Spiritual love as a natural progression

Feb 19, 2010, 12.00am IST
SWAMI KRIYANANDA.

Life is a thrilling drama. Typical of the spectacle—perhaps its greatest highlight—is that oldest of stories: Two young people, a man and a woman, meet. Both are in radiant health; they are beautiful, happy, and magnetic. They are instantly attracted to each other.

Certainly the attraction is deeper than physical. Each senses in the other a quality that satisfies a deep need. Yearning, they reach out as if to absorb a fulfillment long and ardently awaited.

Can their hopes ever be fulfilled? The attraction they feel is indefinable, elusive and evanescent. They long to draw from each other something very special. What is that something?

It is all a play of consciousness—ripples rising in expectation, cresting, then scattering in foam -- thoughts and emotions that flicker in the sunlight on life’s sea; wavelets that long to merge their separate identities in a larger wave. Waves themselves, however, are ephemeral. Moods pass. The starlight and the dancing, that gentle, sweet touch, those brief glimpses of beautiful, far-off scenes filled with love and happiness: All these change, and soon disappear. Is it all a mirage?

Can God have so arranged human existence that it is based eternally on false hopes? The loving embrace, then its sequel: children, each with its own interests and self-created destiny...Has that ardent coming together had no other purpose than to perpetuate the species?

Sexual union brings fleeting pleasure at first, then exhilaration—followed by physical and emotional depletion, and, if over-indulged, by satiety and disgust. What is the purpose?

The expression: “falling in love,” is a curious one. The experience is indeed a fall from high expectations, a crash downward into brambles of disappointment, suffering, and maybe, compromise. Will it ever be possible to become fully absorbed in that sweet smile, that loving look, that radiance in the eyes? Never! Such is the tragedy of human love.

Love has, in fact, a reality far more spiritual than material. The physical body is only a container for its animating spirit, to which one’s feelings truly belong. The less spiritual the feelings, however, the less also they qualify as love at all.

Every human desire, ambition, and aspiration is destined for ultimate disappointment, unless it transcends its human limitations. Life is a drama, a dramatic dream, with innumerable plots and subplots, all leading toward a wonderful ending.

Consider the basic structure within which the universe was manifested: dvaita or duality. The one vast Consciousness moved Itself in opposite directions from its state of rest at the centre. Waves appeared on the surface of the great Ocean of Consciousness. With each wave there came a corresponding trough; the over-all ocean level could never change.

All this movement exists in thought only. Spirit alone is Absolute; movement is relative. There are degrees of height and depth, which, for simplicity, were divided in scriptures as the three qualities of satva, rajas and tamas.

We can never find fulfillment anywhere except in the inner Self, yet we do absorb qualities from one another through emulation. We need to shed every human trait, including the most satvic; for as long as we identify it as a quality possessed by the ego, even satvic qualities suggest that in delusion itself lays the key to enlightenment.

Yet without human friendships we might never get a hint of God’s infinitely greater friendship. Moreover, although human love is “the greatest delusion,” without it we might never feel inspired to seek its true fulfillment, that is, union with God.

Excerpt from Swami’s recent book, Religion in the New Age. http://www.anandaindia.org/.

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Yoga can set you free

Feb 6, 2010, 12.00am IST
SHEEL VARDHAN SINGH.



Relationships gone sour remain with us as a load for a very long time. They constantly gnaw at our mind, upset our emotional balance and adversely impact our health.


It is said that time heals but the scars remain. With the passage of time wounds turn into memories. However, a small trigger could turn memories into raw wounds again. This vicious cycle can lead to a depressive spiral. Yoga’s healing powers can help to break this cycle.


Yogic healing is achieved with asana, pranayama, dharana and mantra sadhana. What really is sadhana? Sadhana is a way, a path. It is also a method of transformation. Further sadhana is a journey from the impure towards the pure. The impure relates to the world of name, fame, ideas and that is our normal mind where it is the ego that is interacting with the world. The pure relates to atma and acceptance of the world without delusions or illusions. That is the world, as it exists.

When sadhana is done regularly, with conviction and over a long period of time, it transforms a person into being more simple and natural internally. From this pure mind arise affection, universal love, compassion and devotion. These bring us closer to divinity and atma bhav - that is, seeing your own self in others. Above all, this journey on the path of yoga leads us to acceptance of individuals and circumstances.


In yoga sadhana, the healing process is threefold: physical, mental and psychic. At the physical level, we work through asanas and pranayama - that is, hatha yoga, to purify the body. At the mental level, we connect to our inner self and begin the journey within. This is achieved through pratyahara, dharana and mantra. The psychic level is purified by kriya yoga, kundalini yoga, naad yoga and laya yoga.

However, most of us need to begin the healing process at a very basic level, that is, at the physical and mental levels and for this, asanas, pranayama, dharana and mantra chanting are useful. They balance, heal and liberate. You feel free.

According to Pantanjali’s Yoga Sutra, asana is sukham-sthiram-asanam, that is, the posture in which one experiences joy, happiness and stability. This is achieved when asanas are done with awareness. Pranayama balances the pranic body and has subtle influence on the mind. According to one’s need specific pranayama is done in order to energise or calm the mind. Dharana sharpens the mind and improves your focus.


Mantras are sound vibrations; they help you to connect the inner self to the cosmic energy and help you overcome energy blockages within. Mantras are powerful and work at a deep level to transform from within. For centuries mantras have been used to improve spiritual status as well as to deal with distress. Mahamritunjaya Mantra, Gayatri Mantra and Goddess Durga’s 32 names are some of the well known beneficial mantras.


With yoga and mantra sadhana one achieves harmony with the self and with the world. The body becomes healthy, the prana balances and at the level of spirit the process ‘sets you free’ and unravels creativity in life.

The only constant in life is change. What sadhana does is to put the sadhak or aspirant on the path of acceptance, change, adaptation and deep within it inculcates the ability to step back and see the world dispassionately.

The writer is affiliated to the Bihar School of Yoga, Munger.

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A way to deal with frozen feelings

Feb 22, 2010, 12.00am IST
WARREN STAGG.


Did we ever grow up? Well, yes and no! A part of us did and some parts of us didn't. Let's find out how that happens.


Every child experiences all that happens around him with total awareness. In the first seven years the child's brain is like a sponge, taking in all sensory inputs and building his idea of his surroundings. As long as the environment is safe, the child learns with incredible speed. However, when the environment is scary or stressful, the child unlearns past learning just as rapidly.

In the early years of every child's life, whenever there is shock, violence, fear or pain, these intense emotions are imprinted deeply into memory. Whenever the same activity or situation is repeated, the nervous system and body subconsciously re-experience the memory of that trauma. This creates a blind spot in the child's neurological process and he literally goes blind to any alternative except knee-jerk, repetitive reactions.


As an example, if a toddler is happily playing with a puppy and gets accidentally scratched or bitten he might forget the incident consciously but never be able to like being around dogs and may not know the reason why. All compulsive behaviours begin this way and continue into adulthood, until we are willing to make another choice.


