(a special 'samashti bhiksha' was hosted for pujya guruji, swami tejomayanandaji, by chinmaya mission mumbai as part of the 50th year celebrations of pujya guruudev's first yagna in mumbai in 1957. the satsang was arranged at maheshwari udyan, andheri west, mumbai at 11 am on 16th december 2007. shri parindra kadakia gave a short welcome address and floral tributes were offered to guruji by the yajamans of the day. this was followed by a paduka puja of gurudev's padukas. guruji then addressed the gathering. the following is a synopsis of the talk.)
what was the purpose of this satsang? to meet everyone who were missed out at the three mega-yagnas organised in south mumbai, borivali and navi mumbai.
i hadn't thought of what i'll say when i meet you but something came to my mind a while ago. i assume everyone assembled here is associated with the chinmaya mission. associated in some way or the other. what does this association mean? what should we do?
i am reminded of a verse from the 12th chapter of the bhagwad geeta - shreyo hi gyanamabhyasaat, gyanaatdhyaanam vishishyate. dhyanaat karma phala tyaagaha, tyaggatchchantiranantaram. (verse 12, chapter 12).
study is good, but better is knowledge. meditation is superior to knowledge, and sacrifice of the fruits of action is superior to meditation. and this is because it gives peace of mind.
there is no peace of mind in acquiring or hoarding but in sacrifice. eg. if we take anger as an example; to get rid of anger we must sacrifice it. there are two ways of giving it up - one is to give vent to it and the second way is to overcome it through knowledge. similarly with any desire. and therefore there is peace of mind.
this was in a spiritual context. now let us apply this in the context of chinmaya mission.
in the mission there are many workers from all backgrounds, all doing some work eg. bala-vihar, chyk, committees, events, projects, etc. everybody is doing some work. but if we were to ask why they are working or what is the purpose, they do not know.
eg. why do you take a bal-vihar class? what is the benefit? it is not for 'baby sitting' the children! yes, the children are taught stories, shlokas, bhajans, etc. but do the sevaks know the relevance of bal-vihars? how do i benefit? what are the future benefits? how is it related to the chinmaya mission?
similarly with other activities. some people are office-bearers but still do not know the purpose!
whatever we are doing is service to the chinmaya mission or it is a personal sadhana. but if we know what is the purpose then it is even better.
the second aspect is to give it attention. to be focused or to be absorbed in it - dhyana. the more we get absorbed in it, the more we enjoy.
so we have to plunge whole-heartedly in it, which is the equivalent of getting absorbed in it. not attempt 'half-heartedly' or 'quarter-heartedly'! not 'heartlessly' either!
the next aspect is 'karma phala tyaaga'. karma phala is of two types -
1. gross benefits - rewards, wealth, etc.
2. subtler benefits - recognition, praise, etc.
i remember when i was posted in the us from 1989-1993, i used to always be with pujya gurudev whenever he had camps in the us. at one such camp in san diego, because of gurudev's heart condition, i was handling all the sessions except one session by gurudev. there used to be a banquet on the second-last day of the camp. the organisers thanked everyone for all the work and contribution. everyone was thanked except me. this is something you can't help but notice. i noticed it.
gurudev was then asked to give his blessings. he started off by saying, 'you thanked all, but not the one who covered me'! that’s when i felt that it was good that the person giving the vote of thanks forgot to thank me. because then he remembered!
adi shankaracharya says that we should not have desire even for moksha. only then will we have peace of mind.
giving up desires is possible when we have love, prem, bhakti. eg. parent's love for children.
now pujya gurudev started this mission. what was the purpose? he taught vedanta because this knowledge changes our lives. it converts us from ordinary lives to brahman - infinite! therefore he always used to say - 'you change'. the main objective was inner transformation! remove ignorance and darkness and convert it into creativity and inspiration.
in bal-vihar the main objective is to infuse 'sanskar (values)' in them. there are many people who have a car, but not many with 'sanskar'! and without these sanskars in our children we'll hear more news like the ones about kids with guns in school!
so bal-vihar is not only about time-pass/ games/ stories, but it is mainly about 'sanskar'. and for chyks it mainly about discussing/thinking about these sanskars. in study groups some people want a lecture or a video show. it is supposed be a session of discussion and mananam. (some people do not read and prepare for class. they leave their books behind in class itlsef. and then they complain that the class is not interesting).
in allahabad, once a mission secretary went to pujya gurudev and asked him how to make study groups interesting. gurudev asked him to fetch a notebook and take down notes. he then said 'fetch dancing girls from benares'! then he explained that study groups can't be made interesting by making external changes. if you study and understand then it automatically becomes interesting. so the focus is to study and focus on oneself.
similarly, the idea of a bhajan group is not only to sing and 'make noise', but to increase our devotion to the lord.
and the objective of the vanaprastha sansthan is not to sit and complain, or go on spritual picnics!
at a vanaprastha camp i was asked to speak. so i told them i would speak since they asked me to. but i also said that i know that they would not follow a single thing i say. they wouldn't believe me. so i asked them to stop drinking tea and eating fried foods. stop attending all social functions like marriages. and then one person said, 'but i am planning to get married myself since i want some company'! look for god's company. similarly nobody wants to take up sanyas. vanaprastha is when we are supposed to slowly give up things and focus on puja, japa, etc.
gyana yagnas are supposed to let maximum number of people know about this knowledge of vedanta. and to let people know about all the activities of the mission.
similarly in chinmaya vibhuti the objective is to light the lamp of spirituality within ourselves and then spread it among others. in sidhabari gurudev used to ask us symbolically light a lamp and place it on the map.
the project in kharghar, chinmaya prerna, is a project of all chinmaya mission members in mumbai. we must all help each other and thus grow. it is a project which will benefit lakhs of people.
and for chinmaya mission this is not a big project, nor is it too difficult. if everyone works together, it will happen.
so whatever we do, we do with understanding, with focus/dedication and with no expectations. then there will truly be peace.
we must move from being a 'bhakta' (admirer) to a shishya (to study/learn) and then finally to a 'sevak' (life-long service)!
we bow down to pujya gurudev who inspires all the chinmaya mission members.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Q&A with guruji - 3rd dec 07
(guruji, swami tejomayanandaji, was invited to deliver a talk titled 'can ambition and contentment co-exist?' by the EO/YPO chapter in mumbai on 3rd december 2007. the synopsis of the talk is available here. the talk was followed by a short Q&A session which is roughly reproduced here.)
Q : today is a materialistic world. there are two types of people. the first type who want to achieve at any cost and the second type who have nobler goals. the first person gets more and feels contented (maybe its ignorance). the second person loses out and becomes dissatisfied. what's your advice to the second person.
A : remember, the law is, 'you have to pay the price for anything in life'.
a person who bull-dozes his way through to apparent success ends up making more enemies. in such situations there will also be revolt.
and in the case of the second person if he cannot compete and feels doubtful then there is some problem with his belief. he would believe that in such a situation it is better to be dishonest!
sometimes we have this notion that if we share then we will get more and that we can 'encash' it immediately. but it is not instant.
in business 'wealth of credibility' is the true wealth.
immediate success can be gained by wrong means. but what we notice is that we may applaud what one 'has' but finally respect what one 'is'.
patience is the key requirement. if you feel sad and doubtful then there is something wrong.
its like saying that i have never taken a bribe in my whole life. but the truth is that you either didn't get an opportunity or were too scared to accept it. so its not really tested.
you have to remain steadfast. and therefore it means you have to pay the price.
even i today's world honesty and loyalty are still highly respected. we may be dishonest in our dealings to get ahead, but we expect honesty from others.
so the advice is - remain steadfast and don't get carried away by immediate results.
Q : no matter what we do in life it doesn't matter. we ultimately die and are forgotten. should we have any ambition?
A : the question doesn't arise.
- if you have ambitions, then even if you say you don't have you will still be driven by your ambition
- and if a person don't have any, then saying 'you should' will still not shake him!
you will always have desire. it only natural. it will always be there.
if you ask me, then i would say one should have ambition. when you have ambition, you grow. if we use our faculties they grow. swami chinmayananda used to say, 'if you rest you rust'. our BMI (body-mind-equipment) equipment also needs to be used so that it grows. so even materialistic ambitions are useful to help this growth.
but we also have to grow out of it. similarly we have to grow from 'materialistic' goals to 'non-materialisic' ones.
so remember -
1. you will always have desires and ambition
2. if you have them, you can't say don't have them
3. use them to grown and fulfil oneself and serve others also.
