Accept the Reality for a Better Future

Monday, 25^th December 2017

The beautiful part of the life is the acceptance of the reality. The reality refers to that which happens at present. That which happed yesterday and that which will happen tomorrow, are not reality. Past and future are your memory. The present is the reality. The question is do you accept what happens at present.

You can accept the present or revolt against it. What happens at present might be unpleasant to you. Still accepting it makes you peaceful and opens a possibility to transform the situation into a positive atmosphere. If you are not ready to accept the unhappy present, it makes the situation more complicated and you will become incapable of managing the circumstances. Revolting against what happens at present is a foolish approach. It does not mean to agree with all that happens. You may disagree and try to change it in proper manner. But before trying to alter it, it is necessary to accept it as it is. Accepting what happens at present is the wise approach because of the two reasons:

1.  What is at present is the after effect of the past. You are not able to alter your past; because the past is past. The after effect of the past action will definitely befall on you. You get three hours to write a university examination. Once you have finished writing and given the answer sheet to the authority, your role is over. The consequences of what you have written on the answer sheets cannot be changed by you. If you have answered well, you will get good result. If you were bad, the marks will accordingly be unpleasant. You have no control over the after effect of an action, once it is already done.

2.  The relationship between the action and its effect is based on the law of Nature. Human beings have only one choice, to accept the law of Nature, understanding it perfectly. Realizing that you are a part of Nature and living according to the Natural laws are the ways of wise art of living.

So, accepting the present as it is, is the brilliant method in life. But you need enormous amount of internal strength to do so. Most of the people cannot accept the reality as it is, in most of the situations. That is the basic reason for all unhappiness and psychic disorder. Starting a revolt against the reality, is the restlessness and anger in human minds. Suppose you failed in an examination. You are in that reality and your mind is not ready to accept it. So you become extremely disturbed and depressed. You do not like that situation; you are not ready to face such a situation. As a result of it, you became desperate and inactive. But on the other hand, if you accept your defeat, a further possibility of preparation on the basis of your experiences is there in front of you. You are able to move on effectively only after accepting the reality as it is. Therefore, accepting the reality as it is, however unpleasant it may be, is the right path for ultimate success in life.

Accepting the reality means, respecting the power of Nature. The Nature gives you the result of your previous action. You have no choice. There are unhappy incidents which may not be the direct result of your actions. Such eventualities are also the creation of Nature. I remember the occasion of my father, ailing due to serious illness. He was not responding to the medicines. While I was looking at him, I was realizing the power of Nature. I had only one choice, that to accept the will of Nature. While the Nature was stealing the precious life of my beloved father, accepting the pathetic reality taking place in front of me, was the only one option I had. But that positive attitude kept me sane at that horrible situation and helped me to be active.

The secret of the ancient Indian value of Truthfulness (Sathyam) lies in the concept of accepting the reality.

When you accept the failure and defeat, you can learn lessons from it for a wiser attempt in the next time.

Accept the reality and observe it properly for managing it for a better turn of events.

Observe and Manage. (OM)

This is the method.

The Power of NOW

Monday, 18th December 2017

What we call the PAST is past. The FUTURE has not yet come. So the NOW is the reality.

The Nature exists at PRESENT. You cannot say that Sun exists in the past. The Sun in the past is only a memory. So the Sun you see in the sky exists at present. The wind moves at PRESENT. The ocean, the sky, the trees, the animals.. all in the Nature around you exists at PRESENT. The existance of the Nature is there only at present. The past is memory and the future is an imagination. So the Nature is the Present.

My body is a part of Nature. My body exists at PRESENT. My heart beats at present. The blood in my body circulate at PRESENT. The neurons in my brain works at PRESENT. Digestion system functions at PRESENT. All aspects of my body acts at PRESENT.

My senses function at PRESENT. I see only at PRESENT. I can hear only at PRESENT. I can touch or feel the touch only at PRESENT.

I can do all these only when my mind stays at PRESENT. Unlike my body, my mind can travel to & fro in TIME. My mind travels through PAST (as memory) and FUTURE (as imagination). The mind has the connection with the PAST and FUTURE through the TIME and it can move back and forth as it wants. Mind can move to the past, because the past exists only in my mind. It exists only in my memory. Similarly the future also exists in the mind or in the imagination.

The PAST exists in my memory; but my memory functions at PRESENT. I remember a past incident at PRESENT. So even the PAST is existing at PRESENT. Similarly even the FUTURE is existing in the imagination which happens at PRESENT.

You can be at PRESENT only when your mind stays inside your body. But very relevant question is that why should I be at PRESENT? The answer is that you can be practical in life only if you are at PRESENT. To be practical, your mind needs to be in your body. Once your mind is inside your body, you are at PRESENT.

