Happiness Doesnt Happen To Us, It Happens By Us
Marguerite Theophil
When we look at people around us who have had relatively smooth and trouble-free lives, we find that some are happy, others unhappy . When we look at those who have had really rough and challenging lives, again, some are happy, others are not.
All this seems to suggest the relevance of an age-old truth: happiness has less to do with circumstances than with our attitude and approach to life.
Happiness does not happen to us, it happens by us. Know that each of us is the creator of our own thoughts and state of mind. This does not mean ignoring the often, painful reality of what happens, but understanding that you can choose your response to something at any given moment.
For example, you can choose to be frazzled and furious with the demands and pressures of a hectic day, feeling miserable about bad luck, colleagues, weather or bad whatever. Or you can call upon the grace of the moment reminding yourself to stop and breathe calmly for just a few moments, finding some beauty to focus on, something to be grateful for in all this. You can choose between forever brooding on an unhappy childhood, or focusing on healing and moving on.
Happiness is called upon and cultivated, involving unlearning as much as learning.
Consider that for a lot of people, unhappiness can be a patterned response ; where we choose a familiar emotional place even if it mostly hurts and brings sorrow. Its a bit like Shadow, my friends rescued puppy; a bruised, starving, sick little creature, he was given a loving caring home and owners. But after all this time, he still twitches, jumps, and scuttles away at the slightest sound or sudden movement. Shadow doesnt run and hide so much because he has something to be terrified of today but simply because thats what he has always done.
Experiences from early life can create habits and patterns that become deeply ingrained, influencing our moods and choices. But, unlike that miserable little dog, we do have the capacity to replace acquired fear or sadness with learned happiness. We can realise that blaming the past or others for our misery, even if partially true, can only give us excuses; it cannot give us the happiness we crave inside. In fact, it usually serves to
increase our suffering! It is established that cultivating feelings of happiness results in a self-generating cycle of biological as much as psychological wellbeing . When you carve out time to go for a walk, or just to the nearest window, or to stop and pray, or dance or sing along to a favourite tune, or share moments with special people, happy hormones flood your system, keeping you healthy. For this, you need to first accept that happiness is something that is generated from within, and it comes with time and practice.
Happiness, at its core, is about discovering meaning, and counting your blessings, not your woes.
Happiness grows in nurturing relationships.
All kinds of intentional relational activities practices in which people actively choose to reach out and engage with and serve others can offer a promising route to lasting happiness.
Happiness then is simply about saying a heartfelt yes to all of life; to more positive emotions, to more engagement, to more meaning and purpose, to more caring relationships.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Integrate & come out of the worry cycle
Integrate & come out of the worry cycle
PARAMAHAMSA NITHYANANDA
INTELLIGENCEis the only way to get freedom from anything that bothers you. If you are sweating about the small stuff, then there is something wrong somewhere . Be very clear that all miseries arise because of self-contradictions . You yourself are not fully clear about what you want to do and so you are unable to do it. For that clarity to happen, you need to nurture your own intelligence.
When intelligence surfaces, self-contradictions will disappear and you will start becoming integrated . When you start becoming integrated , your intelligence will further grow . This is the cycle you need to get into. This is the cycle that can clear your worries also. Understand that you have given a lot of power to your worries by simply talking about them more and more.
For example, when a housewife picks up the telephone, she will start by telling her friend that the maid did not turn up for the day. That is her depression for the day. If you are really depressed about the maid not coming and are really interested in coming out of it, then you should simply drop it and finish doing the work yourself! Doesnt this sound more logical
If you are really interested in dropping your inner chatter and worries, you could try a small exercise . Think of all the things that give you joy. Make up your mind that you will allow your mind to linger on only these things and nothing else. Anything else, you will give just enough energy to get it done and then forget about it. If you try this exercise, you will see that you conserve a lot of energy. All your worries simply disappear and you will acquire a new mental set-up altogether.
Do an honest check for yourself and find out if you are secretly nurturing your worries. When you stop going behind your worries , you will be able to see how others are helplessly caught up in that cycle. You will be able to see how they magnify their worries by endlessly talking about them to people. This talking about worry is what I call worrying about the worry ! Only when you are able to watch this, will the worry cycle break. Until you become the watcher, you are caught up in the emotions, giving so much of power and control to them. Check yourself to find out if you are starting to feel comfortable with your worries. This is the scale to see if worries are controlling you or you are controlling your worries.
If you are feeling comfortable talking about them repeatedly without taking any action, then worries are controlling you. If you dont linger on them and address them correctly, then you are controlling them! Be Blissful!
PARAMAHAMSA NITHYANANDA
INTELLIGENCEis the only way to get freedom from anything that bothers you. If you are sweating about the small stuff, then there is something wrong somewhere . Be very clear that all miseries arise because of self-contradictions . You yourself are not fully clear about what you want to do and so you are unable to do it. For that clarity to happen, you need to nurture your own intelligence.
When intelligence surfaces, self-contradictions will disappear and you will start becoming integrated . When you start becoming integrated , your intelligence will further grow . This is the cycle you need to get into. This is the cycle that can clear your worries also. Understand that you have given a lot of power to your worries by simply talking about them more and more.
For example, when a housewife picks up the telephone, she will start by telling her friend that the maid did not turn up for the day. That is her depression for the day. If you are really depressed about the maid not coming and are really interested in coming out of it, then you should simply drop it and finish doing the work yourself! Doesnt this sound more logical
If you are really interested in dropping your inner chatter and worries, you could try a small exercise . Think of all the things that give you joy. Make up your mind that you will allow your mind to linger on only these things and nothing else. Anything else, you will give just enough energy to get it done and then forget about it. If you try this exercise, you will see that you conserve a lot of energy. All your worries simply disappear and you will acquire a new mental set-up altogether.
Do an honest check for yourself and find out if you are secretly nurturing your worries. When you stop going behind your worries , you will be able to see how others are helplessly caught up in that cycle. You will be able to see how they magnify their worries by endlessly talking about them to people. This talking about worry is what I call worrying about the worry ! Only when you are able to watch this, will the worry cycle break. Until you become the watcher, you are caught up in the emotions, giving so much of power and control to them. Check yourself to find out if you are starting to feel comfortable with your worries. This is the scale to see if worries are controlling you or you are controlling your worries.
If you are feeling comfortable talking about them repeatedly without taking any action, then worries are controlling you. If you dont linger on them and address them correctly, then you are controlling them! Be Blissful!
A leader should be a self manager
A leader should be a self manager
Self management is the foundation stone of an effective leadership. Understanding the complexities and many layers of human psyche begins with self awareness, says Dr Sharda
Leadership mindset the world over has shown a significant shift from using the individual to further the organization to fostering the individual for his own sake as well as that of the organization. A person aspiring to lead other human beings needs to be a self manager. Self management is the foundation stone of an effective leadership. Understanding the complexities and many layers of human psyche begins with self awareness. A charismatic leader is self obsessed but not self absorbed. These are some pointers to guide us in the maze of the psyche and understanding ones self
Introspection and maintaining a daily record
Make a list of your weaknesses and strengths.
Make a list of your short and long term goals and targets
What is your shadow area the trait which is something you sweep under the carpet Generally the shadow is the most sordid and inferior part of us which the mind wants to not acknowledge as its own
Identify the habitual negative thoughts the mind is churning out. These need to be replaced with the rational positive thought.
Be observant about ones body language, tone, speech and listening attentiveness
Create a lag period between an event and the emotional reaction to it. For instance, if you are accustomed to flaring up when ignored by your spouse, delay the reaction till you can change it to a positive one
Cultivate equanimity by taking success and failure, praise and censure and happiness and suffering as passing phenomena. Express emotions with awareness, quit labelling, judging yourself and others
Believe in human potential that mysterious, dormant, limitless something which can move mountains and accomplish miracles
Take your responsibility and job seriously but never yourself. Learn to laugh at yourself
Live in the present. Enjoy your job as an opportunity for growth and self-development . Try to not dwell on the results
Self management is the foundation stone of an effective leadership. Understanding the complexities and many layers of human psyche begins with self awareness, says Dr Sharda
Leadership mindset the world over has shown a significant shift from using the individual to further the organization to fostering the individual for his own sake as well as that of the organization. A person aspiring to lead other human beings needs to be a self manager. Self management is the foundation stone of an effective leadership. Understanding the complexities and many layers of human psyche begins with self awareness. A charismatic leader is self obsessed but not self absorbed. These are some pointers to guide us in the maze of the psyche and understanding ones self
Introspection and maintaining a daily record
Make a list of your weaknesses and strengths.
Make a list of your short and long term goals and targets
What is your shadow area the trait which is something you sweep under the carpet Generally the shadow is the most sordid and inferior part of us which the mind wants to not acknowledge as its own
Identify the habitual negative thoughts the mind is churning out. These need to be replaced with the rational positive thought.
Be observant about ones body language, tone, speech and listening attentiveness
Create a lag period between an event and the emotional reaction to it. For instance, if you are accustomed to flaring up when ignored by your spouse, delay the reaction till you can change it to a positive one
Cultivate equanimity by taking success and failure, praise and censure and happiness and suffering as passing phenomena. Express emotions with awareness, quit labelling, judging yourself and others
Believe in human potential that mysterious, dormant, limitless something which can move mountains and accomplish miracles
Take your responsibility and job seriously but never yourself. Learn to laugh at yourself
Live in the present. Enjoy your job as an opportunity for growth and self-development . Try to not dwell on the results
Disengaging from the negative past
Disengaging from the negative past
VITHAL C NADKARNI
FOR all the allure of bestsellers like Power of Now, much of what we do focuses away from the present moment . Here you are huffing and puffing away on the treadmill sweating like a slave. Your goal is to savour a slimmer shape for tomorrows party. Here you are steeped in caffeine, battling sleep to overachieve, to get a crack at next years ESOPs. Whether its saying no to sweets at lunch to save your appetite for dinner or scraping and saving here and now in order to send the kids to college in the distant future, most of us spend our lives pursuing our own visions of the future.
You will be surprised by how much of our cognitive energy is invested in as-yet unrealised goals, writes the late Kansas University psychologist Rick Snyder in Hope over Time. As far as we can tell, this future orientation distinguishes humans from other animals. In fact, the majority of the animal kingdom appears to operate in a Zen-like state of ever-present focus.
Snyders contribution to positive psychology included a theory that demystified hope for researchers , clinicians and laypersons (along with a now-classic experiment on Good Morning America). He analysed motivational forces that enable us to disengage ourselves from the negatives of our past by making excuses and granting forgiveness, for instance to connect to more positive or more hopeful possibilities of the future.
The research also uncovered paradoxical nature of hopeful thought, what Sanskrit poets call the shackle that enables the convict to run: Although hopeful thought is primarily a future-oriented behaviour, the events of the past are paramount to its development and maintenance, Snyder said. ( Yet) hope does not develop best in people whose lives were idyllic. Instead hopeful thought is optimised when children are allowed to encounter and overcome obstacles to their goals. Learning to navigate the roadblocks that life throws at us, along with the negative emotions that arise out of these roadblocks , are fundamental to the development of hopeful thinking in adult life.
But when negativity triumphs over hopefulness beware of cognitive error: people frequently attribute the origin of their blockages to their worthlessness as humans , believing that they are stupid or pathetic instead of redefining the goal more objectively . Whatever may happen let it, remember You are That .
VITHAL C NADKARNI
FOR all the allure of bestsellers like Power of Now, much of what we do focuses away from the present moment . Here you are huffing and puffing away on the treadmill sweating like a slave. Your goal is to savour a slimmer shape for tomorrows party. Here you are steeped in caffeine, battling sleep to overachieve, to get a crack at next years ESOPs. Whether its saying no to sweets at lunch to save your appetite for dinner or scraping and saving here and now in order to send the kids to college in the distant future, most of us spend our lives pursuing our own visions of the future.
You will be surprised by how much of our cognitive energy is invested in as-yet unrealised goals, writes the late Kansas University psychologist Rick Snyder in Hope over Time. As far as we can tell, this future orientation distinguishes humans from other animals. In fact, the majority of the animal kingdom appears to operate in a Zen-like state of ever-present focus.
Snyders contribution to positive psychology included a theory that demystified hope for researchers , clinicians and laypersons (along with a now-classic experiment on Good Morning America). He analysed motivational forces that enable us to disengage ourselves from the negatives of our past by making excuses and granting forgiveness, for instance to connect to more positive or more hopeful possibilities of the future.
The research also uncovered paradoxical nature of hopeful thought, what Sanskrit poets call the shackle that enables the convict to run: Although hopeful thought is primarily a future-oriented behaviour, the events of the past are paramount to its development and maintenance, Snyder said. ( Yet) hope does not develop best in people whose lives were idyllic. Instead hopeful thought is optimised when children are allowed to encounter and overcome obstacles to their goals. Learning to navigate the roadblocks that life throws at us, along with the negative emotions that arise out of these roadblocks , are fundamental to the development of hopeful thinking in adult life.
But when negativity triumphs over hopefulness beware of cognitive error: people frequently attribute the origin of their blockages to their worthlessness as humans , believing that they are stupid or pathetic instead of redefining the goal more objectively . Whatever may happen let it, remember You are That .
Listening With Love And Compassion
Listening With Love And Compassion
Jamuna Rangachari
Long ago, in ancient India, Angulimala the one wearing a garland of fingers struck terror in the hearts of all. He virtually controlled the whole forest. Once, the Buddha set off on the route frequented by Angulimala. Please do not go on this route. Angulimala does not spare anyone, people begged, but the Buddha merely smiled and told them to be at ease.
As soon as the Buddha had traversed a little distance, he could hear thundering footsteps. Angulimala had seen him and was trying to catch up. The Buddha walked steadily while Angulimala ran desperately. Strangely, Angulimala was just not able to do catch up with the Buddha. Utterly frustrated, he cried out, O Bhikkhu (monk), stop, stop! though he did not really expect the monk to stop, thinking there was some magical power in the monk.
To his surprise, the Buddha stopped, turned around, and replied calmly: I have stopped. It is you who have not stopped. Totally bewildered, Angulimala looked on as the Buddha continued, I say that I have stopped because I have given up killing all beings . I have given up ill-treating all beings, and have established myself in universal love, patience and knowledge through reflection . But you still have not given up killing or ill-treating others and you are not yet established in universal love and patience. Hence, you are the one who has not stopped. You could, however, stop anytime you wish to.
Nobody had ever spoken to Angulimala in such a calm and compassionate manner. The peace that he felt just by being in the Buddhas presence was overwhelming. With tears in his eyes, he threw away the necklace of fingers and his weapons. Choked with emotion, he pleaded with the Buddha to admit him to the order of the bhikkhus. The Buddha willingly did so.
Many in the order were aghast. Bound by Buddhas order, they did not oppose the decision but avoided interacting with Angulimala , the dreaded bandit. Observing this, the Buddha counselled Angulimala: Be patient. Your bad karma will cease to haunt you if you remain calm and composed. Angulimala understood and continued serving in the community patiently and lovingly.
Over a period of time, he realised he was especially skilled in helping women in labour as blood, pain and shrieks did not unnerve him. Gradually, his past identity dropped and he became known as the person who was very skilled in helping women deliver babies. This tale reveals many truths. The statement of the Buddha, I have now stopped , that was crucial in effecting Angulimalas transformation , is a wonderful message of compassion and empathy. Once transformed, Angulimala struggled to earn the respect of others. The Buddha counsels him to keep going, for, in due course, by following the path, he is sure to gain acceptance of the community. This shows us that penitence may be tested severely but, if it is genuine, there is acceptance at the end of the struggle. Redemption happens only with time and sincere effort.
At the societal level, this tale is eternally relevant in showing us that even a hardcore criminal can turn into a socially responsible and caring individual if he is approached with understanding and empathy. Buddhahood is within reach if only we take the path of love and compassion.
Jamuna Rangachari
Long ago, in ancient India, Angulimala the one wearing a garland of fingers struck terror in the hearts of all. He virtually controlled the whole forest. Once, the Buddha set off on the route frequented by Angulimala. Please do not go on this route. Angulimala does not spare anyone, people begged, but the Buddha merely smiled and told them to be at ease.
As soon as the Buddha had traversed a little distance, he could hear thundering footsteps. Angulimala had seen him and was trying to catch up. The Buddha walked steadily while Angulimala ran desperately. Strangely, Angulimala was just not able to do catch up with the Buddha. Utterly frustrated, he cried out, O Bhikkhu (monk), stop, stop! though he did not really expect the monk to stop, thinking there was some magical power in the monk.
To his surprise, the Buddha stopped, turned around, and replied calmly: I have stopped. It is you who have not stopped. Totally bewildered, Angulimala looked on as the Buddha continued, I say that I have stopped because I have given up killing all beings . I have given up ill-treating all beings, and have established myself in universal love, patience and knowledge through reflection . But you still have not given up killing or ill-treating others and you are not yet established in universal love and patience. Hence, you are the one who has not stopped. You could, however, stop anytime you wish to.
Nobody had ever spoken to Angulimala in such a calm and compassionate manner. The peace that he felt just by being in the Buddhas presence was overwhelming. With tears in his eyes, he threw away the necklace of fingers and his weapons. Choked with emotion, he pleaded with the Buddha to admit him to the order of the bhikkhus. The Buddha willingly did so.
Many in the order were aghast. Bound by Buddhas order, they did not oppose the decision but avoided interacting with Angulimala , the dreaded bandit. Observing this, the Buddha counselled Angulimala: Be patient. Your bad karma will cease to haunt you if you remain calm and composed. Angulimala understood and continued serving in the community patiently and lovingly.
Over a period of time, he realised he was especially skilled in helping women in labour as blood, pain and shrieks did not unnerve him. Gradually, his past identity dropped and he became known as the person who was very skilled in helping women deliver babies. This tale reveals many truths. The statement of the Buddha, I have now stopped , that was crucial in effecting Angulimalas transformation , is a wonderful message of compassion and empathy. Once transformed, Angulimala struggled to earn the respect of others. The Buddha counsels him to keep going, for, in due course, by following the path, he is sure to gain acceptance of the community. This shows us that penitence may be tested severely but, if it is genuine, there is acceptance at the end of the struggle. Redemption happens only with time and sincere effort.
