Thursday, December 19, 2013

The great Truth alone is the source of peace and bliss

Extract from: http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/heart/heart_12.html

"Tell me about the Atman," said Narada.
By a long-drawn discussion – stage by stage, step by step – the sage Sanatkumara took the mind of Narada to the apex point.
"The great Truth alone is the source of peace and bliss," said the sage.
"Tell me the Truth," asked Narada.
"The Truth is the Infinite," said Sanatkumara.
"Tell me what the Infinite is," asked Narada.
"Where you see nothing else outside you, where you hear nothing else outside you, where you are not thinking anything outside you, that is the Infinite. Where you see something outside you, where you hear something outside you, where you are thinking something outside you, that is the finite. The Infinite alone is bliss. Know that!" replied Sanatkumara.
"Where is that Infinite?" asked Narada further.
Sa evadhastat, sa uparistat, sa pascat, sa purastat, sa daksinatah, sa uttaratah, sa evedam sarvam (C.U. 7.25.1). "Where is the Infinite, you are asking me. It is in front of you. It is behind you. It is to the right. It is to the left. It is above. It is below. It is everywhere. It alone is. One who knows this has freedom in all the worlds," replied the sage. No passport is necessary; no visa is necessary to move in the realms of being.

Such a person who knows this secret becomes the Self of worlds galore. He becomes the Self of all beings. He becomes everything! Such a person is the centre of gravitation for everything in the universe.Yathaika ksudhita balah mataram paryupasate evam sarvani bhutany agni-hotram upasate ity agni-hotram upasata iti (C.U. 5.24.5). If that person who knows this secret eats food, the whole universe is satisfied. In earlier days there was a concept of feeding Brahmins. 

The idea is that a Brahmin is one who knows Brahman. 

and if he eats, everybody is satisfied. This knowledge makes you such a potentate in the cosmos that the worlds – all beings – gravitate around you for blessing in the same way as children sit around their mother for food. "Mummy, give me food. Give me something to eat," so children cry around the mother. So all beings, all creation – everyone will rally round you and seek your blessing because what you are, they also are. What you eat, they eat, and what you feel, they feel. Your joy is their joy. Your existence is their existence.

This is the import, finally, of this one wondrous story I mentioned to you of the six great people going to Ashvapati, the king, for the knowledge of the Atman, which is not outside and not somewhere, and that Atman about which Yama, the Lord, refused to speak.

Ascaryavat pasyati kascit enam (B.G. 2.29), the Bhagavadgita also reiterates. "Wonder is this thing that you are speaking. It is a wonder!" The teacher who can explain this is a wonder. The student who can understand this is a wonder. The thing that is explained is a wonder. The whole thing is a wonder. The greatest wonder is the Ultimate Being called God Almighty, the Absolute. May this wonder bless you, is my prayer!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Mark Twain's Top 9 Tips for Living A Good Life

http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?r=1395&c=926789&l=34053&ctl=16E4D67:16DF956C67F4B5DD715277556B8254A7B4B847859706E37D& 

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." --Mark Twain

Mark Twain's Top 9 Tips for Living A Good Life 
by Henrik Edberg, syndicated from positivityblog.com 

“It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.”

“Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”
“When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it’s a sure sign you’re getting old.”
You may know Mark Twain for some of his very popular books like Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He was a writer and also a humorist, satirist and lecturer.
Twain is known for his many – and often funny – quotes. Here are a few of my favourite tips from him.
1. Approve of yourself.
“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”
If you don’t approve of yourself, of your behaviour and actions then you’ll probably walk around most of the day with a sort of uncomfortable feeling. If you, on the other hand, approve of yourself then you tend to become relaxed and gain inner freedom to do more of what you really want.
This can, in a related way, be a big obstacle in personal growth. You may have all the right tools to grow in some way but you feel an inner resistance. You can’t get there.
What you may be bumping into there are success barriers. You are putting up barriers in your own mind of what you may or may not deserve. Or barriers that tell you what you are capable of. They might tell you that you aren’t really that kind of person that could this thing that you’re attempting. Or if you make some headway in the direction you want to go, you may start to sabotage for yourself. To keep yourself in a place that is familiar for you. So you need give yourself approval and allow yourself to be who you want to be. Not look for the approval from others - but from yourself.
To dissolve that inner barrier or let go of that self-sabotaging tendency. This is no easy task and it can take time. 
 I remember a similar advice by  Marianne Williamson in 'A Course in Miracles' where she warns us of 
a similar obstacle from ourselves to  our achievement  -MKK:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.*~*We ask ourselves:'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’Actually, who are you not to be?*~*You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.There is nothing enlightened about shrinkingso that people won't feel insecure around you.We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us.And when we let our own light shine,we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.   *~*
2. Your limitations may just be in your mind.
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
So many limitations are mostly in our minds. We may for instance think that people will disapprove because we are too tall, too old or balding. But these things mostly matter when you think they matter. Because you become self-conscious and worried about what people may think.
And people pick up on that and may react in negative ways. Or you may interpret anything they do as a negative reaction because you are so fearful of a bad reaction and so focused inward on yourself.
If you, on the other hand, don’t mind then people tend to not mind that much either. And if you don’t mind then you won’t let that part of yourself become a self-imposed roadblock in your life.
It is, for instance, seldom too late to do what you want to do.
3. Lighten up and have some fun.
“Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.”
“Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”
Humor and laughter are amazing tools. They can turn any serious situation into something to laugh about. They can lighten the mood just about anywhere.
And a lighter mood is often a better space to work in because now your body and mind isn’t filled to the brim with negative emotions. When you are more light-hearted and relaxed then the solution to a situation is often easier to both come up with and implement. Have a look at Lighten Up! for more on this topic.
4. Let go of anger.
“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”
Anger is most of the time pretty pointless. It can cause situations to get out of hand. And from a selfish perspective it often more hurtful for the one being angry then the person s/he’s angry at.
So even if you feel angry at someone for days recognize that you are mostly just hurting yourself. The other person may not even be aware that you are angry at him or her. So either talking to the person and resolving the conflict or letting go of anger as quickly as possible are pretty good tips to make your life more pleasurable.
5. Release yourself from entitlement.
“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing.It was here first.”
When you are young, your mom and dad may give a lot of things. As you grow older you may have a sort of entitlement. You may feel like the world should just give you what you want or that it owes you something.
This belief can cause a lot of anger and frustration in your life. Because the world may not give you what expect it to. On the other hand, this can be liberating too. You realize that it is up to you to shape your own life and for you to work towards what you want. You are not a kid anymore, waiting for your parents or the world to give you something.
You are in the driver’s seat now. And you can go pretty much wherever you want.
(कर्मण्येव अधिकारस्ते - mkk)
6. If you’re taking a different path, prepare for reactions.

“A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.”
I think this has quite a bit of relevance to self-improvement.
If you start to change or do something different than you usually do then people may react in different ways. Some may be happy for you. Some may be indifferent. Some may be puzzled or react in negative and discouraging ways.
Much of these reactions are probably not so much about you but about the person who said it and his/her life. How they feel about themselves is coming through in the words they use and judgments they make.
And that’s OK. I think it’s pretty likely that they won’t react as negatively as you may imagine. Or they will probably at least go back to focusing on their own challenges pretty soon.
So what other people may say and think and letting that hold you back is probably just fantasy and barrier you build in your mind.
You may find that when you finally cross that inner threshold you created, then people around you may not shun you or go chasing after you with pitchforks. They might just go: “OK”.
7. Keep your focus steadily on what you want.
“Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.”
What you focus your mind on greatly determines how things play out. You can focus on your problems and dwell in suffering and a victim mentality. Or you can focus on the positive in situation, what you can learn from that situation or just focus your mind on something entirely else.
It may be “normal” to dwell on problems and swim around in a sea of negativity. But that is a choice. And a thought habit. You may reflexively start to dwell on problems instead of refocusing your mind on something more useful. But you can also start to build a habit of learning to gain more and more control of where you put your focus.
8. Don’t focus so much on making yourself feel good.
“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.”
This may be a bit of a counter-intuitive tip. But as I wrote yesterday, one of the best ways to feel good about yourself is to make someone else feel good or to help them in some way.
This is a great way to look at things to create an upward spiral of positivity and exchange of value between people. You help someone and both of you feel good. The person you helped feels inclined to give you a hand later on since people tend to want to reciprocate. And so the both of you are feeling good and helping each other.
Those positive feelings are contagious to other people and so you may end up making them feel good too. And the help you received from your friend may inspire you to go and help another friend. And so the upward spiral grows and continues.
9. Do what you want to do.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Awesome quote. And I really don’t have much to add to that one. Well, maybe to write it down and keep it as a daily reminder – on your fridge or bathroom door – of what you can actually do with your life.

