Life is a Celibration

 

Devotion its Genesis and GrowthQuote from the true charm and power of Vedanta

 

The Blessed Lord Said

 

13. I shall expound to you that path of spiritual realization which leads to the ultimate good of man, where in there is complete and irreversible abeyance of the pleasures and pains of worldly existence

 

14 This Yoga which I preached in ancient days to the Rishis who were eager to hear it-the same Yoga, perfect in all its limbs, I shall teach you now, O pure-minded lady. 

 

 15. It is the view of wise men that the mind indeed is the cause of both the bondage and liberation of embodied beings . If the mind is attached to the Gunas of Prakriti and their products, it leads to bondage; but when it begins to feel delight and attraction for the Lord (Purusha) it leads to liberation.

16. When the mind is freed from impurities of lust and greed generated by the sense fo “I” and “mine”, it attains to purity and rests in equanimity, being unaffected by pleasure of pain.

 

17-18 Then the Jiva , endowed with knowledge, renunciation and devotion, experiences in truth the Supreme Spirit transcending Nature (Prakriti)-Kevala (untouched by anything) eternal , self-effulgent, subtle, indivisible, and unconcerned-as well as Prakriti with all its binding power destroyed.

 

19 For one aspiring to attain Brahman , there is no path more straight , safe and practical then that of loving devotion for the Supreme Lord who is the soul of all . kapilopodesh

 Life is a Celibration 

 By MEENA OM

Baisakhi is a harvest festival when farmers bring home the life-giving grains, for example, wheat and mustard, to sell and meet their yearly expenses. Now, they renovate their houses, buy new clothes, jewellery and sweetmeats.

It also time to dance and be merry, to reflect the abundance of nature and, more importantly, show the feelings of caring and sharing. Indic folklore has it that when farmers cut the crop, they leave 6-9 inches of stalk as an offering to Mother Earth.

To recycle energy, these stalks are later turned into compost to nourish the earth back. After threshing the grain, the resulting hay straws are set aside to provide roof for the poor and needy, and fodder for the cattle. And when it comes to storing grain, a small quantity is taken out to feed birds.

When the wheat grain is ground up, a handful of the flour is kept out for ants. Of the chapatis made from the flour, the first one goes to the cow, thereafter, they are offered to elders in the family, then children and other family members. Some rotis are kept for beggars and stray dogs.

This is a great example of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’ and being considerate, concerned and compassionate. Such sanskars need to be passed on from generation to the next generation. Just as the crop ripens and becomes a life-giving source for all, we too should grow to spread truth, love and light everywhere, and make every act of ours Satyam-Shivam-Sundaram — truthful, for the welfare of all, and beautiful — so that there is Baisakhilike gaiety and abundance.

 

IF HE EXIST

 

I drive joy There was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting ten precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting ten minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste ten minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 10 minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7th heaven moment of the week In Epl  Ashton villas no 7 scored a goal

Soul of a man

Quote from the True charm and power of Vedanta

Soul of a man

We have found out the true seat of the ego to be the heart , which it knows nothing about . It is simply seated there, in spite of the ignorance about the place, and hence how can it have any control over it? But we have to say that it presides over the whole of the nervous system, for without it, the nerves are absolutely powerless as we have seen it to be the case in the condition of sound sleep when all the sensory and motor nerves are perfectly inactive. The moment the ego comes back to them, they are all able to work. The senses are able to sense. The organs of activity are able to be active, and the mind is able to think, feel, will and remember. So the ego is the rightful master of the entire nervous system, and the cause is to be sought in its own sheer weakness and nothing else. The ego has no control over the heart which works perfectly well even when it sleeps soundly. Who directs the movement of the heart at that time, and through its ceaseless contractions and expansions, presides over the circulation of the blood all over the body? It is God. ‘When all the inner and outer organs of the body are sleeping. he who keeps awake and goes on producing thing that they desire most, is the pure One. He is Brahman . He is described in all scriptures as the one deathless Being. All the spheres exist in Him He is beyond all, none can go beyond Him . This is what He is

World As A Sanctuary

The Speaking Tree, India, ET

A placewhere you can feel protected and be safe – that’s what the word ‘sanctuary’ means. In a sanctuary, all life is revered, and there is balance, harmony, peaceful coexistence and above all, safety and security.