Q : how does one achieve bliss and realisation?
A :
1. by self-knowledge (the highest level)
2. make someone else happy (most practical). help any person. do whatever you can do.
3. do not become a slave of your senses and negativities like anger. be the master.
a related question is 'how to have lot of fun in life'?
by being serious. by thinking deeply and living a life of depth and meaning. not being shallow. be like the deep sea and not a shallow pnd which dries up!
-----------------------------
Q : today is a materialistic world. there are two types of people. the first type who want to achieve at any cost and the second type who have nobler goals. the first person gets more and feels contented (maybe its ignorance). the second person loses out and becomes dissatisfied. what's your advice to the second person.
A : remember, the law is, 'you have to pay the price for anything in life'.
a person who bull-dozes his way through to apparent success ends up making more enemies. in such situations there will also be revolt.
and in the case of the second person if he cannot compete and feels doubtful then there is some problem with his belief. he would believe that in such a situation it is better to be dishonest!
sometimes we have this notion that if we share then we will get more and that we can 'encash' it immediately. but it is not instant.
in business 'wealth of credibility' is the true wealth.
immediate success can be gained by wrong means. but what we notice is that we may applaud what one 'has' but finally respect what one 'is'.
patience is the key requirement. if you feel sad and doubtful then there is something wrong.
its like saying that i have never taken a bribe in my whole life. but the truth is that you either didn't get an opportunity or were too scared to accept it. so its not really tested.
you have to remain steadfast. and therefore it means you have to pay the price.
even i today's world honesty and loyalty are still highly respected. we may be dishonest in our dealings to get ahead, but we expect honesty from others.
so the advice is - remain steadfast and don't get carried away by immediate results.
Q : no matter what we do in life it doesn't matter. we ultimately die and are forgotten. should we have any ambition?
A : the question doesn't arise.
- if you have ambitions, then even if you say you don't have you will still be driven by your ambition
- and if a person don't have any, then saying 'you should' will still not shake him!
you will always have desire. it only natural. it will always be there.
if you ask me, then i would say one should have ambition. when you have ambition, you grow. if we use our faculties they grow. swami chinmayananda used to say, 'if you rest you rust'. our BMI (body-mind-equipment) equipment also needs to be used so that it grows. so even materialistic ambitions are useful to help this growth.
but we also have to grow out of it. similarly we have to grow from 'materialistic' goals to 'non-materialisic' ones.
so remember -
1. you will always have desires and ambition
2. if you have them, you can't say don't have them
3. use them to grown and fulfil oneself and serve others also.
Q : how does one achieve bliss and realisation?
A :
1. by self-knowledge (the highest level)
2. make someone else happy (most practical). help any person. do whatever you can do.
3. do not become a slave of your senses and negativities like anger. be the master.
a related question is 'how to have lot of fun in life'?
by being serious. by thinking deeply and living a life of depth and meaning. not being shallow. be like the deep sea and not a shallow pnd which dries up!
-----------------------------
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
satsang with guruji
(guruji, swami tejomayanandaji, was invited to deliver a talk titled 'can ambition and contentment co-exist?' by the EO/YPO chapter in mumbai on 3rd december 2007. the following post is a synopsis of the talk. the venue was the lawns of a house adjacent to the sea in worli and guruji spoke with the sea as the backdrop.)
it'a a pleasant evening and i'm glad to be with you.
a few days back niraj ambani invited me for this talk and we were discussing what should be the topic. after some deliberaion we came to this topic - 'can ambition and contentment co-exist?'.
this question arises because of a couple of reasons. when we look at the definition then there appears to be a contradiction.
'ambition' means a strong desire for something. it could be wealth or power or anything. and 'contentment' means being satisfied with what we have. so ambition presupposes dissatisfaction and therefore discontentment.
now different people might say different things. one may say,
'let there be a contradiction'.
'i've got ambition and no contentment, so what?'.
'i've got contentment and no ambition, so what?'.
if a person has only one then he has no conradiction.
so the two words appear contradictory.
if a person says 'i'm contented with my ambition', then there's no problem. but some people have a spiritual bent of mind and want to achieve something. but they tend to have a feeling of guilt.
because spirituality says that you should be contented. therefore there is conflict!
the question is - can the two co-exist so that there is no guilt? can i be ambitious about contentment or contented with ambitions?
(anecdote) once a very ambitious person went to the sea-side and saw a young man sitting under a tree and resting. the ambitious person felt agitated that this youngster is wasting his life and asked to do something, maybe buy and sell vegetables. the youngster had this nagging habit of saying 'and then?' to everything the ambitious person said.
young person (yp) : and then?
ambitious person (ap) : then you can get more money and open a bigger shop.
yp : and then?
ap : then you can become a merchant and open a chain of shops.
yp : and then?
ap : you can then start exporting also and your business will grow.
yp : and then?
ap : and then you can appoint managers, build a palace for yourself, etc.
yp : and then?
ap : and then you can sit back and relax.
yp : but that's what i am doing right now without having to go through this entire exercise!
we have to ask ourselves why this questions arises? and in whose mind? a person who feels that there is contradiction and wonders whether they can co-exist?
now lets look at it from a scriptural perspective. in most of the scriptures like gita we see that desire is not considered wrong. it takes strong desire to achieve something. anything we do is an expression of desire. therefore desire or ambition itself is not a problem.
there are various categories of desire :
1. spiritual desire
2. materialistic desire
3. base/vulgar/criminal desire
some people tend to love only base desires and is destructive to oneself and others. such a desire is universally condemned. it is below any human dignity. any human being wants to live and live happily. therefore one doesn't have the right to harm anyone or destroy their happiness.
therefore such desires are called base and undesirable.
when a person has a desire to help his or her own lot - i want to prosper; then it is not wrong in itself. such a person will be usually dissatisfied. which is not a problem as it motivates.
problem arises when this desire grows to such an extent that he becomes inconsiderate about other people's happiness and this then becomes uncontrollable greed.
there a few things we should always remember when it comes to materialistic desires.
desires are many and the desired objects are limited. therefore there is bound to jealousy and frustrations and disappointment, etc.
uncontrollable greed then prompts a person to 'kill and get killed' instead of 'live and let live'!
(anecdote) there were two neighbours. one was greedy while the other was jealous. the greedy person used to think that i should have more than my neighbour. and his neighbour would think, 'why should he have more?'
one day the greedy man found the jealous man in a temple doing tapas. so he also started doing tapas. lord shiva appeared before them and granted them a boon. but he said that only one person should ask and the other person would get twice what the first person asked. both didn't ask and waited for the other to ask. lord shiva got impatient and told them that have only two minutes left to ask their boon. so the jealous man promptly said. 'please make me blind in one eye!'.
this is why it is said that greed makes man blind. therefore all through history we see how greed destroys people, kingdoms and society. whenever you become over-ambitious then it becomes destructive greed. you may succeed for some time but finally people will revolt.
a slightly higher form of greed is where we think about what we can give to others. even here sometimes we see competition.
once a prosperous man wanted to be the top donor to a temple. so he gave a large amount, but later found out that he was only the second biggest donor. so he decided to increase his contribution. the two donors started competing till this man reached his limit. he felt sad that he could not giev more. so he asked himself what it is that he could give to feel satisfied? and then he remembered that he was a chain smoker. so he decided that from that moment he would give up smoking.
thats when he decided that he would not compete in giving more and more, but he would rather focus on growing up. then the joy and satisfaction he felt was unique.
one form of greed is 'acquiring' and the other is 'giving'. when there is a sense of competition then there is a problem.
but when the goal is non-material or spiritual (eg. to grow out of my weaknesses) then it is far greater.
eg. 10 people wanting something versus 10 people wanting peace of mind.
as the latter ambition grows we will feel more and more contented.
