What Are You Rising ‘FOR’ ??? (A Post Reflection on One Billion Rising)

Love Love Love (Photo credit: Gregory Jordan)

Have you risen publicly? I have and masses of people have risen throughout the world as a response to a direct call of “One Billion Rising” – Men, Women and Children in 197 countries stood shoulder to shoulder in solidarity – a call to Strike, Dance and Rise, to demand to put an end to violence against women.

A fantastic result for a fabulous call to put an end to one of the world’s most pervasive,  most hidden, rarely brought to full justice, human rights abuse.  We have risen against violence. We know the statistics now.  We know the urgency to stop this because we understand that abuse of a woman and the results of it do not affect just the one person, the abused – it affects the whole fabric of the society.   Jean Kilbourne describes abuse of women as a public health issue.

Systemic abuse has now become a weapon of war in countries like Democratic republic of Congo which is dubbed as the Rape Capital of the World, Somalia, Sudan and many other countries.

Sathya Sai Baba said

“Politics without principles, Education without character, Science without humanity, and Commerce without morality are not only useless, but also positively dangerous.”

These are the exact phenomenon we are witnessing in today’s society. We crave for change. We crave for a new order.  We crave for morality in society.  We are crying out for change and standing against something that is destroying the fabric of our society.

This rising is only a beginning towards that change.

What else can we do after having stood up against the wrong?

Socrates said –

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building a new”

The new that we want is in our hands to build.

What is the NEW that we want?

This ‘Rising Against’ is also a call for a new time and a new way of being to herald the Human Values of Love, Truth, Peace, Right Conduct and Non Violence.

We want a New World order where:

• Morality in Society is present every step of the way,
• Politics are run with Principles, and
• End of Education is Character.
• A society where women are respected, honored and cherished, not objectified and made to identify just as ‘things’ associated with beauty.

We want a New World Order where

• Looks do not matter, color does not matter,
• Beauty is recognised as shining from within the individual.
• Our children are safe in public places,
• Neighbors look out for each other,
• Doubts and suspicions are not the first reactions,
• There is mutual Respect that grows from Trust.
• Love and Compassion rule, not Greed and Lust.
• Harmony prevails within individuals, at home, in our communities and in the world at large.

We want to live in times where there is:

• Love in our Thoughts
• Love in our Actions
• Love in our Feelings
• Love in our Understanding

We want to live in a society whose motto will be “Help Ever; Hurt Never”.

We are that society and we can create that society starting from now.

HOW?

We need to put aside our judgments, criticisms,  first and foremost against ourselves and then towards the others.

We may think we are not, but we are violent.  The violence we see out there is a collective manifestation of individual thoughts from minor criticisms to major judgments.  When we are critical of ourselves, when we cannot extend love to ourselves, when we blame ourselves, we are starting the violence.

How can we possibly extend love and understanding to others when we cannot do that to ourselves?

This Rising while outwardly looks like a rising against violence in society, indirectly it is a call to Rise to stop being violent within ourselves.

It is a call to Rise to cause self-transformation.

We cannot change others, we can only change ourselves. When I become a person who is non-violent in my thoughts, words and deeds, then I have removed violence from within my circle of influence.  If each one of us did that, then the circle of influence widens and soon the whole world is in that circle of Non-Violence.

Unity in Thought, word and deed is the most Non-Violent way to be.  We are not at all like the rapists in the world who violate the sacred physical, however, we rape our minds constantly through thoughts that violate our own person-hood.

Rise against that Violence within!!

• Every time you have a negative thought, criticism, judgment, say “STOP”.
• Demand from yourself to stop the negativity rising.

“Change begins with me” – said Gandhi.  So let us take a pledge here that in the coming year from today we rise against violence within us and in the society.

More than that let us make a pledge to

Rise for Love In Our

• Actions which manifest as Right Conduct
• Thoughts which manifests as Truth
• Feelings which manifest as Peace
• Understanding which manifests as Non-Violence

Let us make a pledge to understand ourselves and then understand others because as Satya Sai Baba said

“If there is Righteousness in the Heart, there will be Beauty in the Character;
If there is Beauty in the Character, there will be Harmony in the Home;
If there is Harmony in the Home, there will be Order in the Nations;
When there is Order in the Nations, there will be Peace in the World.”

 So Peace & New World Order begins with Me….
Let us Rise For That!!!!

Let us re-educate ourselves who we are –

We ARE Love, We ARE Truth, We ARE Peace, WE ARE Non-Violent by nature.

When we don’t see those out in the world, we crave for those values.  Those values of Love, Truth, Peace, Right Conduct and Non-Violence are right in our hearts, inherent to our nature.  We need to consciously bring them out, and make a choice to live with them in thoughts, words and deeds.

