company in New York. I ordered a custom-designed special yantra to attract money, business and people. I installed the yantra on Wednesday (7/22/02). Within 24 hours, the company started attracting money. It is almost a miracle. Just before the money started coming, there was a big pandemonium in the company. This is how the yantras work. There are yantras for relationship, health and cleaning up the energy of the office space or house.

After the initial success with the yantras, I am now encouraged to try it with other people. I know they work and I want to make sure that I put my energy intent into it. It is very important for me to do that to make the yantra come alive with full power. We are now making the following yantras available through our website store. We have a limited stock, but you can order them and we can get them made.

The following are the yantras now available:

Ganesha Yantra - to remove obstacles

Dana Akarshana Yantra - attracting cash, business opportunities, plus for prosperity, home and car

Navagraha (Nine Vedic Planets) Yantra - to remove bad influences from the planets

Muruga (Sadakshara) Yantra - removing debts

Siva Yantra - for enlightenment and prosperity

Sudarshana (for protection from negative influences and for purifying)

The way to use the yantra is to place it on an altar. You can bathe it with milk, orange juice and honey on full moon days. Other days, you light a candle and incense and pray to it. You should offer a flower and a raisin or other fruits. Repeated prayers will make the yantra to come alive.

Most people are wishywashies. That's why most people don't succeed. I don't expect people to be committed beings like Socrates, Jesus, Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. It is not possible for everyone to lead such hard lives. Everyone wants to live a take-it-easy life:

• going to a couple of movies a month
• a minimum of 60 hours of television a month
• 200 hours of idle conversation with friends
• anywhere between 4 to 50 cans of beer
• 2 to 4 times dining at fancy restaurants

What characterizes life is engaging in fun. Gossip is fun. Beer or wine drinking and movies or games--all of these are fun. Work is uninteresting, and in some cases miserable. But you need to make money to pay your bills, so you go to work. You have no real commitment to make a difference in life. You don't want to engage in any self-actualization process. In short, most people are wishywashies.

One category of people I have never been able to help fully is those who are wishywashies. They have no commitments to themselves nor to me. I don't have to personally know you. But, if you are committed to my teachings--doing the vibhuti (sacred ash), the One Minute Meditation, Thiru Neela Kantam on Pradosham days along with the rituals--you will certainly turn around your life. But, if you have a wishywashy attitude, I will be able to help you only partially. Shridi Baba (Sai Baba in a previous incarnation) used to say, "If you look to me, I will look after you." This is what I am doing for the Prosperity and Enlightenment program participants. I look after them. All their pictures are kept under my picture with a candle burning on the altar.

I do hear your prayers. I am only waiting for the right time to sneak in and reverse the bad karma. I work with the 9 planets and tell them not to harm too much, and increase the fortune wherever they are doing good. Over the last two decades, I have helped a lot of people. Whenever they become financially well off, they leave. If they become millionaires, they remove my name from their mailing lists and phone directories. They want fun now. There is money, and they don't want to do anything with a kill-joy like a guru. But my work will go on. I know the corruption that money and power can bring. This is the reason why money is considered as anti-god. The only excuse for my teaching techniques to make money is to help you find time to meditate. Money can buy time.

Finally I want to close this note with an invitation to you to join the Prosperity and Enlightenment program. That's a clear commitment from you of sowing the seeds for your future.

Many people are hooked into the New Age cliché that I create my own reality. I have no problem accepting the concept. However, I want to make a small change in the tense and want it to read: ''I created my own reality.'

Your current reality which is your vocation, relationship, health, etc. are not your present creations, but were indeed created by you in your past life. Most people don't like anything about their current situation - job, relationship, personality, health, etc. However, they don't have many options to change them.

There are diseases that you have inherited from your parents. Some people have inherited money or loan or a bad attitude and behavior. You may say, 'Well, I picked my parents, too!' I have no problems accepting that, but I am more concerned with solutions rather than putting the blame on myself or my parents.