At the societal level, this tale is eternally relevant in showing us that even a hardcore criminal can turn into a socially responsible and caring individual if he is approached with understanding and empathy. Buddhahood is within reach if only we take the path of love and compassion.
Natural Healing Is All About Balance
Natural Healing Is All About Balance
David Vennells
Our body is like a microcosm of our planet When one part of this delicate natural machine is disturbed it sends ripples of stress through the whole
One of the most important aspects of natural healing is to understand that healing depends on balance. If our external and internal lifestyles are balanced then, assuming we have the potential to get well, all the conditions necessary for healing are in place. To establish external balance we should develop a good, simple diet, drink plenty of water, get enough rest and sleep, exercise regularly within our capacity and have an enjoyable job or purpose in life or learn to enjoy it! Also it helps to live in a clean and healthy environment. We also need supportive and healthy relationships and should avoid substance abuse.
We also have a subtle body made of energy . This subtle body is made up of life force energy; it runs through subtle pathways or meridians and centres of energy, also known as chakras. One of the main ways that a skilful healer helps the body to heal is simply by stimulating and unblocking the meridians so our natural energies flow freely bringing mental, emotional and eventually physical balance and well-being . This is the main way that most natural healing therapies work
Life Force Energy is the subtle foundation of all life, a sort of cosmic soup that supports, nourishes and sustains the cycle of birth, life and death of all forms of life. Physical matter is made up of differing frequencies of energy. Solid objects are made up of energy vibrating at a very low or slow frequency. Less solid objects like water, air and subtle life force energy are vibrating incredibly fast. Buddhism, Chinese medicine, Vedic science and other similar eastern philosophies understand the concept of energy much better than we do
One aspect of the eastern understanding of God is as Universal Life Force Energy, the source of all life. The life force in plants, trees, animals, humans, planets, stars and universes comes from this one source. Make contact with it and maintain or recreate good physical , mental and spiritual health. When we are in touch with this energy through prayer, meditation, taking a walk in the countryside or receiving healing we feel less separate and increasingly whole within ourselves and within the whole of creation. We experience a sense of unity, we become more aware of our place or role in the great scheme of things and at the same time we feel supported, safe, open and confident in our ability to be all that we are. We can say that these spiritual or personal experiences are the essence of healing
The real meaning of natural healing is to restore a person to wholeness and having a healthy body is only a small part of this. A good natural healing treatment has the effect of restoring openness to our energy system so we can receive a well balanced flow of Universal Life Force Energy that is often cut off or restricted by illness. Being cut off from this life force is often the cause of much illness
Happiness or fulfilment is just a state of mind it comes from within so it is impossible to find the lasting peace of mind we long for in the external world. In this way illness can be a real blessing in disguise because it can help to start us on that inner journey towards wholeness and ultimate healing
David Vennells
Our body is like a microcosm of our planet When one part of this delicate natural machine is disturbed it sends ripples of stress through the whole
One of the most important aspects of natural healing is to understand that healing depends on balance. If our external and internal lifestyles are balanced then, assuming we have the potential to get well, all the conditions necessary for healing are in place. To establish external balance we should develop a good, simple diet, drink plenty of water, get enough rest and sleep, exercise regularly within our capacity and have an enjoyable job or purpose in life or learn to enjoy it! Also it helps to live in a clean and healthy environment. We also need supportive and healthy relationships and should avoid substance abuse.
We also have a subtle body made of energy . This subtle body is made up of life force energy; it runs through subtle pathways or meridians and centres of energy, also known as chakras. One of the main ways that a skilful healer helps the body to heal is simply by stimulating and unblocking the meridians so our natural energies flow freely bringing mental, emotional and eventually physical balance and well-being . This is the main way that most natural healing therapies work
Life Force Energy is the subtle foundation of all life, a sort of cosmic soup that supports, nourishes and sustains the cycle of birth, life and death of all forms of life. Physical matter is made up of differing frequencies of energy. Solid objects are made up of energy vibrating at a very low or slow frequency. Less solid objects like water, air and subtle life force energy are vibrating incredibly fast. Buddhism, Chinese medicine, Vedic science and other similar eastern philosophies understand the concept of energy much better than we do
One aspect of the eastern understanding of God is as Universal Life Force Energy, the source of all life. The life force in plants, trees, animals, humans, planets, stars and universes comes from this one source. Make contact with it and maintain or recreate good physical , mental and spiritual health. When we are in touch with this energy through prayer, meditation, taking a walk in the countryside or receiving healing we feel less separate and increasingly whole within ourselves and within the whole of creation. We experience a sense of unity, we become more aware of our place or role in the great scheme of things and at the same time we feel supported, safe, open and confident in our ability to be all that we are. We can say that these spiritual or personal experiences are the essence of healing
The real meaning of natural healing is to restore a person to wholeness and having a healthy body is only a small part of this. A good natural healing treatment has the effect of restoring openness to our energy system so we can receive a well balanced flow of Universal Life Force Energy that is often cut off or restricted by illness. Being cut off from this life force is often the cause of much illness
Happiness or fulfilment is just a state of mind it comes from within so it is impossible to find the lasting peace of mind we long for in the external world. In this way illness can be a real blessing in disguise because it can help to start us on that inner journey towards wholeness and ultimate healing
Monday, July 27, 2009
GRACE AND The Trika Tradition Of Kashmir Shaivism
The Trika Tradition Of Kashmir Shaivism
Pranav Khullar
Since Rudra is One, the knowers of Brahmn did not wait in anticipation for a second deity, says the Svetasvatara Upanishad, thereby setting the tone for early Shaivite thought. Unique in its overtly theistic strain, this Mantra Upanishad as it is called by Adi Shankara, is the first to allude to Shiva-Rudra as the Parama-Purusha , and can be considered as a poetic forerunner of the later philosophical tenets of Shaivite traditions, especially the Trika school of Kashmir Shaivism. From Sage Svetasvatara to the philosopher Abhinavgupta there is an unbroken chain of thought which sees Shiva as the Inexpressible Truth which the yogis realise by focusing their minds on the Self.
The Trika tradition of Kashmir Shaivism puts Shiva at the centre of this matrix of Being and Becoming there is only one Being, Shiva, who is the nature and existence of all beings, filled with the infinite light or prakasha of universal consciousness . The external world, too, is seen as a reflection of this Shiva consciousness, Pratibimbavada, the theory of reflection, where Creation, the Shakti is not external or independent of God-consciousness , but is a mirror of this Shiva principle. It is not separate but one only just as fire is one with its heat, in contrast to the Shankara-Advaita proposition that the outer world is merely a projection of maya or illusion.
Shiva himself forms the basis of this unique monistic thought, since he is shown as being synonymous with the Purusha principle, the underlying Self of the universe, from whom emanates the manifest world, the Prakriti-Shakti principle , and into whom everything dissolves back. The Trika tradition does not stress on the need for a devotional worship of Shiva, but sees the relationship of Shiva and Jiva as one of an inherently existing Oneness and identity. This interplay of the soul and world is defined as Shivas dynamic first impulse, arousing himself from his static samadhi, in which there is no outer world to manifest. Through this leela or divine play of Shiva through his Shakti or Creation Shiva himself is able to recognise his own universal consciousness for otherwise, Abhinavgupta says, there is nothing to recognise, for that consciousness is already there. The Kashmir Shaivite believes that even though every being has this intrinsic knowledge of his Shiva nature, it is overshadowed completely by the mind, the cogito, and its act of incessant thinking by which all beings have got into the habit of defining themselves. To transcend the mind is to find the Shiva nature within oneself, which is to realise that the you and i are actually the same.
This transcendence of mind, Trika says, can be achieved through anavopaya, disciplining the ego or anava through meditative practices, or through the method of saktopaya wherein energy centres are sought to be activated by centring ones attention to the silence which comes up between the end of one thought and the beginning of another, usually not even felt, but everpresent , the Kundalini path.
The path of Grace through total surrender is the third means of recognition pratyabighna darsana of ones Shiva consciousness , and Trika believes this to the most effective, the sambavopaya, freedom from thought through the Grace of Sambu-Shiva .
This turning inwards into the origin of thought itself leads one to the fulfilled state of anupaya, where the Jiva sees himself reflected in the image of Shiva himself, and knows that Shiva and Shakti are identical.
Pranav Khullar
Since Rudra is One, the knowers of Brahmn did not wait in anticipation for a second deity, says the Svetasvatara Upanishad, thereby setting the tone for early Shaivite thought. Unique in its overtly theistic strain, this Mantra Upanishad as it is called by Adi Shankara, is the first to allude to Shiva-Rudra as the Parama-Purusha , and can be considered as a poetic forerunner of the later philosophical tenets of Shaivite traditions, especially the Trika school of Kashmir Shaivism. From Sage Svetasvatara to the philosopher Abhinavgupta there is an unbroken chain of thought which sees Shiva as the Inexpressible Truth which the yogis realise by focusing their minds on the Self.
The Trika tradition of Kashmir Shaivism puts Shiva at the centre of this matrix of Being and Becoming there is only one Being, Shiva, who is the nature and existence of all beings, filled with the infinite light or prakasha of universal consciousness . The external world, too, is seen as a reflection of this Shiva consciousness, Pratibimbavada, the theory of reflection, where Creation, the Shakti is not external or independent of God-consciousness , but is a mirror of this Shiva principle. It is not separate but one only just as fire is one with its heat, in contrast to the Shankara-Advaita proposition that the outer world is merely a projection of maya or illusion.
Shiva himself forms the basis of this unique monistic thought, since he is shown as being synonymous with the Purusha principle, the underlying Self of the universe, from whom emanates the manifest world, the Prakriti-Shakti principle , and into whom everything dissolves back. The Trika tradition does not stress on the need for a devotional worship of Shiva, but sees the relationship of Shiva and Jiva as one of an inherently existing Oneness and identity. This interplay of the soul and world is defined as Shivas dynamic first impulse, arousing himself from his static samadhi, in which there is no outer world to manifest. Through this leela or divine play of Shiva through his Shakti or Creation Shiva himself is able to recognise his own universal consciousness for otherwise, Abhinavgupta says, there is nothing to recognise, for that consciousness is already there. The Kashmir Shaivite believes that even though every being has this intrinsic knowledge of his Shiva nature, it is overshadowed completely by the mind, the cogito, and its act of incessant thinking by which all beings have got into the habit of defining themselves. To transcend the mind is to find the Shiva nature within oneself, which is to realise that the you and i are actually the same.
This transcendence of mind, Trika says, can be achieved through anavopaya, disciplining the ego or anava through meditative practices, or through the method of saktopaya wherein energy centres are sought to be activated by centring ones attention to the silence which comes up between the end of one thought and the beginning of another, usually not even felt, but everpresent , the Kundalini path.
The path of Grace through total surrender is the third means of recognition pratyabighna darsana of ones Shiva consciousness , and Trika believes this to the most effective, the sambavopaya, freedom from thought through the Grace of Sambu-Shiva .
This turning inwards into the origin of thought itself leads one to the fulfilled state of anupaya, where the Jiva sees himself reflected in the image of Shiva himself, and knows that Shiva and Shakti are identical.
Growing older can be an art
Growing older can be an art
MARGUERITE THEOPHIL
AS I reach fifty-five , one of the slowing-down changes I notice in myself besides the fact that just walking and not running up three flights of stairs gets me breathless is that in a bookstore these days I also slow down in front of books about getting older.
I pause briefly before Biology of Aging: Natural Ageing Revolution, then move on to the funnier titles like Ageing Disgracefully , and Over the Hill, You Pick Up Speed; I wonder if the humour in these helps us face this time more easily . Some more browsing later, I actually end up buying From Ageing to Sageing by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and The Second Half of Life: Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom by Angeles Arrien.
The onset of ageing is so sneaky and gradual; we are often surprised to find one day it is right here. Then we are faced with three choices feel resigned to it, get horribly depressed, or welcome it as a chance to re-design our lives. The re-design thing can be as small or as big as we choose as long as we are the ones doing it.
Growing older, we need reminding , is not a disease, but can be an art, bringing surprising blessings if practiced well. We are delighted that consciously caring for ourselves focuses the mind as well as the bodys energies, leading to new freedoms, expressions of creativity and spiritual intensity. In indigenous cultures, elders were honoured and cherished for the precious resources they brought to the community. Yet most cultures current perspective is that this stage offers only decline, disease, despair. However , this is seen by Arrien as the ultimate initiation , when, if open and aware, we encounter moments reminding us we are a sacred mystery made manifest, enjoying limitless possibilities to restore and renew ourselves. Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi stops us short with the funny-but-true reminder that this special time is not given to everyone! He proposes a new model of conscious aging, called sage-ing , a time to let go of all weve outgrown and become wisdom keepers , acting as guides, mentors, and agents of healing and reconciliation on behalf of the planet, nation, tribe, clan, and family.
Conscious aging requires us to find both reflective and practical ways to remind ourselves of our intention to remain awake, alert and aware as we grow older; so it isnt really quick or easy. But we know it is a spiritual practice that involves finding and living out of that part of ourselves that is essentially timeless.
MARGUERITE THEOPHIL
AS I reach fifty-five , one of the slowing-down changes I notice in myself besides the fact that just walking and not running up three flights of stairs gets me breathless is that in a bookstore these days I also slow down in front of books about getting older.
I pause briefly before Biology of Aging: Natural Ageing Revolution, then move on to the funnier titles like Ageing Disgracefully , and Over the Hill, You Pick Up Speed; I wonder if the humour in these helps us face this time more easily . Some more browsing later, I actually end up buying From Ageing to Sageing by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and The Second Half of Life: Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom by Angeles Arrien.
The onset of ageing is so sneaky and gradual; we are often surprised to find one day it is right here. Then we are faced with three choices feel resigned to it, get horribly depressed, or welcome it as a chance to re-design our lives. The re-design thing can be as small or as big as we choose as long as we are the ones doing it.
Growing older, we need reminding , is not a disease, but can be an art, bringing surprising blessings if practiced well. We are delighted that consciously caring for ourselves focuses the mind as well as the bodys energies, leading to new freedoms, expressions of creativity and spiritual intensity. In indigenous cultures, elders were honoured and cherished for the precious resources they brought to the community. Yet most cultures current perspective is that this stage offers only decline, disease, despair. However , this is seen by Arrien as the ultimate initiation , when, if open and aware, we encounter moments reminding us we are a sacred mystery made manifest, enjoying limitless possibilities to restore and renew ourselves. Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi stops us short with the funny-but-true reminder that this special time is not given to everyone! He proposes a new model of conscious aging, called sage-ing , a time to let go of all weve outgrown and become wisdom keepers , acting as guides, mentors, and agents of healing and reconciliation on behalf of the planet, nation, tribe, clan, and family.
Conscious aging requires us to find both reflective and practical ways to remind ourselves of our intention to remain awake, alert and aware as we grow older; so it isnt really quick or easy. But we know it is a spiritual practice that involves finding and living out of that part of ourselves that is essentially timeless.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Another Life, Yet Another Chance
Another Life, Yet Another Chance
Murali A Raghavan
The subject of reincarnation or rebirth has always evoked tremendous fascination and curiosity. Rebirth removes finality from death, reaffirms the imperishable nature of the spirit and affords a second chance.
Some philosophers have argued that birth is but a one-off phenomenon and all the actions get absolved with confession at the end of the term. The approach is not only simplistic; it also posits birth as an accident. It fails to probe the leitmotif of the picture of complexities sketched so diligently by the Supreme Power.
Hindu spiritualism regards reincarnation as a compelling tool for emancipation of soul from the karmic fetters. But within this school of thought, there are different approaches . Advaita, however, posits that the supreme consciousness pervades the entire universe like a limitless ocean and all the myriad manifestations arise like waves and submerge within this cosmic ocean. To grant these waves name, identity and title and grade them in any manner is give in to delusion and ego. Hence there is no admission of birth or death in its progression towards achievement of the unison with that single entity, Atman or Brahmn. The stress is on getting past illusion through the process of self-inquiry and letting the light within to glow, illumine and enlighten. Know yourself and all is known is the dominant theme.
In another approach, the sage of Arunachala , Ramana Maharshi said that Advaita in theory is possible but Advaita in action is not. In contrast, both Ramanujacharya and Madhavacharya enumerate various steps for a seeker to escape from the cycle of birth and death and a tacit admission of rebirth could be inferred therefrom. Both Visistadvaita and Dvaita prescribe the path of devotion and complete surrender and admit to rewards and retributions in the form of higher grades of life when probation on earth ends.
Before looking at yet another aspect, it might be instructive to reflect on the germination of life. Organisms are born out of organic substances under certain conditions. Life begets life. All organic substances, which are in the nature of food, are pregnant with life force, with the potential to create and procreate. How do ants arrive at a spot where sugar is spilled or stored Do they have radar The little secret is that the sugar itself gives birth to the ant which feasts upon it. The ants, perhaps, derive even their colour from the carbon content in the sugar. A piece of bread may decay with time but it is the progenitor of variety of species. Birth, growth, decay and rebirth is the unending chain that holds Nature in a state of equilibrium. The consumer is consumed in the process of consumption is the Upanishadic declaration.
All living species are born out of food and, in turn, become food for others. The Rig Veda begins with this assertion. How is food produced The friction between wind, water, fire and earth in space produces food and the sense of consciousness is imparted by the nature of the food essence or the flavour, according to Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Reincarnation or rebirth does not occur at a future date but is coextensive and simultaneous . It is here and now. The originator of the karma takes over the unfinished task through his progeny.
Murali A Raghavan
The subject of reincarnation or rebirth has always evoked tremendous fascination and curiosity. Rebirth removes finality from death, reaffirms the imperishable nature of the spirit and affords a second chance.
Some philosophers have argued that birth is but a one-off phenomenon and all the actions get absolved with confession at the end of the term. The approach is not only simplistic; it also posits birth as an accident. It fails to probe the leitmotif of the picture of complexities sketched so diligently by the Supreme Power.
Hindu spiritualism regards reincarnation as a compelling tool for emancipation of soul from the karmic fetters. But within this school of thought, there are different approaches . Advaita, however, posits that the supreme consciousness pervades the entire universe like a limitless ocean and all the myriad manifestations arise like waves and submerge within this cosmic ocean. To grant these waves name, identity and title and grade them in any manner is give in to delusion and ego. Hence there is no admission of birth or death in its progression towards achievement of the unison with that single entity, Atman or Brahmn. The stress is on getting past illusion through the process of self-inquiry and letting the light within to glow, illumine and enlighten. Know yourself and all is known is the dominant theme.