As Pema Chodron says:

“Whatever you are doing, take the attitude of wanting it directly or indirectly to benefit others; take the attitude of wanting it to increase your experience of kinship with your fellow beings”.

Let us take the attitude of Love and Peace in our day to day, moment to moment living.

Let us Rise for Love within us and in the world.

Let us Dance with that Love in our hearts, joyously, and celebrate who we are –

We Are LOVE Walking On Two Feet.

Your thoughts? Would ‘Rising Against’ alone is enough, or should we ‘Rise For’ after rising against….

Please share your thoughts here, or on Face Book, Re-Tweet this if it has spoken to you.

Spread the word to RISE – RISE FOR LOVE, IN LOVE, WITH LOVE.

Until next week
With Love and Respect
Padma Ayyagari

“Know Your Power….”

Goddess Durga, fighting Mahishasura, the buffalo-demon (Hindu Mythology) . In the clouds the Devas, celestial beings watching the event, are seen. The story is written in the Devi Mahatmya and Devi Bhagavata and is the background of the Durgapuja, the annual Hindu festival in autumn. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Addressing all Women –

Do you know your power? I am guessing you do deep down but stop yourself from acknowledging it.  I do….

I am in the middle of celebrating a 9 day Festival of Goddess called “Devi Navarathri” which culminates on the 10th day and the festival itself is called “Dassara”.  It is widely celebrated throughout India.  Today is the 3rd day of the nine days.  Whilst it is a festival embedded with ritualistic offerings, prayers, chants etc., the symbolism and the deep meaning behind those chants is something not to be taken lightly.

At a time when the world is at a crisis point in all areas of manifestation, at a time when women all over the world are suppressed and/or oppressed and made to suffer silently, drawing in the symbolic meanings of such rituals and rising with the practical power that it offers is crucial.

We may not all believe in one particular religion or not believe in God at all, but we all do acknowledge the power of feminine and how much that is required today.

Devi Navarathri or Durga Navarathri is a festival celebrating the sensuous as well as ferocious qualities of the Goddess.  Legend has it that the Goddess has fought the demon called “Mahish-asura” fiercely for 9 days and obtained victory.

“Mahish” means Buffalo and “Asura” means Demon.  The qualities of a buffalo are that of sloth, laziness, brutal strength coupled with the demonic qualities of the 6 inner enemies of “Lust, Anger, Pride, Attachment, Jealousy and Greed”. These are the precise qualities that are rampantly manifest in today’s society aren’t they?

The one particular prayer offered to the Goddess during these 9 days is a chant of 1008 names of the Goddess.  This chant describes the Goddess as a sensuously beautiful woman as well as ferociously courageous and unconditionally compassionate.

Can we relate to these qualities in us women?

Yes we can.  Now, we may all not be sensuously beautiful, but we do rise ferociously when our loved ones are hurt and we are naturally kind and compassionate.  The problem is we don’t acknowledge these capacities.  21st century world forces us most of the time to focus on external appearances and material comforts which causes discontent to rise again and again.  Add to that our own self-doubts, judgments, worries, guilt, anxiety and even self-hatred in some, women shrink within and do not allow themselves even to consider their own potential.

It is time that we women rose strongly recognising our inherent qualities.  I am not a feminist and I don’t hate men.  Men are equally important in this world and there is a lot to be learned from the masculine energy.  But when one energy predominantly rules, the balance is skewed as we are witnessing today.  It is time for that balance to be corrected and only by women recognising their inherent Divine Potentialities, acknowledging them and embracing them fully can that happen.

The 9 days are divided into 3 sets.  The first 3 days prayers are dedicated to Goddess Durga in order to clean all the impurities within, so the channels for pure energy to rise are clear.  It no longer serves us to put ourselves down and play it low.

The next 3 days are to acquire wealth in all 3 areas of life and the Goddess Lakshmi helps in acquiring wealth physcially, mentally and spiritually.

The Goddess Saraswathi – Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom is invoked in the last 3 days in order to hone the knowledge and gain wisdom.

So, what changes can we make to allow the Goddess energy to manifest within ourselves?

How can we rise above our own self-doubt and self-judgment?

How can we become more courageous in standing up for who we are?  How can we stand up for other women?

How can we be compassionate and kind in our understanding and interactions with ourselves and with each other?

It is time that we women collectively stood up and say ‘YES’ to our power.  This is not about power games.  This is about us acknowledging our own Goddess qualities and living them fully.  Through that we demonstrate our power that is naturally within us hiding from sight. We need to own it and live it.

Are you ready to acknowledge that you are sensuously beautiful, unconditionally kind, loving and compassionate and ferociously courageous?

Let us tell each other that today and the next day and the next day……until it becomes a reality to all the women.

Drop a line with your stories…

Until next time,

Bowing to the Goddess within us

With Love and Respect

Padma Ayyagari