Vedic astrology primarily deals with destiny and ways to know about it. Just merely knowing about it is not enough, because we already know what our destiny is. What matters is how can I change it? You know that you are overweight. You know it. You know it is difficult to change it. True, weight is karma or destiny. It is difficult to change this reality, but not impossible. I once helped a girl to lose 75 lbs. She had done many weight loss programs, and nothing worked for her.

In the future, I wish to write about weight loss and Vedic astrology. For now, I want to focus on the question how can Vedic astrology help me? It is my firm conviction that planets do rule your life - body, mind, soul, finances, relationships, etc. Everyone is a puppet in the hands of the planets. They pull their strings, and you dance. Don't tell me that I don't believe this astrology crap. I am not asking you to believe or disbelieve astrology. I am putting out a case for Vedic astrology. Everyone goes through ups and downs in their life. Financially some days/weeks/months are better or worse. Same is true with relationships. Some days you wake up and you feel rotten, and nothing goes right. You may want to correlate your ups and downs with the planets and see if there is a pattern. I know for sure that there are correspondences.

Whether or not anyone likes it, the days of the week are governed by planets as follows:

• Sunday ~ Sun
• Monday ~ Moon
• Tuesday ~ Mars
• Wednesday ~ Mercury
• Thursday ~ Jupiter
• Friday ~ Venus
• Saturday ~ Saturn

The planets are also associated with numbers:

• Sun ~ 1
• Moon ~ 2
• Mars ~ 9 (also has some influence on 6)
• Mercury ~ 5
• Jupiter ~ 3
• Venus ~ 6
• Saturn ~ 8
• Rahu ~ 4
• Ketu ~ 7

It is important that everyone knows from an empirical standpoint what planet/number is good for you. This knowledge will help you to decreate a bad reality and create a good reality.

"Don't Lie Down and Reflect. Get Up and Do Something." ~ Dattatreya Siva Baba

Dattatreya Siva Baba's Prosperity and Enlightenment program has helped to radically change the material and spiritual lives of many people, on many levels. Below is a story from one new program member, proving that being open to change and having the will to act is part of what we need to do to create the life of our dreams:

"Dear Dattatreya Siva Baba,

I have been in the P&E program for one month now. I am noticing that I am more aware of my behavior.

For example, I am aware that I am going through a great change and that this frightens me. I see in the past that I would curl up and sleep and try to hide from it. Now I feel that I will still lie down, but reflect and keep my heart open, with confidence, that I can handle the changes coming forth now.

Soon perhaps I will not feel the need to lie down and reflect, maybe I will live the changes soon. I have increased confidence in myself and in my abilities, and I have a deeper faith in God and all aspects of God. I am clearer on what I want and how this makes me feel.

My business continues to grow. I am magically meeting people who will help me.

I feel scared but I feel strong and I am ready to face what is coming. I believe you when you say there are good times ahead. I am using the sacred ash, Siva lingam, and rudraska beads, I am chanting and need to deepen my meditations. I am listening to your CDs and praying.

As I am better able to receive the gifts of God, I will definitely help others in need of money to begin the P&E program. I'm getting to that point as soon as possible. I thank you and I love you,

Anonymous"

It all started with a telephone call. The call was from a person associated with a lot of rich people. These people have wanted to see me for some time. But I never showed an interest. Not that I don't need money nor do I dislike them. To tell you the truth, there is a certain amount of phoniness and superficiality with these wealthy people and power mongers that puts me off.

Many wealthy people in the past have used my techniques and become wealthier. Some want to acknowledge it, and some don't. I do not particularly attach any value to their acknowledgment or non-acknowledgment.

I am becoming increasingly uncomfortable with phony and superficial people. My definition of phoniness comprises of a lack of an authentic response to the spirit. Most phony people are swayed by material glamour to the utter neglect of the soul.

While I was dictating this article, the person who was typing it on the laptop stopped me. She reminded me of my teaching that money makes a person authentic and asked if I was not contradicting myself. I said to her "No. I am not. We are dealing with two kinds of authenticity - material and spiritual. Money gives you authenticity in the material world, but it does not give you any authenticity as far as the spiritual domain is concerned." My answer satisfied her rational mind. Nevertheless, I want you to know that contradiction is the very nature of life. There will be no day without a night, no sinner without a saint.

