Universal Patriotism In A Borderless World

A world without borders is one in which people should be able to live anywhere, work anywhere and contribute anywhere ­ for the world is one. All thinking people have a beautiful dream ­ that of living in a world without borders. But for all these people, this remains a dream, as no one has ever been able to actualise it. For my part, however, i can say that i have made it a reality. I always actually live in a world without borders. According to my experience, the concept of a world without borders is quite an achievable target.

I can say that a world without physical borders may not be achievable, but a world without psychological borders is quite attainable for anyone who so desires it. There is no need for external permission for this purpose: every individual can enter into this state ­ by his own decision.

Recently, on a two-week tour to America, when i reached New York’s airport, i was asked to remove my shoes during the security checking process. I willingly started to remove my shoes. Once i had removed one shoe, the security officer said okay with a smile and told me to not remove the other shoe.

According to media reports, certain well-known personalities of India have had similar experiences during their visits to the US. They were offended at it and registered their complaints in the press. Why this difference? The reason was that i took the removing of my shoes as part of a discipline, while others took it as an instance of being insulted. This example shows that the goal of a world without borders is possible. It can be achieved only within a person’s own mindset rather than in the external world.

If you have developed universal thinking in yourself, that is, you consider entire humankind as your brothers and sisters and take the entire world as your own, then you have already achieved the goal of living in a world without borders. You will take every incident at which people usually get offended as normal and adjust to it, just as all situations, both pleasant and unpleasant, are accepted within a family. A world without borders only requires universalisation of this family culture.

Once when i went to Spain and landed at Madrid airport, i remembered the words of an Arab tourist who, after seeing the developments in Spain, recalled the days when Arabs were ruling over the country. He said with great nostalgia: “Will the previous age ever return to us?“ But when i saw the advances made in Madrid, my feelings were different. In my travelogue, i acknowledged the attainments of the people of Spain and observed that, whereas Muslims in their time had brought traditional development to Spain, the Spanish people had now brought about development according to modern scientific standards.

In the modern age, the maxim, `everything for everyone’ has been accepted as a principle. If a person takes the `passport’ and the `visa’ as parts of a normal routine, he will be able to consider every country as his own. He will happily accept these formalities.

In the modern world, nationhood is linked to the homeland. This leads to the concept of patriotism. But if a person lives by the concept of universal patriotism, he will take the whole world as his own.

A world without borders might currently seem unachievable at the physical level, but, at the psychological level, it is quite achievable for everyone.

- Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

First Published on www.speakingtree.in

Satsang As The Means To Freedom

The question-answer format is a great way to teach and learn. Satsang is a diligent involvement on the part of the students in their quest for knowledge and an equally diligent involvement of the teacher who guides the search. So, we see Nachiketas pressing for answers from Yama in Katha Upanishad. We see the untiring Uddalaka repeating to Svetaketu about the nature of the Self. Uddalaka gives nine illustrations to show the equation between jiva and Brahmn which testifies to the kindness of vedantic teachers towards their students. Briefly then, it is this meaningful involvement on the part of the teacher and the taught that is called satsang.

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Yagnavalkya expounds to Maitreyi the concept of satsang as the means to freedom. He says listening is the first step which effortlessly leads one to reflection, which, through a purified mind, resolves in the experience of oneself as the reality. Sravanam or listening, is given repeated emphasis for the reason that the mind is completely new to the way of self-contemplation and has no aptitude for such processes. It can be made contemplative through constant exposure to the teaching which involves listening.

Know reality through constant questioning and by service to the teacher who `knows' the Self. Here service implies getting involved in finding answers for all questions pertaining to the Self. It also implies remaining exposed to the teacher's benign teaching. To live the life indicated by the rishis is the greatest seva that an imperfect mortal could offer to the man-of-perfection. The word `perfection' used by Krishna implies repeated inquiry through seeking answers to questions.

By addressing one's doubts to the teacher we are opening the box of `knowledge' locked up in the master's bosom. A perfect guru immediately detects from the questions asked the false line of thinking of the students. While removing doubts the guru imperceptibly orders and reorganises the pattern of thinking of the student. It has thus been an age-old tradition among Hindus to encourage open dialogues between teacher and taught and which is rightly called satsang.

Association with the wise leads to detachment from sense-pleasures. That in turn leads to freedom from the delusion that the world is real. When the false sense of reality goes, the mind abides in the Self. This abiding state with one's Self is freedom. Satsang thus paves the path to freedom.

An Upanishad is even named Prasna Upanishad, meaning questions and answers as a means to freedom. Six great students approach the teacher Pippalada, wanting to get some doubts cleared. The teacher frees them from all inhibitions in asking questions by saying, `Ask questions as you like'. Encouraging questions is the only way to involve the students' thinking. The first question deals with the problem of creation of the pluralistic world, the second and third discuss methods of worship and the initial sadhana necessary for perfect integration of the seeker's mind and intellect before he steps on to the path of meditation in vedanta. The fourth and fifth questions are an exhaustive enquiry undertaken to study dream and sleep. In the sixth question the main problem is taken up: How to indicate by finite words the seat of the Self, in all is infinite glory and eternality?

This unique method adopted in our scriptures makes them non-dogmatic. The freedom to approach the teacher in person and freely ask questions is the right atmosphere in which the human mind grows and rises to heights of freedom.

~ Swami Chinmayananda

(362nd Geeta Gyana Vagna. Courtesy: Chinmaya Mission, Delhi.)

When Your House Is On Fire | Truth is, What we say by experience

Talk: Osho

If you feel negative, that means somehow or other, knowingly or unknowingly, you have invested much in your negativity. Now you want to cling to it; you don't want to drop it. See the point. If you want to drop it, i say to you, ''Immediately, this very moment!'' Nobody is blocking the path. But you don't want to drop it; and you won't admit it.

Don't play these games. You are responsible. If others are responsible, how can you be free? But i tell you: you are free. Your nature is freedom. That's why the word 'moksha' does not exist in western languages. There is no equivalent to it, it means absolute freedom.