There are some people who live only at PRESENT. They cannot think properly. They are ready for any kind of physical labor. But there are other kind of people who live either is past or in future. They are good in theories. But they would be very bad in practical matters.

Being at PRESENT when it is needed and being in PAST or FUTURE according to the requirements is the ideal behavior.

Observe yourself and realize when you are at PRESENT, in PAST or in FUTURE. That self awareness helps you to function effectively in life. You can develop the habit of being at PRESENT or being not at PRESENT according to the necessity in life.

Observe and Manage. (OM)
This is the method.

Tip to Manage the Mind

Monday, 11^th December 2017

Mind Awareness Management (MAM) teaches you how to develop the awareness about the mind and manage it effectively.

Mind needs to be trained to be controlled effectively. Both clear intention and constant practice are inevitable for practicing the usage of mind. The intention should be to manage the mind for its higher usage. Mind is an instrument with which the individual can know the world and function in life. The effective usage of mind is possible only when you train it properly. The practice should happen with the right intention.

There are three levels to manage the mind. 1. Debate level 2. Observation level 3. Realization level.

1. Debate level (verbal in nature)

Mind is interested in various aspects that exist around the individual. In the beginning stage of trying to manage your mind, building up a positive attitude towards everything is inevitable. You can do that only through positive thinking. It is necessary to find out positive reasons for everything around you, for being peaceful. Bad thoughts should be transformed into good and positive thoughts. The wicked and anti-social minds should be transformed into socially committed mentality. Lust, Jealousy and Competition must be replaced with Patience, Open mindedness and Compassion.

Reading is the effective practice at this stage. Focus the mind upon reading and thinking, reflecting and understanding. Language is the most important aspect in this stage. So selection of the books which you are reading is very important. Good books must be selected with a clear purpose. Reading good subjects for more than half an hour continuously leads to self awareness and management capability. Good subject refers to those which cause to develop positive thoughts and emotions.

Reading in the internet cannot be considered as reading here. Reading in social media or websites is just understanding a number of various subjects in short period of time. Your mind is not fixed on a single subject and the train of thoughts is not usually centered upon a single subject. It travels from one subject to another according to the interest of the individuals who surf the internet. Internet surfing is necessary and useful but what I suggest as an exercise is different kind of reading. Usually book reading would be more focused on a single subject. Only such a focused reading will help to manage the mind.

2. Observation level (Silent in nature)

There is an observer inside all human beings. Strengthening that aspect and keep it alive always is the higher method to manage the mind. Keeping the body still, without even a small movement, observing the thoughts and emotions as they are, accepting them and understanding the significance of them, is this method.

There is a chattering in the mind of each individual. Someone from inside, speaks to you without intervals. That inner chattering should be managed. It should be under your control. When the inner mind is silent, you can be said to be in silence. Otherwise, even if you are not uttering a single word, as long as your inner mind is chattering non-stop, you are not in silence. So the experience of the inner silence is the deeper observation of your mind. The silence between the words of the inner chattering should be observed and understood. And gradually it is widened. This is the method to develop inner silence. This can be developed with the help of watching your breath. Important warning for the beginner is that practice of silence should not exceed 30 minutes at a time. There should be at least four hours duration between each session of practice.

3. Realization level (contented in nature)

Once you have started experiencing the first and second levels of the mind management, you will realize that you are not your thoughts or emotions. You start dis-own your thoughts and emotions. They will have no power upon you there after. You will observe that you are the Observer. That is the stage when you start observing the Observer in you. You start knowing the Nature of the Observer. The observation should continue through prolonged periods and such sessions of observation, silence, vision and awareness are needed to gradually understand the depths of the Observing Self.

The transformation of the individual from one level to the other is not in a linier format. It is not like if you graduate the first level, you will be passed to the next. All these three levels are happening simultaneously.

Observe and Manage. (OM) Basically, this is the method..

Win yourself to be successful in life..   

Tip to the students and to the Saadhaka-s

Monday, 04^th December 2017

Saadhaka is a spiritual seeker. He/she is in constant seeking. He/she seeks the reality of existence. You become a seeker only when you start experiencing the mystery of life. The true mystic experiences make you a seeker. You want to know the secret behind all these. That is why you start the seeking.

The most important value of a seeker is his/her truthfulness. A Saadhaka needs to be truthful. Truthfully he/she must accept that he/she doesn’t know much about himself/herself or about the Universe. There begins the seeking. Here truth refers to the straight-forwardness. Accepting the reality as it is; without interpretation or justification.

A Saadhaka/spiritual seeker is not a believer. He/she is in search of the truth behind his/her experiences. Experience it; Remember it; Reflect on it; Understand it; Realize it; Know it. This is the process.

The Saadhaka is seeking deeper experience and knowledge. His/her faculties of experience must be sharpened for effective Observation, Memory, Reflection and Understanding. That is the importance of a disciplined life of a Saadhaka. Without having sharp internal instruments, he/she cannot go on with seeking.

