Finally, it is

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2010-02-27T09:28:00.002+05:30

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The Journey Towards Self

Ideas To Enlighten

जीवन का सफर

2009-01-08T12:41:00.002+05:30

Pay it forward

2007-12-28T17:31:00.000+05:30

What if a person helps you and doesn't want any help in return ? What if that person asks you not to help him/her but to help three other persons ? What if that person asks you to ask the person you help to help three more persons, to pay it forward ? What if that person is a perfect stranger to you ?

They say we can not change the world. True. We can not. But we can at least try to do whatever we can. The goodness and faith in humans aren't that much rare component I suppose. I remember one poem from Shri Robindranath Tagore’s Stray birds.

"Who is there to take up my duties?" asked the setting sun.

"I shall do what I can, my Master," said the earthen lamp.

Does it seem a nice idea ? Well, only if it can be implemented. Three is just a count. But if we really want, we can go for as big number as possible, or may be we can make it a point to live it throughout our life. But, the work should be something real big. It can be as big as giving a smile in the morning to a stranger who looks sad. It can be as simple as patching up with your best friend or your father, who you know love you very much but because of some incident you stopped talking with. It can be as hard as giving your seat to someone who really needs it in a bus. It can be as weird as sharing a part of your hard-earned money with God’s those sons who require your blessings to survive. It can be as difficult as working honestly in our job without taking bribe, without wasting time. It can be as grand as living a life full of Love, Joy, care, empathy so that each moment of your life can touch many known and unknown persons and take a tiny step in making this world a bit better.

Let’s see how we can do it. Make a wish on this eve of new year. Let us start this small movement of paying the good works forward. Let us touch everybody whom we meet. Remember, no man is an island. The very favor which you started can end up reaching you through unknown ways.

This idea was first created by Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of novel Pay It Forward, which was later on used to make Warner Brothers movie.

Tuesdays with Morrie

2007-11-19T08:48:00.000+05:30

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story of talks about life's essential lessons between a spiritual mentor and his student. One old professor named Morrie is terminally ill and is about to die within 6 months. The story narrates his talks with one of his students about every important aspect of life and death. They generally talk on Tuesdays hence the name of this book. It is heart touching to see how Morrie tackles his ever-growing illness with death approaching near and near and understands life's lessons. It also portraits the author, his love for his old professor and the care he shows to him. And finally we are privy to intimate moments of Morrie's final days as he lies dying from a terminal illness. Even on his deathbed, this twinkling-eyed man manages to teach us all about living wisely and fully.

My friend Lokesh gave me this book. He wrote some of his thoughts about it after reading the book. As always, I was quick to add few points on his points. Here they are.

Lokesh:

I can’t even imagine myself in the same situation as Morrie. If I would have been in the same situation, I think I would have opted for mercy killing. Having said that, I know it is easier said than done and requires a great deal of courage. But may be in that situation, I would have actually got the required strength to make the decision. This is unnecessary pain, both for me and people around me. Moreover, I feel in today’s world no one will be as supportive as presented in the novel. Forget about the family members, you won’t get people even after paying money to do such kind of a job as done by care-takers of Morrie. I can’t live with loosing my self-dignity everyday.

Morrie was shown as a character with great strength and determination. He was facing death everyday but still he was smiling over it. Anyone else (at least me) would have easily gone into depression. But if he was shown having such a great character, his repeated mention of his growing bodily weakness came as a disappointment. The greatest strength would have been shown if he would not mention about it. But again, we humans are not perfect. Forget about Morrie, a normal human being can have moments of weakness. Hats off to Morrie for his great determination and will-power.

Uday:

Sometimes repeated mention of disease can be seen as the reality which the more he repeated, the more he accepted. There was no point of weakness. The time for weakness and strength was already gone. It was the time for acceptance and prayer.

Lokesh:

Also, I feel all the advice and lessons of live given by Morrie are known to even a normal person. But a normal human being is so much entrapped in fight for survival (poor people fighting for basic needs) and world of materialism (next step when your basic needs are fulfilled), that he/she refuses to accept these facts. Everyone gets bouts of these feelings every now and then, but then he/she runs away from it quiet easily.

Uday:

Life’s greatest lessons are all the simplest. It is easy to have information about it. It is another thing to realize it. We all know that we will die one day. But do we really realize what we are talking about? Do we know what it is to die actually? Do we know how well prepared are we for this ultimate fate? The trick here is to die before we actually die and see the truth that there is no death. Only real knowledge will make us wise, not the information.

Lokesh:

I believe, it is not the fault of an individual. It has to do with the way society brings up his next generation. Morrie rightly said, “Make your own culture and give society a damn”. But one in a million has the courage to do it. It is not easy to go against the society, more so when your elders have imbibed in you the importance of following the rules of society and religion. You and I won’t do it. Will you?

Uday:

There should always be a fine balance of what society needs of you and what you need to do for yourself. It is not to tell that you break laws of society or don’t contribute to it, it is just to say that some things are just very personal. And you should be the only one to decide them. People can help in giving advice but in the end, you should take the choice with your conscious thinking.

Lokesh:

There is one sentence mentioned by Morrie.

“People are only mean when they are threatened” and society always threatens them.

Uday:

Well, society means you and me and others. The society had always existed before and that has not stopped people from being kind or so. There is always all type of people in society. You might have few good and few bad experiences. It is actually not the society, but our perception of society and its interpretation in our mind which makes us think that we can survive here only if we become mean. No individual can live one’s life in true sense if one lives only for survival. We are born here not to survive or threaten; we are born to Love, to care, to understand and to share.

Lokesh:

Was Morrie like this before he got diagnosed with this deadly disease? I am saying this because it is more important to learn these lessons when you are in well-being. When a person is fully fit, he gets desires and wishes to fulfill them. Because he knows that he/she can achieve it. At that point of time all these “lessons of life” are easily ignored. Moreover society and family pressures, forces him/her to ignore these lessons. He/she is taught to be mean and selfish, by our society and by our parents. Can’t blame our parents for this because they are also part of the society and moreover they want their children to be successful in life. It’s just that meaning of success is being taken wrongly by them too.

Question above came into picture because some of the sentences in the novel caught my attention. Here are they:

“The day he learned that he was terminally ill was the day he lost interest in his purchasing power”

“You realize that, especially when you are in a time like I am, when you are not doing so well”.

Uday:

Death is the great leveler. When you know that the race is about to be over and I will be leaving it, then you just don’t run like mad man, but try to complete other important things. We all know what other important things in our life are. It is only that we ignore them with clever argument that currently we can’t afford to put our time in those things and there will always be a time when we will do all these. Well, death reminds you that your time is running out and you should start living in your priority. When you have to choose your priority, you will of course choose those which will mean to you more at that time.

It is always important to learn these lessons as early as possible. But everybody might not be as fortunate as him. He required death to teach him all these lessons. Are we also waiting for something or someone to realize these lessons? Or we can learn it right Now?

~ ~ ~

In the end, one of my favorite lines of the book.

“I heard a nice little story the other day,” Morrie says. He closes his eyes for a moment and I wait.

“Okay. The store is about a little wave, bobbling along in the ocean, having a grand old time. He is enjoying the wind and the fresh air – until he notices the other waves in front of him, crashing against the shore.

“My God, this is terrible,” the wave says. “Look what’s going to happen to me!”

“Then along comes another wave. It sees the first wave, looking grim, and it says to him, ‘why do you look so sad?”

“The first wave says, ‘you don’t understand! We are all going to crash! All of us waves are going to be nothing! Isn’t it terrible?”

“The second wave says, ‘No, you don’t understand. You are not a wave; you are part of the ocean.”

Happy reading...

Radha Madhav temple visit in Korea

2007-11-12T07:43:00.000+05:30

Nowadays I hear people say “The time is very bad. When will God send his angels to help us?” Well, all I want to tell them is this: “The angels are waiting for you. Just give them a chance to help you.” Yesterday, I met few of those angels.

It was a cloudy Sunday, a normal fall day in Korea. I had a day off from the office. Fresh from missing Diwali and New Year celebrations, I had no plan for Sunday. Then suddenly I saw one announcement on our kitchen notice board. There is diwali pooja and celebrations in Radha-Madhav temple. All these in Korea!! I was surprised to find that head priest of that temple is a Korean monk who studied Vedas in ISKCON. I wanted to visit the place and join in the kirtan. The place name was of course new for me. The person, who brought this information – Yagna, gave me all the required information to reach there. Still my confused face told him all. It told him that I might not possibly be able to go there on my own. Being working here for more than 1 year, he is half Korean by now. On Saturday evening, I was still thinking to go or not. Just to clear my confusion before night, he called me and told me that he will accompany me till half journey for my mission. I thanked God.

Come Sunday. Normally a lazy day with 12 hours of sleep. Not today. I got ready by 9 and waited for Yagna. He came all the way from his house to my guest house to pick me up and we went to bus stop. Got a bus for Gangnam and then reached the place where temple bus was waiting for me. I was the only passenger!! Well, I thanked Yagna for taking all the pains to guide me till then.

After getting few more passengers, and enjoying beautiful landscapes, we reached at Radha- Madhav temple. Immediately I heard “Hare Krishna” maha-mantra. Absorbing it inside me, I scanned “Bhagvad Gita – As it is” and read few of random verses. And then we started Kirtan. As we all know, everything has one vibration energy and frequency. If any frequency matches to your basic frequency, Resonance happens. The sound is very effective way of getting that energy. Few sound vibrations can awaken your consciousness and dormant energy. “Hare Krishna” Maha-mantra is one of those. Kirtan has always been a very effective way of sadhana in Bhakti-marga.

