How does the mind processes information?
When we see something through our eyes called chaksu, which is a digital signal processor, the digital file goes to memory or chitta, and then to mind or manas, and finally takes a leap into ego. Chitta decides what the information is not, to arrive at what it is, through a process of elimination. The mind says, this is a man conducting a class; it identifies the object as a man. Then it leaps into the ego, which, based on past experience, decides whether to sit in the class or go out. Ego decides and you express and act on that decision.
The ego zone is not under your control. There are impressions, past memories, or samskaras. They force you to take illogical, unconscious decisions. You decide to smoke, knowing fully well that it is bad for health. You go ahead anyway. You have no control. Samskaras create conflict and suffering.
Let’s suppose that the time taken from eye to mind is Tp. Till here the process is logical and clear. The time taken for unconscious process — from mind to ego, through samskaras — which distort your file, and twist your decisions, is Tq. As long as Tq is more than Tp, you will be more aware of your unconscious. If not, you are unaware and act on instinct. You are restless. You decide without knowing what you are doing. When samskaras are more, and they move fast without your knowledge, you are in trouble. If time taken for conscious process is more than the time taken for the unconscious, if Tp is greater than Tq, you act instinctively. If Tp equals Tq, you are in Intelligence level. You will live your life without guilt. When Tq is greater than Tp, you are in super conscious level; your unconscious is infused with silence and intuition. When you infuse consciousness and silence into this unconscious zone you burn all your samskaras, you become Shiva, you reach superconscious level. When Tp is less than Tq you operate on instinct; if equal, you are operating on intelligence; if Tq is greater, you are operating on intuition.
To awaken your intuition, give your conscious mind a rest. There is a state of mind where you have no thought. Consciousness remains. Modern psychology has no word for this state as it is not aware of this state of meditation, intuition or thoughtless awareness. In Sanskrit, it is called samadhi. If you can experience this state you can experience creativity, courage, confidence; you can take spontaneous decisions; you take responsibility; you decide based on limited data, with no precedence. You get the power and courage to do anything. Your relationships can change. How do you differentiate between intuition and instinct?
When you act instinctively, you will feel drained: For instance, when you react in anger, you feel guilty. When you act intuitively, you feel energised. Meditation helps you reach this state. Whenever you find time, be silent, be aware, be conscious; some part of your being wants to express itself more. Tune into the higher energy of intuition and creativity.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Having a purpose in life
We do not understand how purposeless life is, the way we live it. We believe that our life becomes worthwhile by giving vent to our feelings, by trying to fulfill whatever our immediate desire or impulse is.
What we think as worthy is not worthy, what we think as being purposeful is not purposeful. Our ego constantly strives for purpose. In doing so the reality of the present is missed; the truth and the purpose of life are missed. We need to understand the purposelessness of our goals and ambitions. What we think are the greatest treasures to obtain in this world are meaningless.
Living your life blissfully is the ultimate goal of your life. Life’s purpose is bliss. There can be no other goal or purpose. When we run after other goals we stop experiencing life; we are already dead. Our ego masks the true purpose of life. When we realise the purposeless of what we do, a new consciousness emerges, joy fills us, bliss happens.
When you are focused on material benefits such as your monthly salary or whatever is your time-based goal, you can experience at best, joy on that day. Fear, greed, lust and envy block peace; they demand more and more, even as you acquire more and more. This is not life.
When we drop what we think is our purpose, our goals in life, then we realise the divine purpose, the Lila, the divine play. You start to enjoy the drama without being part of it, and life becomes meaningful. You become a witness, not a player, and bliss happens.
As long as you work towards a goal, life has no meaning. Only when you realise that life has no purpose at all, can you really start living. You then walk the path with no destination in mind, and enjoy each step. You experience bliss.
There is a big difference between living and life. You can only be alive and living when you understand that purposelessness of life. Otherwise you just inhale and exhale; so do people in a coma; the only difference is that you are in a walking and waking coma unlike the ones in ICUs. Meditation helps you understand the uselessness of life, the meaning of life as it should be, and the meaning of self, and existence.
Meditation helps you realise that the path is the goal. Meditation leads to the awareness that bliss is the path and the goal.
What we think as worthy is not worthy, what we think as being purposeful is not purposeful. Our ego constantly strives for purpose. In doing so the reality of the present is missed; the truth and the purpose of life are missed. We need to understand the purposelessness of our goals and ambitions. What we think are the greatest treasures to obtain in this world are meaningless.
Living your life blissfully is the ultimate goal of your life. Life’s purpose is bliss. There can be no other goal or purpose. When we run after other goals we stop experiencing life; we are already dead. Our ego masks the true purpose of life. When we realise the purposeless of what we do, a new consciousness emerges, joy fills us, bliss happens.
When you are focused on material benefits such as your monthly salary or whatever is your time-based goal, you can experience at best, joy on that day. Fear, greed, lust and envy block peace; they demand more and more, even as you acquire more and more. This is not life.
When we drop what we think is our purpose, our goals in life, then we realise the divine purpose, the Lila, the divine play. You start to enjoy the drama without being part of it, and life becomes meaningful. You become a witness, not a player, and bliss happens.
As long as you work towards a goal, life has no meaning. Only when you realise that life has no purpose at all, can you really start living. You then walk the path with no destination in mind, and enjoy each step. You experience bliss.