eg. when a function is arranged at your house everyone comes and enjoys. you feel full and you don't feel hungry
when your heart is full your need/greed/craving disappears.
such ambition and contentment can co-exist.
now contentment is of two types -
1. fullness of heart
2. contentment at physical level of fulfilling one's needs.
eg. a millionaire can wear only so many clothes or can eat only so much.
the ideal situation is when a person understands that his needs are minimum and is satisfied; but has an ambition that the world should be more and more contented.
in 'rudra sukata' in one section the rishis salute all gods, beings, etc. in the second section the rishis then ask for innumerable things. so we might wonder whether the rishis are driven by greed!
but the actual essence is that the rishi feels oneness with all and is therefore wishing for all beings to be more and more prosperous.
eg. parents feel that kids should get what they had not got and therefore desire more for their kids.
the satisfaction derived from such ambition is a different nature.
so one kind of contentment it is based on fullness of heart and spiritual goals. the other kind is content with minimum needs and wants.
the difference between an ignorant and a wise man is that :
a sense of incompleteness in the ignorant person prompts action to gain happiness. while a wise man's action arises from 'happiness'.
so a person who manages both, fullness in oneself, as he also thinks of how the world can be happier, is called a 'santusht' (happy or satisfied) person. such a person has found happiness within himself. such a person has minimum needs and thinks of the welfare of all.
this is seen in the examples of most great people - leaders, saints and politicians. eg. when lokamanya tilak was asked what post he would like to take up after freedomw. pat cam his response - a teacher.
similarly gandhiji's vision was to have contentment as well as the ambition and inspiration to lead such a life.
there are similar examples of great masters building organisations.
in such examples it was a case of rising from fullness rather than rising from incompleteness.
and fullness can come only from spiritual bliss. materialistic ambition cannot generate this.
so if we look at the question - can ambition and contentment co-exist? - then from a material perspective the direct answer is 'no'.
spiritual contentment is not passive or dull contentment. on the spiritual path one must work hard and then be satisfied with the result.
when ambition becomes spiritual then there is inspiration and also contentment.
it'a a pleasant evening and i'm glad to be with you.
a few days back niraj ambani invited me for this talk and we were discussing what should be the topic. after some deliberaion we came to this topic - 'can ambition and contentment co-exist?'.
this question arises because of a couple of reasons. when we look at the definition then there appears to be a contradiction.
'ambition' means a strong desire for something. it could be wealth or power or anything. and 'contentment' means being satisfied with what we have. so ambition presupposes dissatisfaction and therefore discontentment.
now different people might say different things. one may say,
'let there be a contradiction'.
'i've got ambition and no contentment, so what?'.
'i've got contentment and no ambition, so what?'.
if a person has only one then he has no conradiction.
so the two words appear contradictory.
if a person says 'i'm contented with my ambition', then there's no problem. but some people have a spiritual bent of mind and want to achieve something. but they tend to have a feeling of guilt.
because spirituality says that you should be contented. therefore there is conflict!
the question is - can the two co-exist so that there is no guilt? can i be ambitious about contentment or contented with ambitions?
(anecdote) once a very ambitious person went to the sea-side and saw a young man sitting under a tree and resting. the ambitious person felt agitated that this youngster is wasting his life and asked to do something, maybe buy and sell vegetables. the youngster had this nagging habit of saying 'and then?' to everything the ambitious person said.
young person (yp) : and then?
ambitious person (ap) : then you can get more money and open a bigger shop.
yp : and then?
ap : then you can become a merchant and open a chain of shops.
yp : and then?
ap : you can then start exporting also and your business will grow.
yp : and then?
ap : and then you can appoint managers, build a palace for yourself, etc.
yp : and then?
ap : and then you can sit back and relax.
yp : but that's what i am doing right now without having to go through this entire exercise!
we have to ask ourselves why this questions arises? and in whose mind? a person who feels that there is contradiction and wonders whether they can co-exist?
now lets look at it from a scriptural perspective. in most of the scriptures like gita we see that desire is not considered wrong. it takes strong desire to achieve something. anything we do is an expression of desire. therefore desire or ambition itself is not a problem.
there are various categories of desire :
1. spiritual desire
2. materialistic desire
3. base/vulgar/criminal desire
some people tend to love only base desires and is destructive to oneself and others. such a desire is universally condemned. it is below any human dignity. any human being wants to live and live happily. therefore one doesn't have the right to harm anyone or destroy their happiness.
therefore such desires are called base and undesirable.
when a person has a desire to help his or her own lot - i want to prosper; then it is not wrong in itself. such a person will be usually dissatisfied. which is not a problem as it motivates.
problem arises when this desire grows to such an extent that he becomes inconsiderate about other people's happiness and this then becomes uncontrollable greed.
there a few things we should always remember when it comes to materialistic desires.
desires are many and the desired objects are limited. therefore there is bound to jealousy and frustrations and disappointment, etc.
uncontrollable greed then prompts a person to 'kill and get killed' instead of 'live and let live'!
(anecdote) there were two neighbours. one was greedy while the other was jealous. the greedy person used to think that i should have more than my neighbour. and his neighbour would think, 'why should he have more?'
one day the greedy man found the jealous man in a temple doing tapas. so he also started doing tapas. lord shiva appeared before them and granted them a boon. but he said that only one person should ask and the other person would get twice what the first person asked. both didn't ask and waited for the other to ask. lord shiva got impatient and told them that have only two minutes left to ask their boon. so the jealous man promptly said. 'please make me blind in one eye!'.
this is why it is said that greed makes man blind. therefore all through history we see how greed destroys people, kingdoms and society. whenever you become over-ambitious then it becomes destructive greed. you may succeed for some time but finally people will revolt.
a slightly higher form of greed is where we think about what we can give to others. even here sometimes we see competition.
once a prosperous man wanted to be the top donor to a temple. so he gave a large amount, but later found out that he was only the second biggest donor. so he decided to increase his contribution. the two donors started competing till this man reached his limit. he felt sad that he could not giev more. so he asked himself what it is that he could give to feel satisfied? and then he remembered that he was a chain smoker. so he decided that from that moment he would give up smoking.
thats when he decided that he would not compete in giving more and more, but he would rather focus on growing up. then the joy and satisfaction he felt was unique.
one form of greed is 'acquiring' and the other is 'giving'. when there is a sense of competition then there is a problem.
but when the goal is non-material or spiritual (eg. to grow out of my weaknesses) then it is far greater.
eg. 10 people wanting something versus 10 people wanting peace of mind.
as the latter ambition grows we will feel more and more contented.
eg. when a function is arranged at your house everyone comes and enjoys. you feel full and you don't feel hungry
when your heart is full your need/greed/craving disappears.
such ambition and contentment can co-exist.
now contentment is of two types -
1. fullness of heart
2. contentment at physical level of fulfilling one's needs.
eg. a millionaire can wear only so many clothes or can eat only so much.
the ideal situation is when a person understands that his needs are minimum and is satisfied; but has an ambition that the world should be more and more contented.
in 'rudra sukata' in one section the rishis salute all gods, beings, etc. in the second section the rishis then ask for innumerable things. so we might wonder whether the rishis are driven by greed!
but the actual essence is that the rishi feels oneness with all and is therefore wishing for all beings to be more and more prosperous.
eg. parents feel that kids should get what they had not got and therefore desire more for their kids.
the satisfaction derived from such ambition is a different nature.
so one kind of contentment it is based on fullness of heart and spiritual goals. the other kind is content with minimum needs and wants.
the difference between an ignorant and a wise man is that :
a sense of incompleteness in the ignorant person prompts action to gain happiness. while a wise man's action arises from 'happiness'.
so a person who manages both, fullness in oneself, as he also thinks of how the world can be happier, is called a 'santusht' (happy or satisfied) person. such a person has found happiness within himself. such a person has minimum needs and thinks of the welfare of all.
this is seen in the examples of most great people - leaders, saints and politicians. eg. when lokamanya tilak was asked what post he would like to take up after freedomw. pat cam his response - a teacher.
similarly gandhiji's vision was to have contentment as well as the ambition and inspiration to lead such a life.
there are similar examples of great masters building organisations.
in such examples it was a case of rising from fullness rather than rising from incompleteness.
and fullness can come only from spiritual bliss. materialistic ambition cannot generate this.
so if we look at the question - can ambition and contentment co-exist? - then from a material perspective the direct answer is 'no'.
spiritual contentment is not passive or dull contentment. on the spiritual path one must work hard and then be satisfied with the result.
when ambition becomes spiritual then there is inspiration and also contentment.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Q&A with swami tejomayanandaji
guruji was invited for a satsang by shri ajay piramal on 2nd september 2007 at their nicholas piramal office complex to commemorate the completion of 5 years of their study class which is conducted by br. sattvikaji.
guruji addressed the audience of almost 250+ people (click here to read the synopsis) which was then followed by a very interesting question and answer session. here is a synopsis of the QnA session.