Eastern concept of moksha is absolute freedom. You can be free, because you are free. Realise this, this moment, and nobody is blocking the way – there is no barrier, no wall.

But if you don't want to become free, don't think that you want to become free. People talk about freedom, but they want to remain in bondage, because bondage has its own comforts, securities, conveniences. Freedom is risky.

Miserliness has its own conveniences; otherwise nobody would be a miser. If you are not a miser, you become more insecure. If you cling to money, to things, you feel a certain security: at least there is something to cling to; you don't feel empty. Maybe you are full of rubbish; but at least something is there, you are not empty.

You go on clinging. With negativity you feel powerful. Whenever you say 'no', you feel powerful; the ego is enhanced. Whenever you say 'yes', you feel humble; the ego is destroyed. When you love, you become humble; when you are angry, you feel powerful. When you are angry, you have four times more energy than you ordinarily have. In anger, in rage, you can throw a big rock. Ordinarily, you cannot even push it, not even move it.

So whenever you are negative, you feel powerful. And if you still want to feel powerful, you will cling to your negativity. Don't throw the responsibility on to your poor mother – because that is absurd. Take the responsibility on yourself, because that is the only chance of your transformation.

I am not saying, ''Drop your negativity.'' I am simply saying, ''Understand.'' If you want to carry it, it is up to you. Be blessed in your negativity. But then don't go on saying that you would like to drop it. Don't play this game. If you want to be negative, be negative.

Jesus said 'truth liberates'; nothing else. Jesus cannot liberate you, neither can i. Truth liberates. Just see the truth. If you are honest, you will see that through your negativity you are creating a hell. Only you are suffering, nobody else.

Let the suffering come to such a point where you cannot suffer any more; where you have to come out, as if your house is on fire. Then you don't cling to it, you simply run out; and you don't ask for the right way to get out.

You don't ask for a master: that you will have to learn the right way and the right technique. Nobody bothers. You jump out of the window; you run out of the back door. You find a way out yourself, once you realise that the house is on fire.

Courtesy Osho International Foundation, http://www.osho.com.

When Did “The Present” Begin?

It's a harder question than it sounds. Does the present refer to right this second?
Today? This year? The past few years? Fortunately, science has the answer.

Different scientific disciplines, cultures, and religions base their calendars on different "zero" moments. In geology, as well as other scientific disciplines, the epoch of time referred to as "the present" began on January 1, 1950. It's a somewhat arbitrary, compromise of a date, but a fixed moment in the study of things that takes a really, really long time to change or move.

Here's how that date was selected. In the earth's atmosphere, there are carbon isotopes in relatively equal proportion to each other, including the stable carbon-12 and the unstable carbon-14. Plants absorb both kinds, in the form of carbon dioxide, from the atmosphere. When a living thing dies, it dies with inherent carbon-12 and carbon-14, but the carbon-14 immediately begins decaying at a known, constant rate. Scientists can then measure the amount of carbon-14 left in the dead thing to determine its approximate age. This is called "radiocarbon dating," and it's been used to determine the age of naturally occurring materials, like plants, rocks, and human remains, as well as things made from naturally occurring materials, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Shroud of Turin.

Radiocarbon dating was introduced in the 1940s, but it became workable, with standardized methods and widely adopted in the 1950s. Around that same time, governments began widespread atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. Scientists soon realized that radiocarbon dating could no longer be relied upon to accurate date objects. Why? Nuclear weapons so massively alter an environment, and an atmosphere, that they threw off the ratio of carbon-14 and carbon-12, even turning a lot of carbon-14 into carbon-12.

Basically, any radiocarbon testing done after January 1, 1950—a date agreed upon because it fell in the midst of the beginnings of nuclear testing—is somewhat unreliable. The period after is called "the present." Any time before may be referred to, scientifically, as "B.P." or "before present."

Source

A Childlike Approach To Life

Most of us are caught in the trivial parts of life and miss seeing the whole. Without leaving our room we want to see the vastness of sky. We live a part of the whole and that part is our pattern, our position and our ego. Thus, we limit our brain to limited paradigms. To see the whole is part of managing our life effectively. To take that leap, one has to have a childlike perceptive and not a childish perceptive.

Life is a great mystery; it is vast and limitless. It cannot be limited by shallow thinking. We have not learnt to observe life and hence we are lost in limitations. To be childish is to be ignorant like a child and to be childlike is to be innocent like a child.

One has to learn how to perceive, how to look, how to see. A child sees innocently. To be innocent is to be open. When we look at a flower, we don't actually see the flower. The perceiver pollutes the perception. With strong likes and dislikes one looks at a flower. When that happens, the emphasis is on one's likes and dislikes and not actually on the flower. As you grow old, your mind encounters rigid frames of like and dislike, opinions, dogmas, fears, conflicts, greed etc.
Hence your "seeing" is influenced by your background. So your experience of the external world is a product of your mind.

We learn through books, school and college. We collect lot of concepts, words and we get imprisoned by what we know. When we "see and know" something in the outer world there is a struggle. The struggle is to see and know in the light of what you know from your past. The present should fit into your past. So what you know from your past is more important than what you see in the present. You are bound by what you know.

Thus our perception is not free. What we know and learn is dictated by the background of our knowledge, our past. A childlike perception is freeing oneself from that background and be free inwardly.

Apply this in the field of relationships, at office or at home. You have an image of your spouse or boss. This image is a product of your conclusions, opinions and with that mental image you relate to your spouse and work. So your struggle is to see that the other fits into your image of your partner or boss. This is a complicated way of living. A childlike perception has no image and its innocence comes in touch with the object. It does not hanker for validation; hence there is no struggle for such validation. By this one can relate better without bitterness.

A childlike perception is pure sensitivity and not sentimental. To be sensitive is experiencing "what is" and sentimental is reacting to "what is" from one's past. Most of us are sentimental. Let us enter into the state of childlike perception and experience the delight of the now. Then you will transform the ruins of your heart with the "childlike" perception of life. Drain the cup of sentimentality and fill it with sensitivity. Thus walk on the path of being sensitive to "what is". Then you will relate better in your office and home. You will build a better rapport with people. You will nourish people by your warmth of being sensitive.

