Save Mother Earth - Environmental Ethos In Vedic Times

Today, the natural resources of the earth are being mindlessly exploited globally far beyond need, resulting in a poor state of their regeneration and causing irreversible damage to the planet. This year's World Environment Day theme ­`Seven billion dreams. One planet. Consume with care' ­ therefore, is highly relevant.

Starting from space, a Vedic mantra, `prithivy apah tejah vayuh akashat' depicts sequential primal appearance of the five basic gross substances, called `panch mahabhuta' ­ namely, space, air, fire or energy, water and earth ­ from which all universal matter is created.

Water has enjoyed the highest social and religious status in ancient Indic culture. Prayers in all four main Vedas refer to water as nectar, honey, source of life, protector of earth and environment, cleanser of sins, generator of prosperity, and ambrosia. Sages in Yajur Veda pray thus, "O Water, thou art the reservoir of welfare and propriety, sustain us to become strong. We look up to thee to be blessed by thy kind ambrosia on this earth. O water, we approach thee to get rid of our sins." Rivers were considered divine and worshipped as goddesses and people were ordained to use their life-sustaining waters most judiciously and with greatest reverence.

Today, we have lost sight of the fact that the resources are finite. Of all of earth's water, only 0.007% is accessible for human use. Today, globally more than 1.1 billion people have inadequate availability of water.

In Vedic cosmology, Prithvi or earth symbolises material base as mother and the Dyaus, upper sky or heaven, symbolises the unmanifested immortal source as father, which together and between them, provide paryavaran, the environment.

An Atharva Veda hymn says, "Mata bhoomih putroham prithivyaah," reminding us of our responsibility not only towards our motherland but also to Planet Earth. The mantra refers to earth differently as `bhoomi' and `prithvi' implying that while my motherland is my mother, i am also a child of Planet Earth.

The Yajur Veda addresses Prithvi as a guardian, praised for being benevolent to humankind, and is prayed to for continued protection: "O Earth! Fill up your broad heart with the vital healing air, waters and flora. May the benevolent life giving air circulate for a bountiful Earth." Another prayer says, "Pleasant be you to us, O Earth, without a thorn be our habitation. May your development grant us bliss and sustenance."

In hymns of the Rig Veda, seers seek blessings of the sun and wish every part of the earth to be prosperous and mountains, waters, and rivers to be propitious. The importance of vital healing air, fresh unpolluted waters and healthy flora on earth was recognised and wished for in the hymns of the Atharva Veda.

Nature and its seasons are governed by cosmic laws of integration and balance, called `Rit' in the vedas. Keeping an eye on Rit, human activities can be directed to global sustainable development. A hymn of the Yajur Veda says, "O learned people, fully realise your conduct towards different objects of the universe." But, in today's world we are misusing scientific and technological breakthroughs to indiscreetly and greedily exploit natural resources, thereby causing imbalances that make it difficult to maintain natural harmony.

Ancient Indic philosophy always wished for everyone to be happy and free from ailments, "Sarve bhavantu sukhinah, sarve santu niraamayaah" ­ Let everyone be well and happy ­ and pleaded for an all-inclusive holistic development on the planet for harmony, "Saa no bhoomirvardhayad vardhamaanaa" as in the `Bhumi Sukta' of Atharva Veda.

Written by Kamla Nath Sharma - First Published in www.SpeakingTree.in

The Architecture of Fear

Why do we buy things we really don't need? Why do we seek control over things and people? Why do we seek predictability in business? Why do we love brands? If wish to answer this 'why' we have to move into the realm of psychology and understand the origins of fear. The more acceptable for fear in the corporate world is 'stress'.

Every Hindu god and goddess raises his or her palm in a gesture which means 'do not be afraid' (a-bhaya), indicating that ancients knew the role of fear in day-to-day life. If there was no fear (bhaya), there would be no hunger or desire (bhook), hence no desire to consume (bhoga). Our desire to consume results in a heavy toll on resources (bali) for which we have to pay a price (karma). Thus fear is the seed of all issues we face in the business world from demand to supply, from transparency to governance. It is fear that shapes our relationship with consumers, auditors, authorities, bosses, processes. Yet, this is not part of business school curriculum. Perhaps because we are over reliant on human reason and forget that humans are essentially not reasonable but rather insecure and frightened. The word fear does not go well with the corporate image of a valorous confident warrior, dressed in a smart black suit, tablet in hand.

Stress or fear can be traced to the first life form (sajiva). Unlike inanimate objects (ajiva) it was determined to survive, fight for its life, avoid death, by seeking nutrition from the earth around. As more life forms emerged, everyone competed for food. Mutation took place and diversity emerged to improve chances of survival. The greatest mutation was the split between life-forms that move (chara) and life-forms that do not move (achara), meaning animals and plants. A plant grows towards food, but it cannot run from predators that feed on it. An animal can run towards food and away from predators. In animals we see the fear inherent in the food chain: the fear of the prey of being hunted and the fear of the predator of starvation. The other fear that is superimposed is that of the pecking order: who will be alpha and hence get access to most food and most mates. The one at the bottom of the pyramid is at a disadvantage, especially the male, who gets least food and probably no mate. Can this be the reason for the aggression seen in men? But humans are the most unique life-form. We have a mind that can imagine (manas) and so we imagine who we are and wonder if others imagine ourselves the same way. This creates anxiety, fear of invalidation. We seek status and justification and most importantly meaning (artha). We seek nourishment for our self-image, and constantly protecting this self-image from rivals and predators. This constitutes our architecture of fear.

It is significant that the word artha-shastra simultaneously means economics (do we generate and distribute enough wealth, income, revenue?), politics (do we get enough power to compete, catch prey, shun predators?), and philosophy (do we know who we really are? do we live meaningful lives?). This was a holistic approach to business and management, restricted not just to making ourselves efficient money-making businesses but locating business in society, and even the cosmos. This is missing in students one finds emerging from the best universities in the world. They are skilled warriors but clueless what are they fighting for. And this cluelessness results in strange, even dangerous behaviour.