There was “Bhagvad-Gita verse” discussion on verse 40 of chapter 2.

nehabhikrama-naso ’sti pratyavayo na vidyate
sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat

"In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear."

The speaker told how material success, degrees and money will not be carried over next birth. But higher consciousness, bhakti and knowledge will come with us as chitta from one lifetime to another.

After pooja and bhakti, there is Prasadam. We enjoyed very Satvik prasadam prepared by volunteers. There can never be more joy to eat Prasadam after offering it to Lord.

Return journey was as colorful as our stay there. It became a “Tirth-yatra” bus with chanting and kirtan. Being new to this group, I was asked to introduce myself. I not only introduced myself, but also took that opportunity to sing kirtans of Shri Ram and Krishna. It was a long awaited dream come true. To start kirtan and getting others to join. We found my new devotees as friends.

There was a question about how will I come back. Well, when you are on a mission, the commander takes care of everything. So, Lord arranged a nice person to accompany me till my place. We had lots of discussions and thoughts on various subjects. When I reached at my guest house, I was exhausted because of journey but my mind was escalated. I had lived one day in Krishna consciousness. I pray to God to give me strength for retaining this consciousness.

Hare Krishna…

A chat with a friend

2007-10-03T12:05:00.000+05:30

Sunil:

Tell me one thing. Sometimes it is said that man has no free will. “patta bhi bhagwaan ki icchha se hi hilta hai” . And sometimes it is said that man has free will to choose what he wants to do. How are these two consistent?

Uday:

there is a concept called Scientific circumstances evidences. When a person says I have free will to do what I want, he is saying that his mind/chitta has found some work to be noble (or due to any other motivation) to do it. He is free to put effort in it. But whether the work output will be according to his wish is not decided based on his effort only. There are so many other factors involved in it.

if everything goes according to his wish he declares it as the result of his free will and if not he declares – it is “Hari Icchhaa”.

Scientific circumstances evidence is the sum of all the other factors involved in deciding fruits of any Karma. God's will is a simpler name for it.

Sunil:

Let’s approach it from another angle.

When we see misery in the world, it is said that though we all are god's creations, he does not force our hand, he has given us free will to decide what we would do. this free will then is a self-causal phenomenon, wherein what we do keeps on modifying what our free will is, in this interpretation free will is nothing but manas(mind) doing work according to its vacillations which in turn causes pain.

At the same time to explain the net effect of karma, it is said that the outcome is not in your control. There is God's will at play. How do the two fit?

Uday:

These two fit in perfectly. Our freedom is in putting effort. By thoughts, we get motivation to do Karma. This thought pattern is governed by our Sanskara. These Sanskara is accumulated mind impressions of various births. So finally it all comes to mind. where else did we get motivation for doing any Karma ?

You are free to put efforts in the Karma (work) of your choice. but you don't have control on the fruits of that action.

Sunil:

You are active and inactive at the same time. What you are doing in essence is just affecting you. The feeling that it affects the world is illusory. Herein lies the dynamism. That is why things are always in transit, in motion because the whole process is self-causal. You do actions based on mind; the mind gets modified in the process, changing the very trigger which causes action effect modifies the cause.

Uday:

Yes, this feedback mechanism brings good aspect with it. Mind impressions can get changed due to proper feedback. Pure, unattached work can eventually burn unripe seeds of mind impressions.

Dada Bhagwan has given extensive discourse on Karma. Here are few excerpts from book “Aptavani”.

“human beings act according to their innate nature (prakruti) but merely claim, ‘I am the doer’ and thus exercise their ego. What exactly does one do in all this? What people refer to, as purusharth in this world is really a language of illusion. Things occur and materialize because of your past karmas coming into effect, and to claim ‘I did it’ is subtle pride (gaarva) and egoism. The real purusharth, the true purusharth begins only after one becomes the Purush (Selfrealised). It is only then your belief of ‘I am the doer’ is destroyed. It is the state of absolute ‘non-doer ship’. All that is relative is prakruti and the Purush (the Self) is real. What then is real purusharth? Real purusharth is when You (the Self) remain the knower (gnata) and the seer (drashta) when someone is cutting your hand. Gnankriya (knowing) and darshankriya (seeing) are the only activities of the Self. The Soul does not have any other activities. True purusharth is when the Self remains in the state of the knower and the seer.

You cannot just sit around claiming that everything is destined (prarabdha). If you do, then you become completely idle. The mind will become restless with such a dependency. If this dependency on destiny is correct, then you should not have any worries, but in fact you are the factory of worries. Therefore even that dependency is lame. It is not real. It is not scientific. People in India are miserable and suffer because they have been given the support of such a dependency. That is why their progress is obstructed. My search, over a million life times, has brought me to the scientific fact that both destiny and independent effort are lame supports. The only real support is vyavasthit. What is vyavasthit? It is that which happens only through scientific circumstantial evidences. That is called vyavasthit. The knowledge of vyavasthit renders total satisfaction in every situation. I will give you a simple example. If this glass in your hand begins to slip out of your hand and you make every effort to save it and it still breaks. Who broke the glass? You had no intention of breaking it; on the contrary you made all efforts to save it. Then, did the glass wish to break? No, that cannot be so. No one else was present to break it either, so who broke it? It was Vyavasthit; vyavasthit works under exact principles of natural laws.

The mind is like a rhizome. It is made up of many tubers and is very subtle. When any situation arises, it expresses attachment or abhorrence towards that situation and it remains absorbed in that situation. Because of this, a new causal-mind is created, the effect of which is brought into fruition by vyavasthit (scientific circumstantial evidences), and this effect manifests as ‘effective-mind’. Everyone’s mind is different because his or her causal-mind is different.

Dada bhagwan foundation Link

Ramayana - Yoga Vashishtha and Ahalya Udhdhar

2007-08-02T11:33:00.000+05:30

After the completion of study, Shri Ram returns to Ayodhya with brothers. All mothers are very happy to see their sons being so grown up. The one thing that we notice here is Kaikayi’s love for Ram. She loves Ram as much as her own son – Bharat, may be more than that.

Though Ramayana does not include this part, Yoga-Vashishtha is very important in Shri Ram’s spiritual enlightenment. Shri Ram goes for pilgrimage and gets sahaj vairagya after seeing the apparent reality of the world. This worries his father, King Dasaratha. Sage Vasistha consoles the king by telling him that Ram's vairagya is a sign that he is now ready for spiritual enlightenment. He says that Ram has begun understanding profound spiritual truths, which is the cause of his confusion and he just needs clear guidance. The sage begins the discussion with Ram which is called “Yoga-Vashishtha”. Ram talks about impermanence of all things and shows his disinterest in any Karma. He argues that nothing is permanent and no Karma gives permanent joy. Then why should we do Karma? Guru Vashishtha narrates him various stories and teaches him about science of Karma and more. Yoga Vasistha is considered amongst the most important scripture of the Vedantic philosophy.

Sage Vishwamitra comes to Ayodhya to get the help of Ram for the protection of yagna from demons. King Dasarath reluctantly agrees for that. When Ram is going somewhere, Lakshman can’t stay behind. They have never parted with each-other and he also goes with Ram. The motive behind Vishwamitra’s plan to take Ram was two fold. First, he wanted Ram to come out of Ayodhya and meet common men in their journey. Till now Ram had studied at Guru-ashram and then stayed at Ayodhya’s palace. People really didn’t know him well yet. By going to their place, people got to see virtues and noble character of Ram. Ram was going to be Yuvraj of Ayodhya. He must have jan-mat (people’s consent) for it. This was the first motive.

Second motive was much more important. He knew that there will be “Sita-Swayamvar” at Mithila. Knowing Sita’s virtue and character, he knew that Ram is the only fitting groom for her. So he took Ram with him for this grand purpose. Protecting Yagna was not at all difficult for a Sage like Vishwamitra. If he wanted, he could have done it by himself.

After Ram-Lakshman killed all the demons and successfully protected the Yagna, they got the news about Sita-Swayamvar. Vishwamitra tells Ram that there is a very age old holy Shiv Dhanush at Mithila. They should go there to have darshan of that. They will also take part in Sita-Swayamvara. During the journey, they found Gautam Ashram which was completely deserted. Vishwamitra tells them about story of Gautam muni and Ahalya. As the story says, Indra disguised as Gautam and did adultery with her. Gautam cursed both Indra and Ahalya. Some reference says he cursed her to do Tapas to remove materialistic desires. Some says she was made into a stone. Vishwamitra tells this story and told them that she is waiting for someone. When Ram asked waiting for whose coming? Vishwamitra replied: "One who can uplift the fallen. All know how to judge, blame and punish someone but the redeemer of sin who raises the fallen is rare indeed. Touch of such a great soul's feet redeem all sins". Then Ram touched the stone with his feet and Ahalya got freed.

One may think that Ahalya did not know that it was not Gautam and she should not be blamed for that. However, Gautam muni understood it. Why he cursed Ahalya was because they were living an austere life there. Getting materialistic desires is considered as a setback in their spiritual sadhana. He asked Ahalya to do austere penance in rectitude so that she can come out of her desires. The symbolic meaning of this tale is quite deep.

Indra having adultery with her should not be taken in literal sense. Indra represents our five Indriya and Mind. Here adultery means mind and Indriya took control of Ahalya. When instead of your consciousness your mind runs you, materialistic desires can haunt you anytime. Once our spiritual power becomes weak, any novice sadhak feels the attraction of materialistic pleasures to be greater that spiritual joy. Sadhak gets carried away with it and it requires more sadhana to come back to same stage. Thus, Gautma muni advised her to do more sadhana and went for hermitage.

