Peace and Blessedness. The Path to the Spirit

 

Quote from true charm and Power of Vedanta

 

Peace and Blessedness. The Path to the Spirit

 

The Bhagavad-Gita says; “The well-resolved mind is single and one pointed”, So it is with a seeker of Truth. He thinks of nothing else. He moves in that, he lives to that, his whole being is based on that, and he becomes that. You may ask; what happens to his ordinary life? Does a wise man eat, sleep work? Yes; he eats, sleeps and performs all his functions but he knows that his soul is immortal and he lives with that consciousness. An ordinary mortal recognizes diseases, bondage, suffering; but one who has soul-consciousness, he does not recognize these; he recognizes God. He lives like other man; but he is free, while the other is bound. You may put him in a dark dungeon; there he finds an effulgent light within himself. You cannot rob him of his light. You do not need to help him; he finds all his help in the Supreme. You say the most condemning tings; they do not touch him,

Who is the stronger? The one who is not touched. He lives in an atmosphere which no one can break through. He lives on an island so isolated, no one can reach him. He dwells in a state which can never be disturbed. His inner consciousness is peace and that inner bliss he possesses is his own. You may have a beautiful room, decorate it with flowers and do everything to have space there; but it is not so safe as when you have peace and bliss within yourself. You may have to leave that special place; but the inner shrine you can carry with you wherever you go. That sanctuary which you create within yourself by your thoughts, words and actions, nothing can take away.

 

Pure love is emptying the mind of all fear

 

By Anup Taneja

 

Over the last two years, the world has been passing through a critical phase owing to the Covid-19 pandemic that has not spared even the most affluent nations. The main reason for the untold misery being inflicted on the inhabitants of earth, according to Albert Einstein, is the failure of humanity to use and harness the various forces of the universe in the right direction.

 

It was through a flash of intuition that Einstein realised that there was an extremely powerful force that governed every phenomenon operating in the universe about which science could not find any formal explanation. This universal force, he said, is love. The positive energy of love, he believed, is so very powerful that it has the capacity to heal the entire world.

 

While making efforts to develop a unified theory of the universe, explains Einstein, scientists completely overlooked the presence of this positive energy. Love is light that enlightens those who give and receive it; love is gravity because it works like a magnet, attracting people towards one another; love is power, because it extinguishes blind selfishness and ensures that humanity is not governed by a parochial attitude.  Indeed, it is for love we live and for love we die – love is God and God is love.

 

 

Paramhansa Yogananda, an ardent votary of the lofty ideal of Divine Love, writes   that love is the divine power of attraction in creation that harmonises, unites and binds together. It is opposed by the force of repulsion, which is the outgoing cosmic energy that materialises creation from the cosmic consciousness of God. Repulsion keeps all forms in the manifested state through ‘maya’, the power of delusion that divides, differentiates and disharmonises. The attractive force of love counteracts cosmic repulsion to harmonise all creation and ultimately draw it back to God. Those who live in tune with the attractive force of love, achieve harmony with nature and their fellow beings, and are attracted to blissful reunion with God.

 

Mata Amritanandmayi, the very embodiment of love and compassion, says that the root cause of all problems, from personal to global, is the absence of love in the hearts of people. Love is the binding factor, the unifying factor that creates the feeling of oneness among people. Pure love is nothing but the emptying of the mind of all its fears and the tearing off of masks of all.

 

In present times where nations are spending millions of dollars in accumulating weapons and bombs of mass destruction, it is all the more important that mankind creates another type of bomb, a love-bomb, which is powerful enough to annihilate hatred, selfishness and greed that have devastated our planet. Suffering has made us realise that the transitory life on earth is too precious to be frittered away in nurturing thoughts of hatred and ill-will towards fellow humans. Einstein rightly said: “If we want our species to survive, if we are to find meaning in life, if we want to save the world and every sentient being that inhabits it, love is the one and only answer.”