Let us take three examples of behaviour found in the corporate world to demonstrate the key role of the fear-seed in business activities:

• Consumers and vendors constantly seek deals and discounts. It makes them feel powerful. Shopping becomes retail therapy, a chance to feel significant in a world that does not care for you. Service providers realise the value of making a customer feeling valuable. Fear is intensified by creating hierarchies amongst customers: you are level 1 customer, level 2 customer or level 3 customer. Depending on the hierarchy you get a different level of service. Your waiting time is less, if you are more loyal.

• A senior manager finds himself, or herself, being continuously judged. The auditors judge the processes he follows. The bosses judge his performance. He is constantly told what he has not achieved and how he is not adequately aligned. He discovers his compensation is never good enough, always lesser than his rivals, and this poor compensation is always rationalised and justified during appraisal time. He is repeatedly told, in quarter after quarter, he has to be better, run faster. He has to stay the ever-hungry predator who is never allowed to rest and play to satisfy the insatiable hunger of the anonymous institutional shareholder.

• A very successful investment banker wonders if people he meets knows how smart. So he buys the best car, the best house, throws the best parties, goes on the finest holidays, brags how he just works for an hour a day, or maybe an hour a week, constantly positioning his brilliance, and even doing charity, because he wants to succeed even in social responsibility. Finally, he starts seeing value in possessing a bathtub made of gold. Or gets a kick in getting freebees like celebrities.

A knowledge of fear is critical in management if one accepts that humans are animals with imagination, who cannot be domesticated using reason. Desire, greed, ambition, control, success, compliance all impact the everyone's architecture of fear. We look at institutions to raise their palm and display the symbol of a-bhaya. Instead their massive size, steel and glass coldness, impersonal business processes, swipe cards and closed circuit TVs only amplify the bhaya.

Source devdutt.com 

20 Things to Start doing in your Relationships

Family isn't always blood.  They're the people in your life who appreciate having you in theirs – the ones who encourage you to improve in healthy and exciting ways, and who not only embrace who you are now, but also embrace and embody who you want to be.  These people – your real family – are the ones who truly matter.

Here are twenty tips to help you find and foster these special relationships.

1.  FREE YOURSELF FROM NEGATIVE PEOPLE.
Spend time with nice people who are smart, driven and likeminded.  Relationships should help you, not hurt you.  Surround yourself with people who reflect the person you want to be.  Choose friends who you are proud to know, people you admire, who love and respect you – people who make your day a little brighter simply by being in it.  Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.  When you free yourself from negative people, you free yourself to be YOU – and being YOU is the only way to truly live.

2.  LET GO OF THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY GONE.
The sad truth is that there are some people who will only be there for you as long as you have something they need.  When you no longer serve a purpose to them, they will leave.  The good news is, if you tough it out, you'll eventually weed these people out of your life and be left with some great people you can count on.  We rarely lose friends and lovers, we just gradually figure out who our real ones are.  So when people walk away from you, let them go.   Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you.  It doesn't mean they are bad people; it just means that their part in your story is over.

3.  GIVE PEOPLE YOU DON'T KNOW A FAIR CHANCE.
When you look at a person, any person, remember that everyone has a story.  Everyone hasgone through something that has changed them, and forced them to grow.  Every passing face on the street represents a story every bit as compelling and complicated as yours.  We meet no ordinary people in our lives.  If you give them a chance, everyone has something amazing to offer.  So appreciate the possibility of new relationships as you naturally let go of old ones that no longer work.  Trust your judgment.  Embrace new relationships, knowing that you are entering into unfamiliar territory.  Be ready to learn, be ready for a challenge, and be ready to meet someone that might just change your life forever.

4.  SHOW EVERYONE KINDNESS AND RESPECT.
Treat everyone with kindness and respect, even those who are rude to you – not because they are nice, but because you are.  There are no boundaries or classes that define a group of people that deserve to be respected.  Treat everyone with the same level of respect you would give to your grandfather and the same level of patience you would have with your baby brother.  People will notice your kindness.

5.  ACCEPT PEOPLE JUST THE WAY THEY ARE.
In most cases it's impossible to change them anyway, and it's rude to try.  So save yourself from needless stress.  Instead of trying to change others, give them your support and lead by example.

6.  ENCOURAGE OTHERS AND CHEER FOR THEM.
Having an appreciation for how amazing the people around you are leads to good places – productive, fulfilling, peaceful places.  So be happy for those who are making progress.  Cheer for their victories.  Be thankful for their blessings, openly.  What goes around comes around, and sooner or later the people you're cheering for will start cheering for you.

7.  BE YOUR IMPERFECTLY PERFECT SELF.
In this crazy world that's trying to make you like everyone else, find the courage to keep being your awesome self.  And when they laugh at you for being different, laugh back at them for being the same.  Spend more time with those who make you smile and less time with those who you feel pressured to impress.  Be your imperfectly perfect self around them.  We are not perfect for everyone, we are only perfect for those select few people that really take the time to get to know us and love us for who we really are.  And to those select few, being our imperfectly perfect self is what they love about us.

8.  FORGIVE PEOPLE AND MOVE FORWARD.
Don't live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate.  Forgiveness is not saying, "What you did to me is okay."  It is saying, "I'm not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever."  Forgiveness is the remedy.  It doesn't mean you're erasing the past, or forgetting what happened.  It means you're letting go of the resentment and pain, and instead choosing to learn from the incident and move on with your life.  Remember, the less time you spend hating the people who hurt you, the more time you'll have to love the people who love you.

9.  DO LITTLE THINGS EVERY DAY FOR OTHERS.
Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.  You can't be everything to everyone, but you can be everything to a few people.  Decide who these people are in your life and treat them like royalty.