 

This is perhaps why Henryk Skolimowski, the Polish philosopher who avidly promoted eco philosophy, added this tagline: ‘The world is a sanctuary’. The human species is perhaps the only one that fouls its own nest.

 

Our individual homes – the house or apartment in which we live – are regarded as sacred spaces; we take care to keep them clean, happy, safe and secure. Yet, when it comes to our collective home, Planet Earth, all these protective instincts fly out the window and we pollute the planet and its atmosphere, denude forests and drive other species to extinction.

 

Skolimowski believed in a living philosophy, rather than confining it to abstract thought and rituals that have lost their meaning. Abstraction may be part of human intellectual pursuit, but one needs to also apply what we learn and discover in our daily lives so that we have a living philosophy that promotes constructive behaviour for individual and common good.

‘Ecosophy’, as propounded by European thinkers Guatteri and Naess, looks at the whole picture and pleads for applying ecological wisdom in our relationship with the environment. Skolimowski also upheld the value of light as energy that nurtures life and helps all species thrive, giving us the potential to overcome our ignorance so that we can lead more enlightened lives.

IF HE EXIST

I drive joy There was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting ten precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting ten minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste ten minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 10 minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7^th heaven moment of the week In Epl Totnham no 7 scored a goal, Manunited no 7 scored a goal, everton no 9 scored a goal

         

Spiritual healing.

 

Quote from the True Charm and Power of Vedanta

Spiritual healing.

Body and soul each has its own place in our life. And if we can keep these two separate in our mind, often we can make our adjustment. Whenever something happens on the physical plane, we should not take it as an inevitable finality. Spirit can always transcend bodily limitations. That is one of the great thoughts of the indo-Aryan school of philosophy . This does not mean that there are no healing methods in India. Healing is one of the most essential elements in her spiritual evolution. It is an accepted thing that one who has risen to a great spiritual height can dispel ignorance, the cause of all illness, by his touch, his word, his very presence. Whenever there is light, there can be no darkness. Healing is accomplished in that way, but another element is introduced in order that people may help themselves instead of depending on others, and that is the element of mediation.

When we are in physical or mental trouble, it is well to forget it sometimes , in the world, when we have any perplexing problems we say: I want to think it over. I want to sleep on it. In other words we wish to reflect , to find a clear light before we give our decision. That is exactly what mediation means. The body requires a certain amount of inward recreation which the mind can give. Body and mind when united, find balance, a sense of rest within. Retired from all worldly disturbance they both grow stronger. Whether we are in public life or following some line of spiritual study, we cannot do without these times of retirement. The nervous disorders of modern life are due not so much to our intensity of action as to our lack of understanding and wrong direction of our energy. We must have balance, and meditation give us that balance. Without it we cannot maintain our health our happiness or our peace of mind. One person in a household who maintains his balance becomes a great power. He helps even unconsciously . in this day it is hard for us to believe that any one can instruct without speaking . we believe more in noise than in silence; that is our misfortune. We miss the subtler , the finer, the more beautiful part of life when we merely follow the noisy trend of the  world.

Bliss is eternal

The Speaking Tree, India, ET

By Swami Kriyananda

 

What everyone really wants is bliss. Happiness is counterfeit: too much of it diffuses one’s very concept of bliss. To a mind full of attachments, bliss seems almost a threat. A cottage by the sea is something the ego, at least, can handle without effort. But bliss? Bliss requires total absorption. Few people are ready to be all that happy! They need suffering, to spur them towards ever higher aspiration.

A bird, after 20 years of living in a cage, would be afraid to leave it. Were the cage door opened, the bird would cower at the back, dreading the flight that is perfectly natural for it. Man, at the thought of absorption in bliss, faces two major challenges. First, to his mind, bliss implies a need for exerting high energy. Second, the concept of absolute consciousness seems overwhelming to him.