This article is reprinted here with permission. Henrik Edberg is a writer who lives on the east coast of Sweden. He is passionate about happiness and personal development and writes about it every week on The Positivity Blog and in his free newsletter.  
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Bhagawan is Sat-Chit-Ananda. Bhagawan is ever present and in us too.
One who is aware, will be ever in Bliss.
yasyat brahmani ramate cittam nandati nandati nandatyeva
यस्यत् ब्रह्मणि रमते चित्तं नन्दति नन्दति नन्दत्येव

Tuesday, September 3, 2013


There is NOT ONE SINGLE mantra in entire Vedas that prohibit Yajna for women.
EXTRACT:
Rigveda 1.146.3: The Yajamaan (performer of Yajna) and his wife are two cows and the fire of Yajna is the calf.
Rigveda 1.72.5: Scholars perform Yajna with their wives and achieve bliss.
Rigveda 2.6.5: If mother and sister perform Yajna together, that brings bliss.
Rigveda 7.1.6: The young woman approaches the fire with Havi
Atharvaveda 3.28.6: O wife, you have entered the world of Yajna.
Atharvaveda 3.30.6: All the members of family should perform Yajna.
Atharvaveda 14.2.18: O woman, you should perform Yajna in Grihastha Ashram.
Atharvaveda 14.2.25: O woman, perform Yajna with bliss.
Further, there is NOT ONE SINGLE mantra in entire Vedas that prohibit Yajna for women.
Please note that Yajna here does not mean merely Agnihotra or Havan, but all kinds of noble deeds. Vedas simply do not differentiate on basis of gender or birth for conduct of any noble deed.
And when women can do Yajna, what stops her from reciting Vedic Mantras!
The restriction of women from Vedas or Yajna is an innovation of medieval age whose only contribution to our society has been disaster and slavery. It is a matter of shame that many revered representatives of Hinduism still justify such perverted beliefs. But thanks to legends like Swami Dayanand Saraswati who gave right interpretations of Vedas, we hear Gayatri Mantra sung by women even in temples!
Feb 20, 2013 | by Dr. Satyapal Singh, The Police Commissioner, Mumbai
Extract:
Shrikrishna is the only greatest personality whose character encompasses together all these diverse ideals. Dear readers, devotees of Krishna, let us take a pledge today, let us make a resolution that we will not allow even advertently any blemish to defame the noble life of that spotless, innocent, virtuous and realized soul. Let us follow the footsteps of the ideals of great people. Following are the words of Krishna
yad yad aacarati shresthas tat tad tad evetaro janah
sa yat pramanam kurute lokas tad anuvartate
Radha and Gopis
Some poets from rhetoric school and bhakticult accepted Lord Shrikrishna as a God, worshiped him, adorned him as blind devotees and followers on one hand, and on the other the Western scholars and their self esteemed, the so called Indian scholars, following their footsteps merely depicted him in various ways with low level intentions and sensual impulses. Shrikrishna to them was one who played in the group of Gopis under the sacred name Rasalila, as one stealing the garments of the women, the one engaged and indulging in youthful activities with the damsel by name Radha, making uncourteous hideous gestures with dwarfed maiden Kubja.
The rhetoric school poets wanted to hide their sensual impulses and writings from the indignation of common people in the society. The blind and self titled devotees wanted to escape themselves from the scornful attitude of common man towards them, their selfish and voluptuous behavior or actions and their luxurious and lavish life style made under the pretext of divine justification and conformation. The Western scholars and others belonging to different religions than that of Hindus, and not to speak of other pseudo scholars wanted to devaluate and bring down the supreme Indian culture and Indian religion – a sort of burning example for all. Thus they mutilated the very noble character of Lord Krishna into an ignoble and scandalous one.
In the whole of Mahabharata, there is no mention even of the name Radha. We first get glimpses of her, in Gita Govinda of Jayadeva, ……..
Bankimchandra Chattopadyaya, the author of “Anand math” who carried out research on Mahabharata continuously for about 36 years and also composed thereafter the biography of Shrikrishna, states that according to Mahabharata Shrikrishna had only one wife namely Rukhmini – neither two nor four and of course not at all 16000. According to Mahabharata immediately after getting married both Rukhmini and Shrikrishna went to Badrikashrama and led a pious life there for 12 years. They used to sleep on ground, ate only roots, tubers and fruits and observed strict celibacy. Thereafter Rukhmini gave birth to the first child named Pradhumna. (Reference: Mahabharata, Book 10 (Sauptika Parva), Chapter 12, Verses 29 & 30 – Editor) It is sheerly disgusting to stigmatize this noble character shown indulging in love-affairs with and in romance with Radha and Gopis. 
Extract from the article Vedic Theism - http://aryasamajvvpuram.org/articles/vedic-theism/