10. PAY ATTENTION TO WHO YOUR REAL FRIENDS ARE.
As we grow up, we realize it becomes less important to have more friends and more important to have real ones.  Remember, life is kind of like a party.  You invite a lot of people, some leave early, some stay all night, some laugh with you, some laugh at you, and some show up really late.  But in the end, after the fun, there are a few who stay to help you clean up the mess.  And most of the time, they aren't even the ones who made the mess.  These people are your real friends in life.  They are the ones who matter most.

11. ALWAYS BE LOYAL. 
True love and real friendship aren't about being inseparable. These relationships are about two people being true to each other even when they are separated.  When it comes to relationships, remaining faithful is never an option, but a priority.  Loyalty is everything.

12. STAY IN BETTER TOUCH WITH PEOPLE WHO MATTER TO YOU.
In human relationships distance is not measured in miles, but in affection.  Two people can be right next to each other, yet miles apart.  So don't ignore someone you care about, because lack of concern hurts more than angry words.  Stay in touch with those who matter to you.  Not because it's convenient, but because they're worth the extra effort.  Remember, you don't need a certain number of friends, just a number of friends you can be certain of.  Paying attention to these people is a priority.

13. KEEP YOUR PROMISES AND TELL THE TRUTH.
If you say you're going to do something, DO IT!  If you say you're going to be somewhere, BE THERE!  If you say you feel something, MEAN IT!  If you can't, won't, and don't, then DON'T LIE.  It's always better to tell people the truth up front.  Don't play games with people's heads and hearts.  Don't tell half-truths and expect people to trust you when the full truth comes out; half-truths are no better than lies.  Remember, love and friendship don't hurt.  Lying, cheating and screwing with people's feelings and emotions hurts.  Never mess with someone's feelings just because you're unsure of yours.  Always be open and honest.

14. GIVE WHAT YOU WANT TO RECEIVE.
Don't expect what you are not willing to give.  Start practicing the golden rule.  If you want love, give love.  If you want friends, be friendly.  If you want money, provide value.  It works.  It really is this simple.

15. SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY.
Give the people in your life the information they need, rather than expecting them to know the unknowable.  Information is the grease that keeps the engine of communication functioning.  Start communicating clearly.  Don't try to read other people's minds, and don't make other people try to read yours.  Most problems, big and small, within a family, friendship, or business relationships, start with bad communication.

16. ALLOW OTHERS TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS.
Do not judge others by your own past.  They are living a different life than you are.  What might be good for one person may not be good for another.  What might be bad for one person might change another person's life for the better.  Allow people to make their own mistakes and their own decisions.

17. TALK A LITTLE LESS, AND LISTEN MORE.
Less advice is often the best advice.  People don't need lots of advice, they need a listening ear and some positive reinforcement.  What they want to know is often already somewhere inside of them.  They just need time to think, be and breathe, and continue to explore the undirected journeys that will eventually help them find their direction.

18. LEAVE PETTY ARGUMENTS ALONE.
Someone else doesn't have to be wrong for you to be right.  There are many roads to what's right.  And most of the time it just doesn't matter that much.

19. IGNORE UNCONSTRUCTIVE, HURTFUL COMMENTARY.
No one has the right to judge you.  They might have heard your stories, but they didn't feel what you were going through.  No matter what you do, there will always be someone who thinks differently.  So concentrate on doing what you know in your heart is right.  What most people think and say about you isn't all that important.  What is important is how you feel about yourself.

20. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOURSELF.
One of the most painful things in life is losing yourself in the process of loving others too much, and forgetting that you are special too.  When was the last time someone told you that they loved you just the way you are, and that what you think and how you feel matters?  When was the last time someone told you that you did a good job, or took you someplace, simply because they know you feel happy when you're there?  When was the last time that 'someone' was YOU?

Source 

Nine Stages of Attaining Bliss

The nine stages of samadhi are beautifully illustrated in this Mahamudra scroll. The nine stages of mahamudra are identical to the nine states of attention elucidated in my last post. The more I meet aspiring yogis or serious meditators, the more I realize how great the misconceptions are about meditation. What really pains my heart is that, most of the time, the seeker is not at fault. It's the teacher, the guru. Most aspirants are often being guided by teachers who can't demonstrate anything. These teachers never went into the depths of meditation themselves but simply mastered some theoretical material and are now guiding others based on second-hand knowledge. Today, I'll briefly touch upon the nine stages of tranquility and also answer the question we raised two weeks ago: "How great an effort is required to reach the final state?" If you carefully examine the picture in the post today, you'll find three key artifacts, namely, a monk, an elephant and a monkey. Additionally, the monk is holding a noose and a goad. The monk represents the meditator treading the windy path of meditation, where, until it's mastered, no two days are alike. Some days you experience good meditation and other times, it's the opposite. The elephant represents dullness and the monkey restlessness. The goad and noose represent vigilance and attentiveness in meditation. In the first stage, the meditator is like a rocky boat in a turbulent ocean. There's virtually no control on the mind. The concentration at this stage ends up wherever the drift of thoughts take it. The monkey and the elephant constantly disrupt the meditation and the meditator is struggling to tame them. In the second stage, there's a small white patch on the elephant and monkey. It shows progress. It means the meditator is able to have short periods of quality meditation when the mind is devoid of thoughts. Think of a flag that flutters whenever the wind blows. No wind no fluttering. Similarly, the mind at this stage is stable for a short period before the winds of thoughts start to blow again causing waves in the stillness of consciousness. The persistent meditator gets to the third stage and this is a significant progress in its own right. Now, they are able to detect their dullness arising in meditation. In the scroll, it is shown by a bigger white patch on the elephant and a noose leashing it. Restlessness or stray thoughts are still a great challenge at this stage. In the fourth and the fifth stages, while the meditator makes a giant leap by even greater taming of restlessness and dullness, a new challenge presents itself. You'll see a rabbit riding the elephant now. This signifies a state of calmness which makes the meditator go into a sort of torpor or laxity. Often, most meditators who get even a tiny glimpse of this calmness, mistake this as the ultimate state of bliss. In the sixth stage, the monk can be seen leading both the monkey and the elephant, but the animals are not fully white yet. It means the meditator has mostly tamed them, he's able to lead them, but, there are still subtle elements of excitement or stupor that can distract the meditator. The elephant is completely white and the monkey sits by the feet of the practitioner in the seventh stage. It shows that the meditator has nearly perfected the art of attention. They experience lucid awareness during the meditation but the presence of monkey shows there's still a chance of feeling excited or restless. Think of a still pond where dropping even a tiny pebble causes ripples. In the eighth stage, there's no monkey. Restlessness has completely disappeared for this meditator and a constant state of bliss always leave them calm. But, sometimes in this state of bliss, the lucidity of their awareness is adversely affected. Think of someone under the influence of a mild intoxicant. At this stage, the meditator hasn't yet learned to rise above the bliss. In the ninth stage, the monk is sitting down with the white elephant. Bliss has becomes a close companion and it no longer interferes in any worldly activity. All mental and emotional battles cease, the war of thoughts stop and there's virtually no effort in meditation now. The meditator has become the meditation. The stages beyond show the monk riding the elephant. These indicate other dimensions of existence. The meditator is ever calm, abiding in bliss. Any inner struggle or stress completely disappears. The meditator has gone beyond the meditation. Buddha once said, "The one who knows the reality of one thing knows the reality of everything." It applies to this meditator. Can anyone reach this state? Yes. What's required? Willingness, persistence, and time; undying willingness, unrelenting persistence and a lot of time. Let me give you a broad guideline: 1500 hours of quality meditation is required to cross each stage. With discipline and a quality effort, you can bring it down to about 1200 hours and with right initiation and guidance it can be brought down to 800 hours for each stage. So, who can initiate and who can guide you? How to know the person across the table is not just a smooth talker or even a charlatan but a genuine practitioner? For another time. Peace. Swami Original Post: Nine Stages of Attaining Bliss