There is a big difference between living and life. You can only be alive and living when you understand that purposelessness of life. Otherwise you just inhale and exhale; so do people in a coma; the only difference is that you are in a walking and waking coma unlike the ones in ICUs. Meditation helps you understand the uselessness of life, the meaning of life as it should be, and the meaning of self, and existence.
Meditation helps you realise that the path is the goal. Meditation leads to the awareness that bliss is the path and the goal.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Essence of our Being
Time and again, ancient Rishis and Masters have said that man's true nature is Bliss. Over the years, so many Masters have happened on planet earth. Whether it was Buddha or Christ or Krishna or Mahavir, the core of their message was the same. They all said that man's true nature was bliss and they all gave methods or techniques to reconnect with that Core..
Their expressions might have been different but their message was the same. Of course, again and again people miss the Masters message because they cling on to Masters personalities instead of their message. This is the root cause for fanaticism, religious wars and all other things that are happening on planet earth.
Anyhow, all these Masters had the same message, that man's core is bliss. And all of mans effort are actually in seeking this inner space, this space of bliss within him. but over time, due to social conditioning and distractions, man forgets his purpose and starts seeking this bliss in outer world things, in material things, in names, in forms, in labels given to him by society, in relationships, in careers and what not.
To chip with a story,
An old man went with his family to watch a movie in a theatre.
The movie had just started when the man suddenly started groping about in the darkness on the floor.
His granddaughter who was sitting next to him got annoyed and asked him what he was doing on the floor.
He said, Dear. I have lost my chewing gum. It has fallen out.'
The child got irritated and said, 'Grandpa, it's alright, leave it. We will buy some more chewing gum. Now watch the movie.'
The old man said, 'I want only that chewing gum.'
The child said, 'Grandpa, don’t behave like a baby. We will get more chewing gum.'
The old man said, 'But dear, my teeth are in it.'
You see: what we are really seeking is something (Till now we are not clear about it), but we are seeking it in the name of something else! And at the end of it, we find that even after achieving all the outer world things that we seek, there is a certain void in us. There is a certain yearning in us. This yearning is because we are actually searching for Bliss. That’s why we never feel fulfilled. This yearning is the call of the being.
Unless we are centered in our being, we will not experience a totality, we will not experience fulfillment. In our outer world achievements, we might be filled, but not fulfilled. When we are centered inside with awareness, we will have fulfillment every minute whatever we may be doing in the outer world, because the fulfillment does not come from what we are doing outside; it comes from inside.
Their expressions might have been different but their message was the same. Of course, again and again people miss the Masters message because they cling on to Masters personalities instead of their message. This is the root cause for fanaticism, religious wars and all other things that are happening on planet earth.
Anyhow, all these Masters had the same message, that man's core is bliss. And all of mans effort are actually in seeking this inner space, this space of bliss within him. but over time, due to social conditioning and distractions, man forgets his purpose and starts seeking this bliss in outer world things, in material things, in names, in forms, in labels given to him by society, in relationships, in careers and what not.
To chip with a story,
An old man went with his family to watch a movie in a theatre.
The movie had just started when the man suddenly started groping about in the darkness on the floor.
His granddaughter who was sitting next to him got annoyed and asked him what he was doing on the floor.
He said, Dear. I have lost my chewing gum. It has fallen out.'
The child got irritated and said, 'Grandpa, it's alright, leave it. We will buy some more chewing gum. Now watch the movie.'
The old man said, 'I want only that chewing gum.'
The child said, 'Grandpa, don’t behave like a baby. We will get more chewing gum.'
The old man said, 'But dear, my teeth are in it.'
You see: what we are really seeking is something (Till now we are not clear about it), but we are seeking it in the name of something else! And at the end of it, we find that even after achieving all the outer world things that we seek, there is a certain void in us. There is a certain yearning in us. This yearning is because we are actually searching for Bliss. That’s why we never feel fulfilled. This yearning is the call of the being.
Unless we are centered in our being, we will not experience a totality, we will not experience fulfillment. In our outer world achievements, we might be filled, but not fulfilled. When we are centered inside with awareness, we will have fulfillment every minute whatever we may be doing in the outer world, because the fulfillment does not come from what we are doing outside; it comes from inside.
Significance of Jeeva Samadhis
In the Hindu tradition, enlightened masters are always buried, whereas the bodies of others
are always burnt. There is a scientific background to this practice. Bodies are the receptacle
of our desires, and our embedded memories, called samskara. Samaskara is the collection of
emotional experiences that build themselves into value systems and beliefs, which drive our
lives,often unconsciously. Collection of these memories begin well before our birth and last
evev after our death.
Studies by Dr.Bruce Lipton, the eminent cellular biologist, have now shown at the cellular
level, that the embryo in the mother's womb retains memories of what transpires in the outer
world. Interaction between parents and the emotional state of the parents, especially the
mother, are carried viscerally into the infant through its cellular structure.
Similarly, memories live on after we die, and these memories are embedded in the body. If
the body is buried, these memories stay on at the place of burial and remain intangibly
present.
It is possible that in cultures where the dead are buried, the practice started with
purification rituals that ensured the removal of memories from the bodies being buried. In
the absence of such practices, which may no longer be followed, there is a possibility that
the memories stay on even as the body decomposes. The intangible presence of these memories
is what one would perceive as ghosts and spirits.
In the case of enlightened masters, their memories are very powerful and value enhancing.