If you have attained a certain degree of refinement, you would be unwilling to return to living like others who limit their pleasures to the table, their bar room and the bedroom. Creatures at every stage of evolution cling to what is familiar to them. Familiarity gives them their sense of security. And, so, they may meet the call to higher awareness with stout resistance.

 

The principal challenge bliss presents is the demand that one’s ego be abandoned. Human beings define themselves in terms of their bodies. They think of themselves as having a specific age, name, nationality, sex and social position. These do not, however, truly define us at all. In infinite consciousness, not even self-awareness, ultimately, is lost; it is simply transformed. Nothing, in essence, can be either created or destroyed.

IF HE EXIST

I drive joy There was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting ten precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting ten minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste ten minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 10 minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7^th heaven moment of the week In Ipl Chenni won by 7 wk, Mumbai won by 7 wk, dc won by 7 wk.

         

The Essences of Gita

 

Quote from the True Charm and power of Vedanta

The Essences of Gita

The scriptures say that we should first of all study the Vedas That gives us faith in moral values and these values are rooted in action. To live up to them we do different types of work. White working we have varied experience of joy and sorrow and gradually we come to know that this world is a passing show. As a result we stop working for our own enjoyment or glorification and try instead to do work in a detached way as matter of duty. In this way the mind and the intellect gradually become purified and we totally stop calculating our own gain and loss ,. This is what real “giving up” means. Once this kind of detachment produced by right thinking takes root in our lives and intense desire to attain the eternal Reality grows in the heart and also the knowledge of Reality dawns at that very moment. Then we perceive the One in everything and to every way. Within and without , we are only the One, and nothing but the One. One this knowledge of the One comes it does not go away. Once the mirage is known to be the play of light over the sands , no more can it be mistaken for water.

But even after having the knowledge of the One, it is possible to work by bringing back to some extent the ides of the “many” in order to teach others or to work for some other special purpose . Sri Ramkrishna used to say, “It is like what expert singers can do. They can rise to a high scale of musical pitch and also can down again to a lower scale. they can produce sound on any pitch they wish. Thus knower of the One are capable of working as well as not working . But try as they may, they cannot , unlike other people , view enjoyment , wealth, success and fame as the things worth attaining or as the sole purpose of life. Those who have seen a mirage and have realized that it si not really water my  see the mirage again, but they will never go to it to quench their thirst. This too is just like that.

 

Healthy mind, healthy body

Acharya Mahaprajna

 

Mental health promotes physical health. The reverse is also true. The mind and the body are two mutually connected entities. However, the mind’s influence on the body is deeper than that of the body on the mind. Mental health is connected with the feeling of equality. Without this feeling the mind cannot be healthy.

 

The principle of equality is also the principle of mental health. One principle of mental health is: Know thyself. One who does not know his own strength and weakness cannot be mentally healthy. We do not know our strength because we are weak and we feel a sense of being wretched. We become excited when somebody misbehaves with us because we do not know our weakness. In such cases we overlook ourselves and try to find fault with others.

Another principle of mental health is the willingness to admit one’s responsibility for whatever has been done. We are not prepared to visualise the consequences of our actions and that is why our mind has no peace. It is unhealthy to avoid responsibility for our actions. It can lead to mental illness. One needs courage to admit his faults. A weak mind does not have this courage.

 

One should take responsibility for the good as well as bad consequences of one’s actions. It is the weak who find fault with others. They want to save their own skin. We generally like to be praised for our good actions but are not prepared to be blamed for the bad consequences of our actions

 

IF HE EXIST

I drive joy There was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting ten precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting ten minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste ten minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 10 minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7^th heaven moment of the week In Ipl  SRH scored 159/7 in tie match

         

Towards the Goal Supreme

Quote from the True charm and power of Vedanta

Towards the Goal Supreme

Only an Incarnation of God can be free from faults and imperfections and endowed with all the blessed qualities. the conduct and dealings even of a man of Realization of a highly advanced and revered spiritual teacher, or of a fully qualified Guru, may not be entirely without defects or imperfections, errors of judgment or lack of proper understanding of song sort or other. But their exceptional merits predominate to such an extent that even their defects and eccentricities often serve as embellishments to their character and make them all the more loveable . Besides leaving apart these exalted personages, the age of love does not see the ugliness or blemishes of persons who are loved or adored.