For instance, when a child is learning the alphabets, say ABC, if there is stress around him like people shouting or judgements like, 'You'll never do it right', or constant comparisons, this activity gets fused together with other sensory inputs like hearing and seeing and one package of memory is formed. From then on whenever he attempts to learn ABC or write he subconsciously remembers past events and feelings and the same stress comes on line. This interferes with his ability to do it well. Over time, the child may even avoid trying to read or write because he believes it is stressful and undoable.


Any emotional situation that takes us out of the present and into the past means that whenever the same kind of emotion crops up later in our life we return to the past for our reference point. If that point was at age three, we find ourselves behaving like a three-year-old. We feel childish and we behave childishly. Even worse, we condemn ourselves for being stupid or immature and through our mental self-talk; reinforce the problem while desperately searching for a solution.


Whenever we feel deeply stressed our brain and body goes into a fight or flight response. It's good if we can actually fight or run away, but most times we just freeze emotionally. Our 'frozen feelings' are the cause of this 'glitch' in our learning process. We know we should be able to make a positive change, but that doesn't change anything. With a sense of helplessness we fear the future and self-doubt rules our lives.


The process of change need not be traumatic. We need to understand that whatever pain we experienced in the past because of which we made certain choices, were the only recourse we had at the time. We couldn't have done any better because we didn't know how to. But we should realise that was then and this is now! We can get help from trained professionals and learn to unblock the negative emotions fused in our past that affect our positive future. We can choose to choose again. It's up to us. It's our movie!

(The writer is the co-founder, AJNA Centre for Learning, Pune)

E-mail: ajnacenter@yahoo.com

Website: www.ajnacenter.com

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Life has much to offer, don't go away yet

Feb 16, 2010, 12.00am IST
MURALI A RAGHAVAN.


A spate of suicides reported recently makes us wonder: What drives an individual to take his own life? The drastic action is perhaps due to intense despair and a feeling of helplessness.

The question then arises: What is life and what sustains it? No doubt the physical frame is sustained and supported by air, food and water. But at the psychological level it is hope, the perception of self-worth and moral strength that affirm the will to live. All excuses like loneliness, loss of wealth, humiliation, shame and guilt that might force the decision to give up on life midstream could be traced to the loss of the will to live.

Hope is the springboard of all activity. A new hour, a new dawn and a new year, all hold out hope. Hope can also spring forth in a manner that is unconnected with us. A good turn of events for someone else can kindle hope in us. However, hope could turn out to be a double-edged sword. Unfulfilled hope can be devastating, as in business, love and competitive situations. Grief might blur one’s vision but the flicker of hope helps us navigate the darkness of despair.

In contrast, death is total darkness. One way of handling this is to hope realistically rather than reach for something that is unattainable. There will be less chance, then, of falling so short of the goal that everything seems out of reach and hence, life will not lose all meaning. To act and not be distracted by the fruit of action is a good way to avoid such situations. The Gita advises us to remain detached from fruit of action.


Self-criticism and introspection are useful exercises to appraise one’s strengths and weaknesses so that one can understand one’s potential. This is not to sit in judgement and find fault. Any assessment of one’s worth can only be relative and so is not absolute. Comparisons are odious, wrote a poet. So when we desist from making comparisons, it helps us overcome a great many problems.
Everything in the world is there because it is of some worth. Ramakrishna Paramhansa said that a stone that lies on the road is there for a reason we might not be aware of. Every person likes to be loved, to receive compassion and kindness. No one would like to be hurt, deceived or offended in any way. So the universal moral code is clear: Do unto others what you would have them do to you. A convicted criminal appeals for mercy or clemency hoping that the very moral code he violated will somehow pull him out of the dire situation he has put himself in. In some cases a one-off moral transgression may make it difficult to justify the continuance of life.

Speaking a lie while being aware of the truth and doing wrong intentionally even while knowing what is right could lead to dilemmas that erode self-worth. A fractured mind, like a broken mirror, does not reflect reality. It leads to misconceptions and creates confusion, leading one to jump to conclusions. When one is unable to reconcile contradictions in perception, hasty decisions are made and when translated into action, these can have disastrous, and maybe irreversible consequences. Such as the decision to take one’s life.
A unified mind is the key to peace, happiness and fullness. It can help us see the whole picture rather then get trapped in ephemeral details. Not everyone might turn out to be a Beethoven or Stephen Hawking. However, by not getting disheartened by setbacks and by finding ways to overcome difficulties, we can learn to appreciate and enjoy whatever we have instead of calling it quits.

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Holi play of energies, positive and negative

Feb 28, 2010, 12.00am IST
YOGI ASHWINI.


Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Entire creation is nothing but manifestation of energy, and this has been revealed by yogis thousands of years ago.


Every object of creation, all lokas or dimensions of existence and yugas or dimensions of time, they say, exist as energy forms. The earth’s movement changes the dimension of time. When the earth moves on its tilted axis, yugas change, as do seasons when it revolves around the sun. Every movement from one dimension to the other brings about transformation as every day comes with its unique energy patterns.


The concept of sandhya is helpful to understand energy changes that occur daily, when powerful transformations take place. There are two forces in creation, positive and negative; both these energies keep the other in balance. Vedanta describes four types of sandhyas that occur on any given day. The first, the Brahma sandhya, occurs an hour before and after sunrise. This is a time when positive forces are at their peak. This time, therefore, is ideally suited for higher practices.

As the day progresses, energies get transformed. Positive energies tend to diminish while negative energies gain ascendance. The waxing and waning of positive and negative energies lead to the Tantric sandhya. This occurs between 10.20 am and 11.30 AM, when positive and negative forces are most likely to be equal in strength. This time is propitious for material gain.

At sunset, once again energies go through a transformation. The process gives rise to the third sandhya when negative energies peak. Practices like the Sanatan kriya are usually done during this time to protect us from the negative energies in the environment. The last and fourth sandhya occurs at midnight, when negative energies tend to go down and positive energies begin to go up

While all the interplay of positive and negative energies might hold true on an average, on ordinary days, there are certain special days when energies are vibrant that everyone and particularly practitioners of Sanatan kriya and Tantra sadhana receive abundant benefit. Hough we tend to associate these special days with sacred stories, there’s more to them than what is apparent on the surface. The days have been chosen with deliberation, for their significance in energy composition.


Let’s take the story of Holika, associated with the celebration of the Holi festival. King Hiranyakashyapa, irked at his son Prahlad’s devotion to Narayana, makes several attempts to have the child killed. Facing one failure after the next, the king finally decides to make Prahlad sit on Holika’s lap and set him afire, as he was confident that Holika would remain unharmed as she enjoyed the benefit of the boon of immunity to fire.