What they leave behind in their bodies are enormous amounts of energy. Hindus believe that
this energy of enlightened masters can be preserved by burying their bodies under the right
conditions in a living tomb, called Jiva Samadhi.
Jiva Samadhi of great masters are spiritually and enormously powerful, they are pure energy,
they are the equivalent of nuclear reactors.
Please find below the most powerfull Jiva Samadhis of Masters who lived in India until recently.
They are Raghavendra swami in Mantralayam,Saibaba at Shirdi,
Ramana Mharishi at Tiruvannamalai,Ramakrishna paramahamsa at Dakshineshwar,
and Sadasiva Brahmendra at Nerur.
are always burnt. There is a scientific background to this practice. Bodies are the receptacle
of our desires, and our embedded memories, called samskara. Samaskara is the collection of
emotional experiences that build themselves into value systems and beliefs, which drive our
lives,often unconsciously. Collection of these memories begin well before our birth and last
evev after our death.
Studies by Dr.Bruce Lipton, the eminent cellular biologist, have now shown at the cellular
level, that the embryo in the mother's womb retains memories of what transpires in the outer
world. Interaction between parents and the emotional state of the parents, especially the
mother, are carried viscerally into the infant through its cellular structure.
Similarly, memories live on after we die, and these memories are embedded in the body. If
the body is buried, these memories stay on at the place of burial and remain intangibly
present.
It is possible that in cultures where the dead are buried, the practice started with
purification rituals that ensured the removal of memories from the bodies being buried. In
the absence of such practices, which may no longer be followed, there is a possibility that
the memories stay on even as the body decomposes. The intangible presence of these memories
is what one would perceive as ghosts and spirits.
In the case of enlightened masters, their memories are very powerful and value enhancing.
What they leave behind in their bodies are enormous amounts of energy. Hindus believe that
this energy of enlightened masters can be preserved by burying their bodies under the right
conditions in a living tomb, called Jiva Samadhi.
Jiva Samadhi of great masters are spiritually and enormously powerful, they are pure energy,
they are the equivalent of nuclear reactors.
Please find below the most powerfull Jiva Samadhis of Masters who lived in India until recently.
They are Raghavendra swami in Mantralayam,Saibaba at Shirdi,
Ramana Mharishi at Tiruvannamalai,Ramakrishna paramahamsa at Dakshineshwar,
and Sadasiva Brahmendra at Nerur.
Science of Homa
Homa is an ancient Vedic science. It is one of the healing fire practices described in the Vedas and used principally for healing the environment. This practice helps our planet Earth to overcome its current man-made difficulties of earth, air and water pollution. It is stated in the Vedas that the resultant or remnant Homa ash has all trace elements for a perfect balanced life.
At sunrise and sunset a massive torrent of Life Energy, in Sanskrit "Prana" comes from the sun when the first energy rays hit the earth. At all times, the atmospheric pollution around us, acting as a blanket, this daily strength of "Prana" received is being reduced and distorted as it comes through the polluted atmosphere. Homa enables the "Prana" and various other life sustaining and supporting energies to descend and expand in abundance around us.
Pathogenic bacteria are at their highest concentration at sunset and practicing homa at this time greatly reduces the amount of pathogens in the area of the fire.
All this is a bio-energy process causing the environment to start healing, slowly and gradually the atmosphere gets healed. The performers of Homa and those living within the vicinity are continuously healed by this newly rejuvenated atmosphere.We all might have heared about the Bhopal incident happened in INDIA long back where the leakage of poisonous gas Methyl Isocyanide from a chemical industry took away many lives. It was found, that only a group of 11 people, from single family survived the incident.Did you know, how they survived? Thats because they were performing Agni homa then.The abundant amount of Prana and supporting energies that was present in their place produced from homa actually protected them from the poisonous methyl isocyanide gas.
Twice daily practice of Homa increases and expands this from 'micro' to macro zoned climate, gradually engulfing the whole World.
The resultant ash of Homa has highly medicinal qualities. A lot of researches has been carried out on this ancient practice particularly by NASA and Monsanto especially on the properties of this ash. Cow dung ash has many interesting properties including not holding radioactivity, and has been used as a shield in NASA's spacecraft capsules. Homa ash not only has all elements of the periodic table; but it also has elements not found in the periodic table which have been found in meteorites that have landed on earth.
Homa is a 'super- science ' for Humankind yet to be fully understood for it's super-qualities, because, while much of what happens around us can be measured with instrumentations and the beneficial effects of performing Homa can be seen in the environment, not all is understood from a scientific perspective. Science needs to develop to understand Homa.
How to Practice Homa?
Homa is very easy to learn and needs little equipment.
It is a twice daily practice performed once at sunrise and the other at sunset using a small fire lit in an inverted copper pyramid. The fire is fuelled with dried cow dung and ghee (clarified butter) and accompanied by two short Sanskrit mantras and offering of pinch-full grains of brown rice mixed with ghee. Thereafter, meditating in silence until the fire is extinguished.
The combination of the mantra and the subtle energies produced within the pyramid by the fire and the 'Pranic' forces (energetic cosmic forces) at work produced by the sun rising and setting create conditions to eradicate the pollution from the surrounding environment. As explained in the Vedas, the fire energy within the pyramid affects wide area - a radius of 350m, and 12 Km high. The ash by-product of Homa is extremely valuable as a fertilizer and has various medicinal properties - for people, plant, animals and of course the environment!