In another approach, the sage of Arunachala , Ramana Maharshi said that Advaita in theory is possible but Advaita in action is not. In contrast, both Ramanujacharya and Madhavacharya enumerate various steps for a seeker to escape from the cycle of birth and death and a tacit admission of rebirth could be inferred therefrom. Both Visistadvaita and Dvaita prescribe the path of devotion and complete surrender and admit to rewards and retributions in the form of higher grades of life when probation on earth ends.
Before looking at yet another aspect, it might be instructive to reflect on the germination of life. Organisms are born out of organic substances under certain conditions. Life begets life. All organic substances, which are in the nature of food, are pregnant with life force, with the potential to create and procreate. How do ants arrive at a spot where sugar is spilled or stored Do they have radar The little secret is that the sugar itself gives birth to the ant which feasts upon it. The ants, perhaps, derive even their colour from the carbon content in the sugar. A piece of bread may decay with time but it is the progenitor of variety of species. Birth, growth, decay and rebirth is the unending chain that holds Nature in a state of equilibrium. The consumer is consumed in the process of consumption is the Upanishadic declaration.
All living species are born out of food and, in turn, become food for others. The Rig Veda begins with this assertion. How is food produced The friction between wind, water, fire and earth in space produces food and the sense of consciousness is imparted by the nature of the food essence or the flavour, according to Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Reincarnation or rebirth does not occur at a future date but is coextensive and simultaneous . It is here and now. The originator of the karma takes over the unfinished task through his progeny.
Its all for the best!
Its all for the best!
As we move on in life, we understand why we are denied certain things and it may actually be a blessing in disguise!
Vinita Dawra Nangia TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Acolleagues g-chat tagline read thus So, lets put it like this: I asked for a small round ice-cream cake with a cherry on top. . . and I got a 3-tier German chocolate cake with an extra supply of mango souffl and butter cookies!! Now, thats great. But the point is... where is my small round ice-cream cake with a cherry on top Is that too much to ask for
No, it isnt too much to ask for. It was never too much. But maybe someone thought they would give you more than you wanted assuming that would make you happier. But they assumed wrong, didnt they You wanted just that one small cake, and all the big ones in the world cannot make up for the fact that you didn't get the one you really wanted.
Things dont always work out exactly as you want them to. And if the intensity of the desire was strong, then even though you may have got much more than you wanted, the craving for that one thing that escapes you never really goes away.
Anjali, a friend, was working her way up to Head of Operations for a firm in Hyderabad. When promotion time came, another colleague made it to that slot while Anjali got a double promotion and was made the South Head, controlling all southern city ops. Even through the congratulations and accompanying euphoria, she admits to having felt back then a deep regret that she never could hold quite the post she had dreamt about! Today, five years later, though enjoying her job, she still wonders what it would have been like to have had her dream fulfilled and head Hyderabad ops!
Would you say she was being ungrateful Sure, you would. But then what about the boy who made it through the JEE IIT and yet committed suicide because he got Kharagpur rather than Delhi IIT, his first choice He hadnt got a better centre, but he did at least get into IIT. What about the many others who were nowhere on the merit list
Such disappointments occur when we allow our desires and dreams to overtake us and start living in anticipation of their fulfillment. A narrow focus makes us oblivious to all else but the goal in mind, very often blinding us to better options or greater pleasures just within our reach. A closed mind doesnt allow us to enjoy that which we got instead of hankering after what escaped our clutches. And life carries ona series of regrets and what ifs. How does one avoid this trap We all grow up hearing the adage, Jo hota hai achche ke liye hota hai whatever happens, is for the best. And most of us grow up to believe it and pass it on to the next generation. Situations we have fought and protested against, turns of Fate we have cribbed about, or choices forced upon us that we have kicked out at havent we all so often lived to bless these adversities In retrospect, much of what we desired and didnt get later seems like stuff we are well rid of, be it a job, a car, some particular house, a dream or even a lover! Life has a strange way of falling into a pattern as we move on, creating an interesting mosaic, which though unfathomable from near, assumes greater meaning as we move further away from it. There seems suddenly to have been a reason for whatever happened. Well, the reason was always there, I guess. Suddenly it seems comprehensible to us. As we move away from a situation and move on in life, we understand why we were denied certain things and how not getting others that we coveted actually was a great blessing for us. There seems to be a Power, someone up there who knows it all. Someone who has laid out the pattern and reveals it to us only bit by bit. As long as you trust in this, you may rest assured that life seems more manageable and you better equipped to handle it. This serves as a great source of solace too. Whenever you don't manage to get what you aimed for, you can always fall back on the face-saver that whatever happens, is for the best! However, lets not sound facetious here. If you believe in the Power that be, great, if you dont then you have to believe that the only reason you seem better off without what you got is because you convince yourself into believing so, and its no better than a case of sour grapes! I prefer to go with the first explanation What about you
As we move on in life, we understand why we are denied certain things and it may actually be a blessing in disguise!
Vinita Dawra Nangia TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Acolleagues g-chat tagline read thus So, lets put it like this: I asked for a small round ice-cream cake with a cherry on top. . . and I got a 3-tier German chocolate cake with an extra supply of mango souffl and butter cookies!! Now, thats great. But the point is... where is my small round ice-cream cake with a cherry on top Is that too much to ask for
No, it isnt too much to ask for. It was never too much. But maybe someone thought they would give you more than you wanted assuming that would make you happier. But they assumed wrong, didnt they You wanted just that one small cake, and all the big ones in the world cannot make up for the fact that you didn't get the one you really wanted.
Things dont always work out exactly as you want them to. And if the intensity of the desire was strong, then even though you may have got much more than you wanted, the craving for that one thing that escapes you never really goes away.
Anjali, a friend, was working her way up to Head of Operations for a firm in Hyderabad. When promotion time came, another colleague made it to that slot while Anjali got a double promotion and was made the South Head, controlling all southern city ops. Even through the congratulations and accompanying euphoria, she admits to having felt back then a deep regret that she never could hold quite the post she had dreamt about! Today, five years later, though enjoying her job, she still wonders what it would have been like to have had her dream fulfilled and head Hyderabad ops!
Would you say she was being ungrateful Sure, you would. But then what about the boy who made it through the JEE IIT and yet committed suicide because he got Kharagpur rather than Delhi IIT, his first choice He hadnt got a better centre, but he did at least get into IIT. What about the many others who were nowhere on the merit list
Such disappointments occur when we allow our desires and dreams to overtake us and start living in anticipation of their fulfillment. A narrow focus makes us oblivious to all else but the goal in mind, very often blinding us to better options or greater pleasures just within our reach. A closed mind doesnt allow us to enjoy that which we got instead of hankering after what escaped our clutches. And life carries ona series of regrets and what ifs. How does one avoid this trap We all grow up hearing the adage, Jo hota hai achche ke liye hota hai whatever happens, is for the best. And most of us grow up to believe it and pass it on to the next generation. Situations we have fought and protested against, turns of Fate we have cribbed about, or choices forced upon us that we have kicked out at havent we all so often lived to bless these adversities In retrospect, much of what we desired and didnt get later seems like stuff we are well rid of, be it a job, a car, some particular house, a dream or even a lover! Life has a strange way of falling into a pattern as we move on, creating an interesting mosaic, which though unfathomable from near, assumes greater meaning as we move further away from it. There seems suddenly to have been a reason for whatever happened. Well, the reason was always there, I guess. Suddenly it seems comprehensible to us. As we move away from a situation and move on in life, we understand why we were denied certain things and how not getting others that we coveted actually was a great blessing for us. There seems to be a Power, someone up there who knows it all. Someone who has laid out the pattern and reveals it to us only bit by bit. As long as you trust in this, you may rest assured that life seems more manageable and you better equipped to handle it. This serves as a great source of solace too. Whenever you don't manage to get what you aimed for, you can always fall back on the face-saver that whatever happens, is for the best! However, lets not sound facetious here. If you believe in the Power that be, great, if you dont then you have to believe that the only reason you seem better off without what you got is because you convince yourself into believing so, and its no better than a case of sour grapes! I prefer to go with the first explanation What about you
Self-worth lies within us
Just bank on yourself
Forget the downturn. Its not all about the money. Nor should it be about seeking other peoples approval. Self-worth lies within us, says Anshu Khanna
Our self-worth is based on how we feel about ourselves as a person in terms of our skills, achievements, status, financial resources and physical attributes . But who defines our selfworth What should it be measured against Its often confused with net worth. The very fact that it relates to self signifies that it refers to a feeling of being whole and complete.
Aspirations to fulfill our basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter drive us to work towards a goal. Gradually, our needs propel us to climb higher up the social ladder. Efforts translate into success and our basic needs graduate into indulgence. The basic need for a house grows into the need for a larger home and then into the desire to have the best address in town. Over time, our material possessions become an integral part of our identity.
Then the sub-prime crisis happened . Not only did it change the face of economies but it affected peoples self-worth . Peoples material desires have been compromised and their self worth has diminished. When most measurable possessions are suddenly taken away, what are you left with Material objects become crutches and we seem to lose our ability to live without them. There is such a high emotional attachment to ones possessions that a feeling of helplessness creeps in once they are gone.
All of us have basic emotional needs. They vary from person to person and depend upon the stage of life were at. Leadership consultant Anthony Robbins has classified our emotional needs into six categories: Certainty ; Uncertainty; Significance; Love and connection; Growth and Contribution.
People often have two or more needs working in parallel. But, the one need that dominates all of us is the need for approval . We seek approval by looking good, working hard, having a beautiful home, bringing up successful children and so on. We depend on others to give us our sense of our self worth. This desire arises either due to lack of positive reinforcement as a child or a sense of rejection or neglect in the early years. In order to fulfill the need to 'fit in' , people get professional degrees and try to gain material success, fame and money. Some resort to slandering others in a bid to get approval.
The constant search for validation of our self-worth is exhausting and debilitating. Becoming dependent on others to feel good about ourselves or waiting for positive affirmation restricts our growth.
Consider the way people respond to other peoples acknowledgement , say, by being called on stage to receive a standing ovation. Some people respond by opening their arms wide, laughing and even jumping up and down. Others barely tolerate a few seconds of applause before holding up their hands as if to say, Enough. Please stop. Im getting uncomfortable.
How do you overcome this constraint What is self-worth really Do you love yourself and accept yourself for who you are Or are you constantly trying to measure yourself using transient things
After all, the earliest man survived without many amenities. He found creative ways to seek shelter to protect himself from the vagaries of nature. He discovered caves and then brick houses. Starting from leaves and animal skin, he moved on to discover cloth yarn to cover his body. So, what was the early man equipped with, when he had no house or clothing He operated from the knowledge that he carried within him the means of overcoming the challenges of the day-to-day living.
Every experience in life adds to our knowledge. And self-worth can only be measured by the strength of ones intellect and a strong mind. It is a well of knowledge, which we constantly need to draw upon. We need to develop an inventory of all the positive attributes we possess; this will outweigh all our fears.
Lack of self-worth can be masked by indulgence in material items. With the world hit by a financial crisis and the value of property and other assets dropping substantially, what remains intact is the value of our skills or the knowledge within us.
During the course of our lives, we absorb knowledge from various sources, including formal education, experiences, environment and our families. That knowledge is our true wealth and is not transient. It is a gift we can share with each other. As it is written: The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes anothers , smile at someone and receive a smile in return
I once read about a successful businesswoman who was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors discouraged her from working at the hospital . She responded with the words: My body is sick but not my mind! We have to carry on digging into our internal goldmine .
Many may constantly be waiting for a miracle to transform the world, create jobs and secure everyones future . But all of us possess the capacity to trigger change. Engage with your own self-worth . It is this love for self that will give you the basic material to overcome difficult circumstances and create miracles in your life.
(Ashu Khanna is an executive coach and leadership development consultant)
Forget the downturn. Its not all about the money. Nor should it be about seeking other peoples approval. Self-worth lies within us, says Anshu Khanna
Our self-worth is based on how we feel about ourselves as a person in terms of our skills, achievements, status, financial resources and physical attributes . But who defines our selfworth What should it be measured against Its often confused with net worth. The very fact that it relates to self signifies that it refers to a feeling of being whole and complete.
Aspirations to fulfill our basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter drive us to work towards a goal. Gradually, our needs propel us to climb higher up the social ladder. Efforts translate into success and our basic needs graduate into indulgence. The basic need for a house grows into the need for a larger home and then into the desire to have the best address in town. Over time, our material possessions become an integral part of our identity.
Then the sub-prime crisis happened . Not only did it change the face of economies but it affected peoples self-worth . Peoples material desires have been compromised and their self worth has diminished. When most measurable possessions are suddenly taken away, what are you left with Material objects become crutches and we seem to lose our ability to live without them. There is such a high emotional attachment to ones possessions that a feeling of helplessness creeps in once they are gone.
All of us have basic emotional needs. They vary from person to person and depend upon the stage of life were at. Leadership consultant Anthony Robbins has classified our emotional needs into six categories: Certainty ; Uncertainty; Significance; Love and connection; Growth and Contribution.
People often have two or more needs working in parallel. But, the one need that dominates all of us is the need for approval . We seek approval by looking good, working hard, having a beautiful home, bringing up successful children and so on. We depend on others to give us our sense of our self worth. This desire arises either due to lack of positive reinforcement as a child or a sense of rejection or neglect in the early years. In order to fulfill the need to 'fit in' , people get professional degrees and try to gain material success, fame and money. Some resort to slandering others in a bid to get approval.
The constant search for validation of our self-worth is exhausting and debilitating. Becoming dependent on others to feel good about ourselves or waiting for positive affirmation restricts our growth.
Consider the way people respond to other peoples acknowledgement , say, by being called on stage to receive a standing ovation. Some people respond by opening their arms wide, laughing and even jumping up and down. Others barely tolerate a few seconds of applause before holding up their hands as if to say, Enough. Please stop. Im getting uncomfortable.
How do you overcome this constraint What is self-worth really Do you love yourself and accept yourself for who you are Or are you constantly trying to measure yourself using transient things
After all, the earliest man survived without many amenities. He found creative ways to seek shelter to protect himself from the vagaries of nature. He discovered caves and then brick houses. Starting from leaves and animal skin, he moved on to discover cloth yarn to cover his body. So, what was the early man equipped with, when he had no house or clothing He operated from the knowledge that he carried within him the means of overcoming the challenges of the day-to-day living.
Every experience in life adds to our knowledge. And self-worth can only be measured by the strength of ones intellect and a strong mind. It is a well of knowledge, which we constantly need to draw upon. We need to develop an inventory of all the positive attributes we possess; this will outweigh all our fears.
Lack of self-worth can be masked by indulgence in material items. With the world hit by a financial crisis and the value of property and other assets dropping substantially, what remains intact is the value of our skills or the knowledge within us.
During the course of our lives, we absorb knowledge from various sources, including formal education, experiences, environment and our families. That knowledge is our true wealth and is not transient. It is a gift we can share with each other. As it is written: The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes anothers , smile at someone and receive a smile in return
I once read about a successful businesswoman who was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors discouraged her from working at the hospital . She responded with the words: My body is sick but not my mind! We have to carry on digging into our internal goldmine .
Many may constantly be waiting for a miracle to transform the world, create jobs and secure everyones future . But all of us possess the capacity to trigger change. Engage with your own self-worth . It is this love for self that will give you the basic material to overcome difficult circumstances and create miracles in your life.
(Ashu Khanna is an executive coach and leadership development consultant)
Self-worth lies within us
Just bank on yourself
Forget the downturn. Its not all about the money. Nor should it be about seeking other peoples approval. Self-worth lies within us, says Anshu Khanna
Our self-worth is based on how we feel about ourselves as a person in terms of our skills, achievements, status, financial resources and physical attributes . But who defines our selfworth What should it be measured against Its often confused with net worth. The very fact that it relates to self signifies that it refers to a feeling of being whole and complete.
Aspirations to fulfill our basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter drive us to work towards a goal. Gradually, our needs propel us to climb higher up the social ladder. Efforts translate into success and our basic needs graduate into indulgence. The basic need for a house grows into the need for a larger home and then into the desire to have the best address in town. Over time, our material possessions become an integral part of our identity.
Then the sub-prime crisis happened . Not only did it change the face of economies but it affected peoples self-worth . Peoples material desires have been compromised and their self worth has diminished. When most measurable possessions are suddenly taken away, what are you left with Material objects become crutches and we seem to lose our ability to live without them. There is such a high emotional attachment to ones possessions that a feeling of helplessness creeps in once they are gone.
All of us have basic emotional needs. They vary from person to person and depend upon the stage of life were at. Leadership consultant Anthony Robbins has classified our emotional needs into six categories: Certainty ; Uncertainty; Significance; Love and connection; Growth and Contribution.
People often have two or more needs working in parallel. But, the one need that dominates all of us is the need for approval . We seek approval by looking good, working hard, having a beautiful home, bringing up successful children and so on. We depend on others to give us our sense of our self worth. This desire arises either due to lack of positive reinforcement as a child or a sense of rejection or neglect in the early years. In order to fulfill the need to 'fit in' , people get professional degrees and try to gain material success, fame and money. Some resort to slandering others in a bid to get approval.
The constant search for validation of our self-worth is exhausting and debilitating. Becoming dependent on others to feel good about ourselves or waiting for positive affirmation restricts our growth.
Consider the way people respond to other peoples acknowledgement , say, by being called on stage to receive a standing ovation. Some people respond by opening their arms wide, laughing and even jumping up and down. Others barely tolerate a few seconds of applause before holding up their hands as if to say, Enough. Please stop. Im getting uncomfortable.
How do you overcome this constraint What is self-worth really Do you love yourself and accept yourself for who you are Or are you constantly trying to measure yourself using transient things
After all, the earliest man survived without many amenities. He found creative ways to seek shelter to protect himself from the vagaries of nature. He discovered caves and then brick houses. Starting from leaves and animal skin, he moved on to discover cloth yarn to cover his body. So, what was the early man equipped with, when he had no house or clothing He operated from the knowledge that he carried within him the means of overcoming the challenges of the day-to-day living.