God – the Supreme Spirit is the most subtle topic of philosophy. Faith in Supreme Power seems almost universal and encompassing the human life from time immemorial. But unfortunately the concept of God has been blurred by the fog of numerous wrong, perverse and sectarian notions. Consequently, today we come across a variety of pictures, images and descriptions of God, which are highly conflicting with each other and finally lead people towards sectarian narrow-mindedness, bigotry, dogmas, superstitions, prejudice, skepticism, atheism, frictions, wars, terrorism, dense materialism and a host of similar other vicious and inhuman traits. That is why we also find among us many persons lost in some sort of spiritual confusion and many of them have already turned into either atheists or skeptics.
Just to harbour a faith in any so-called theistic notion is obviously an easy task. Sometimes it may be merely an intelligent recognition. But the most difficult venture is to divinize one’s whole being according to the right principles of spiritual science. A true spiritual person should desperately seek to know the ultimate truth of life and set out for the realization of the Supreme as the ultimate destination of his life. The true theistic attitude of a person needs to get fully manifested through his way of life. There could be no doubt about the omni-presence of God, but the question is that whether we are conscious of His presence or not. Unless we have a reasoned faith in His presence, unless we are sincere in our endeavor and unless our convictions are intense and grounded in truth, we cannot say that our theism is genuine and rewarding. The true theism confers on us joy, happiness, satisfaction, fearlessness and other divine powers; a perfect sense to the spiritual dimension of our being. Moreover, it also provides us sustenance, strength, solace and comfort in the moments of great distresses, failures and disappointment, which occur almost to everybody when one struggles to resolve the tangles plaguing one in the course of one’s daily life.
Generally it is believed that to define is to limit, and God being the most mysterious entity it is beyond the human capacity to define Him or fully express Him in any human language. Even the most consistent intelligent speculation or hypothesis may not be in a position to guarantee the realization of God. God can be realized only with the help of True knowledge, True actions and True meditation – the practice of Yoga with total surrender. Hence mere logical propositions or linguistic symbols could not be of much help in this matter. But this does not mean that the existence of God is to be regarded merely based on any sort of speculation. The speculations leading one towards theism should essentially be based on some definite observations, thoughts, logic and wisdom.
In Vedic philosophy, liberation from the worldly or material bondage and realization of the all pervading Divine spirit has been regarded as the ultimate goal of the human efforts. The Vedas proclaim that God is such a reality which can be apprehended and realized in the depth of our inner being. The Vedic wisdom demands that the Reason and Spirituality are to be well coordinated and well integrated. A true religion or philosophy of life must necessarily address these two fundamental aspects: (i) Worldly prosperity aiming for happy today, and (ii) Spiritual progress aiming for the happier tomorrow. Nevertheless, for the second purpose one has to transcend this vast visible and invisible world, this grand and wonderful manifestation of the matter, and reach to the Universal Spirit under whose will and wisdom the creation is made.
The Vedas teach us that the primordial root of all true knowledge, and the objects made known by the true knowledge is the Supreme God. Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883), the founder of the Arya Samaj has rendered a great service to humanity by restating the Vedic concept of God in the nineteenth century. He tried to emphasize that God has a personality but His personality is not physical or human, it is spiritual and divine. He is a spirit of spirit, the Spirit Supreme. Dayananda endeavored to present an image of God which is not only consistent with the philosophy of the Vedas and the spiritual vision of the Vedic seers, but it is also based on analytical reasoning. The hymns of the Vedas unequivocally express the conception of one Supreme Being. The Vedas being the Divine Revelation and the oldest record available with the mankind have universal appeal for the people of all countries and all times. On account of their universal character, the Vedic concept of God also must be secular and acceptable and adoptable as a sure guideline for the all thinking people of the world.
God being the Transcendental Reality, the Innermost and Cosmic Being, any discussion related to Him deserves paramount importance. In Satyarth-Prakash (Light of Truth), the world famous book authored by Dayananda, the concept of Vedic theism has been beautifully described in the most sensible way. Its seventh, eighth and ninth chapters embody a systematic and comprehensive discussion on three highly philosophical topics: God, Creation and Emancipation. The significance of true theism has been explained there in a very straight forward fashion. A careful reading of these three chapters of the Satyarth-Prakash make one fully convinced of the fact that the Vedic concept of God is not a casual creed, rather it is highly comprehensive in its application to human life; and is much subtler and deeper spiritual as well as scientific content than the sects and cults ordinarily known as monotheism and polytheism.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