Homa Mantras
Sunrise
1. Sur-yaye Swaha (Add the first portion of rice mixed with some drops of ghee in to the fire) Sur-yaye Idam Na Mama.
2. Praja-patye Swaha (Add the second portion of rice mixed with some drops of ghee in to the fire) Praja-patye Idam Na Mama.
Sunset
1. Ag-naye Swaha (Add the first portion of rice mixed with some drops of ghee in to the fire) Ag-naye Idam Na Mama.
2. Praja-patye Swaha (Add the second portion of rice mixed with some drops of ghee in to the fire) Praja-patye Idam Na Mama.
The main intention of Homa is to heal the whole World and spreading this ancient knowledge to others encouraging them to do the same for the sake of future generations to enjoy this Earth Paradise for a very very long time!
At sunrise and sunset a massive torrent of Life Energy, in Sanskrit "Prana" comes from the sun when the first energy rays hit the earth. At all times, the atmospheric pollution around us, acting as a blanket, this daily strength of "Prana" received is being reduced and distorted as it comes through the polluted atmosphere. Homa enables the "Prana" and various other life sustaining and supporting energies to descend and expand in abundance around us.
Pathogenic bacteria are at their highest concentration at sunset and practicing homa at this time greatly reduces the amount of pathogens in the area of the fire.
All this is a bio-energy process causing the environment to start healing, slowly and gradually the atmosphere gets healed. The performers of Homa and those living within the vicinity are continuously healed by this newly rejuvenated atmosphere.We all might have heared about the Bhopal incident happened in INDIA long back where the leakage of poisonous gas Methyl Isocyanide from a chemical industry took away many lives. It was found, that only a group of 11 people, from single family survived the incident.Did you know, how they survived? Thats because they were performing Agni homa then.The abundant amount of Prana and supporting energies that was present in their place produced from homa actually protected them from the poisonous methyl isocyanide gas.
Twice daily practice of Homa increases and expands this from 'micro' to macro zoned climate, gradually engulfing the whole World.
The resultant ash of Homa has highly medicinal qualities. A lot of researches has been carried out on this ancient practice particularly by NASA and Monsanto especially on the properties of this ash. Cow dung ash has many interesting properties including not holding radioactivity, and has been used as a shield in NASA's spacecraft capsules. Homa ash not only has all elements of the periodic table; but it also has elements not found in the periodic table which have been found in meteorites that have landed on earth.
Homa is a 'super- science ' for Humankind yet to be fully understood for it's super-qualities, because, while much of what happens around us can be measured with instrumentations and the beneficial effects of performing Homa can be seen in the environment, not all is understood from a scientific perspective. Science needs to develop to understand Homa.
How to Practice Homa?
Homa is very easy to learn and needs little equipment.
It is a twice daily practice performed once at sunrise and the other at sunset using a small fire lit in an inverted copper pyramid. The fire is fuelled with dried cow dung and ghee (clarified butter) and accompanied by two short Sanskrit mantras and offering of pinch-full grains of brown rice mixed with ghee. Thereafter, meditating in silence until the fire is extinguished.
The combination of the mantra and the subtle energies produced within the pyramid by the fire and the 'Pranic' forces (energetic cosmic forces) at work produced by the sun rising and setting create conditions to eradicate the pollution from the surrounding environment. As explained in the Vedas, the fire energy within the pyramid affects wide area - a radius of 350m, and 12 Km high. The ash by-product of Homa is extremely valuable as a fertilizer and has various medicinal properties - for people, plant, animals and of course the environment!
Homa Mantras
Sunrise
1. Sur-yaye Swaha (Add the first portion of rice mixed with some drops of ghee in to the fire) Sur-yaye Idam Na Mama.
2. Praja-patye Swaha (Add the second portion of rice mixed with some drops of ghee in to the fire) Praja-patye Idam Na Mama.
Sunset
1. Ag-naye Swaha (Add the first portion of rice mixed with some drops of ghee in to the fire) Ag-naye Idam Na Mama.
2. Praja-patye Swaha (Add the second portion of rice mixed with some drops of ghee in to the fire) Praja-patye Idam Na Mama.
The main intention of Homa is to heal the whole World and spreading this ancient knowledge to others encouraging them to do the same for the sake of future generations to enjoy this Earth Paradise for a very very long time!
Gardening the Heart
Whether a good or Bad is done to a being, On Both those actions the originator is the one who gets the First benifit.There is no need for the feel of oneness. Realisation of the existing Oneness is wat needed. Its an authentic one that wat is inside our body is inside every one's Body. But
remember the mind differs. The way they take it renders the difference. If we see the difference in character, Habitat, performance, action of others with respect to ours we feel
everyone is going wrong. But remember they think and feel they are on right track. This intention on analysing others once stored in Memory, gets up everytime u start of thinking
about someone or some thing. I Advice u "PLEASE DON HAVE ASSUMPTIONS" on any one. let them be their way. just wATCH THEM. Assume deeply as you are asked to see a video of march
past by 100 solders for 3 hours fully. Same steps, Same White Dresses, Same sounds, same ditto video each and every second. Can you see it for 3 hours with full sitting
interestingly? Nooo we ll run away in ten minutes. Think if every mind behaves so will that be nice to see? nice to go with ? nice to experience? Will that be entertaining? NOOO.Just Remember to enjoy each and every different personnals in their same fashion. Just watch and enjoy the differnces. Dont expect every one to be same as of you. Once realised
this there is be no seat for hate among people. need not carry anger on one another. Life will be fruitfull.
