Don’t Be Serious

 

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Don’t Be Serious

Being serious is dangerous business, and we as individuals are conditioned to be serious since our childhood – at least in India our upbringing is like that. I am sure that is the case all over the world – it is all about education, career, success, laurels, achievements and so on – that leaves really little time for fun. Even comic acts are serious business with the artists getting into serious psychological issues! Seriousness has become a way of life for people – the sense of humour seems to have disappeared in most of the people. To lose one’s sense of humour is such a fundamental irreplaceable loss – to lose your sense of humour is to lose your contact with God, as that is our only connection. Seriousness is the greatest barrier between man and God and it has to be dropped!

The problem with seriousness is that it is very paying – all our jobs require us to be serious – it has become our way of living. It makes us very successful in our material life and the more you succeed in the material, the more you fail in the inner; the more respectable you become in the world, the less respectable you find yourself in your own eye.

Only laughter makes a man rich, but the laughter too has to be blissful. Lots of people laugh, even serious ones do – but that is more hysterical and out of a sense of belonging to a certain group, more of peer pressure maybe! How many people laugh from deep within, how many people laugh because their soul is filled with joy and bliss? We have laughter clubs to relieve stress – imagine the stage which we have reached – laughter clubs as therapy, whereas wholesome, soulful laughter should be our very nature!

With meditation comes inner peace, with inner peace a certain innocence comes into our life, and with that innocence we look at the world as it is and learn to enjoy nature without any agenda. When we learn to be one with nature our laughter becomes carefree as we become as free as the birds and sense that freedom deep within.

Whenever you are caught up in a tough situation tell yourself that all this is temporary and will pass by, don’t get caught up in it – sometimes we forget, as our ego takes control and we try to fight it, leading to stress and other problems. At that point just tell yourself, “It’s all right, this too shall pass!” Just face it, and you will realise that the situation is not that complicated – don’t be serious about anything – just have fun!

Always remember that everything happens as per God’s divine will. If we remember this, we won’t be projecting our ego. Most of the time we get caught up in – “I did it! I got it! I lost it! I won it!” For a change try telling yourself, “It’s all God’s fun. I’ll simply do everything as per his will.” Try this for a week and you will feel really light. You will get the light! Then if you like, you can continue. If not, your ego is always there, you can take it back!

Life is a Play

 

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Life is a Play

Generally, we live our lives unconsciously, mechanically and soon we find that boredom sets in as it kind of lacks life and has no real heartbeat or sensitivity. People become walking corpses. Life was never meant to be serious – our ego makes it that way, heavy and weighty!

To transform this so-called life, one needs to fill it with energy and live in the moment with full awareness. Once you learn to do that this life becomes a pilgrimage of consciousness and divine grace envelops it. We can really feel and experience this when we dance to gay abandon in the presence of the Master or just remembering him – and suddenly we feel light, playful, childlike!

It's all a great, divine play and we all have our roles to play in it. Actually, we are not even playing roles, we are just puppets; there is a wire tied to us. That wire is Universal Consciousness and we all have that Consciousness. We think whatever that Consciousness thinks. But when we fail to understand that, when we allow our individual ego to come to the surface, we think that we are doing something. That is our basic ignorance.

Lightness and playfulness are interconnected. A person who is playful will feel a certain lightness of his being ­– this happens when one’s spirit is ego-less. The ego should not be taken lightly – it is too much identification with the roles that we play in our lives, without the understanding that the role is just a human function. Being a parent is a role given to us by existence, being a doctor, CA, lawyer etc is a role given to us by society.

These roles have to be performed in totality to one’s complete satisfaction, but one should get too identified with the roles. The roles keep changing, as all human beings are created by Universal Consciousness to live a multi-dimensional life. To become identified with just one role of life is to limit oneself and become fixated and imprisoned – life has far more to offer! Then we don’t see its vastness and remain confined – this is the real misery which humans face.

One needs to move from this misery to the mystery of life that surrounds us every moment. If you look at the universe and observe – you will se that the universe is not serious or miserable, only man is. Have you seen a serious tree or bird? Or a serious sunrise for that matter? Or a starry, moonlit night? There is beauty in nature and it is singing and dancing in joyous harmony, then why are we so miserable? We should tune in with nature, with existence and then we too will dance in gay abandon, sing in complete joy and celebrate our existence!

The Pure Soul

 

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The Pure Soul

In our body, in the centre of the heart, there is a contact point to the soul. According to the Upanishads the soul is omnipresent – it is the ultimate reality which surrounds everything and is prevalent everywhere – but for the individual the contact point is in the centre of the heart. It is from that point that you are plugged into the ultimate reality.

It is just as if you have fixed an electric light bulb to a very small socket, but it has a large flow of electricity behind it. If you affix a five-watt light bulb you will get light of five watts, if you put a 50-watt light bulb, you will get that much brightness and if you affix 200 watts that is what you will get. The flow of electricity is continuous and perennial and you will get light as per the power of the bulb that you have.

