Issue #6 - Tuesday 22 August 2000
Welcome to the Universal Quest Newsletter
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We would appreciate your contributions, articles, thoughts, comments, suggestions and ideas. Please do write to us at news@universalquest.com
To subscribe to this newsletter go to http://www.universalquest.com/subscribe.htm
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Welcome to Issue #6 of the Universal Quest Newsletter |
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"No one imagines that a symphony is supposed
to improve in quality as it goes along, or that the whole object
of playing it is to reach the finale. The point of music is discovered
in every moment of playing and listening to it. It is the same,
I feel, with the greater part of our lives, and if we are unduly
absorbed in improving them we may forget altogether to live them." Dear fellow Questors Welcome back to the ongoing adventures of the Universal Quest. Tad (A T Mann) has now joined us full time and you will be seeing a lot more action through both the newsletter as well as on the Web site. We are tying up with Mystic Fire Video and many other publishers, authors and artists to bring you some very interesting quests over the coming weeks. We will keep you informed through this newsletter and do remember to tell everyone you know about us, for the more people we get questing with us the more we can bring to you. Raja
Choudhury |
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The Poems of Hafiz and Vedanta |
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"Every
flower its beauty bestows, From the Life and poetry of Khajeh Shamseddin Mohammad Hafiz Shirazi (or Khwajeh Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafez Shirazi) Hafiz was a Persian poet 1320 -1388 whose writings were profound, lyrical and challenging, in the tradition of Rumi. He memorized the Koran as a young boy and achieved spiritual realization as a Perfect Master at 60. He was loved by, influenced and was translated by, among others Goethe and Emerson. In the Persian tradition, whenever one faces a difficulty or a fork in the road, Or even if one has a general question in mind, one would hold that question in mind, and then ask the Oracle of Shiraz Hafiz for guidance. This oracle is also available at: http://www.hafizonlove.com/fal.htm © Shahriar Shahriari, 2000, Los Angeles, CA See more on the history and poetry of Hafiz at: http://www.hafizonlove.com/ VEDANTA "Clench your fists and say: I will conquer! Now or never – make that your motto, even in this life I must see God. That is the only way. Never postpone. What you know to be right, do that and do that at once, do not let any chance go by. The way to failure is paved with good intentions. That will not do. Remember, this life is for the strong, the persevering: the weak go to the wall. And always be on your guard. Never give in." ~ Swami Turiyananda, Ramakrishna Mission Vedanta is one of the world's most ancient religious philosophies and one of its broadest. Based on the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of India, Vedanta affirms the oneness of existence, the divinity of the soul, and the harmony of religions. A closer look at the word "Vedanta" is revealing: "Vedanta" is a combination of two words: "Veda" which means "knowledge" and "anta" which means "the end of" or "the goal of." In this context the goal of knowledge isn't intellectual - the limited knowledge we acquire by reading books. "Knowledge" here means the knowledge of God as well as the knowledge of our own divine nature. Vedanta, then, is the search for Self-knowledge as well as the search for God. What do we mean when we say God? According to Vedanta, God or Brahman is infinite existence, infinite consciousness, and infinite bliss. The term for this impersonal, transcendent reality is Brahman, the divine ground of being. Yet Vedanta also maintains that God can be personal as well, assuming human form in every age. According to Vedanta, God dwells within our own hearts as the divine Self or Atman. The Atman is never born nor will it ever die. Neither stained by our failings nor affected by the fluctuations of the body or mind, the Atman is not subject to our grief or despair or disease or ignorance. Pure, perfect, free from limitations, the Atman, Vedanta declares, is one with Brahman. The greatest temple of God lies within the human heart. Vedanta further asserts that the goal of human life is to realize and manifest our divinity. Not only is this possible, it is inevitable. Our real nature is divine; God-realization is our birthright. Sooner or later, we will all manifest our divinity--either in this or in future lives--for the greatest truth of our existence is our own divine nature. Finally, Vedanta affirms that all religions teach the same basic truths about God, the world, and our relationship to one another. Thousands of years ago the Rig Veda declared: "Truth is one, sages call it by various names." The world's religions offer varying approaches to God, each one true and valid, each religion offering the world a unique and irreplaceable path to God-realization. The conflicting messages we find among religions are due more to doctrine and dogma than to the reality of spiritual experience. While dissimilarities exist in the external observances of the world religions, the internals bear remarkable similarities. From http://www.vedanta.org - the official home of the RamaKrishna Mission International, one of the leading organizations dedicated to spreading the knowledge of universal consciousness through Vedanta. For a guide to further Vedanta Web sites visit http://omveda.tripod.com/
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Changing Moon – A Woman's Guide to the Menopausal Journey |