The symbolic story that she became a stone says that she took all the Indriyas inside her such that she became as inert as a stone. A materialistic mind always reacts. A stable mind watches. A Sthit-pragya Sadhak has all its Indriyas in control of oneself. One can then see how mind plays all the tricks in making you believe all that it wants. Ahalya was doing this sadhana for quite a long time. When Ram comes to meet her, she met them and realized that her penance is completed. She might have had some satsang with Vishwamitra and Ram-Lakshman. Ram was embodiment of love and wisdom. By the touch of him, Ahalya realized that she has become pure now. She then left to meet Gautam Muni.

Ram-Lakshman started for Mithilapuri along with Vishwamitra. Their fame had already reached there. People of Mithila were eager to see the princes who conquered demons and transformed Ahalya from a stone to a woman.

Jay Shri Ram !

[Continued...]

P.S: Watch episode 5 online.

Ramayana

2007-04-05T16:28:00.000+05:30

Ramayana and Mahabharata are heart and soul of India. They are the two pillars of Indian culture. They both are written about Lord’s incarnation on earth. There might be few debates about them being only mythological and not real, but irrespective of that, they have affected people of India beyond any other book, incident, person or time.

I was one of those fortunate who had a chance to see these epics on television in my early childhood. I remember watching Shri Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana when I was in 1st standard and B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharata when I was in 4th standard. Because of this early age, all I could remember of Ramayana was the war between Shri Ram and Ravan. The jazz sounds playing and colorful rays coming out of arrow as it tries to pierce the enemy. Every time one of the two arrows will make other disappear and the warrior whose arrow is gone will get shock of his life!! Joking apart, I was obviously not grown enough to get the main rasa of Ramayana - Bhakti rasa.

Before 2-3 months, I was just searching for Morari Bapu’s online Ram Charit Manas satsang and I suddenly thought: “what if I get Ramayana online”. I just searched on Google and found that!! I was happy beyond words. Next 6 weeks were Ramayana weeks for me. Everyday after 7 P.M I used to watch 2-3 episodes of Ramayana. And I tell you, it was one of my best experiences in life.

Generally, we have a feeling that Mahabharata serial was made better than Ramayana in terms of technicality, content, artists, dialogs, story etc. Ramanand Sagar’s serials lack pace – they are too slow, lack technical superiority – improper dubbing, indoor shootings, primitive graphics etc. However, we must understand that Ramayana was made 3-4 years ahead of Mahabharata and it was the first of its kind so there has to be some limitations. Ramanand Sagar was more of a devotee than a technical director. The lack of pace might actually be intense devotional and pure emotional moments which need more time to get proper justice. Ramayana is obviously based on poem Ramayana by Muni Valmiki but main source is taken from Tulsidasji’s Ram Charit Manas. Ramayana by Valimiki is a neutral person’s account about Shri Ram while Ram Charit Manas is a devotee’s account of his God.

I was also a bit worried about the content. But what I found was pure Joy. Ramayana starts with Tulsidasji writing Ram Charit Manas and then he shows different devotees who has written Ramayana in different religion languages. Then starts the real story. Baal-kand is presented most beautifully. It shows “Thumak Chalat Ramachandra” song which is eternally dear to all Ram Bhaktas. In as early as the 3rd episode when all four brothers are at Guru Vashishtha aashram, Guruji teaches them about meditation, Kundalini, seven spiritual centers, Yoga and Maya. I was literally mad with joy when I saw it. Here are few excerpts of that.

Shri Ram asks Guruji : “what is virtue and what is sin ?”
Guruji replies one of the most simplest but true answer: “To relieve pain of any being, to give happiness and Love, this is virtue and Dharma. And to cause pain to others is sin and against Dharma. Love is virtue and Hatred is sin.

Then Guruji talks about Soul. He says: “what is alive in us is Soul. All individual souls are like atoms of light flowing eternally on the stream of Time. In Truth, each individual soul on this infinite path journeys alone. Ram asks: “Where does it end”? Guruji says: “Soul’s salvation is the end. Man gets salvation when he is free of virtue and sin as both are binding chains. One is of iron and other is of gold. There is a symbolic scene of an energy point going into cluster of energy points and then again departs it, going to unknown.

Ram asks: “But he will act while he lives. The action may be sinful or virtuous. Then how shall he escape this bond of illusion?”

Guruji: “One has to act. But when action is devoid of desires for reward, then the being is freed from results of Karma.

Guru Vashishtha then shows them what is Real and what is Maya. He shows them that Atma is not bound to body and fruits of action and does an experiment with Ram. They both leave their “sthool sharir” and linger on “sukshma sharir”. Guruji says: “See, there is Vashisht who thinks he is a great seer, trying to dominate over his students with his learning. What he is doing is very noble. Still it can induce arrogance and ego. One should be very careful. In Real, we all are equal.

And did I mention the songs? They are just wonderful. Be it the new tune of “ya kundendutushar haar dhavala” or the lorry by Gurumaa while all children are missing their mothers. Mother’s tenderness and care is shown very effectively. There is also a music class song by Gurumaa and Shiva shtotra by students.

This episode was more of Jyana Yoga. But next few episodes are full of Bhakti rasa. I am planning to continue this Ramayana series with many more memorable incidents and divine ecstasy that I found while watching it.

On the eve of Rama-navami and Hanuman Jayanti, this is a humble service on Prabhu's feet from a devotee of Shri Ram.

Jay Shri Ram !

P.S.: Watch Episode 3 on Google video.

A letter to a friend

2006-11-17T15:09:00.000+05:30

Hi Uday,

There is one thing to ask, haunting me for a very long time.

Why there is a great urge of expression and why one feels something more than just a success when you think someone understands you?

The homo sapience sapience is a species evolved with a fundamental tendency of being in a group, which is the main reason for the achieved height of evolution. But at this stage, after 7 thousand years of life in the “designer” environment with an evolving brain, we have far better receptors for Feelings a far better tool box for judgment, and a highest confidence in an individual any species ever had. Then why this?

Reply at your convenience.
Take care.