My being on this earth plane at this time is especially for the spiritual people. I know that the spiritual people have either no money or have very little. This is because the spiritual seek spirit, not matter. It is undesirable to make spiritual people material. I am happy that they are interested in the spirit. Spirit should indeed be one's top priority. It is for this reason that Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are poor." Money needs to be dealt with using extreme caution. It can easily lead you to greed, anxiety, jealousy, and restlessness. Being overwhelmed by the nature of matter, one can easily lose sight of one's identity as soul or pure spirit. For most material people the spirit world, God, or evolution, does not matter. They are into the body, mind, and the world.

The world has gotten increasingly materialistic. True meditation, self-realization, and enlightenment are concepts not to be found in the modern world. God is out of the curriculum of schools and colleges. He is also out of the government and Wall Street. Often the term God is used meaninglessly and unconsciously. I am kind of happy for those who are on the Path. You may be following one or many paths: Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Taoist. It does not really matter. True wealth is knowing about your soul and about God. Your spiritual journey towards Enlightenment is all that matters. Money is only relatively important. I am not saying that you should not make money. But make sure that it doesn't make you phony.

In my last incarnation as Ramalingam I went to a wedding party of the wealthiest people in the town. My clothes were not great and the receptionists at the front desk denied me admission. I quickly went and changed my clothes. I put on the most expensive dress imaginable. Everybody bowed down to me and I was immediately guided to the most respected table at the feast. The food was served and everyone started eating. But I did not eat. Instead, I was throwing the dishes of food over my dress. People were curious about my behavior and asked what I was doing. I told them that I was feeding my dress since it was my clothes that were invited.

People do not look at your soul. They only want to look at your shoes and your makeup. This is what phoniness means.

The 5 Niyamas: Practices To Build Character

Note: The shorter form of Dattatreya Siva Baba's name is "Baba"

As part of yogic discipline, Pantanjali maintains five Niyamas (practices to build character). The five Niyamas are 1) purity or cleanliness, 2) contentment or happiness, 3) self-discipline, 4) study and attainment of self-realization, and 5) surrender to God.

1. Cleanliness or Purity

Cleanliness and purity are both external and internal. It is important to keep the body and your dwelling/work space impeccable. Yogi's shower frequently - sometimes 3 to 5 times a day. Cleanliness is to be followed to food and clothes as well. Internal purity is keeping the mind emotions pure. Physical yoga and breathing exercises (pranayama) are useful for internal purity.

2. Contentment and Happiness

It is important to always maintain a happy state of mind. Remain content. You should not be excited when things happen or depressed when they don't happen. Be neutral and remain content regardless (of either condition). Contentment is the making of happiness.

3. Self-discipline

Self-discipline involves keeping the body, mind, and actions in good control. Patanjali insists on the control of the senses that represent the body. If one follows the pull of the senses and the fickle mind he/she cannot achieve yoga (union with God). The senses are impure because they distract us from our real nature. It is important to check our desires for the fulfillment of our senses. The tongue needs to be controlled for over-eating or blah-blahing; eyes from watching television constantly; ears from listening to unconscious, sensuous music, etc.

4. Self-study Leads to Self-realization

One should constantly enquire the nature of the Higher Self. When I was Swami Ramalingam, my final teaching was self enquiry. I recommended that everyone reflect on their ignorance and limitations. Only when you know what your inherent weakness is can you move forward in acquiring a higher life. Self enquiry can be in two forms. One, you can go on enquiring like Ramana Maharishi did, asking the question, "Who am I?". Two, reflecting on a deity. I am inclined to favor meditation on a personal deity or Guru. Practically speaking, I have found the second approach more rewarding.

5. Surrender to God

Surrender to God gives the highest consciousness. Remember that God is the capital "I" and the individual is the small "i". Now, both are mixed-up. We, however, perceive only the small "i" and miss the capital "I". Einstein wondered about the mind of God who created the world. Patanjali teaches a method to become God. You keep on identifying yourself with the bigger "I" and then you become God. Patanjali says that by surrendering to God, you get the highest consciousness (Samadhi).