 

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 7 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 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7th heaven moment in isl Mohanbagan no 7 scored a goal,    

Secret of right activity

 

Quote from true charm and Power of Vedanta

 

Secret of right activity

The religious life dose not meant devoting certain hours to the study of the Bible or some other sacred Scripture; it means continuous life in accordance with the higher law. And nowhere do we find this more strikingly illustrated than in the Hindu life. It is said that the Hindus eat religion, drink religion, and sleep religion. What is the significance of this? That they do not wish to live without God; that they do not want to be separated for one moment from that supreme consciousness. They believe that all their actions, from the least important to the loftiest must start from that one central consciousness. This is what we need to learn-those at all times we must lead exalted lives that every act must be in harmony with our higher nature, that we must serve our ideal even at the cost of our life. Such characters are need, and we can build them only by right thinking,

 

We must not shut ourselves up in one set of doctrines and dogmas and believe tht the whole spiritual Truth is confined in them According to Vedanta , Truth is the common property of the whole human race; and whoever is wakeful, whoever apples the Truth , whoever lives the life , he is a follower of the Truth, whether he comes from East or West . A flower wherever it grows and it gives the same fragrance to the one who tramples on it as to the one who cherishes it. That is the nature we should develop. We must not say; this person does not appeal to me; I cannot love or serve him. The ordinary man does that. The flower does not refuse its fragrance to anyone. It gives what it has to give. Similarly our higher nature should be so unfolded that we can feel for all and give without asking anything.

 

Moving towards a state of permanent Basant

By Anandmurti Gurumaa

 

From autumn through harsh winter, the land goes barren, leaves fall and the grass goes lifeless. Wearing the veil of darkness, everything plunges into a deep slumber. Such is the view outside, but what about the ominous gloom that dwells within us?

 

Sant Kabir says, ‘Asleep in the temple of this body, I have been awakened hearing the Master’s eternal words.’ Sleep symbolises ignorance, darkness, inertia and unconsciousness. And this very sleep is the inner autumn – the autumn of the mind. If someone is asleep, we call him out, ‘Wake up, the dawn has broken.’ So, the person gets up hearing that voice. But a person in the slumber of ignorance can only be awakened by the words of an evolved master.

 

Body as temple

 

Kabir is referring to the body as a temple, which symbolises purity. It epitomises sacredness, something that is beautiful to look at. The saint says, ‘I am sleeping in this body that is akin to a temple. Temple is where the Lord dwells. If I am asleep in the temple, how would I know who resides within me? I wake up hearing the eternal word of the Master, thus the sleep of ignorance that was going on for aeons is over.’

 Ignorance is the breeding ground for all types of fears and insecurities. What will we do without money, relatives and kids? What if I die? These fears are perpetually there, but for the one who has woken up, all these anxieties dissolve away once and for all. The one who knows that the entire creation is an illusion along with this body, what’s there to fear?

 

Why worry?

 If you are sleeping, you are in bondage. When you are awake, you are free. Sleeping akin to ignorance is pain. Wakefulness is eternal bliss. While sleeping, you are in darkness. When you wake up, you are established in the Eternal Truth. Knowing oneself as an eternally pure Self, an embodiment of bliss, where is the space left for worries and insecurities?

 

When this flower of Ananda, the eternal bliss, blooms inside, we can say that the Basant has come! Basant means blooming. The autumn of ignorance is over. Basant implies that the flowers have blossomed. The gloom of ignorance that enveloped us has left and has been taken over by the illuminance of supreme wisdom.

 

With the coming of spring, small saplings begin to make headway on the ground shrunk by the winter; the stem grows, buds come, and within weeks flowers bloom. Once the harsh winter is over, colours begin to spread all around. These are the colours of Basant, spring.

 

When the love for the Lord dawns, or the love for the Master culminates, we experience a permanent Basant! Outside, flowers will wither away with time. However, the flower of divine love that once blooms within never dies; for such a person, Basant is never over.

 

 Today is Basant Panchami

 

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 7 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 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

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Divine Love

 

Quote from true charm and Power of Vedanta

 

Naradas ways of Divine Love

 

When devotion arise in the heart of a man, he naturally becomes free from all distracting thoughts, for he finds a greater delight in the thought of the Atman-the indwelling

God-hidden in the shrine of his own heart in other words to find delight satisfaction, and peace in the atman is true devotion according to Sandilya.

 

 
Sri RamaKrishna told how during his practice of spiritual discipline he would meditate upon God as an ocen of Existence, pure Consciousness, and Bliss, covering the whole universe, and that he thought of himself as a fish swimming and diving in that ocean. Then he remarked that when that meditation deepens one actually experiences this ocean of sat-chit-ananda- the ocean of existence, pure Consciousness and Bliss. Again Sri Ramakrishna would feel that eh was a vassal dipped in that ocean-the indivisible ocean of Sat-chit-ananda –within him and outside him.