Published 1st by Swami Sukhabodhananda on SpeakingTree.in

Overcome Your Soft Addictions

Many 'harmless' habits that we overindulge in like nail-biting, shopping, web-surfing, continuous texting or checking for messages, overworking, procrastinating, gossiping, watching too much television, and too many cups of tea or coffee, can become what are called "soft addictions" that limit our potential, ultimately draining us of both energy and self-respect.

Unlike hard addictions, which are usually related to a chemical substance, you don't die from soft addictions. ''But you don't really live, either,'' said Judith Wright, author of The Soft Addiction Solution, who labelled this phenomenon.

Soft addictions begin as normal, everyday, soothing activities, but can end up numbing your feelings and leaving you drained of energy. Some addictions like television zone you out; others like shopping bring temporary ease. Overeating or overusing gadgets are the adult equivalent of thumb-sucking. Though these feel like solutions to a problem, they can get in the way of leading a more fulfilling life.

They can also often have long-term consequences. Stress snacking can cause you to be constantly unhappy about how you look, how your clothes don't fit, and worse, get you to an unhealthy weight. A runaway shopping addiction can destroy your finances, or at least cause you to lie about it. Excessive caffeine intake can cause headaches, insomnia, irritability and anxiety. Too much TV on a regular basis, especially at night, makes it both hard to sleep and hard to wake up.

Thought to be patterns that begin innocuously in early life, Nathalie Anderson's fairytale take-off poem on the subject humorously yet painfully reveals the truth about soft addictions:
"…And so it's been. The prim princess royal, gifted with itty-bitty knitted booties, now acquires shoes – so many, she'll never go slipshod or round-heeled, a pair for every coloured thread in every Persian carpet…

"There's a prince who bets on ponies. There's a prince who marries showgirls. There's a princess who reads twelve mysteries whenever she's down…"

Because they seem so benign, and we even sheepishly admit them or laugh them off, often it's friends, family or colleagues who point out when this gets in the way of our work, relationships or other aspects of our lives.

If people tease you about always being late, your friends get mad when you are texting while seeming to engage with them, your husband complains that you spend more time with your online friends than him, if your wife points out you are becoming a couch potato – these are warnings of a soft addiction. Also pay attention to those little feelings of discomfort that softly but persistently nag you when you're off track.

You have to recognise that there is a deeper need or hunger under the soft addiction. You need to make the distinction between what you want and what you hunger for. As Wright said, ''You might want a new designer dress, but you're really hungry to feel good about yourself.''

The first step to beating a soft addiction requires making a commitment to higher quality of life. When we pay attention to where our soft addictions are getting in the way of our wellbeing, daily functioning, our intimacy, and ultimately our dreams, we can regain hours of wasted time, choose health-supporting options, save money wasted on comfort-shopping, and restore a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives.

First Published by Marguerite Theophil on SpeakingTree.in

The Goddess embraces Life

A prince abandons his wife and infant son to become a sage who discovers the path of liberation from suffering. The prince came to be known as the Buddha and his path came to be known as Buddhism.

The very opposite story is found in Hinduism: a sage is coaxed to marry and produce sons who provide for and protect humanity, while his wife encourages him through conversation to reveal the secret of outgrowing the human fear of invalidation. This sage is called Shiva and he is called the destroyer in Hinduism. He destroys by embracing the Goddess, addressing her as his Shakti, strength, rather than as Maya, delusion.

The opposing structure of the two stories reveals the fundamental tension in Indian thought: must we give up worldly life to be truly happy or can happiness emerge within the household itself? Despite the hold of monastic orders, it is the latter thought that finds greater favour in Indian society. Ultimately, even God has to marry. Without the Goddess he is stripped of divinity.

The Goddess plays a key role in Indic thought, most in Hinduism, quite a bit in Buddhism and to some degree in Jainism.

In the Hindu Puranas, it is the Goddess who challenges ritualism and hierarchies and notions of purification that shape Indian society, when as Sati she defies her father’s ritualistic excesses by choosing to marry a man/god, Shiva, who disregards all rituals.

Buddhism of the Buddha transforms as the centuries pass from the old Thervada school (Sri Lanka) to the later Mahayana (China/Japan) and Vajrayana (Tibet) schools. In narratives and imagery, he becomes less intellectual and more affectionate, less withdrawn and more compassionate, sprouting many hands that comfort and guide, as the concept of Bodhisattva gains ground. And this transformation is also associated with a Goddess, Tara. She softens the stern world-renouncing Buddha and makes him a savior who helps those who are unable to help themselves. Tara is a mysterious goddess who can transcend the divide of Buddhism and Hinduism. Her temples are found across Bengal, Orissa and Assam but here she is identified with Kali: very different from the Blue and Yellow and White and Green Taras of Tibetan Buddhism who are associated with Lakshmi and Saraswati as well as Durga and Kali.

In Jainism, she is Padmavati, a demi-goddess, having not quite the stature of the ascetics such as the Tirthankaras but one very popular amongst the common folk who seek material pleasures in this life, hoping to eventually outgrow their karmic hunger for wealth and power and fame, and walk the path of the Jina. Though her name associates her with a lotus and hence with Lakshmi, she is also a fighter and guardian goddess like Durga, who along with her husband, Dhararendra (Indra of the earth), protects Parshva, the 23rd supreme sage of this era. Padmavati is more popular with the Digambara Jain tradition, not the Shvetambara tradition.

Goddess is central to Tantra, a body of texts (not just Hindu) that emerged alongside Agamas and Puranas in medieval times. These texts gave great value to imagery and all things tangible over the abstract philosophies of the sages. They spoke less about delusions and more about power. They spoke less about purification and more about pollution. Tranquillity was abandoned in favour of sensory agitation.

In other words, the Goddess demands that life be affirmed, not denied.