A Small Story.
Once a Junior School teacher asked her students to bring some potatoes in a plastic bag to school. Each potato will be given a name of the person whom that child hates.
Like this the number of potatoes will be equal to the number of persons they hate. On a decided day the children brought their potatoes well addressed. Some had two, some had
three and some had even five potatoes. The teacher said they have to carry these potatoes with them everywhere they go for a week.
As the days passed the children started to complain about the spoiled smell that started coming from these potatoes. Also some students who had many potatoes complained that it
was very heavy to carry them all around. The children got rid of this assignment after a week when it got over.
The teacher asked, “How did you feel in this one week?” The children discussed their problems about the smell and weight. Then the teacher said, “This situation is very similar
to what you carry in your heart when you don’t like some people.
This hatred makes your heart unhealthy and you carry that hatred in your heart everywhere you go. If you can not bear the smell of spoiled potatoes for a week, imagine the
impact of this hatred that you carry through out your life, on your heart?”
MORALE: Our heart is a beautiful garden that needs a regular cleaning of unwanted weeds.
For all our good action we are flowered with purity. For all our bad actions a strong guilty conscious is restored in our memory which makes feel us a bad personnal ourselves.This purity ll make us feel light, good, Blissfull all of the most one can feel himself the most lovable person above all. please Experience this state as a very basic state of purity, the very basic status to step into a Blissfull path, a lighter simpler life style. Yes Luv yourself the most. Realise in deep, If not we like ourselves who else could
like us?
remember the mind differs. The way they take it renders the difference. If we see the difference in character, Habitat, performance, action of others with respect to ours we feel
everyone is going wrong. But remember they think and feel they are on right track. This intention on analysing others once stored in Memory, gets up everytime u start of thinking
about someone or some thing. I Advice u "PLEASE DON HAVE ASSUMPTIONS" on any one. let them be their way. just wATCH THEM. Assume deeply as you are asked to see a video of march
past by 100 solders for 3 hours fully. Same steps, Same White Dresses, Same sounds, same ditto video each and every second. Can you see it for 3 hours with full sitting
interestingly? Nooo we ll run away in ten minutes. Think if every mind behaves so will that be nice to see? nice to go with ? nice to experience? Will that be entertaining? NOOO.Just Remember to enjoy each and every different personnals in their same fashion. Just watch and enjoy the differnces. Dont expect every one to be same as of you. Once realised
this there is be no seat for hate among people. need not carry anger on one another. Life will be fruitfull.
A Small Story.
Once a Junior School teacher asked her students to bring some potatoes in a plastic bag to school. Each potato will be given a name of the person whom that child hates.
Like this the number of potatoes will be equal to the number of persons they hate. On a decided day the children brought their potatoes well addressed. Some had two, some had
three and some had even five potatoes. The teacher said they have to carry these potatoes with them everywhere they go for a week.
As the days passed the children started to complain about the spoiled smell that started coming from these potatoes. Also some students who had many potatoes complained that it
was very heavy to carry them all around. The children got rid of this assignment after a week when it got over.
The teacher asked, “How did you feel in this one week?” The children discussed their problems about the smell and weight. Then the teacher said, “This situation is very similar
to what you carry in your heart when you don’t like some people.
This hatred makes your heart unhealthy and you carry that hatred in your heart everywhere you go. If you can not bear the smell of spoiled potatoes for a week, imagine the
impact of this hatred that you carry through out your life, on your heart?”
MORALE: Our heart is a beautiful garden that needs a regular cleaning of unwanted weeds.
For all our good action we are flowered with purity. For all our bad actions a strong guilty conscious is restored in our memory which makes feel us a bad personnal ourselves.This purity ll make us feel light, good, Blissfull all of the most one can feel himself the most lovable person above all. please Experience this state as a very basic state of purity, the very basic status to step into a Blissfull path, a lighter simpler life style. Yes Luv yourself the most. Realise in deep, If not we like ourselves who else could
like us?
Listen to your body
A popular sports gear advertisement reads: If your body tells you to stop, tell your body to shut up.
A popular sports gear advertisement reads: If your body tells you to stop, tell your body to shut up.
Most of the time we tell our body to shut up instead of listening to it as we ought to. No other living creature needs an alarm clock to wake up or a sleeping pill to go to bed. We, in fact, pride ourselves on how we abuse our body.
Our body has tremendous intelligence built over 600 million years of evolution as a living being.
A vast majority of our body activity is controlled by the autonomous nervous system that takes care of us with no inputs from us consciously. We breathe, digest, maintain our balance or even regulate our sleep-wake cycle without any conscious effort on our part. If we had to worry about doing these things we would be tied up in knots.
Our body survives in spite of us, not because of us. This is the miracle of body intelligence. Every single cell of our body is gifted with intelligence to carry out its own functions and to coordinate with the functions of related cells. DNA, carriers of our genetic code, are embedded in our memories and emotions, imprinting not merely physical but mental, emotional and psychic characteristics as well.
As our DNA is, so is our perception of the world. Our mind and body interact very closely and influence each other in amazing ways. Over 85 per cent of our physical ailments are influenced by the mind and are psychosomatic. The mind has the power to both cause and cure diseases. In a path-breaking experiment in Japan on allergies it was found that patients reacted even when the plants to which they had no allergies were placed on their skin and they were told that they were allergy-causing substances.