            Sri Ramakrishna from his own experience would say “Sometimes I feel “Thou art I ,and I am Thou: and then  Thou art  Thou-there is an more “ego” left.

            Holy mother once said that when she was initiated by Sri Ramakrishna she felt like a jar filled to the brim. Her heart was brimming with the bliss of God

 

Truth is the biggest immunity booster

By Meena Om

 

Spiritually speaking, if we have a similar experience over and over again, it often means that we have not learnt the required lesson from it the very first time. Every incident takes place to impart some teaching, or to cut our previous karmas. With the Covid-19 pandemic waves coming back again and again, Nature seems to be asking us to transform, go back to being our natural self, and embrace truth in our actions, thoughts and deeds. Now is the time to prepare to be a sahi human – real human; being saral, sahaj, and samanya – uncomplicated, easy and normal, the way Nature wants us to be. And by shedding all our acquired mannerisms, we can grow to become a Being of Light.

 

Let us be centred, cleansed and come into our natural swaroop, form, so that Nature can work upon us. Nature appears to be determined to remove all imperfections that have seeped into our system. It can protect and save all who are supportive of it and become its medium, behaving according to its design. They will automatically get right messages, right help, right medicines, everything at the right time.

 

To be in sync with Nature, we can follow the path of satya, karma, prem, and prakash – truth, action, love and light. Satya means being one on all planes – mansa, vacha, karmana – thoughts, words and actions, in other words, say what you think and do the same.

 

While we take vaccines to build our immunity against coronavirus at the physical level, truth can boost our immunity at the soul level.

 

 

 

 

The body can be afflicted by imperfections – diseases, the mind can be troubled with negative and toxic thoughts, and two afflictions that can lower our spiritual strength are fear and guilt. These feelings can burden the soul leading to misfortunes and accidents. Embracing truth wholeheartedly can build our immunity against these two.

 

Karma here means to do all that comes our way with all our capacities and as an offering to the Supreme, without looking at the results. The only thing that needs to be kept in mind is that the work we do is satyam, sundaram and shivam – truthful, beautiful and for the welfare of all. Instead of letting the mind take over and drive us crazy by manipulating, insisting, designing and plotting, be natural, be truthful. Do all the work with ‘imandari’ – sincerity and truth.

 

Prem, love, is about loving all – living and non-living things alike, and prakash stands for cutting ignorance, illuminating oneself and others too.

 

Real spirituality is a vertical path of growth, transformation and evolution. It is based on the laws of Nature, science of the universal mechanism governed and orchestrated perfectly by Parambodhi, Supreme Intelligence. It is the eternal, perpetual and true dharma, not any mind-created, or labelled religion. It is for flowing and growing with the natural process of evolution of Cosmic Design.

 

Walking on this path of eternal truth is essential if we want to become the mediums to get connected with pure cosmic energies; to feel oneness with the entire world and our Self that is the spark of Param Tattva, Supreme Entity; and to have a healthy toxin-free body and sound mind that impart a luminous aura.

 

 

 

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 7 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 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

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No Fear

 

Quote from true charm and Power of Vedanta

No Fear

“Bondage is of the mind, and freedom is also of the mind. A man is free if he constantly thinks; I am a free soul. How can I be bound, whether I live in the world or in the forest? I am a child of God the King of Kings. Who can bind me? If bitten by a snake, a man may get rid of its venom by saying emphatically. “There is no poison in me’. In the same way, by repeating with grit and determination, I am not bound, I am free’ one really becomes so-one really become free.