There are three levels of practices for the disciplinary life of a Saadhaka. 1. Self Restrictions 2. Self Study and 3. Complete Surrender.

1. Self Restriction:This involves in Observation and Management of the most important five habits of your life;

i. Food habit

ii. Sleep habit

iii. Sex and other relationship habit

iv. Relaxation habit/Hobbies

v. Work habit/Duties.

These are the five essential habits of human beings. All these are necessary. But the excess or scarcity any one of them may affect the Saadhaka in a negative manner. But it is very important that the restriction must be from the Saadhaka himself/herself. It should never be from outside, from another person. Restriction from external centres will cause adverse effect.

2. Self Study: This refers to the efforts for self observation and to understand the nature of the Self. Here Self does not mean only the soul. Self means the body, senses, organs, thoughts, emotions, intellect, memory etc. This is the study of your own body and mind; to know exactly how they function in your day-to-day affairs. There are three facets of activity for Self-Study.

i. Physical/Breathing/Verbal exercises (Physical exercises and breathing exercises are very common now-a-days. The practice of Manthra/Prayers can be considered as Verbal exercises.)

ii. Reading/Listening

iii. Reflecting on Memory (Some people have the habit of thinking over and over upon what they heard or read. They are doing so for going deeper into the experience of what he/she heard or read. This is Reflecting on Memory).

3. Complete Surrender: This is the realization that Man can act only according to the will of Nature. Man must be active always. But all his/her actions are led by the Natural laws. This realization gives tremendous peace at heart, which helps the Saadhaka to go ahead with his self-enquiry. This obviously is not the belief that “man is nothing and God is all”. Not at all. But, man has to do his works, respecting the Natural Laws. This is what the meaning of the Surrender. It is not a belief or faith. It is a realization of the utmost importance of the Natural Laws and respecting It.  

Whatever I have written here is useful to a student as well. If he/she wants to win an examination, he/she needs to observe all these three levels of self-discipline for achieving the essential sharpness to the internal faculties and this will definitely lead to the success.

Observe and Manage. (OM).

Make your journey towards success effective..

Ahimsa, Sathyam & Brahmacharyam

Monday, 27th November 2017

Accordibg to the Indian Darsana-s, purpose of life is Moksha or Mukthi. Here Mukthi means freedom from sorrow. The desires are the reason for all sorrows. So freedom from the desires is Moksha.

How to attain the freedom from desires?

It is not easy. But through constant effort it is possible to grow in this path. Yogasutra points out three most important values following which freedom from desire can be achieved. 1. Ahimsa  2. Sathyam  3. Brahmacharyam.

1. Ahimsa means non-violence. The mind must be free from all kinds of hatred, competition, comparison, possessiveness etc. It is not easy to attain this stage. But constant effort to purify the heart from having hatred and violence will provide such a growth.

2. Sathyam means accepting the reality as it is. If you want to know whether you have hatred inside you, you must be truthful. If you are a pretentious person, you will not be able to know yourself. You have to be truthful to yourself if want to know your faults. The qualitative growth is the after effect of such truthful understanding of your short comings. So truthfulness is essential quality for a spiritual seeker.

3. Brahmacharya means having only attention on learning. You can learn when you are not distracted by sensual pleasures. You cannot learn seriously while involved in sensual enjoyments. Over-sensuality destroys your attention and other internal skills. So the real happiness and internal joy is when you keep away from sensual pleasures. Then you will have the maturity for involving in serious learning.

So, observing Ahimsa, Sathyam & Brahmacharyam is the direct method for attainung Moksha. Freedom from sorrows can not be attained quickly. But slowly through constant Observation and Self Management it can be achieved gradually. The self management is essential basic skill to develop all these three qualities.

Through Observation & Management, develop Ahimsa, Sathyam & Brahmacharyam in you..

Be happy always.. which will help you to do your work perfectly and hence leading ultimately to success..

The Prayer is Not All..

Monday,  20^th November 2017

The life means your activities, from the moment you wake up in the morning, up to the moment you fall asleep at night. How to manage your time and activities is the task for all human beings in this world. Nobody is getting extra two hours a day. A day means 24 hours for all. But how to plan your activities of the day effectively is the skill you need to develop. Around 16 hours a day is what you get to be active. Filling this time with high human values is what you have to do for the success of life.

A young man asked me, what the importance of prayer is. This seems to be a simple question. But this is not so simple. Because many people think that prayer is the way to achieve anything in life. That is a wrong idea. If you pray for passing an examination, without preparing properly, no doubt, you will fail. Then the believer might have a justification that it is only because the prayer was not strong enough to make God listen to it. If you pray without preparing for the examination, no God is going to listen to you. 