All our souls are the same because we are all connected to the same ultimate power source. The contact point to that reality in us is called the soul. Then according to the capacity of our ‘candle or bulb’ we can take light from that source. An ordinary person will probably get 5 watts of light, a meditator may get 10 watts, a more experienced one 50 watts and so on till one reaches the state of nirvana like the Buddha who would have say 5000 watts from the same ultimate power source. We are all plugged into the same ultimate power source.

For the soul to light up luminously, a degree of purity is required within the individual without which such luminosity is not possible. That purity can only come from meditation and total and unconditional surrender – the purity of a child, the innocence of a child. If you are successful in attaining that level of purity then that great source will manifest through you.

Great souls like Swamiji in the present time have attained that level of purity and that is why we see the great source manifest through him – souls of this level are those whom we call Avatars, tirthankaras, buddhas – then it is not appropriate to call them as just human beings: we need to realise that they have transcended the state of ordinary human beings and have merged with the great source.

The soul itself is pure consciousness and hence it retains its pure conscious state but it doesn’t retain the individual consciousness which is part of the mind. Once that state is achieved then the mind falls apart just like a dream when you wake up. The mental consciousness varies constantly. All your thoughts, ideas, emotions, experiences are stored in the mind and not in the Self.

The soul is a mixture of Self and mind – in other words, the soul is a reflection of the Self in the mind, the mental mirror. Once you raise your consciousness to pure consciousness, the mind does not remain, it evaporates. You attain the state of no mind – pure consciousness – that is when along with the mind, this mental dream goes away and the Pure Soul manifests. 

Universal Consciousness

 

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Universal Consciousness

Those who are following the spiritual path are aware that ultimately, they have to merge with universal consciousness. How that will happen, what is the process, etc. that is a bit vague. We have been taking birth over and over again to escape from the birth-death-rebirth cycle, progressing every birth a bit closer to the ultimate goal – merging with universal consciousness!

Consciousness is the stuff existence is made of. Actually, you could say that consciousness is another name for God – in the Sanatan dharma it is the nirakar or the formless. God or universal consciousness is the source of all existence. Buddha says that existence consists of consciousness. Existence itself is made of consciousness. And existence has always been here, is here and will be here in the future. Isn’t this what Swamiji also says – Paramatma existed before, exists today and will exist tomorrow!

Consciousness itself is the very foundation of the whole existence. Nothing is deeper than that. You cannot go beyond consciousness – you can only merge with it – become one with the mother!

You can experience the source of all by going deeper and deeper into meditation, and you will realise that there is nothing deeper than meditation. You will find that everything comes out of consciousness. As Osho says, even matter is condensed consciousness, in deep sleep - perhaps in a coma. There are degrees of consciousness. Man is the only being whose unconsciousness has allowed a little bit of consciousness to arise and to be awake. This is a slow process – the Satguru or Master awakens the consciousness within you – your soul awakening happens. Then, with your own meditative practice you start unravelling this little bit of consciousness which has arisen within you. The state of unconsciousness of several births starts dissolving, little by little as you slowly move into a state of heightened consciousness, awareness.

Currently, we are just a tenth or less of our whole consciousness. The day it becomes all consciousness and no unconsciousness remains within you, a pure awareness of who you are – from the beginning to the end – you will find that all questions have disappeared, because you are in a state of knowing without questioning.

You are consciousness itself and you know that it is the source of everything. All the souls, ultimately, have to attain the same consciousness. Ultimately everyone goes to the same source. Some go faster, with focus, without looking here and there – they no their destination and reach there too. Others, jump a little here and there, they go astray, but the door is never shut, you can always find your way back. Ultimately, we all merge with Universal Consciousness!

Creating a Spiritual Environment

 

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Creating A Spiritual Environment

For those who are spiritual by nature and follow the spiritual path, it is important to create a spiritual environment because one’s spiritual practice holds a vital place in our life. This practice directs the positive course of our actions and serves as a guide to some of the most important decisions in our life. Even then, despite being spiritual, one does come across obstacles and problems which one must overcome in this journey called life!

While many of these problems are likely to be mental, financial, emotional and spiritual, it isn’t just the aspects of one’s internal life that can impact one’s trajectory. Sometimes the external world will have a negative influence in your life. Hence, to minimize this impact one needs to create an environment around one’s self that serves as a sanctuary, a spiritual hub, and a place of peace that can empower you to thrive. Swamiji mentions that through regular meditation one can create one’s own powerful aura, one’s own peaceful world which you carry wherever you go – a haven of peace around you!

Apart from meditation which helps you obtain peace in your inner world, there are a few things one can do to create that external environment which is conducive to creating that inner peace.

It is difficult to maintain a clean spiritual environment amid chaos. This chaos is a cause for mental stress and it also contributes to your spiritual health. When you declutter the aspects of the mess around you, it gives you space to focus on your esoteric goals.

Spirituality is an important tool in maintaining your sense of wellness, but it can also work the other way around. Maintaining your physical and mental health is extremely important, as your body is the home to your soul. A crumbling house is not good for spiritual health. Your physical health may well impact your mental health and vice versa. This combination of unwellness forms can be instrumental in derailing your spiritual goals. Surrounding yourself with plant life, creating your own home garden helps in creating a beneficial environment.