Dhara
~~~

Hi Dhara,

What a coincidence! Just yesterday I saw a movie and one dialogue will fit in the answer of your question.

Beverly Clark: Do you know why we get married?
Other Person: Passion, I guess.
Beverly Clark: No, it is not passion. It is the need to share our life, to share each of our moments with someone so close to us. We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."

(from movie Shall we dance)

The great urge of expression is nothing but an inherent hard-coded urge to share. Our life gets meaning by sharing it with others. It is not only big things that we want to share, it is also life's small trivial things that by sharing we may make meaningful. The seemingly introvert person might not share one's thoughts or emotions, still one might be sharing one's Soul in unknown ways. Just as someone has said: No man is an island. all of us are connected with unseen threads of divine. Sharing only manifests that connection with others, and with Self. Sharing is the highest expression of deeper Love.

We all have one other basic instinct, to get Love and recognition. When someone knows you, both of you have same vibration frequency, that is to say, you both are on the same plane (of mind and/or beyond mind). Anything that matches our basic frequency creates resonance (remember 11th science?).Actually, this is the best way of finding your soul-mate - the one with whom your basic frequency matches. There is thrill and joy if you can see and touch the hidden treasure that each one of us carries within us. Understanding someone truly is not easy. Understanding self is even harder. Success is a very small word for the feeling that you get when you can achieve it. You feel connected. You feel part of One.

Yes, you were right in saying that during all these years of evolution, we have progressed much, and mostly due to working as a group. Even if there were few bright sparks of humanity who have changed the course of history, it were large groups as an instrument which spread and live their message (Rama,Krishna,Christ,Budhha,Mahavir and others). This "far better receptors for Feelings a far better tool box for judgment, and highest confidence in an individual any species ever had" does not imply that man can stay within himself. If anything, evolution has made him wise and he understands that being in group can help him or restrict him in his way of life, only if he can choose the correct one.

Of course, each individual is unique. Each individual has one personal goal to fulfill during one's stay here. That way one's journey is alone. But, Sharing makes it colorful. There are many hidden works being done through us. Being with God's other children can make us realize that we are also part of all and that we also belong to Him.

Hope this will help you in your search...
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, questions and search...
Thank you for making me realize all these as I wrote it...

Bye,
-Uday

The stories of the wise

2006-09-23T18:06:00.000+05:30

Judging my neighbor

One of the monks of Scete committed a grave error, and the wisest hermit was called upon to judge him.

The hermit refused, but they insisted so much that in the end he agreed to go. He arrived carrying on his back a bucket with holes in it, out of which poured sand.

“I have come to judge my neighbor” – said the hermit to the head of the convent. “My sins are pouring out behind me, like the sand running from this bucket. But since I don’t look back, and pay no attention to my own sins, I was called upon to judge my neighbor!”

The monks called a halt to the punishment immediately.

The way to please the Lord

A novice went to Abbot Macarius seeking advice about the best way to please the Lord.
- Go to the cemetery and insult the dead – said Macarius.
The brother did as he was told. The following day, he returned to Macarius.
- Did they respond? – asked the abbot. The novice said no, they didn’t.
- Then go to them and praise them.

The novice obeyed. That same afternoon, he returned to the abbot, who again wished to know whether the dead had responded.
- No – said the novice.
- In order to please the Lord, behave as they do – said Macarius. - Pay no heed to the insults of men, nor to their praise; in this way, you shall forge your own path.

Choosing One's destiny

“I am willing to give up everything”, said the prince to the master. “Please accept me as your disciple.”

“How does a man choose his path?” asked the master.

“Through sacrifice,” answered the prince. “A path which demands sacrifice, is a true path.”

The master bumped into some shelves. A precious vase fell, and the prince threw himself down in order to grab hold of it. He fell badly and broke his arm, but managed to save the vase.

“What is the greater sacrifice: to watch the vase smash, or break one’s arm in order to save it?” asked the master.

“I do not know,” said the prince.

“Then how can you guide your choice for sacrifice? The true path is chosen by our ability to love it, not to suffer for it.”

Overcoming obstacles

A famous Sufi master was invited to give a course in California. The auditorium was full at 8AM – the time announced – when one of the assistants came onto the stage.

“The master is just waking up. Please be patient.”

Time passed, and people started leaving the room. At midday, the assistant returned to the stage, saying that the master would be starting the lecture the minute he finished talking to a pretty girl he had just met. Most of the remaining audience left.

At 4PM the master appeared – apparently drunk. This time, all but 6 people stormed out.

“I will teach you this,” said the master, ceasing to act drunk. “Whoever wishes to go down a long path, must learn that the first lesson is to overcome early disappointments.”

From - “Warrior of the Light, a www.paulocoelho.com.br publication.”

Going on a voyage…

2006-09-14T18:59:00.000+05:30

It is said that “if you are lonely when you are alone, probably you don’t know yourself properly.” Well, I am going to be alone for almost more than two months at a place far far away from our India and I precisely want to know myself. No, it is not that I am hoping to know my true Self in this period; it is only that I want to continue my quest more intensely during that period for the simple reason that I am going to have only few things to do there. Work, eat, sleep and being content with self.

I have seen in my first trip to South Korea that at times, one tends to loose that enthusiasm of being somewhere at foreign land and starts feeling lonely. One then takes few emotional ups and downs very seriously and demands emotional needs from one’s near ones. Not getting that emotional need can cause serious emotional drama in one’s relations. I only wish to watch these emotions if they arise in me.

One more thing that I observed was that working hard doesn’t harm you, at least mentally. Resisting what is does harm.

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music…

Bye Bye India, Welcome S.Korea…

Our Independence Day

2006-08-15T12:18:00.000+05:30

Today is 15th August, the Independence day of India. I remember how happy I used to be on (and before) this day. We used to go to school for flag hoisting and then there will be some cultural programs. I remember the thrill and tears sprouting in my eyes with pride when I sing “Jan Gan Man”. Then? a patriotic movie on Durdarshan. Most probably Gandhi. I have seen it for number of times and still I want to see it again and again. Though it is quite difficult task to give justice to one person as big as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in a movie of 3 hours, Sir Richard Attenborough has honestly got the real picture out of him. Are you a Gandhi lover or hater? Go, watch the movie.

But today I am not going to write about that movie or anything else. I want to write about the recent incident here at South Korea. (I am here for office work at Samsung Electronics). Today, our Korean counterparts invited us to have lunch with them at some restaurant. Today is a holiday in India and so in Korea. Coincidently, both have their independence day today. India got freedom from British empire on 15th August,1947 and Korea got freedom from Japan on 15th August,1945. One of my managers, Mr. Jaeman Kim asked me about our freedom fight when I told him that today is our Independence Day also. Then, I told him about how English man came to India in early 15th century, how they increased their business in 17th century, How East India Company started ruling part of India and how finally they took over the reins of almost the whole India. He asked me was there any protest or war against them? I told him about 1857 revolt that unfortunately was not successful at the extent it should be. He asked me then you had war with Briton? And I just smiled. I asked him,” Have you ever heard of the name of a gentlemen called Mahatma Gandhi ?”

He suddenly grinned. “Yes”, he said, “Tell me more about him.” Well, those who know me know that there are few topics on which I can talk passionately for hours. And Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is one of them. I told him about how his movement was different than other conventional means of revolt. How he used non-cooperation and non-violence to protest peacefully and with virtue against British Empire. How he united one nation which was previously just a cluster of big-small kingdoms. How he gave new meaning to freedom as a spiritual movement along with our inner being. How he worshiped Truth and saw God as nothing but Truth. I told him few incidents about satyagrahi movement. That satyagrahis will go without any arms to British police. They will hit them like anything. But, no counter attack, not even slight protest!! They will bear it with a lion’s heart and give way to next group. And they just come forward and come forward and come forward…until British police finally had no courage to hit more. This is courage. This was the first time, a person removed fear and installed courage to common men of this country. Though, history will not tell anything, this itself was a very radical shift in terms of perception in the people of India.

He was just bewildered! He told me,” I can not imagine how one can fight with his enemy without any arms and just with non-violence and lots of courage?” He said:” Korea got freedom because after 2nd world war, Japan was defeated and few Korean groups fought with Japan and won freedom for their country. Then he added,” Both Korea and India got freedom at similar time but it is because of Mahatma Gandhi that you have won your freedom with such a peaceful way. We didn’t have any person like Mahatma Gandhi and so we could not have such virtues with us. I just wish we would also have somebody like Gandhi”

I consider this as a very genuine tribute! How true! And at what good time I was a witness of something like this. I just said in my mind: “Now, it is like my country’s Independence day. Happy Independence day, India!”

P.S : For those who consider Gandhian methods as out-dated, they are right. Gandhi means practical solutions. Even he would have not gone with Charakha or some other methods in this age. He would have devised new practical and effective ways to deal with the existing problems. That was Gandhi.

Such ness

2006-06-16T20:11:00.000+05:30

Once, a disciple was bragging about his master to the disciple of another master. He claimed that his teacher was capable of all sorts of magical acts, like writing in the air with a brush, and having the characters appear on a piece of paper hundreds of feet away.

"And what can YOUR master do?" he asked the other disciple.

"My master can also perform amazing feats," the other student replied. "When he sleeps, he sleeps. When he eats, he eats."

~ ~ ~

A student once asked his teacher, "Master, what is enlightenment?"
The master replied, "When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep."

~ ~ ~

“Sitting quiet, doing nothing” is considered as a great virtue in Zen. Zen is a way of life and not solely a state of consciousness. Yielding to the flow of life, with such ness is one of the prime goals of a Zen master. My poem illustrates that theme further.

Such ness

The autumn comes once in a year,
And passes as Nature’s rule per
Leaves fall down just by themselves
While trees meet their very true self

No one calls spring to spring there,
Leaves and trees are silent mere
Sprouting buds do lament not
That world outside is big and hot

Tree asks not leaf particular,
For every leaf is pattern regular
Leaf asks not tree particular,
As every tree is one similar

Leaf does pass its life as leaf,
Tree does pass its life as tree
They see not, if flower is attractive,
To change the role and be reactive

And leaf does grow just old to die
Tree does wonder not how & why
It let autumn do natural magic
To meet itself, beyond any logic

Nature, thus does work as it does,
Nature thus does it as it such
No big rules, no great work, as it
Just being itself, doesn’t do much.

Few more Zen sites are here and here.

“If not NOW, when?

2006-06-07T20:36:00.000+05:30