Each action has its own effect. That is a natural law. If you want to achieve something, you have to try for it according to the law of Nature. If you want to pass the examination, you have to try accordingly. You have to study the syllabus, lessons, question papers and practice writing answers in the given time. This practice and training is the action which will lead to the result of passing the examination.

Does it mean that prayer is in vain? No. Not at all. Prayer will connect you with the higher consciousness. The after effect of the action called prayer is to establish the connection with the higher consciousness. You may call it God, Paramatma, Paramapurusha, Maheswara or Eswara. Whatever be the name, it no matter. Your prayer has an effect and it will motivate you for the process of action in the world. For example, as we said before, when a student is preparing for examination, his/her process of preparation will be motivated by the sincere prayer to Maheswara.

Do not expect for miracles during the prayer. Maheswara is not for showing miracles. He is working through the laws of Nature. He is the one who maintains the law of Nature. So, we have to respect the laws of Nature. The law of Nature is that to do your work properly for achieving the after effect of it. Action and its after effect. This law needs to be accepted and respected. So each day, you have to plan your activities for achieving the result.

Mind is nothing but the compilation of your thoughts. Whether you know or not, the thoughts occur in mind. Man can observe and manage them. (OM) When you channelize your thoughts towards Maheswara, it is prayer. When you channelize them for achieving your purposes in life, they become effective activities.

So the hours in each day need to be planned according to your purpose in life. Initially, it is very important to have a clear purpose in life. And plan your activities accordingly. At the same time, spend some time for establishing a sincere connection with Maheswara as well.

The gist of today’s article:

1. Have a purpose in life.

2. Prayer is not the way to achieve it; but it is a way to establish the connection with the higher consciousness.

3. What you have to do is to plan your activities according to your purpose of life.

4. You have only the hours from your wake up to the sleep, for effectively functioning in life. 

The Hindu Gods

Monday, 13^th November 2017

The Hindu Gods are not historical characters. They are symbols.

No one can ever believe that Lord Shiva is sitting on Mount Kailas with Parvati, Ganesh and Subrahmanian. They are symbols of ideas.

How can one imagine that there is truly an ocean, full of milk and Lord Vishnu is lying on the serpent bed which is on the waves of Milky Ocean?  Is He so powerless to get a more comfortable bed?

Goddess Saraswati is holding a Veena always in her had! Goddess Parvati has bow with sugar cane, five flower arrows etc. to hold in her hands!

Some Gods/Goddesses have four hands; three eyes; four, five, eight, sixteen or sixty four heads; and some have animal heads etc. How weird..!

But it is important to understand that these Gods are not historical personalities. They never existed anywhere, at anytime. They can never appear in front of human beings, except in stories.

They are symbols. They represent ideas. They communicate with the on-looker in a special poetic way.

They remind the Saadhaka, the experiences he/she had during the period of Saadhana / spiritual practice. 

Religion may give temporary relief

Monday, 06^th November 2017

Karl Marx wrote in 1843 that “Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”

This famous quotation from Karl Marx is not against religion. But it shows the real nature of it. He explains that man starts believing in super natural powers, when he experiences the real suffering in life. (That is not the only occasion of worship. You worship as a sign of thankfulness for the rewards you received from Nature. And you also worship when you realize the psychological necessity of worship as well. Worship is mostly not for getting any things from the worshiped; but for the action of worship itself; because the attitude behind the action of worship is often fulfilling.) Karl Marx points out that many a man tries to get rid of suffering through religious belief, at the same time, the belief itself is an expression of their sufferings. In other words, they believe because they are suffering. How shallow that belief is! “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creatures..” The creatures are still oppressed. But they could make a sigh of temporary relief. That was the effect of religion. (Karl Marx understands the world as a struggle for power. He observed the power from outside; but his time, in Europe, was not matured enough to understand the power from within or psychological power. In fact the oppressed are oppressed because of their ignorance. When they get the right knowledge, their internal power helps them to come up.) “..the heart of heartless world..” The world is still heartless; but there found a hearty moment for a temporary relief. “..and the soul of soulless condition.” The condition remains as soulless still; but there found a temporary soul in religion. So instead of finding a permanent relief, man tries for a temporary relief through religion; just like using opium for temporary intoxication.

Karl Marx wrote about organized religion. But now a days, all religions are becoming more and more organized and religious fundamentalism is getting strong footage in the minds of devotees. So it is time for everybody to search for the truth behind the concept of religion.

People are very much anxious about their future. The anxiety makes them slaves to the superstitious believes. There comes the existence of all Multi National Religious Companies. Most of the people find out the easy way by believing in some religion or miracles and expect relief from their difficulties. Day by day, this will lead them to failure and, as a result of it, increased dependency to religion.

Only Wisdom can give permanent relief from suffering. Not God can save you, unless you take responsibility of your own life. Observe your mind and actions. Correct them to get rid of suffering. The actual wisdom is that “the suffering is quite natural in life and man cannot lead a life without facing sufferings in the world.” Accepting this reality makes each one strong enough to face any difficulties.