Prahlad’s unshakable faith in the divine Narayana or Vishnu enables him to emerge from the raging fire unharmed. On the other hand, Holika is reduced to ashes. The story establishes the victory of positive forces over negative forces and inspires one to think in terms of celebrating and respecting positive forces in nature. It’s not all that simple, though. These stories involve super-beings and the meanings of each of these sacred stories embedded deep, pregnant with the very secrets of creation, and which are revealed to a practitioner when the stage comes.


For a spiritual aspirant, the night of Holi is a night of sadhana or meditation. For those who value the festival but who might not be spiritual seekers, it is certainly a good time for introspection, a time to `burn’ the Holika hiding within to ashes, so that truth can reveal itself.
www.dhyanfoundation.com

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The Prophet’s message of submission

Feb 26, 2010, 12.00am IST
SADIA DEHLVI.


The birth of a prophet signifies the rebirth of humanity. Prophets lead the way to God and help us discern good from evil. The twelfth of Rabiulawwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar, falls the mawlid, the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad whom Allah created as rahmat ul alameen, mercy for all realms and worlds.
Let’s revisit and reflect on Muhammad’s mission of bringing Islam, that is, peace to the world.
The messages revealed to Muhammad over a span of 23 years constitute the Holy Quran. It addresses nations, communities, families, individuals and humanity as a whole, teaching the path to inner and outer perfection. The Prophet said: “I have come to perfect character” and the Quran praises his conduct. Muhammad breathes life into our souls, pours love into our hearts and guides us to unravel divine mysteries. He taught us to love the One God and emphasised that the path leading to Him consists of kindness, compassion and moderation.


The spirit of Islam is entering into a state of humility before the Lord. Despite all the glories bestowed on him as Habiballah, Beloved of Allah, Muhammad remained in prostration before Him, referring to himself as the slave of Allah.
A state of submission includes recognising those who know and seeking knowledge from them. Prophet Muhammad did not desire the Message, but was chosen for the revelations, which began at the cave of Hira while he was meditating during the month of Ramzan. The first word revealed was the command ‘ Iqra’ – read! “Read in the name of thy Lord and cherisher, who created man, out of a clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is most bountiful, He who taught the use of the pen; taught man that which he knew not.” Iqra is the basis of human knowledge. In Islamic tradition, man’s primary duty lies in nurturing the intellect to seek the Creator.


Allah has honoured the pen, He swears by it in the Quran, which means ‘The Recital’. It is the last link in a chain of revelations going back to the very origin of man. The Quran declares Prophet Muhammad the Khatam al Ambiya, Seal of Prophecy, and confirms that of all prophets, from Adam to Abraham including Moses and Jesus. Muslim faith is incomplete without believing in the 124,000 Ambiya, prophets who have been sent to earth. The Quran informs that there has never been a time when God did not send Messengers who did not speak the language of the people. If followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are at odds, it is not because of the teachings of their founders, but despite these teachings.


The Miraj, Ascension of the Prophet to the Heavens, is a tale of love where God is the lover and the Prophet, the beloved. The lovers of Muhammad believe this union to be the greatest in all of heaven and earth for it carries clues on heavenly secrets. It tells us that the source of creation is pure light, love and goodness. It gives the joyful news that the gulf between the finite and infinite can be bridged. Muhammad returns not with wealth, but light. He returns to the world, but does not seek it and declares: “Poverty is my pride.”

This nocturnal journey forms the foundation for Muslim spiritualists seeking to make this Ascension by annihilating the ego, the i, for in the presence of God, there is no room for more than one ‘I’, that is the ‘I’ of Divinity.

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Sniffing out the truth about who you are

Feb 25, 2010, 12.00am IST
AVATAR MEHER BABA.


For most of us, spiritual sadhana or practice is the external observance of rituals and ceremonies prescribed by religion. In the beginning such observance has is valuable to enable to self-purification and discipline. Ultimately, however, the aspirant has to transcend the phase of external conformity and get initiated in the deeper aspects of spiritual sadhana.
In its deeper aspects, spiritual sadhana consists in following the yoga of knowledge or dhyan, yoga of action or karma and yoga of devotion or bhakti. The sadhana of knowledge finds its expression through the exercise of detachment born of true understanding, the different forms of meditation and the constant use of discrimination and intuition.


Karma-yoga is acting according to the best intuitions of the heart without fear or hesitation. Fulfillment of the sadhana of karma-yoga requires that action should spring from the perception of Truth. Even more important than the sadhanas of knowledge and action is the sadhana of devotion or love.


Love is its own excuse for being. It is complete in itself and does not need to be supplemented by anything. Love is not love if it is based on any expectation. In the intensity of divine love, the lover becomes one with the divine Beloved. There is no sadhana greater than love, there is no law higher than love and there is no goal that is beyond love – for love in its divine state becomes infinite. God and love are identical and one who has divine love already has God.
As a rule sadhana involves effort and sometimes even desperate effort, as in the case of an aspirant who may strive for detachment in the face of temptations. In love, though, there is no effort because it is spontaneous. One of the paradoxes connected with spiritual sadhana is that all effort of the aspirant is intended for arriving at a state of effortlessness.
There is the story of a kasturi-mriga, or musk deer that brings out the nature of spiritual sadhana. Once while roaming about and frolicking over hills and dales, the kasturi-mriga was suddenly aware of an exquisitely beautiful scent, the like of which it had never known. The scent stirred the inner depths of its soul so profoundly that it determined to find the source. So keen was its longing that notwithstanding the severity of cold or the intensity of scorching heat, by day as well as by night, the deer carried on its desperate search for the source of the sweet scent. It knew no fear or hesitation but undaunted, went on its elusive search, until at last, happening to lose its foothold on a cliff, it had a precipitous fall resulting in a fatal injury. While breathing its last, the deer found that the scent that had ravished its heart and inspired all these efforts came from its own navel. This last moment of the deer’s life was its happiest and there was on its face inexpressible peace.

All spiritual sadhanas of the aspirant are like the efforts of the kasturi-mriga. The final fructification of sadhana involves the termination of the ego-life of the aspirant. At that moment there is the realisation that he himself has, in a sense, been the object of all his search and endeavour. All that he suffered and enjoyed – all his risks and adventures, all his sacrifices and desperate strivings – were intended for achieving true Self-knowledge, in which he loses his individuality only to discover that he is identical with God, who is in everything.

Today is the 116th birth anniversary of Avatar Meher Baba.

Email:avatarmeherbababombaycentre@rediffmail.com

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Energy diagrams that enthuse the spirit

Feb 23, 2010, 12.00am IST
Bhanumathi Narasimhan.


There are several theories about the use of yantras – whether in terms of energy and colour, or their association with certain mantras. Understanding our existence could throw some light on mantras and their significance.

There are seven layers to our existence: body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, ego and the Self. The first six are subject to change; they are impermanent. The physical body changes over time. The mind oscillates between past and future, likes and dislikes. The intellect is caught between agreement and disagreement. Memory experiences loss and gain.


Our circle of belongingness depends on the extent of our ego. The antidote to ego is being natural. This happens because of spiritual practices and the use of yantras and mantras. Yantras help to transcend body-consciousness and mantras uplift our consciousness.


