Love AllLove all. Love is the glue of life; it makes life worth living; it is the ultimate purpose of life; it expands from the love of a few beings to the love of the entire creation, and culminates in devotion to the Supreme Being; from the small self to the universal or cosmic Self; from self to Self. Love is divine, Love is god, Love moves the world, and Love is not mere physical attraction. In Love you cannot expect from someone, in physical attraction you do. In Love there is no fear, In Love there is no feeling of insecurity, in physical attraction there is. Love is selfless. In Love, if someone leaves you, you don’t feel bad about it. You do not wish bad for him/her. In Love you can only wish good, but in lust or physical attraction, people feel bad when someone leaves them or denies them some favor. They feel and wish bad toward the other, they might even go the extreme of violent acts.
|
Samadhi Meditation
Human beings have tried various methods like devotion (Bhakti), Yoga, and Karma Yoga (based on action) to attain peace of mind. But, these are not a permanent solution, they do provide a feeling of relief but they do not provide the complete release of these feelings (moksha). These various other methods are not deep enough to root out the cause of suffering. The various methods are weed killer but do not burn the roots of the weeds, only the top. Furthermore, knowledge alone is not realization; people suffering from diabetes know very well that eating sweets is not good for their health, yet they keep on eating sweet food. They know perfectly but act imperfectly -- So it is very clear that they do not have a deep level of understanding. As a result, instead of attaining peace, the world has suffered from poverty, jealousy, greed, war, and destruction. The method of total inaction as envisaged in Samadhi will enable one to live with total energy; action born out of Love and compassion will be the right action, arising out of right perception, which will lead to the end of human suffering. Samadhi Meditation is the simplest as well as the most difficult form of meditation. It is the simplest because it instructs the meditators to do nothing except to be aware and watchful like a witness. At the same time, it is also the most difficult because the mind is conditioned to do something with the expectation of a definite result. Constant practice is necessary in order to break this conditioning and this practice is the process of Samadhi Meditation. The way of Samadhi Meditation is the natural way offered for humanity to discover itself and let go of pain and grief.
|
Taking Responsibility for One’s ThoughtsThe Self is not a mute spectator. If it is, then mind can never be disciplined. It is only the Self that can discipline the mind. Once the Self takes responsibility for the thoughts, it gets interested in the thinking process and starts observing the dynamics very carefully. As a result, the good and the bad thoughts can be seen clearly as they arise. The Self can then discipline the mind by not pursuing the bad thoughts, i.e., thoughts that bring pain and sorrow. Here is an analogy to understand this better. The CEO of the company has to take responsibility for the acts of his employees. He cannot say that he was not aware of what was going on in his company. If he does, the company is sure to fail.
|
Knowledge = Creativity + Righteousness + Courage + Indomitable spiritMoral education involves two aspects: First, it requires the ability to have compelling and powerful dreams or visions of human development. Moral education also requires a disposition to do the right thing and influence others also to take the right action. There is a need for inclusion of "moral science" class as a part of education in all the schools and colleges. This is essential for the promotion of value-based education leading to an enlightened state of being.
Moral education should be taught from the second grade on (around the age of seven or eight), because that is the time when the blueprint of more mature behavior starts developing in the child’s mind. Belief in knowledge will increase wisdom. What is knowledge? Knowledge has four components: creativity, righteousness, courage, and indomitable spirit. The combination of these characteristics can generate Enlightened Beings. Creativity – “Learning gives creativity, Creativity leads to thinking. Thinking provides knowledge, and Knowledge makes one great”. Rig Veda. Feeling great in this way gives happiness, peace of mind and humility. Righteousness – The power of Righteousness is described in a Divine saying: "When there is righteousness in the heart, then there is beauty in the character. When there is beauty in the character, then there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home, then there is order in the society. When there is order in society, there is peace in society." Rig Veda Courage – Courage is defined as follows: "Courage to think differently, courage to invent, courage to explore the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible, courage to combat the problems, and courage to succeed. These are the unique qualities of the person. As a member of human society, people should work with courage to achieve success in all the missions.” Rig Veda Indomitable spirit – The fourth component of knowledge is indomitable spirit, which can be defined as not losing hope and courage. Success can only come to a seeker by courageous devotion to the task lying in front of him or her. I can assert without fear of contradiction that the quality of the mind is equal in all races, such as Asian, Nordic, or Anglo-Saxon. What humanity lacks is perhaps courage; what society lacks is perhaps driving force, which takes one anywhere. I think people have developed an inferiority complex. I think what is needed in all human beings today is the destruction of that defeatist spirit. Society needs a spirit of victory, a spirit that will carry everyone to their rightful place. If that indomitable spirit were to arise, nothing could hold anyone from achieving his or her rightful destiny. Human evolution is nothing but the creativity of the human mind, and it undergoes several transformations, which unfold when people realize that knowledge corresponds to the following equation: Knowledge = Creativity + Righteousness + Courage + Indomitable spirit |
Attainment of Budhatva through Shudhatva (Attainment of Intelligence through Cleanliness)There is a proverb in English, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” i.e., in order of importance, cleanliness comes next to God. The rest of things that exist besides God, this whole universe and the world, are a combination of imperfection and perfection. We call the divine Brahma completely pure (Avikari), Indivisible (Akhand) and Immortal (Ananta) to distinguish him from the world, or the changeable and limited universe (Vikari), which means impure. As long as Brahma remains entirely in its pure form, creation of the universe is impossible. That Supreme Person, under the cover of Maya (the illusion of the visibly impure Tatva), plays the game of duality and gives birth to the universe.