Sufferings come from three sources:

1. From other human being; like from enemies or Government etc.

2. From Nature; like natural calamities, flood etc.

3. From man’s own activities; as an after effect of your own action.

The reaction of an individual cannot be the same in all these circumstances.

Observe the situation and Manage it wisely.

Observe and Manage. (OM).

Realization is the best way to get rid of sufferings permanently.

Guru is a Need, Not Priest..

Monday, 30th October 2017

After publishing my article In Search of God, Not of Priest...(Monday, 23rd October 2017) I received a number of comments and queries comparing Guru with Priest. I have understood that many have the misunderstanding that a priest is a Guru. That is why I am giving the clarification through this article.

When you are in the young age, you want to find out models in life. A Guru is the perfect role-model for you in the society. The one who shows you an example of his/her teachings through his/her life can be called as the Guru. The one who practises what he/she preaches is Guru.

There are teachers in the society who share information regarding several subjects. They pass information, but you cannot make them models in life. There are trainers as well. They train you in skills like driving, swimming etc. But the Guru is different from them. Guru inspires you to lead a valuable life, not through talks, but through his/her life itself.

You will be stuck in many occasions in life. It is Guru who leads you forward through his/her own living example. Your emotional management, thought process & management, relationship management, financial management, knowledge management and many such aspects are formed through seeing others as your models. If you live with a person who manages his/her finance perfectly, that might become an influence in you. You get such influence from a good person, it is positive. The influence can go negative as well. The one who gives you positive influence through his/her practice is Guru. When you see a drunkard, if you want to be like him, it is not a positive influence. Because it won’t give you permanent happiness. So he is not Guru. When you work with a colleague who is perfect in delivering his duties, suppose you are influenced by him. This influence helps you to develop a good quality in you. He can be called Guru.

Liberation (moksha) means to be permanently free from sorrows. A Guru is the one who through the example of his/her life, influences you to attain such a freedom; ie permanent freedom from all sorrows.

The Nature works in you through insights. When you develop strong insight, you can see things perfectly, understand the Nature of them and through knowledge, can go deeply into the significance of them. This will help you to function well. When you function well in life, you can be successful in various fields of activity. That is the way to permanently liberate from sorrows. Know the world and its sufferings to liberate from them. (It does not mean to run away from them. You have to deal with the sufferings and unhappiness in life. That is the only way. But the insight and wisdom make you strong enough to face them and to help others to manage things effectively.)  So the insight in you is the real Guru-element. That insight is called the Inner Eye. Such influences through which the insight is strengthened can be called Guru. Guru deepens your insight.

You must be very careful when you choose your role-models. There is a practice among youngsters; they choose some film-stars as their role-model. The image of a film-star is false creation. Even their outer appearance is not the real. Can you expect to gain real insight when you accept a pseudo image as your role-model? Do serious research on the person before accepting him/her as your role-model. Your role-model works as a Guru in the matter of insight.

Guru stays in your memory constantly to influence you to do works properly, to think properly and manage things around you skillfully. So Guru is a need in life.

A priest is a part of religious rituals. They deliver religious services on your behalf and get paid for them. Priests lead the people towards dependency. You are mesmerized and temporarily get some peace through rituals. But, when you are disturbed next time, you have to do it again. That is dependency. It is better to avoid that in life, if you prefer internal freedom.

Liberation from sorrow or Moksha is acquired permanently through wisdom.
Wisdom is acquired through action or Karma. The Karma does not mean the religious activities. Karma means the value based deliverance of your duties in life. The teacher may teach well. Farmer may farm in his/her land properly. And the rest. The knowledge and purpose must follow the work. Wisdom as an after effect of work, brings permanent satisfaction in life.

Permanent  Satisfaction / Liberation  from  Sorrows – through Wisdom.
Wisdom – through Observing,  Reflecting  and  Analyzing  your  Experiences.
Experiences – through Functioning with purpose and knowledge in day-to-day affairs.
Success in life - through Perfect functioning.

(Short  time / temporary  satisfaction – through religious  practices.)

In Search of God, Not of Priest..

Monday, 23 Oct 2017

I have trust in God. (I would like to say Nature, instead of God. But considering the characteristics of the subject discussing here, I use the word God. Here God denotes the power behind the laws of Nature.)

But I connect with God not through anybody else. I don’t see the need of any intermediate person to establish my communion with God. God is a truthful and beautiful experience for me. I understand that purifying my self is the means to relate with God.

I am not able to see the need of appointing someone, whoever he is, to pray for me. I cannot see the relevance of paying another person or agency to do Puja for me. Accepting an authority to stand in between me and God is nothing but giving consent to the social exploitation in the form of Priest-hood. This is the largest as well as the oldest system of exploitation still existing in the society.