 

“Men are taught from childhood that they are weak and sinners. Teach them that they are all glorious children of immortality, even those who are the weakest in manifestation. Let positive strong, helpful thought enter into their brains from very childhood. The earth is enjoyed by heroes this is the unfailing truth. Be a hero. Always say, “I have no fear” Tell this to everybody- “Have no fear” fear is death, fear is sin, fear is hell, fear is unrighteousness, fear is wrong life. All the negative thoughts and ideas that are in this world have proceeded from this evil spirit of fear.. Tell them to brush aside their illness by mental strength, and in an hour it will disappear! I, the Atman, smitten with disease! Off with it! Tell them to meditate for an hour at a stretch “I am the Atman, how can I be affected by disease!” and everything will vanish…. “Well, these foreign people could grasp my teachings, and you are suffering from illness owing to your negative spirit! Who says you are ill-what is disease to you? Brush it aside!     Swami Vivekananda

 

The way to be free from worldly pressures

By Jaya Row

 

Children play with masks. The more grotesque the mask, the greater is their amusement. The secret to their enjoyment is the fact that they know the mask is different from them. The word ‘personality’ comes from the Latin word ‘persona’, which means ‘mask’. If your body, mind and intellect are a mask, then who are you? You believe the mask is you. You are then limited by the mask. If you have a headache, you cannot think. You become incapacitated when you have an altercation with your spouse and get upset by an argument over politics. The body, mind and intellect that have been given for you to enjoy become a source of misery.

 

 

You are a mind-boggling combination of matter and Spirit. You have identified with the matter components and are oblivious of the Spirit. Hence, whatever happens to them happens to you. When the body feels cold, you are uncomfortable. When the mind is hurt by a nasty remark, you feel hurt. This is the most unintelligent way of living. The trick is to disconnect from the body, mind and intellect and connect with the Divine. Then you enjoy physical pleasures, emotional thrills and intellectual delights without the unnecessary sorrow. With the mask of matter, you are endearing and captivating. Without the mask you are awesome.

 

Look within. The world lures you outwards, tempts and distracts you. Sita was happy as long as her attention was on Ram. Her troubles began when her attention was drawn by the golden, fleeting deer. Sita represents you, the individual. Ram is Spirit. The deer symbolises worldly objects that are tantalising but passing. They are not what they appear to be. In the end, you get abducted by Ravan, your sense organs.

 

Remain focussed within. Understand your strengths and weaknesses. Leverage your assets to overcome the faults. Strive for excellence. Analyse, do not agonise. Fix a goal beyond your selfish, self-centred interests. Step out of your comfort zone and go beyond your myopic vision. Then, long before you get to enlightenment, you will experience freedom from worldly pressures. You remain relatively unaffected by the roller-coaster ride of life.

 

How did you get so entangled with matter? You have been incessantly thinking about the body, mind and intellect. You now have to think of the Spirit with the same intensity while you are interacting with your matter layers.

 

Chapter 13 of the Bhagwad Gita explains the clear distinction between matter and Spirit, knowledge and that which has to be known. Krishn details twenty fascinating traits of the wise and says, “This is knowledge. Anything apart from this is ignorance.” It is not academic knowledge of the scriptures that matters but going beyond the letter to the Spirit that confers wisdom. Ramakrishna Paramahans was illiterate by choice, but he taught the Upanishads to Swami Vivekanand.

 

As you shift your attention to Spirit, matter ceases to hold sway over you. You experience the power, freedom and bliss of Atman. Thereafter, there is no looking back. You become God!

 

For LIVE webinars on the Bhagwad Gita by Jaya Row, Saturdays 6 to 7 pm, register for free at vedantavision.org/gita

  

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 7 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 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7th heaven moment in second odi Sa won by 7 wk   in ISL odisha no 7 scored a goal  and chennai no 77 socred a goal 

Steps of Hindu Philosophic Thought

 

Quote from true charm and Power of Vedanta

He Who

 

Steps of Hindu Philosophic Thought

 

The first group of religious ideas that we see coming up- I mean recognized religious ideas, and not the very low ideas, which do not deserve the name of religion – all include the idea of inspiration and revealed books and so forth. The first group of religious ideas starts with the idea of God. Here is the universe, and this universe is created by a certain Being. Everything that is in this universe has been created by Him. Along with that, at a later stage, comes the idea of soul-that there is this body, and something inside this body which is not the body. This is the most primitive idea of religion that we know. We can find a few followers of that in India, built it was given up very early. The Indian religions take a peculiar start. It is only by strict analysis, and much calculation and conjecture that we can ever think that that stage existed in Indian religions. The tangible state in which we find them is the next step, not the first one. At the earliest step the idea or creation is very peculiar, and it is that the whole universe is created out of zero, at the will of God, that all this universe did not exist, and out of this nothingness all this has come. In the next stage we find this conclusion is questioned. How can existence be produced out of non –existences? At the first step in the Vedanta this question is asked. If this universe is existent it must have come out of something, because it was very easy to see that noting comes out or nothing, anywhere. All work that is done by human hands requires materials. If a house is built the material was existing before; if a boat is made the material existed before; if any implements are made, the materials were existing before. so the effect is produced  Naturally, therefore the first idea that this would was created out of nothing was rejected and some material out of which this world was crated was wanted. The whole history of religion in fact is this search after that material.