What does it mean to transcend body consciousness? When you move from your limited identity and enter the unbounded, infinite consciousness even for a few moments, it energises and rejuvenates you completely. The phenomena of moving beyond the limited identity of body, form, shape, and location is described as transcending body consciousness. How does a yantra help us to do this?


Yantras are energy diagrams representing various energy fields. Yantras can have lines moving upward, downward or curved lines. They signify the flow of energy and nodal points of various energies. Let us say, we are walking on a hilly terrain. We are climbing, and then we go downhill, maybe we move on a curved path for a while. When we climb, the energy required is different from what is required while going downhill. The experience of walking along curves is different from that of walking on a straight path or uphill. In this way, we can understand various energy patterns governing our activities. Some patterns drain and tire us. Some energise us. If there is dullness, lack of enthusiasm and interest, inertia, and lethargy, we can correct our own energy field by focusing on a specific yantra.


Which yantra would suit me? All matter is atoms grouping together in specific patterns. They give rise to the many substances in creation. Every form or substance has atoms but the patterns are different. Similarly, yantras are different patterns of the same energy. These patterns can be recognised only with heightened awareness. As each human being is unique, seers dedicated certain models for certain kinds of people based on the extent of refinement of their nervous system. To know which one is for you requires the guidance of a Master.


Yantras have a definite structure and organisation. The centre of the yantra is the bindu, the focal point of all energy, the seat of Divinity. All the cells in our body came from a single mother cell or bindu which differentiated into eyes, brain, heart and other parts of our body. That one cell contained knowledge of creation of the entire human body. Similarly, the bindu is the focal point of all energies that constitute Creation. Yantras are normally represented in two dimensions, but they could be multi-dimensional. The Vedas speak of the existence of several dimensions of space and time beyond the three dimensions of space and one of time that we perceive. Science is still on the lookout for that ultimate unified theory of the universe.
Movement from the bindu to the periphery is the journey from the subtle to gross, from within to the external world. The movement from the periphery to the bindu is dissolution -- the journey from the external world of sensory perceptions and objects to the infinite space within.

(The writer teaches meditation, Art of Living, Bangalore.)

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Choose your options with utmost care

Feb 15, 2010, 12.00am IST
MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN.


Every day in our life, we perhaps have some kind of bad experience, big or small. There is no escape from experiences. One has two options: either to ignore them or try to react. The first option is a form of forgiveness, while the other amounts to engagement and in some cases, even revenge .


Which is the better option? We have to decide by looking at the result, for that is the determining factor.


Forgiveness is a better option for it is based on a proven formula: ‘Save yourself’. Forgiveness saves you from distraction, it saves your time, and it saves you from creating more problems. Forgiveness could amount to an instant solution to the problem.


In contrast, reaction and emotional revenge means turning the bad into worse, for revenge tends to worsen the problem. If forgiveness is buying time, revenge is just wasting time without hope of any positive result.
In such a situation people generally tend to give in to negative thinking but such a reaction would be unwise. The better formula is following a self-oriented course of action. In other words, if you are having a sad experience, don’t think about the other party who you feel has wronged you. Think about your own self and adopt a course of action that is better for you.


At all times in our life we are torn between two choices – anti-other thinking and pro-self thinking. Anti-other thinking makes you descend to the lowest level, whereas pro-self thinking elevates you to a higher plane of consciousness.

If forgiveness is a full stop, revenge is full of commas. Forgiveness means ending an unwanted situation, while revenge means extending it to infinity. Forgiveness maintains your positive thinking uninterruptedly, while revenge creates negativity. And negativity creates all kinds of undesirable behaviour, in terms of both thought and action.


Some would argue that forgiveness does not always work, and that it is better to adopt the tit-for-tat policy. But tit-for-tat is not a real solution; it does not end the problem, it only leads to a chain reaction. A reactionary attitude aggravates the problem. Wouldn’t the policy of forgiveness only encourage others to take further negative steps against us? To assume so would be unfair, and also, it is against the law of nature.

Psychological studies show that every human being is born with two different faculties – the ego and the conscience. If you follow the path of vindication, it fans the ego of the other party, whereas if you follow the policy of forgiveness, it will activate the conscience of the other person. And it is a fact that conscience always plays a positive role in controversial matters.


The culture of forgiveness helps in the building of a better society, where positive values flourish, where the spirit of co-operation prevails, where disparate groups come together and form a peaceful society. Revenge, on the other hand, creates an environment of mistrust, in which everyone takes others to be rivals. The revenge culture rules out the growth of a healthy society.


To err is human; everyone is bound to do something wrong at one time or other. But, in such a situation, revenge means committing not just one mistake, but making mistake after mistake. On the contrary, forgiveness means undoing wrongs with rights. It is better to say that, if to err is human, to forgive is also human. Perhaps this concept is expressed in the saying: ‘To err is human, but to forgive is divine.’ For at the core, aren’t we all really divine beings?

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Pure energy needs an appropriate channel

Feb 11, 2010, 12.00am IST
YOGI ASHWINI.


Nature has its way of providing balance in Creation. For every aspect, there exists one that is equal and opposite.


Darkness is nothing but the absence of light. Similarly, silence is the absence of sound. It is only duality in nature, the coexistence of the positive and the negative, that lends meaning to the whole of existence.


If at any given time, there exists the entire gamut of the positive and the negative, the two will balance each other out completely, the net result being shunya or zero. There would be everything, yet nothing. The only thing that could fit such a description is the formless, the Nirakaar or Para Brahmn. This is the swaroop or essence of Shiva. In the words of Shankaracharya: "Na punyam na paapam na saukhyam na dukham, chidananda rupa Shivoham Shivoham" ^ Neither good nor bad, there is no joy or sorrow, only the Universal Presence.

What then do we make of Nataraja, the dancing male form, or the half-man half-woman Ardhanareeswara, or the sadhu whose body is smeared with ash? Are all these mere mythological constructs? To understand the import of these, we need to go back to the beginning of Creation...


When Creation began, there existed just one Supreme Consciousness that manifested as Adi Shakti, the Primordial feminine energy. From her emerged Shiva. Interestingly, the first physical manifestation of Creation was the sound of "Aum" which emanated from the damru or drum of Shiva. His dance of Creation gave form to the Universe. Thus, what manifested was Shiva and the energy responsible for this manifestation was also Shiva.


Adi Shakti in all her glory then chose to be the consort of Shiva as Parvati. While entire Creation (including Shiva) draws energy from Shakti, Shakti without Shiva is just pure energy that needs a vehicle to channelise itself. Complete evolution thus becomes a union of opposing forces.


This evolution is seen as awakening of the Kundalini or seat of energy in us. The process involves rising up through the chakras, what rises up being Kundalini or Shakti. This is a semi-dormant force residing at the base chakra. For this to happen, Shiva seated at the highest chakra has to come down and unite with Shakti at every subsequent chakra. The Samudra Manthan or the churning of the celestial ocean where both nectar and poison were produced is nothing but the awakening of Kundalini.