I want you to periodically review the writings on Yama and Niyama to remind yourself of the importance of discipline and living a divine life.

Blessings, Baba

The 5 Niyamas: Practices To Build Character

Note: The shorter form of Dattatreya Siva Baba's name is "Baba"

As part of yogic discipline, Pantanjali maintains five Niyamas (practices to build character). The five Niyamas are 1) purity or cleanliness, 2) contentment or happiness, 3) self-discipline, 4) study and attainment of self-realization, and 5) surrender to God.

1. Cleanliness or Purity

Cleanliness and purity are both external and internal. It is important to keep the body and your dwelling/work space impeccable. Yogi's shower frequently - sometimes 3 to 5 times a day. Cleanliness is to be followed to food and clothes as well. Internal purity is keeping the mind emotions pure. Physical yoga and breathing exercises (pranayama) are useful for internal purity.

2. Contentment and Happiness

It is important to always maintain a happy state of mind. Remain content. You should not be excited when things happen or depressed when they don't happen. Be neutral and remain content regardless (of either condition). Contentment is the making of happiness.

3. Self-discipline

Self-discipline involves keeping the body, mind, and actions in good control. Patanjali insists on the control of the senses that represent the body. If one follows the pull of the senses and the fickle mind he/she cannot achieve yoga (union with God). The senses are impure because they distract us from our real nature. It is important to check our desires for the fulfillment of our senses. The tongue needs to be controlled for over-eating or blah-blahing; eyes from watching television constantly; ears from listening to unconscious, sensuous music, etc.

4. Self-study Leads to Self-realization

One should constantly enquire the nature of the Higher Self. When I was Swami Ramalingam, my final teaching was self enquiry. I recommended that everyone reflect on their ignorance and limitations. Only when you know what your inherent weakness is can you move forward in acquiring a higher life. Self enquiry can be in two forms. One, you can go on enquiring like Ramana Maharishi did, asking the question, "Who am I?". Two, reflecting on a deity. I am inclined to favor meditation on a personal deity or Guru. Practically speaking, I have found the second approach more rewarding.

5. Surrender to God

Surrender to God gives the highest consciousness. Remember that God is the capital "I" and the individual is the small "i". Now, both are mixed-up. We, however, perceive only the small "i" and miss the capital "I". Einstein wondered about the mind of God who created the world. Patanjali teaches a method to become God. You keep on identifying yourself with the bigger "I" and then you become God. Patanjali says that by surrendering to God, you get the highest consciousness (Samadhi).

I want you to periodically review the writings on Yama and Niyama to remind yourself of the importance of discipline and living a divine life.

Blessings, Baba

Mantram

Swarnat Vijaya Vidmahe
Sula Hastaya Dhimahi
Tanno Kala Bhairavaya Prachodayat

Summary of meaning:

One with the dog and flag, I think about you
holding the trident
Come and enlighten me

Bhai Ra Va

Udyamo Bhairava

Om Hram Hreem Hroom Hrhyme Hrowm Hrome Kala Bhairavaya Swaha

Om Asidanga Bhairavaya Swaha
Om Guru Bhairavaya Swaha
Om Chanda Bhairavaya Swaha
Om Kroda Bhairavaya Swaha Om Unmatta Bhairavaya Swaha
Om Kapala Bhairavaya Swaha
Om Bhishana Bhairavaya Swaha
Om Samhara Bhairavaya Swaha

Dattatreya Siva Baba: Kala Bhairava is the God of Time. Kala means time and Bhairava is a form of Siva. Time Shakti or Time Energy was created by Kala Bhairava in all of the galaxies. There is no planet or star where there is no time, although perception of time will be longer or shorter depending on each planet.

Every waning, 8th moon is helpful to propitiate Kala Bhairava, the creator of time divisions. When you worship Bhairava on this day, you will never waste time. The Time Shakti will love you so much and she will not allow you to idle away time. Not only that, but you will make intelligent and efficient use of time. Jobs that take a week’s time will be done within 2 days because of the blessings of the Time Shaktis through Kala Bhairava.