What was more amazing was when the allergy-causing leaves were placed on their skin and the name of a non-allergy-causing plant was mentioned, there was no allergic reaction in the patients. Make peace with your body. The body and mind are not separate entities. They are fully integrated.
Be aware of your body – for then you can sense what the body needs, even before you consciously become aware of the need. Your body tells you what it needs – remember this, for you have the intelligence to listen to it.
Drop the idea of controlling your body. Do not tie yourself up in knots – this causes pain to yourself – when your body cries out to you to stop torturing it. Trust in your body wisdom.
Only through meditation will you ever learn to understand your body, with clarity and compassion. You will then be able to find a way to go beyond the body.
A popular sports gear advertisement reads: If your body tells you to stop, tell your body to shut up.
Most of the time we tell our body to shut up instead of listening to it as we ought to. No other living creature needs an alarm clock to wake up or a sleeping pill to go to bed. We, in fact, pride ourselves on how we abuse our body.
Our body has tremendous intelligence built over 600 million years of evolution as a living being.
A vast majority of our body activity is controlled by the autonomous nervous system that takes care of us with no inputs from us consciously. We breathe, digest, maintain our balance or even regulate our sleep-wake cycle without any conscious effort on our part. If we had to worry about doing these things we would be tied up in knots.
Our body survives in spite of us, not because of us. This is the miracle of body intelligence. Every single cell of our body is gifted with intelligence to carry out its own functions and to coordinate with the functions of related cells. DNA, carriers of our genetic code, are embedded in our memories and emotions, imprinting not merely physical but mental, emotional and psychic characteristics as well.
As our DNA is, so is our perception of the world. Our mind and body interact very closely and influence each other in amazing ways. Over 85 per cent of our physical ailments are influenced by the mind and are psychosomatic. The mind has the power to both cause and cure diseases. In a path-breaking experiment in Japan on allergies it was found that patients reacted even when the plants to which they had no allergies were placed on their skin and they were told that they were allergy-causing substances.
What was more amazing was when the allergy-causing leaves were placed on their skin and the name of a non-allergy-causing plant was mentioned, there was no allergic reaction in the patients. Make peace with your body. The body and mind are not separate entities. They are fully integrated.
Be aware of your body – for then you can sense what the body needs, even before you consciously become aware of the need. Your body tells you what it needs – remember this, for you have the intelligence to listen to it.
Drop the idea of controlling your body. Do not tie yourself up in knots – this causes pain to yourself – when your body cries out to you to stop torturing it. Trust in your body wisdom.
Only through meditation will you ever learn to understand your body, with clarity and compassion. You will then be able to find a way to go beyond the body.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Words of Wisdom
"Cosmic consciousness is our birthright. The means of attaining this are humility, compassion, and meditation."
"Every breath is a gift of love from above. Fill with this love with every inhale and send it out with every exhale."
"There are no separate minds - there is only one consciousness."
"The most serene person is the most selfless person. The saddest person is the most selfish person."
"Desire nothing. Be content with everything."
"No mind = Know mind"
"Your inner beauty is pure, luminous, and glorious. This real essence is yours eternally. Don't worry for a second about your external beauty. If you're in touch with your inner beauty, your outer beauty will be beautiful."
"The tongue is the hardest sense instrument to tame. Our need to comment is obsessive and compulsive. Chasing after taste bud pleasure is slavery. Witness your inner silence and be free."
"It is good not to suffer. But suffering can also be seen to be good because it makes you humble and compassionate. Stop suffering from thinking suffering is only something that makes you suffer."
"Every meditation should be aimed at liberation from the illusion of separate existence."
"There is consciousness everywhere; in, on, and between everything, and you are united with it infinitly, eternally."
"There are no separate actions - there is only the experience of eternal love."
"We should simply be a channel for God's will."
"Your body is a collection of atoms that has changed its' construction and composition 100% since you first started reading this. You are not your body. You are that which can witness its' changes."
"The selfish suffer."
"If at first you don't succeed, that's what was supposed to happen."
"A corpse has every organ, bone, and body system that you have. The only difference between you and it is the spark of life that you enjoy. This is your real Self and is eternal and infinite."
"Great wealth will not bring you peace. The minute you get it you start worrying you will lose it. Real peace is the greatest treasure."
"Success and good health are blessings. Failure and illness teach patience, humility, and compassion. Thus, they too are great blessings."
"Empty your mind of negativity and the universe will fill it with love, wisdom, and bliss."
"Beauty is in the I of the Be-holder."
"The feeling of the tip of your tongue against the back of your teeth is present now and virtually every moment we are silent. It has the potential to awaken you to the present and to deliver a present - sensual pleasure."
"If you help less, you will be helpless."
"There are no separate bodies - there is only one body with many parts."
"There are no separate emotions - there is only infinite love and bliss."
"Every breath is a gift of love from above. Fill with this love with every inhale and send it out with every exhale."
"There are no separate minds - there is only one consciousness."
"The most serene person is the most selfless person. The saddest person is the most selfish person."
"Desire nothing. Be content with everything."
"No mind = Know mind"
"Your inner beauty is pure, luminous, and glorious. This real essence is yours eternally. Don't worry for a second about your external beauty. If you're in touch with your inner beauty, your outer beauty will be beautiful."
