Girish's Blog

  Perception becomes Reality In relationships with friends and family there are many instances when certain incidents take place and only one side of the story gets narrated. The other person in the situation prefers to keep quiet as narrating the other side of the story could seriously damage long term relationships – whether it is with friends or relatives. This is because the characters in the story are too closely knitted and the whole story has the potential to play spoil sport and damage existing relationships. It is somewhat akin to how the media reports today – it is reporting one side of the story and setting a narrative – and once that narrative is set then changing perceptions is hard work and requires a lot of convincing with proof of the occurrence etc. This is all the more critical when there are small children in the narrative and they get close to one parent/sibling and are invariably influenced by that parent/sibling to such an extent that the mindset gets fixed at...

  Loneliness and Solitude On a cursory look at these words, they may appear to some to be synonyms – but are they? In reality the difference between them is huge like chalk and cheese! Loneliness is something which one feels on losing a friend or on not having any friends or someone to talk to. When one cannot share the ups and downs of life with someone you feel lonely. Loneliness presents itself as the biggest punishment in life. Solitude is when you are happy being alone as you contemplate life and its conundrums in solitary splendor. When one becomes introversive solitude becomes a way of life as you start savouring the silence as you journey inwards. When this starts happening on a regular basis solitude becomes a boon and the one who experiences that silence would never miss it for the world! Invariably loneliness has negative connotations as we can still feel lonely in the presence of people. This feeling of loneliness is marked by a feeling of isolation, of being sepa...

  Life is Rooted in Reality Life is very practical and a practical outlook to life will help you  traverse the various ups and downs comfortably. Life is definitely not rooted or connected to your thoughts and emotions. The moment you start thinking about life in your mind, you start conjuring up images of how life should be for you and for those near and dear to you. This is definitely taught by some for positive outcomes through visualization techniques etc. I personally do not know whether such techniques work or not. Visualisation and positive affirmation have their plus points, I  guess. Such techniques may help in manifesting the outcomes you hope for, but if you totally rely on such techniques without practically working towards achieving those goals – then that is definitely living in a dream world! If you start dreaming and becoming emotional about  perceived outcomes then you are headed for serious trouble. The best way to face life is to live it prac...

  Who We Really Are! How many of us know who we really are? Do we recognise  the good and the bad within us? Are we able to make out the difference between what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad’? There are several such questions which come to mind and for which we need to seek the answers ourselves. Everybody has got both the good and bad senses equally  within themselves – the question is which aspect does one give wind to? If one decides to sit on the boat to a fast life – quick money, quick success, etc. then most likely you will end up taking shortcuts in life. The hurry to reach success invariably sets a person out on the path of doing things which are not considered ‘right’ or ‘good’ in society. In the short run you do find success, but in the long run you end up paying a heavy price in the form of ill health, legal cases, jail even if convicted. Invariably ill-gotten wealth and success come with a very heavy price tag. If one decides to sit on the boat to a steady ...

  Courage and Faith The dictionary definition of courage is the ability to do  something that frightens one, the strength to face pain or grief. We act brave and courageous throughout or life both knowingly and unknowingly. When we face down our fear of people or things, when we say sorry – yes, it requires tremendous courage to own up one’s mistake and say one is truly sorry – the ability to speak up and say what is right, specially to superiors and not be a yes man; the courage to keep quiet and remain silent when the need arises; the courage to recognise and acknowledge the character of other individuals; courage to stand one’s ground and not give in when you know you are right. There are lots of dimensions to courage. Faith is defined as trust or confidence in someone or  something; strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof. We need faith and belief to get through a lot of situations that suddenly crop up in life...

  Focused Will Power Today, in India we are seeing widespread panic with the explosion of the corona virus all over the place with five states -- Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala -- cumulatively accounting for 59% of India's total active cases.  Even though there were warning signs of second wave since at least February this year neither the governments nor the people were doing their bit. The governments did not prepare for the spread and the people were not bothered about the virus roaming around without masks, going to bars, parties etc like we are in a normal situation. Swamiji set a personal example by getting himself vaccinated and asking all the sadhaks to follow government guidelines and take all necessary precautions to keep oneself safe apart from regular meditation with at least three handwritten messages. Such tests are not inflicted on the world by God, but by the unseen   accumulated influence of humanity’s self-created m...