Speak about spirituality to whoever you think would benefit from this – this not only helps you gain confidence but also sends positive vibes to the recipient. People who come within the aura of spiritual practitioners usually sense peace and love and are always comfortable interacting with such people.

Spirituality should be a positive part of our day-to-day life. Our effort to create a spiritual environment around us, development of a strong aura helps us focus on inspiring others and bring a sense of inner strength and peace to ourself.

You Never Lose by Giving

 

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You Never Lose by Giving

All of us are seekers of the ultimate truth and follow different religions; all religions tell us to give selflessly without any expectation. Nature gives us selflessly – look at the sun, the moon, the stars, the flora and fauna – they just give without expecting anything in return. Once we start giving selflessly, we start becoming one with nature. Once we tune in with nature, we have an inexhaustible supply of consciousness which we keep drawing from the unseen Source of Life – you may call that God, Paramatma, Universal Consciousness or anything you deem fit. You can take all you want and not only will it suffice for you, but the surplus will become instrumental in helping others in need. Your smile will inspire another smile. Your strength will impel another to be strong. A noble soul always draws out the noble quality in others.

Give all you can, but don’t lose your own peace. It’s also all right not to help others if it will help you in preserving your own peace. If you yourself are not at peace, there is no way in which you will be able to help others. It is only when you are at ease and in peace that your help can be useful. Else, you may just end up being harmful in the situation rather than helpful.

Swamiji talks about love being the path to liberation if meditation is not helpful. Love is synonymous with the God within, love is representative of the state of our heart chakra and is one of the paths to liberation of the soul. Love knows true renunciation and sacrifice for the good of others without any consideration. A person who is truthful, leads a life of continence, radiates love to all others for the sake of the God residing within them, and knows only ‘giving’, ‘giving’ and always ‘giving’. We never lose when we give.

When we give love, does the love in our heart diminish? No! In fact, the more we love selflessly, the more love we get in return, thus starting a chain of ongoing, never ending love energy which keeps flowing from within. We should be able to love all beings – both sentient and non-sentient. If one cannot love those that one can see, how do we love ‘God’ whom we cannot see? And if one cannot love the unseen, there is very little chance of the love energy flowing from within us – so, it is best to love ourself first, by doing that we open the floodgates to love others selflessly! 

Just as love is important so is maintaining your own peace. Don’t do anything knowingly that is likely to disturb your peace. There is a joy in thinking of others and helping others first. So, give! By giving you never lose! You will have more peace and joy in doing that!

Give a Helping Hand

 

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Give a Helping Hand

We have all come across situations in life where we find ourselves struggling, but because of our sense of self-respect we never seek help from others. Most of the time we end up blaming or disliking others for the situation that we find ourselves in. There is a very simple rule which Swamiji keeps telling us about, if you feel uncomfortable in the presence of certain people just excuse yourself politely and leave. There is absolutely no need to participate in any discussion which makes you uncomfortable or where you feel negative vibes! Also, be careful not to condemn or bad-mouth persons in that group.

A better way is to find out why you don’t like a particular person – whether you don’t like the person per se, or some habits, the way the person talks or behaves. Once you make this analysis, ask yourself, “Have I too not behaved like this at some point or the other? So, why am I feeling antagonized?” Maybe you have learnt your lesson and moved on, but the other person has not, maybe that behaviour is reminding you of your past behaviour thus subconsciously upsetting you!

Post analysis, once you pinpoint the reason why you get upset, it would be best to let the others too learn from their mistakes and if possible, extend a helping hand. Have compassion and understanding – once you start thinking in this manner, you will stop disliking such people and you may even be able to extend a helping hand! In case you cannot help, then at least allow that person to take his or her own time to learn and grow.

All of us are not at the same level. With meditation, your inner voice gets activated, your aura develops and those people not inimical to you will not even cross your path. With proper understanding of people and their situations there won’t be too much difficulty in liking others. Even now if you dislike someone, means there is room for introspection, to find out what it is within you that is reflecting on the outside world. You will learn that it is your lack of understanding of that person which is making you dislike him/her.

People who do manage to break into your aura for whatever reason, and you sense the dislike, then you need to step back and analyse the reason. That person may be the biggest sinner who has made terrible mistakes in the past, but disliking that person today is also a mistake. People grow by making mistakes, and that’s why we should never hesitate to give more chances to people. Always give a helping hand rather than a condemning one.

Between Two Breaths

 

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Between Two Breaths

It is said that one dies with every breath one takes, you inhale – you live, you exhale – you die; imagine after exhaling you cannot inhale again, means you are dead. Thus, once we realise that we are dying every moment, we begin to watch our breath. Because between the two breaths there is the possibility of ‘the happening’. When you inhale, observe – for that single fraction of a moment, there is no breathing before you exhale – there is a gap – and then you exhale! Then again for a fraction of a moment the breathing stops and the breath comes in.