MEDITATION - SEARCH FOR INNER SELF

Mundakopanishad – Swami Nikhilananda Saraswati 5th April, 2013 – Chinmaya Mission Delhi.

Source:
Two birds on the same Tree 

There are two birds on the same tree. One bird eats fruits and another bird just looks at the other bird, he does not eat fruits. This beautiful picture is of our own personality. Our body is like tree and Jiva is one bird and Ishvara is another bird. In fact there is only one bird but appearing like two, just as when we stand in front of the mirror, we appear like two. One is the real person and another is his image. Jiva has misunderstanding and he considers himself as the doer, performs various types of actions and experiences the different types of fruits of actions. Once in a while, by the grace of God, by the Satsang when Jiva sit silently and looks within, he comes to see that his own higher Self is free from all bondage. His higher Self is supremely peaceful, pure and when he sees his inner Self, he also becomes free from all sorrows and pain. This happens in the state of meditation. 

We have to follow the path shown by the scriptures. First we have to purify our mind, make ourselves fit with proper knowledge and then meditate and recognize our own higher Self. What we think of ourselves now is not the real Self. It is just a false notion created by thoughts and emotions. Jiva is just and image but we have identified with that image so much that we feel we are that image. Through meditation we have to recognize our own real Self. Just like the river dissolves in the ocean, the little self has to dissolve in the higher Self. 

प्रणो ह्येष यः सर्वभूतैर्विभाति विजानन् विद्वान् भवते नातिवादी ।
आत्मक्रीड आत्मरतिः क्रियावा- नेष ब्रह्मविदां वरिष्ठः ॥४॥

All pervading Brahman is indicated here as Prana - life, that resides in all beings. Supreme Reality is not confined to any place but it is all pervading. It is subtler than the subtlest and existing everywhere. Everything is Brahman alone but appearing like something else. Brahman is present everywhere as life, consciousness, existence everywhere. Wise seeker recognises Brahman as his own Self by following the right path shown by teacher. 

Have you seen people under hypnotism? They can do anything that they are told to do when they are hypnotized. They can be told to become a child and cry and they cry like babies. That is the power of our mind. Our mind is very powerful. It makes us experience that which is not real. We experience all sorts of illusions, delusions, confusions because of mind. We have to transcend this power through our Sadhana. We have to overcome this power. Our mind is expression of mighty power of Supreme Reality’s Maya. At the cosmic level Maya is creating illusion of this world and at the individual level same Maya is like our mind creating various types of illusions. We can overcome illusion through Sadhana. We have to surrender to our higher Self in meditation to overcome Maya. We transcend our own mind and come to know ourselves as we are. 