Kala Bhairava is also in charge of removing diseases, debts and other negative realities. It is important that everyone makes a personal connection with Kala Bhairava for fruitful use of time and life energy.

Kala Bhairava will (also) watch over you when you are sleeping so that you do not waste Time Shakti (during that time). People who have disturbed sleep should also pray to Bhairava.

If you are endlessly waiting for things to happen and it never happens, this means you have offended time either in this life or a previous one. You can fix the problem by worshiping Kala Bhairava.

Blessings, Baba

Additional Info on Kala Bhairava

Lord Kala Bhairava is that manifestation of Lord Siva who oversees the march of time. The inexorable march of time is inexorable only because Lord Kala Bhairava makes it so. As the saying goes, time lost is lost forever. There's nothing more precious than time. So, intelligent humans should use every moment effectively on the spiritual path. And those want to do this have the divine help of Lord Kala Bhairava if they request it with sincerity. Those who tend to fritter away their time on many a trivial pursuits should pray sincerely to Lord Kala Bhairava if they want to improve their time management skills and if they want to make sure that they use their time intelligently. Lord Kala Bhairava is also known as Kshetrapalaka, the guardian of the temple. In honor of this, keys to the temple are ceremonially submitted to Lord Kala Bhairava at temple closing time and are received from him at opening time. Lord Kala Bhairava is also the guardian of travelers. The Siddhas advise us that before embarking on a journey, especially one that involves travel during the night, we should make a garland of cashew nuts and decorate Lord Kala Bhairava with it. We should light joti lamps in His honor and request His protection during our travel. The vahana (vehicle) of Lord Kala Bhairava is the dog. Feeding and taking care of dogs is another way of showing our devotion to Lord Kala Bhairava.

Below is a meditation/visualization to receive Muruga's blessings and a description of a personal daily ancestor ritual called Tarpanam (i.e., feeding the ancestors). Daily tarpanam ritual is an essential practice. You can do both the meditation and the tarpanam ritual throughout the day whenever you have the time and opportunity to do so.

For Muruga's blessings (for this last day of Skanda Shasti, and beyond):

Visualize Valli (wife of Muruga), placing her feet on your head over the right and left brain. There is nothing else to think about other than doing this technique. The mind won't understand, however, the soul will know what it means. Do this as often as possible with eyes open during the day or in meditation. There are tremendous blessings in doing this during the 6 days of Skanda Shasti.

Daily Tarpanam Ritual:
Place sesame seeds (preferably black but the beige ones are okay) and rice powder (or a couple of regular rice grains) in your right hand and sprinkle a few drops of water over it. Then pray to your ancestors, and the gods and goddesses, to accept your gift and ask for their blessings (and ask that they make sure that you receive the blessings). Ask that any ancestors who are trapped on the earth plane are released - that their karmas are forgiven and their souls find peace as they move to the other side. Then throw away the seeds. This is very powerful and of great benefit to you as well as a great service for your entire family.

Blessings, Baba

Changing Your Destiny

After finishing a short pilgrimage in Southern Tamil Nadu I am returning to the ashram in Chennai. While in the car I asked one student who was sitting in the front seat, what time it was. She said 11:30 am. I put another question to her and asked how long she had been up. She replied that she woke up at 5:30 am. I asked her what she was thinking at the current moment. She said nothing special or important. During a number of many questions that I asked her, she admitted that over the past 6 hours she never thought of making money for today, tomorrow, next week, or next month.

I must confess I am in the same boat with her. I never, ever have seriously thought of building an ashram, school, or research institute. On the positive side, nevertheless I must admit, I wanted to convert the Hilton and Marriott hotels into ashrams. I desired the legislators to become spiritual. Maybe this will happen. I hope I don't have to come back again to do this. Today I am committing myself to walk the extra mile that is necessary to transform the earth plane and the human race.