Communication Mythos: Should the burden of understanding be on the message giver or receiver?

The message-giver thanks the message-receiver for enabling him to better understand human desire and capability. 

A friend told me something very interesting. She said, "I have noticed that during a conference Americans and Japanese behave very differently . If an American does not understand anything, he blames the communication skills of the message-giver. If a Japanese is under stress he blames himself, placing the burden of understanding on the message-receiver . Objectively speaking, who has the burden of understanding — the message-giver or the message-receiver ?

In the Western world, currently dominated by Greek mythology, where individuals are constantly suspicious of authority, the burden of understanding falls on the authority that seeks to govern. However, in the Eastern part of the world, dominated by Confucian mythology, where everyone respects authority, who has the Mandate of Heaven or legitimate power, the burden of understanding falls on the people who are being governed.

This divide is evident in communication techniques taught in training programs of modern management. The first being keep it short and simple, for people's attention span is low as is their capacity to comprehend . Another technique is repetition: "Say what you have to say, say it, and say what you have said." This we are told will get the message across. Here the burden is always on the speaker. Hence the obsession with over-clarifying and over-communicating .

We see this in the long documents and numerous posters that repeatedly seek to explain values and behaviours that the company endorses. There is anxiety that communication has not been clear or comprehensive enough. The message-giver has to constantly bring himself down to the level of the message-receiver.

This is influenced by the shift from the Imperial British system of communication to the more egalitarian American system of communication . It is not uncommon in many Indian family owned companies for owners to not bother with clear communication. Often innuendoes and signals are used to get messages across. For example: the person who is being repeatedly called for a meeting becomes the authority or the favoured one of the moment, irrespective of his designation.

It is assumed that the people who understand the leader get the message. Those who don't get the message don't matter in the scheme of things. On a more manipulative note, if the directive does not work, the leader simply gets a chance of escape. This puts great pressure on professionals who are not trained to deal with family businesses in B-schools.

Such practices are frowned in modern management as it is unclear, inefficient and adds to the burden of anxiety amongst employees. They are qualified as feudal, befitting an oriental despot. In other words, the criticism is rooted in Western prejudices about the East.

Though many business families in India tilt Eastwards, traditional Indian methods of communication actually stands between the East and the West. Who bears the burden of understanding is a function of context. It depends on who has more to lose: the message-giver or message-receiver ? This is demonstrated in the following story from the Upanishads.

A young boy called Satyakama wanted to understand the 'brahman' from his teacher, Gautama. So his teacher gave him some cows and told him to take them out to the pastures and to return only after the number of cows had doubled. While the cows grazed, Satyakama had nothing to do. He kept observing the world around him. As he watched the bull, the sun, the fire, the swan, and the fowl, his mind was filled with insight. When he returned his thanked his guru for revealing to him the 'brahman' .

In modern understanding of communication , the guru had done nothing to facilitate understanding. But in the traditional understanding of communication, the guru had created an ecosystem based on the desire and capability of Satyakama. Thus the message-giver understands the best way to communicate to the message receiver. Sometimes it may be instructive and directive, sometimes it may be full of innuendoes and symbols, depending on what the message-receiver can handle.

Here, the guru is not obliged to transmit the message but does so in order to improve his own understanding of human nature. Here, the student is not obliged to listen to the guru but does, because he wants knowledge. The teacher is merely a facilitator.

The message receiver thanks the message-giver for facilitating his understanding of the subject. The message-giver thanks the message-receiver for enabling him to better understand human desire and capability, hence his communication skills. Both win. There is no authority or rules. It is cyclical, not linear. This is what the guru-shishya parampara was actually about.

Source: Devdutt Pattanaik in The Economic Times

http://m.economictimes.com/features/corporate-dossier/management-mythos-should-the-burden-of-understanding-be-on-the-message-giver-or-receiver/articleshow/36461815.cms

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.

What is Sakshi Bhava?

Question: Amma, what is sakshi bhava [witness attitude]? 

Amma: When you become sugar, then there is nothing but sweetness. Likewise, in true sakshi bhava, there is bliss alone.