Q1. is 'samata' a zero-sum game? it almost sounds like we have to keep adjusting and accepting whatever happens with respect to people, objects and experiences. this could mean that we lose in many of the interactions. can it ever be a win-win deal?
guruji's answer - no. samata is not possible without fullness. when there is fullness then there is no sense of loss even when we are giving.
Q2. how do we translate this knowledge into practical application? why is there a gap between our understanding and our actions?
guruji - our knowledge is like the sugar that has been added to a cup of tea. the tea still tastes bitter because we have not stirred the sugar. similarly the knowledge that we acquire has to be assimilated within us and then it will automatically reflect in our actions. and the way to get the knowledge assimilated in us is through regular 'satsang'.
Q3. when should i strive to achieve and when should i accept things as they are? how do i know the difference and find the balance.
guruji - 'strive to accept'!
in everything we do there are two aspects :
1. we have to put in effort and do certain things
2. we have to just let it happen.
eg. eating food. we have to put in effort to eat the food. and then we just allow the digestion to happen. or when gardening or farming we put in effort with respect to preparing the soil, sowing the seeds, etc. but finally we have to just let the plants grow. there is nothing we can do at this stage.
we have to use our 'vivek' to know what i can and must do and when to step aside and let it happen. as gurudev used to say, 'do the best, and leave the rest'.
Q4. we expect and do things for others and then we get disappointed. how do we handle this?
guruji - don't expect. but then you might think this is very impractical.
1. our expectations have to be right. eg. we should not expect sweetness from salt. then there will be no disappointment.
2. we should expect according to the ability of the person. be reasonable in our expectations.
do not insist on fulfilment of our expectations. in fact we should always remember that we are not able to fulfil our expectations from ourselves. we have so many unfulfilled expectations from ourselves. so then how can we get disappointed when others cannot fulfil our expectations from them.
Q5. why can't other people accept me as i am?
guruji - if we truly accept others as they are, then there is a good chance that they will also accept us as we are!
Q6. what if others have unrealistic expectations from us? how do we cope?
guruji - we should make our limitations clear upfront. if we can satisfy the expectation, then do it immediately. and if we cannot, then make it clear. be truthful and honest. let people know, 'if you have expectations from me, then please tell me clearly'.
guruji addressed the audience of almost 250+ people (click here to read the synopsis) which was then followed by a very interesting question and answer session. here is a synopsis of the QnA session.
Q1. is 'samata' a zero-sum game? it almost sounds like we have to keep adjusting and accepting whatever happens with respect to people, objects and experiences. this could mean that we lose in many of the interactions. can it ever be a win-win deal?
guruji's answer - no. samata is not possible without fullness. when there is fullness then there is no sense of loss even when we are giving.
Q2. how do we translate this knowledge into practical application? why is there a gap between our understanding and our actions?
guruji - our knowledge is like the sugar that has been added to a cup of tea. the tea still tastes bitter because we have not stirred the sugar. similarly the knowledge that we acquire has to be assimilated within us and then it will automatically reflect in our actions. and the way to get the knowledge assimilated in us is through regular 'satsang'.
Q3. when should i strive to achieve and when should i accept things as they are? how do i know the difference and find the balance.
guruji - 'strive to accept'!
in everything we do there are two aspects :
1. we have to put in effort and do certain things
2. we have to just let it happen.
eg. eating food. we have to put in effort to eat the food. and then we just allow the digestion to happen. or when gardening or farming we put in effort with respect to preparing the soil, sowing the seeds, etc. but finally we have to just let the plants grow. there is nothing we can do at this stage.
we have to use our 'vivek' to know what i can and must do and when to step aside and let it happen. as gurudev used to say, 'do the best, and leave the rest'.
Q4. we expect and do things for others and then we get disappointed. how do we handle this?
guruji - don't expect. but then you might think this is very impractical.
1. our expectations have to be right. eg. we should not expect sweetness from salt. then there will be no disappointment.
2. we should expect according to the ability of the person. be reasonable in our expectations.
do not insist on fulfilment of our expectations. in fact we should always remember that we are not able to fulfil our expectations from ourselves. we have so many unfulfilled expectations from ourselves. so then how can we get disappointed when others cannot fulfil our expectations from them.
Q5. why can't other people accept me as i am?
guruji - if we truly accept others as they are, then there is a good chance that they will also accept us as we are!
Q6. what if others have unrealistic expectations from us? how do we cope?
guruji - we should make our limitations clear upfront. if we can satisfy the expectation, then do it immediately. and if we cannot, then make it clear. be truthful and honest. let people know, 'if you have expectations from me, then please tell me clearly'.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
basking in the light - IX
guruji was invited for a satsang by shri ajay piramal on 2nd september 2007 at their nicholas piramal office complex to commemorate the completion of 5 years of their study class which is conducted by br. sattvikaji.
the program started with bhajans by the chinmaya swaranjali and by one of the study class members.
shri ajay piramal then spoke about his association with the mission, the study class and how the study of the geeta had made a significant difference in his personal and professional life. he thanked guruji for sending sattvikaji to conduct the study class at their office.
guruji then addressed the audience of more than 200 people. the following is a brief synopsis of the same.
the title of the talk was 'practical application of the bhagwad geeta in daily life'. guruji started off by saying that the topic can be divided into 3 parts - 1. practical application, 2. the bhagwad geeta and 3. daily life.
starting with daily life, he said that our daily life is typically a routine of waking up, freshening up, going about our daily chores or work and then retiring at the end of the day to rest.
but if we were to analyse our daily life we then realise that we are essentially dealing with people, material things and situations or events. so life can be defined as perceptions from these 3 sources and our response to them. and everybody has to respond, there is not escaping that.
now our responses to these perceptions tend to be different at different points of time. and different people tend to respond differently to the same situation.
and most of the time we realise that there is a gap between our knowledge and our response. though we know what we should or should not do, we are not able to act upon this knowledge. and this is because the knowledge has not been assimilated into us.
imagine we were given a glass of milk and as we are about to drink it, if someone were to tell us that there is poison mixed in the milk we would immediately refrain from drinking the milk. here the knowledge is there, it has been assimilated and there is understanding and therefore immediate application of the knowledge.
but this is not the case with us in all other aspects. eg. when we learn that happiness is not in objects, we are not completely convinced. therefore there is no application in life.
ramtirthji used to narrate a story of a mad man who announced to all the children that the landlord is having some celebrations in his house with lights and crackers and he would be distributing sweets at a particular time. the children all rush to the landlord's house, only to find that there is nothing happening there. but they are surprised to find the mad man also waiting there. so they confront him and ask him whether he knew that there would be no celebration, the mad said he knew. so the children enquire why then was waiting at the landlord's house to which the mad man replies that he did not want to miss the celebration just in case there happened to be one!
we are like the mad man; though we have the knowledge it has not been assimilated within us. but once this assimilation takes place, then there would automatically be application of the knowledge. so the point is, once we understand what the scriptures say, we must bring it into our life and use it.
now the point is, 'why do we suffer?'. one obvious reason is 'thoughtless action'. this is also the reason why transformation does not take place in our lives. but another equally important problem is 'actionless thought'. and when we do not act for some time then even out thoughts will change. eg. we might resolve to wake up everyday at 5 am. but we keep making excuses till we are intellectually convinced that we do not need to wake up at 5 am. our karma should be according to our buddhi and not the other way around!
now one watchword in the gita is 'samata' or equanimity. now equanimity has different connotations with respect to objects, people and experiences.