"The tongue is the hardest sense instrument to tame. Our need to comment is obsessive and compulsive. Chasing after taste bud pleasure is slavery. Witness your inner silence and be free."
"It is good not to suffer. But suffering can also be seen to be good because it makes you humble and compassionate. Stop suffering from thinking suffering is only something that makes you suffer."
"Every meditation should be aimed at liberation from the illusion of separate existence."
"There is consciousness everywhere; in, on, and between everything, and you are united with it infinitly, eternally."
"There are no separate actions - there is only the experience of eternal love."
"We should simply be a channel for God's will."
"Your body is a collection of atoms that has changed its' construction and composition 100% since you first started reading this. You are not your body. You are that which can witness its' changes."
"The selfish suffer."
"If at first you don't succeed, that's what was supposed to happen."
"A corpse has every organ, bone, and body system that you have. The only difference between you and it is the spark of life that you enjoy. This is your real Self and is eternal and infinite."
"Great wealth will not bring you peace. The minute you get it you start worrying you will lose it. Real peace is the greatest treasure."
"Success and good health are blessings. Failure and illness teach patience, humility, and compassion. Thus, they too are great blessings."
"Empty your mind of negativity and the universe will fill it with love, wisdom, and bliss."
"Beauty is in the I of the Be-holder."
"The feeling of the tip of your tongue against the back of your teeth is present now and virtually every moment we are silent. It has the potential to awaken you to the present and to deliver a present - sensual pleasure."
"If you help less, you will be helpless."
"There are no separate bodies - there is only one body with many parts."
"There are no separate emotions - there is only infinite love and bliss."
Sunday, September 6, 2009
What’s the big hurry?
A young woman confidently smiles at us from the billboard. Her daily routine is written
beside her smiling visage. Every hour of her day is filled, from the time she wakes up at 6
am till she goes to bed at 11 pm. She takes a pill to take care of her headache before she
goes to bed so that she can get up fresh the next morning. It’s an ad for a headache pill
and that’s why she is smiling.
It’s weird and yet it has become normal. Whatever moves faster is better. Communication
is the speed of light. The world is a global village. Electronic mails have to be replied to
within the hour. We all are always in a tearing hurry. Doing what?
Where are we all running to? Rather, what are we all running from in such a great hurry?
We are driven by greed and fear. Greed tells us that there is no time to lose. Fear tells us
that we are going to lose. So we hurry not knowing what we are going to lose, not
knowing what its value is.
We cram more hours into a day, more years into a lifetime. We multi-task and multi-live.
We try to enjoy cerebrally without a trace of joy.
A young man came to see me. He said, “Swamiji, I have everything sorted out. I am
building a house with a 25-year loan. By that time my daughter (a two-year-old) will be
ready for marriage. My son (an infant) will be in a good job. The house would be very
valuable and we can get a lot of money by selling it. We will invest most of it and settle
down with you at the ashram.”
He had finished 25 years of his life in 10 minutes. He feels that his calling is spiritual. Is
mortgaging the present for the future spiritual? This constant running is a reflection of
our inner restlessness. We then feel we have missed the bus or the train or the plane. We
certainly feel we have missed out on life. Has the running been worth it?
There is a good reason to plan for tomorrow; it’s important. However, let’s not forget to
live today! We need to learn to do whatever we do with complete focus, with enjoyment,
and live the moment fully. Lao Tzu calls this mindfulness Wei-wu-Wei, action with no
action. It is to enter into each activity totally, playfully, spontaneously, in such a way that
work is play and effort is fun. It is the way a child tackles her work enjoying each
moment, not worried about how soon it is to be finished, blowing bubbles if she is
washing dishes. An adult can never do this. There is rarely any enjoyment in what we do,
it’s an attitude of getting it over with, even if it is doing something pleasurable. We keep
running because we are afraid to stop; afraid to stop and reflect on what we are doing and
why. To be silent can be terrifying as it makes one vulnerable to oneself.
People are afraid to meditate because of this fear of being silent.
In Zen, meditation is about sitting still and doing nothing, but nevertheless doing it
consciously. Stopping the body and mind is healing the body and mind. Next time you
are hurrying through something ask the person nearest to you to shout Stop. This will
startle you into awareness, and who knows, perhaps even into enlightenment.
beside her smiling visage. Every hour of her day is filled, from the time she wakes up at 6
am till she goes to bed at 11 pm. She takes a pill to take care of her headache before she
goes to bed so that she can get up fresh the next morning. It’s an ad for a headache pill
and that’s why she is smiling.
It’s weird and yet it has become normal. Whatever moves faster is better. Communication
is the speed of light. The world is a global village. Electronic mails have to be replied to
within the hour. We all are always in a tearing hurry. Doing what?
Where are we all running to? Rather, what are we all running from in such a great hurry?
We are driven by greed and fear. Greed tells us that there is no time to lose. Fear tells us
that we are going to lose. So we hurry not knowing what we are going to lose, not
knowing what its value is.
We cram more hours into a day, more years into a lifetime. We multi-task and multi-live.
We try to enjoy cerebrally without a trace of joy.
A young man came to see me. He said, “Swamiji, I have everything sorted out. I am
building a house with a 25-year loan. By that time my daughter (a two-year-old) will be
ready for marriage. My son (an infant) will be in a good job. The house would be very
valuable and we can get a lot of money by selling it. We will invest most of it and settle
down with you at the ashram.”