Once a beggar asked for some help from Yudhishthir. Yudhishthir told him to come on next day. The beggar went away. At the time of this conversation, Bhima was present. He took one big drum and started walking towards city, beating the drum furiously. Yudhishthir was surprised. He asked the reason for this. Bhima told him:” I want to declare that our revered Yudhishthir has won the battle against time (Kaala). You told that beggar to come next day. How do you know that you will be there tomorrow? How do you know that beggar would still be alive tomorrow? Even if, you both are alive, you might not be in a position to give anything. Or, the beggar might not even need anything tomorrow. How did you know that you both can even meet tomorrow? You are the first person in this world who has won the time. I want to tell people of Indraprastha about this. Yudhishthir got the message behind this talk and called that beggar to give the necessary help.

A very powerful question to ask to oneself:

“If not NOW, when?

Karma - The Poet's interpretation

2006-05-13T15:47:00.000+05:30

After writing the post on my interpretation about Jay's poem "Karma", Jay sent me his interpretation about the poem. It is really deep and enlightening. We both found some new ideas from these interpretations. I thought of sharing it with you all.

With the basic truths revealed
Wounds deep within are healed

whenever there is a shift in consciousness, a shift in perception happens. Existence feels simple and clear. Deep wounds in the psyche are effortlessly healed as the unconsciousness that was keeping it alive comes to light.

Bathing silently in effortless grace
the mind is absent without a trace

an expression of how it feels to be conscious without thoughts....

Again it comes with a fiery tale
Fast and strong shots in a hail
Drawn in a second, by tumultuous thoughts,
The existence feels full of knots.

Soon our discovery of "truth" seems doubtful, as the mind comes back with a different force. And it seems all the same again...lack of clarity (a sign of unawareness) returns. What was clear and obvious now seems like a dream as it no longer matches the current experience.

Why? I wondered, did the soothing breeze
Turn to shabby air, full of disease.

This is a basic tendency of the mind to hold on to experiences. Instead of allowing every moment to be as it is, it analyses and labels it. Mind loves to put everything in boxes of concepts and put labels on them. (It feels like knowing everything.... :))

"Karma" I thought, was at work,
My own choices, giving a rebuke.

Here a truth expresses itself through thought. All the mind activity is self created. Either due to wanting something or due to not wanting something. (Rag and Dwesh). At the start of each thought there is a force, the force of ego or unobserved mind. It keeps firing thoughts after thoughts. So that it is never observed. This points to observing the basic force behind thoughts rather then fighting them.

What Now? Is life to be,
By karmic fate or choices free,
Each thought, an endless tree,
Who am I? Amongst thee.

This is the position of someone in the middle......has glimpses of freedom from mind. But is not fully conscious yet. Sometimes observes the thoughts and allows them to pass (and hence dissolve the karma that the thoughts were expressing) and sometimes get identified with them and act them out.

Don't Fight, watch through,
These thoughts are not you,
Let them come and float by,
Floods don't leave marks in the sky

another expression of truth and a powerful feeling of self. Of being untouched like a sky amidst tumults of any order. I picked this from a beautiful verse of Astavakra Gita (forgive if it’s inaccurate):-

Maya Megho Jaganniram
Varshate YathaTatha
Mahakasho Kim Hani
Kim Labham iti Vidhyate

(The clouds of maya now and then showers the rain of the world, what’s the loss to the infinite (Maha Akash, the great sky....the cosmos) and what’s the gain. (Implying there is no loss or gain)

The flute makes beautiful sound
Hollow within, it is never bound,
Infinite blows through, in rhythm divine,
The discords are all, chokes of mine.

Another fundamental lesson is learned. As one begins to be more in this connectedness, he/she feels an unseen force guiding and taking them through the course of events. The discords of life are recognized as endless repeats of the mind's perspectives.

With this all redemption starts,
All the past karma departs,
The Karma passes without repeats,
The witness is, as it is.

Here is the key to freedom. One discovers that mind has many layers. And each layer represents a set of belief systems rooted into the mind without question or analysis. Being conscious of a layer starts to dissolve its belief system. And one feels free and calm.......till the next layer comes through. But as these layers pass, the key is to witness all that happens. Dissolving layers is not something that one does.......it’s not an act or a long path that one has to travel. It can happen in a second or can take years, its independent of the time dimension. As our deeper layers dissolve we feel more connected or aware in our everyday lives.

O Master eternal, my holy shrine,
Please look at me, not thoughts of mine,

this is a prayer to the Guru...........
The way of praying is unique though. The Guru knows who you are beyond thoughts. You don’t need to tell them to look at you and not your thoughts......that’s what you have learned from them. But it is an implicit way of invoking grace so that I may realize it.

Hanging on without support,
Thy eyes are my only hope.

As our deep beliefs dissolve, it sometimes feels empty as mind finds it hard to get things to hold on to. It is not a time when one needs theory, in theory its all clear, but the practical seems difficult. One turns to the Guru to seek existential help.

In your presence, all fades away
No need for a path or a way.
In the light of your effortless grace,
The Karma dissolves, without a trace.

And it does come. In the presence of a Master, everything clears up. we go there seeking for a path to reach somewhere, but discover us sitting at our destination.....all seeking for the right path ends. This is a grace/healing/help that happens in presence of a true Guru. Even without their talking....

"Aap tasali na do, sirf baithe hi raho,
mehefil ka rang badal jayega, murja hua dil bhi savar jayega"

Truly it is the grace of such Masters that we are able to take our baby steps towards awareness.

OM...

Karma - A Poem

2006-05-05T20:33:00.000+05:30

Continuing from my last post, here is a beautiful poem about Karma by my friend Jay Yagnik. I could not resist myself from writing my understanding about his poem and Karma in general. Your views are welcome.

With the basic truths revealed
Wounds deep within are healed
Bathing silently in effortless grace
The mind is absent without a trace

The starting itself teaches us the most important lesson about Karma. Wounds, deep in the mind - the mind impressions (good, bad, right, wrong etc) that we have gathered over time, are healed (getting removed) once the basic truth is found. And what is that basic truth? That all suffering is an illusion, happening in perception only.

Once you get this truth, your journey becomes effortless. Now, you don’t have to do something right. All things that happen through you are RIGHT. When mind participation is zero, the underneath spirit takes over. And it can seldom do wrong as there is no right, no wrong. If we are ready to be healed, the healing is always there to happen.

Again it comes with a fiery tale
Fast and strong shots in a hail
Drawn in a second, by tumultuous thoughts,
The existence feels full of knots.

But wait!! Realization isn’t just getting the truth. It is LIVING that truth to the fullest. Mind, with all its potent, tries to regain the control over us. How? There might still be some mind impressions, some belief that makes us indulge into unconsciousness. There might still be some unconsciousness that makes us indulge into these mind impressions. Whatsoever is first, the cycle continues. We burned all Karma seeds but sowed few new. That change is only that of degree, not of kind.

Why? I wondered, did the soothing breeze
Turn to shabby air, full of disease.
“Karma” I thought, was at work,
My own choices, giving a rebuke.

What Now? Is life to be,
By karmic fate or choices free,
Each thought, an endless tree,
Who am I? Amongst thee.

Here is the first conscious thought after that tumult. Why has everything that looked so peaceful, joyful and simple become sorrowful, painful and complicated? Consciousness is like a light in a darkened room. Darkness is only the absence of light. Darkness ceases when only a tiny light beam comes into existence.

The consciousness reckons it to be the Karma that is at work. But consciousness also reckons that Karma simply doesn’t mean fate which is predefined and unchanged. It reckons Karma as his own choices that he made in past and giving fruits in present. It reckons that all these are in fact, effects, not the cause. The cause lies in his choices. Which choices? His choices to choose some situations, beliefs, ideas, things, persons etc. to build his mind impressions and believing it as who he is.

Don’t Fight, watch through,
These thoughts are not you,
Let them come and float by,
Floods don’t leave marks in the sky

This is one of the basic spiritual understandings. Do not participate in thoughts. Just watch them as they pass by. I recall one nice story about it.

The disciple said to his master: "I have spent most of the day thinking about things I should not be thinking about, desiring things I should not desire and making plans I should not be making."

The master invited the disciple to take a walk with him through the forest behind his house. Along the way, he pointed to a plant, and asked the disciple if he knew its name.

"Belladonna," said the disciple. "It can kill anyone who eats its leaves."

"But it cannot kill anyone who simply observes it," said the master. "Likewise, negative desires can cause no evil if you do not allow yourself to be seduced by them."

~ ~ ~

We often tend to believe that thoughts define us. Even the quote: “I think therefore I am” strengthens that belief. In fact, it is just the opposite.

Thoughts and emotions come and go.
I remain.

The flute makes beautiful sound
Hollow within, it is never bound,
Infinite blows through, in rhythm divine,
The discords are all, chokes of mine.

If we recall the property of any resistor, it does not allow electrons to pass from it. The more hindrance it can produce, the more resistance it has. Similarly, mind impressions are like these resistors. They occupy mind space to hinder any present moment. When any present moment passes by our mind, they reduce it by resisting what is. At the end, what we get is the reduced image of what actually is. A mind, free of such impressions is thus, a conductor of peace and joy.

Such mind simply connects us to the rhythm divine, to the infinite whole. There is no discord, no disagreement. All is one.

With this all redemption starts,
All the past karma departs,
The Karma passes without repeats,
The witness is, as it is.

With such consciousness, the redemption follows. Once all past Karma seeds are burnt, one is called realized. He then no longer produces new Karma seeds as there is no thought of doer ship. All that remains is I, the real I.

O Master eternal, my holy shrine,
Please look at me, not thoughts of mine,
Hanging on without support,
Thy eyes are my only hope.

What a beautiful expression!! Look at me, not thoughts of mine. If only we can look at the person and not to his thoughts, many fights and wars would come to an end. There can be different opinions on thoughts, but no discords in hearts.

In your presence, all fades away
No need for a path or a way.
In the light of your effortless grace,
The Karma dissolves, without a trace.

That presence, consciousness, awareness, alertness, knowledge is what we all are seeking. There is no predefined path for that. Your spiritual journey is the path.

Karma Yogi is the one who is conscious in all his works and peaceful from within and with everybody outside.

Salvation lies within.

The Science of Karma

2006-04-26T18:44:00.000+05:30

In simple terms, Karma is what we do. The concept of doer ship is based on the participation of the doer in the event. When you participate or react fully in the situation, you get good or bad impression of that event. In both cases, your mind builds a picture, an image, a belief based on that event. Your collective behavior pattern is then based on your belief system - what you have built over possibly countless lifecycles. This mind is called biased mind, not a pure one. What we call Sanskara or Basic nature of any person is these impressions in mind. (Though in truth, basic nature of all is Self only.) It is the impressions of our past deeds that decide how we react in present.