Amrit or nectar is the union of Shiva-Shakti that bestows salvation. The vish or venom produced as an equal and opposite phenomenon necessitates the role of a guru in evolution. It was Shiva as Neelkanth who took in all the poison and preserved it in his throat for maintaining balance. In this sense, an evolved guru strives to achieve a balance.


Shiva then becomes the transformer, the granter of salvation, 'dev-adi-dev Mahadev'. The first experience of this all-pervasive energy of Shiva lies in closing the eyes. When the eyes are shut, one experiences a vast expanse of space, the chittakaash, wherein lies everything perceivable and unperceivable.


The night of Mahashivratri has special significance as the energy patterns of this day resonate with the energy of Shiva. For a spiritual aspirant this is the night of Sanatan Kriya and mantra sadhna. The guru, in his role as facilitator, gives the disciple-seeker a specific mantra and kriya to practise at the right time on this night. The special night of Mahashivratri creates an ambience that enables close communion between seekers, the guru and seeker, and helps one to focus on channelising one's energy in positive ways.
www.dhyanfoundation.com

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Yom Kippur And The Pathway To Joy

Feb 9, 2010, 12.00am IST
TNN.


Yom Kippur services often begin with a verse from Tehillim: "Light is sown for the righteous, and for the upright of heart, gladness." One might think that an appropriate way to begin the services on the holiest day of the year, the day on which our fate for the coming year is sealed, would be with a message that is more forceful, more powerful. Perhaps the passage that we say elsewhere in the prayers "Repentance, prayer, and charity remove the evil decree!" might be more appropriate. Why was this line selected to begin the prayers?


Rav Chaim Volozhin explained the difference between one who is righteous and one who is upright. A righteous person, a tzadik, is one whose evil inclination works extremely hard to cause him to stray from the path of good. This person, even though he knows that he is doing that which is correct, and experiences joy from doing that, which is proper, still gets bogged down at times. He feels troubled, and he hopes that with the help of God, he will be able to continue on the correct path. That is why the light for the righteous is merely sown; when he has reached a higher level of self-improvement, this light will blossom into an overwhelming happiness.

On the other hand, the one who is upright, yashar, has improved himself to the point that his evil inclination causes him no more trouble. He knows that he has what he needs to serve Hashem properly. Therefore, he is able to experience true joy upon doing that, which is proper, as he feels sure that he will not stumble in the future.

After Rosh Hashanah, if we have not previously started to repent, we should be in the midst of that process now. We have increased our gifts of charity and we have improved on our concentration while we pray. On the afternoon right before Yom Kippur, we say the Viddui, the confessional. We do all of these actions to prepare ourselves for the holiness of Yom Kippur.

It can be assumed that by Yom Kippur eve, most of us have reached the level of tzadik, the righteous, as Reb Chaim defined it; we know what we have done, whether it is proper or improper. We know that in the future, we only want to do that which is proper. We depend on Hashem's assistance to be sure that this will happen. On Yom Kippur, we come before Hashem to ask forgiveness for our wrongdoing and to request His assistance for the future. We hope that our prayers, combined with the awesome holiness of the day, will allow us to become free from sin, allowing us to attain the level of the upright. For this reason, we begin the prayers on Yom Kippur with the verse of 'Or zaru'a.' This verse should serve to inspire us on this holy day.

The prayer reminds us before we start this period of time that if we take advantage of the opportunity before us, we can truly be the ones who are upright, and merit the happiness that accompanies this stature. We can let the light sown within each and every one of us grow and develop into unbounded joy. May we all merit to experience that joy this year.

Website:  www.torah.org

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Are you a loser? Good for you

Feb 8, 2010, 04.44pm IST
SUDHAMAHI REGUNATHAN.


The premium is on winning. Whatever you do, you have to win, whether it is learning to sing, dance or just play. We live in fear of losing. We fear it so much that often, we hear this being said to someone: “You’re such a loser!”


So what happens when you “lose”? Besides the fact that winning and losing are relative terms, it is really not so bad to lose once in a while. Sometimes, by losing, you could gain more, particularly when you live in a society where you are in constant touch with other people and are exposed to various situations. It is the one who loses, so to say, who actually keeps rolling. This is not to glorify losing, but to turn the focus to a balanced development rather than glorify the obsession to win always.
Shiva and Parvati were playing dice. Each time Shiva rolled the dice, Parvati’s supporters squealed with joy while Shiva’s companions cried in anguish. Parvati won and Shiva lost. Once Shiva lost even the last piece of cloth he wore, to Parvati. “Why do you always lose?” asked the supporters of Shiva. They had implicit faith in his supremacy. Then how come he lost each time?


Shiva lost to win. It takes some reflection for this to sink in. In the beginning, all was one, the undifferentiated, motionless One. When it separated into two, the Purusha and the Prakriti, there was Creation, there was activity. According to mythology, Narada, the celestial bard came to the Ardhanareeswara – the androgynous two-in-one form of Shiva and Parvati -- and said he would teach an interesting game that would end the inertia and add spice to their life.


He taught them the game of dice. When Shiva plays with Parvati it is the play of Purusha with Prakriti, inactivity with activity. The wager was a hug. If Shiva won, he would embrace Parvati. Beautiful as that sounds, people were worried because once again then Shiva would envelop Parvati in himself and return to the motionless inactive state of Ardhanareeswara. This would mean all activity would come to a standstill; it would be the end of the world. So it was crucial for Parvati to win, and for Shiva to lose so that activity continues without a break. In Parvati’s victory, the pursuit of pleasure would continue...Shiva would play another game and yet another to win and embrace. But in losing the game, he won the game of life, he preserved Creation. And Parvati would win again and so the cycle continues.
Shiva’s followers however could only feel humiliation at defeat. They cried and entreated Shiva to work harder while Parvati’s entourage laughed. But the game continues, of winning and losing -- of Creation, Destruction, ad infinitum.


To keep activity going, to maintain harmony and balance, we have to experience both, winning and losing. This way, the cosmic play ensures that the cycle goes on. At a mundane level, the seesaw effect creates opportunities for all. When success and failure are experiences in turn, it helps us cultivate several perspectives, to lose gracefully as well as embrace achievements with deep humility.


This is the secret of happy togetherness. In the androgynous form, too, there was togetherness, but of a static kind. There seemed no purpose, no outcome. When they split to become two distinct entities, they could let their creations flourish. And yet they stayed together enjoying the game they played. That is togetherness; where ‘otherness’ enhances the togetherness.

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Get more out of life with deep silence

Feb 8, 2010, 12.00am IST
SWAMI BRAHMDEV.