We need to understand that when we are not breathing, we are ‘dead’, we are still, but dead. But that moment is of such a short duration that we never observe it. When we inhale, we live, when we exhale, we die. The gap between the two is so small, of such a short duration, but with focus, with keen observation you will be able to feel the gap.

Feel the breath going in as it caresses your nostrils, feel it there, then let the breath move in. Move with the breath with complete conscious awareness. You are going in, deep within, down, down, down with the breath, don’t miss the breath. Do not go ahead of the breath, do not fall behind, stay with the breath – by doing so your breath and your consciousness becomes one. The breath goes in – you go in. Once you are able to do this you will be able to observe the gap between the two breaths. It is not easy, it requires sustained sadhana, spiritual practice with meditation. Move in with the breath, then move out with the breath - in-out, in-out.

With this practice you will notice over a period of time that your breathing has visibly slowed down, your monkey mind has become quiet, the gaps between two thoughts is slowly increasing, you feel the stillness, you feel the silence, you feel the peace and quiet.

Initially the silence will trigger a drama within you, because all your hidden desires, anger, negative emotions will suddenly pop up to the surface. Don’t be afraid, this is a cleansing process and takes time and a lot of courage on your part to continue. Just observe these desires, anger, negative emotions and do not become a part of them – witness them, observe them – feel that you are not those desires or emotions, you are just the watcher.

By watching you become the witness, you see it in silence and then when your mind is not reacting, as suddenly as these negative emotions popped up, they will evaporate and disappear. Then you will experience real silence – your mind is quiet, still. When there is silence inside, you will not be compelled to talk, or act. Everything will start flowing through you – whatever you do, you will do spontaneously and not because you are forced by the mind to do it.

What Is Existence?

 

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What Is Existence?

Existence means that which is, whereas God is that which is not. Existence is the reality and God is a creation of the human mind. Those who meditate can learn more deeply about ‘existence’; God is a kind of consolation for those who cannot see their own reality within. The human mind has not created existence and hence it stands alone, whereas the human mind has created hundreds of Gods – each according to his need, each according to his suffering, each according to his expectations.

God is a panacea, a consolation but definitely not a cure. To be in tune with existence is to be healthy and whole – to be in tune with the surroundings, both within and without you. The moment you manage to tune in to existence there is no tension, no worry, but you feel a tremendous peace which surrounds your being, a contentment which you have never dreamt of.

The ultimate truth does not need any remembrance, it has always been there, is there and will be there. The ultimate truth of existence comes to those who meditate regularly – it actually uncovers you from all the lies that we have imbibed and lived (the life of illusion). And through your meditative practice there is a sudden revelation that you are a part of an immense truth called existence!

No temple, mosque or church can make you discover this – you actually don’t need them. All you need is a loving, prayerful heart, a grateful heart – that is your real temple, mosque, church. That will transform your whole life, not only transform, but help you discover not just yourself, but the very depths of this immense existence.

We are similar to the waves of the ocean – just on the surface, while the ocean may be miles deep. A small wave on the top will never know the depth – her own depth, because she is not separate from the ocean. We, like the wave, cling on to our small entity, afraid of dying, afraid of losing herself in the vastness of the ocean, in its infinity! But in reality, the death of the wave is not a death, but the beginning of eternal life.

Meditation is simply the purest way of coming into contact with your existence. Once contact is established, it becomes a merger and a melting – you become existence yourself. You then find yourself in the clouds, in the stars, in the flowers and in the rains. You are everywhere – you are no longer the drop; you have become the ocean.

God Has Given Us Everything

 

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God Has Given Us Everything

A healthy human body, a desire for liberation and a spiritual guide to show you the way – when you have all these three things which is very rare indeed, do not waste them! If you do end up wasting them, God is not going to say, “What are you doing, wake up!” God has already given you all that he possibly could!

Whether we believe in reincarnation or not, it’s a fact and we have not jumped into the human life form directly. We have done a lot of meritorious deeds and gone through the circle of birth, death and re-birth. The soul has been travelling for a long time – the journey from animal to human, human to superhuman – we are almost at the end of our journey. The journey from unconscious to subconscious to conscious to superconscious. The end is now near.

It is said in the Bhagwad Gita that our desires become very strong at the last minute, towards the end of our journey. During our final moments our body, our mind – everything – is very weak and the hidden desires will surface at the last minute. The strongest hidden desire surfaces at the final moment and we leave our body with that desire and everything we worked for is shattered.

Hence, it is very important that we should be very, very careful about what desires we cultivate. We will have lots of petty, minor desires, they don’t matter, but our most prominent and strong desire should be something which is elevating. The desire should be something that will take us to a higher level and not something that will take us in the reverse direction, backward!

So, when we face even the direst situations in life, we should be extremely careful as to how we react. A negative reaction leading to anger, pain, sadness, hate will send us hurtling backwards – acceptance of the situation rationally, without any rancor, facing the situation and moving on, will ensure that we remain on the highest path. Become a witness, watch life as it unfolds, play your role and keep moving on – you are not the doer, you are the soul, you are consciousness – you are just the witness!