Thus, for the realization of the state of Budha or Brahma, we also have to be pure within and without and experience unity in diversity. This body has been accepted as the temple of God. Then, how can we please Him by keeping it impure? The absolute soul (Atma) is present and interwoven in this whole visible or invisible world. Then, why is God not visible to us in the world? The reason for this is that there are layers and layers of dirt of impressions of previous lives (Sanskaras), delusion, mine and yours, affection and hatred, etc., etc., which obstruct our perception of the Almighty. We have to become pure as the Almighty. Let us now consider how this state of purity can be attained. The best, and only, place to start this journey is from the present state. Where are we now? We are presently at the body level, mental level, or in the world. Atma and Parmatma is not part of our experience but is merely hearsay, something of which we've heard or something we’ve read about in a spiritual book. It is a matter of principle, discussion, and recognition, but not of realization. Therefore, we have to start our journey from the level of the body. A practitioner of Hatha Yoga commences this journey from the body whereas the practitioner of meditation Yoga commences it from the mind. According to ancient scriptures, the mind is that subtle part of the body which is inert like the physical body. Hatha Yoga describes six types of internal purificatory methods — Neti, Dhauti, Basti, Nauli, Trataka and Kapalbhati (or breathing exercises). Out of these, the first four methods are for internal purification of the body and the last two are for the mind. Those who have practiced these methods know that they make the mind clean, pure, pious, light, peaceful and tension-free. If performed for a long period, they make the body very beautiful, lustrous, and splendid. Not only is the body purified, but an intense desire to reach the higher levels of Yoga and remain free from attachment also increases. The practitioner advances towards Pratyahara, Dharana, and Dhyana. In addition to the above-mentioned six purification methods, various types of Pranayama are also important. Not only disorders of the mind but even the impressions of past births and rebirths are dissolved by the regular practice of Pranayama. As a result, the mind becomes pure and quiet like a mirror. Manu has said: “Dahyante Dhyaymananam Dhatunam Hi Yatha Malaa, Tathendriyanam Dahyante Dosha Pranasth Nijyahaat.” (That is to say, as the fire destroys the muck of metals by burning, similarly Pranayama removes the defects of the sense organs. Our body becomes the temple of God after getting purified through these six purification methods and Pranayamas.) The purification of mind ultimately leads to purity of character. Therefore, the practice of Yama and Niyama in the yoga of meditation leads to purity of character. We make our relations virtuous and honest with others by practicing Yama (Ahimsa, Satya, Astey, Brahmacharya and Aprigrah — non-violence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy, and non-greediness) and by following Niyama (Shauch, Santosh, Swadhyay, Tapa, Ishwar Pranidhan — cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study of scriptures, and surrender to God). We make ourselves pure and pious. In this way, Yama and Niyama are the roots of religion. These are the very bases of good conduct and pave the way to advance in Yoga. By ignoring Yama and Niyama, we cannot make much progress in the field of Yoga, and cannot delve deep into Dhyana, we cannot attain the state of Samadhi, and we cannot become wise. We cannot even imagine attaining the state of complete enlightenment without being pure, pious and virtuous. |