Every experience in life adds to our knowledge. And self-worth can only be measured by the strength of ones intellect and a strong mind. It is a well of knowledge, which we constantly need to draw upon. We need to develop an inventory of all the positive attributes we possess; this will outweigh all our fears.
Lack of self-worth can be masked by indulgence in material items. With the world hit by a financial crisis and the value of property and other assets dropping substantially, what remains intact is the value of our skills or the knowledge within us.
During the course of our lives, we absorb knowledge from various sources, including formal education, experiences, environment and our families. That knowledge is our true wealth and is not transient. It is a gift we can share with each other. As it is written: The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes anothers , smile at someone and receive a smile in return
I once read about a successful businesswoman who was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors discouraged her from working at the hospital . She responded with the words: My body is sick but not my mind! We have to carry on digging into our internal goldmine .
Many may constantly be waiting for a miracle to transform the world, create jobs and secure everyones future . But all of us possess the capacity to trigger change. Engage with your own self-worth . It is this love for self that will give you the basic material to overcome difficult circumstances and create miracles in your life.
(Ashu Khanna is an executive coach and leadership development consultant)
Forget the downturn. Its not all about the money. Nor should it be about seeking other peoples approval. Self-worth lies within us, says Anshu Khanna
Our self-worth is based on how we feel about ourselves as a person in terms of our skills, achievements, status, financial resources and physical attributes . But who defines our selfworth What should it be measured against Its often confused with net worth. The very fact that it relates to self signifies that it refers to a feeling of being whole and complete.
Aspirations to fulfill our basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter drive us to work towards a goal. Gradually, our needs propel us to climb higher up the social ladder. Efforts translate into success and our basic needs graduate into indulgence. The basic need for a house grows into the need for a larger home and then into the desire to have the best address in town. Over time, our material possessions become an integral part of our identity.
Then the sub-prime crisis happened . Not only did it change the face of economies but it affected peoples self-worth . Peoples material desires have been compromised and their self worth has diminished. When most measurable possessions are suddenly taken away, what are you left with Material objects become crutches and we seem to lose our ability to live without them. There is such a high emotional attachment to ones possessions that a feeling of helplessness creeps in once they are gone.
All of us have basic emotional needs. They vary from person to person and depend upon the stage of life were at. Leadership consultant Anthony Robbins has classified our emotional needs into six categories: Certainty ; Uncertainty; Significance; Love and connection; Growth and Contribution.
People often have two or more needs working in parallel. But, the one need that dominates all of us is the need for approval . We seek approval by looking good, working hard, having a beautiful home, bringing up successful children and so on. We depend on others to give us our sense of our self worth. This desire arises either due to lack of positive reinforcement as a child or a sense of rejection or neglect in the early years. In order to fulfill the need to 'fit in' , people get professional degrees and try to gain material success, fame and money. Some resort to slandering others in a bid to get approval.
The constant search for validation of our self-worth is exhausting and debilitating. Becoming dependent on others to feel good about ourselves or waiting for positive affirmation restricts our growth.
Consider the way people respond to other peoples acknowledgement , say, by being called on stage to receive a standing ovation. Some people respond by opening their arms wide, laughing and even jumping up and down. Others barely tolerate a few seconds of applause before holding up their hands as if to say, Enough. Please stop. Im getting uncomfortable.
How do you overcome this constraint What is self-worth really Do you love yourself and accept yourself for who you are Or are you constantly trying to measure yourself using transient things
After all, the earliest man survived without many amenities. He found creative ways to seek shelter to protect himself from the vagaries of nature. He discovered caves and then brick houses. Starting from leaves and animal skin, he moved on to discover cloth yarn to cover his body. So, what was the early man equipped with, when he had no house or clothing He operated from the knowledge that he carried within him the means of overcoming the challenges of the day-to-day living.
Every experience in life adds to our knowledge. And self-worth can only be measured by the strength of ones intellect and a strong mind. It is a well of knowledge, which we constantly need to draw upon. We need to develop an inventory of all the positive attributes we possess; this will outweigh all our fears.
Lack of self-worth can be masked by indulgence in material items. With the world hit by a financial crisis and the value of property and other assets dropping substantially, what remains intact is the value of our skills or the knowledge within us.
During the course of our lives, we absorb knowledge from various sources, including formal education, experiences, environment and our families. That knowledge is our true wealth and is not transient. It is a gift we can share with each other. As it is written: The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes anothers , smile at someone and receive a smile in return
I once read about a successful businesswoman who was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors discouraged her from working at the hospital . She responded with the words: My body is sick but not my mind! We have to carry on digging into our internal goldmine .
Many may constantly be waiting for a miracle to transform the world, create jobs and secure everyones future . But all of us possess the capacity to trigger change. Engage with your own self-worth . It is this love for self that will give you the basic material to overcome difficult circumstances and create miracles in your life.
(Ashu Khanna is an executive coach and leadership development consultant)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
A Guru Can Help Us Get Connected
A Guru Can Help Us Get Connected
Shri Shri Nimishananda
The external world is only a reflection of our inner world. Our thoughts and feelings dictate the way we perceive and experience life. People and the environment only respond and correspond to the kind of vibrations we generate. Trapped by emotions and mood swings, we suffer and make others suffer. Though controlling the mind may seem as impossible as harnessing the whirlwind, through the grace and guidance of a guru we can gain complete mastery over it. The guru can totally transform our inner and outer worlds and fill it with bliss, contentment and peace.
In the Guru Gita, Shiva tells Parvati: It is the existence of the guru that lends reality to our inner world; it is the radiance of the guru which illumines That , the Cosmic Consciousness; it is the ananda of the guru that makes all beings blissful. Therefore, offer your salutations to the guru with utmost reverence.
The guru is not a vyakti or personality. He is the shakti or energy that connects our soul to the Supreme Soul. Ever one with the Universal Consciousness, he enfolds the cosmos in his being. He is the all-encompassing power of love, the fount of compassion . The guru always propels our minds towards peace and Self-realisation and anchors us in total stability. The brilliant searchlight of his wisdom illumines the hidden recesses of the mind, revealing both the filth and wealth we have accumulated over lifetimes. His grace strengthens our power of discrimination, ignites our willpower and enables us to discard vices and nurture virtues.
To the guru each Soul is precious. Even if we forsake Him, He does not forsake us. Many people relate to us through our body, mind and intellect, but it is only the guru who is interested in our soul. Whether others value us or not, the guru accepts and cherishes us. For this we have to invoke the guru through our love and devotion. If we already have a guru, we start feeling his grace intensely and instantaneously. In the Guru Gita, Ishwara says: Though the devoted disciple of a Guru may be a fool, all his actions like initiation, vows and penance
bear fruit because of the immense Grace of his Guru. The gurus grace offers refuge to our body, mind and soul, giving us complete protection. Selfless service turns to reverence and this helps us to identify our ego which is preventing us from attaining Self-realisation This reverence dawns with the knowledge that the gurus word is the truth. In the Guru Gita, Shiva says: The Vedas and scriptures are scintillating jewels at the lotus feet of the guru . His wisdom is the Sun that illumines the highest truths. The word of the guru is the source of all mantras and the grace of the guru is the source of Self-realisation . When we surrender completely to the guru, He balances everything inside us and brings out the sweetness of bliss, the essence of the Soul. He liberates us and shows us how to expand our constricted world into an endless expanse of joy so that we become one with the One with love.
Shri Nimishananda Ashram. Phone: 934125908. e-mail : nimishanandaashram@hotmail .com
Website: www.shrinimishamba.org
Shri Shri Nimishananda
The external world is only a reflection of our inner world. Our thoughts and feelings dictate the way we perceive and experience life. People and the environment only respond and correspond to the kind of vibrations we generate. Trapped by emotions and mood swings, we suffer and make others suffer. Though controlling the mind may seem as impossible as harnessing the whirlwind, through the grace and guidance of a guru we can gain complete mastery over it. The guru can totally transform our inner and outer worlds and fill it with bliss, contentment and peace.
In the Guru Gita, Shiva tells Parvati: It is the existence of the guru that lends reality to our inner world; it is the radiance of the guru which illumines That , the Cosmic Consciousness; it is the ananda of the guru that makes all beings blissful. Therefore, offer your salutations to the guru with utmost reverence.
The guru is not a vyakti or personality. He is the shakti or energy that connects our soul to the Supreme Soul. Ever one with the Universal Consciousness, he enfolds the cosmos in his being. He is the all-encompassing power of love, the fount of compassion . The guru always propels our minds towards peace and Self-realisation and anchors us in total stability. The brilliant searchlight of his wisdom illumines the hidden recesses of the mind, revealing both the filth and wealth we have accumulated over lifetimes. His grace strengthens our power of discrimination, ignites our willpower and enables us to discard vices and nurture virtues.
To the guru each Soul is precious. Even if we forsake Him, He does not forsake us. Many people relate to us through our body, mind and intellect, but it is only the guru who is interested in our soul. Whether others value us or not, the guru accepts and cherishes us. For this we have to invoke the guru through our love and devotion. If we already have a guru, we start feeling his grace intensely and instantaneously. In the Guru Gita, Ishwara says: Though the devoted disciple of a Guru may be a fool, all his actions like initiation, vows and penance
bear fruit because of the immense Grace of his Guru. The gurus grace offers refuge to our body, mind and soul, giving us complete protection. Selfless service turns to reverence and this helps us to identify our ego which is preventing us from attaining Self-realisation This reverence dawns with the knowledge that the gurus word is the truth. In the Guru Gita, Shiva says: The Vedas and scriptures are scintillating jewels at the lotus feet of the guru . His wisdom is the Sun that illumines the highest truths. The word of the guru is the source of all mantras and the grace of the guru is the source of Self-realisation . When we surrender completely to the guru, He balances everything inside us and brings out the sweetness of bliss, the essence of the Soul. He liberates us and shows us how to expand our constricted world into an endless expanse of joy so that we become one with the One with love.
Shri Nimishananda Ashram. Phone: 934125908. e-mail : nimishanandaashram@hotmail .com
Website: www.shrinimishamba.org
Mind Your Moments!
Mind Your Moments!
Our life is made up of millions of moments. Its up to us how we utilise these moments... Do we build a stronger self Or do we just derive pleasure out of now
SWAMI SATYA VEDANT
The Indian view, as defined in Ayurveda, is that awareness is the determining factor of how healthy one is. And it is also the source of how well one can improve ones health. As is widely known, the word health means wholeness. Public health experts connect wholeness with well-working . Wholeness is seen as a dynamic state where the whole body is functioning well.
Psychologists such as Jung, on the other hand, define wholeness in terms of individuation or as a process that brings to human consciousness what was otherwise repressed in the unconscious. Thus, psychological health, according to Jung, would mean where ones inner and outer selves are integrated rather than remaining fragmented.
In the final analysis, however, awareness is the determining factor of health. Awareness gives a certain capacity that eventually contributes to the maintenance of health. Sage Charakas Charaksamhita (600 BC) defines the criteria for evaluating whether a person has been cured in terms of un-impairment on mind, intellect and senses . Meditation is the pathway to awareness. It is the means for not only maintaining ones psycho-physical health but also raising it to the higher levels.
Awareness can grow in proportion to meditation. Hence Zen stresses moment-to-moment awareness. A disciple asked his master if he could smoke while meditating; the master said no. Another disciple asked if he could meditate while smoking and the master replied in the affirmative. The point is one can never smoke if one is aware.
This moment-to-moment awareness is reflected in this statement by William James: I will act as if what I do makes a difference. Difference in the quality of life, work and relations with people, difference in what I would call defining a moment .
Osho tell us how to define a moment: Delight in small things. Eat and enjoy, love and enjoy. Go for a morning walk and enjoy. Sit while it is raining and enjoy. Each moment, small things, tiny things, of no importance for the ego, but very, very important for life Enjoy gossiping, chit-chatting , singing, dancing, whatsoever . Whatsoever you feel to do, do it and enjoy it. Dont make it a means to some other end. Let it be the very end itself... It will happen.
Our life is made up of millions of moments. Its up to us how we utilise these moments... Do we build a stronger self Or do we just derive pleasure out of now
SWAMI SATYA VEDANT
The Indian view, as defined in Ayurveda, is that awareness is the determining factor of how healthy one is. And it is also the source of how well one can improve ones health. As is widely known, the word health means wholeness. Public health experts connect wholeness with well-working . Wholeness is seen as a dynamic state where the whole body is functioning well.
Psychologists such as Jung, on the other hand, define wholeness in terms of individuation or as a process that brings to human consciousness what was otherwise repressed in the unconscious. Thus, psychological health, according to Jung, would mean where ones inner and outer selves are integrated rather than remaining fragmented.
In the final analysis, however, awareness is the determining factor of health. Awareness gives a certain capacity that eventually contributes to the maintenance of health. Sage Charakas Charaksamhita (600 BC) defines the criteria for evaluating whether a person has been cured in terms of un-impairment on mind, intellect and senses . Meditation is the pathway to awareness. It is the means for not only maintaining ones psycho-physical health but also raising it to the higher levels.
Awareness can grow in proportion to meditation. Hence Zen stresses moment-to-moment awareness. A disciple asked his master if he could smoke while meditating; the master said no. Another disciple asked if he could meditate while smoking and the master replied in the affirmative. The point is one can never smoke if one is aware.
This moment-to-moment awareness is reflected in this statement by William James: I will act as if what I do makes a difference. Difference in the quality of life, work and relations with people, difference in what I would call defining a moment .
Osho tell us how to define a moment: Delight in small things. Eat and enjoy, love and enjoy. Go for a morning walk and enjoy. Sit while it is raining and enjoy. Each moment, small things, tiny things, of no importance for the ego, but very, very important for life Enjoy gossiping, chit-chatting , singing, dancing, whatsoever . Whatsoever you feel to do, do it and enjoy it. Dont make it a means to some other end. Let it be the very end itself... It will happen.
QUANTUM entanglement
The incredible tightness of being
MUKUL SHARMA
QUANTUM entanglement, as mentioned here earlier, is an essential characteristic of modern physics. It means that the properties of one subatomic particle depend on the properties of another particle independent of the distance between the two. Both particles without such properties before a measurement receive their properties instantaneously at the moment of the measurement. The two particles are said to be entangled . Einstein may have hated it and fought the notion unsuccessfully till his death but today, weird as it sounds, its a fact. A highly secure back transaction was carried out in Geneva recently using the technology.
But the idea of instant connectivity implies that space itself could be an illusion and, therefore , so could distance. Meaning that everybody and all objects are at a fundamental subatomic level somehow intimately connected with even the most distant parts of the universe and that were all at one place. And that there arent , in fact, what we believe to be separate places. More disturbingly , since space is inextricably tied up with time as the great physicist himself theorised with his continuum of spacetime time too might be only an illusion and actually everything exists always at the same moment. And finally, if both space and time are not real then all change should be an illusion too for change can only happen in space over a finite period of time.
Can good-old empirical physics really be painting us such a phantasmagoric picture of reality Well, seems theres a catch. (But the catch itself is a mindboggling one.) Yes, subatomic particles are entangled in exactly the way described above but as they develop into increasingly complex structures, as patterns are created out of them, and forms such as bacteria, people and galaxies come into being on a macro level, this illusion of space, time, change and causality is also somehow created.
As the quantum physicist Nick Herbert puts it: . . . the bricks that make up these patterns are not that way at all. They dont know anything about space and time, and theyre connected instantaneously . Now, why make a universe that way But whoever made this universe, or if it made itself, she/he did it with parts that were better than the whole, in some sense. Maybe the socalled mystics have been telling us the same thing all along: know the difference between appearance and reality.
MUKUL SHARMA
QUANTUM entanglement, as mentioned here earlier, is an essential characteristic of modern physics. It means that the properties of one subatomic particle depend on the properties of another particle independent of the distance between the two. Both particles without such properties before a measurement receive their properties instantaneously at the moment of the measurement. The two particles are said to be entangled . Einstein may have hated it and fought the notion unsuccessfully till his death but today, weird as it sounds, its a fact. A highly secure back transaction was carried out in Geneva recently using the technology.
But the idea of instant connectivity implies that space itself could be an illusion and, therefore , so could distance. Meaning that everybody and all objects are at a fundamental subatomic level somehow intimately connected with even the most distant parts of the universe and that were all at one place. And that there arent , in fact, what we believe to be separate places. More disturbingly , since space is inextricably tied up with time as the great physicist himself theorised with his continuum of spacetime time too might be only an illusion and actually everything exists always at the same moment. And finally, if both space and time are not real then all change should be an illusion too for change can only happen in space over a finite period of time.
Can good-old empirical physics really be painting us such a phantasmagoric picture of reality Well, seems theres a catch. (But the catch itself is a mindboggling one.) Yes, subatomic particles are entangled in exactly the way described above but as they develop into increasingly complex structures, as patterns are created out of them, and forms such as bacteria, people and galaxies come into being on a macro level, this illusion of space, time, change and causality is also somehow created.
As the quantum physicist Nick Herbert puts it: . . . the bricks that make up these patterns are not that way at all. They dont know anything about space and time, and theyre connected instantaneously . Now, why make a universe that way But whoever made this universe, or if it made itself, she/he did it with parts that were better than the whole, in some sense. Maybe the socalled mystics have been telling us the same thing all along: know the difference between appearance and reality.
GRACE
Everything Is Possible With Divine Grace
Vijay Vancheswar
Grace plays a significant role in our spiritual evolution . So say seers and scriptures. The Katha Upanishad mentions that only one who is chosen by the atman or consciousness , realises the Truth. Ramana Maharshi mentions that Gods ways are inscrutable. In the presence of the Sun, which is ever shining, some buds blossom , not all. The fault however does not lie with the Sun, though it is true that the bud cannot blossom by itself. It requires the sunlight to do it. Grace is thus recognised as a key ingredient for deliverance.
Faith and unconditional surrender help us to receive Divine Grace. Whether it is meditation, prayer, introspection or self-enquiry , the route used would depend on a persons temperament and inclination.