 Out of what has all this been produced? Apart from the question of the efficient cause, or God, apart from the question that God created the universe, the great question of all questions is; Out of what did He created it? All the philosophies are turning, as it were on this question One solution is that nature , God and soul are eternal existence as if three liens are running parallel eternally, of which nature and soul comprise what they call the dependent  and God the independent Reality. Every soul like every particle of matter , is perfectly dependent on the will of God .  

 

Meditation that takes you beyond all limits

By Ashok Vohra

 

According to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, ‘Mankind was not born to suffer, mankind was born to enjoy. The purpose of life is to expand happiness.’ Human beings can get rid of their suffering, attain a state of happiness and share it with others by practising the technique of bhavateet dhyan, transcendental meditation (TM). TM is withdrawal of consciousness and senses from the external objects and concentration of the consciousness on the self.

 

Dhyan is different from upasana, the method of worship. Upasana depends on the religion, faith upheld by one. So, there can be as many upasana padhatis, methods of worship, as there are religions or sects. Dhyan means concentration of mind on God, or self, or the Supreme principle, or even on shunyata, nothingness. In Buddhism, almost a similar technique of dhyan is called Vipassana. Upasana, on the other hand, is continuous thought of Him. For example, naam jap, recitation of names of God, is a form of upasana.

 

The word ‘transcendental’ means ‘going beyond the limits of human knowledge, experience, reason’. TM is a method of calming the mind and becoming relaxed by thinking deeply in silence, and silently repeating a special word or a syllable or series of words (mantra) many times in a row.

 

 

In the preface of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Science of Being and Art of Living, Charles F Lutes writes that the term ‘transcendental meditation’ though seems very complicated and difficult to understand simply means a scientific method of ‘communication with the Infinite’. It is scientific because it is ‘systematic and produces measurable and predictable results’. The outcome of TM is ‘realisation and fulfilment of the art of realisation’.

 

The technique of transcendental meditation is religion, sect, or faith neutral. It leads to the enhancement of one’s capacities to follow one’s own faith more enthusiastically.

 

The chief purpose of this meditation technique is to ‘put one in touch with his own essential self, the eternal Being within, by moving one’s attention away from the surface consciousness of change, suffering and stress. One then becomes the Absolute Being, an experience which Maharishi calls “God-consciousness”’.

 

In fact, the practice does not require a prior understanding of any philosophical theory.

 

All that is required of the practitioner is to recite twice a day for about 15-20 minutes a syllable, or a string of words – mantra, with closed eyes. The mantra is chosen by the trained teacher, guru, according to the need of the practitioner. Since a guru is needed to understand the needs of the learner and to initiate the learner into the correct technique, the TM is also called guru-centred practice.

 

Regular practice of TM eliminates the negative feelings of stress and fatigue and replaces them with the positive feeling of wellbeing. This change has been scientifically proven by many researchers. Experiments in the laboratories have established that TM ‘increased creativity and flexibility, increased productivity, improved job satisfaction, improved relations with supervisors and co-workers’ by creating a positive effect on the human mind and body. TM is not a passive state, rather it is a ‘state of restful alertness where the mind is awake but quiet, silent but alert’.

 

 

 

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 7 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 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7th heaven moment in test Sa won by 7 wk   in ISL goa no 7 scored a goal  

HE WHO

 

Quote from true charm and Power of Vedanta

He Who

 

During the initial stages of spiritual life, the devotee cannot help, thinking of God as outside of himself and as the embodiment of power. He attributes to Him human sentiments, even if we can rise above the conception of human forms. And he wants to come into living touch with Him, to enter into an intimate and personal relationship with Him, and to receive His protection and guidance. A sage fo the Rig Vedas prayed, “Be of easy approach to us, even as a father to his son. Do Thou, O self-effulgent Lord, abide with us and bring blessings to us “(Rig Veda) The advanced devotee clearly aces the Divine also immanent in Nature and worships Him saying Salutations to the God who is in the fire, who is in the water, who has pervade the whole universe, who is in the plants and who is in the trees.” (Svetasvatara Upanishad2.17)