It's not that emotions don't come, they will be there, but you see them, as if from a distance, and they don't affect you. So, when anger begins rising up in you, you are able to see it very clearly. You witness it and this helps you to remain calm and not translate that emotion into action. Reflecting on the truth that we are not the body or the mind but are the atma [the true self], we can use our viveka[discrimination] to reject that emotion as baseless.

Witnessing like this and keeping our distance from our emotions, is for our own safety. Visiting a zoo and seeing the animals in their cages is a blissful experience. But if you open the door the cage and let the animals out their cages it will be disastrous. It is the same with the mind.

When you understand the nature of the world and its objects, you will see things and remain detached, like a witness, and accept them. For example, a crow may evacuate upon us, but we don't get angry at the crow. You just go wash your dress and move forward.

In sakshi bhava, it is not that there are no thoughts or emotions. Just as there are waves in the ocean, there will be thoughts in the mind. But since you know how to swim, you are able to get in the water and blissfully move about them.

From - 

Friday, 18 April 2014 – Amritapuri Seashore Meditation and Question & Answer

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Discover Your Sweet Spot

An entire spectrum of existence is possible between self-belief and faith in the universal energy, between confidence in free will and destiny and between taking charge and letting go. With reflection, meditation, and pursuit of a clear life purpose, you can identify the fine balance that's optimal for you. It's the place of equilibrium where you willingly engage in meaningful action and yet are detached from the bipolar evaluation of results, connected equally with inner stillness and external activity; where the physical and spiritual meet.

It's about living with the understanding of how several hundred thousand actions of the mind, body, and the universe are happening involuntarily; yet appreciating the need for voluntary actions that bring to life our conscious intentions with the help of our body and its nervous system. For example, what we decide to eat is our choice, however, how the stomach digests that food is through the universal intelligence present in each cell of our digestive system.

This sweet spot is the special place in this journey where we are fully present in the moment; feel centred within ourselves and let our actions emanate from this deeper space. We are aware and focussed in our actions and yet have a relaxed and open mind; we are engaged in the task, but simultaneously in touch with that subtle place inside us that makes us totally open, strong, tender, loving and trusting.

Through praying, we connect with our deeper subconscious and higher Self and that makes us feel stronger, clearer and peaceful. All the masters of their craft, from artists and writers to sportsmen and spiritual gurus, consistently experience this sweet spot. In those special moments, their actions flow from somewhere other than the conscious mind. They all have this ability to shut out the rest of the world as well as their inner thoughts and connect with the stillness and the silence within.

The sweet spot can also be understood as the zone where things fall into place effortlessly and in complete harmony between our inner being and the external universe. It is the place when we feel balanced in every way – between, work and family, physical and emotional wellbeing, mental and spiritual growth, personal progress and supporting others, giving and receiving, and loving and being loved. It's the zone where we feel challenged but in control, where we are learning and growing but are not overwhelmed, where we are open to new experiences but have the wisdom to assimilate them into our understanding.

Experiencing and living connected to this sweet spot impacts every minutest bit of our existence. At work, operating in the sweet zone translates to being engaged in a profession or vocation that we love, enjoy, and find meaningful and rewarding.

In our relationships, this sweet spot implies being neither too aggressive nor too submissive in our interactions but just being our honest authentic self; being assertive such that we are firm but polite, confident but respectful; being willing to be vulnerable and yet self-assured; have healthy self-respect but not strong ego; are deeply caring but not possessive.

Finally, the deeper impact of discovering our sweet spot is the overflow of empathy and compassion for others. Embarking on the journey of personal mastery can help you discover your own sweet spot, where you experience deeper happiness, fulfilment, peace, effortlessness and balance across all dimensions of your life.


~ Rajiv Vij 

First Published in SpeakingTree.in

Sensual Love Is Sacred, Too

One of the most misunderstood words in spiritual lexicon is ‘desire’. Can Self-realisation only be attained in a state of perfect, unmoving desirelessness, as many believe? In the conflict between spirit and flesh, we are led to ask: does one necessarily preclude the other?

Kama or desire has a place in Hindu philosophy. Desire is that glorious spark of energy that ignites dormant dreams, fanning them into existence. Indeed, the world itself was born of desire. In the Rig Vedic Hymn of Creation, we learn how the great Unknown, Unborn, Mysterious One felt the first impulse of desire. Thus was born the first seed of the mind and Creation sprang forth.


Nothing wrong with desire

To be desireless implies a state where there is no movement towards growth or realisation. Desire per se is not wrong. It is acquisitive desire coupled with greed and selfishness that is bad. Conversely, the refinement and cultivation of pure desire is the seed of all artistic and creative endeavour.


If all movement born of desire is snuffed out, then we are no better than automatons living a robotic life. What needs to be overcome is acquisitive desire, lustful desire and the selfish desire for self-aggrandisement at the cost of another’s wellbeing. What we need to embrace are pure desires of creative impulses and spiritual refinement – for these are the very fuel which propel us further on the path of inner perfection.


Moreover, even in our worship of the Divine there exists the path of love and devotion to a personal God that does not eschew the sensual, but celebrates it. In viewing God as the ‘Beloved’ and in worshipping God with our senses we sanctify our emotions and impulses. Desire is elevated and transformed into yearning and longing for the Divine. Mystics down the ages, from all religious traditions have felt a deep and abiding passion for their chosen deity – and have poured forth their longing in some of the most sensual, erotically charged poetry. Rabia, Rumi, Mirabai, Hafez, St John of the Cross, St Teresa of Avila, Andal and Jayadeva have all penned verses that are full of a voluptuous ecstasy. They have attained transcendental bliss even while acknowledging and embracing the sensual.

Cosmology of tantra

Taking the concept of desire even further is the cosmology of tantra. In this stream of thought desire is the pulse of the universe and all creation vibrates to this beat. Creation is understood in explicitly sexual terms as the attraction between the male and female polarities – the union of Shiva and Shakti. In the way of tantra even everyday activities are opportunities to experience the Divine. It is a deeply personal path wherein even the mundane is subsumed in the mystical. To be spiritual then is to be constantly aroused by the wonder and mystery of life.