The theory of Karma is perfect and works on all. You do well and reap good fruits. You do bad and reap bad fruits. Many people complain that there is no justice in this world as it seems people engaged in good activities are suffering and people engaged in bad activities are enjoying. This however is not the case. We must understand that suffering and joy is seen with reference to mind situation and not to external situations. If a person is doing some work with doer ship, he will bind some good or bad fruits with it. Whatever good or bad fruit he might get, he has increased his bondage by adding more to his mind impressions. The next time any situation arises, he will interpret it from his mind impressions (biased mind) and react. That might add few new impressions. And the cycle continues. Anything that increases your bondage is suffering. Anything that sets you free is joy. In this way, all the works, done with pure consciousness doesn’t reap any fruits - good or bad as you see situation as it is. No distorted interpretations, no identification with previous mind impressions, no reaction. So, no bondage, all joy. Therefore, suffering or joy is not external, it is all internal. Situations don’t define you. Your internal state defines you. No one can tell whether you are suffering or joyful due to any situation. Only you know that because you feel that. There might be a terrible monetary or emotional loss for you. But internally, you are your original calm self. Are you suffering? Not at all. In this regard, good activity is activity done with consciousness and bad activity is activity done with unconsciousness. Conscious people do not suffer because of this.

Now, opposite to that, when people are engaged in unconscious activities, their joyous state doesn’t last long as nothing that is not real lasts long. The seed of ignorance is the cause of suffering. It doesn’t matter when the suffering manifests in your life. It may need some situation to surface. However, your suffering already begins the moment you act unconsciously.

When you suffer, people say “It is because of your past Karma”. Very True!! In past, you have not been so conscious to see the truth behind any event and has formed some impression in your mind (about good, bad, true, false, everything). Now, you interpret present event with this impressions in your mind. If you find it acceptable, you are joyful. If not, you are suffering. Had you not been ignorant in past and known for sure that you suffer only because of your doer ship and only you are at fault if you suffer, you might not have got the pain you get from this event. There is one another concept saying:” You get suffering from somebody because in previous life you have done similar thing to him. You should be happy to know that now the Karmic bondage between both of you is released.” I am not yet very clear about this concept to comment further.

It is said that the fruits of the actions in this life is reaped in the next life. For me, it is not necessary that next life is next incarnation only. We live in present moment. Out next moment is metaphorically our next life only. Therefore, if we are joyful and conscious in this moment, the fruit of that are more joy and consciousness in next moments (life). If we are unconscious and ignorant, the fruit of that action is more unconsciousness in next moments. Consciousness draws more consciousness and ignorance brings more ignorance.

How then one can burn the accumulated Karma? Through consciousness and knowledge. The mind impressions get cleared when the truth is realized. Once you find any such Vritti or Sanskara in you, you practice sincerely to remove that Vritti in the light of consciousness. Once you overcome it, you have burnt the seed of that Karma. Pure knowledge and pure love can do miracles because they can bring forth the true nature of us. And the true nature of all is Self - a blissful, joyous Self, devoid of any suffering. Once the seed of any Karma is burnt, can it again come to you? It can, if you are not conscious enough. But even if it comes again, it would not be very difficult to clear it again because you have now already tasted the nectar of consciousness. However, the more consciousness you have, the more your true Self will shine through you. And the more you feel your true Self, the less you engage in these Vrittis again.

The science of Karma is very simple, yet very complicated. An egoist mind makes it complicated. A pure blissful mind finds it simple. As Bhagvad Gita says:

karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana;
Ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sango 'stv akarmani (2.47)

Your right is to work only, but never with its fruits; let not the fruits of actions be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.

Buddhiyukto jahaateeha ubhe sukrita dushkrite;
Tasmaad yogaaya yujyaswa yogah karmasu kaushalam. (2.50)

Endowed with wisdom (evenness of mind), one casts off in this life both good and evil deeds; therefore, devote yourself to Yoga; Yoga is skill in action.

Three Stories

2006-03-16T18:25:00.000+05:30

Today, I am writing three short stories from book "Stories for parents, children and grandchildren" by Paulo Coelho. Each one brings forth one important message in life. Would be good if we can discuss it.

1. Importance of cat in meditation

A great Zen master, in charge of the monastery of Mayu Kagi, owned a cat, which was the real love of his life. During meditation classes, he always kept the cat by his side, in order to enjoy its company as much as possible.

One morning, the master, who was very old, was found dead, the oldest disciple took his place. In homage to the memory of former teacher, the new master decided to allow the cat to continue attending the classes on Zen Buddhism.

Some disciples from neighborhood monasteries, who traveled widely in the region, discovered that, in one of the temples, a cat took part in the meditations. The story began to spread. Many years passed. The cat died, but the students at the monastery were so used to its presence that they acquired another cat. Meanwhile, the other temples began introducing cats into their meditation classes. They believed that the cat was the one actually responsible for Mayu Kagi’s fame and for the quality of his teaching, forgetting what an excellent teacher the former master had been.

A generation passed, and technical treatises on the importance of cat in meditation began to be published. A university professor developed a thesis, accepted by the academic community, that the cat had the ability to increase human concentration and to eliminate negative energy. And thus, for a century, the cat was considered to be an essential part of the study of Zen meditation in the region.

Then a master arrived who was allergic to cat hair, and he decided to remove the cat from his daily practices with the students. Everyone protested, but the master insisted. Since he was a gifted teacher, the students continued to make progress, despite the cat’s absence.

Gradually, monasteries, always in search of new ideas and weary of having to feed so many cats – began to remove cats from the classroom. Over the next twenty years, revolutionary new theses were written, bearing titles like “the importance of meditation without a cat” or “balancing mediation by power of one’s mind alone and without the aid of animals.”

Another century passed, and the cat vanished completely from meditation ritual in that region. But it took two hundred years for everything to return to normal, and all because, during that time, no one thought to ask why the cat was there.

“How many of us, in our own lives, ever dare to ask: why do I behave in such and such a way? In what we do, how far are we too using futile cats that we do not have the courage to get rid of because we were told that the cats were important in keeping everything running smoothly?”

~ ~ ~

2. How the path was made

One day, a calf needed to cross an area of forest in order to return to its field. Being an irrational animal, it forged a tortuous, curving path, going up hill and down dale.

The following day, a dog passed that way and used the same path to cross the forest. Then it was the turn of a sheep, the leader of a flock, who , seeing the path already opened, led his companions along it.

Later men began to use the path too, they came and went , turning to right and left, having to crouch down and to avoid obstacles, all the while complaining and cursing and quite rightly too. But they did nothing about creating an alternative.

After all this intensive use, the path became a small road along which labored poor, heavily laden animals, obliged to spend three hours which, had they not followed the path forged by the calf, could easily have been covered in thirty minutes.

Many years passed, and the little road became the main street of a town and later the principal avenue of a city. Everyone complained about the traffic, because the road followed the worst possible route.

Throughout all this, the wise old forest laughed to see how blindly men follow the path already made, never asking them if that is indeed the best choice.

~ ~ ~

3. the law and the fruit

Fruit was very scarce in the desert. God summoned one of his prophets and said:
”Each person should be allowed to eat only one piece of fruit a day.”

The custom was obeyed for generations, and the ecology of the area was preserved. Since the uneaten fruit bore seeds, other trees grew up. Soon that whole region became very fertile the envy of the cities.

However, faithful to the order an ancient prophet had passed on to their ancestors, the people continued to eat only one piece of fruit a day. Moreover, they would not allow the inhabitants of other towns to enjoy each year’s abundant crop of fruit. The result: the fruit rotted on the ground.

God summoned a new prophet and said: let them eat as much fruit as they like, and ask them to share out the surplus with their neighbors.

The prophet arrived in the city with this new message, but so deeply rooted was the custom in their hearts and minds that the city’s inhibits stoned him.

As time passed, the young people began t o question this barbarous custom, but since the tradition of the elders were untouchable, they decided instead to abandon their religion. That way they could eat as much fruit as they liked and give the rest to those who needed it.

The only people who still believe in old custom believed themselves to be most holy. In fact they were merely incapable of seeing that the world changes and that we must change with it.

~ ~ ~

Sharing our part

2006-03-06T11:37:00.000+05:30

I got many good comments on my post on charity. Here is the one from Puneet.

You wrote: “Why do we happily give away all for one’s sake? The only answer is Love.” Sadly today it is usually not "LOVE" but prospects of future returns (widespread popularity, favors from other person etc...) that catalyze a person in "daan" of any kind. I guess the number of people who do "gupt daan" isn’t appreciable. So in other words, the basic nature you talk about is perishing faster than you know.

Everyone is driven by one’s nature. We all have basically three vrittis ( Satva, Rajas, Tamas) with varying degree. Depending on the principle vritti, our execution and expression of Karma happens. There are some slokas about charity in bhagvad Gita. Let us ponder on them.

Thus charity should be given to a person who is engaged in God consciousness. (10.5)

According to Vedic literature, it is said that charity should be given to the brahmanas and, the sannyasi - who renounces life. As they are always engaged in higher spiritual service, they have no time to earn their livelihood. The sannyasis beg from door to door, not for money but for missionary purposes. The system is that they go from door to door to awaken the householders from the slumber of ignorance. Because the householders are engaged in family affairs and might forger their actual purpose in life-- awakening their God consciousness--it is the work of the sannyasis to go to the householders and encourage them to be God conscious.

A highly thoughtful system!

The Bhagavan said, "According to the modes of nature acquired by the embodied soul, one's faith can be of three kinds - goodness, passion or ignorance. Now hear about these. (17.2)

According to one's existence under the various modes of nature, one evolves a particular kind of faith. The living being is said to be of a particular faith according to the modes he has acquired. (17.3)

Even food of which all partake is of three kinds, according to the three modes of material nature. The same is true of sacrifices, austerities and charity. Listen and I will tell you of the distinctions of these. (17.7)

That gift, which is given out of duty, at the proper time and place, to a worthy person, and without expectation of return, is considered to be charity in the mode of goodness. (17.20)

In the Vedic literature, charity , given to a person engaged in spiritual activities is recommended. Spiritual perfection of self is always a consideration. Such charities should be given without any longing of return. Charity to the poor should be given out of compassion.

Charity is for the purification of the heart. If charity is given with proper Bhaav, as described, it leads one to advanced spiritual life.