Psychiatrist Scott Peck who wrote The Road Less Travelled reveals an interesting perspective to the aspect of Grace and healing. He points out that much as one examines, the workings of Grace cannot be ascribed to a set pattern. Try as we might to obtain grace, it may elude us, yet it might find us when least expected. He talks of neurotic patients who, on an average, are easier to treat than those who suffer social behaviour disorders. Surprisingly, he also reports of cases of complete turnaround amongst psychosis patients, while those suffering from the milder forms of neurosis have made insignificant progress, despite prolonged treatment.
The element helping the revival process has been identified as the will to grow akin to earnestness and faith demonstrated by a spiritual aspirant. This concept again has an element of mystery shrouding it as evidence is rather inconclusive on the dominant role of parental nurturing and love.
Scott ascribes a lead position to the role played by Divine Grace, which in some cases operates throughout a persons life. The remarkable survival stories of Jewish prisoners of war in concentration camps substantiate this. The assertion of Jesus Christ that Many are called, but few are chosen , can also be interpreted as All of us are called by and to Grace, but few of us choose to listen to the call.
Grace transports one from the platform of understanding of Truth to its full realisation. Speaking of the unpredictability of Grace, Jesus is reported to have told Nicodemis, a believer in Christ as the true Messiah, amongst the Pharisees, a sect of non-believers , Just as you can hear the wind but cant tell where it comes from or where it will go next, so it is with the Spirit. We do not know on whom He will next bestow this life from Heaven. Suffice to say that we are vastly limited from the dimension of our minds to find answers to the ways and workings of the omnipotent force.
Ramana Maharshi said that to try and understand the nature of Self-realisation with the mind is presumptuous. Dependent as the intellect is on the light of the Self, it is incapable of understanding the magnificence of the entire manifestation, of which it is but a limited part. It is like trying to measure the sunlight at its source by the standard of the light given by a candle.
Instead of limiting oneself to the intellect, the wise one opts for the path of devotion or inner reflection, conscious of a higher power. The door of Grace unfolds when the mind bows in wonder, reverence and gratitude to the power of the divine.
vanch24@yahoo .co.in
Vijay Vancheswar
Grace plays a significant role in our spiritual evolution . So say seers and scriptures. The Katha Upanishad mentions that only one who is chosen by the atman or consciousness , realises the Truth. Ramana Maharshi mentions that Gods ways are inscrutable. In the presence of the Sun, which is ever shining, some buds blossom , not all. The fault however does not lie with the Sun, though it is true that the bud cannot blossom by itself. It requires the sunlight to do it. Grace is thus recognised as a key ingredient for deliverance.
Faith and unconditional surrender help us to receive Divine Grace. Whether it is meditation, prayer, introspection or self-enquiry , the route used would depend on a persons temperament and inclination.
Psychiatrist Scott Peck who wrote The Road Less Travelled reveals an interesting perspective to the aspect of Grace and healing. He points out that much as one examines, the workings of Grace cannot be ascribed to a set pattern. Try as we might to obtain grace, it may elude us, yet it might find us when least expected. He talks of neurotic patients who, on an average, are easier to treat than those who suffer social behaviour disorders. Surprisingly, he also reports of cases of complete turnaround amongst psychosis patients, while those suffering from the milder forms of neurosis have made insignificant progress, despite prolonged treatment.
The element helping the revival process has been identified as the will to grow akin to earnestness and faith demonstrated by a spiritual aspirant. This concept again has an element of mystery shrouding it as evidence is rather inconclusive on the dominant role of parental nurturing and love.
Scott ascribes a lead position to the role played by Divine Grace, which in some cases operates throughout a persons life. The remarkable survival stories of Jewish prisoners of war in concentration camps substantiate this. The assertion of Jesus Christ that Many are called, but few are chosen , can also be interpreted as All of us are called by and to Grace, but few of us choose to listen to the call.
Grace transports one from the platform of understanding of Truth to its full realisation. Speaking of the unpredictability of Grace, Jesus is reported to have told Nicodemis, a believer in Christ as the true Messiah, amongst the Pharisees, a sect of non-believers , Just as you can hear the wind but cant tell where it comes from or where it will go next, so it is with the Spirit. We do not know on whom He will next bestow this life from Heaven. Suffice to say that we are vastly limited from the dimension of our minds to find answers to the ways and workings of the omnipotent force.
Ramana Maharshi said that to try and understand the nature of Self-realisation with the mind is presumptuous. Dependent as the intellect is on the light of the Self, it is incapable of understanding the magnificence of the entire manifestation, of which it is but a limited part. It is like trying to measure the sunlight at its source by the standard of the light given by a candle.
Instead of limiting oneself to the intellect, the wise one opts for the path of devotion or inner reflection, conscious of a higher power. The door of Grace unfolds when the mind bows in wonder, reverence and gratitude to the power of the divine.
vanch24@yahoo .co.in
Do the Everyday Dance
Do the Everyday Dance
When we begin to notice the way our body moves, we become more in tune with time while being on the go. So become more aware, says Zuleikha
The everyday dance of life starts the moment we wake and glide out of bed. It continues when we put the kettle on and sip our morning cup of tea; when we greet the early morning and notice the colors of dawn; when we run out of the door to keep an appointment.
Do we pay attention to our everyday movements Do we enjoy multilayered events, such as holding an object while walking and at the same time, keeping track of where we are heading Very few of us take the time out to remember this everyday dance.
As human beings, we are born in a body that becomes our home as long as we are on earth.
From ancient times to the present , people have been studying and observing the way the body works. It is with its help that we accomplish all that we are here for.
One of our most important tasks is maintaining the health of our being . An inherent awareness about this organism of consciousness, motion and feeling leaves us with a sense of wellness. Due to the growing pressures of our fast-paced lives, many of us are adopting ancient as well as contemporary techniques of slowing down and becoming more aware .
Learning to slow down is not a one-time experience. Rather, it is a way to be in tune with time while being on the go. A good way to practice this might be to observe the sequence of everyday functions.
An example would be slipping ones shoes on and off. We could notice how the entire body collaborates in this sequence of simple movements . Even if it is not immediately enjoyable, it could be interesting to notice. If one were to see the act of taking off ones shoes as part of a dance sequence, each movement would appear connected to the next and with an underlying rhythm.
This may be a lovely idea but most of us have important things to attend to, leaving us little time to spare for a meditative approach to everything in our daily lives.
Even if one believes that there is too little time and too much to do, it is important to learn how the common movements we make everyday can help reach greater awareness of one's health. When I am walking from my front door to the bus and Im in a hurry, I try to remember to note the feeling of being in a hurry . This allows me to enjoy the speed while feeling the flow of the movements at that moment, instead of being controlled by the hurry of the mind. It is fun. I can sense the way the muscles enjoy the pace of dance to the bus .
Alexander Lowen, the American psychotherapist, who developed Bioenergetic Analysis, a form of mind-body psychotherapy, wrote that a person is in a state of pleasure when the movements of his body flow freely, rhythmically , and in harmony with his surroundings .
We can do so. We can begin to notice the daily ordinary movements of our bodies and open up to the flow of lifes continuous movement. This awareness of continuity brings a feeling of inner connectedness with the self. When we feel connected inside , we have the ability to reach out to others. Connectedness leads to greater understanding within the global community. Viewed through a wide lens, all subtle and not-so-subtle ways of interacting can be a dance. The rhythm to which we move is the pace at which we accomplish our tasks.
A tired person who has walked all day will have a pace very different from that of an enthusiastic kindergarten student.
Someone in love or feeling happy will walk with a different step to one who is disappointed in love or otherwise . The way we feel affects the quality of the way we move.
Our planet has many different kinds of terrain. Each has a predominance of certain elements, weather patterns and climatic conditions . This biodiversity has always determined the food that is grown, the way people clothe themselves, the types of shelters they build and the way they move. Walking barefoot on sand is different from walking with shoes on a cement pavement.
Walking in an open desert is a different movement to walking down a steep ravine. The bodys challenge is to adapt. Sometimes people say, Oh, Im so clumsy , or I could never be graceful. Yet an overweight person serving a tray of tea can be extremely graceful if he is properly engaged in the action. There is something about paying attention to ones actions, as opposed to spacing out. Being aware of the each movement enables the flow. And isnt that what we love about dance The flow.
When we begin noticing the way our own body moves, we become informed . This understanding brings more awareness of physicality and feeling, leading to greater wellness and encouraging a lighter sense of being. So, it is important to accept the invitation to step into your own Everyday Dance.
(Zuleikha, an American movement artist and performer, is founder-director of the non-profit NGO The Storydancer Project, which is working with like-minded Indian organizations)
When we begin to notice the way our body moves, we become more in tune with time while being on the go. So become more aware, says Zuleikha
The everyday dance of life starts the moment we wake and glide out of bed. It continues when we put the kettle on and sip our morning cup of tea; when we greet the early morning and notice the colors of dawn; when we run out of the door to keep an appointment.
Do we pay attention to our everyday movements Do we enjoy multilayered events, such as holding an object while walking and at the same time, keeping track of where we are heading Very few of us take the time out to remember this everyday dance.
As human beings, we are born in a body that becomes our home as long as we are on earth.
From ancient times to the present , people have been studying and observing the way the body works. It is with its help that we accomplish all that we are here for.
One of our most important tasks is maintaining the health of our being . An inherent awareness about this organism of consciousness, motion and feeling leaves us with a sense of wellness. Due to the growing pressures of our fast-paced lives, many of us are adopting ancient as well as contemporary techniques of slowing down and becoming more aware .
Learning to slow down is not a one-time experience. Rather, it is a way to be in tune with time while being on the go. A good way to practice this might be to observe the sequence of everyday functions.
An example would be slipping ones shoes on and off. We could notice how the entire body collaborates in this sequence of simple movements . Even if it is not immediately enjoyable, it could be interesting to notice. If one were to see the act of taking off ones shoes as part of a dance sequence, each movement would appear connected to the next and with an underlying rhythm.
This may be a lovely idea but most of us have important things to attend to, leaving us little time to spare for a meditative approach to everything in our daily lives.
Even if one believes that there is too little time and too much to do, it is important to learn how the common movements we make everyday can help reach greater awareness of one's health. When I am walking from my front door to the bus and Im in a hurry, I try to remember to note the feeling of being in a hurry . This allows me to enjoy the speed while feeling the flow of the movements at that moment, instead of being controlled by the hurry of the mind. It is fun. I can sense the way the muscles enjoy the pace of dance to the bus .
Alexander Lowen, the American psychotherapist, who developed Bioenergetic Analysis, a form of mind-body psychotherapy, wrote that a person is in a state of pleasure when the movements of his body flow freely, rhythmically , and in harmony with his surroundings .
We can do so. We can begin to notice the daily ordinary movements of our bodies and open up to the flow of lifes continuous movement. This awareness of continuity brings a feeling of inner connectedness with the self. When we feel connected inside , we have the ability to reach out to others. Connectedness leads to greater understanding within the global community. Viewed through a wide lens, all subtle and not-so-subtle ways of interacting can be a dance. The rhythm to which we move is the pace at which we accomplish our tasks.
A tired person who has walked all day will have a pace very different from that of an enthusiastic kindergarten student.
Someone in love or feeling happy will walk with a different step to one who is disappointed in love or otherwise . The way we feel affects the quality of the way we move.
Our planet has many different kinds of terrain. Each has a predominance of certain elements, weather patterns and climatic conditions . This biodiversity has always determined the food that is grown, the way people clothe themselves, the types of shelters they build and the way they move. Walking barefoot on sand is different from walking with shoes on a cement pavement.
Walking in an open desert is a different movement to walking down a steep ravine. The bodys challenge is to adapt. Sometimes people say, Oh, Im so clumsy , or I could never be graceful. Yet an overweight person serving a tray of tea can be extremely graceful if he is properly engaged in the action. There is something about paying attention to ones actions, as opposed to spacing out. Being aware of the each movement enables the flow. And isnt that what we love about dance The flow.
When we begin noticing the way our own body moves, we become informed . This understanding brings more awareness of physicality and feeling, leading to greater wellness and encouraging a lighter sense of being. So, it is important to accept the invitation to step into your own Everyday Dance.
(Zuleikha, an American movement artist and performer, is founder-director of the non-profit NGO The Storydancer Project, which is working with like-minded Indian organizations)
THE SPEED OF TRUST
THE SPEED OF TRUST
Stephen Covey
BOTHmy personal life and my work as a business practitioner over the past 20 years have convinced me that we can increase trust and doing so will have a huge impact, both in the quality of our lives and in the results were able to achieve. Simply put, trust means confidence. The opposite of trust distrust is suspicion . When you trust people, you have confidence in them in their integrity and in their abilities. When you distrust people, you are suspicious of them of their integrity , their agenda, their capabilities , or their track record. Its that simple...
Take a minute right now and think of a person with whom you have a high trust relationship perhaps a boss, co-worker , customer, spouse, parent, sibling, child, or friend. Describe this relationship. How well do you communicate How quickly can you get things done How much do you enjoy this relationship Now think of a person with whom you have a low-trust relationship. Describe this relationship . Does it flow quickly and freely... or do you feel like youre constantly walking on land mines and being misunderstood The difference between a high- and low-trust relationship is palpable! Take communication. In a hightrust relationship, you can say the wrong thing, and people will still get your meaning. In a low-trust relationship, you can be very measured and theyll still misinterpret you. Can you even begin to imagine the difference it would make if you were able to increase the amount of trust in the important personal and professional relationships in your life
Stephen Covey
BOTHmy personal life and my work as a business practitioner over the past 20 years have convinced me that we can increase trust and doing so will have a huge impact, both in the quality of our lives and in the results were able to achieve. Simply put, trust means confidence. The opposite of trust distrust is suspicion . When you trust people, you have confidence in them in their integrity and in their abilities. When you distrust people, you are suspicious of them of their integrity , their agenda, their capabilities , or their track record. Its that simple...
Take a minute right now and think of a person with whom you have a high trust relationship perhaps a boss, co-worker , customer, spouse, parent, sibling, child, or friend. Describe this relationship. How well do you communicate How quickly can you get things done How much do you enjoy this relationship Now think of a person with whom you have a low-trust relationship. Describe this relationship . Does it flow quickly and freely... or do you feel like youre constantly walking on land mines and being misunderstood The difference between a high- and low-trust relationship is palpable! Take communication. In a hightrust relationship, you can say the wrong thing, and people will still get your meaning. In a low-trust relationship, you can be very measured and theyll still misinterpret you. Can you even begin to imagine the difference it would make if you were able to increase the amount of trust in the important personal and professional relationships in your life
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Phenomenon Of Death: Soul-body Separation
Phenomenon Of Death: Soul-body Separation
Discourse: Swami Sivananda
Death is separation of the soul from the physical body. Death becomes the starting point of a new and better life. Death merely opens the door to a higher form of life; it is only the gateway to a fuller life.
Birth and death are jugglery of maya. He who is born begins to die. He who dies begins to live. Life is death and death is life. Birth and death are merely doors of entry and exit on the stage of this world. In reality no one comes, no one goes. Brahmn or the eternal alone exists.
Just as you move from one house to another house, the soul passes from one body to another to gain experience . Just as a man casting off worn-out garments takes new ones, so the dweller in this body, casting off worn-out bodies, enters into others that are new.
Death is not the end of life. Life is one continuous neverending process. Death is only a passing and necessary phenomenon , which every soul has to pass to gain experience for its further evolution.
Death is like sleep. Birth is like waking up. Death brings promotion to a new and better life. A man of discrimination and wisdom is not afraid of death.
Every soul is a circle. The circumference of this circle is nowhere but its centre is in the body. Death means the change of this centre from body to body. Why, then, should you be afraid of death
The supreme soul or paramatman is deathless, decay-less , timeless , causeless and spaceless. It is the source and substratum for this body, mind and the whole world. There is death for the physical body only, which is a compound of five elements. How can there be death for the eternal soul that is beyond time, space and causation
If you wish to free yourself from birth and death, you must become bodiless. Body is the result of karmas or actions. You must not do any action with expectation of fruits. If you free yourself from raga-dvesha , or likes and dislikes, you will be free from karma. If you kill egoism only , you can free yourself from raga and dvesha. If you annihilate ignorance through knowledge of the imperishable, you can annihilate egoism. The root cause for this body is therefore ignorance.
He who realises the eternal soul, which is beyond all sound, all sight, all taste, all touch, which is formless and attributeless, which is beyond nature, which is beyond three bodies and five sheaths, which is infinite and unchanging, self-luminous , frees himself from the jaws of death. The individual souls or jivas build various bodies to display their activities and gain experience. They enter the bodies and leave them when they become unfit to live in. They build new bodies and leave them . This is known as transmigration of souls. The entrance of a soul into a body is called birth. The souls departure from the body is called death. A body is dead if the soul is absent
Natural death, it is said, is unknown to unicellular organisms. When life on earth consisted of these creatures, death was unknown . The phenomenon appeared only when from unicellular, the multi-cellular organism evolved.
Laboratory experiments have shown that after the cessation of an individuals life, parts of the organisation can continue to function. The white blood-corpuscles can live for months after the body from which they were withdrawn has been cremated.
Death is not the end of life. It is merely cessation of an important individuality. Life flows on till it merges in the eternal.
Discourse: Swami Sivananda
Death is separation of the soul from the physical body. Death becomes the starting point of a new and better life. Death merely opens the door to a higher form of life; it is only the gateway to a fuller life.
Birth and death are jugglery of maya. He who is born begins to die. He who dies begins to live. Life is death and death is life. Birth and death are merely doors of entry and exit on the stage of this world. In reality no one comes, no one goes. Brahmn or the eternal alone exists.
Just as you move from one house to another house, the soul passes from one body to another to gain experience . Just as a man casting off worn-out garments takes new ones, so the dweller in this body, casting off worn-out bodies, enters into others that are new.
Death is not the end of life. Life is one continuous neverending process. Death is only a passing and necessary phenomenon , which every soul has to pass to gain experience for its further evolution.
Death is like sleep. Birth is like waking up. Death brings promotion to a new and better life. A man of discrimination and wisdom is not afraid of death.
Every soul is a circle. The circumference of this circle is nowhere but its centre is in the body. Death means the change of this centre from body to body. Why, then, should you be afraid of death
The supreme soul or paramatman is deathless, decay-less , timeless , causeless and spaceless. It is the source and substratum for this body, mind and the whole world. There is death for the physical body only, which is a compound of five elements. How can there be death for the eternal soul that is beyond time, space and causation
If you wish to free yourself from birth and death, you must become bodiless. Body is the result of karmas or actions. You must not do any action with expectation of fruits. If you free yourself from raga-dvesha , or likes and dislikes, you will be free from karma. If you kill egoism only , you can free yourself from raga and dvesha. If you annihilate ignorance through knowledge of the imperishable, you can annihilate egoism. The root cause for this body is therefore ignorance.