Silence is a valuable constituent of the game of life; silence is the key that has the potential to open doors; it can free you of confusion. Silence empowers you think things through and come up with solutions because it is only in silence you can listen well. You can listen to the deepest wisdom of your soul.
In the absence of silence you tend to get overtaken by the mind and the body, and emotions. The clutter prevents you from listening to your psyche and soul. To listen to your psyche, your soul, your Divinity, you need to establish a strong relationship with silence; without it we might remain unaware of many things. When we live on the surface, the noise is overpowering.
It may be interesting to carry out a small experiment with your life. Go some place where there is plenty of silence and quiet. Sit in silence and observe yourself. You will find that in that silence you are beginning to get to know yourself. People go to the Himalayas and the caves to find a silent, secluded place free of distractions. The ambience of quiet engenders the exercise of looking within.


The life we have designed and created; the life most of us live, is an outer life. The outside is a very beautiful world; we have created it with our consciousness. However, the inner world is even better, more powerful, stronger, greater and bigger. Whatever exists in the universe outside also exists inside you. The whole universe, and maybe more, exists inside you. With our limited mental, vital and physical capacities we are able to become a little bit aware of the outer world, but by bringing alive our inner world we can know much more. We wish for possible happiness and success; its the inner world that has the capacity to open many more possibilities for you.


Right now you are enjoying travelling. This is a possibility. You take decisions on the basis of the possibility of a peaceful, joyful, harmonious, healthy, mindful and clear life, without any kind of insecurity or fear, pain, sufferings, worries. That is the desire, the aspiration every one of us nurtures. If we are searching for those possibilities in the outer world it is not possible, because the outer world has different kinds of possibilities also. It can give every comfort you ask for, but with every comfort, there comes some discomfort too. With any outer joy, pain will also be there. With any outer happiness, unhappiness would come too. Anything that comes from the outer world comes with its opposite in tow.
Take some time off every day to be silent, even if for five or 10 minutes Feel it, experience it, and observe it. That is the moment when you are with you, when you available to yourself. When you are in silence you are living in the present, which we dont do very often.


Silence does not mean absence of speech. Silence is an inner state. Something will automatically change in your state, in your nature, and silence will establish itself. Even if you are in a catastrophe, no one can destroy your silence; no one can take the inner quiet away from you. Once silence starts helping you, helping your evolution, then you can enjoy the beauty of life.


Silence is a state of consciousness. Silence is not an effort. If you are making an effort to be silent you are making more noise. Silence is an effortless effort. It will be born spontaneously with your understanding. Silence is the birthplace of your soul.

As told to Sudhamahi Regunathan. Swami Brahmdev lives in his Aurovalley ashram in Raiwala, Uttarakhand .

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The art of learning classical music

Feb 7, 2010, 12.00am IST
BINDU CHAWLA.


Learning Hindustani classical music was a creative process working at the level of the subconscious mind, beyond the rational mind that turned into a deeply profound and spiritual experience.
The ustads or masters had unusual methods. A traditional practice in the initiation ceremony of a newborn baby was to sing into his ear when he was sleeping, a kind of baptism. A tabla maestro would baptise with the baby lying on his chest and beat the rhythms of a taal or beat-cycle on his back, letting the sound sink in. This would be done often, and eventually, the child might express a craving for the music and rhythms. However, only when he wept for it, or expressed an intense hunger for the sounds, would he be taught, the approach being not to 'feed' a child whose spirit had not awakened.


Learning was a soul-to-soul process, the ustad being like a clear mirror before the student. Facing the teacher each day, the student came to face his own inner obstructions and as the learning proceeded, those obstructions would come up like scum on the surface of the student's mind, making him extremely uncomfortable. In fact, the ustad would keep a hawk's eye to watch what was making the student uncomfortable, and then make that discomfort as obvious to him as possible. This was the technique; and many a master of old would then metaphorically 'beat the devils out of the soul', which could be traumatic. But nothing more than that. Allauddin Khan Saheb of Maihar was well known for this, but most of his students loved him all the more for it.


The road to creativity could be a monotonous one. Long hours of repetition would be followed by the ustad asking the disciple to repeat some more, because the swaras or notes had not yet been honed to a celestial shine well, not as yet. Repetition was the stuff life was made of.


However, inherent in the repetitions was the idea that the creative process was unravelled by the method of suffocation through sheer monotony. In a lecture, Pandit Amarnath of the Indore gharana explained this technique as an expression of one of the highest principles of creativity. He asked one of his students to sing a palta or exercise in a raga 50 times over, before an audience. By the time she had reached the eighth time, she changed the exercise a wee bit, on her own, out of the desire to escape from the monotony, just a wee bit, and he asked her to stop then and there. "Enough, this is all I wanted!" Panditji was totally against the 'rationalisation' of the learning process in universities. Music is not a subject but an art, a vidya realised in the soul, not crammed through textbooks. For this reason all old gharana masters were wary of textbooks not because they were themselves illiterate or ignorant.


In the impressionable years the disciple was debarred from listening to the music of ustads other than those of his own tradition. First equip yourself to appreciate your own tradition, as deeply as possible, and then only you would be equipped to appreciate any other.

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Connect with a smile of contentment

Feb 11, 2010, 12.00pm IST
JYOTI DESAI.


Her smile beckons me; it is captivating, friendly and full of warmth. She cuts the paddy stalks rhythmically with the other womenfolk labouring under the harsh afternoon sun.

They giggle as i wave out to them and ask if i can join them in their work. The woman with the warm smile shyly points out that such hard work is not for the likes of me. The rest start laughing. I too join in the laughter, in response to the simple truth of my inability to swiftly cut paddy stalks with the sun burning my back. There’s so much hard work, harsh circumstances, and little leisure in this remote tribal hamlet. Later she speaks to me about her life cheerfully with no trace of the grim circumstances that engulf her. She connects with a smile of contentment.

Happy responses to life’s travails are confounding. Is this a mindset that has decided to quietly accept what life has to offer as one’s destiny or a smiling ‘dare you’ to challenging circumstances? Surely it is the latter. In each one of us is the innate desire to connect to our circumstances, share moments from our life with another and brave it out. That is the inner core from where each one of us draws energy to live life through hard times.


A smile reflects what’s inside us and communicates our desire to experience connectedness with another. Smiling at another is a fleeting moment, but sublime nevertheless. Contentment is a natural outcome of engaging in such moments. Leading a meagre existence is not very appealing. Despite that, with few resources to indulge in materialistic extravagances, there is a simple understanding among these people on the endless bounty of connecting to others and finding contentment.

At the other extreme, the modern world is all set on a great march to fulfil an ever-demanding cycle of needs. Rushing past our fellow travellers, there is forgetfulness in our behaviour, little attempt to connect, fear of looking in the eye and displaying feelings. But the deep reservoir of emotions within us is waiting to connect. It is in anguish at not being able to express. And in anguish, there is little scope for contentment. Contentment becomes most elusive, and ironically becomes a never-ending search for all of us.

In this elusive search, several paths are explored in the hope to somersault into a life of deep contentment. Whether or not one makes it to that point of bliss becomes inconsequential if it means sidestepping connectedness with fellow beings. For even if the need to connect for the exalted soul becomes less important, there are many who crave for a connection with another being as a means to walking the path of contentment.