Source: Click Here

Some Wisdom ... some common sense

1. There are plenty of ways to enter a pool. The stairs is not one of them.
2. Never cancel dinner plans by text message.
3. Don't knock it 'til you try it.
4. If a street performer makes you stop walking, you owe him a buck.
5. Always use 'we' when referring to your home team or your government.
6. When entrusted with a secret, keep it.
7. Don't underestimate free throws in a game of 'horse'.
8. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
9. Don't dumb it down.
10. You only get one chance to notice a new haircut.
11. If you're staying more than one night, unpack.
12. Never park in front of a bar.
13. Expect the seat in front of you to recline. Prepare accordingly.
14. Keep a picture of your first fish, first car, and first boy/girlfriend.
15. Hold your heroes to a high standard.
16. A suntan is earned, not bought.
17. Never lie to your doctor.
18. All guns are loaded.
19. Don't mention sunburns. Believe me, they know.
20. The best way to show thanks is to wear it. Even if it's only once.
21. Take a vacation of your cell phone, internet, and TV once a year.
22. Don't fill up on bread, no matter how good.
23. A handshake beats an autograph.
24. Don't linger in the doorway. In or out.
25. If you choose to go in drag, don't sell yourself short.
26. If you want to know what makes you unique, sit for a caricature.
27. Never get your hair cut the day of a special event.
28. Be mindful of what comes between you and the Earth. Always buy good shoes, tires, and sheets.
29. Never eat lunch at your desk if you can avoid it.
30. When you're with new friends, don't just talk about old friends.
31. Eat lunch with the new kids.
32. When traveling, keep your wits about you.
33. It's never too late for an apology.
34. Don't pose with booze.
35. If you have the right of way, take it.
36. You don't get to choose your own nickname.
37. When you marry someone, remember you marry their entire family.
38. Never push someone off a dock.
39. Under no circumstances should you ask a woman if she's pregnant.
40. It's not enough to be proud of your ancestry; live up to it.
41. Don't make a scene.
42. When giving a thank you speech, short and sweet is best.
43. Know when to ignore the camera.
44. Never gloat.
45. Invest in good luggage.
46. Make time for your mom on your birthday. It's her special day, too.
47. When opening presents, no one likes a good guesser.
48. Sympathy is a crutch, never fake a limp.
49. Give credit. Take blame.
50. Suck it up every now and again.
51. Never be the last one in the pool.
52. Don't stare.
53. Address everyone that carries a firearm professionally.
54. Stand up to bullies. You'll only have to do it once.
55. If you've made your point, stop talking.
56. Admit it when you're wrong.
57. If you offer to help don't quit until the job is done.
58. Look people in the eye when you thank them.
59. Thank the bus driver.
60. Never answer the phone at the dinner table.
61. Forgive yourself for your mistakes.
62. Know at least one good joke.
63. Don't boo. Even the ref is somebody's son.
64. Know how to cook one good meal.
65. Learn to drive a stick shift.
66. Be cool to younger kids. Reputations are built over a lifetime.
67. It's okay to go to the movies by yourself.
68. Dance with your mother/father.
69. Don't lose your cool. Especially at work.
70. Always thank the host.
71. If you don't understand, ask before it's too late.
72. Know the size of your boy/girlfriend's clothes.
73. There is nothing wrong with a plain t-shirt.
74. Be a good listener. Don't just wait for your turn to talk.
75. Keep your word.
76. In college, always sit in the front. You'll stand out immediately.
77. Carry your mother's bags. She carried you for nine months.
78. Be patient with airport security. They're just doing their jobs.
79. Don't be the talker in a movie.
80. The opposite sex likes people who shower.
81. You are what you do, not what you say.
82. Learn to change a tire.
83. Be kind. Everyone has a hard fight ahead of them.
84. An hour with grandparents is time well spent. Ask for advice when you need it.
85. Don't litter.
86. If you have a sister, get to know her boyfriend. Your opinion is important.
87. You won't always be the strongest or the fastest. But you can be the toughest.
88. Never call someone before 9am or after 9pm.
89. Buy the orange properties in Monopoly.
90. Make the little things count.
91. Always wear a bra at work.
92. There is a fine line between looking sultry and slutty. Find it.
93. You're never too old to need your mom.
94. Ladies, if you make the decision to wear heels on the first date, commit to keeping them on and keeping your trap shut about how much your feet kill.
95. Know the words to your national anthem.
96. Your dance moves might not be the best, but I promise making a fool of yourself is more fun then sitting on the bench alone.
97. Smile at strangers.
98. Make goals.
99. Being old is not dictated by your bedtime.
100. If you have to fight, punch first and punch hard.


Which one is your favourite? Why? Leave a comment :)

The Circle of Samsara - the Significance of the Wheel in India

The Wheel is the Center of the Indian National Flag

In philosophy, the wheel represents time as well as space. Time is constantly moving like a wheel. Time, in the Hindu, Buddhist, Jain scheme of things, is cyclical. The world is, according to Hindu, Buddhist and Jain mythologies, shaped like a disc that rests on the back of a turtle and is surrounded by oceans of milk and treacle.

The wheel also indicates the radial nature of Indian thought. The same idea (hub) manifests in different forms (spokes). And the same form (hub) can be interpreted differently (spokes) by different people (located at the rim). The center represents stillness and the elemental bindu from which all things emerge: it is the seed. The rim then is the manifested form, the fruit of the seed.

If the centre is Brahma, the creator, then the rim is Brahmanda, Brahma’s creation. If the centre represents zero, shunya or nothingness, then the rim represents everything-ness or infinity. The wheel then indicates mandal, the space created by the rim of the sky and the earth. It marks the frontiers of infinity. We can see in these ideas how the number zero acquired its shape.

The wheel starts appearing in some of the earliest Indian coins indicating royal status. Gradually we see a man carrying it. This is the Vasudeva of Jain mythology. Gradually it becomes the chakra of Vishnu, the regal form of God in Hinduism. He is Chakra-pani, he who holds the disc. This wheel whirs around Vishnu’s index finger and serves as a weapon, striking the enemy when hurled and then returning back to Vishnu’s hand like a boomerang. Vishnu uses this wheel-shaped weapon to help the elephant-king Gajendra escape the vicious jaws of a crocodile, who represents material attachment. Thus the wheel offers liberation or moksha. Krishna uses the wheel to behead Shishupala, who insults him many times. He uses it to destroy the city of Kashi that rises up against him and to teach the sage Durvasa a lesson in humility. Shiva Purana states that the hermit-god Shiva gave the wheel-weapon to Vishnu. Vishnu named it Sudarshan, a thing of beauty, whose rotating saw like action removes negativity and brings in positivity.