Once we realise that we are just a minor cog in God’s universal wheel, once we accept that we see that we are not just the cog, we are the wheel – we become one with universal consciousness – and we realise that God has truly given us everything – inner peace, silence, bliss and joy!

Spiritual Practice – a State of No-mind

 

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Spiritual Practice – a State of No-mind

When you need to achieve or attain anything in life it requires commitment and continuous practice. Spiritual practice or dhyan sadhana by definition means following certain principles for progressing in one’s own individual spiritual journey. To progress spiritually one needs to go through life fulfilling all one’s desires and then achieving a state where no more desires are left. Meditation helps in calming the mind and progressing to a state of no-mind.

Meditation is a state of pure consciousness having absolutely no content. An ordinary person’s consciousness is filled with a lot of rubbish, like a dust covered mirror. The mind is in a constant state of flux, thoughts trying to jump over each other trying to grab your attention, desires have their own momentum and so do your memories – the mind is filled with so much of traffic, it is just like having constant traffic in the mind. Day in and day out – even when asleep the mind is at it – but in the form of dreams. It is thinking, preparing itself for the thought onslaught to take care of the next day’s activities.

This state is the opposite of a meditative state. In meditation, there is no traffic, thinking has ceased, there are no thoughts, no desires disturb you, you are completely silent – that silence is meditation. When you find that silence – that is meditation. A state of no-mind.

Meditation cannot be found through the mind, because the mind will always perpetuate itself. One can find meditation only by putting the mind aside, by being coolly indifferent to it, by not thinking that I am it. Actually, it is the awareness that, “I am not the mind.” When one goes deeper and deeper in one’s inner journey, one finds moments of complete calm, stillness, silence – those moments are meditation. In those still, silent, cam, peaceful moments you will know who you are, you will know the mystery of existence.

Once one tastes those few moments of divine nectar, a great thirst arises within you, to go deeper and deeper and discover more and more of the inner world. And if these few moments are possible, then there is no problem. More and more moments will come, the length of the silence will keep increasing gradually as the mind starts gradually becoming silent for longer periods of time.

As you learn to create a distance between yourself and your own thoughts, meditation will start happening and the more it happens, the more it transforms you. A day comes when meditation becomes your natural state – you become meditation. The silence and peace radiate from your very being as it calms and silences the minds which are around you. 

Cosmic Sound, Vibrations

 

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Cosmic Sound, Vibrations

Science says that sound is modification of electric vibrations; sound is nothing but electricity. The Upanishads say that electricity is nothing but sound modifications. From these two statements one thing is for sure – sound and electricity are convertible. Science says that electricity is basic and the Upanishads say that sound is basic. The difference exists because of the approach. According to the Upanishads one can reach the ultimate reality through sound – the mantra. They used sound to reach sound-lessness. With time, sound is dropped and soundlessness is achieved; ultimately when you reach the bottom, you hear a cosmic sound, a vibration – it is not a thought, it is not a created sound it is a hum – it is in the very nature of existence that it sounds.

The cosmic hum sounds like ‘Aum’. We can chant it loudly and feel its vibrations, we can stand directly beneath a bell in a temple and ring the bell, that sound too is aum and you can feel its reverberations on your crown chakra. We can chant it silently while moving our lips or without moving our lips. If we learn to chant the sound without moving the lips then with time you will find that the sound starts automatically when you sit in silence.

This sound is a secret key – it is the ultimate sound that helps you reach to the ultimate door. Use the sound-key silently in your inner mind, this is a subtle medium which will give finer results. While chanting it in your inner-mind it helps you go deeper and deeper and then it becomes even more real. When it becomes effortless – when it is not with your body, nor with your mind, but when the sound just flows in you – you are very near to your destination.

Now only one thing has to fall away – the person who is feeling this aum. The “I”, the ego, that senses that the sound of ‘aum’ is surrounding it, if you drop that ego, then there is absolutely no barrier. Then the outer self merges with the inner self – there is unity – now you are one with the universal sound, you are the universal sound.

Meditate on this sound regularly – you don’t need to do anything else, just dwell on it, let the sound become you, feel its vibrations within, don’t think about anything at all, just listen to the sound, feel its vibrations, become the sound, become the vibration – you will find yourself in a state of indescribable joy and bliss.

Doing Nothing is Meditation

 

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Doing Nothing is Meditation

The other day Swamiji sent a wonderful audio message explaining meditation in very simple terms. I am sure most of you would have heard it. If not, this is what it says: “My salutations to all pious souls! Today, on the auspicious occasion of Holi we will try to understand what is meditation. I have said this many times even in my discourses that not doing anything itself is meditation. In this manner we see that a leaf keeps flowing along with the flow of the river Ganges. It does not make any efforts of its own, does not try anything by itself, it just remains with the water and in the end it slowly, very slowly merges with the ocean. In this manner, meditation is such a medium with which we have to become one with nature. To become one with nature it is necessary that we do not do anything with our body for some time, don’t do anything with our thoughts, we should not think. Look, nature never thinks, so, we too should not think at all. You introspect and see for how much time you sit in this manner. Examine for yourself and see whether you sit in this manner for at least ten minutes in a day. If you do sit for ten minutes in this manner – that itself is meditation. Meditation is nothing different – becoming one with nature itself is called meditation. So, I think, that which is very simple has been made very difficult by us. Meditation is not difficult, we are difficult. We are so involved in our thoughts, we are so involved with the feeling of doing something, that we also ‘do’ meditation. We do not have to ‘do’ meditation, we have to go into meditation then meditation just happens by itself. Namaskar”.