He who realises the eternal soul, which is beyond all sound, all sight, all taste, all touch, which is formless and attributeless, which is beyond nature, which is beyond three bodies and five sheaths, which is infinite and unchanging, self-luminous , frees himself from the jaws of death. The individual souls or jivas build various bodies to display their activities and gain experience. They enter the bodies and leave them when they become unfit to live in. They build new bodies and leave them . This is known as transmigration of souls. The entrance of a soul into a body is called birth. The souls departure from the body is called death. A body is dead if the soul is absent
Natural death, it is said, is unknown to unicellular organisms. When life on earth consisted of these creatures, death was unknown . The phenomenon appeared only when from unicellular, the multi-cellular organism evolved.
Laboratory experiments have shown that after the cessation of an individuals life, parts of the organisation can continue to function. The white blood-corpuscles can live for months after the body from which they were withdrawn has been cremated.
Death is not the end of life. It is merely cessation of an important individuality. Life flows on till it merges in the eternal.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
PASSIVE ALERTNESS
Try New Combinations, Be Creative In Life
Discourse: Swami Sukhabodhananda
A young boy left his home in search of truth. He met many people; he became richer in awareness of his ignorance . Since people went to forests to meditate, he too went to a thick forest. He did not know how to meditate. So he screamed at the forest to give him knowledge. For years his only mantra was screaming at the forest to give him knowledge. He believed that if you are committed, existence will help you.
One day, a monk came to him. He asked: What do you want, my son I want to know what the meaning of life is, he replied. Go to the town. The first three persons that you meet will give you the meaning of life, the monk replied.
The boy went to the town. The first man he met was doing carpentry work. The next man he met was doing sheet metal work. The third man he met was making strings. Disappointed, he sat on the bank of a river. Suddenly, he heard the sweet strains of violin music. Something mysterious touched him. He suddenly got the answer he was looking for and he started dancing.
The carpenter was preparing the wood for the violin. The sheet metal worker was preparing metal for the strings and the strings were meant for the violin. Life has everything; all you need is to be able to connect the dots. You need to work out new combinations. And for that you need creative perception...
You have to change the notion that difficulty is pain. In exercise, there is difficulty but also joy. In sports, there is difficulty but there is joy. In your relationships, when there is difficulty, treat it as joy. Just reprogramme your mind.
In prayer you dont have to do anything; just be available to Gods grace. Prayer is a deep readiness to receive Gods flow. It is passive alertness. Go deep and you discover your original mind it is deep passiveness. A greedy mind is richer than a Buddha, but rich with desires and greed; so a Buddha is poorer than you are. The Bible says: Blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of God.
When someone asked Buddha what he attained through his enlightenment , he said: I did not gain but I lost. I lost my ignorance, my dreams, my dogmas, my likes and dislikes, my ambitions.
You can live in two ways mechanical or meditative. The meditative way involves you being more aware; that awareness is passive alertness. When you are passively alert, you will realise that you are born free; you are not condemned to be not free. You have choices and that is your freedom. When there is no freedom there are no choices.
Be more meditative and you will make the right choices that will make you grow rather than feel trapped. Substance abuse is a bad choice. This is a mechanical way of living. But the choice is before you.
If you choose wisely you are in paradise. When you are eating, meditatively eat. Then eating will be a paradise. Totally be in your eating. When you take a bath, be total in taking your bath and a different paradise opens up. Next, bring in love energy into whatever you do feel your inner being.
With the energy of silence, be total. You realise that you will be a moving heaven rather than a moving hell.
Discourse: Swami Sukhabodhananda
A young boy left his home in search of truth. He met many people; he became richer in awareness of his ignorance . Since people went to forests to meditate, he too went to a thick forest. He did not know how to meditate. So he screamed at the forest to give him knowledge. For years his only mantra was screaming at the forest to give him knowledge. He believed that if you are committed, existence will help you.
One day, a monk came to him. He asked: What do you want, my son I want to know what the meaning of life is, he replied. Go to the town. The first three persons that you meet will give you the meaning of life, the monk replied.
The boy went to the town. The first man he met was doing carpentry work. The next man he met was doing sheet metal work. The third man he met was making strings. Disappointed, he sat on the bank of a river. Suddenly, he heard the sweet strains of violin music. Something mysterious touched him. He suddenly got the answer he was looking for and he started dancing.
The carpenter was preparing the wood for the violin. The sheet metal worker was preparing metal for the strings and the strings were meant for the violin. Life has everything; all you need is to be able to connect the dots. You need to work out new combinations. And for that you need creative perception...
You have to change the notion that difficulty is pain. In exercise, there is difficulty but also joy. In sports, there is difficulty but there is joy. In your relationships, when there is difficulty, treat it as joy. Just reprogramme your mind.
In prayer you dont have to do anything; just be available to Gods grace. Prayer is a deep readiness to receive Gods flow. It is passive alertness. Go deep and you discover your original mind it is deep passiveness. A greedy mind is richer than a Buddha, but rich with desires and greed; so a Buddha is poorer than you are. The Bible says: Blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of God.
When someone asked Buddha what he attained through his enlightenment , he said: I did not gain but I lost. I lost my ignorance, my dreams, my dogmas, my likes and dislikes, my ambitions.
You can live in two ways mechanical or meditative. The meditative way involves you being more aware; that awareness is passive alertness. When you are passively alert, you will realise that you are born free; you are not condemned to be not free. You have choices and that is your freedom. When there is no freedom there are no choices.
Be more meditative and you will make the right choices that will make you grow rather than feel trapped. Substance abuse is a bad choice. This is a mechanical way of living. But the choice is before you.
If you choose wisely you are in paradise. When you are eating, meditatively eat. Then eating will be a paradise. Totally be in your eating. When you take a bath, be total in taking your bath and a different paradise opens up. Next, bring in love energy into whatever you do feel your inner being.
With the energy of silence, be total. You realise that you will be a moving heaven rather than a moving hell.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Marshall Your Thoughts And Overcome Them
Marshall Your Thoughts And Overcome Them
Anup Taneja
In physics power of orientation signifies that though the mass of energy is present, current does not flow unless it is connected to the magnet. But once it is connected, the electric current flows through the power of orientation. In the same way, even though Kundalini power resides within us, it remains dormant. This is because we are not able to connect ourselves to the spiritual currents that emanate from the Source.
The scattered rays of thoughts, vrittis, keep rising and subsiding in the lake of chitta, the mind-stuff all the time, causing distractions. As a result , our mental energy is dissipated in trivial matters and thoughts of hatred, jealousy and selfishness occupy our minds. According to the Yoga-Sara Upanishad, a vritti is a whirlpool in the mind-lake , assuming many forms and is subject to incessant modifications or parinama.
What makes the vrittis arise in the chitta Swami Sivananda said that vrittis owe their origin to samskaras, latent impressions and vasanas, intense desires. When vritti subsides, a definite impression gets imprinted in the subconscious mind which is called samskara. All the samskaras put together are the sanchita karma, the sum total of all karmas that accompanies the individual even after death.
The Yoga-Sara Upanishad says that when an individual dies, his astral body of 17 tattvas comprising five each of the senses, organs of action, vital airs and the mind and intellect get activated and carry the sanchita karma to the mental plane. This forms the basis for his next birth on the earth-plane . Thus an individual gets caught in the vicious cycle of the souls transmigration from the physical to the astral zone and vice versa.
Spiritual sadhana therefore lies in purging the mind of all impurities through yoga. Patanjali said that yoga is the stillness of the vrittis or modifications of the mind that is under the constant sway of the three qualities or gunas of prakritisattva or purity, rajasor passion and tamas or inertia.
According to Swami Sivananda , ahamkara or ego is the selfarrogating principle that creates mamata or mine-ness the root cause of all human suffering. All vrittis emanate from the aham vritti or ithought . He suggests that lower vrittis like anger and hatred should be annihilated by taking recourse to the corresponding higher vrittis like forgiveness and love. Such a seeker is then spontaneously able to direct his mind inwards through intense meditation, making it dissolve in Pure Consciousness . Through awakening of the Kundalini, he attains the exalted state of equalityconsciousness and becomes a yogarudha one who is firmly established in yoga.
The Yoga Vasishtha says sankalpa or thought through its power of discrimination generates this universe. The entire world is in reality a projection of the human mind: manomatram jagat. Extinction of sankalpas therefore is moksha, liberation.
Indeed, he who has rendered his mind pure by overcoming vrittis is the master of his own destiny. He is a potential creator and shaper of all worlds, inner and outer, which are a part of him and of which he is a part.
Anup Taneja
In physics power of orientation signifies that though the mass of energy is present, current does not flow unless it is connected to the magnet. But once it is connected, the electric current flows through the power of orientation. In the same way, even though Kundalini power resides within us, it remains dormant. This is because we are not able to connect ourselves to the spiritual currents that emanate from the Source.
The scattered rays of thoughts, vrittis, keep rising and subsiding in the lake of chitta, the mind-stuff all the time, causing distractions. As a result , our mental energy is dissipated in trivial matters and thoughts of hatred, jealousy and selfishness occupy our minds. According to the Yoga-Sara Upanishad, a vritti is a whirlpool in the mind-lake , assuming many forms and is subject to incessant modifications or parinama.
What makes the vrittis arise in the chitta Swami Sivananda said that vrittis owe their origin to samskaras, latent impressions and vasanas, intense desires. When vritti subsides, a definite impression gets imprinted in the subconscious mind which is called samskara. All the samskaras put together are the sanchita karma, the sum total of all karmas that accompanies the individual even after death.
The Yoga-Sara Upanishad says that when an individual dies, his astral body of 17 tattvas comprising five each of the senses, organs of action, vital airs and the mind and intellect get activated and carry the sanchita karma to the mental plane. This forms the basis for his next birth on the earth-plane . Thus an individual gets caught in the vicious cycle of the souls transmigration from the physical to the astral zone and vice versa.
Spiritual sadhana therefore lies in purging the mind of all impurities through yoga. Patanjali said that yoga is the stillness of the vrittis or modifications of the mind that is under the constant sway of the three qualities or gunas of prakritisattva or purity, rajasor passion and tamas or inertia.
According to Swami Sivananda , ahamkara or ego is the selfarrogating principle that creates mamata or mine-ness the root cause of all human suffering. All vrittis emanate from the aham vritti or ithought . He suggests that lower vrittis like anger and hatred should be annihilated by taking recourse to the corresponding higher vrittis like forgiveness and love. Such a seeker is then spontaneously able to direct his mind inwards through intense meditation, making it dissolve in Pure Consciousness . Through awakening of the Kundalini, he attains the exalted state of equalityconsciousness and becomes a yogarudha one who is firmly established in yoga.
The Yoga Vasishtha says sankalpa or thought through its power of discrimination generates this universe. The entire world is in reality a projection of the human mind: manomatram jagat. Extinction of sankalpas therefore is moksha, liberation.
Indeed, he who has rendered his mind pure by overcoming vrittis is the master of his own destiny. He is a potential creator and shaper of all worlds, inner and outer, which are a part of him and of which he is a part.
Be compassionate and forgive
Be compassionate and forgive
Compassion, calmness and forgiveness act as healing balm for anger, pain and suffering that we feel in response to other peoples negative behaviour, says Brahmha Kumaris
Forgiveness and compassion are the healing balm for anger. We normally experience anger, pain or suffering in response to others negative behaviour.
Seven possible responses to feelings of hurt that you experience
Avenging:
where you want to inflict on the other the pain you have felt yourself, the cause of which you attribute to them.
Punishing:
where you wish to take the law into your own hands, even if only at a mental level.
Reforming:
where you wish to change another's personality and behaviour.
Forgiving:
where you want to do what you have probably been taught to believe is the right thing to do.
Forgetting:
where you want to drop the past at all levels and get on with your life.
Karming:
where you take responsibility for all your hurt as you understand that you receive the return today of your actions yesterday.
Enlightening:
where you realize that you were never hurt in the first place.
Exercise for anger management
Sit comfortably and relax. focus your attention on your breathing.let it find its own calm rhythm. Gently breathe in peacefulness and breathe out any negative feelings.
Allow your mind to slow down.do not judge your thoughts, acknowledge them and let them go.
Focus on your inner calm that is peaceful, where your inner compassion and forgiveness lies, here you are patient, tolerant, generous, these qualities make up your inner compassion.
Now raise your awareness beyond yourself, to a place of infinite peace, see it first as a small point of light slowly it becomes brighter, like an ocean of peace, love, compassion. You feel connected to part of that ocean of deep peace and love.
Now, slowly you move away from the ocean. You still have the memory of being loved and can reconnect at any time you want. Gradually become aware of your body.
Compassion, calmness and forgiveness act as healing balm for anger, pain and suffering that we feel in response to other peoples negative behaviour, says Brahmha Kumaris
Forgiveness and compassion are the healing balm for anger. We normally experience anger, pain or suffering in response to others negative behaviour.
Seven possible responses to feelings of hurt that you experience
Avenging:
where you want to inflict on the other the pain you have felt yourself, the cause of which you attribute to them.
Punishing:
where you wish to take the law into your own hands, even if only at a mental level.
Reforming:
where you wish to change another's personality and behaviour.
Forgiving:
where you want to do what you have probably been taught to believe is the right thing to do.
Forgetting:
where you want to drop the past at all levels and get on with your life.
Karming:
where you take responsibility for all your hurt as you understand that you receive the return today of your actions yesterday.
Enlightening:
where you realize that you were never hurt in the first place.
Exercise for anger management
Sit comfortably and relax. focus your attention on your breathing.let it find its own calm rhythm. Gently breathe in peacefulness and breathe out any negative feelings.
Allow your mind to slow down.do not judge your thoughts, acknowledge them and let them go.
Focus on your inner calm that is peaceful, where your inner compassion and forgiveness lies, here you are patient, tolerant, generous, these qualities make up your inner compassion.
Now raise your awareness beyond yourself, to a place of infinite peace, see it first as a small point of light slowly it becomes brighter, like an ocean of peace, love, compassion. You feel connected to part of that ocean of deep peace and love.
Now, slowly you move away from the ocean. You still have the memory of being loved and can reconnect at any time you want. Gradually become aware of your body.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Opportunity and right timing
Opportunity and right timing
K VIJAYARAGHAVAN
AGREAT lesson for life is contained in the story of a sculptor, who had in his studio, the statues of many gods. Pointing to one of them, a visitor asked What is the name of this god The sculptor replied, Opportunity . On being asked why its face was concealed by hair and why it had wings on its feet, the sculptor replied, It is because men seldom recognise this god when he comes to them. He flies away soon and once gone, never comes back .
The same message is contained in the great lines of Shakespeare (Julius Caesar - IV, 3), There is a tide in the affairs of men,/ Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune./ Omitted, all the voyage of their life/ Is bound in shallows and in miseries .
An extension of this message is the concept that weak men wait for opportunities, while resourceful persons make them. Indeed, opportunity often knocks just once. Like an idea, this too has to be welcomed, entertained , nurtured and fashioned into a rewarding destiny.
This also is the concept of knowing and seizing the moment and doing the right thing at the right time and in the right manner, whereby one is able to make the best of the available resources. Even timely anger, when channelled well and rightly, could serve to galvanise a working force or the human resources, where gentle persuasion may fail. Of course, anger with oneself, attended with a steely determination to make up, could be highly rewarding!
This urge within to make up for lost time, verily, is also the spirit of Adi Shankaracharyas observation (Bhaja Govindam) that childhood is spent in play, youth in sensual pleasures and old age in repentance . The wish power and will power within, also rooted in effective and right timing, could, regardless of delayed efforts, be resorted to for substantial fulfilment , instead of resorting to passive repentance or regrets over a dead past.
Doing or talking the right thing at the right time also could involve often not doing anything or keeping silent too. Tactful inaction or silence, in certain situations, could prove more powerful than reacting or responding . The Bible elaborates on this concept of right timing with regard to various aspects of life in Ecclesiastes (verses 3: 1 to 8), commencing with, To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven .
Doubtless, one who comprehends and applies the art of right timing, also seizing the opportunities , as they come, is also the one who divines that supreme art of life and living!
K VIJAYARAGHAVAN
AGREAT lesson for life is contained in the story of a sculptor, who had in his studio, the statues of many gods. Pointing to one of them, a visitor asked What is the name of this god The sculptor replied, Opportunity . On being asked why its face was concealed by hair and why it had wings on its feet, the sculptor replied, It is because men seldom recognise this god when he comes to them. He flies away soon and once gone, never comes back .
The same message is contained in the great lines of Shakespeare (Julius Caesar - IV, 3), There is a tide in the affairs of men,/ Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune./ Omitted, all the voyage of their life/ Is bound in shallows and in miseries .
An extension of this message is the concept that weak men wait for opportunities, while resourceful persons make them. Indeed, opportunity often knocks just once. Like an idea, this too has to be welcomed, entertained , nurtured and fashioned into a rewarding destiny.
This also is the concept of knowing and seizing the moment and doing the right thing at the right time and in the right manner, whereby one is able to make the best of the available resources. Even timely anger, when channelled well and rightly, could serve to galvanise a working force or the human resources, where gentle persuasion may fail. Of course, anger with oneself, attended with a steely determination to make up, could be highly rewarding!
This urge within to make up for lost time, verily, is also the spirit of Adi Shankaracharyas observation (Bhaja Govindam) that childhood is spent in play, youth in sensual pleasures and old age in repentance . The wish power and will power within, also rooted in effective and right timing, could, regardless of delayed efforts, be resorted to for substantial fulfilment , instead of resorting to passive repentance or regrets over a dead past.
Doing or talking the right thing at the right time also could involve often not doing anything or keeping silent too. Tactful inaction or silence, in certain situations, could prove more powerful than reacting or responding . The Bible elaborates on this concept of right timing with regard to various aspects of life in Ecclesiastes (verses 3: 1 to 8), commencing with, To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven .
Doubtless, one who comprehends and applies the art of right timing, also seizing the opportunities , as they come, is also the one who divines that supreme art of life and living!
Self-confidence attracts power
Self-confidence attracts power
When you are confident, people want to be around you because they want to learn from you, play with you and experience life with you. Self-confidence is attractive and powerful
Alack of self-confidence can have many causes, including a desire to convince others, and a need to draw support from others, instead of just being yourself. For example, we may fear that others will discover what an awful person we are. Of course, it sounds funny when we say it like that. But as Gods children we are not awful! And we have no call to feel a lack of self-confidence . Ive often thought, Im the last person who ought to be starting communities for my Guru! And yet, the job is there to be done, and theres no one else doing it, so here goes!" The whole secret lies in simply accepting that we, of ourselves, really can't do anything right, but that God through us can literally do anything! I've often found that understanding comes to me not so often through ideas, counsel, etc., as through being with the right kind of people. Mixing with people who are negative, or who see life too much in terms of problems, tends to influence one to see things in negative terms. On the other hand, when we mix with people who are basically positive not because they live in a dream world, but because they meet life's challenges with courage that association tends to make us strong in ourselves: to become solutionconscious rather than problem-conscious . The company of strong people influences us to discover ways to surmount our own problems. When you are confident, people are attracted to you. You find that people want to be around you for all kinds of reasons to learn from you, to play with you, to experience life with you and for many, many other reasons. Self-confidence is attractive. It is powerful. I repeat: Forget yourself, and ask God to use you as He will badly, if you get in the way, but even so, He can use you to whatever extent you let him. Forget yourself, and leave the problem of success vs failure in His hands. Do your best, with His power, and forget it. (www.anandaindia.org)
When you are confident, people want to be around you because they want to learn from you, play with you and experience life with you. Self-confidence is attractive and powerful
Alack of self-confidence can have many causes, including a desire to convince others, and a need to draw support from others, instead of just being yourself. For example, we may fear that others will discover what an awful person we are. Of course, it sounds funny when we say it like that. But as Gods children we are not awful! And we have no call to feel a lack of self-confidence . Ive often thought, Im the last person who ought to be starting communities for my Guru! And yet, the job is there to be done, and theres no one else doing it, so here goes!" The whole secret lies in simply accepting that we, of ourselves, really can't do anything right, but that God through us can literally do anything! I've often found that understanding comes to me not so often through ideas, counsel, etc., as through being with the right kind of people. Mixing with people who are negative, or who see life too much in terms of problems, tends to influence one to see things in negative terms. On the other hand, when we mix with people who are basically positive not because they live in a dream world, but because they meet life's challenges with courage that association tends to make us strong in ourselves: to become solutionconscious rather than problem-conscious . The company of strong people influences us to discover ways to surmount our own problems. When you are confident, people are attracted to you. You find that people want to be around you for all kinds of reasons to learn from you, to play with you, to experience life with you and for many, many other reasons. Self-confidence is attractive. It is powerful. I repeat: Forget yourself, and ask God to use you as He will badly, if you get in the way, but even so, He can use you to whatever extent you let him. Forget yourself, and leave the problem of success vs failure in His hands. Do your best, with His power, and forget it. (www.anandaindia.org)
Touching The Earth: A Yogic Practice
Touching The Earth: A Yogic Practice
Thich Nhat Hanh
In Buddhism, there is a practice called Touching the Earth that can help us realise our wish to generate the energies of love, compassion, joy and equanimity. During the practice, we touch the Earth deeply six times, surrendering ourselves to the Earth and to our own true nature . We touch the Earth with our forehead, legs and hands, so that our mind and body form a perfect whole, allowing us to transcend our small self. We surrender our pride, notions, fears, resentments and even hopes, and enter the world of things as they are . Touching the Earth is an effective yogic practice. We return to our own source of wisdom and are no longer separate from Mother Earth.
I was taught this meditation as a novice monk: The one who bows and the one who is bowed to are the same. Both are without separate self. When we look deeply into a flower, we can see the sun, clouds, seeds, nutrients in the soil and many other things. We understand that the flower cannot exist as a separate, independent self. It is made entirely of what we call non-flower elements . The one who bows and the one who is bowed to are of the same nature. I am made of non-me elements. The Buddha is made of non-Buddha elements. Nothing can exist by itself alone. Everything has to inter-be with everything else in the cosmos...
The place where we touch the Earth is like the jewelled net of Indra. In every intersection of Indras net is a jewel that reflects all the other jewels in the net. Looking at any one of these jewels, we see all the other jewels. Looking into a flower, we see the entire universe. All Buddhas in the 10 directions appear before our eyes and also within us. We join our palms and bow in the 10 directions east, west, south, north, north-east , north-west , south-east , south-west , above and below and also an eleventh direction: within. Bowing our heads, we respectfully bow to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha in the 11directions.
When you touch the Earth in this spirit, isolation and alienation vanish, and your sense of a separate self will be replaced by a great feeling of oneness with all beings throughout space and time, those who have already manifested and those who have not yet manifested and connects you to the nature of awakening that is within you. The closer you can lie against the Earth, melting into the Earth, the better. You become nothing in order to become everything. After you have been practising touching the Earth for two or three months, you will feel deeply refreshed, strong and healthy. You will love life and be able to smile, because the energies of hatred and ill will in you will have greatly diminished.
There are six Earth-touchings . In the first, we look deeply within. In the second, we see the connection between ourselves and other living beings, including those who live around us. By the fifth Earth-touching , we are truly able to feel love for the people we have disliked. All hatred and anger will have disappeared , and we only want the person we hated to enjoy happiness and dwell in peace. We are able to reach that point because, first of all, we are able to love ourselves . Touching the Earth and reciting the six accompanying meditations generates in us deep love and acceptance. When we are able to love the person who has made us miserable, we realise what a miracle love is.
Thich Nhat Hanh
In Buddhism, there is a practice called Touching the Earth that can help us realise our wish to generate the energies of love, compassion, joy and equanimity. During the practice, we touch the Earth deeply six times, surrendering ourselves to the Earth and to our own true nature . We touch the Earth with our forehead, legs and hands, so that our mind and body form a perfect whole, allowing us to transcend our small self. We surrender our pride, notions, fears, resentments and even hopes, and enter the world of things as they are . Touching the Earth is an effective yogic practice. We return to our own source of wisdom and are no longer separate from Mother Earth.
I was taught this meditation as a novice monk: The one who bows and the one who is bowed to are the same. Both are without separate self. When we look deeply into a flower, we can see the sun, clouds, seeds, nutrients in the soil and many other things. We understand that the flower cannot exist as a separate, independent self. It is made entirely of what we call non-flower elements . The one who bows and the one who is bowed to are of the same nature. I am made of non-me elements. The Buddha is made of non-Buddha elements. Nothing can exist by itself alone. Everything has to inter-be with everything else in the cosmos...
The place where we touch the Earth is like the jewelled net of Indra. In every intersection of Indras net is a jewel that reflects all the other jewels in the net. Looking at any one of these jewels, we see all the other jewels. Looking into a flower, we see the entire universe. All Buddhas in the 10 directions appear before our eyes and also within us. We join our palms and bow in the 10 directions east, west, south, north, north-east , north-west , south-east , south-west , above and below and also an eleventh direction: within. Bowing our heads, we respectfully bow to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha in the 11directions.
When you touch the Earth in this spirit, isolation and alienation vanish, and your sense of a separate self will be replaced by a great feeling of oneness with all beings throughout space and time, those who have already manifested and those who have not yet manifested and connects you to the nature of awakening that is within you. The closer you can lie against the Earth, melting into the Earth, the better. You become nothing in order to become everything. After you have been practising touching the Earth for two or three months, you will feel deeply refreshed, strong and healthy. You will love life and be able to smile, because the energies of hatred and ill will in you will have greatly diminished.
There are six Earth-touchings . In the first, we look deeply within. In the second, we see the connection between ourselves and other living beings, including those who live around us. By the fifth Earth-touching , we are truly able to feel love for the people we have disliked. All hatred and anger will have disappeared , and we only want the person we hated to enjoy happiness and dwell in peace. We are able to reach that point because, first of all, we are able to love ourselves . Touching the Earth and reciting the six accompanying meditations generates in us deep love and acceptance. When we are able to love the person who has made us miserable, we realise what a miracle love is.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
THE IMPORTANCE OF OMKARA
In The Beginning Was The Sound
Shrii Shrii Anandamurti
In the beginning, there was sound. The manifestation of sound is the subtlest; even more so than light. That is why the karnendriya, the ear, is considered as the subtlest organ.
Acoustic expressions are of two kinds: one is the divine, or spiritual acoustic expression and the other is the physical. The sound you hear is the physical acoustic expression. The ordinary ear does not perceive the vaster spiritual acoustic expression in the divine realm, in the cosmic domain. In the case of the Entity that is free of attributes, Nirguna Brahmn, there is no expression , because nirguna means without quality or expression . Even in the case of Saguna Brahmn, the Entity with attributes , and even starting from Purusottama, the nucleus of human consciousness, there is expression, there is manifestation . And that expression, till it reaches the physical sphere, is spiritual acoustic expression, inaudible to the human ear.
Whenever you think something, you create a mental sound without being aware of it. Thinking is mental speech, after all. You are thinking, Oh, my visa will expire on such-and-such day. Actually you are speaking mentally. And when you speak physically, others can also hear; when you speak mentally, others may or may not hear you.
Now, one may capture physical sound according to the capacity of ones acoustic organs, ones ears. You cannot catch very short or very long sounds. Similarly, in the inner sphere there are several stages, strata and phases; and when the inner senses develop by dint of sadhana, one will hear that divine sound, that inner sound, the sound of silence. It is what is known as Omkara in Sanskrit; the pranava.
When those inner senses develop, in the first phase spiritual aspirants can hear that inner sound. In the first phase it is like the sound of crickets. In the next phase, it is as if someone is dancing with bells (nupur) around their ankles. Next you will hear the sound of flutes as if someone is playing a flute. Then comes the sound of the ocean. And then, in the fifth phase, it goes tam-tam , like the sound of bells. And finally , the sound is the Omkara in pure form. After that, there is no sound, because the realm of saguna ends, and that of nirguna begins. In the realm of nirguna there cannot be any sound, because there cannot be any manifestation. Not even divine expression, not even suprapsychic expression.
By dint of sadhana, in the last phase you hear the sound of Omkara or the pranava oonnn. In the Vedas it has been said, pranavatmakam brahmn . It means: Brahmn is of the same nature as pranava. When one can hear that pranava, in the next phase one will come in contact with Nirguna Brahmn. Thats why pranava is called pranavatmakam brahmn. Pranava is that entity that helps the sadhaka to come in contact with the Parama Purusa. In Sanskrit, another name for pranava is Shabda Brahmn Brahmn expressed as shabda or sound.
Shrii Shrii Anandamurti
In the beginning, there was sound. The manifestation of sound is the subtlest; even more so than light. That is why the karnendriya, the ear, is considered as the subtlest organ.
Acoustic expressions are of two kinds: one is the divine, or spiritual acoustic expression and the other is the physical. The sound you hear is the physical acoustic expression. The ordinary ear does not perceive the vaster spiritual acoustic expression in the divine realm, in the cosmic domain. In the case of the Entity that is free of attributes, Nirguna Brahmn, there is no expression , because nirguna means without quality or expression . Even in the case of Saguna Brahmn, the Entity with attributes , and even starting from Purusottama, the nucleus of human consciousness, there is expression, there is manifestation . And that expression, till it reaches the physical sphere, is spiritual acoustic expression, inaudible to the human ear.
Whenever you think something, you create a mental sound without being aware of it. Thinking is mental speech, after all. You are thinking, Oh, my visa will expire on such-and-such day. Actually you are speaking mentally. And when you speak physically, others can also hear; when you speak mentally, others may or may not hear you.
Now, one may capture physical sound according to the capacity of ones acoustic organs, ones ears. You cannot catch very short or very long sounds. Similarly, in the inner sphere there are several stages, strata and phases; and when the inner senses develop by dint of sadhana, one will hear that divine sound, that inner sound, the sound of silence. It is what is known as Omkara in Sanskrit; the pranava.
When those inner senses develop, in the first phase spiritual aspirants can hear that inner sound. In the first phase it is like the sound of crickets. In the next phase, it is as if someone is dancing with bells (nupur) around their ankles. Next you will hear the sound of flutes as if someone is playing a flute. Then comes the sound of the ocean. And then, in the fifth phase, it goes tam-tam , like the sound of bells. And finally , the sound is the Omkara in pure form. After that, there is no sound, because the realm of saguna ends, and that of nirguna begins. In the realm of nirguna there cannot be any sound, because there cannot be any manifestation. Not even divine expression, not even suprapsychic expression.
By dint of sadhana, in the last phase you hear the sound of Omkara or the pranava oonnn. In the Vedas it has been said, pranavatmakam brahmn . It means: Brahmn is of the same nature as pranava. When one can hear that pranava, in the next phase one will come in contact with Nirguna Brahmn. Thats why pranava is called pranavatmakam brahmn. Pranava is that entity that helps the sadhaka to come in contact with the Parama Purusa. In Sanskrit, another name for pranava is Shabda Brahmn Brahmn expressed as shabda or sound.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The five-fold path of light worship
The five-fold path of light worship
VITHAL C NADKARNI
THE young girl is worshipping a small fire at sunrise. Shes ignited it in a compact copper vessel with a couple of cow-dung cakes and daub of clarified butter made from cows milk along with some uncooked rice. The worship consists of a two simple Sanskrit mantras one which salutes the Sun, our ultimate source of power and light and the other which disconnects our personal egoistic sense from phenomena.
She repeats the ritual at sunset with an equally simple salutation to the creator. She belongs to the reformist movement of Agnihotra that was originally created as the five-fold way in 1944 by the mystic master of the Dattatreya sect, Sri Gajanan Maharaj. He lived at Shivpuri, near Akkalkot, Maharashtra.
The five-fold way includes daily observance of ritual fire (yajnya ); charity (daana); meditation (tapa); right action (karma) and enquiry into the self (swadhyaya). Agnihotra is the smallest yet most effective form of the splendid ancient Vedic ritual known as yajnya, the seeker explains. Its also the first most important part of the five-fold path of worship of light. Fire opened the gates of eternal evolution for the entire humankind not just for those on the Indian sub-continent , she adds. Everybody, regardless of gender, race or creed is free to follow the path of light. As the Master himself has said, The Kingdom of Heaven is near at hand/ Blessed are they who have seen the light/fortunate are those who walk in the light/ for they will enter the kingdom of light.
What is significant, science too has joined the mystics in celebrating the primacy of fire in the evolution of humanity . The theory was first proposed in the 19th century. Now, in Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, Harvard anthropologist Richard Wrangham challenges the view that tool-making and meat-eating turned apes into humans. Rather it was cooking and taming of fire 1.8 million years ago, he says. Our ancestors were able to evolve because cooked foods were richer, healthier and required less eating time. Communal fire, cooking and a highercalorie diet also had a far-reaching social impact.
We had to be able to look each other in the eye. We couldnt react with impulsivity. Once you are sitting around the fire, you need to suppress reactive emotions that would otherwise lead to social chaos. Around that fire, we became tamer, smarter, Wrangham muses. So Hail fire!
VITHAL C NADKARNI
THE young girl is worshipping a small fire at sunrise. Shes ignited it in a compact copper vessel with a couple of cow-dung cakes and daub of clarified butter made from cows milk along with some uncooked rice. The worship consists of a two simple Sanskrit mantras one which salutes the Sun, our ultimate source of power and light and the other which disconnects our personal egoistic sense from phenomena.
She repeats the ritual at sunset with an equally simple salutation to the creator. She belongs to the reformist movement of Agnihotra that was originally created as the five-fold way in 1944 by the mystic master of the Dattatreya sect, Sri Gajanan Maharaj. He lived at Shivpuri, near Akkalkot, Maharashtra.
The five-fold way includes daily observance of ritual fire (yajnya ); charity (daana); meditation (tapa); right action (karma) and enquiry into the self (swadhyaya). Agnihotra is the smallest yet most effective form of the splendid ancient Vedic ritual known as yajnya, the seeker explains. Its also the first most important part of the five-fold path of worship of light. Fire opened the gates of eternal evolution for the entire humankind not just for those on the Indian sub-continent , she adds. Everybody, regardless of gender, race or creed is free to follow the path of light. As the Master himself has said, The Kingdom of Heaven is near at hand/ Blessed are they who have seen the light/fortunate are those who walk in the light/ for they will enter the kingdom of light.
What is significant, science too has joined the mystics in celebrating the primacy of fire in the evolution of humanity . The theory was first proposed in the 19th century. Now, in Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, Harvard anthropologist Richard Wrangham challenges the view that tool-making and meat-eating turned apes into humans. Rather it was cooking and taming of fire 1.8 million years ago, he says. Our ancestors were able to evolve because cooked foods were richer, healthier and required less eating time. Communal fire, cooking and a highercalorie diet also had a far-reaching social impact.
We had to be able to look each other in the eye. We couldnt react with impulsivity. Once you are sitting around the fire, you need to suppress reactive emotions that would otherwise lead to social chaos. Around that fire, we became tamer, smarter, Wrangham muses. So Hail fire!
Desire Means A Great Longing To Expand
Desire Means A Great Longing To Expand
Talk: Osho
The energy called desire has been condemned for centuries . Almost all the socalled saints have been against it, because desire is life and they were all life-negative . Desire is the very source of all that you see, and they were against all that is visible.
Desire without any object, desire without being goal-oriented , unmotivated desire, pure desire, is godliness. Desire is not to be destroyed; it is to be purified. Desire is not to be dropped; it is to be transformed. Your very being is desire; to be against it is to be against yourself and against all. To be against it is to be against the flowers and the birds and the sun and the moon. To be against it is against all creativity. Desire is creativity.
The Eastern scriptures are perfectly right when they say that God created the world because a great desire arose in Him a desire to create, to manifest, a desire to make many from one, to expand. But these are only metaphors ; God is not separate from desire. Desire means a longing, a great longing, to expand, to become as huge as the sky.
What the man who wants to have more and more money really wants is not money but expansion , because money can help you expand. You can have a bigger house, you can have a bigger garden your territory will be bigger , your freedom will be bigger.