Convert Pain Into Wisdom

By SADHGURU JAGGI VASUDEV

For many people nowadays, whatever has happened in the past has become an excuse for what they are right now, ‘I am like this because somebody abused me.’ I am not saying this without any concern or lack of compassion for such things, but this problem has taken on major proportions.

 

If they do something nasty and somebody asks them, ‘Why did you do such a thing?’ people say, ‘When I was a child, you know what my uncle did to me?’ Iam not trying to belittle somebody’s unpleasant experiences. I know there is pain behind it, but do we want to continue to harvest pain or do we want to convert this pain into wisdom and harvest wisdom out of our experience of life?

 

That is a choice every human being has. Especially if you have been abused, if you have been put through unpleasant situations in your life, you should be sensible enough not to put anybody else in those situations. Isn’t that an intelligent way to be? But many people just use the unpleasant experiences in their past as something to hide behind. If something unpleasant happens to us, what should be our first thought? ‘This should never again happen to me or to anyone.’

 

This is very human. But because something unpleasant happened to you, if you repeat that and say, ‘I am doing this because they did it to me,’ this needs to be looked at. Especially if you have been abused and you know the pain of being abused, you should ensure it never happens to anybody.

IF HE EXIST

I drive joy There was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting ten precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting ten minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste ten minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 10 minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7^th heaven moment of the week In Ipl  Rajasthan royals won scoring 150/7 and no 77 got man of the match

         

To Take a Deep Breath

 

Quote from the True Charm and Power of Vedanta

Wishing you happiness 

Live one day at a time

Avoid unhealthy worries.

Reduce your desires,

Take notice of simple things.

Trust in God.

Be friendly

Be satisfied

Appreciate yourself

Make love your sole aim

Care for others

Choose…

You are happy when you view each day as a fresh beginning bright with promise, and never define yourself in terms of past accomplishments.

Today is a fresh day be it sad of gay, 

Try new things in a new way,

No matter what it may be.

A chance to make a fresh beginning.

And to change failure into winning.

To live a little better.

And let your faith not shatter.

You can be a winner,

When God is on your side,

Just trust His loving care

For He can turn the tide.

You are happy when you avoid unhealthy worries about tomorrow, for it never frees tomorrow of the sorrow, but only saps today of its strength in other words worry dissipates our strength and inhabits the enjoyment and intensify of the present moment

…

To Take a Deep Breath

NARAYANI GANESH

 

For people like me who like spending time outdoors, breathing in freely circulating air and enjoying the wind in one’s hair and the rustle of leaves underfoot, the gym is not a good option. A closed environment symbolically shuts down the feeling of liberation and openness, and despite long periods on the treadmill and other devices, one is left wanting; even stressed.

 

But, for urban dwellers in India, there are very few outdoor outlets that are not polluted, dirty, dusty or crowded. The Swedes are lucky: 70% of Sweden is covered with forest, so nature is within reach for most people, wherever they live. In a small country like Britain, the sea is never more than 70 km away (on an average), no matter which part of the Isle you live in.

 

In large countries like India, however, with large populations and high density, accessing the clean outdoors is a luxury. In natural surroundings, one’s mental and physical health find space to bloom, untrammelled by constrictions so typical in indoor settings. We feel less of negative emotions and stress levels plummet.

 

Which is why ‘forest bathing’ is so popular in Japan, where city dwellers are encouraged to spend time walking amidst trees in forested areas to open their minds and boost their physical health. The Covid-19 pandemic has perforce kept most of us indoors for most part of a whole year — something unimaginable in ‘normal’ times.