1. with respect to objects - these are all material objects like house, car, jewellery, etc. now all these objects have a place in the scheme of things in our life and they have their value. we should give due value to them , but not undue value.
(here guruji quoted one of rahim's dohas which says that when there is a need for a needle there is no point in using a sword.)
we usually confuse the objects with its value and give it more importance than the person. here guruji narrated a story of a very rich man who had a poor sister. this man was not kind to his sister and was very rude to her and would never invite her to any of the functions or celebrations in his house. after some time the sister becomes very rich. the brother then invites her for a party. she arrives at his decked with a lot of jewellery. when the food is served she takes off her jewellery and starts feeding it separately. the brother is annoyed and irritated and asks her what she is doing. she explains that she realises that it is her jewellery which was invited for the party and not her, and that is why she is feeding the jewellery.
2. with respect to experiences - experiences are pairs of opposites - heat & cold at body level, joy and sorrow at mental level and honor and dishonor at intellectual level. these experiences affect everyone. equanimity in experiences would mean freedom from our personal likes and dislikes.
if we accept one experience then we should learn to accept the opposite also. or we should reject both. if something comes our way we should welcome it; and when it goes away we shouldn't stop it.
we can look at this in different ways - a devotee says it is god's will; another says it is the result of my karma; and another says that these are only appearances and not the truth. we can adopt whichever option we prefer, else we only keep swinging from one extreme to another.
3. with respect to people - people can be of any of the following categories - well-wisher, friend, enemy, neutral, mediator (well-wisher of both), someone we dislike for no reason, relation, one who helps everyone, unrighteous.
guruji said that when he read about jesus christ saying 'love thy neighbor' his first reaction was that this is a limited, narrow vision. he then later realised that this is very apt. we are able to love people all over, but it is living with our near and dear one which is difficult.
when someone far away criticises us it doesn't bother us. but when its someone near to us then we feel upset.
about equanimity in relation to people, shankaracharya says we should learn to accept them as they are. eg. we accept fruits and flowers as they are; we enjoy all animals in a safari and accept them as they are. similarly fire is hot and we accept it. we don't complain about it, instead we use it. in the same way we should accept people and adjust ourselves accordingly.
there is no point in constantly complaining. here guruji gave an example of socrates whose wife was a nag and who once berated him when he was with people and then poured a bucket of water over him in anger. his friends asked him how he could accept this. he responded by saying that there is usually a shower after a thunderstorm.
so we should first learn to accept people and then, only if authorised, can we advise them.
so 'samata' is the constant in all the 3 - objects, experiences and people.
we have to keep reflecting on this.
---------------------
there was also a wonderful question & answer session after this. that would be put up in a separate post.
the program started with bhajans by the chinmaya swaranjali and by one of the study class members.
shri ajay piramal then spoke about his association with the mission, the study class and how the study of the geeta had made a significant difference in his personal and professional life. he thanked guruji for sending sattvikaji to conduct the study class at their office.
guruji then addressed the audience of more than 200 people. the following is a brief synopsis of the same.
the title of the talk was 'practical application of the bhagwad geeta in daily life'. guruji started off by saying that the topic can be divided into 3 parts - 1. practical application, 2. the bhagwad geeta and 3. daily life.
starting with daily life, he said that our daily life is typically a routine of waking up, freshening up, going about our daily chores or work and then retiring at the end of the day to rest.
but if we were to analyse our daily life we then realise that we are essentially dealing with people, material things and situations or events. so life can be defined as perceptions from these 3 sources and our response to them. and everybody has to respond, there is not escaping that.
now our responses to these perceptions tend to be different at different points of time. and different people tend to respond differently to the same situation.
and most of the time we realise that there is a gap between our knowledge and our response. though we know what we should or should not do, we are not able to act upon this knowledge. and this is because the knowledge has not been assimilated into us.
imagine we were given a glass of milk and as we are about to drink it, if someone were to tell us that there is poison mixed in the milk we would immediately refrain from drinking the milk. here the knowledge is there, it has been assimilated and there is understanding and therefore immediate application of the knowledge.
but this is not the case with us in all other aspects. eg. when we learn that happiness is not in objects, we are not completely convinced. therefore there is no application in life.
ramtirthji used to narrate a story of a mad man who announced to all the children that the landlord is having some celebrations in his house with lights and crackers and he would be distributing sweets at a particular time. the children all rush to the landlord's house, only to find that there is nothing happening there. but they are surprised to find the mad man also waiting there. so they confront him and ask him whether he knew that there would be no celebration, the mad said he knew. so the children enquire why then was waiting at the landlord's house to which the mad man replies that he did not want to miss the celebration just in case there happened to be one!
we are like the mad man; though we have the knowledge it has not been assimilated within us. but once this assimilation takes place, then there would automatically be application of the knowledge. so the point is, once we understand what the scriptures say, we must bring it into our life and use it.
now the point is, 'why do we suffer?'. one obvious reason is 'thoughtless action'. this is also the reason why transformation does not take place in our lives. but another equally important problem is 'actionless thought'. and when we do not act for some time then even out thoughts will change. eg. we might resolve to wake up everyday at 5 am. but we keep making excuses till we are intellectually convinced that we do not need to wake up at 5 am. our karma should be according to our buddhi and not the other way around!
now one watchword in the gita is 'samata' or equanimity. now equanimity has different connotations with respect to objects, people and experiences.
1. with respect to objects - these are all material objects like house, car, jewellery, etc. now all these objects have a place in the scheme of things in our life and they have their value. we should give due value to them , but not undue value.
(here guruji quoted one of rahim's dohas which says that when there is a need for a needle there is no point in using a sword.)
we usually confuse the objects with its value and give it more importance than the person. here guruji narrated a story of a very rich man who had a poor sister. this man was not kind to his sister and was very rude to her and would never invite her to any of the functions or celebrations in his house. after some time the sister becomes very rich. the brother then invites her for a party. she arrives at his decked with a lot of jewellery. when the food is served she takes off her jewellery and starts feeding it separately. the brother is annoyed and irritated and asks her what she is doing. she explains that she realises that it is her jewellery which was invited for the party and not her, and that is why she is feeding the jewellery.
2. with respect to experiences - experiences are pairs of opposites - heat & cold at body level, joy and sorrow at mental level and honor and dishonor at intellectual level. these experiences affect everyone. equanimity in experiences would mean freedom from our personal likes and dislikes.
if we accept one experience then we should learn to accept the opposite also. or we should reject both. if something comes our way we should welcome it; and when it goes away we shouldn't stop it.
we can look at this in different ways - a devotee says it is god's will; another says it is the result of my karma; and another says that these are only appearances and not the truth. we can adopt whichever option we prefer, else we only keep swinging from one extreme to another.
3. with respect to people - people can be of any of the following categories - well-wisher, friend, enemy, neutral, mediator (well-wisher of both), someone we dislike for no reason, relation, one who helps everyone, unrighteous.
guruji said that when he read about jesus christ saying 'love thy neighbor' his first reaction was that this is a limited, narrow vision. he then later realised that this is very apt. we are able to love people all over, but it is living with our near and dear one which is difficult.
when someone far away criticises us it doesn't bother us. but when its someone near to us then we feel upset.
about equanimity in relation to people, shankaracharya says we should learn to accept them as they are. eg. we accept fruits and flowers as they are; we enjoy all animals in a safari and accept them as they are. similarly fire is hot and we accept it. we don't complain about it, instead we use it. in the same way we should accept people and adjust ourselves accordingly.
there is no point in constantly complaining. here guruji gave an example of socrates whose wife was a nag and who once berated him when he was with people and then poured a bucket of water over him in anger. his friends asked him how he could accept this. he responded by saying that there is usually a shower after a thunderstorm.
so we should first learn to accept people and then, only if authorised, can we advise them.
so 'samata' is the constant in all the 3 - objects, experiences and people.
we have to keep reflecting on this.
---------------------
there was also a wonderful question & answer session after this. that would be put up in a separate post.