The sensual is sacred, too. Love is the highest energy in the emotional spectrum, and lovemaking is merely a physical outpouring of that energy. In approaching desire with reverence, even physical lovemaking is nothing short of god and goddess coming together in joyous union. It is not in the quelling and suppression of desire, but rather in the refinement and elevation of desire that our salvation lies. For as Deepak Chopra states: “Spirit and flesh are not separate. They keep apart just to flirt.”

First Published by Tunisha Mehrotra on SpeakingTree.in

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

We are Alive - Yet Dead

The Truth is: Renunciation is Supreme Enjoyment

Greek thinker Diogenes gave up everything. Like Mahavira, he lived naked. All he kept was a begging bowl, for begging and drinking water. One day, he saw a villager drinking water by cupping his hands, so he immediately threw away his begging bowl.

The villager asked him, “What have you done?” He replied, “I never knew that one could drink water by cupping one’s hands – now why should i be deprived of such a joy? The begging bowl is only a dead thing, and when i fill it with water i feel nothing from it. When i fill my hands with water, they feel the connection with water, its coolness, its life-giving energy. My love also enters the water through my hands, and it becomes alive. So i will be drinking that too.”

The first time Diogenes cupped his hands and drank water from them, he started dancing! He said, “What a fool i was to use a dead vessel to drink water from, because it made the water dead, too. The energy from my hands, the heat, could not pass through to the water. And this was also insulting to the water.”

Our senses have become numb like his bowl. Whatever we receive through them becomes dead. Food on the plate looks beautiful; the minute it enters your mouth it becomes ordinary. Music becomes mundane when it enters your ears. Flowers lose their beauty when seen through your eyes.

We make everything ordinary – whereas everything in the world is extraordinary. The flower you see on a tree has never blossomed before. It is absolutely new. It is impossible to find another flower like it on this earth. It has never existed before, and it will never exist again in the future. Our eyes turn the existence of a unique flower into something mundane when we say, “It’s okay – we’ve seen thousands of roses like this before.” Because of the thousands you have seen, your eyes have become blind and you cannot see what is there, present, in front of you. What have those thousands of flowers got to do with this one?

Emerson has written that upon seeing a rose it came to his mind that the flower has no idea of the existence of thousands of other flowers – neither of the flowers still to come, nor of those which have gone before. This rose is present, here and now, offering itself to the divine. It is joyful because it does not compare itself with any other. But when he sees it, the thousands of others which he has seen get in the way. His vision is blurred, and the unique experience of this flower goes to waste. He doesn’t perceive its beauty; the strings of his heart are not moved, nor are his senses stirred. We live in a unique world. The divine is manifested here in so many ways all around us. But we’ve made a grave of our senses. We are only passing through life – nothing touches us. We ask, “Where is bliss, where is godliness?” – and it is present all around us! Inside, outside, there is nothing other than godliness. By abusing our senses, we kill the one who could experience it.

Renunciation is the science of supreme enjoyment. Only someone who knows how to let go is able to experience. Let go of the meaningless so that you can realise the meaningful; let go of sensations so that you can perceive the subtle.

Voice Of Silence, Osho International Foundation, http://www.osho.com.

Bursting The Narcissistic Bubble

Pulkit Sharma

So many people put in huge efforts, pushing their mind and body to staggering limits to achieve success. They want boundless success in every sphere – unrivalled position at work, overflowing admiration and respect, abundant sexual pleasure, unshakable power, enormous amount of money, prolonged youth and entertainment to continuously pamper them. But they are unaware that all this success is ephemeral. Despite the best of efforts to secure such success, happiness remains elusive. Stress, depression and aggression however always threaten to burst this narcissistic bubble.

The desire for success has turned everyone into a narcissist and so they are only focussed on fulfilling their own needs and desires. Other people are seen not as fellow human beings but as targets to be persuaded and exploited. Everyone is busy thinking how they can use others to further their own agenda. Relationships are becoming full of exploitation, oppression and manoeuvring.

Desire for this kind of success stems from either low self-esteem or an experience of deprivation. People who feel weak, undesirable and insignificant within chase success in a hope to feel valued. They feel that once they become successful, the world will shower them with undivided attention. They hope that this in turn will transform the way they feel about themselves. Others want success to ensure that they will always get whatever they want and there will be no deprivation.

However, no matter how much a person achieves, these feelings of low self-esteem and deprivation persist because the person has wrongly identified these painful experiences as part of self. Until and unless the person breaks away these identifications, there is no respite.

Accomplishments can bring only a temporary relief. In my work as a clinical psychologist, i often get to see clients who seem to feel like a nobody despite doing and having a lot. They see themselves as separate from the world, a discrete entity that wants the best for itself. They live in constant dread of losing the success they have achieved. They try to deny this fear by immersing themselves once again in the web of their goals but one fine day the denial breaks down. They realise that they need a new psychology of life, something that goes beyond ephemeral success.

Everyone wishes to be happy. But we have started confusing excitement with happiness. The more you base your happiness on external feedbacks such as outstripping others, admiration, material rewards, possessions and impression management, the unhappier you become. Ephemeral success can only create excitement. Excitement is like a drug, you need a daily dose of it
to satisfy your craving. Else there is turmoil.

Real success is what brings happiness instead of just excitement. To achieve it, one needs to turn within and introspect deeply. Try to see that you have been part of a socially and culturally constructed rat race. This has led to creation of a false self. There is no escape from it until you consciously and fearlessly opt out. Once you take this crucial step new opportunities will unfold.

Different people find value and bliss in different activities. Once you find your area of liking devote yourself completely to it with one-pointed attention. Find joy in the activity itself rather than wanting the world to admire you for it. Real success always leads to real happiness, a state full of bliss, peace and permanence. This state is characterised by self-reliance, renunciation of ego needs, acceptance and expression of one's true Self.