When a wise person comes to know his higher Self, thereafter he becomes silent. The lesser knowledge we have, the more argument we have. We argue with ourselves, with others. It is like a fifth grade child argues with Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein cannot explain theory of relativity to a child completely. He will have to use the language which will be understood by that child. Similarly, there are foolish people who talk too much and argue. When we come to recognize our higher Self, we become silent. There is nothing to say much. Bhagvan Ramana Maharshi used to say that a person, who is diving deep in the well to retrieve some object, should keep his mouth shut once he is in water. If he opens his mouth, he will get drowned. Similarly, one who comes to realize one’s own higher Self, becomes silent. There is no need to argue. Whatever one says, it is okay. Great Masters reveal the secret of Supreme Truth only to a ripe and sincere student otherwise they remain silent.

Someone asked Gautam Buddha, ‘what is the nature of God?’ Gautam Buddha remained silent. 

These great Masters, enlightened beings constantly revel in themselves. They play in their own Self. At the same time they are also very active in expressing their love, sharing knowledge with the world around. Tapovanji Maharaj was active; Pujya Gurudev was also very active in their own ways. Shankaracharyaji was active and was spreading the message to the whole world. At the same time revel in their own Self, which is the Self of all beings. Scriptures say that such Masters are the greatest among the knower of Brahman. 

We gain the theoretical knowledge about Self but only when we meditate, we come to recognize our own Self as we are, directly. It is like food, one can gain lot of knowledge about food through cook-books. All the knowledge of cooking gained from the book is useful when one actually cooks and prepares delicious food shown in the book. Similarly, all the theoretical knowledge given in scriptures about Self should culminate in realizing our own Self through Sadhana. 

सत्येन लभ्यस्तपसा ह्येष आत्मा सम्यग्ज्ञानेन ब्रह्मचर्येण नित्यम् ।
अन्तःशरीरे ज्योतिर्मयो हि शुभ्रो यं पश्यन्ति यतयः क्षीणदोषाः ॥५॥

Four important Sadhana are mentioned here – Satya – truthfulness, Tapas – austerity, Samyak Gyana – proper knowledge, Brahmacharyena – self-control.
Another important word is Nityam – constant practice.

Satya – truthfulness. We have to be truthful at the level of our speech, actions, emotions, thinking, relationships. We have to be truthful at every level. When we are truthful, our body, mind, senses and intellect get integrated. It becomes easy for us to meditate when they are integrated. When we lie, our personality gets split. Mind, senses, intellect are not integrated in a person who does not speak truth. If they are not tuned then it is not possible to proceed in our Sadhana at all. Satya is very important. One should speak the truth, one should speak it pleasantly and one should it for the welfare of everyone. The essence of Dharma is Satya. The essence of Ramayana is ‘Prana Jai Par Vachana Na Jai, Raghukula Rit Sada Chali Ayi.’ Whatever we have spoken, we have to respect our word and follow it. If Satyam goes away from our life then relations get spoiled. If there is no truth in our speech then it loses its power. Our thinking and feelings are useless if there is not reality in it. 

Truthfulness should be followed Nityam – always.

When we meditate, our own mind and intellect guide us. We listen to the instructions of our own intellect when we meditate. We will not listen to the instructions if the intellect is not truthful. 

Atman is my own Self but as though it is lost because of my ignorance and delusion and distractions of mind. It is like a person who has his spects on his head and looking for it everywhere. 

Tapas – various types of austerities are mentioned in our scriptures but the highest austerity is in concentration. Focus, concentration of our mind and intellect on one point is called Tapas. To be able to focus our attention on point is called Tapas. Even when we chant the name of Lord, not only we should chant but our feelings and thoughts are also engaged in chanting Lord’s name. Valmiki Rishi chanted name of Lord Rama intensely and with great focus and concentration, he did not realize that ants made a big anthill around his body. That focus is called Tapas. There is small opening in our heart and we have to enter through that opening through meditation. 

Samyak Gyana – Proper knowledge. We should learn about our own Self and about its nature from the scriptures. Scriptures give us indicators about the Self. They give us proper knowledge and we can gain proper understanding. This is subtle subject and requires thorough study. Shravan – listening, Manana – constantly contemplating and ascertaining about our own Self. It takes long time. Scriptures are like mirror. If we want to see our face, we have to take help of mirror. However good eyes you may have but without mirror you can’t see your face. Proper wisdom helps us to recognize our own Self.