He had finished 25 years of his life in 10 minutes. He feels that his calling is spiritual. Is
mortgaging the present for the future spiritual? This constant running is a reflection of
our inner restlessness. We then feel we have missed the bus or the train or the plane. We
certainly feel we have missed out on life. Has the running been worth it?
There is a good reason to plan for tomorrow; it’s important. However, let’s not forget to
live today! We need to learn to do whatever we do with complete focus, with enjoyment,
and live the moment fully. Lao Tzu calls this mindfulness Wei-wu-Wei, action with no
action. It is to enter into each activity totally, playfully, spontaneously, in such a way that
work is play and effort is fun. It is the way a child tackles her work enjoying each
moment, not worried about how soon it is to be finished, blowing bubbles if she is
washing dishes. An adult can never do this. There is rarely any enjoyment in what we do,
it’s an attitude of getting it over with, even if it is doing something pleasurable. We keep
running because we are afraid to stop; afraid to stop and reflect on what we are doing and
why. To be silent can be terrifying as it makes one vulnerable to oneself.
People are afraid to meditate because of this fear of being silent.
In Zen, meditation is about sitting still and doing nothing, but nevertheless doing it
consciously. Stopping the body and mind is healing the body and mind. Next time you
are hurrying through something ask the person nearest to you to shout Stop. This will
startle you into awareness, and who knows, perhaps even into enlightenment.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Aloneness leads to enlightenment
WE ARE constantly searching outside for answers. It is almost as if the answers to all our
questions and problems can be found outside, somewhere, somehow.
How often do we succeed in that? Never. None of our questions can be answered fully
from outside of us. All our questions have answers from within. Listen to the voice
within. People often ask me this question: What is man’s eternal quest? I reply: Man’s
eternal quest is to find himself. Some one asked me: Are you God? I said: I am not God. I
am above that. God is your imagination; Self is real and superior. The person said: If I
say that they will send me to an asylum!
A small story:
Jawaharlal Nehru, then the Prime Minister of India, went on a visit to a mental asylum.
There he met an inmate who thought he was Nehru. When Nehru introduced himself as
Nehru to this inmate, this guy came up close to him and whispered, “Don’t worry. That’s
what I too said when I came here. If you stay here for six months they will cure you too!”
Such is the nature of the world. Even if God himself comes and stands before them, in
human form, or any other form, they will resist the idea. Even if God appears in front of
you now, you will demand some kind of identification. “Show me your ration card or ID
card” you will say. If I say that Self is superior, it is real, and our search should turn
inwards, you will wonder, what is this man saying.
Each one of us is unique. We are perfect as we express our true nature. In that state no
one is brighter, much perfect, and more beautiful than any other. Try this simple exercise.
When we are alone we try to relate mentally with others. Drop that. Do not blame others
for our loneliness. Allow the loneliness happen to us without resistance. We will then feel
alone even when people surround us. To start with, we need to experience physical
loneliness. Once the joy of aloneness happens, it stays with us even when we are not
physically alone.
To have aloneness we need to do nothing; it’s our reality. For material comforts we need
to work and struggle. To be alone you just need to let go. Aloneness leads to
Enlightenment.
A disciple asked a Zen Master: How long does it take to be enlightened?
Master said: Just the time it takes to blink your eye. You are already enlightened. You only
need to declare.
Disciple asked again: What happened when you became enlightened?
Master: Nothing! I decided to live in my enlightened state from that day.
Blink and be in Bliss!
questions and problems can be found outside, somewhere, somehow.
How often do we succeed in that? Never. None of our questions can be answered fully
from outside of us. All our questions have answers from within. Listen to the voice
within. People often ask me this question: What is man’s eternal quest? I reply: Man’s
eternal quest is to find himself. Some one asked me: Are you God? I said: I am not God. I
am above that. God is your imagination; Self is real and superior. The person said: If I
say that they will send me to an asylum!
A small story:
Jawaharlal Nehru, then the Prime Minister of India, went on a visit to a mental asylum.
There he met an inmate who thought he was Nehru. When Nehru introduced himself as
Nehru to this inmate, this guy came up close to him and whispered, “Don’t worry. That’s
what I too said when I came here. If you stay here for six months they will cure you too!”
Such is the nature of the world. Even if God himself comes and stands before them, in
human form, or any other form, they will resist the idea. Even if God appears in front of
you now, you will demand some kind of identification. “Show me your ration card or ID
card” you will say. If I say that Self is superior, it is real, and our search should turn
inwards, you will wonder, what is this man saying.
Each one of us is unique. We are perfect as we express our true nature. In that state no
one is brighter, much perfect, and more beautiful than any other. Try this simple exercise.
When we are alone we try to relate mentally with others. Drop that. Do not blame others
for our loneliness. Allow the loneliness happen to us without resistance. We will then feel
alone even when people surround us. To start with, we need to experience physical
loneliness. Once the joy of aloneness happens, it stays with us even when we are not
physically alone.
To have aloneness we need to do nothing; it’s our reality. For material comforts we need
to work and struggle. To be alone you just need to let go. Aloneness leads to
Enlightenment.
A disciple asked a Zen Master: How long does it take to be enlightened?
Master said: Just the time it takes to blink your eye. You are already enlightened. You only
need to declare.
Disciple asked again: What happened when you became enlightened?
Master: Nothing! I decided to live in my enlightened state from that day.
Blink and be in Bliss!
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