This message is beautiful in its simplicity. Meditation is a state of no-mind. Meaning we live thoughtless in the moment – that is meditation. For making the mind as calm as the lake’s surface we need to become witnesses – watch our mind all the time. Keep examining and asking ourself during meditation – why have I got this thought, keep trying to find its root. Once you do, you will find out that most thoughts arise either out of desire, fear, expectation, love anger, or some other emotion – and all these emotions are linked to our ego. Once we free ourself from our ego, we will be free of thoughts about the past and the future.

When we are free of our thoughts about the past and the future, we will be truly in the moment – thoughtless and at peace with ourself. Becoming one with ourself is becoming one with nature – it is that oneness which helps us realise that we are nothing but a part of nature, we are nature and nature is us.

Thus, this state of stillness of mind – no-mind – meaning inaction of mind and body, total stillness within and without is meditation. Let us learn to be still both within and without – and attain that state which is called liberation!

Faith Based Confusion

 

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Faith Based Confusion

It is very well known that we assume the language, the religion, the society to which our parents belong – when we are in the womb, we are blissfully unaware of such complicated subjects like our religion or race. It is only after we take birth that these questions start arising as our parents try to teach us about our religion or religious practices.

The topic is complex simply because in my view religion is a deeply personal thing – how can my communion with God have anything to do with anyone, in the same way who am I to question anyone else on his faith and belief. In India unfortunately talking about Hinduism or the Sanatan Dharma is considered to be an attack on secularism and studying about Christianity and Islam in Christian or Islamic schools is considered to be secular. There is so much of animosity against the Sanatan Dharma, which is the oldest surviving ancient culture that the Abrahamic religions probably feel threatened by it.

The child does not ask about God, the child is fed the perceptions about God by his parents, siblings, teachers and so on – an innocent child accepts what is being mentally fed to him as the truth because he implicitly trusts these people. There is no room for doubt in his mind and with time the impressions about God which are fed to him become a part of his personality.

Unless a person has attained self-realisation and then God-realisation he is not knowledgeable to tell anybody about God. He does not have the experience, so whatever he is ‘teaching’ is from book knowledge or from what has been fed to him by his parents and teachers. The modern child would question these theories as so much information is now available on the net.

It will be so much easier to tell the child that I have faith in a Supreme Power but I have no experience of that Power nor have I experienced it. But to say that one needs to be humble – telling your child that you don’t know something is very difficult. The child looks up to you as a source of knowledge and you not knowing the answer is an insult to your ego. But the child keeps questioning and ultimately out of frustration you become angry and hurt the child – so much easier to say, “I don’t know, I will tell you once I find out.”

I feel meditation sets you free – it would be best to teach the child to meditate from an early age so that he/she can find out the truth about God for himself/herself. The sooner the inner journey commences the easier it will be to dispel all the faith-based confusion, specially when each religion claims that their God is the only true God. How can anyone slot God into some category when Supreme Consciousness is all-pervading and experiential, omnipresent and omnipotent? Strange!

Key to all Change - Acceptance

 

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Key to all Change - Acceptance

Many times, when we go through tough and painful situations, we find it hard to accept and even if we feel we have accepted the situation a lingering doubt remains in the mind – have I accepted or am I just consoling myself thinking that I have accepted it!

Consoling comes from the mind, you think that you are consoling yourself, you bring in the consolation. Acceptance is more about understanding your situation. When you understand, there is acceptance and it comes by itself – acceptance is a happening and consolation a doing.

When one is feeling miserable about life, one seeks a way out, and the easiest way is to find some theory to explain it – maybe past life karmas, something with which you try to find shelter. You think that maybe God is putting you in misery so that you can grow to face the challenge. You philosophize, try to find some explanation to rationalize the situation rather than accepting it and moving on.

Acceptance just looks at the miserable situation and the misery it has caused, it does not need an explanation, you just look at the fact and say, “It has happened”. There is no other answer, no explanation needs to be provided. Acceptance is like love – all that is beautiful is always like love. You cannot do anything about love. When it comes, it comes; and when it goes, it goes. Acceptance is like that!

Acceptance is a happening, like love, you are truly in the reality of the moment, you don’t look to the past, you don’t look to the future to find an explanation; you just look at the fact. You simply live the pain, face the miserable situation alone and move on.