In the Mahabharat, the wheel serves as a weapon during the war at Kurukshetra. Abhimanyu uses it to defend himself from attackers. Karna is killed as he tries to free the wheel of his chariot stuck to the ground. In Jain Agamas, a rotating wheel appears before the emperor of the world, Rishabha, and then moves on to his successor, Bharata.

Temples in India often have the wheel motif. This is seen most spectacularly in the sun-temple at Konark Orissa, where the temple is visualized as the great chariot of the gods. Wheels of the sacred chariot of Jagganath in Orissa are objects of worship, for it is wheels that take Ram out of Ayodhya and Krishna out of Vrindavan; devotees hope that the wheels will bring them back into the lives of the devotees.

The Wheel of Samsara

How to escape the Wheel of Samsara - Click Here to read some of my learnings

The Wheel of Vipassana

Source: 1st Published on 14th July, 2013, Mid-day as Wheeling through Space and Time by Devdutt Pattanaik

Everything: all contained in the ratio of a circumference and a diameter

Pi is an infinite, non repeating decimal - meaning that every possible number combination exists somewhere in pi.

Converted into ASCII text, somewhere in that infinite string of digits is the name of every person you will ever love, the date, time and manner of your death, and the answers to all the great questions of the universe. 

Converted into a bitmap, somewhere in that infinite string of digits is a pixel-perfect representation of the first thing you saw on earth, the last thing you will see before your life leaves you, and all the moments, momentous and mundane, that will occur between those two points.

All information that has ever existed or will ever exist, the DNA of every being in the universe.

Everything: all contained in the ratio of a circumference and a diameter.

The Power of Pi 

Do read my next post on the Significance of the Wheel in India -  The Circle of Samsara !

THE CIRCLE OF SAMSARA

I look therefore the World appears

The Act of Observation - Changes the Outcome

The Photon Double Slit experiment.

If i pass light through double slits, i get interference patterns that confirm to me that i am dealing with waves. But if i allow only one photon at a time to pass through the apparatus, the same interference pattern emerges…they are again waves! Now if i want to know through which slit a given photon went, i will use a photon detector in front of each slit. If i repeat the same experiment, i get a whole new result. Now i see particle nature of photons.

Moreover, it has been proved through different versions of double slit experiments that it doesn’t matter how we set up the experiment. What matters is the presence of a conscious observer (and his mind). The observer’s knowledge about the system surely alters something about the outcome of the double slit experiment.

More Here - http://grad.physics.sunysb.edu/~amarch/

So the World appears because I look at it.

Believe, and you Shall See.

Kailasha & Swarga

The Heavens of Contentment and Indulgence

Shiva's realm is Kailasa, a stony mountain covered with snow, where there are no pastures, still Shiva's bull is happy. There is a tiger there, the mount of Shiva's consort, Shakti, still Shiva's bull is not afraid. The snake around Shiva's neck does not chase Ganesha's rat and does not get chased by Kartikeya's peacock. There is no fear of death in Kailasa, so no hunger, no predator, no prey, no chase. This is the realm of yoga, where Lakshmi does not matter.

Indra's realm is Amravati, the abode of the Devas, where the Asparas dance, the Gandharvas sing, and Sura flows, where there is the wish-fulfilling tree Kalpataru, the wish-fulfilling gem, Chintamani, and the wish-fulfilling cow, Kamadhenu. There is no fear of death here either, for Indra has consumed Amrita, nectar of immortality.

Illustration/ Devdutt Pattanaik

This is the realm of bhoga or pleasure, where all desires are realised without any effort: where Lakshmi comes when summoned. Yoga demands inner transformation, the churning of inner mental fire, tapa, through the practice of tapasya, to outgrow hunger. It is a solitary activity. Bhoga demands no inner transformation, just the churning of outer fire, agni, through the practice of yagna. Needless to say, people prefer bhoga to yoga, yagna to tapasya. That is why Amravati is referred to as Swarga, paradise. The purpose of human enterprise is to achieve Swarga on earth.

This desire expresses itself in many household rituals of Hinduism. During the festival of Pongal, people of Tamil Nadu boil milk in pots till it overflows. During Gudi Padva, in Maharashtra, pots are perched upside down atop staffs to simulate divine pots showering sweets and silks into the household. During Vishu, in Kerala, the matriarch of the household ensures that the first thing every member of the household sees is his or her own reflection in a mirror surrounded by grain and gold. During Annakoot festivals of temples, vast quantities of food are heaped in the shape of mountains before the deity. Presence of abundant food and fun makes us feel closer to Swarga.

Both Shiva and Indra are immortal. Shiva's immortality is achieved by tapasya. Kama is sacrificed during tapasya. Indra's immortality is achieved through yagna that is fuelled by Kama. And his greatest yagna is the churning of the ocean of milk that yields him the Amrita, the nectar of immortality. Along with Amrita comes Halahal, a poison that threatens to destroy the whole world.

Indra wants to consume Amrita but is unable to handle Halahal. He offers it to Shiva who drinks and digests it, much to Indra's delight.  Along with Amrita also comes the eternal enmity of their half-brothers, the Asuras. Denied a share of Amrita, they remain mortal giving the Devas an unfair advantage over them. Like Shiva, they perform tapasya – but only to get power with which they can defeat Devas, and lay claim to the treasures of Swarga. The Devas fight back, with the help of Vishnu, reclaim their treasures. 

But the defeated Asuras always come back, thanks to the Sanjivani Vidya they get from Shiva. They may not be immortal but they can always come back to life. So Amravati, the land of bhoga, is always under siege. Immortal Indra can never enjoy Lakshmi in peace. So it is with human success.