Charity performed with the expectation of some return, or with a desire for results, or in a grudging mood, is said to be charity in the mode of passion. (17.21)

The persons who had Rajas as the principle mode does charity for popularity or some return. Here, the very idea of spiritual gaining by giving charity is lost. The person might gain some material things. It is all one’s choice due to one’s innate tendency and sanskara.

Charity performed at an improper place and time and given to unworthy persons without respect and with contempt is charity in the mode of ignorance. (17.22)

If a person gives charity to a suitable person without respect and without attention, that sort of charity is also said to be in the mode of darkness. Here, you may lighten someone’s (taker’s) life but you may still not gain anything worth.

Though it is always recommended to be in the mode of goodness, people will be in all three modes. And it is still good on the part that needy is getting help. The only person who is not gaining is donor itself. So, something is still better than nothing and even if our initial mode lies in passion or ignorance, we are ultimately purified once the time comes.

Sharing deep insights is relatively easy because when you get deep insights, you also get wisdom to share it. Wealth sharing is expected in physical domain where people might not have such insights.

Sharing is an expression of the oneness of existence. All we can do is to allow it to shine through all the works we do… after all, we do everything to be purified…

Everything in life is a matter of sharing our souls...

Giving that which is to be given…

2006-02-14T16:17:00.000+05:30

Very recently, I read about charity or commonly known as – “Daan”, in one of the columns of Mrs. Sudha Murthy. She quoted one Sanskrit Sloka. The meaning was something like this.

There might be one good speaker among hundreds. There might be one brave among thousands. There might be one wise among hundreds of thousands. But there might or might not be any donor even among thousand of thousands.

Very true!!

What makes charity very rare attribute? There are few interesting aspects of charity. If we go back to our ancient Sanatana Dharma, we find that the idea of charity was among the basics of life. It was one of the sacred duties that a Gruhastha has to perform. Our Sanatana Dharma says:” A Gruhatha should divide the income in four parts. One part should be invested in doing Daan.

In a way, our Sanatana Dharma was based on the principle of equality. Everybody has a right for better living. If somebody has got excess of wealth, it can be shared amongst all that needs it. We have many examples of kings doing farming, earning their bread and administrating the kingdom. Kings took taxes from people and returned it by doing Daan. There was one place (I forgot the name) where it was said that any person will become rich. How? The place had 1 lakh homes. The needy person visits all of them, each giving 1 rupee (or their currency) to the person, and at the end of day, that person would have got 1 lakh rupees!!

It not only helps those who are in need, it also and basically helps the donor. This is the beauty of our culture. From one perspective, it looks like it preaches us to help others. But from a different perspective, it preaches us to help ourselves, and in the meantime, as a by-product of that, help others. Each Karma that one does has the potential to purify oneself regardless of the nature of that Karma.

How does Daan help us?

There are many views. Take the one which suits you!!

1. It is in our nature. It is in our Sanskar. Our culture basically revolves around love and compassion. For all of us, there are few persons in this world for whose sake, we might happily give away all that we have. Then there are few more, for whose sake, we might give away a part of what we have. Why do we happily give away all for one’s sake? The only answer is Love. We feel them to be a part of us and it is this thread of connectedness that lifts us to the higher dimension. When you give Daan, you are creating that thread of connectedness with someone in particular and everybody in general. It is realizing all as a part of you, as a part of whole. This connectedness then sprouts love for everybody. And once you realize that love, there is nothing to be achieved.

2. Shrimad Bhagvad Gita summons one thing universally in it. Non-attachment. Non-attachment towards physical things, relationships, situations and all. To practice non-attachment is one of the toughest tests of life. Sometimes, people confuse themselves by thinking love and responsibility as barriers to non-attachment. They are not.

Practicing non-attachment in our day to day affairs is the best way of achieving not-attachment in life. The attachment towards money and wealth is one of the strongest attachments. Regular charity is one of the essential ways to weaken that attachment.

If we observe our mind patterns closely, we will notice that mind gives pre-programmed response to any situation, based on our belief and previous incidents. Any resistance towards the thought of charity will have its roots somewhere there. Your mind may ask you:

”Why should I give it to somebody?”

“Why can’t somebody else do it?”

“There are so many needy persons. I can’t give them all.”

“I have responsibility for my family.”

All these answers are with us only, if only we dare to find. Once you break this resistance pattern, you will find the change in your perspective about money and your attachment towards it. The first time resistance would be maximum. But you may also observe the attachment patterns. Once you start doing it, it would be easier on the part of your mind to get convinced of what you are doing. Do it once to know why you should do it.

3. We live in society. Our life is shaped by many known and un-known contributions from society. It is our duty to give something back to where all has come from. This is one of the ways by which you show your gratitude towards it. The smile that this act creates on a person’s face is moment of pure joy. Einstein once said: “Everyday I just think of those innumerable hands that has helped me to reach here. I am really indebted to all those who has touched my life in one or other way.”

If you think that you haven’t got much from society, let me tell you my friend. All your best friends, your spouse, your employer, your favorite authors, your favorite singers, your favorite movies and serials, your happy incidents etc. are part of society. You got all of them from society.

I intend to write more on this. Meanwhile, your thoughts are eagerly awaited…

AUM…

Let's Pray...

2006-02-09T10:33:00.000+05:30

Today, I do not intent to write anything myself. Instead, I am just putting these wonderful comments by my anonymous friend. My heart is filled with immense joy after reading this. I bet yours will be.

Thank you friend for answering my prayer...

~ ~ ~

Divine conversations and speechless prayers signify that a connection is happening with deeper realms of consciousness. In that connectedness, some of the most fundamental truths come through. It is accessible to anyone who sees the ego as separate from one's existence.

Many a times when our inner or outer state is devastated, we tend to hide things in prayer. Instead of reporting exactly our inner state we try to patch up, or ask for removing it, or get a subtle ego of being able to bear the suffering. The moment we expose our inner state to the infinite without any judgments, a loving embrace transmutes the suffering into peace and a subtle feeling of joy.

Faith dawns when we know our surrendered ness. It’s only our feeling of insecurity and uncertainty that keeps us away from faith. With prayer they start to fade away.

Surrendered prayer ends into meditation. It is said that we should pray before starting meditation.

I should clarify here that my personal experience is quite limited. But an intuitive guidence in us says yes when we listen to such truths.

Praying our heart out...

2006-02-03T17:52:00.000+05:30

I got one good response for my last post on prayer. The writer specified many points on prayer. He asked me to write my views on that. Here is the post with italics showing his/her views.

I have read some more thoughts on prayer, would be great if you can elaborate on it:-

- Many a times it turns into conversations.

Conversation with God or conversation with the deeper part of your Self. Here, you only say and you only listen, but the source of these words is the intelligence vast, beyond thoughts and mind. It is the connectedness with whole.

- Many a times it happens without words.

Words are just external manifestation of your inner feelings. You need not say peace to be in peace. Same way, you need not say words while praying. We use words only to mould our prayer. When Spirit reaches high, words fade away. When there are no words in prayer, it just becomes Samadhi itself.

Praying is surrendering yourself to NOW. That can be felt actually even by being totally silent. No words, no thoughts, no emotions!! Only peace. What a prayer!

- Prayers should be honest, and hide nothing. at times our own deeper thoughts and intents which we don’t realize are there get expressed in it.

If it is not honest, it is not prayer. If you hide something, it is not prayer. As simple as that! Prayer is having conversation with your deeper part of self. Sometimes, we get what we don’t realize before. But many a times, we become prepared to acknowledge what we are able to realize long before but unable to accept it. And as I said earlier, you are ready for prayer means you are ready to accept those things. And once you accept them, it’s a miracle! They no longer trouble you the way they were. That is, you surrender yourself to NOW and stop producing negativity. Love, hope, faith and peace then follow naturally.

- Words in the prayer should be our own.

I will put it in another way. You can’t pray with anything that is not your own! Words can be same but certainly the emotion and intensity should be yours only. If you can realize that with someone’s words, no problem. But if not, then those words are of no use. Moral of the story? Do it sincerely.

- It gives a certain feeling of connectedness, of a deep peace which situations can’t explain.

Certainly. Experience it.

A story I heard on assurance that prayer gives:-

A Rajput's son got married. After the marriage they had to cross the river to get back home. On the way there was a storm. The ship started to fumble. Everyone was afraid and started to panic the bride also got frightened, but when she looked at her husband, he was calm and peaceful.

She asked him, "Why are you so calm when death is so near us?"

He pulled out his sword and put it on the bride's neck and asked her, "Are you frightened of this sword?"

She said "why should I be? It’s my soul mate’s sword"

He said "in the same way, why should I be when this storm is my soul mate’s sword. He knows what is best for me. If it is best for me to live, the body shall survive, if my progress might be better with a new one, then this will perish.

Yes, this story really points out where faith can lead us to? But of course, this faith can only be the result of countless prayers.

Thank you, Mr./Ms/Mrs anonymous for your post. I am praying for some more thoughtful inputs.

AUM…

The importance of prayer

2006-01-19T16:19:00.000+05:30

It is what we are taught from our childhood. It is what we have been doing since our childhood. And wondering, what actually is prayer ? Is there any logic behind it ? how does it work?

Well, in truth, the prayer is not for God. It is for us. When we pray, the first transformation happens is inside. Our clots of ego start getting broken because prayer brings hope, faith and in turn peace with it. Without them, it is everything but prayer. And with hope, faith and peace, you again make genuine effort to understand God’s plan and your role in it.

Does God answer our prayer?

Yes, if we are able to break our ego patterns and bring forth hope, faith and peace, we are succeed and our prayer is answered.

No, if we still want to carry same shattered mind frame, and wait for some magic to change our physical and mind situation without making effort our self, we are failed and our prayer is not answered.

Most of the time, it is not only the prayer itself, but the path towards prayer is also very important. If you start to pray, it means you were able to convince your ever-logical mind that you are ready for prayer, half the work is done. It is like convincing yourself that you are ready for getting healed, getting blessed and getting connected. That conviction is very important. People sometimes are just unable of convincing themselves about the importance of prayer and thus never do one. The remaining part is relatively simple. You genuinely urge God to give you enough strength to make you succeed. Your object of prayer may be anything, as far as you are ready to work for it. If you, however, want some magic to happen and get your work done, the chances are high that you will be disappointed. It is very important to understand that the reward of your prayer, if you want any, is nothing but the hope, faith and peace of mind that you achieve by praying. And Alas ! What a great reward it is !! There can never be any better rewards than this.