When you look for an explanation, you end up telling yourself Jesus says this, Buddha says this and therefore I have to accept it. But this kind of acceptance is not out of your own experience, hence it is false. Only when one goes into the pain of a situation single-handed, alone, facing the situation as it is without any thought looking into it – then that will be acceptance. This will not be a consolation; you will feel great contentment. Suddenly you will realise that you can accept, but there is no cause to it.

When there is acceptance, no confusion would be possible, no worry would arise. Acceptance is the key to all change. Once you accept, you move on. You go with the flow of life – a happening, nothing else. You live that moment, face it and move. You don’t think of ifs and buts; neither do you dwell in the past and try to find excuses, you don’t think of what may or may not happen in the future – it is now, it is done, it is over – you move on. That is acceptance!

The Greatest Challenge

 

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The Greatest Challenge

In life we all love challenges – without challenges life becomes bland, boring, dull. If we really want challenges in life then the road less travelled is the one to choose; if you do this it will make all the difference. Life grows only by choosing challenges. You can walk into a storm, gamble, take risks and you will watch life grow.

In today’s world, I feel the greatest challenge is to walk the straight and narrow path of spirituality. There are so many distractions in the modern world, so many temptations to make you stray from your chosen path, that remaining on the path in spite of all these temptations becomes the greatest challenge.

An average adult’s routine is work through the day, ‘relax’ late into the night watching some form of entertainment on TV, wake up late and rush through the morning formalities before rushing off to office. The lady of the house is far busier, as she has to wake up early to prepare to send of the children and spouse properly fed to school and office. There is hardly any rest for the lady of the house as she goes through her own normal routine of making their house a home – this effort is not recognised nor does she get paid ‘remuneration’ for it. If she gets love, respect and gratitude, that is all the remuneration she needs.

For an average person, to turn spiritual, means turning life upside down, this requires a complete turnaround in the daily routine. I have experienced this turnaround, as all the so-called joys of partying hard, late nights, running after money – all this stopped within a year of starting to meditate under the guidance of a realised Master – my health improved dramatically – and now my day starts at 3am and ends at 10 -10.30pm. There is no loss of energy throughout the day as the mind remains calm, consuming very little energy. The outlook remains rosy and bright and living in the moment becomes normal thus ensuring blissfulness every moment of the day.

We go through a total transformation as our chakras are cleansed and purified, things start happening as per God’s will, as we learn to accept whatever happens in life as what is best for us. We learn that nothing is good or bad – everything just ‘IS’. We become existence and existence becomes us – there is no difference. A feeling of oneness with nature tells you that you have taken on the greatest challenge and come out on top.

Being Grateful

 

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Being Grateful

From the moment you are capable of feeling grateful for both pain and pleasure alike, without any distinction, without making any choice, simply feeling grateful for whatever one is receiving, feeling…..because if God is giving it, he must be having a reason for it. We may or may not like it, but if God is giving it, we have to accept the fact that it is for our own growth!

In nature, both winter and summer are needed for growth. Observe how flora and fauna behave in different seasons – learn from nature. Once we accept the idea on our heart that both winter and summer are needed for growth, then each moment of our life is of gratitude. Let this become both our meditation as well as prayer: Thank God every moment - for laughter, for tears, for everything. Once you do that you will observe a silence arising in your heart, a silence you have not experienced before – this is bliss.

Once you learn to accept life as it happens, desires disappear, tensions disappear, discontent disappears and one starts feeling joyous for no reason at all! When you feel joy because of something, that joy does not last because as soon as the reason ceases to exist, so does the joy! When joy happens without any reason it lasts forever.

On the spiritual path once you learn to accept, your transformation begins. Learning acceptance is a test of passing through fire, you will never be the same again. All that is negative in you gets burnt and you come out afresh with a completely new perspective on life. You learn to accept, you become a witness and just by observing life you will start being filled with gratefulness for the bounty that God has given.

Be grateful to everyone. This is because everyone is creating a space for you to be transformed – even those people who you know are obstructing you, even those whom you think are your enemies. Your friends, your enemies, good people, bad people, favorable circumstances, unfavorable circumstances – together they are creating the formula for your transformation, for your becoming still within your own being. Be grateful to all for their contribution towards your transformation.

When you are meditative, you feel blissful, when you feel compassion, you are ecstatic. In this state, gratitude arises not towards anyone in particular, it simply arises. You feel so grateful for your existence, for your ability to be meditative, to feel compassion – you simply feel grateful. This gratefulness is not towards anybody, it is towards the whole!

Real Friends

 

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Real Friends

One always wonders if their friends will stand by them in times of need! One never asks whether they are real friends with others, but always wonder whether their friends are real. The question you should ask yourself is – Am I a real friend to others? The proverb which defines friends is – a friend in need is a friend indeed. But in this highly competitive modern world it is more like – a friend in need is no friend of mine.

When one is looking for friendship, this comes from a desire deep within which in a way is greedy. That is not friendship, that is not love. You want to use the other person as a means, and no man is a means because every man is an end unto himself. So why are you worried about who is a real friend? The question one should ask – am I friendly to people?

