LOKAKSHEMA TRUST: The magical Powers of Camphor

1 The Role of Camphor in Spiritual Enlightenment Camphor has a special purpose in places of worship. A ‘pooja’ plate is a plate used for religious worship. A ‘pooja’ plate with burning camphor is circled three times clockwise in front of the deity in Hindu worship. Aarti is a spiritual ritual in Hindu worship, performed with camphor. Camphor when lit, burns itself out completely without leaving residue. Thus, camphor which is symbolic of our inherent animosities and unrefined behavioral tendencies are set alit by the fire of knowledge. The base instincts that corrupt our evolution are illuminated by the Supreme Knowledge of the Lord with the purity of the fire element. Our base instincts of ego, lust, greed, jealousy and hatred burn completely, leaving no trace of ego. It is the ego that creates a divide between the Lord and us through a sense of individuality. Camphor symbolizes the burning up of this ego to reveal the glory of the Lord, it emits a pleasant perfume even as it sacrifices itself. In our spiritual progress, even as we serve the guru and society, we must willingly sacrifice ourselves and all we have, to spread the "perfume" of love to all. We often wait a long while to see the illumined Lord but when the aarti is actually performed, our eyes close automatically as if to look within. This is to signify that each of us is a temple of the Lord. In the dark inner sanctum of a temple, just as the priest reveals the form of the Lord clearly with the aarti flame, so too the guru reveals to us the divinity within each of us with the help of the "flame" of knowledge or the light of spiritual knowledge. At the end of the aarti, we place our hands over the flame and then touch our eyes and the top of the head. This transliterates as - may the light that illuminated the Lord, light up my vision; may my vision be divine and my thoughts noble and beautiful. The articles arranged in the pooja plate are representative of the five great elements active in the universe. They symbolize the sojourn of the individual from absolute earth element to absolute ether element during the spiritual practice. Closing our eyes while performing the aarti, we look within at the inner self or Atman within us. Self realization can be achieved by knowing thyself, with the flame of knowledge. Placing our hands over the flame and touch our eyes and top of the head signifies that the light that illumined the Lord, will light up my vision and transform my thoughts to be pure and beautiful. With the aarti comes the flame which signifies light. There can be light in our lives only if we have knowledge. In an era of darkness, there would be ignorance, we would be perpetually running to fulfill our base instincts resulting in unhappiness and stress all around. Camphor possesses a unique place in the Hindu ritual of traditional Pooja or any other festive or customary occasion. Camphor represents the incineration of our inherent tendencies which when set ablaze by the fire of knowledge, the ultimate truth. 2 We sublimate to higher thinking only by burning up our ego, lust, greed hatred completely, thus annihilating our ego based individuality. The camphor aarti is thus a unique and an intrinsic part of our devotion towards God. It is the dispelling principle associated with evil, fear and ignorance. A Camphor Purity Yantra removes negative and ill-health energies from the environment. A 'beehive' accumulation on the yantra is not a normal result of the flame. It is the outcome of capturing negative astral energies. Camphor Purity Yantras reduce negative energy in hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, healing centers, offices, factories. there is a lot of negative energy in the form of depression or stress, the yantra captures it and burns it into an accumulation of black carbonized material. The light of the camphor, dispels darkness, signifying the downfall of evil through virtue, fear through courage and ignorance through knowledge. As the camphor burns itself out, we pray that our own ego is burnt up and that we should be redeemed from all our sins, problems, mental and physical stress and shall be left with everlasting peace, joy and bliss. From my bosom friend MGK Nair Camphor- The effective & healthy mosquito repellent. Malaria and Dengue are on a steep rise. We all must be using liquid or the old blue tablet type of mosquito repellents sold under various names. Despite their use, it is common to see mosquitoes hovering around with the best of repellents in action. Secondly, we cannot use these mosquito repellents whole day – be they be of any brand. Thirdly, many people land up with allergies due to them. In the past, man would light diyas and burn camphor on a regular basis as a part of daily puja. These helped to purify the air and keep harmful bacteria, viruses and mosquitoes away! We can definitely have a better and healthy environment with the use of camphor. Camphor or Kapur is a waxy, white or transparent substance extracted from the wood of the Camphor Laurel tree found in Asia . Camphor has many known medicinal uses- It relieves nasal congestion and cough when rubbed on the chest as an oil. Camphor is used as an ingredient in throat lozenges and cough syrups and in Vicks. Camphor is also used in some anti-itch ointments, creams and cooling gels because it is can be absorbed through skin and is effective at treating pain locally. It has an analgesic effect which makes it a favorite oil to be used 3 in pain relieving massage blends for sore muscles and arthritic pain. Camphor is known to improve the quality of air making it a better for our lungs and heart. Many people are not aware of the Mosquito repellent power of Camphor - a simple solution without side effects and very cost effective. CAMPHOR IS A NATURAL MOSQUITO REPELLENT With effect round the clock! You do not need to burn it for that. There are three easier ways to do it – 1. Put 2 tablets of commercially available camphor on any warm surface- the device shown in the picture serves the purpose well. Plug it for an hour and see the results! You can do it twice a day- morning and in the night as well! 2. Place 2 tablets of camphor on different corners of the room or at places where mosquitoes seem to love to stay! Leave them there and they will evaporate in a day or so keeping the air purer and mosquito free. 3. Take a wide opened cup or plate with water. Drop 2 tablets of Camphor into the water. Keep the cup with water and camphor in your sleeping room. The quantity of water and camphor may differ from room size. Water evaporate at normal temperature. Camphor slowly started dissolving in water. The water evaporates with Camphor smell. Adding little bit hot water gives instant action. You will be amazed at the results! Do experience it and help spread these healthy tips! Shared by cnu.pne

Add to your site

grihapravesam

LOKAKSHEMA TRUST

Visit this group

View all

Get your own

Subscribe box for your web page Google Groups Subscribe to LOKAKSHEMA TRUST Email: Visit this group

Subscribe to LOKAKSHEMA TRUST

Email:

Visit this group

Click to join lokakshema

Powered byIP2Location.com

Submit link http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/60zW28Bt0yMKF4esQAoxlg?feat=directlink
website counter

Inspirational Quotes [URL=http://travel.webshots.com/album/235131548KwTcMk][IMG]http://thumb8.webshots.net/t/20/20/3/19/32/235131932tzJfHq_th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Embed as slideshow in MySpace, your blog or website Post as thumbnail in MySpace, your blog or website Post in a forum Search Engine Submission - AddMe http://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism/knowledge/category/index.php http://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism/knowledge/category/shraddha