  The Power of Positivity These days when we say, “My result is positive” – it is bad  news, as it implies one has tested positive for the coronavirus and a negative result is considered to be good. The whole world has turned topsy turvy with the corona pandemic! But seriously, when we talk about positivity, we are not talking about the result of some test carried out in a lab. We are talking about the attitude one has in life. How do we think? Are we always positive in our outlook? Or  we are filled with doubt about stuff? What I have observed throughout my life is that being optimistic and always thinking that whatever happens will be good has resulted in less stress in life. Being able to accept any result of any action positively is a quality which will take you far. The idea is that even if something does not happen the way you thought it would, don’t call that a failure, because it always teaches you a lesson which helps you when you try something similar the ne...

  Expression of True Joy Since childhood and as we grow up through the years our  sense of joy changes from the real simple pleasures of childhood innocence into a material sense of joy which is borne out of desires and needs. As children the simplest of things gives us untold joy and we break out in uncontrollable laughter – we have done this ourselves as children and we see it so often in children upto the age of 5 and sometimes till the age of 10 even. As we grow older, we absorb a lot of stuff and especially in  the modern era our joys are driven by our possessions – big house, big car, jewellery, designer clothes, gadgets and what have you. You see someone else’s possession and think you must have that too, and that drives your desire to acquire it whatever the cost. You don’t ‘feel’ joy till you get it. These are the material expressions of joy and happiness which are absolutely short lived! This is because with change in technology with passage of time more and...

  The Nature of One’s Soul Since childhood I was very fond of reading comics, novels and a whole lot of entertaining reading. In the vacations I would join a local library and bring a book home to read. I was kind of greedy and would slip in a commando comic inside my trouser and take one book in hand and register the book in the hand and go. Next day I would return the registered book and quietly slip the comic in the comic section. This went on successfully for a few days and then one day I got a tremendous sensation in the small of my back and a voice kept telling me to put the comic back. But I ignored it!! When I went to register the book in my hand the attendant asked me to raise my shirt and I did so and he removed the comic, accused me of stealing and gave me a tight slap across my face. I had nothing to say, as it would have just made things worse. The reason for telling you this story is that during your youth the soul is very strong and keeps talking to you – we stop l...

  The Divine in One’s Life When we go out in nature, we see the divine all around us – the peace, the calm, the energy which one’s feels quietens our minds, that is nothing but the divine. The hills, the mountains, jungles/forests, river banks, seas, oceans – where there is nothing but calm, silence and complete peace. When we are in such areas our attention automatically starts going within as the thoughts in our minds stop – this is completely natural as there are not thoughts in nature. Nature gives us a pure environment which we just have to absorb quietly. That is one way to come in the presence of the divine – the  other is meditation. Meditation under the guidance of a living  realised Master is the fastest way to self-realisation and the  commencement of one’s inner journey! The habit of being  inwardly in the calm presence of one’s soul – the ‘God’  within, thus keeping that consciousness steadfast day and  night. Being in constant co...

  The River Meets the Ocean Once a seeker embarks on his journey – there is only one dedicated goal and that is liberation. The seeker is looking for that one guide, that one realised Master who will take him home. The Master comes in your life when you have an intense desire to know the ultimate truth – this could be because of the desire awakening in this birth or in the previous birth. There are several seekers who go to the shrine of a saint and seek guidance from the bottom of their heart – when the call to the universe is from so deep within, that is when a realised Master – your liberator comes into your life. For some, it appears that they have no such desire in this birth, but because of their intense penance in previous births, without apparently seeking out the realised Master, the Master seeks such souls out and reminds them of the purpose of their lives. This is exactly what happened to me – I wasn’t looking for liberation or any such thing, I was deeply involved i...