 

Next as result of mental purification and introspection brought about by devotion, the aspirant feels within himself the presence of the Divine which he has been worshiping outside. The sages of the Upanishad realized the Self-conscious Principle immanent in themselves as well as in all beings and declared. “It is the ear of ear, te mind of mind , the speech of speech the breath of breath, the eye of eye” (Kena Upanishad) And finally there comes the grand realization of the infinite Divine Existence that is imminent and transcendent at the same time as declared in the Upanishad passages.

 

“He who dwells in the earth , and it within the earth, whom the earth does not know , whose body the earth is, and who controls the earth from within- He is the Self , the controller within , the immortal”

 “He who dwells in the sky and is within the sky, whom the sky does not know, whose body the sky is , and who controls the sky from within-He si the Self, the controller within, immortal”

 

“He who dwells in the breath, and is within the breath, whom the breath does not know, whose body the breath is, and how controls the breath from within-He is the Self, the controller within, the immortal.”

 

“He who dwells in the mind, and is within the mind, whom the mind does not know , whose body and mind is and who controls the mind from within-He is the Self, the controller within the immortal “

 

When prized possessions gain immortality

By Sudhamahi Regunathan , TOI

 

One of the side effects of the pandemic has been that every one, at some time or other, has ‘cleaned’ their house. Looking at all the stuff they have collected they have asked almost innocently, ‘How did we manage to collect so much?’ Suitcases and cupboards full of clothes and other things that one had not even seen for the past few years but could still not be thrown away.

 

“Our desire to possess says a lot about us,” says psychologist Bruce Hood. “We own so many things that often the garage is full of stuff while the car is standing in the driveway.” Author of Possessed, a book about possession and the madness to do so, Hood says in an interview, “There is a little demon inside us that is compelling us to go for more and more things. Our need to have more than we actually require is born out of a desire to control.”

 

 

It is true that when a child goes to the park with a ball of his own, he becomes the leader to those who have not brought their playing balls. So this desire for the power of control is born rather young.  And then we have memories attached to that ball … the first one my daughter played with or the one with which I won a game and so on. We never throw it away.

 

Does our self-esteem come from these past glories that we need to preserve them all? Does our sense of identity suck in these material objects too?

 

In the Valmiki Ramayan, Ram and Sita were preparing to go to the forest on their 14-year exile and the first thing that Ram told Sita was, “Now that you have decided to come with me, give away all your belongings.” She began distributing all her jewellery instantly.

 

Ram instructed Lakshman to collect all his possessions. They made a pretty pile with so much glitter and dazzle. Ram then began distributing them, carefully and with affection. Ram and Sita gave away not only their jewellery but also the livestock in their care, even their furniture.

 

They looked for the right person for their things. To the young disciples of sages, Ram said enough should be given so that they could pay their guru’s fees and would still be able to get married and manage a life thereafter. He gave to those who would be looking after his mother in his absence. He gave to young women who did not have adequate support and so on.

 

A man called Trijata was very poor and could not feed his family. He came to meet Ram. His wife had suggested he go ask Ram for she had heard he was distributing his wealth. Ram zested with him by giving him a stick and saying that he would get as many cattle as would fall within the area where his stick fell. Trijata did cover quite a distance, but Ram gave him even more than what fell within that mark.

 

There have always been many a Trijata around us. Would we honour and give a longer life to our precious belongings, if we gave them away with joy in our hearts?

 

 

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 7 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 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

ILLUSTRATED REVIEW : 7th heaven moment in test S. Thakur got 7 wk in innings in BBl thunder won scoreing 209/7  

 

Self Realization

 

Quote from true charm and Power of Vedanta

 

Self Realization

 

Nature has no influence on the Supreme Self of man, which is in reality one and the same with God; so Self realization and God-Vision are not two different things. Man is the expression of God and God is the reality of man Real man and God are inseparable. There is only one reality in this universe, whom the devotee worships as a Personal God, and a Jnani or wise man as his own Self. The difference is only in names and methods of reaching the goal; but when the goal is reached, both come to the same understanding –that there is but One by whom everything is pervaded. “This Atman is not to be realized by the intellect, nor by words , nor by hearing from many sources; but by him alone is the Atman is beloved, by him alone is the Atman realized” The thing necessary for us is to feel intense love in our hearts for this Supreme Self or God; otherwise He is not attainable . There is no other way that man can reach unto God, except through love-love always unites. This love for God comes unto those blessed beings who are pure in heart, from whom all attachment for unreal things, all selfish desires have vanished. This purity of heart and love for God are the sum and substance of all religious teachings.