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The leading edge of the post-WWII Baby Boom Generation has reached menopause. Busy and productive women are entering the climacteric phase of their lives in increasing numbers. Many are finding inadequate or erroneous answers to their many questions regarding the menopausal process from the medical establishment. Others question the system's ability to provide enough medical support and treatment for the wave of women on the verge of experiencing menopause in the very near future. To assist the woman wanting to know more about herself and is willing to be involved in the process, Patricia DeMarco is creating "Changing Moon — A Woman's Guide to the Menopausal Journey." This guide grows out of an interest in the aging process, especially during her own menopausal transition. Her purpose is to provide a framework to facilitate the self-discovery process, and direct the menopausal traveler to resources for meeting their individual needs. Changing Moon will also provide directions for developing each woman's menopausal journey as a personal expression of an important life transition. Feedback and dialogue will facilitate communication among women. Link to the article at http://www.universalquest.com/changing.htm Patricia May DeMarco can be reached at herbal@netw.com |
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The Real Decoded Genome: 3% of the DNA does the job; the rest is just ‘junk’ Despite the claims of an ultimate "decoding of the human genome," a fantastic opportunity to explore human nature and biology is being wasted at the moment through the shortsightedness of science and scientists. During the first stage of the now complete Human Genome Project, scientists focused on trying to identify the location of genes on a chromosome. The genes that regulate life, and that influence or cause diseases, are arranged on chromosomes. But those genes make up only about 3% of the strand of DNA. Scientists do not understand the function, if any, of the remaining 97% of the DNA. Often referred to as "junk DNA," it most likely contains important information, but scientists do not have the ideas, desire or technology to explore it. This is ironic in the extreme because we know nature is not wasteful, and the DNA molecule and its coding is thought to be the most sophisticated development of life. Are we to believe that this most profound, complex mechanism of life itself is 97% junk? With no purpose or meaning? I think not. Link to article by A T Mann at http://www.universalquest.com/junkdna.htm |
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Great Solar Design Innovation |
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O’Malley and Jonathan Stoumen of Healdsburg, CA, have invented a brilliant inflatable solar oven that weighs less than five ounces. In their prestigious annual national competition, Hammacher Schlemmer, the 151-year-old retailer of unique and innovative consumer products recently announced that the Stoumens’ Soltac CookSack® is among the top 10 inventions for 1999. This design represents innovative products that uniquely solve existing lifestyle problems. Link to an article with pictures at:
http://www.universalquest.com/solardesign.htm See product reviews in: Sierra Magazine http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200001/toc.asp |
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Stanton Drew – An Unknown Cosmic Temple |
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Many of us, unbalanced by the overwhelming incursion of the technological age, seek to redress this by going back to the Earth in some way, either by such interests as gardening, or connecting to the landscape, in particular to places with a sacred past. While there are many famous sacred sites in the United Kingdom, many others are available to visit and explore. Just six miles south of Bristol, England lies the 4000-year-old sacred site at Stanton Drew. There are the remains of three stone circles, a Cove and a nearby solitary stone named Hauteville's Quoit. The circles are placed just south of the meandering River Chew. Maes Knoll, an Iron Age fort, holds a commanding position to the North. They will intrigue you as they have Sue Walker. Link to article with pictures at: http://www.universalquest.com/stanton.htm
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COSMOS: Fragmentation: The Galactic Times by Philip Sedgwick |
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The Galactic Times by Philip Sedgwick As Saturn trudges through the last few degrees of Taurus many wonder what is in the air other than mosquitoes with a virus-ridden bite and the lingering summer time (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) dust. Perhaps you've seen that astronomers found yet another set of new planets around other stars. For what it's worth, we're not alone in this whole thing, whatever it is. As astronomers confirmed the discovery of an anomalistic pulsar containing a bulging neutron star, Philip Sedgwick reports on its symbolism and astrology. Further
article links at: http://www.universalquest.com/cosmos.htm
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The Venusian Sphinx and Juggling Jupiter |
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July_s tidal waves of Cancer planets and extra eclipses moves into the fiery realm of Leo and onward into practical Virgo as August unfolds. Venus shines forth as the Evening Star once again. This first appearance of Venus after weeks of communing with the Sun was a holy day for peoples like th Babylonians, who carefully marked her movements – or his movements, in the minds of the Mayans who saw Venus as their great god, Quetzalcoatl. Uniting the heart-centered emotional body of the Lion with the sensational discrimination of the Great Goddess, we encounter the Sphinx, smiling like the Cheshire Cat. What profound riddle will the Sphinx ask us this time? Winking her eye like a twinkling star, perhaps she_ll ask, "How many balls can you juggle?" This is the year to find out, as Jupiter, the biggest ball of the solar system, is in Gemini from July 2000 to July 2001. Link to article by astrologer Kelley Hunter at: http://www.universalquest.com/sphinx.htm
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About Universal Quest |
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Raja Choudhury : Founder Visit our Web Site at http://www.universalquest.com We would love your contributions, articles, thoughts, comments, suggestions and ideas. Please do write to us at news@universalquest.com All
rights reserved ©copyright May 2000 |