Brahmacharya – Self-control. Brahmacharya is to restrain our senses from over indulgence. 

With this four-fold practice, one will be able to proceed on the path and recognize supreme Self.

Self is seen by those great seekers who put forth efforts in right direction. They come to realize their own Self, which is self-luminous, extremely pure, deep within their own heart. If we follow the four-fold path of Satya, Tapas, Samyak Gyana and Brahmacharya, we will also be able to recognize our own Self deep within the heart.

सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः ।
येनाऽऽक्रमन्त्यृषयो ह्याप्तकामा यत्र तत् सत्यस्य परमं निधानम् ॥६॥

Satyameva Jayate – this is very famous line. Satya alone wins, falsehood does not win. Even when we see falsehood winning, it is winning in the name of Satya. Even when a person lies, he has to say that he is telling the truth. 

Truthfulness is associated with Ahimsa. Patanjali Rishi made it more clear by mentioning Ahimsa before Satyam. Satyam is completely truthful when it is associated with Ahimsa and welfare of everyone. 

We will be able to attain our goal when we walk on this path with truthfulness deeply engraved in our heart. 

This is cosmic law. It may appear that we are getting something out of nothing but we are losing somewhere else. There are no free lunches available in this world. We have to pay for it. Nothing comes free in this world, you have to pay. If gross is not paid for what we take then something subtler is taken away. 

This path towards Supreme is laid down by Satyam. One cannot be a liar, cannot have a disintegrated personality and then follow this path. All other values become fruitful, complete based on Satyam. Goodness, kindness, generosity, service all these values should have truthfulness as the base. Every value becomes valuable when it is based on truthfulness. All good values are derived from ultimate Reality. It is natural that as our mind becomes more Sattvic, good values rise in us. Negative values are seen in a Tamasic mind. 

As we drop Tamoguna and Rajoguna rises then our values become slightly better. As we move towards Sattvaguna, good values start rising more and more. Goodness is the very nature of the Self. Good values come out in its full glory when they are not blocked by Rajoguna and Tamoguna. In the same way, if we proactively, sincerely cultivate good values, we move towards our own Self. 

The great Rishis have walked on this path of truthfulness; they were free of all their desires. Supreme abode of Satya is attained by Rishis who walked on the path of Satya. Following goodness, we attain the abode of goodness, who is God. 

बृहच्च तद् दिव्यमचिन्त्यरूपं सूक्ष्माच्च तत् सूक्ष्मतरं विभाति ।
दूरात् सुदूरे तदिहान्तिके च पश्यन्त्विहैव निहितं गुहायाम् ॥७॥

Supreme Brahman is vast, all pervading. It is divine. Brahman is most difficult to comprehend. Our intellect and mind is so small that it cannot grasp vast Brahman. It is in different dimension altogether. For example, we see a small sapling which will grow into a big tree and bear many fruits. But looking at the sapling you cannot imagine how big it will grow and how many fruits it will bear. We can be the Self but we cannot comprehend Brahman. In the state of meditation, intellect and mind becomes silent and in that silence we come to recognize ourselves as we are. 

Someone ask Ramana Maharshi that I want to know God. Maharshi said, you be still and know that you are God. 

Self is subtler than the subtlest. Shankaracharyaji writes in his commentary that Brahman is subtler than Akash. Space is in everything. But Brhman is there inside space also. It is very subtle but appears like everything. 

For example, ink has tremendous potential. You can write volumes of scriptures with ink. You can crate characters, drama action with the ink but you will not find any character or drama or action in the ink filled in bottle. One ink appears in many different forms. Similarly, one Brahman appears like many. 

Brahman is further than the farthest. Shankaracharaji writes that those who are not qualified and those who have not purified their minds, Brahman is far away for them. It is very difficult for them to attain. Those who are ready and fit, Brahman is nearer than the nearest. It is very close. It is our own Self. There can nothing be closer than our own Self. Everything other than Self is far away. 

Self resides in hearts of all the living beings as their own Self. 

