PUMA For Life

Weekend Meditation: The Aramaic Lord’s Prayer

This weekend our meditation is the Aramaic Lord’s Prayer.  Aramaic is believed to be the language that Jesus spoke.  Unfortunately, most of the English translations of what Jesus said were translated from Greek.  And Greek and Aramaic are totally different languages.

 

Aramaic is a more holistic language than Greek; unlike Greek, there is no distinction between inner and outer or ends and means.  Aramaic is also grounded in the earth and is rich with words for earth, planting, and harvesting. Finally, and most importantly, Aramaic is an oral language in which each word can mean, or be interpreted, in more than one way.  Thus, in terms of the Lord’s Prayer, each word or line can be written or spoken using similar, yet different, words.

 

Below is the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic, with our normal English translation under each line. This is followed by one possible English translation directly from the Aramaic.  At the end is a lovely video of IndiaJiva singing the Aramaic Lord’s Prayer.  Enjoy.

 

Aramaic Lord’s Prayer

 

Abwoon d’bwashmaya

Our Father which art in heaven

 

Nethqadash shmakh

Hallowed be thy name

 

Teytey malkuthakh

Thy Kingdom come

 

Nehwey tzevyanach aykanna d’bwashmaya aph b’arha.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

 

Hawvlan lachma d’sunqanan yaomana.

Give us this day our daily bread.

 

Washboqlan khaubayn aykana daph khnan shbwoqan l’khayyabayn.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 

Wela tahlan l’nesyuna

Ela patzan min bisha

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

 

Metol dilakhie malkkutha wahayla wateshbukhta l’ahlam. Almin.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

 

 The Lord’s Prayer: one possible translation from the Aramaic

 

Father-Mother of the Cosmos, Shimmering Light of All.

Focus your light within us as we breathe your Holy Breath.

Enter the sanctuary of our hearts, uniting within us the sacred rays of your Power and Beauty.

Let your heart’s desire unite heaven and earth through our sacred union.

Help us fulfill what lies within the circle of our lives today.

Forgive our secret fears as we freely choose to forgive the secret fears of others.

Let us not enter forgetfulness, tempted by false appearances.

For from our astonishing Fire comes the Eternal Song which sanctifies all, renewed eternally in our lives, and throughout Creation.

We seal these words in our hearts, committed in trust and faith.

 

Now, relax and meditate on this lovely video.

 

Happy Chinese New Year: It’s the Year of the Ox!

January 26 is the first day of the Chinese New Year and it’s the Year of the Ox. They’ve already celebrated it in China . 

 

 

Year of the Ox 2009, Beijing , China

The ox is the second animal of the Chinese zodiac, following the rat.  How the order of the animals in the zodiac was chosen is explained in this popular folktale:

 

When it came time for the Jade Emperor in heaven to decide the order of the zodiac, he invited all the animals to participate in a race. The order of the zodiac would be decided by the order in which animals finished the race.

 

When the competition started, the ox was leading the pack, but the rat jumped on his back. Since the rat was so light and small, the ox did not realize that the rat was hitching a ride. As the ox approached the finish line, the rat leap off his back and was crowned as the first animal to complete the race.

 

Did you know that our current Fantasy President was born in 1961, which was also an ox year?  Well, if there’s an ox around, one thing is certain, there’s a rat on his back and it will finish the race first.

 

Below is a cartoon called the “Celestial Ox.”  I couldn’t help but think about the Usurper as I watched this video…gave me a chuckle and something to think about.  Enjoy! Really, doesn’t that blue ox remind you of someone?  Almost too perfect.

 

Happy Birthday Capricorn!

Determined and responsible,

They succeed at any tasks;

A Capricorn will walk the line

To help whenever asked.

(anonymous)

 

It’s almost half way through the sun sign of Capricorn and I haven’t wished my fellow Capricorns a happy birthday.  So, today is the day I sing praise to all the Sea Goats on the planet! 

 

First, a video of the Beatle’s birthday song:

  

Hope you enjoyed that! 

My three favorite Cappies are Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., and Paramahansa Yogananda. These three Sea Goats exemplify what a fully evolved Capricorn is capable of achieving. Now, of course, there are some who believe that Jesus was a Capricorn, which is true if the December 25th birth date is seen as accurate. We don’t have a vault birth certificate for him, but then again, we don’t have one for the current usurper to the Presidency who, by the way, is also attempting to usurp the title Messiah. Here’s Kris Kristofferson’s song about a Capricorn:

 

 

Hope you all have a wonderful year!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

My Christmas Blog Begins Today with a Paramahansa Yogananda Chant

Starting today, I want to share some of my spiritual teachers and favorite Christmas carols with my readers.   Hey, it’s the holidays and I want to offer a positive and uplifting site for everyone who has been a part of the past year’s campaign and struggles.

 

Today, I want to share a chant and video of one of my teachers, Swami Paramahansa Yogananda.  Yogananda was a Hindu teacher who taught that original Hinduism, as taught by Krishna , and original Christianity, as taught by Jesus, are one and the same Truth.  He came to teach in the United States and founded the Self-Realization Fellowship.

 

Yogananda had a personal relationship with Jesus; in fact, Jesus appeared to him.  Swami never spoke about that conversation; he said it was personal. But, if you go to any Self-Realization Center , you will find a picture of Jesus on the altar, along with Yogananda and his gurus.

 

It is this Hindu Yogi who made me decide to take a second look at Jesus and invite him into my heart.  I studied Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, and non-traditional Christianity.  Today, I consider myself an interfaith Christian on the path of Bahkti Yoga.  I honor all paths to the Godhead.

 

Yogananda has a very beautiful chant for chanting during the Christmas season.  It is called Cloud Colored Christ.    Yogananda says, “Christ is hidden behind the darkness of your mind, behind the clouds of restlessness. And when you peer into the darkness you shall behold the light of Christ. Sing with me, ‘specially during Christmas, or any time you feel the call of Christ and want to call him in the temple of your heart.”

 

Cloud-colored Christ, come!  O my cloud-colored Christ, come! O my Christ, O my Christ, O my Christ, O my Christ, Jesus Christ come!

 

I could not find a video of this chant, so I am featuring another lovely Yogananda chant called “O God Beautiful.”   The following video features the actual voice of Swami Yogananda chanting “O God Beautiful” with some photos of this Hindu Saint. 

 

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