Friday, August 24, 2007
basking in the light - VIII
this is a transcript of a talk given by swami tejomayanandaji during the valedictory address of the corporate workshop titled 'transforming work-places through self-awareness' at sandeepany sadhanalaya on 24th july 2007.
you can hear the actual talk at the following link - address by guruji
it is a must-read & must-hear for everybody, but more so for working professionals.
------------
"when i was being introduced, i remembered a joke.
there was a public function and the secretary introduced the chief guest. and he heaped a lot of praise with many adjectives and words used. after listening to this the chief guest said something which i also would like to say today - before i begin my speech i would like to apologise for two things. one is that the secretary said so many things about me which were an exaggeration, for which i apologise. and the second apology is because i enjoyed it!
for a minute i was wondering who she was talking about. that may be because of her love and devotion. anyway, that apart...
i am glad you were here the whole day, and from the few impressions that i heard it seems that you also enjoyed it and liked the sessions. and you found the sessions useful and purposeful which is a very good thing to hear. because, without keeping come purpose in our mind we don't do anything. and the purpose for which we do something, if that is achieved, then naturally we feel happy!
so, our purpose was to introduce spirituality at the work-place. and this was only an introduction as you yourself have seen. so our purpose is achieved. and the first step is that we enjoy what we hear. and if we enjoy then there is a possibility that we will do it more.
one thing is, when you listen to swamis and sanyasis one thought may be crossing your mind - these swamis can sit and preach and say many things, but if we put them in the work-place will they be able to put all this into practice themselves? some people might have a thought that maybe because this person could not do much at the work-place he took up sanyas!
as the popular saying goes - those who can, do. and those who can't, teach!
and there was a teacher who did not like this quotation. and so decided to add to it - and those who cannot do either, write about it!
so people always feel it is very easy for these swamis to sit and say all this. i also hear one of you mention that when you hear all this it appears easy, but it is easier said than done. and you think, 'i hope it is as easy to implement'.
in this regard i would like to say only thing, and that is, 'just do it!'.
if you yourself say it is difficult or i don't know whether it is possible then it will become difficult. i had read the definition of 'short-cut' - a shortcut is the longest distance between two points! think about it. every time we think it is better to take the shortcut we realise that it would have been better to take the highway itself!
and i have noticed that a person who wants a shortcut will find even the shortest route to be very long. but on the other hand, if a person is ready to walk a long way then the long way will itself seem like a short distance, because somebody will give him a ride. and he will go very fast. therefore don't look for shortcuts. and don't look for easy way of doing things. then you will feel that the so-called difficult things have become easy! and the long distances become short. this is possible.
also, in this full day's session, you must have heard that ultimately you have to change yourself. even though i have not attended the sessions i know this is what would have been said from a spiritual perspective. because the complete bottom-line is this statement.
'you' have to have self-awareness, 'you' have to have self-improvement, 'you' have to..., 'you' have to... it all finally comes back to 'you' alone.
there was this lady who had heard too much about self-improvement. she went to a book-store and there too she saw an entire section of books on self-improvement. she got fed up and asked the salesman, 'don't you have any books on improving others?'.
but such a thought sometimes does come to our mind. how long can i improve myself? but the truth is ultimately this alone. therefore we have to go to these basics.
since i have not worked directly in a corporate environment, i was asking someone - what is the meaning of transforming the work-place? i was told - you see, there is lot of tension. especially during the appraisal time. there is a lot of tension. and then when somebody else gets the promotion, you think that that person is far inferior in terms of performance and you wonder how that person got a promotion while you didn't get one. so you see there is a lot of tension. and of course, there is also jealousy. and anger and frustration. so all these things happen.
so now, what does one do about this? this keeps happening. and we cannot change suddenly. we can only change the curtains and maybe change the flowers everyday. and hope that the atmosphere will change. but does work? only outer cosmetic changes? no, it does not change.
in our traditional language there is only one answer on how to change. and it is called 'satsang'. now when we hear it, it sounds very orthodox. but 'sat' means reality or truth. and 'sang' means association. the when you live in association with the truth - the truth of life, the truth of every experience, the truth of everything - you will change.
generally what is understood as satsang is that 'you live in the company of wise people'. and only then you will you get the right understanding - binu satsang koi vivek na hoi! this is a famous line from the ramacharitmanas. without this association with the wise people we do not get the right understanding. and this is required continuously. it is not a one-day workshop or a seminar. your whole life has to be geared towards that. then it will happen.
and to release this tension i will tell you two things. one is from the standpoint of knowledge. and that is 'you look upon everyone, with all those you are working with, as your own self'! this may sound very difficult at this moment. but you look upon them. and then you see what happens.
once i had gone to a meeting of all medical doctors. this was a few years ago. and it was in bihar. and at that time in bihar rabri devi was made the chief minister. and there was a very highly-qualified lady doctor at that meeting and she was looking very agitated. and she said to me, 'swamiji, what has happened to our country? look at this, who has become the chief minister!'
so i told her, 'why are you so agitated? suppose she was your sister?' the lady suddenly laughed. and then she paused. suddenly she realised that her thoughts would have been very different.
i once read something very nice on a truck. our trucks are very enlightening. they write such wonderful wisdom. one such statement i liked very much - jalo mat, bhgwan tumko bhi dega! (don't be jealous, god will also give you!)
so you look upon another as your own self, your own family member. so when your son does better than you, you feel proud about it. similarly if someone else has got a promotion you should feel that that person must have done better, very good! even in cricket when a batsman hits a very good shot but some player manages a very difficult catch. the batsman is declared out. but he goes to the player and congratulates him on a beautiful piece of fielding. we should have that kind of magnanimity. when you appreciate the others who have done better you will suddenly find that your whole outlook changes. and when you are relaxed, people around you are also relaxed! to a great extent.
this is one way of looking at this.
and the second way is - devotion.
now this may appeal to some people. but if there are atheists, then they will say that i don't believe in any god. so it may not appeal to them.
devotion to god. now we are always worried whether other people know what we are doing or not, whether we will be appreciated or not. but if you have the thought in your mind that ultimately god knows. then that is what counts.
once somebody told me that the chinmaya mission is doing a lot of work and a lot of social work, so we should do a lot of publicity. i asked him - why? the person for whom we are doing this work knows. and god also knows. and there ends the matter.
so you do relax. please relax. so whichever way you would like to look at the situation, this way or that way, suddenly you will find that you are relaxed.
and when you are relaxed it is more infectious than your common cold. other people will also start feeling relaxed.
i think this is the way. but like i said, continuous satsang is required. it doesn't come in just one day or two days. but when you do it again and again, it will, there is no doubt about it.
with this i conclude my remarks and i invoke god's grace and pujya gurudev's blessings on one and all for a very happy, peaceful, purposeful, and successful life.
thank you very much!
--------------------------------------
you can hear the actual talk at the following link - address by guruji
it is a must-read & must-hear for everybody, but more so for working professionals.
------------
"when i was being introduced, i remembered a joke.
there was a public function and the secretary introduced the chief guest. and he heaped a lot of praise with many adjectives and words used. after listening to this the chief guest said something which i also would like to say today - before i begin my speech i would like to apologise for two things. one is that the secretary said so many things about me which were an exaggeration, for which i apologise. and the second apology is because i enjoyed it!
for a minute i was wondering who she was talking about. that may be because of her love and devotion. anyway, that apart...
i am glad you were here the whole day, and from the few impressions that i heard it seems that you also enjoyed it and liked the sessions. and you found the sessions useful and purposeful which is a very good thing to hear. because, without keeping come purpose in our mind we don't do anything. and the purpose for which we do something, if that is achieved, then naturally we feel happy!
so, our purpose was to introduce spirituality at the work-place. and this was only an introduction as you yourself have seen. so our purpose is achieved. and the first step is that we enjoy what we hear. and if we enjoy then there is a possibility that we will do it more.
one thing is, when you listen to swamis and sanyasis one thought may be crossing your mind - these swamis can sit and preach and say many things, but if we put them in the work-place will they be able to put all this into practice themselves? some people might have a thought that maybe because this person could not do much at the work-place he took up sanyas!
as the popular saying goes - those who can, do. and those who can't, teach!
and there was a teacher who did not like this quotation. and so decided to add to it - and those who cannot do either, write about it!
so people always feel it is very easy for these swamis to sit and say all this. i also hear one of you mention that when you hear all this it appears easy, but it is easier said than done. and you think, 'i hope it is as easy to implement'.
in this regard i would like to say only thing, and that is, 'just do it!'.
if you yourself say it is difficult or i don't know whether it is possible then it will become difficult. i had read the definition of 'short-cut' - a shortcut is the longest distance between two points! think about it. every time we think it is better to take the shortcut we realise that it would have been better to take the highway itself!
and i have noticed that a person who wants a shortcut will find even the shortest route to be very long. but on the other hand, if a person is ready to walk a long way then the long way will itself seem like a short distance, because somebody will give him a ride. and he will go very fast. therefore don't look for shortcuts. and don't look for easy way of doing things. then you will feel that the so-called difficult things have become easy! and the long distances become short. this is possible.
also, in this full day's session, you must have heard that ultimately you have to change yourself. even though i have not attended the sessions i know this is what would have been said from a spiritual perspective. because the complete bottom-line is this statement.