The author is Chief Belief Officer of the Future Group, and can be reached at devdutt@devdutt.com

Source: http://www.mid-day.com/columnists/2013/feb/170213-opinion-devdutt-pattanaik-paradise-of-indulgence.htm

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Aseem Seth

What is your ‘soul’ priority and what are you doing about it

| by Ruzbeh Bharucha |

Very often I wonder what is it that we, as human beings want, not only out of life but from oneself. What is it that shall fill the gaping void within, quell the churning and restlessness and remove the angst that comes about due to the futility of existence?

Have you ever asked yourself what is it that you truly want? What is the sole purpose and soul priority of your very being and lifecycle? I often feel most of our pain and sorrow comes forth not from not having the right answers but from not asking the right questions. And this comes about because we tend to go on a journey without a road map. If there is no road map, how would you know what to take along with you for the journey? When you know your destination, you will know what to take along and to leave behind all the unnecessary baggage that shall make the journey a nightmare from the very start itself. 

If life and existence is a journey, most of us seem to be wandering about not really sure where we are headed and where we would finally reach. And this I think comes from the fact that most of us never really ask the right questions at the start of the journey and thus, have really pertinent answers or solutions through meanderings of by-lanes, that only lead to more by-lanes and eventually, having missed the highway, way behind, one gets lost, but still unaware, as one never really knew where one was headed, in the first place itself.

We are so lost, that even the pure, selfless exchange of love has got the stench of I-myself. Nowadays, the mantra to love somebody, whosoever it may be, child, parent, sibling, spouse, friend, is a simple - I love you so much ... don't you bloody breathe!

When I look back at my road map and walk through the by-lanes of my past, I am convinced that I have been solely responsible for most of my heart breaks, failures and angst. My misery has been mostly self-inflicted. I have chartered my own road to hell assisted well by my loved ones, no two doubts, but I have been the captain of my own sinking ship.

Yes, of course there is always the elusive but omnipresent law of Karma, but often I think, the chap in charge of dishing out Karma, stands dumbfounded, viewing the way we go about making a hash out of our lives, single handed, without allowing him to even make his presence felt, by the sheer wrong use of Free Will. He is like a professional assassin waiting to make his entrance and go about his job, but God riding a neon tricycle, all his targets keep shooting themselves to death by mistake.

If partaking of ones Karma is mandatory, the manner in which each karmic association and involvement is experienced, faced and gone through, is at ones discretion and Free Will.

Let us assume we have to go through failure at a sadistic regularity. For some reason we have given our very best, but our Karmic balance sheet necessitates, that no matter what, failure is calmly waiting, at the end of the finish line and success isn't in the scheme of things. 

We have a choice now either to learn from your failure, accept it calmly (may be after the initial outlet of anger, frustration and the use of words not found in the Holy Scriptures) and move on with the knowledge that you have given your best, couldn't have given more and that's that. Or, one can get bitter, nasty, negative and become an insufferable pain in the rectal opening.

Similarly, if successful, one can remain humble, grounded, charitable and compassionate or can get egoistic, mean and niggardly and basically become an individual, who should have been efficiently strangulated at birth by a wise gynaecologist.

So coming back to the original question, what is that we truly want out of life and out of oneself? During the course of channelling, I have met people who very often are their own cause of suffering and frustration. I have met innumerable good people who are going through a nightmare, plainly because they haven't asked a simple question: what is my priority in life; what is it that I truly want, what is that my true being desires; what is my sole and soul priority.

The best way to know what your main priority in life is, ask yourself a simple question; what is it that I want for myself, not just for now and this life time but for all of eternity.

If your Master were to metamorphose in front of you, in the flesh, (and in all probability you would pass out with professional agility, but after regaining consciousness), if S(H)e were to ask you, my sweet demented child who looks at me dumbfounded with mouth ajar, 

"I have come here to grant you One wish, but after I grant you that One wish, for the rest of eternity and all your lifetimes.and the way you are going about leading your life, my sweet tangled child, it is going to be many lifetimes

I shall grant you no more wishes. Ask for one thing and make Peace for all of eternity."

What is it that you would wish for then, if that wish would be your sole and soul priority?

What would you want your Master to bless you with for all of infinity? That one thing after which you for the rest of all your lifetimes, either in the physical plane or in the spirit plane, you would receive no more grace and have to make your peace and never expect anything else in your journey of now to the beyond?

Would you ask for that much needed office promotion, money, power, that fancy car, jewellery, obliteration of the one giving you grief or abusing you, health, that love of your life, child's wellbeing, your wellbeing, success in all financial endeavours, popularity, fame.

What is that one thing you would want for yourself.

It is important you are truly honest with yourself. I have had old people weep and grownups astounded, when it dawns on them, that what they would ask for, has got nothing to do with what they pray for or hope for or yearn for or are obsessed with, in their present day to day life.

Most people never ask for what they truly think they would ask for. Of course there are exceptions. But out of hundred, may be ten would ask for money, or fame or riches. Most ask for happiness and peace of mind and then they realize that their every moment, their actions are directed towards being as far away as possible from achieving that state of happiness and peace of mind.So though the soul wants happiness and peace, every action, thought and word, brings about disquietude; if not all, most at least. 

So it is like you are craving for cool water to drink and every time somebody offers you a glass of cold water, either you fling the glass away or spit in it. This is what most of us do.

But what is happiness and peace? What could give you happiness in the morning could become a source of discomfort or angst at night. Peace is such a fragile term. Both happiness and peace are dependent on outside stimulus. When ones child is healthy and calm, one experiences happiness and peace. Five minutes later when the child begins to behave like a strange mix of a disgruntled alien, a highly stubborn mule with a vocal-chord that could make the Heavens weep, happiness and peace have flung themselves off from the seventh floor. If you realize most of our so called peace and happiness is dependent on external impetus. Happiness and peace are subjective to too many outside factors and forces.