This is a general newsletter that I am sending out to everyone, free of cost. Although it is free, the information that I am going to provide will change your personal destiny - the destiny of your country - and the destiny of the human race. Every hour, just write or think three times your monetary goal and pray to the God of your choice: Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Krishna, Shiva, Yaweh and others, to help you to achieve this goal. You should have both a short-term and a long-term goal. If you are monetarily well off and self-sufficient, you can have goals for other areas of your life like health, relationship, and spirituality. The important thing is to write or think the goals three times every hour and request your God to perform a miracle to help accomplish the goal.

If you do this regularly for 45 days, you are certain to have substantial success.

Blessings, Dattatreya Siva Baba

Understanding Health and Karma
I always remind people to take care of their health because all the money in the world is meaningless without good health.

Health is the most important gift that you one can have in life. If you lose health, you lose everything. Life becomes miserable. A healthy body and mind make life enjoyable. To maintain physical health, you should not abuse the body with wrong food. To maintain mental health, you should not abuse the mind with negative thoughts. Negativity is the direct cause for disharmony-crime, enemies, debts, ligitation. There are spiritual laws underlying debt, enemies, ill health, etc.

What is ill health? It is dis-ease. It challenges the natural equilibrium of life. Basically, health is a matter of your own attitude. It is a reflection of your consciousness. Disease is caused by a certain negative attitude. If you can disperse the negative attitude, then disease will disappear. Everything starts in an invisible way and becomes visible. If you can get into the invisible sphere where you have created the disease and release that attitude then you have made a solid foundation to heal yourself.

Part of the problem is the human collective consciousness itself. Human collective consciousness is full of negativity. We fill our minds with much negative feedback. We talk about psychosomatic illness. No one talks about psychosomatic wellness. It works on the same principle. Our focus has been on negativity. We have collectively committed ourselves to this process. We have not collectively committed to positivity. Once we do that, not only will we solve our own problems, but the problems of the planet.

Connecting Health and the Planets The planets have a strong effect on you. In order to get healthy, you should go deep into your own consciousness and understand the process of reversing a chain of events that has manifested as a disease. Anyone who suffers from a chronic illness has, as a counterpart to the outward disease, a deep emotional problem. Unless you address that problem, you will not find a permanent solution no matter what medicine you take. It is important that you delve deep into your own consciousness and find the answers.

Lord Muruga is an aspect of the Divine usually depicted as having a youthful appearance and tremendous vitality. His mantra helps raise the vibration of the body by making the body more conscious. You can do this mantra into specific body parts to raise their vibration. Muruga's mantra is a good place to start for toning up health and improving strength.

MANTRA: OM SARVANA BAVAYA NAMAHA
[Pronounced: OHM SA-RA-VA-NA BA-VA-YA NA-MA-HA]

Purifying Your Body and Mind People strongly interested in purifying themselves may wish to experiment with the ancient practice of taking three showers per day. This practice dramatically increases the vibration of the physical body. The showers do not have to be long showers. Some of them can be quick rinses. Or if you have a pool or live near a lake or the ocean, take a quick dip in the water.

The Siddhas taught that water is a great purifier and does wonderful things to clean your aura. For this reason you should always shower or at least wash your face and hands before any meditation session.

Another ancient practice for immortality and purification is to keep five candles burning when you go to sleep. The Siddhas taught that if is there is enough light, there won't be any disease. You must use common sense if you try this technique. Have smoke alarms and good ventilation and so forth, and only use candles that have lead-free wicks and are safe. Some people have found candles that can burn all night safely, the kind some churches use in their sanctuaries. If you cannot do five, that is okay. Do what you can. Even one candle burning at night is purifying. But again, only do this technique if you can do it safely. People with pets or small children might not be able to do this safely.

Everyone can work on the practice of becoming more vigilant to think thoughts that do no harm. Use an hourly beeping watch to check your thought process. If you detect that the mind is indulging in hatred, change the thought.

Keep consciousness around food and eat foods that do not harm you. Each person's body is different.

The positive quality to focus on to break up problematic energies is service to others. If you do service with a pure heart, it comes back to you multiplied a thousand-fold. You are capable of doing more than you think to help others, and this generates positive energy.

Please use Muruga's mantra, SA RA VA NA BA VA YA, effectively. Hold in your awareness an area of the body or health issue you wish to heal and put the mantra into it.