'you' have to have self-awareness, 'you' have to have self-improvement, 'you' have to..., 'you' have to... it all finally comes back to 'you' alone.
there was this lady who had heard too much about self-improvement. she went to a book-store and there too she saw an entire section of books on self-improvement. she got fed up and asked the salesman, 'don't you have any books on improving others?'.
but such a thought sometimes does come to our mind. how long can i improve myself? but the truth is ultimately this alone. therefore we have to go to these basics.
since i have not worked directly in a corporate environment, i was asking someone - what is the meaning of transforming the work-place? i was told - you see, there is lot of tension. especially during the appraisal time. there is a lot of tension. and then when somebody else gets the promotion, you think that that person is far inferior in terms of performance and you wonder how that person got a promotion while you didn't get one. so you see there is a lot of tension. and of course, there is also jealousy. and anger and frustration. so all these things happen.
so now, what does one do about this? this keeps happening. and we cannot change suddenly. we can only change the curtains and maybe change the flowers everyday. and hope that the atmosphere will change. but does work? only outer cosmetic changes? no, it does not change.
in our traditional language there is only one answer on how to change. and it is called 'satsang'. now when we hear it, it sounds very orthodox. but 'sat' means reality or truth. and 'sang' means association. the when you live in association with the truth - the truth of life, the truth of every experience, the truth of everything - you will change.
generally what is understood as satsang is that 'you live in the company of wise people'. and only then you will you get the right understanding - binu satsang koi vivek na hoi! this is a famous line from the ramacharitmanas. without this association with the wise people we do not get the right understanding. and this is required continuously. it is not a one-day workshop or a seminar. your whole life has to be geared towards that. then it will happen.
and to release this tension i will tell you two things. one is from the standpoint of knowledge. and that is 'you look upon everyone, with all those you are working with, as your own self'! this may sound very difficult at this moment. but you look upon them. and then you see what happens.
once i had gone to a meeting of all medical doctors. this was a few years ago. and it was in bihar. and at that time in bihar rabri devi was made the chief minister. and there was a very highly-qualified lady doctor at that meeting and she was looking very agitated. and she said to me, 'swamiji, what has happened to our country? look at this, who has become the chief minister!'
so i told her, 'why are you so agitated? suppose she was your sister?' the lady suddenly laughed. and then she paused. suddenly she realised that her thoughts would have been very different.
i once read something very nice on a truck. our trucks are very enlightening. they write such wonderful wisdom. one such statement i liked very much - jalo mat, bhgwan tumko bhi dega! (don't be jealous, god will also give you!)
so you look upon another as your own self, your own family member. so when your son does better than you, you feel proud about it. similarly if someone else has got a promotion you should feel that that person must have done better, very good! even in cricket when a batsman hits a very good shot but some player manages a very difficult catch. the batsman is declared out. but he goes to the player and congratulates him on a beautiful piece of fielding. we should have that kind of magnanimity. when you appreciate the others who have done better you will suddenly find that your whole outlook changes. and when you are relaxed, people around you are also relaxed! to a great extent.
this is one way of looking at this.
and the second way is - devotion.
now this may appeal to some people. but if there are atheists, then they will say that i don't believe in any god. so it may not appeal to them.
devotion to god. now we are always worried whether other people know what we are doing or not, whether we will be appreciated or not. but if you have the thought in your mind that ultimately god knows. then that is what counts.
once somebody told me that the chinmaya mission is doing a lot of work and a lot of social work, so we should do a lot of publicity. i asked him - why? the person for whom we are doing this work knows. and god also knows. and there ends the matter.
so you do relax. please relax. so whichever way you would like to look at the situation, this way or that way, suddenly you will find that you are relaxed.
and when you are relaxed it is more infectious than your common cold. other people will also start feeling relaxed.
i think this is the way. but like i said, continuous satsang is required. it doesn't come in just one day or two days. but when you do it again and again, it will, there is no doubt about it.
with this i conclude my remarks and i invoke god's grace and pujya gurudev's blessings on one and all for a very happy, peaceful, purposeful, and successful life.
thank you very much!
--------------------------------------
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
basking in the light - VII
a devotee was discussing with guruji about a new job offer that she was considering. the job that she currently had was a comfortable, flexible one, which helped her spend adequate time at home also… guruji asked her the reason that she was planning to explore the new opportunity. she responded that one of the key factors was for better remuneration. then he went on to explain to her all about money, wealth and richness in his inimitable and precise style.
to summarise:
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, june 2007
to summarise:
- we need to get our priorities in life right… understand what your priorities are at this moment and take a decision accordingly – any job that pays you more will demand more of you.
- find out what your duty / passion is and do the same diligently. that is most important.
- however much you run after money, however much you earn, what will remain is the “bottom-line”. the amount that will remain with you for your use will only be as much as you are entitled to. so there is no point in hankering after lots of money – it may transit your way but not remain with you…
- who is a rich person? if you need Rs. 10 today and you have Rs 10 with you – you are a rich person. that is all there is to it… if at any point in time you have what you need you can consider yourself rich. think about it – all the surplus is just lying in some bank or investments and not with ‘you’ to meet your needs…
- what is important and needs to be preserved in one’s life is one’s integrity, which is mostly irretrievable once it is lost – wealth once lost can be regained but this is not so with one’s character /integrity.
he explained the same with an anecdote from the story of akbar and birbal. when akbar went to attend an important function, he was welcomed with the traditional “attar”. when it was being put on him, a drop fell to the floor, which he instinctively bent down to pick up and apply on himself. then he felt ashamed that he a 'jahanpannah' (master of the universe) had stooped to pick up a drop of scent fallen on the floor and quickly looked around to see if anyone saw him doing the same. his eyes caught birbal’s who smiled a small smile to indicate that he had noticed.. akbar was irritated and when he went back, he ordered that a tank full of attar be offered to birbal to have a bath in… birbal responded by telling the emperor that he would not be able to regain what he had lost by a drop with a barrelful – the dignity that he lost by stooping to pick up a drop could not be regained later by offering a barrelful of the same in charity… same is the case with integrity – once lost is gone forever… - the next important thing in life is faith – the same power that has sustained us till today will also take care of us going forward – the unshakable faith that “ab tak tho nibhaayaa hai, aage bhi nibhaayenge…” (lord has been with us till now, and he will also be with us in the future!).
here he mentioned that one of the best quotes he has seen painted on the back of a truck “Jalo math – tumko bhi milega” (don't burn with jealousy, you too will get your share). have that faith and that will take us through… - the third aspect is the constant remembrance of the lord – guruji said that these are the things that he prays for – all else will follow…
in an earlier discussion with the same devotee, guruji had emphasized the importance of maintaining good health and not running after wealth at the cost of one’s health. if one’s health is a problem, no amount of wealth will be able to make up for the misery one feels.
so in summary, while explaining the philosophy of wealth, guruji taught us what we should ask for / aspire for –
- doing one’s duty with integrity
- faith in the power that has sustained us this far and
- constant remembrance of the lord
…everything else is secondary!