First Published on SpeakingTree.in
--

Aseem Seth

Khushwant Singh on Death

Celebrating Death Is Sign Of Maturity 

The one principle that should be at the core of any religious belief is ahimsa or non-violence — not to hurt any life, human or otherwise. Killing is not right. Killing animals to eat them is not a civilised thing to do, but carnivores exist in nature and in many places, humans have to subsist on non-vegetarian food for reasons beyond their control. But wherever possible, vegetarianism must be practised.

Hurting people physically or mentally, whether by word or action is wrong. Ahimsa is more important than prayer and kirtan. Ahimsa should be the central principle of your faith. But you have to raise your voice against injustice. Then, if you hurt someone who has hurt other people, it is justified. But the death penalty is barbaric — it is murder by the state.

Once, as editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India, I wrote an editorial on the issue of hunting and killing animals for sport. Then I sent individual letters to chief ministers of states asking them to ban shikar. Some of them responded by banning shikar. As one who has faith in ahimsa, I feel good about this.


So, life should be lived with compassion and nonviolence. I think a lot about life and the way we live it; I also think about death and how we deal with it. The basic point is, we don’t know where we come from; we also don’t know where we go after death. In between, we might know a little about life. People talk a lot about body and soul — I’ve never seen a soul, nor do I know anyone who has seen one. So for me, death is a full stop.


I don’t subscribe to the theory of rebirth endorsed by Hinduism and Buddhism nor do I believe in the Judeo-Christian belief in a Heaven and Hell. Ghalib said: “We know the truth about paradise but to beguile your mind is not a bad idea”.


There is nothing unique about death. Death comes to all who are born. So we don’t need to pull a long face when death comes. Of course, it is human nature to grieve for someone you’ve lost. But that’s no reason to create a big fuss, wailing and screaming. Nor is there any need to have elaborate rituals and kirtans.


Death is in the order of nature; when your time comes, die with dignity. I’m a member of the ‘Die with Dignity’ society formed by Minoo Masani 20 years ago. I can’t say I don’t fear death — but I’m more concerned about whether it is going to be a long drawn out painful process rather than worry about what happens later.


Iqbal wrote: “If you ask me about the sign of faith/ When death comes to him,/ he should have a smile on his face.” I’m all for the ancient tradition of celebrating death. When people over 70 years die, their death should be marked with celebrations that include band music, dancing and feasting. It is a sign of maturity and acceptance of the inevitable.


I’ve discarded all religions but I feel closest to Jainism. Every person has the right to end his life — after having fulfilled his worldly duties. Acharya Vinoba Bhave and Jain munis have done this.
I wish to be buried with just a tree planted over my grave — no tombstone, nothing. If you live close to the sea, go for burial at sea. It saves wood.

- Khushwant Singh | From ‘An Agnostic’s View Of Life And Death’-Nov 26, 2004

Christina Makisi - i miss you

This is a conversation between me and an enlightened spirit who made a brief but bright appearance in my life.... I wish Her well .... With my gratitude and efforts ...

Christina Makisi Speaks ...

if Shiva did not play, there would be no universe. I love that.

yes, no importance of winning or losing, it is the art of playing. now, as life plays its game, can you observe it without the slightest hint of taking your attention from it? not even a moment. I am showing you my inner being. from morning until i go to bed, there is this fullness of awareness in watching/listening to the mind/body all day and all night. please this is vital. not meditation, for that man has mad a mess of. this is simple watchfulness which comes as you are learning and understanding yourself; your thoughts and emotions and attitude. simply let the inner watchfulness take place.

as you go into oneself, you discover, you are the mind that is watching. then, through insight, there is the realization that beyond the mind, there may be something there that is not a part of the mind. the thinker realizes that it is nothing but thought. without thought there is no identity called Aseem. when the mind realizes that it is a false thing of time-space and causation, it questions this fact deeper and deeper. and, when you least expect it, the mind and all one took as real vanishes. this Divine silence comes into your being in which words cannot describe or capture. this comes uninvited as you cannot be conscious of it. it is the total ending of 'you.' that is why these words may seem abstract and vague when in fact your conscious mind cannot fathom what is beyond the mind. so, it is like I am speaking to that eternal essence that transcends conscious and unconscious to come into being as spirit can speak to spirit. blessed be.

the knower is a product of the known as the thinker is a part of thought. the thinker comes into being due to labeling, identifying and a lack of attention. so, through attention, which is not a thing of the mind enters your being, the false comes to an end. the false depends on inattentiveness. as long as you are inattentive, you are feeding the false, the illusive and the unreal. the Real comes when you see that the false is false and drop it altogether. The Real has no relationship to the false. as long as one is living and being in the false, truth cannot come to you. that is why the whole idea of finding God/Truth has no meaning as long as one is still living and clinging to the false. see the false, watch it, deeply. watch every thought, emotion and so on with rapt attentiveness. the lack of attention that brought the false into being comes to an end as attention enters to bring complete change.

the moth drawn to the flame is to be completely burnt within until there is nothing left. nothing at all. even the slightest ash of 'you' spoils the temple of your being. to be completely empty is to be the temple in which the Divine may enter.

go into what is fear. fear is thought/thinking. do you see this? watch it within yourself so that it is your own understanding. like being afraid of death. why? because the mind is there 'thinking' about it consciously or unconsciously. thought is the enemy. thinking is the culprit that feeds fear; which is the fear. seeing this within yourself gives tremendous energy. it releases you from a great burden.

you have become so attached and hidden behind so many images and illusions. drop all of them. that which gives you comfort also gives you decay and decadence. to cling to anything has no meaning. it all weighs you down. can you cling to Truth? can one be attached to Truth? no. so, whatever you are clinging to, be it a deity, an idea or a belief, obviously it is not the Truth. Truth has neither form or name. whatever can be held, touched and worshiped by the mind is not Truth.