 

And the situation continues indefinitely. Yet, even as the lockdowns reveal the importance of family time, frugality, creativity and de-cluttering, they have also brought home to us the value of the outdoors and how much we miss it.

IF HE EXIST

I drive joy There was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting ten precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting ten minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste ten minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 10 minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7^th heaven moment of the week In Ipl DC won by  7 runs ,  kkr won by 10 runs

         

Spiritual initiation

 

Quote from the True Charm and Power of Vedanta

Spiritual initiation

Five Codes of Conduct

Our conduct should be in tune with our state of being initiated. I recommend . I recommend following five codes of conduct in the time of initiation . There is nothing secret about it. Everybody should know it. Hence I speak for everyone . No one can move towards God, unless he is pure to conduct . to precede towards God the conduct must be pure.

We often here about the necessity of taking pure food. Does it mean that our diet should include sufficient clarified butter? Not that . Pure food . this is the scriptural injection. The food that is beneficial both for the body and the mind and for building them up is to be consumed as much as the body needs it, i.e. one must not eat to satisfy one’s greed. We must partake of the food with the idea that if will nourish our body and mind, and we shall use the nourished body and mind for contemplation of God  

Purification of one’s conduct is even more important than purification of food. We shall state here the five types of good conduct.

1.     We should pray for the welfare of all.

2.   We must hold on to truth always in such a way that under no circumstance should we deviate from it.

3.   Let us not cheat anybody or deceive anybody by cheating somebody; Let us be satisfied with what is due. This is honesty in our dealing with others it is of great help in the spiritual path.

4.   We have to bring all our sense organs under our control. Let us not be guided by them. Control ever one or two sense organs will not do. All the sense are to be brought under control . it is a must for spiritual life.

5.   
Life is meant for thinking of God and for raising Him . lead a simple straightforward and natural life. We should not seek luxury. I do not mean that all should wear clothes like beggars or live miserably. I mean we should strive to maintain ourselves with minimum requirements  . we should be absolutely free form greed. The man who earns thousand rupees a month wants to earn five thousand instead. Another one earning five thousand wants to  earn ten thousand instead. In a similar fashion others are after a target of one lakh from ten thousand and even one crore from one lakh and so on., this is how our desires are continuously increasing . such ever incensing craving keep the mind constantly restless.

Meditate for progress’ sake

The Speaking Tree, , ET

In the face of life’s challenges, it is difficult to focus on spiritual growth. When we sit down to meditate, these difficulties keep us from stilling the body and mind, which is critical to focus our attention within and make inner spiritual progress.

 

Saints and spiritual masters teach us how to deal with life’s ups and downs, so that they do not impact us spiritually. To do so, we first need to realise that we are not the body or mind but soul. We need to understand the importance of cleansing ourselves and of leading the right kind of life that takes us Godward.

 

We are like a pipe; the cleaner the pipe, the more easily God’s Light and love can flow through us. We have a choice to either allow our pipe to get clogged or to cleanse it so that the divine waters flow smoothly through it. It all depends on how we live our life. As we do so, we awaken from leading an unconscious life where we believe we are simply the body, mind and intellect to a life of consciousness where we embrace our true nature as soul, a part of God. We awaken to the beauty of God’s love that permeates the inner worlds, and we are imbued in God’s Light and love.

 

With this Light, all darkness is dispelled. We develop right understanding about our human existence. When we entertain negative thoughts, words and deeds, we clog our pipe. In contrast, when we lead an ethical life and regularly focus our attention within through meditation, we pierce the walls of body and mind and connect with the divine Light of God. Meditation serves as a mechanism to pierce through the barriers that impede our spiritual progress.

IF HE EXIST

I drive joy There was a doctor in Benaras who spent 7 minutes in the morning and evening for mediation on God. Knowing this, his colleagues and friends laughed at him. One day they argued that he was wasting ten precious minutes on something, which he had been misled into believing. The doctor replied, “Well, if God does not exist, I agree that I am wasting ten minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste ten minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 10 minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7^th heaven moment of the week In epl whu no 7 scored two goals , aston villa no 9 scored a goal