Then many say they want peace of mind? My dear demented goat, till you have a mind, you are not going to have peace. It is like saying, I want all politicians to work for the wellbeing of society and world at large.The mind is designed to give you unease. It is programmed to give you grief. The mind is a composition of all experiences and desires, ever lived through the souls journey in every form and specie. We aren't the mind. We are the spirit. We are pure consciousness. The mind is limited perception. It is an amalgam of all that you have lived and learned and experienced. It is filled with fears, phobias, prejudices, wants, likes and dislikes and assumptions. 

The purpose of life is to let go of the limited mind, bring in the calmness of silence, and to use the foundation of silence, to go further within and then beyond the three dimensions and merge into pure knowledge, which will then take you into pure wisdom which will take you into pure love which will take you into nothingness which will take you into Oneness which will make you realize your own Origin and Source and Godhood.

Now I need a drink. 

Ok, so I remember an elderly lady had come for channelling and for half an hour all her questions were about her husbands health and business, the future of her sons and her grand-children. She went on and on about it and after getting all the answers, she was asked about what was her true soul priority. What did she really want for herself?She was told to shut her eyes and imagine her Master standing in front of her and telling her to ask for one wish to be granted and then for all of eternity make peace within. So she sat with eyes shut, and I could first make out that she was truly thinking about what she could ask that would take care of not just this life but all lifetimes and I realized that this was probably the first time in her life she actually thought about what could her soul wish and priority be.Then slowly her face began to show conflict within herself. After a while tears began to flow down her shut eyes. Then after a long time she opened her eyes and looked at me. I realized she wasn't sure whether to hate me or thank me for putting her into this situation of choice.This woman whose life apparently revolved around her family couldn't meet my eyes and in the end she whispered that her soul need and priority was to live in an ashram all her life and for all her remaining lives. That she wanted to leave everything and just live in an ashram and spend her day serving and praying and be left alone. And if ever she were to be born again, she wanted to be born as an orphan and left in an ashram, where she wanted to live her life, having nothing to do with family or friends or the world. She hated herself that moment for speaking or thinking like this, but if Baba Sai were to grant her one wish, she was certain, this was the wish she would want to be fulfilled. She then began to cry and called herself selfish and not a good human being, but she realized that this is what her soul truly desired. I asked her if she said all this because she wasn't happy at the moment or she had had a fight with her husband or sons or daughters in law, and she nodded in the negative. She said all was fine. She just realized all her life she was asking the wrong questions and thus had to live with false answers.So where it mattered most, her family was not present in the larger and more eternal scheme of things.

She came back six months later, looking years younger. She had begun to spend fifteen days every two months in an ashram and her family had made peace with her decision. She told me in this life time she had found her state of peace and it was not an ideal compromise, but at least she had begun asking the right questions and moving towards her priority.

To find out what your soul need or priority is you need to be real honest with yourself. Brutally straightforward and this truthfulness can come about when one is in a state of calm and not agitation. 

Many try to seek an escape out of their circumstances and situations by taking a route that is basically to get out of a state of affairs or situation than to pursue a life that leads towards fulfilment of their soul priority. If the going is tough, one tries to find the nearest exit. That plan has got nothing to do with following and living ones priority. Basically you are trying to get your way out of either responsibility or just running away. Thus I am not advocating deserting ones common sense, moral accountability and ones duty towards family and those who are dependent on you, all in the guise of pursuing ones soul need and priority. Don't you go about fugging all that which is noble in the name of pursuing your priority, for GOD sake!

Let me give you a personal example. When I was around twenty one, I had three options for my future. One was pursue dramatics and get into professional theatre. Second, get into music and begin to teach and play on stage. Third was my writing. So I chose writing as a career. Now I chose writing, which was all fine, but I refused to join the rat race. I would tell one and all that I don't want anything to distract me in my pursuit of art which in reality was a beautiful card with heavy load of undiluted crap as in reality all I wanted to be was left alone and not interact with the world. So I made my priority a convenient excuse to really avoid the world. Eventually one day in prayer I was asked by my Master as to how many hours I spent writing. I replied maybe two or three hours. Then why don't you get up early, sleep a little late, write for those couple of hours and stop being a burden to your family and losing out on your self-respect which goes beyond art, the world and all that which is tangible. I got the message. Stop using my priority as an escape route. So I began to work, would get up at five, write till eight, and then at night work till eleven, and thus pursued my priority and without running away; though it made perfect sense to run and keep running; even now it makes perfect sense, but these Masters don't think so, thus, one aims to please the Old Man, on and off, at least.

I have met a few intellectuals who have left family and obligation to become authors or pursue other forms of art. When I have questioned them as to how many hours they put into their art, the answer is usually very abstract and if I insist, the reply is usually a few hours every day. So for a few hours of artistic pursuit they have either given up a lucrative career that keeps their family well taken care of or given up the family itself, when in reality, all the person had to do was to sacrifice a few hours of sleep and comfort, and go about taking care of his or her responsibility as well as pursue the form of art. But the individual took the easier route. We all try to take the easy route.

So the first step is do not bullshit yourself. 

Second, usually ones soul priority will have little to do with worldly matter, but let us take a persons priority is to always be very rich, not only in this life time but in all times, there is absolutely nothing wrong in that. A lot of good can be done for a lot who truly need help, via money and power. But let us assume the individual cares a rats arse for doing good, and wants to be rich, to have all the perks money can provide. Once again nothing wrong with that. The thing to focus on then would be is the individual living a life filled with dexterity and purpose and intelligence to amass a lot of money. You cant say your priority is to make lot of money and then spend a large part of your time faffing around and watching television and generally not breaking into a sweat over achieving your dream. So first don't bullshit. Second, if you want something truly, then your every wakeful moment should be logically spent in achieving that goal or priority. 

(n.b. - Bhakti Yoga defined below)

I meet a lot of folks who say their Master is their priority. Then your every action, thought, word; your very essence should be a testimony of pure surrender and that material ups and downs should matter little; fame and ill repute shouldn't matter at all; envy, gossip, slander shouldn't be encouraged; your breath should have the fragrance of your love for your Master and your Masters name should dance to the rhythm of your heart beat. That to serve your Master should be your only desire and to try and make Him or Her happy and proud of you should be your only reward. Now imagine this is your soul priority, that you would want to be blessed with for all eternity, your actions, thoughts and words, would move towards your priority of serving your Master and making your Master happy and proud of you. No doubt you would mess up now and then, but you would strive to hold on to your Master, virtually each moment of the day. Thus, your main priority or soul goal would define your other priorities in life too. 