  Second Corona Lockdown  Why do we have a second lockdown Is it because our minds have been locked out Locked out minds of unbalanced politicians Playing games with lives of citizens One year to prepare for second wave Four months prior warning all in vain Some governments just interested in looting The public may land in hospital for all they care What has become of humanity Has it become a victim of power and vanity The virus keeps changing form And we keep running around like nothing is wrong Life has its way of turning around Just have faith and stay at home If you live you win and fight again tomorrow Today is important for staying alive Don’t watch the news or read the news You don’t know what you are watching or reading Is news or something to make you confused. Stay at home and dive inwards And maybe you will find the peace That is needed to survive this scare For scare it is as no virus will dare Break the protection yo...

  Concept of Group Souls I had heard about the concept of group souls from a spiritually advanced couple about eleven years ago. The concept is simple really – when souls take birth, they come with the objective of settling their past birth karmas. The parents you are born to, the relatives you have, the friends and enemies you make is all a part of that karmic evolutionary process. Thus, you find that there are certain people who are a part of your life from beginning to end and some people come and go at intervals or just come and go after a period of time – the permutations could differ. You never know the reason why and the mind tries to rationalize why this or that happened. Anyone who is not on your same evolutionary and spiritual frequency will distance himself from you, while all those who are vibrating at the same frequency as you will come closer to you. All creatures on earth are in reality bundles of energy vibrating at a certain frequency. You can understand this w...

  The Chakra Conundrum There are many people who are not aware of ‘chakras’, which are basically energy centres in the body lying along the spinal cord – medically they are known as glands such as the pituitary, pineal, thyroid, thymus, adrenal, pancreas, etc. Those who are seekers and are meditating regularly, listen to spiritual discourses of realised Masters are aware of the chakras. When we learn about the chakras there is a natural tendency to see or seek means of finding out what is the state of our chakras. Earlier this was not possible, but now with the advance of technology there are several ways in which one can find out about one’s chakras. You can google and learn about this – the objective of this post is not to know about the state of one’s chakras! Swamiji always says in Hindi, “chakra ke chakkar me mat pado” – meaning do not get involved in knowing about your chakras. Now, why does He say that? Suppose you come to know that all your chakras are balanced and you ...

  The Other Person’s Shoe As we go through life, we are always making expert comments on all kinds of situations. We come across people who are sailing through life, who appear happy or sad, who are struggling, who resort to crime or cheating, who work hard for no tangible benefit, etc. and we invariably start making assumptions about such persons! These assumptions are based on our own experience without having a clue as to the other person’s situation. Our subconscious mind is filled with memories which we are not even aware of and when a unique incident takes place in our life, we jump to a conclusion based on what the subconscious mind throws out – the ordinary person is not even aware of the subconscious mind – the thought just pops up in the mind and that then becomes your reality! Any incident that takes place requires three things – yourself, someone else and a set of circumstances which result in some incident. In this we have control only on ourself. We cannot control...

  Does Creativity Exist in Each One of Us? I was always fascinated by the way in which certain people could churn out poems at the drop of a hat. It appeared as if verse was readily flowing from the tip of their tongue! I would sit and think – can I do it? And then one day, while sitting in office suddenly words started churning in my mind and I wrote down my first poem. Thereafter I wrote three more – the words suddenly start churning in your mind and you get the message that – ok, looks like some poem is waiting to burst through. I immediately voice record the flow of words and then replay and pen them down. How does this happen? With the development of the sacral chakra and the Agya chakra your creativity expands along with creative knowledge. Before joining the Samarpan Meditation family writing poems was the last thing on my mind – in fact I always felt that it was way out of my league and I am not cut out for it. With regular meditation and the clearance of the energy c...

  Thought Pollution I am sure you have heard about all kinds of pollution – but thought pollution is most likely to be new for you. Actually, this is the most dangerous kind of pollution, because it pollutes one’s mind. How does this happen? Well, have you observed while travelling in a crowded bus, or waiting at a bus stop, somebody passes by and you get a serious urge to slap that person! This is because that person is generating negative vibes which are emanating from his/her mind. All this happens at a very subtle level. In extremely crowded areas there is no guarantee that thoughts passing through your mind are even your own! You may be thinking along certain lines and suddenly your mind changes track and you start thinking about something else without any rhyme or reason. All this happens because your mind is subconsciously absorbing someone else’s thought waves. This is the danger – because most people think only negative thoughts, of events of the past and how to respon...