The man who is after money may not know why he is after the money. Go deeper into his unconscious , help him to meditate, and he will be surprised to find that the desire for money is not really the desire for money, it is the desire to expand.
The same is the case with all other desires. People want more power, more fame, longer life, better health, but what are they desiring in these different things The same, exactly the same: they want to be more. They dont want to remain confined; they dont want to be limited. It hurts to feel that you are definable, because if you are definable then you are just an object , a commodity. But all these objects of desire, sooner or later, disappoint. Money becomes possible one day, and yet expansion has not happened; you may have a little more freedom of choice, but that does not satisfy. The desire was for the infinite, and money cannot purchase the infinite.
If you watch carefully, money, power, prestige nothing satisfies. On the contrary, they make you more discontented. Why Thats because when you were poor there was hope that one day the money was going to happen and then you would relax and enjoy. Now that has happened, and there seems to be no sign of any relaxation. You are even tenser than you were before, you are even more anxiety-ridden than you were before.
Desire in itself is not wrong. Money, power and prestige are wrong objects of desire. You can have a sword and you can kill somebody that does not make the sword faulty. You can also save somebody with the sword.
Desire has to be purified and transformed, because it is your energy you dont have any other energy. The mediocre way to transform desire is to change the object. Dont go after money, start going after God
There is no seed of desire because desire is the seed of all. Desire is the ultimate seed of everything. To transform your energies, be creative. Slowly, you will see transformation happening of its own accord.
Talk: Osho
The energy called desire has been condemned for centuries . Almost all the socalled saints have been against it, because desire is life and they were all life-negative . Desire is the very source of all that you see, and they were against all that is visible.
Desire without any object, desire without being goal-oriented , unmotivated desire, pure desire, is godliness. Desire is not to be destroyed; it is to be purified. Desire is not to be dropped; it is to be transformed. Your very being is desire; to be against it is to be against yourself and against all. To be against it is to be against the flowers and the birds and the sun and the moon. To be against it is against all creativity. Desire is creativity.
The Eastern scriptures are perfectly right when they say that God created the world because a great desire arose in Him a desire to create, to manifest, a desire to make many from one, to expand. But these are only metaphors ; God is not separate from desire. Desire means a longing, a great longing, to expand, to become as huge as the sky.
What the man who wants to have more and more money really wants is not money but expansion , because money can help you expand. You can have a bigger house, you can have a bigger garden your territory will be bigger , your freedom will be bigger.
The man who is after money may not know why he is after the money. Go deeper into his unconscious , help him to meditate, and he will be surprised to find that the desire for money is not really the desire for money, it is the desire to expand.
The same is the case with all other desires. People want more power, more fame, longer life, better health, but what are they desiring in these different things The same, exactly the same: they want to be more. They dont want to remain confined; they dont want to be limited. It hurts to feel that you are definable, because if you are definable then you are just an object , a commodity. But all these objects of desire, sooner or later, disappoint. Money becomes possible one day, and yet expansion has not happened; you may have a little more freedom of choice, but that does not satisfy. The desire was for the infinite, and money cannot purchase the infinite.
If you watch carefully, money, power, prestige nothing satisfies. On the contrary, they make you more discontented. Why Thats because when you were poor there was hope that one day the money was going to happen and then you would relax and enjoy. Now that has happened, and there seems to be no sign of any relaxation. You are even tenser than you were before, you are even more anxiety-ridden than you were before.
Desire in itself is not wrong. Money, power and prestige are wrong objects of desire. You can have a sword and you can kill somebody that does not make the sword faulty. You can also save somebody with the sword.
Desire has to be purified and transformed, because it is your energy you dont have any other energy. The mediocre way to transform desire is to change the object. Dont go after money, start going after God
There is no seed of desire because desire is the seed of all. Desire is the ultimate seed of everything. To transform your energies, be creative. Slowly, you will see transformation happening of its own accord.
Recognise your true desires
Recognise your true desires
PARAMAHAMSA NITHYANANDA
FEAR and desire are the fundamental energies that drive our lives. We act either out of a desire to achieve something, or out of a fear of not wanting to experience something. Attraction and repulsion are not merely forces of molecules, but also essential to human behaviour.
One of the major driving forces in human life is desire. If you look into your life, you can see most of the time we are driven by either desire or fear. We have so many desires and many times we feel we dont have the energy to fulfil them. According to the Jain tradition, the Divine sends us with enough energy and capacity to fulfil all our desires. But most of us dont feel this way. Why
There is a difference between our true desires and borrowed desires. Our true desires are called our needs . Borrowed desires are called our wants . We have enough energy to fulfil our true desires or needs. What are our true desires
During the Life Bliss Program Level 2 (Nithyananda Spurana Program), we have a session where people are asked to make a list of their desires, their needs and wants. Then they meditate on these desires. At the end of the meditation, I ask them to recollect from memory their list of desires.
What they can recollect is usually a fraction of what they have written! It is as if they started with a large tree full of leaves, meaning their desires, and during this meditation the tree sheds almost all its leaves, as if the leaves were dried and dead. What it retains glows like golden leaves.
If you can understand which desire is innate and which is borrowed, spiritual growth happens automatically. Whatever is left in the peoples memories, those desires glow like gold. These desires are their true desires. They are the ones that carry the energy for their fulfilment!
If the process is done with awareness , these desires are always selfless desires. They may benefit the individual, no doubt, but they always benefit humanity . Only such selfless desires carry the energy of the universe with them for fulfilment.
When our desires are our own true desires, when they reflect our real needs, when they express themselves in our inner energy , we dont feel any desperation about trying to achieve them. The realisation comes that, as a matter of natural course of events, these desires will be fulfilled . We are not driven and we are not troubled by them. We accept that they will happen.
Be Blissful!
PARAMAHAMSA NITHYANANDA
FEAR and desire are the fundamental energies that drive our lives. We act either out of a desire to achieve something, or out of a fear of not wanting to experience something. Attraction and repulsion are not merely forces of molecules, but also essential to human behaviour.
One of the major driving forces in human life is desire. If you look into your life, you can see most of the time we are driven by either desire or fear. We have so many desires and many times we feel we dont have the energy to fulfil them. According to the Jain tradition, the Divine sends us with enough energy and capacity to fulfil all our desires. But most of us dont feel this way. Why
There is a difference between our true desires and borrowed desires. Our true desires are called our needs . Borrowed desires are called our wants . We have enough energy to fulfil our true desires or needs. What are our true desires
During the Life Bliss Program Level 2 (Nithyananda Spurana Program), we have a session where people are asked to make a list of their desires, their needs and wants. Then they meditate on these desires. At the end of the meditation, I ask them to recollect from memory their list of desires.
What they can recollect is usually a fraction of what they have written! It is as if they started with a large tree full of leaves, meaning their desires, and during this meditation the tree sheds almost all its leaves, as if the leaves were dried and dead. What it retains glows like golden leaves.
If you can understand which desire is innate and which is borrowed, spiritual growth happens automatically. Whatever is left in the peoples memories, those desires glow like gold. These desires are their true desires. They are the ones that carry the energy for their fulfilment!
If the process is done with awareness , these desires are always selfless desires. They may benefit the individual, no doubt, but they always benefit humanity . Only such selfless desires carry the energy of the universe with them for fulfilment.
When our desires are our own true desires, when they reflect our real needs, when they express themselves in our inner energy , we dont feel any desperation about trying to achieve them. The realisation comes that, as a matter of natural course of events, these desires will be fulfilled . We are not driven and we are not troubled by them. We accept that they will happen.
Be Blissful!
GURU
Why We Connect Easily To A Living Master
Bhanumathi Narasimhan
The guru is an embodiment of wisdom, and love. In Sanskrit, the word for gravity is gurutvakarshan. The earth holds on to us with the force of gravity. Without this attraction or love, we would not have a base. Similarly, gurutva is the basis of our life. The guru is the guiding light who removes the darkness of ignorance and shows the path to wonderment.
One day, while Lord Shiva was performing a puja, his consort Parvati sees him bowing his head in reverence. Seeing this, she asks: You are the Supreme Consciousness, the substratum of entire Creation . Who is it that you bow down to
Shiva replied: Dear Parvati, for the benefit of all humanity, I will answer your question . It is to the allpervading guru tatva that I bow down to. In the many beautiful verses that followed called the Guru Gita, Shiva explains the guru principle, and says how fortunate one is to have a living master in his life.
The guru in the physical form is called pratyaksh. In the presence of the master, our enthusiasm and spirit are in an elevated state. Our sorrows diminish, joy wells up, there is contentment , knowledge is nourished and protected, and talent blossoms.
When a drop feels connected to the ocean, it feels the strength of the ocean. When we are connected to this tradition, we feel the strength and protection of all the masters. All these masters are an expression of the same Infinite, Undivided, Supreme and Pure Consciousness.
The guru is a tatva an omnipresent , omniscient, omnipotent principle. Establishing connection with this tatva is a source of great strength. We know we have forefathers, great-grandparents and so on. Yet we feel most attached and connected to our parents or grandparents because they are with us. Similarly, we have many gurus in our tradition , but when we come in the presence of a living master, the connection is established immediately . The entire knowledge from time immemorial is made available to us.
Guru Purnima is a time to feel grateful. The more grateful we are, the more grace flows into our lives. On Guru Purnima , we remember all the masters who were, who are and who will be in the future. We feel gratitude towards the master who moves us from a limited understanding and pride of i know everything to i am everything . A disciple seeks knowledge. A devotee seeks nothing. A devotee is soaked in love and devotion. Guru Purnima is a special day of the devotee as well. When a river meets the ocean, the river no longer remains a river. It becomes the ocean. It is the same when the devotee meets the Divine. Only Divinity remains. The individual i dissolves in the One Divinity.
When we look at the world through the eyes of the master, the world will look so much more beautiful a place filled with love, joy, compassion and virtues. The masters presence is one that is unlimited, vast, infinite and all-inclusive . The presence of the master in ones life brings fulfilment in all other relationships.
To that one, eternal, pure, unbounded embodiment of knowledge and absolute bliss, to the lotus feet of my master, i bow down with respect and gratitude.
Bhanumathi Narasimhan
The guru is an embodiment of wisdom, and love. In Sanskrit, the word for gravity is gurutvakarshan. The earth holds on to us with the force of gravity. Without this attraction or love, we would not have a base. Similarly, gurutva is the basis of our life. The guru is the guiding light who removes the darkness of ignorance and shows the path to wonderment.
One day, while Lord Shiva was performing a puja, his consort Parvati sees him bowing his head in reverence. Seeing this, she asks: You are the Supreme Consciousness, the substratum of entire Creation . Who is it that you bow down to
Shiva replied: Dear Parvati, for the benefit of all humanity, I will answer your question . It is to the allpervading guru tatva that I bow down to. In the many beautiful verses that followed called the Guru Gita, Shiva explains the guru principle, and says how fortunate one is to have a living master in his life.
The guru in the physical form is called pratyaksh. In the presence of the master, our enthusiasm and spirit are in an elevated state. Our sorrows diminish, joy wells up, there is contentment , knowledge is nourished and protected, and talent blossoms.
When a drop feels connected to the ocean, it feels the strength of the ocean. When we are connected to this tradition, we feel the strength and protection of all the masters. All these masters are an expression of the same Infinite, Undivided, Supreme and Pure Consciousness.
The guru is a tatva an omnipresent , omniscient, omnipotent principle. Establishing connection with this tatva is a source of great strength. We know we have forefathers, great-grandparents and so on. Yet we feel most attached and connected to our parents or grandparents because they are with us. Similarly, we have many gurus in our tradition , but when we come in the presence of a living master, the connection is established immediately . The entire knowledge from time immemorial is made available to us.
Guru Purnima is a time to feel grateful. The more grateful we are, the more grace flows into our lives. On Guru Purnima , we remember all the masters who were, who are and who will be in the future. We feel gratitude towards the master who moves us from a limited understanding and pride of i know everything to i am everything . A disciple seeks knowledge. A devotee seeks nothing. A devotee is soaked in love and devotion. Guru Purnima is a special day of the devotee as well. When a river meets the ocean, the river no longer remains a river. It becomes the ocean. It is the same when the devotee meets the Divine. Only Divinity remains. The individual i dissolves in the One Divinity.
When we look at the world through the eyes of the master, the world will look so much more beautiful a place filled with love, joy, compassion and virtues. The masters presence is one that is unlimited, vast, infinite and all-inclusive . The presence of the master in ones life brings fulfilment in all other relationships.
To that one, eternal, pure, unbounded embodiment of knowledge and absolute bliss, to the lotus feet of my master, i bow down with respect and gratitude.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Purpose, Utility And Futility Of Identity
The Purpose, Utility And Futility Of Identity
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The universe is a multilayered existence; there are many levels: there are the molecular, the atomic and the subatomic levels. So also the human consciousness: though one, yet, it is many.
An eight-year-old child in India was always given the Brahma Gyan first, before any other knowledge. The first upadesha or formal advice given during the Upanayanam or holy thread ceremony is called Brahmopadesha , where the highest identity of oneself is revealed as a secret. In this ceremony, the guru, father and mother whisper in the ear of the child: You are THAT! And then all the varnashrama dharmas , or lesser identities are taught and the duties are promulgated.
The lesser identity is essential to perform limited duties that include those as student, son or daughter, husband or wife, father or mother, professional or citizen. Lesser identities strengthen the karta or doer and enable him to complete the karma. Another utility of lesser identity is to move one from tamoguna to rajoguna. Krishna reminds Arjuna of his being a warrior and his warrior dharma, again and again after educating him in the Sankhya yoga, the highest knowledge of atma-gyan . He tells him about his kshatriya dharma and what people will say if he doesnt do his duty, something that is irrelevant to a Brahmagyani.
So, to come out of tamoguna, rajoguna is essential. And while moving from rajoguna to satoguna , all identities get dropped. Thats why Buddha said the world is all sorrow and misery; so take sanyas. His teachings were simple, plain, convincing, logical and so could be understood far and wide, whereas Krishnas are complicated, confusing and contradictory and so they remained confined to India. Krishna also says Anityam Asukham Loka . The universe is anitya, asukha (transient, devoid of happiness) he doesnt say it is dukham and further he says Imam Prapya --Achieving this, Bhajaswamam merge into Me. (Gita, Ch. 9)
In the Vedantic tradition, there are two paths: One is that of negation neti neti , which the Buddhists have adopted. The other is simply moving beyond negation . That is the path of Taitriya Upanishads, also called the varunya . The varun was given introduction food is Brahmn, then told Prana Brahmn, without negating the previous. Then as the higher planes of manobrahma , vigyan-brahma and anandam-brahma are introduced, the previous identities are naturally superseded; no negation is used in this. You dont need to negate being a householder to be a good citizen of your country and you dont need to negate being a good citizen in order to be a world citizen; they all fall in place. The lower identities simply get absorbed and enriched as well. This is incomprehensible for a linear-thinking Occident.
The dharmashastras and Brahmagyanis have all along been guiding when there is a conflict between the dharmas of different identities like between a grihastha-dharma or that of a householder and raja-dharma or that of a citizen. While identities are useful for performing the karmas , their futility is obvious in the field of knowledge or gyana. Like the membrane around the seed, which stays till the seed sprouts, identity will remain till the Brahmagyan is attained they help one to complete their karmas.
In the Gita, Krishna cleverly adopts both these methods, to bring both vairagya (to get out of sorrow) and to perform the duty, which Arjuna had to. Na budhibhedam karma sanghinam.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The universe is a multilayered existence; there are many levels: there are the molecular, the atomic and the subatomic levels. So also the human consciousness: though one, yet, it is many.
An eight-year-old child in India was always given the Brahma Gyan first, before any other knowledge. The first upadesha or formal advice given during the Upanayanam or holy thread ceremony is called Brahmopadesha , where the highest identity of oneself is revealed as a secret. In this ceremony, the guru, father and mother whisper in the ear of the child: You are THAT! And then all the varnashrama dharmas , or lesser identities are taught and the duties are promulgated.
The lesser identity is essential to perform limited duties that include those as student, son or daughter, husband or wife, father or mother, professional or citizen. Lesser identities strengthen the karta or doer and enable him to complete the karma. Another utility of lesser identity is to move one from tamoguna to rajoguna. Krishna reminds Arjuna of his being a warrior and his warrior dharma, again and again after educating him in the Sankhya yoga, the highest knowledge of atma-gyan . He tells him about his kshatriya dharma and what people will say if he doesnt do his duty, something that is irrelevant to a Brahmagyani.
So, to come out of tamoguna, rajoguna is essential. And while moving from rajoguna to satoguna , all identities get dropped. Thats why Buddha said the world is all sorrow and misery; so take sanyas. His teachings were simple, plain, convincing, logical and so could be understood far and wide, whereas Krishnas are complicated, confusing and contradictory and so they remained confined to India. Krishna also says Anityam Asukham Loka . The universe is anitya, asukha (transient, devoid of happiness) he doesnt say it is dukham and further he says Imam Prapya --Achieving this, Bhajaswamam merge into Me. (Gita, Ch. 9)
In the Vedantic tradition, there are two paths: One is that of negation neti neti , which the Buddhists have adopted. The other is simply moving beyond negation . That is the path of Taitriya Upanishads, also called the varunya . The varun was given introduction food is Brahmn, then told Prana Brahmn, without negating the previous. Then as the higher planes of manobrahma , vigyan-brahma and anandam-brahma are introduced, the previous identities are naturally superseded; no negation is used in this. You dont need to negate being a householder to be a good citizen of your country and you dont need to negate being a good citizen in order to be a world citizen; they all fall in place. The lower identities simply get absorbed and enriched as well. This is incomprehensible for a linear-thinking Occident.
The dharmashastras and Brahmagyanis have all along been guiding when there is a conflict between the dharmas of different identities like between a grihastha-dharma or that of a householder and raja-dharma or that of a citizen. While identities are useful for performing the karmas , their futility is obvious in the field of knowledge or gyana. Like the membrane around the seed, which stays till the seed sprouts, identity will remain till the Brahmagyan is attained they help one to complete their karmas.
In the Gita, Krishna cleverly adopts both these methods, to bring both vairagya (to get out of sorrow) and to perform the duty, which Arjuna had to. Na budhibhedam karma sanghinam.
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