You believe that you need to seek the support of a priest for praying for you. It happens in temples, churches, mosques as well as in families. It is a common practice that you bring home the priest for various ceremonies. You pay them for the ‘services’ they provide for you. And you feel that God is pleased through their pleasant responses. Priests there act as if the direct representatives of God. Priests come in between you and God generally in all major occasions in your life.

There are two believes among the ordinary people which are the reasons for the establishment of the system of priest-hood:

1. You think that priests are more close to God than you. They have developed some knowledge system with which they mesmerize the common people. Ordinary people cannot chant Manthra-s or prayers as priests are doing.  How can an ordinary person show hand-gestures and movements as a trained priest performs? The priests will also blind the people with their elaborate ‘costumes and attire’.

2. The second belief is that you are not able to connect with God directly without an intermediate person/group. You are brainwashed by the tradition with a concept that your knowledge is not enough to reach God! And that you need a priest to act on your behalf!

Both these believes are not true. No knowledge system can take you closer to God. Only innocent and pure mind is required to reach God. Your good heart can help you to find out God. A priest is not at all necessary for you to connect with God.

Priest is not Guru. Guru is the one who liberates you from the difficulties of your inclinations. Guru gives you the right knowledge to establish the connection with God. The priests benefit by putting you psychologically in dependency to them.

Either taking birth in a priest family or becoming a priest through some ‘training’, both cannot be considered as a desirable goal of life.

Five Essential Understandings

Monday, 16^th October 2017

Men & women have the following five basic understandings always in life-time. Some are aware of them. Many are not. Whether you know or not, the awareness is there, because you cannot exist on earth without it.

These are the five essential basic understandings: 1. Values 2. Dietetics 3. Concept of Exercise 4. Personal Economics and 5. Philosophy. You start your life with doing what ‘you like’. But later, when you become matured, you start understanding what ‘you should’. When you are young, you eat all that you like to. But when you are matured, you start choosing your food. There are food items which you should eat and should not. In your matured age, you follow what ‘you should’, rather than what ‘you like’. The transformation from what ‘you like’ to what ‘you should’, in all the above said five aspects, marks your growth as a human being.

There are people who say that they do not know anything about philosophy. They say that philosophy is too complicated to the understanding of ordinary people. There are even some scholars who say that ordinary people cannot understand philosophy. He/she is un-educated and not capable of understanding any philosophy. Let me share an experience I had some years back, related to this subject. One of my friends wanted me to talk to her father who was a drunkard, to bring him back to normal life. During my casual talk with him, he said, that he was working hard, making money, taking good care of his family and enjoying liqueur very often. What is wrong in it? (He didn’t mention that he was regularly beating his wife though, as if it was a right of husbands..) See, this is his philosophy. He gives value to his pleasure through liqueur more than anything else. Through this, his value system is also clear. He has a value system as well as philosophy. Only thing is that he is not aware about it. He is not able to understand or observe it because he didn’t get sufficient training for it. Instead, he heard from every corner that he cannot understand philosophy and it is difficult to follow value system. He trusted these ideas and followed easy and careless path. After regular efforts for a long time, we became successful in making him understand his wrong ideas. Once he changed his value system and philosophy, even though due to the force from his surrounding, it was easy for him to stop taking liqueur. Eventually he got convinced with his new values and philosophy which changed his life for good.

So whether you understand or not, your present life style is due to the five folded views you have about the concerned subject in life. Let’s try to understand each one of them.

1. Values: Values refer to what you give importance in life. Some people give importance to money more than anything else. Some people think that being famous is the most important thing. Many people think that doing something for the society is the most needed thing. A few others think that being a good person is the most important. Your value system is depending upon what you see as the most important. Your ideas of beauty, happiness, success etc. are depending upon your value system.

2. Dietetics: All human beings need to have food to survive. Nobody can exist without food. Each one has a concept of his/her own food habit, whether he/she knows it or not. The concept and attitude towards food in general called dietetics. Some people take this seriously and plan their diet in a healthy manner. Most of the people do not care about this.

3. Concept of Exercise: When you do a job sitting on a chair for a long time continuously, you may feel to stretch your hands and spine by standing on your toe. Why do you feel so? Because you know unconsciously that exercise in the form of the stretching is necessary for the free flow of blood and to re-energize your muscles. This feeling is nothing but your concept of exercise. This is natural to all human beings. Not only to human beings; you can see dogs and cats doing the same thing. This natural concept of your own exercise must be observed and developed properly to form your system of exercise for a healthy body and mind.

4. Personal Economics: No one can exist without using money for buying things and services. How to make money and spend properly is a matter of consideration for all human beings. You have it whether you have reflected upon and developed it scientifically or not. This is nothing but a personal way of money management. Some are good at it and some others are not.