Go beyond all such things when you let go of everything.

the thing is, knowledge cannot free you as knowledge itself is a slave. one may know a thousand texts and a thousand guru's but it will now awaken you. it is up to you to actually go into yourself. that is the book to be read; your own mind/thoughts/feelings. read that book from moment to moment and the end of it is not to another chapter but the total ending of everything you think you are. in the end, you discover that which cannot be written. blessed is he who goes beyond all books, knowledge and guru's.

Aseem Seth
There are so many things to distract the mind. Video games, YouTube, fantasies ... How to overcome these addictions?

Christina Makisi
simply observe them without the slightest interest in avoiding them. do not push anything away as a distraction or addiction. have fullness of attention when you are doing anything. the living flame of attention burns away the divisiveness of all activities. attention. not 'you'. understand?

If you do not do this one thing first and foremost, the knowing of 10,000 wise Sayings will profit little to nothing. without first entering the door of death, you will remain blind. Come face-to-face with inward death and see it for what it is. no one can tell you, you must do it within yourself.

Enter the doorway and see for yourself if there is that Reality which is not of this world of knowledge. Then, through self-knowing, you will truly understand what is spiritual freedom.

"If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." ~ John 13:17

Aseem Seth
Amen Devi Amen

Please explain your last line in your previous message ..." Attention. Not 'you'. Understand?"
What is the living flame of attention? How do I identify it? How do I grasp it?
What is attention? How is it different from concentration?

Christina Makisi

again, you are trying to get 'knowledge.' attention is not knowledge. its not a thing of the mind. it is beyond the mind. seeing yourself, your thoughts/feelings from moment to moment points the way into nothingness.

attention is all-inclusive 'seeing'. concentration is the narrowing down of something by pushing and resisting other things to focus on a particular thing. so, drop the idea of concentration.

stop trying. there is no effort in this. trying implies a practice, a resistance. stop trying to resist. it is the art of being without trying to anything other than whatever you are.

knowing oneself is paying attention to oneself. that is all. don't think so hard about it. from the moment you get up in the morning letting that watchfulness take place in the totality of attention throughout the whole day and night. doing it is the learning. do not try to learn something to practice.

it is the artless art. no one can do it for you. simply listen to your own being and that points the way.

cease trying to become something other than what you are.

if you negate the 'I', perhaps love will awaken in you.

love is not an emotion. its not sentimental. its not feelings but the art of going beyond all worldly sensitivities.

If there is fear within you, then, there can be no love.

the 'I' is the unhappiness. they are one and the same thing.

because of division and duality, the 'I' thinks happiness is something that is separately attacking it. in actuality, the 'I' is unhappiness.

the 'I' is the conscious mind that is filled with resistance of the present moment. this 'I' is actually a dead thing perpetrating itself as being alive. but, how can it be alive when its a product of the past? it is trapped in the past of time but has the power to project the illusion that it can enter the present moment. but, this illusion has to be seen for what it is in order to be spiritually free.

there is no happiness if the 'I' is there. happiness comes when the 'I' is not.

I was never born.

yes, but, it doesn't 'see' this fact. by seeing this fact, you are then free of it. the freedom that comes from the negation of the 'I' transcends ones idea of happiness. true happiness is devoid of a cause. it is not a thing of the mind which is time. this happiness is timeless, causeless and beyond the 'I' consciousness. the ending of you is the awakening of this happiness.

forget the definition, taste the fact. the doing/living it is all that is important.

not HOW. when you say, how, then you are again back in the realm of using time instead of attention.

HOW... how means you are asking for a thing, a practice, a particular pattern to get from one point to another. this is not like that. spirituality is not time bound. you do not go from unhappiness to happiness. you end unhappiness and discover happiness JUST IS.

what is confusion? confusion means one does not see, yes? so, see that you are confused without trying to escape the confusion. then you are moving effortlessly. not from one state to another.
whatever state you are in is perfectly alright. simply observe the fact of it. do not try to jump into something other than.

you are. its just you want to remain conscious of it. flow with your life without the slightest resistance.

good. if you are frustrated, simply observe that fact. the fact is the key. use facts! not trying to reach non-facts. being frustrated is not a problem! trying to NOT be frustrated is!
do you understand what i mean by non-fact? if you are frustrated and confused, that is a fact. do not try to become clarity because that would be a non-fact. stay with the fact and observe it. the seeing of the fact in attentiveness burns it away. this is very simple but you are thinking so hard.
let's look at it from another point.

what if i told you that Christina does not think? her mind is still, quiet. it doesn't move at all in this stillness.

now, ask yourself, why does Aseem, who is also human like Christina, why does his mind move with thoughts/feelings/emotions?

question that and see into it. do not just brush over it. look into it.

Aseem Seth
Because it is scared. It defines its being by movement. If it stops moving it will die. Like planets move around the sun, electrons around the atom, the universe expands at the speed of light. It is all movement. There is no stillness

Christina Makisi
yes, that is it, there is the fear of coming to an end if there is not movement! that is it! lets go into this.
so, we see together, clearly that there is the fear of the 'I' consciousness that if there is stillness/quietude/silence there is annihilation? the mind being 'noise' has this intense fear that as long as it keeps making noise it exists and if it doesn't it is over, it is dead, right.
now, christina, who is also human says, see, i am here with you and my head makes no noise and yet I am alive.


yes, we will continue later. take care. and please go into this. Namaste

N.B. - These conversations took place on facebook between Christina Makisi and me on 10/11/12 & 11/11/12 - she was in her early 20s when she spoke to me.

• I miss you
• 16 November 2012
• 

  16/11/2012 18:30
  

  Christina Makisi
  

  
  

  No need to miss me. I am always within you. I am love, which is whole, how can you ever be separate from me? please, continue to work on understanding oneself. we will speak when I return from my trip.
• 16 November 2012
• 

  16/11/2012 21:36
  

  Aseem Seth
  

  
  

  Bon Voyage Mother Be careful ... You take my heart with you