 

We may spend the whole of our lives searching earnestly for truth in temples, in churches and in books; but without understating the significance of these fundamental teachings all these efforts will be in vain. Religion is practical and those who observe the practical side fo it realize the Truth you may not know how to read a single book, but if you have known the Truth which is behind them, you are much better off than the so-called philosopher who may speak in beautiful language but who has no realization whatsoever, it is a dangerous things to hear the Truth from one who has not realized, for he will only bring confusion in the mind; but one who has realized will teach with very few words Swami Vivekanda says in one of his lectures that he who has something to give, gives it in most has something to give, gives it in most simple language; but one who has nothing to give, he sometimes writes two volumes to expound one word . So we see that we can gain nothing when we come in contact with such people; they only confuse our brain.

 

Become like the divine with selfless service TOI

By Rishi Nityapragya

 

Visualise a soul passing through all the yonis and entering the Homo sapiens – human kingdom, spending dozens of lifetimes, gradually evolving, experiencing extreme dependence on the illusionary games of tamasik sukh, the temporary attractions of rajasik sukh, and taking the first step into the realm of satvik sukh in the form of sadhana. As the evolution continues, an inevitable stage comes where the soul gets instinctively interested in satya-sang; it wants to know higher truths, immerses itself in self-exploration, swadhyay. As the soul approaches the extreme top of the pyramid of evolution, the final frontier is that of seva, service, being useful.

 

Gurudev often says that seva is ‘Sa Iva’, the process of becoming like Him, the Divine, the Almighty. Nature continuously, incessantly, unconditionally keeps providing everything for everyone, without prejudice, bias, or expectation of any kind. The sun shines for life to continue, the oceans provide us with clouds that bring us lifesaving rain, the wind supports pollination for the vegetation to foster, fire brings warmth that kindles fertility. This Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Divine entity called nature, existence, the universe, is in a continuous, unconditional giving mode. In the final stage of evolution of an individual soul, the training is to become like the Divine.

 

 

Drop your resistance, release your smallness and with a playful, prayerful, devotional mind, get ready to be useful to the creation, to become the instrument of the Divine – for the betterment of the collective consciousness of your society, of your nation, of the whole world. Courageously take up this higher responsibility and inspire other souls to walk on the path of righteousness, correctness, Dharma.

 

A simple definition of seva, service, is, ‘Through your effort of manasa, vacha, karmana – being, speaking, doing, if someone gets to know the higher truths of life, someone’s energy levels get enhanced and someone experiences heightened levels of joy – seva is happening.’ And if your words and actions exhibit the infinite strength of satvik sukh, seva is happening.

 

As you dive deep into your personal sadhana, you experience a tremendous blast of kundalini shakti, the life force. Your mind settles down, paving the way for deeper, higher truths to dawn. Through satsang, on the one hand, you gratefully celebrate all the gifts from the Divine; on the other hand, you explore the potentialities of the macrocosm and the microcosm, of the ocean and the wave, of paramatma and jivatma, existence and you.

 

The optimum culmination is in seva. All that empowering energy, thankfulness for having received treasures from life and meticulous understanding of your existence and your own role in it has to ultimately result in you, the individual soul, becoming the instrument for the blossoming of other souls. In short, ‘Seva is wisdom in action.’

 

As you take higher responsibility, your area of influence grows, and you get the opportunity of expanding the arena of your existence. Higher seva exposes your strengths as well as your weaknesses. But look at this benevolent design of the consciousness. When your pluses get exposed, they always grow and get strengthened. And when your limitations get exposed, they always dissolve, free you and go away. (Abridged from Celebrating Life)

 

 

 

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 7 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 7 minutes a day. But, if He exists? I am afraid you are wasting your entire lifetime. I prefer to waste 7 minutes rather than a lifetime. Why should you grudge me the 7minutes joy that I derive 4m.-

 

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