5. Philosophy: Why do you live? What is happiness? What gives you happiness? What is success? How do you think that you can be successful? All human beings can face these questions; even though very little can give a clear answer. There is a reason for everybody to live. Most of them have no idea about the purpose of their lives. Similarly the majority is not consciously having a concept about their happiness, success etc. But unconsciously, all are concerned about their own happiness, success etc. In other words, all have their philosophy. But very few are aware of it.

All these five understandings are essential for human life. But very few are observing themselves to have a clear idea about it and transform it.

You start your life with what you like. What food you like. In what way you want to make money. In what way you like to lead your life. But day by day, you start understanding the world around you. You start observing you as well. You can compare your life with others’; and it may inspire you to rethink about yourself. As a result of it, you start managing each aspect in you. Your value system changes. Your food habits become more healthy. You follow better methods of exercises. You manage your economics in a better way. You follow a higher philosophy. This is called the growth in life.

All want to lead a happy and contented life.

Observe and Manage (OM) these five understandings in you. That is the way to be happy and contented.

I am Lazy..

Tuesday, 10th October 2017

Question: I am lazy. I don’t want to be so. I want to get rid of it. What is the method..?

Answer: There is no set method effective for everybody. It is your responsibility to find out your own method to achieve something.

It is a fact that you feel lazy right now. It means, you want to postpone your activities and feel like lying down without thinking of anything. This is what you call laziness.

If this is the reality, how can you change it? The reality is that you want to lie down without thinking of any of your activities.

Why do you feel so?

May be because you ate too much and your stomach is working hard to get it digested. All your energy is channelized for this necessary function. So your body is giving you suggestion that ‘please give me more time to complete my work’. As a result of it, you feel to postpone your work.

Or, You spent so much energy for your sensual enjoyments like taking excess of liqueur or having repeated sex, that your body is working hard now to regain the loss. That may be the reason for the feeling that ‘let me postpone my work and lie down peacefully..’

Even otherwise, you might not have slept properly. Then, naturally your nervous system might be very tired due to lack of necessary relaxation. In this situation, the demand from inner self to postpone your work is quite natural. Sleeping for some time will re-energize you.

Mental depression can be a reason for the feeling to postpone the work; Or fear of failure in work also can be another reason. You will not be able to focus your mind when your mind is against you. Check your own state of mind seriously..

Laziness is an expression of an unhealthy aspect deeper inside you. Discover that hidden inner reason and get rid of it to be more energetic for the successful day-to-day activities..

Observe yourself to find out the reason for the feeling to postpone your work. Find it out and Manage your body, mind, action as well as your surroundings effectively to get rid of it, the basic reason for your laziness.

OM (Observation & Management) is the method. Do it now.

A tip for practice: Never postpone any of your work..  Is it practical..?

Importance of Clean Habits

Tuesday, 10^th October 2017

A clean & pleasant mind is the most important faculty to do our day-to-day activities successfully. Mind should be free from negative emotions like anger, arrogance, competition & the rest. Such a free mind, full of love & compassion, can be called as clean.

A clean mind can be evolved only in a body having clean habits. Mind will not be clean if your bodily habits are unclean. Negative activities & attitudes are the cause for unclean habits.

You may clean your body habits by Observing & Managing the following five habits in you. Management of these five habits will give you a clean body & healthy mind.

These five habits determine your personality. If you try properly, they can be easily managed. You have the capacity to do so. Only thing required is the readiness to utilize the power in you, effectively. Observe & Manage properly.

OM - Observe & Manage. This is the method. Observe means to watch carefully & understand the significance. Manage means to control watchfully.

1. Food Habit: what food you are eating & how much you are eating; this is important. You yourself may choose what you want to eat. No one else has the power to control you; but you yourself have it.

2. Sleep Habit: How many hours you sleep, this should be Observed and Managed. Too much sleep and too little, are not good.

3. Sex & Other Relationship Habit: Sexual behaviour of an individual is the most important faculty which directly affects his/her personality. The other relationships in workplace as well as at home must be Observed & Managed. What subject you are talking, to whom you are talking, how much you are talking, all these must be Observed & Managed.

4. Relaxation Habit: The way of your relaxation should be Observed & Managed. It is necessary to make sure that you are utilising your time properly, even when you are relaxing.

5. Work Habit: What work you are doing & how sincerely doing it, all must be Observed & Managed.

Through Observation & Management, better the above mentioned five habits in you, according to your own interest. You decide what you want & be responsible for the after effects of your own decision.

A clean & pleasant mind will evolve in a body having clean habits. A healthy mind is the instrument with which successful day-to-day activities can be done joyously.

Understanding Dhyaana

Monday, 9th October 2017

Now-a-days, people have a general feeling that Dhyaana is a good exercise. Yes; it is true. Dhyaana is a very good exercise, not only for the internal organs, but for the body as well. But, most of the people are confused about the purpose, function as well as method of Dhyaana. They have no idea about the subjects like, what is Dhyaana, what is its purpose, how it should be practised, what are the varieties of it etc.

