SERENITY

Good Morning!!! God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and Wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done *~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~* December 2, 2025 SERENITY Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, … TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 106 As I continued to go to meetings and work the Steps, something began to happen to me. I felt confused because I wasn’t sure what it was that I was feeling, and then I realized I was experiencing serenity. It was a good feeling, but where had it come from? Then I realized it had come “. . .as the result of these steps.” The program may not always be easy to practice, but I had to acknowledge that my serenity had come to me after working the Steps. As I work the Steps in everything I do, practicing these principles in all my affairs, now I find that I am awake to God, to others, and to myself. The spiritual awakening, I have enjoyed as the result of working the Steps is the awareness that I am no longer alone.

Who is greater, Vishnu, Shiv, or Bramha?

Who is greater, Vishnu, Shiv, or Bramha? Well, if we go by Mahabharata all these three deities are said to be the same and there is no difference between them. But according to Vedas, it is only Sri Rudra who is superior to Sri Vishnu and Brahma Ji. The Shiva Sankalpa Suktam clearly state it. Vedas always will have more authority than Itihasa and Puranas. Hence Vedas clearly state that Sri Rudra is superior to Sri Vishnu and Hiranyagarbha. Sri Rudra is also said to have none equal to him (TS 1.8.6.2). परा᳚त् परत॑रो ब्र॒ह्मा॒ त॒त्परा᳚त् पर॒तो ह॑रिः । त॒त्परा᳚त् पर॑तो ऽधी॒श॒स्तन्मे॒ मनः॑ शि॒वस॑ङ्क॒ल्पम॑स्तु ॥ 18 Greater than the great is Brahma, greater than the great Brahma is Vishnu. Greater than the greater Vishnu is Isha (Shiva). May my thoughts be filled with Shiva. - Rig Veda Khila, Shiva Sankalpa Suktam, 18th Mantra. Regarding the authenticity of Sri Shiva Sankalpa Suktam:

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

You know what repenting is? This is what it is: "Oh! You made a mistake! Repent!" Repenting is not the right attitude. Instead, Prayaschitta - "I have to make little corrections. A little correction needs to be done." Now, how do you correct? You say, "Okay, let me sit and do more meditation," or “Let me watch my food, go on a liquid diet, and fast for a day or two." Hmm? All this changes the chemistry in the system. Your action is only a projection of the system. Just correcting an action, cannot correct you! You have to correct the system - the nature in the system. How does one do this? Sing! Sit and sing! Sing some bhajans! Do some meditation! Do the pranayamas! All these are called "tapas" "Tap" means heating; "tapas" really means toasting! Turning the fire on! Fire purifies! There is no greater tapas than the pranayamas! The pranayamas burn out all the unwanted things in the system. They bring a balance amongst the gunas and they raise the level of sattva.