न चक्षुषा गृह्यते नापि वाचा नान्यैर्देवैस्तपसा कर्मण वा ।
ज्ञानप्रसादेन विशुद्धसत्त्वस्ततस्तु तं पश्यते निष्कलं ध्यायमानः ॥८||

We cannot grasp Self with our eyes. One who is seeing through eyes is the Self. We can’t see the Self with eyes. The very fact that we can see, it proves that there is seer. That seer is the Self. Self cannot be described by our speech, it can only be indicated. It cannot be defined. Speech cannot express it. It cannot be grasped by other senses. Just by concentration alone, we cannot recognize the Self. We cannot attain Self by performing different types of actions of the world. 

How can we know the Self?

That Self which is free from all divisions, which is complete, that pure Self one can see, recognize by meditation. But that meditation should be presided by extremely pure chitta. Chitta should be pure by the grace of knowledge. Pure mind means mind that is free from all negative qualities like anger, jealousy, greed, passion. It also means that mind should be absolutely silent but alert and awake.

Mind has different layers. The deepest layer is called Chitta. As the mind starts becoming more and more pure, the purity descends and chitta becomes pure. The topmost layer of mind can become pure through action done with proper attitude. The inner layer is purified with love, Bhakti. Deeper layer is purified with knowledge. Contemplation on the knowledge given in scriptures about Self purifies Chitta at deeper level. 

There is no greater purifier in this world than knowledge. Right understanding of our Self with conviction is the right knowledge. Knowledge should be complete and with conviction. 

For example, before taking up the journey to moon, scientists draw the entire journey on paper clearly and then they put it in action. We can understand the nature of Self by studying the scriptures and we will be convinced about it. The more convinced we are, the mind becomes more pure. 

Mind is impure because it is searching for Self. It is like a child is looking for mother. He gets lost in the party and looks for mother. Then suddenly he notices mother sitting in a corner so he is now convinced. Though he has not reached to his mother but he is convinced that she is there and becomes quiet. 

Similarly, our mind is in search of happiness and peace. We are searching our own Self. Through scriptures we come to know that what we are looking for is within. When mind becomes silent then meditation becomes easy. What we are looking for is HERE. What we are looking for is NOW. Then the mind becomes silent. When I am happy HERE and NOW then nobody can disturb me. Realized Master is happy HERE and NOW. 

Meditation happens in completely pure Chitta and purity comes with grace of 

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Quotes to help us row the boat of our life in the turbulent of River of Time:

Rowing the boat of our life in the River of Time
Marianne Williamson in: A Course in Miracles
Quoted in the film Akeela
*~*
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.
*~*
We ask ourselves:
'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’
Actually, who are you not to be?
*~*
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us.
And when we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, 
our presence automatically liberates others.   
*~*
You are but the product of your thoughts;
What you think, you become.      
yath bhavam tath bhavati
You shall be, what you will to be.
*~*
What is the process?
Start believing in yourself.
A musician must make music,
an artist must paint,
a poet must write;
What you can be, you must be.
*~*
Begin doing what you want to do NOW.
Remember, we are not living in eternity; we have only this moment,
sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake.
*~*
Cultivate the 'Beginner's Mind':
Ask yourself --
How can I be a beginner in each moment --
even in situations where I am doing
what I have done before many times?
*~*
We do not, what we ought,
What we ought not - we do; 
And lean upon the thought that chance will bring us through. 
But our own acts, for good or ill, are mightier power
*~*
The will is free.
Strong is the soul, and wise, and beautiful.
The seeds of god-like power are in us still;
Gods are we, Bards, saints, heroes,if we will !
*~*
The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief
in injustice and tragedy. 
What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, 
The master calls a butterfly.
*~*
No one can make you feel inferior
without your consent.
*~*
The past should be a springboard,
not a hammock.
*~*
In the confrontation
between the stream and the rock,
the stream always wins,
not through strength,
but through perseverance.
*~*
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands.
You seek problems because you need their gifts. 
*~*
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear
--not absence of fear." -- Mark Twain 
*~*
"A man with outward courage may dare to die;
but the one with inward courage dares to live."    --  Lao-tzu