We learn to pray in course. Our prayers keep changing. I remember one nice story about prayer.

Once, few devotees asked master. “All these years, we have watched you praying. What do you talk to God about ? What are the important things we should be praying for ?”

The master smiled.

“in the beginning, I had the fervor of youth, which believes in the impossible. In those days, I used to kneel before God and ask him to give me the strength to change humankind. Gradually, I came to see that the task was beyond me. Then I started praying to God to help me change the world around me.”

“Well, we can certainly vouch for the fact that part of your wish was granted,” said one of his devotees. “for you have helped many people by your example.”

“Yes, I have helped many people by my example, and yet I knew that I had not yet found the perfect prayer. Only now, at the end of my life, have I come to understand what I should have been praying for from the start.”

“And what is that?”

“To be given the ability to change myself.”

By praying, we come close to ourself and thus, in turn come close to God within us.
May God bless us all...

The essence of forgiveness

2006-01-02T15:37:00.000+05:30

One of Napoleon's soldiers committed a crime - the story does not explain what exactly - and he was condemned to death.
On the evening before he was due to be shot, the soldier's mother came to plead for her son's life to be spared.
'Madam, your son's action does not deserve clemency.'
'I know,' said the mother."If it did, then it would have been reason and justice , not true forgiveness. To forgive is the ability to go beyond vengeance or justice.'
When he heard those words, Napoleon commuted the death sentence to exile.

How many of us really forgive others and self ? We forgive , iff we believe that it was the action to be pardoned. We do not forgive if we think that the action can not be pardoned in any case. Well, in truth, we just judge. We never forgive.

Judgement is the vehicle of reason and not of compassion. One can go on judging others and self, but will never know nature of true forgiveness. Because to forgive is to look beyond reason. It is that deep sense of connectedness with all , that brings in compassion to forgive all for no reason. There are enough reasons for judgement , but only one to forgive. You forgive - to be your self.

Let the Lord grant us nature of true forgiveness so that we all are purified.
Amen...

Where God lives ?

2005-12-23T16:43:00.000+05:30

When the master was studying the tradition of his people, one of his friends said jockingly.
"I will give you one rupee if you can tell me where God lives."
"I will give you two rupees if you can tell me where He doesn't live." replied the master.

Maktub - It is written

2005-12-22T11:58:00.000+05:30

When I wrote in my second post "It is only to make me remember how dreadful it is to lose your peace of mind." , I had a specific reading in my mind. It was from a book called Maktub by Paulo Coelho. You can download the book from the link. It is a beautiful book of short spiritual stories. Each one is very simple yet very effective. Here is the one that inspired me...

During the period when the wanderer was practicing Zen meditation, his master, one day went to one corner of the dojo (the site where his disciples congregated), and returned with a bamboo switch. Some of his students -- those who had not been able to concentrate well -- raised their hand. The master approached each of them and delivered three blows with the switch on each shoulder. When he saw this for the first time, the wanderer regarded it as medieval and absurd. Later, he understood that it is often necessary to transfer spiritual pain to the physical plane in order to perceive the evil that it creates.

On the road to Santiago, he had learned an exercise that involved the digging of the nail of his index finger into the skin of his thumb whenever he had thoughts that were critical of himself. The terrible consequences of negative thoughts are perceived only much later. But by allowing such thoughts to manifest themselves as physical pain, we are able to understand the damage they cause. And then we are able to banish them.

Happy reading...

- Uday

Pain Pain , What is your gain ?

2005-12-21T15:24:00.000+05:30

Recently, I got one dental surgery to remove two of my wisdom teeth. The first one was easy to remove but second one took more time and effort. They had given local anesthesia but it still gave great pain. (The applied location for local anesthesia is very important. If it is altered a bit, anesthetic effect becomes less). In fact, it was the worst pain I had ever felt. I was literally praying for the surgery to get completed soon. After the operation, I was little irritated and negative. Then I thought: let me know this pain…

Lord Buddha gave four noble truths to this world.

There is suffering
There is cause (origin) of suffering
There is the end of suffering
It is the Noble Eightfold Path, that is to say: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration , to end the suffering.

Suffering or pain plays very important role in one’s life.
What is pain ? Pain is an energy entrapped within which if not treated properly can harm the bearer. Every pain has the potential to transform the person carrying it. But how to transform ?

First and foremost thing is to be aware that there is pain. Sometimes, we are not even aware that we are in pain. When we feel it, look close about its origin. Don’t look at outside. Look inside. How it was created ? Who created it ? If somebody created it, it can not be my pain. Only I can create my pain. This is the first understanding.

When you become enough aware to find out the cause of pain, your horizon expands. Now, that you know the cause, know also that it can be ended by non other than you.

First, don’t let pain energy convert into negative energy. Most of the times, it is the case. We unconsciously become negative, frustrated, irritated with pain and tend to transmit this negativity to others. This can be avoided. Having moments of peace in spite of the pain is a great transformer because such time usually subsides the ego at least momentarily. Here, you resolve your pain energy into the expansion of your peace. You are in pain, but that is no longer a sufficient reason to loose your peace!! In fact, no reason is.

As jay says:

"A sleeping person is more likely to notice someone pinching him/her rather than vague noises in the room. Situations being perceived as problems indicate sleep.

The victory of the inner battle is to understand that it is pointless and that it’s the mind fighting from both sides. You are not even there. If we strip the situation of its specifics, it is just a collection of mind impulses. If we are not aware of how they operate, then we just give a programmed response (e.g. getting angry or irritated if our (mind's) needs are not met.)

if we can become aware, its a chance to explore a new dimension........a dimension free of mind's preconditioning.......a real beginning of choices.....

So it is not so crucial how a situation ends, but it is crucial how we are at the end of it.

After all, Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional."

So, what is your perspective of pain ?

- Uday

Some thoughts on "Right, Wrong or Peaceful ?"

2005-12-19T09:44:00.000+05:30

I was expecting some good thoughts after posting my last post. And I was not disappointed. Here is a thought of Puneet.

"The flipside to notice here is if they had accepted your documents after you got angry, would you still be writing this blog the way you have written, would you still be wondering about peace of mind.

Sometimes a situation like this makes us think about peace and personal benefit rather than monetary but if you change a few parameters in the entire situation, you don't know if you would have thought and felt the same.

In your own words "Things are the way they are if you understand(accept) them. Things are the way they are even if you don't understand(accept) them""

A very accurate observation ! yes, I might have not got these thoughts had they accepted my documents. That is why it is said, each incident offers you one opportunity to improve yourself. Sometimes, we need harder ones to give us the wisdom we seek. Somebody had said :" No pain, no gain". I may put it in these words: "There is no such thing as problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts" (from Illusions - Richard Bach)

Hope, we all can reach at the stage where, we don't need any particular event to understand the truth lying beneath...

- Uday

Right , Wrong or Peaceful ?

2005-12-16T11:04:00.000+05:30

Recently, I faced one difficult test. The story goes like this.

In my company, salary includes one component called FBP (Flexible Benefit Plan) in which we need to provide bill receipt to claim the reimbursements. I declared my FBP with telephone bills. After 2 days, my company got converted into public limited. so they asked all to fill FBP in four days to claim the reimbursement. After that, they were not going to process it. Now, before one day of deadline, I got my application back, because I had attached wrong form (my form carried more and all details than the asked form.) I filled that form and sent it back. After four days, it came back again asking to submit original bills ASAP , as receipts were not accepted. The mail came late on friday (6:13 PM to be exact) . I sent bills on monday. Didn't get any reply. So thought everything is fine. Then, on next friday, I got my FBP. Telephone reimbursement ? 0.

Why ? I asked. They said I didn't submit my bills on or before sunday. I said I never knew that sunday was the last date. You asked me to submit it ASAP so I sent it on next working day. They said they could have considered it even on monday. I said I have sent it on monday only. They didn't get any !! Or they lost it ?

I asked them why didn't they asked me to submit bills early ? They asked me why didn't you submit your FBP earlier in the last 4 months ? I asked them to consider it as special case and do the process. They said they can't. It is frozed. What if everybody comes and asks for the same ? I told them they should do this because it was not my fault. I was new to this company and didn't know the process-flow. And there was no help on this either. They said now its almost 5 months. you should have known all these things. Finally, I asked: "do I have any hope of getting it ?" they said: NO.

I was definitely angry. I even became rude with that person. I shouted on him. He was calm. I thought definitely, what was he loosing ? I thought he could have done it if he wanted to. But he didn't. I lost peace of my mind.

Then, after some moments, I thought :" Is it a question of right, wrong or peace ?" I lost my peace believing I was right and other person was wrong. I thought I should not tolerate this injustice. I must act against it. Otherwise I am also taking part in this system. But isn't being peaceful all the time is more than being just (relative) right ? When I lost peace of my mind, the battle outside was already over. Now, it was all inside.

Things happen and are generally out of our control. We can however, control our mind participation. I firmly believe - whatever happens, you can keep your peace of mind. When you loose it, you loose all. In normal circumstances, we easily follow it. But when you think you are right and you have been treated badly, you tend to forget it. The real "TAPA" is to easily pass into such situations.

Then what should be my reward ? First, Be Alert - Be witness - Stay present.
Two, I am not claiming any telephone reimbursement for this year. Well, there is no ill-will or over-reaction. It is only to make me remember how dreadful it is to lose your peace of mind.

So, Right or Wrong ?
Aha, finally it just is.

- Uday

Welcome back , on the old voyage !!

2005-12-15T10:23:00.000+05:30

I have always been a true admirer of literature. I started writing letters at the age of 8. I started writing Haikus and poems at the age of 13. I started writing diary at the age of 14. And in last few years, I have written extensively. Diaries were like my alter ego. want to know me ? Read my diaries. But all these faded away in my two years at IIT Guwahati. It was not that there was no thrust or motivation for writing, it is only that I was practicing another discipline.

There are few thoughts I intend to write on this blog. This will not be a blog of my daily routine descriptions or acts. It would be about my inner strenth and weaknesses. It would be about my journey as a seeker and the challenges that I face on the path. It would be about my being me and my being mind. It would be about me and me...

Let us all know our true self.

- Uday