If a mans priority is his familys wellbeing, then he would work hard to provide his family with the best he can, but without neglecting them, trying to earn the extra buck. He would take care that he doesn't indulge in any criminal or illegal activity as that would shake the very foundations of his priority which is his family's wellbeing. That he would take care of his health, as his health and wellbeing would determine the wellbeing and security of his family. That he would be there for his family when they needed him and spend quality time with them, as that would enhance the wellbeing of the family. He would think of the future, without compromising the present. So his main priority would decide the satellite priorities too.

This is why it is important to sit with yourself and find out what is it that you truly want for all of eternity for yourself. 

I remember a few days back a lady kept talking about her son and she went on and on, and she seemed truly affected as the son was, how do I put it delicately, ah yes, a shmuck. The woman, who all her life had led a very noble life, was now angry, bitter, negative and sort of going down a path which would not be good for her spiritual graph. And Baba Sai told her, this child of yours is with you for karmic reasons. In the next lifetime he is not going to be present with you as his karmic balance with you finishes. Why do you want to stall your spiritual growth and increase your karmic account, over something that is just a matter of give and take, which began in some life time and logically should end in this? Why stunt your spiritual growth over something temporary and which in reality is a karmic business transaction. Yes, do your duty and give your best, but don't get sucked into this game of illusion. Go beyond and focus on your true soul journey, where this boy, is a co passenger who is going to get off the vehicle, and catch another mode of transport, while you should be travelling logically to the very end till the arrival of your original destination. Would you get off the train, just because another passenger helped you pass time? You wouldn't. You would promise to keep in touch and both of you would continue with your respective plans. His destination and yours are different. So why are you jumping off the train for this co passenger? Why stall the most important journey of your soul life? And you know what, forget about future lifetimes, if you know what your priority in this life time is that is good enough, and yes, what are you doing about achieving it? Be it soul priority or your present life time priority, be honest with yourself, find it, accept it and work towards it. 

So what is your true priority and what are you doing about it? If it is earning money, are you working intelligently towards becoming rich? If peace, are you reacting less and positively accepting your lot? If spiritual growth, have you stopped searching for answers outside and have begun to live in the moment and gotten inward. If it is happiness and peace of mind then you know you can't let the external affect you as then you are never going to have lasting peace or happiness. 

The moment you give the world or anybody the power over your state of wellbeing, you are going to hurt on and off, for the rest of your life.

Find out what is your soul priority and get moving. And once again, be honest to yourself, as this could be the most important decision you might take for yourself, not just for now, but for eternity and beyond. Be blessed always.

Ruzbeh N Bharucha is the author of The Last Marathon, The Devis Emerald, The Fakir Trilogy, The Aum Of All Things. 

Source: http://m.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/masters/self-improvement/what-is-your-soul-priority-and-what-are-you-doing-about-it
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Aseem Seth

Tomorrow is Organ Donation Day! Sign up on ileadindia.com

Let Go of a Part of You

DEVDUTT PATTANAIK brings you two unusual stories from Indic mythology on organ donation — one about a renunciate and the other, the story of a bhakta.

To donate an organ, two critical emotions are needed: Vairagya or renunciation and bhakti or devotion. The former is more intellectual in nature and the latter is more emotional in nature. While vairagya allows one to detach oneself from the organ and say, “That is not me,” bhakti empowers one to be generous towards another, saying,” He needs that more than I do.” These two aspects; these two emotions of giving of oneself are very evident in the stories of Dadhichi and Kannappa in Indic tradition.

Dadhichi’s Story

 The story of Dadhichi comes from the Sanskrit puranas. The devas or celestial beings were busy fighting the asuras who were led by one Vritra who was considered invincible and, therefore, was impossible to defeat. The gods needed a strong weapon and nothing was stronger than the bones of a sage called Dadhichi who had been practicing tapasya for hundreds of years. So Indra, king of the devas, went to Dadhichi and asked him to give up his bones. This would mean Dadhichi had to die so that his bones could be harvested. 

Dadhichi agreed without a moment’s hesitation. He had attained kaivalya, Supreme Knowledge and so was not dependent on or attached to his body. He renounced his body through the yogic practice of samadhi and let the devas claim his bones. From these bones, the celestial artisan, Vishwakarma, created the weapon called Vajra or thunderbolt. Indra wielded the Vajra to defeat Vritra and the asuras. 

Ever since, whenever there is thunder and lightening in the sky, people exclaim: There is Indra, striking the asuras with his Vajra, the weapon created with the bones of Dadhichi!

(FYI - Dadichi's Ashram is Here - http://goo.gl/maps/u99bm :)

The Eye Sage

The story of Kannappa comes from the Peria Purana, a Tamil collection of the works of Nayanars, poet-saints devoted to Shiva. Every day, Thinnan, a hunter of the Boyar or Gaddi community, would visit the shrine of the Shiva Lingam and share with the lingam all that he found during his daily hunt: water from mountain springs — which he would carry in his mouth, flowers from the trees that grew on the slopes that he carried in his hair, and the best portions of the game he hunted. 

One day, Shiva decided to test Thinnan’s devotion. The Shiva lingam grew a pair of eyes; one of them started to bleed. Thinnan tried healing the bleeding eye with herbs but nothing worked. Finally, Thinnan cut out his eye and replaced the bleeding eye with his own eye. Then, to his shock, he found that now the other eye had started to bleed. Thinnan decided to offer his other eye as well, but realised that with both eyes gone, he would not know where to place the second eye.

So he placed his foot on the bleeding eye to help him locate the second eye of Shiva after he had plucked out his own other eye. Shiva was so pleased with this act of unconditional sacrifice that he named Thinnan as Kannappa or the ‘eye sage’. 

While Dadhichi displays renunciation on giving up his bones, Kannappa expresses his utter devotion while giving up his eyes.

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