When we make friends, we do so on the basis of trust and the feeling of trust by itself is such a joy and distrust is so painful, that you choose trust over distrust. Friendship is one relationship which is based on only pure love – no friend expects anything from you and neither should you expect anything from a friend – friends are meant to be a means to enjoy life and companionship without any strings attached.

One needs friends because one is afraid of being lonely and thus, one is incapable of being alone. And as long as one needs friends, one cannot become much of a friend, simply because your need makes the other person an object of your need! Only the person who is capable of being comfortable in his own solitude can become a real friend. And that is not his need, it is his joy. It is not his hunger or thirst, but his abundance of love that he wants to share with others.

When such a friendship exists, it is no longer friendship, because it has taken on an entirely new dimension – friendliness. It is now beyond any relationship as all such relations are nothing but bondages, they tie you down with expectations. Friendliness takes place without any conditions, without any expectations, with no desire that something should be returned, not even gratefulness.

This is real friendship – it is based on pure, selfless love; it is not a need, it is not a necessity – it is sheer abundance, ecstasy and joy. The day you befriend yourself, you will have made your first real friend – because unless you truly love yourself, you cannot love others.

Once you accept yourself as a real friend, a revolution takes place. You are now comfortable in your own aloneness and this becomes abundance, a fulfillment, an overflowing of love energy and joy. This overflowing of energy has great meaning, as this love comes straight from your very heart….real friends are just two bodies with one heart!

Living With Gratitude

 

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Living With Gratitude

On the spiritual path expression of gratitude plays a significant role in your inner progress. Being grateful and expressing your gratitude from deep within your heart becomes a celebration.

Be grateful to all – to all those who have helped, to those who have created hindrances, to those who were indifferent – be grateful to all because all together they are creating the environment for you to go deep within, the environment for finding yourself deep within where your transformation takes place.

The greatest gratitude you can show is to your Satguru – how do you express your gratitude to one who knows all – even the deepest secrets lying within you, which you yourself are not aware of. The best thing you can do is become His ambassador, your behaviour, your aura, should be an advertisement for your Satguru. People should say, “If the disciple is so simple and loving, what will be the level of his Master?”

Spread the word of the Master, do His work selflessly – remember ‘you’ are not doing it, but you are just becoming a medium through which the Satguru’s energy does the work. At the end, you suddenly realise how great the work is that you have accomplished, and you realise that you did nothing – things just happened. Again, you feel gratitude towards your Satguru, and your Satguru blesses you very subtly for doing His work!

If you are feeling grateful towards your Master then it is a gratitude of the mind. If you meditate and if you flower in compassion then you will simply feel grateful and not grateful ‘towards’ your Master. This gratefulness which arises in a meditative state is a feeling which is not directed towards anybody in particular, the gratefulness is towards the whole. When your gratitude is directed towards the whole, it actually means that it is expressed indirectly towards your Satguru, simply because he represents the collective whole!

Helping others selflessly is another way to express your gratitude towards your Satguru. If the awakening you have received from your Master is helping you turn blissful, pass on the same to others as a gracious gift. Give it without any feeling of ‘giving’ it, only then is the gift gracious. Give it without any expectation of reward, only then it is gracious. Simply give it for the joy of giving it!

Act With Awareness

 

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Act with Awareness

Right since our birth we are always doing something or the other. For us, our actions become our deeds, in fact it is also said that man is defined by his actions. The question which arises is how is the seed of the action planted! All actions originate in the mind, we first get a thought, it germinates and when the time is right, we act upon it. Many people act under the influence of drugs and alcohol, these people dull their minds to do acts which they otherwise would never dare to perform.

How we behave with others defines our relationships and becomes the foundation of our character. Our thoughts, words and deeds have to be in alignment – most people think one thing, say something else and do something entirely different. Most politicians fall into this category!

Meditation takes us inward and after a point we become watchers, observers, witnesses, we learn to be watchful. Watch every act that we perform, every thought that passes through our mind, our desire that consumes us. Learn to watch even the smallest of gestures – walking, talking, eating, bathing – learn to make everything an opportunity to watch!

As your watching subconsciously becomes more focused, you start seeing things more clearly, clarity improves dramatically. With greater clarity hastiness in action slows down. You become more graceful in your actions. Your mind’s chattering slows down as your watchfulness increases, this happens because the energy that was consumed in chattering is turning and becoming watchfulness. As your watchfulness increases, more energy gets transformed into watchfulness, with that food for the mind, energy for the mind dries up – it does not get nourishment any longer. The thoughts slowly die down, and once the thoughts disappear clarity becomes crystal clear – now your mind has become a mirror. And when one is clear, one is blissful. Confusion is the root cause of misery; blissfulness stands on the foundation of clarity.

Once you learn to act with awareness, once you have known awareness, nothing else is worth it – you have learnt to live with the greatest bliss in life. You suddenly realise that acts don’t mean anything, they don’t matter – what matters is your awareness, your consciousness, your mindfulness – what you do is not the concern. This state will drive away misery forever – you will then be in a perpetual state of bliss.