  My Health, My Responsibility I have been a sports person right since childhood, going out for an early morning run, soaking in the morning freshness while running. The rush of adrenaline as one gets the second breath and just striding on comfortably while others fell back while trying to catch up used to give me a real high. Through the years I have been running, doing yoga, meditating, eating to live rather than the other way round. Unless we control our own diet and exercise no one can help us. We can hire trainers, join gyms, etc. but at the end of the day unless we ourselves decide to lead a healthy, disciplined life there is no one on earth who can really help us to stay fit. There are so many companies selling diet food, promoting this diet and that diet …. we now have nutritionists telling us what to eat, how to eat while trainers tell us how to exercise, how much to exercise etc. But believe me, in my experience if you follow a healthy regime your own body talks to yo...

  Good and Bad So many things in life are defined in binaries – good-bad, love-hate, like-dislike, light-dark, and so on. Let’s consider good-bad as a binary. We normally understand that whatever is positive, beneficial, healthy, etc as good for us and that which is not is bad for us. Our vision of life normally does not extend too far into the future, so we act in ways that are good for us in the immediate future. Everything we plan and do is for our, our family’s own future benefit. We do this almost every day and then something happens which makes our decision look bad and we start thinking why did we do this. Such is life, it makes man’s decision look silly, whereas just a moment ago we had thought that this was possibly the best decision we had ever taken. If there are other people involved in this then we try and analyse what went wrong, whether it was anything we did, or the circumstances changed or someone came to put a spanner in the works! Whatever it is – our perce...

  The Blame Game I am sure that we have all experienced this at some point in our life. What is the blame game? One becomes part of this when one refuses to take responsibility for one’s actions. The easiest thing in the world is to blame someone else when things go wrong.  The ego plays a central part in this life’s drama as the protagonist refuses to face the facts and accept that he is wrong. This is when he starts looking for excuses and fall guys to transfer the blame to. You will see this happening everyday if you are part of a large organisation or if you observe politics. This blame game is like a game of ping pong! It keeps going on till the topic changes! If one tries to go to the root of the problem then we find out that there is no self-analysis or introspection to find out if one is truly right or not. And if one realises that one is wrong, is one large hearted enough to accept that publicly and say, “Sorry, I was wrong, my bad.” It takes a different kind of p...

  ‘Sadhana’ – my understanding of the word The Hindi word ‘sadhana’ according to the Hindi dictionary means – becoming established, completion, fulfilment of an objective. When we translate Swamiji’s messages we interpret it as ‘spiritual practice’. This spiritual practice could be anything because there are many paths to reach one’s spiritual goal. These paths include dance, playing musical instruments, singing and meditation. In fact, any kind of intensive practice – it could be ballet, dancing on the ice rink, classical singing practice, etc. – all these require devotion of time, a faith in one’s abilities and a confidence that one can do it. We have all heard great classical singers and musicians – their songs and music generate a kind of energy which makes one close one’s eyes and get lost in the ecstasy of that music. We notice that all these performers give years of their life to practice their art before they appear and perform in public – another thing, they always thank...

  Embrace the Darkness Yesterday I had written about being selfish and embracing the darkness. Today, let us see how we can reach the stage of ‘embracing the darkness’. Once we have been blessed with the seed of enlightenment by a Realised Master, it wholly and solely depends on us for watering that seed and making it grow into a strong oak tree. This is a slow process, in the spiritual sphere if things have to happen, they happen in a flash or it just does not happen. There are a few very lucky, pious persons who have reached that stage of ‘seeing the light’ and being enveloped in its bliss. But, for the most of us it is a slow process – what we need is dedication and a firm belief with complete faith that we will reach our ultimate destination – our inner abode. As we start meditating in collectivity and alone for 30 minutes each – as Swamiji says meditate alone to gather speed and meditate in collectivity to obtain control over the speeding vehicle. So, it is essential for u...