It is said that all beings are one, but that they manifest in different forms, and scientific studies have proven that life forms of all kinds respond to warmth and make an effort to connect. It must be this fundamental connectedness that beckons me to the warm smile of a total stranger in a remote tribal hamlet. The lighting up of a face with an exuberant smile, the brushing aside of the daily tirades of life and taking the circumstances as a given is nothing but the opening up of our souls to the many opportunities of exulting in this moment of existence. 

Then why the search? Connecting with a smile is perhaps a way to finding ourselves in a state of contentment.

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Adversity as opportunity

Feb 15, 2010, 12.00am IST
Rashmi Singla.

We experience agony and pain when we come to face an emotional, social or financial upheaval over which we have no control. The word agony implies suffering that one goes through helplessly, maybe over a prolonged period of time. It could be a state of mental anguish in which we fear or question the uncertainty in our lives. We may feel like giving ourselves up to fate.


You might feel agony over the death of a loved one, separation from a loved one, a traumatic accident or chronic physical ailment. Suffering can also arise on account of being misunderstood by others or because of not being able to express yourself. One who is in agony might think he is a total failure in life; that there is no hope left. However, what seems like suffering can be turned into a golden opportunity if it is dealt with intellect and patience. This in turn is brought about by means of setting goals, seeking guidance and cultivating positive thoughts.


Dealing with all that causes suffering means to overcome obstacles in our path to progress. There are many ways to accomplish this. First of all it means focusing on strengths and understanding our limitations better. Interacting with positive people helps. Walking in natural environs, spending time alone, reading quietly or listening to music are all activities that engender positive thinking for it connects us to the whole; it opens our eyes to the interconnected nature of life and the concept of Brahmn starts making sense.


It is better to avoid those who have a negative attitude to life for they tend to pull your spirits down, adding to your bag of troubles. If possible, avoid negative surroundings too. Love and hope, faith and optimism have the power to move mountains; they can vanquish all your fears and strengthen your resolve to be compassionate and loving.


Another way to deal with suffering is by engaging yourself in community service as well as by learning skills to acquire knowledge and wisdom. Seek the company of the good and virtuous from whom you can learn and elevate your consciousness. The mind needs good nourishment too, like the body. Chanting mantras or saying prayers could help some of us get into the right mood that promotes reflection and greater understanding of the interconnected nature of all things.


Strength attracts strength. God is believed to be all-powerful and strong; it has been said that you are as weak as the weakest link in the chain but the converse can also hold true – you could be as strong as the strongest link in the chain. For you are as strong as you think you are.


Integrating all these ways brings to us a sense of calmness and hope. And in the presence of hope, faith is born. And in the presence of faith miracles happen. Positive thinking can turn adversity into opportunities for healing, forgiveness and for compassion. Then our deeds will automatically be done with no fear of the future. Then the path of agony will be changed to a path of progress and sorrow turns into eternal happiness.

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Cherish good memories,see what happens

Feb 12, 2010, 12.00am IST
JANINA GOMES.

The older we get, the larger our memory banks become. Our memories, like everything else in life, are a medley of the good and bad, the positive and negative.


Memory is more than just a receptacle of past experiences. We can review the contents of our memory bank and either energise ourselves and live a full life, or put ourselves down and feel blue.
Memories are also made up of our attitudes and behaviour. That is why it is important to watch what we feed into our memory banks. If we continue to focus on the negative, we will look back to situations that have not been helpful for our growth. If we strengthen positive memories, we will remember all that challenges us to maturity.


Memories need not only be those of bountiful nature. Blue skies, birds, trees, flowers in full bloom, quiet lakes and waves thundering against the seashore – all these memories seem to put us in a happy mood. Memories can also be of crowded streets, overflowing bridges, hectic flip-flops and the anonymity of daily commuting. These memories might leave us cold and indifferent to others and to life.


The memories that ought to stay longest with us are those that resonate with experiences of love, giving and compassion. We have keen memories of our life-supporting systems and people we have interacted with and continue to interact with that have been instrumental to our growth.
Our daily interactions with people might expose us to those who have destructive traits. There are those who are violent, others insist that only their view is right. They might ridicule us or be aggressive towards us. It is these memories that we should try to overcome. If we do not give them too much importance, they will not overpower us. On the contrary they could contribute to our growth.


Spiritually mature people are usually brimming with good memories. For them every challenge or difficulty has been a chance to learn. They have stored in their memory banks useful lessons from a variety of experiences. If a rose can bloom in the midst of so many thorns, why cannot we too prosper wherever we bloom?


No one can be expected to be euphoric in all situations in life. We probably cannot escape the ups and downs of life. But, our memory banks can help us to remain balanced with a quiet contentment, which is only possible for discerning minds.
Bad memories do leave scars, emotional and spiritual. If we do not spend time and energy in dealing with them, they sink into oblivion. Our experience of God is coloured by memories. He takes away the pain of the past and the uncertainty of the present and future. Like a true artist He paints in black and white, shade and shadow, darkness and light. That is why memories can be interesting, inspiring and enabling.

The memory slate cannot be wiped absolutely clean. However, every negative memory can also bring us to a point where we begin to see ourselves in a new light. All experiences, negative and positive, can lead us to live life more abundantly.


If we let memories of good experiences, of faith, love, hope, empathy, compassion and beneficial relationships predominate, our ship will not end up on the rocks. Our memory banks could help us to steer ourselves towards safe waters, and maybe help anchor us in tranquility. Let’s ask ourselves: What are we feeding into our memory banks and what are we making of our lives?

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Enhancing spiritual memory

Feb 16, 2010, 12.00am IST
Uma and K S Ram.

Random Access Memory, RAM in short, is a feature that makes computers meaningful. It is hard to imagine a PC functioning minus RAM.


Computers without RAM are like people with dysfunctional memory, who live a life divorced from reality. Who imagine events, create a false world around themselves, and waste their precious lives. On coming across such people, we realise how blessed we are to have our memory alive and in order.


Sages, however, might beg to differ. In Indian spiritual lexicon, memory ( smriti ) is more than just remembering telephone numbers and bank balances. Memory connotes an evolved state of being. Success and failure in life, in the ultimate sense, depend upon how active and functional one's memory is. An illustration from the Bhagavad Gita might help clarify this point.

The forces are positioned on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, ready for war. Arjuna, a key player in the Pandava team, finds his brethren and revered seniors before him. His emotions suddenly get the better of him. He realises the futility of war. He sees before his mind's eye death and disaster on a large scale. He turns 'spiritual' and resolves to renounce the contest. His mentor, Krishna, pities Arjuna and gives the message of the Gita, ending it with, ''Reflect upon it and act as you choose.'' What is the effect of the Gita, coming straight from Krishna's mouth, on Arjuna, the ardent disciple? He says, ''My delusion is destroyed. I have regained my memory smritilabdha through Your grace!''