First of all, let me tell you that Dhyaana cannot be taught. Each one must try to find out his/her own method/methods of Dhyaana by practising and doing experiments with it in various ways. It can be understood only through trial and error method. It is so, because Dhyaana is a natural behavior just like sleeping, having food and sexual relationship. The purpose of sleep, food and sex should be understood properly before involving in them, if you want to do them effectively. Similarly, the purpose of Dhyaana also must be understood.

The purpose of Dhyaana is to consciously and directly connect with Mother Nature. You are always dependent upon Nature. But you are not aware of the fact; on the contrary, you think that you are a separate individual and forget that you have no existence other than that of the Nature.  To re-establish the link with Mother Nature is called Dhyaana. Your thoughts and emotions are the reason to break your link with the Nature. Thoughts and emotions of greed, anger, envy etc. are to be checked; the thoughts and emotions of love, acceptance, compassion etc. must be established inside to connect with Nature. Love, acceptance, compassion etc. are the higher feelings of Nature. So the thoughts must be managed and re-arranged in this way to re-link with Nature. So to re-define it, Dhyaana is the management of your thoughts and emotions.

Thoughts and emotions are to be observed and managed. There are several ways of exercises to practise Dhyaana through which thoughts and emotions can be observed and managed. Just as the bright rays of Sun re-appear when the covering of the clouds is removed, the joy of re-established connection with Mother Nature is experienced when the thoughts and emotions are transformed.

Dhyaana must be practised through day-to-day activities. All actions you do in a day are the methods of practising Dhyaana. Your house hold activities, work for livelihood, creative activities and even relaxation can be considered as Dhyaana. But this statement may seem to be very absurd. This needs to be understood properly for effective practice.

Let’s listen to the words of Sri Aurobindo in this matter. He categorizes Dhyaana into three different methods. He calls the three categories as Meditation, Contemplation and Self-Observation. In other words, they are three different methods of managing your thoughts. Always it is important to Observe your thoughts and Manage them. But the question is how to do it. Sri Aurobindo’s direction is helpful. (The Integral Yoga, Selected Letters of Sri Aurobindo)

Sri Aurobindo says, “Meditation means properly the concentration of the mind on a single train of ideas which workout a single subject.” Train of ideas refers not to one single image or one word; but it represents a number of images and words interconnected with some common basis. For example, remembering what happened yesterday from morning to evening can be considered as Meditation. Or reflecting upon the meaning of a Sloka from Bhagavad Gita also can be considered as Meditation. Meditation in this sense is useful in day-to-day life, very much. Meditation is needed for house hold management, office management, planning your work, assessing your work, preparing for examinations etc.

Please see the second category of Dhyaana, called Contemplation, mentioned by Sri Aurobindo, “Contemplation means regarding a single mental object, image or idea, so that the knowledge about the object, image or idea may arise naturally in the mind by force of concentration.” Focusing mind upon a form of a deity or Manthra comes in this category. Contemplation is more useful in life during creative thinking; like when you are planning your work, or creating story, situations or expressions of emotions in art etc.

Sri Aurobindo suggests another category of Dhyaana, which in my personal experience, is more useful for a spiritual seeker.  It is a training in non-attachment; Or in other words, Abhyaasa to develop the habit of Vairaagya. Sri Aurobindo mentions Swami Vivekananda when he says about this category of Dhyaana. He continues, “There is a passage in which Vivekananda advises you to stand back from your thoughts, let them occur in your mind as they will and simply observe them and see what they are. This may be called concentration in self-observation.” This happens in life when you are really involved in a work of art; reading a creative literature, listening to a music, watching a play, appreciating a painting etc. This kind of Dhyaana is very important for a Yogi who is trying to observe his thoughts and emotions and to manage them.

These three ways of Dhyaana are needed in life, in time to time. The Saadhaka must be capable of selecting what is needed in each circumstance. The difference between Meditation and Contemplation is that the Saadhaka is following mental streams just with a gathered attention in the former, where as the mental vibrations are more concentrated in the latter. Thoughts and emotions are not restricted that much in the former, and they are in more focused state in the latter. Sri Aurobindo discriminates, “Meditation is the easiest process for the human mind, but the narrowest in its result; contemplation more difficult, but greater; self-observation and liberation from the chain of thought the most difficult of all, but the widest and greatest in its fruits.”

Learning self-observation, observing and distancing from the thoughts, is the practice of Jnjaana Yoga. Self-knowledge is developed through this practice of observation, through which the maturation of the personality happens in reality.

Practise OM (Observation and Management) to do proper Dhyaana in proper time, according to your purpose. Be victorious in life; and in mind.