Tracing the sequence of self-ruin, the Gita states, ''Brooding over the objects of sense, man develops attachment to them; from attachment comes desire; from desire anger sprouts forth. From anger proceeds delusion; from delusion, confused memory or smriti-bhransh , from confused memory the ruin of reason, due to ruin of reason he perishes.'' Recovery of memory motivates Arjuna to engage in battle, but he fights in the dispassionate mode of action, the mode of Karma Yoga. He fights in Krishna's shadow of grace, acting solely as a blessed instrument of God to reset a disturbed cosmic order, dharma-sansthapanarthaya .


What is that ultimate memory that Krishna quickened in Arjuna to inspire him towards right action? In the typical paradox of cosmic truth, ultimate memory is the same as original memory which, in turn, is the same as eternal memory. This relates to the truth of the essential unity of creation, non-duality, advaita . Sustenance, guidance and positive energy flow from the renewal of the memory of oneness and unity. All belong to the One, not as its parts, but rather as the One. Each of us, jointly and severally, is the One. The prelude to the Upanishads enunciates the 'absurd' equation of Vedanta: One minus one equals one. ''That is a whole, this is a whole, from that whole has this issued. When this whole issues from that, what remains is a whole.''
Maya blurs the memory of oneness; it inspires notions of difference, self-interest and rival interest. The spiritual journey consists of constantly renewing this memory until it firmly lodges in the mind. This is called sumiran , a corruption of the term ' smaran ', or remembrance. Sages across religions have hailed its value. Steeped in sumiran one gets established in bhakti or devotion, because the point of bhakti is ananyata , 'non-another-ness'.

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Life is beautiful inside and outside

Feb 21, 2010, 12.00am IST
Balgangadharnath Swami.



Should you live? With joy and exuberance. Joy should come not only from serving society but also from enjoying the best things in life. Just live with them, enjoy them. You do not have to possess something to enjoy it.


Look at the butterfly. Its lifespan is so short, yet it enjoys itself thoroughly. It goes from flower to flower, the most beautiful creation of nature. It sucks nectar the sweetest thing in nature. Give it anything else to eat or drink, but it chooses only the best, honey. Similarly, we should speak only sweetly, think and live beautifully and enjoy life. Sweetness is the secret of a beautiful life. Once we speak sweetly the whole world will speak sweetly to us. This should become our nature. Only bhakti can ensure this, because bhakti means love.

What do we do in temples? We put a stone there and offer archana , which means we lavish praise on the stone for all the qualities we value. We say you are our father, our mother. We invoke agni and offer praise, not one or two but one crore prayers each time. By doing this, we invest power in that stone.

One day a priest, adept as he was in offering worship, came home and heaped praise on his wife. You can imagine what a happy home she made for him. We have to develop the ability to appreciate the good in everyone. If we are happy and so are others, our speech will become sweet. Life then becomes easy, weightless. Otherwise the mind is full of problems and we are always ready to fight. If we develop sattvik qualities, wherever we go we will be happy.

We are also quick to point out different things that have disturbed our equanimity. If you think deeply you will find the fault always lies with others, never do you find yourself at fault! Actually it is the other way round.


One day a man felt he needed to see and talk to God. He went to a forest where he saw a sage sitting in meditation. He placed his request. The sage told him to collect rainwater in a pot and look into it till the mud settled. ''When you see your face in the water, you will know you have got gyana .''

The man did as instructed. Just as the water was becoming clear and he was beginning to see his face, the sage disturbed the pot. He did this repeatedly. Finally the seeker got upset. ''Oh! I am not disturbing it. I just shook it,'' said the sage. It is in the nature of worldly things that people keep ''disturbing'' or interfering with your life and time.

So if you find that someone has put you in a bad mood and so you cannot say nice words, or that when you see a person you remember his bad qualities and find nothing to praise, you know that the external world has disturbed the pot in your mind. Do not let it do so. God and everything divine is within you and in everyone around you. If there is happiness within you, you would not quarrel. And to find that happiness you have to find the divine in everyone.

As told to Sudhamahi Regunathan. Balgangadharnath Swami is the 71st pontiff of the Adichunchanagiri Mutt, Karnataka.

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Ch'i Kung makes you feel good

Feb 6, 2010, 12.00am IST
SENSEI SANDEEP DESAI.

Every morning, multitudes of Chinese gather in parks and practise Ch’i Kung, pronounced ‘chee gung’, which literally means ‘energy work’.


Ch’i Kung is about cultivating an expanded awareness. It helps your mind gain control over the movement of the life force. It is the practice of learning how to concentrate, circulate and focus on ch’i. It is considered to be the granddaddy of many internal and mindful arts, including T’ai Chi.

Many have at least heard of T’ai Chi but not Ch’i Kung, which is an older form of exercise. Taoist Ch’i Kung, believed to be the progenitor of all the different forms of Ch’i Kung and T’ai Chi, was created by meditation adepts 3,000 years ago. It was created through deep insight about how the body’s energy flows. Through inner awareness, they gained an understanding of energy channels, points, and the intricate relationship between internal energy systems of the body and its tissues.

Feng Shui – literally ‘wind-water’ – takes ch’i into account as it explores how the energies of the earth, sun, sky, landscape, colour, and time affect people, animals, and possible events. This promotes harmony and helps overcome, or at times prevent, natural and manmade disasters.

Ch’i Kung incorporates many ancient Chinese techniques for escalating the flow of life-energy in a series of dynamic postures or forms that flow from one into the other. The practice includes standing meditations, self-massage from standing or seated positions, and breathing exercises. Although physical movements may be utilised, Ch’i Kung practice can also be still.

In Ch’i Kung, there are three basics: smooth, even, silent breathing, total utilisation of effort but without creating internal strain, and performing soft, fluid, circular movements with a sense of ease and comfort.

Its peaceful and ch’i-stimulating nature complements any T’ai Chi practice. The effects you experience from the practice of Ch’i Kung are very different from those of T’ai Chi, but both are interconnected. Some say that T’ai Chi itself is a complex form of Ch’i Kung. However, others believe that they are separate and distinct mindful arts.

From improved physical health to greater mental clarity and spiritual awakening, increased life-energy can be felt in a wide variety of ways. Regular practice of these exercises will lead to a body and mind that are functionally younger, so that life becomes a joy and not a burden.

The best way to cultivate ch’i for health is to put the mind inside the body and make it conscious of the way the ch’i naturally flows and then change your internal environment to maximise that flow. For example, while practising either T'ai Chi or Ch’i Kung, become conscious of the gross and subtle movements of energy and also blockages if there are any. Then, let go, and the softness and relaxation frees up the energy hose.

Whether providing robust physical health, emotional well-being or peace of mind, Ch’i Kung enriches your life in surprising ways. The result? You feel healthier and happier.
To help us endure the strain of living up to a number of commitments, the need for something energising and revitalising such as Ch’i Kung exercises is felt today even more acutely than before.

(The writer is the author of ‘The Small Book of T’ai Chi’)

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