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, june 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
basking in the light - VI
chyk (chinmaya yuva kendra) mumbai had called for a youth meet at sandeepany sadhanalaya on 15th july 2007. guruji (swami tejomayanadaji) addressed the youngsters. this is a brief synopsis of that talk :
guruji started off with a joke about a speaker who was asked to address a group of students. the speaker said he was from yale and started off by saying that the letter y from yale stood for 'youth'. he then spoke to them for about 20 mins on this topic. he then said the 'a' stood for ambition and then spoke about this for 30 mins. he explained that the 'l' stood for love and waxed eloquent about love for 15 mins and then finally said that 'e' stood for enthusiasm which he continued to speak about for a final 20 mins.
when he asked the audience for feedback about his talk one youngster piped up and said that the talk was good but that they were very glad that he was not from massachusetts!
guruji said he would keep his talk brief, and as is his style he managed to convey everything so wonderfully within the truncated time available to him.
he said that the older generation usually perceived the youth as 'people who know nothing but think they know everything'. at the same time the youth believe that the elders do not understand anything.
he then shared something he had read which was very apt - 'by the time you realise your father was right, you already have a son who thinks you are wrong!'
another common perception about the youth is that they are 'rash'. and this is best exemplified by their driving antics on the roads. a father tells his son who is a rash driver that 'it is better to be late here by a few hours, than to be early 'up there' by a few years!'
guruji said that youth is a phase when you find a contradiction - there is maximum energy levels among the youth, and you also find maximum levels of frustration!
most youngsters want to express themselves freely, revolt against convention and they consider themselves independent thinkers. but you also find that they are also blind followers of things that are considered 'cool' and 'different'.
the youth tend to have many questions. but its also important to ask the questions, ask the questions of the right person who can guide you with the answers, and have the courage to accept the answers. a fundamental quality required is 'humility' which is essential to be able to learn anything.
here guruji shared a beautiful story from the ramayana where hanumanji who has just been made aware of his powers by jambavan was very eager to cross the ocean, destroy lanka, kill ravana and get back seetaji. but then he suddenly realises that he might be getting carried away and so he decides to ask jambavan for guidance.
the point is that one should have the humility to say 'i don't know'!
here guruji mentioned a well-known saying among the armed forces - 'the more and more you sweat in peace; the less and less you will bleed in war'. similarly we should use our youth to work hard and prepare for life.
this is the aim of chyk - to harness youth potential to give them the right vision so that they can aim high in life.
he then referred to our shanti-path (peace invocation) where it is pointed out that success depends on mutual effort so that there is fruitful discussion and success and true transformation!
- saraswati nilayam, sandeepany sadhanalaya, july 15, 2007
guruji started off with a joke about a speaker who was asked to address a group of students. the speaker said he was from yale and started off by saying that the letter y from yale stood for 'youth'. he then spoke to them for about 20 mins on this topic. he then said the 'a' stood for ambition and then spoke about this for 30 mins. he explained that the 'l' stood for love and waxed eloquent about love for 15 mins and then finally said that 'e' stood for enthusiasm which he continued to speak about for a final 20 mins.
when he asked the audience for feedback about his talk one youngster piped up and said that the talk was good but that they were very glad that he was not from massachusetts!
guruji said he would keep his talk brief, and as is his style he managed to convey everything so wonderfully within the truncated time available to him.
he said that the older generation usually perceived the youth as 'people who know nothing but think they know everything'. at the same time the youth believe that the elders do not understand anything.
he then shared something he had read which was very apt - 'by the time you realise your father was right, you already have a son who thinks you are wrong!'
another common perception about the youth is that they are 'rash'. and this is best exemplified by their driving antics on the roads. a father tells his son who is a rash driver that 'it is better to be late here by a few hours, than to be early 'up there' by a few years!'
guruji said that youth is a phase when you find a contradiction - there is maximum energy levels among the youth, and you also find maximum levels of frustration!
most youngsters want to express themselves freely, revolt against convention and they consider themselves independent thinkers. but you also find that they are also blind followers of things that are considered 'cool' and 'different'.
the youth tend to have many questions. but its also important to ask the questions, ask the questions of the right person who can guide you with the answers, and have the courage to accept the answers. a fundamental quality required is 'humility' which is essential to be able to learn anything.
here guruji shared a beautiful story from the ramayana where hanumanji who has just been made aware of his powers by jambavan was very eager to cross the ocean, destroy lanka, kill ravana and get back seetaji. but then he suddenly realises that he might be getting carried away and so he decides to ask jambavan for guidance.
the point is that one should have the humility to say 'i don't know'!
here guruji mentioned a well-known saying among the armed forces - 'the more and more you sweat in peace; the less and less you will bleed in war'. similarly we should use our youth to work hard and prepare for life.
this is the aim of chyk - to harness youth potential to give them the right vision so that they can aim high in life.
he then referred to our shanti-path (peace invocation) where it is pointed out that success depends on mutual effort so that there is fruitful discussion and success and true transformation!
- saraswati nilayam, sandeepany sadhanalaya, july 15, 2007
Monday, July 9, 2007
for those who missed these sessions
in the last two Q&A sessions, br. sattvikaji spoke about the 'laws of action' and about the 'art of time management'.
the presentations are available for you to download and view at the following links :
http://groups.google.com/group/whats-on-your-mind---kalina-talks/web/laws+of+action.ppt
http://groups.google.com/group/whats-on-your-mind---kalina-talks/web/Time+Management+-+final.ppt
as part of the 'what's on your mind?' series, we have now embarked on a systematic study of the bhagwad geeta with sattvikaji as our guide. the first session was completed on 5th july where we are getting introduced to the great scripture through the 'dhyana shlokas'. sattvikaji will be completing the dhyana shlokas in his next talk on 2nd august. and then we will have the exposition of each chapter of the bhagwad geeta on the first thursday of each month.
you can derive maximum benefit from this series of talks by attending these sessions. we will also try our best to keep you updated by posting the summary of each talk on this blog.
the presentations are available for you to download and view at the following links :
http://groups.google.com/group/whats-on-your-mind---kalina-talks/web/laws+of+action.ppt
http://groups.google.com/group/whats-on-your-mind---kalina-talks/web/Time+Management+-+final.ppt
as part of the 'what's on your mind?' series, we have now embarked on a systematic study of the bhagwad geeta with sattvikaji as our guide. the first session was completed on 5th july where we are getting introduced to the great scripture through the 'dhyana shlokas'. sattvikaji will be completing the dhyana shlokas in his next talk on 2nd august. and then we will have the exposition of each chapter of the bhagwad geeta on the first thursday of each month.
you can derive maximum benefit from this series of talks by attending these sessions. we will also try our best to keep you updated by posting the summary of each talk on this blog.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
basking in the light - V
we were assembled in guruji's kutiya discussing the plans for the ceos' seminar that was being planned in mumbai. anil sachdevji was visiting from delhi and he was to be one of the speakers along with guruji for this program.
towards the end of the discussion a gentleman entered the kutiya. he was wearing a tie and looked like a senior person from some corporate. anilji then introduced him to guruji as one of the directors in one of the large indian corporate giants. after exchanging pleasantries, anilji mentioned an interesting anecdote which was the reason the gentleman had arrived there that morning.
on one of his previous visits to the ashram, after anilji had met guruji and was on his way back to his hotel after taking prasad from guruji, he noticed that this above-mentioned gentleman's cell-phone number had inexplicably appeared on his (anilji's) cell-phone. he took this as a sign that there must be some reason for this and decided to drop into this gentleman's office which was just a stone's throw away.
when he reached his office, the gentleman informed him that he had dropped into office only for a couple of hours and was now about to leave to accompany his wife to the hospital for her chemo-therapy since she was afflicted with cancer. anilji immediately gave him the prasad which he had received and asked the gentleman to give it to his wife and that it would give her some solace & strength.
the gentleman did give the prasad to his wife and this act had a great impact on this lady.
many months later, when anilji informed this gentleman that he was going to be in mumbai and that he could drop into the ashram in case he wanted to meet guruji. the gentleman's wife wanted him to go and meet guruji.
the gentleman, being a very senior official, had a very important meeting that same morning and he had forgotten this directive once he got into the meeting. he then received an sms from his wife reminding him to go and meet guruji. he then decided that he had to meet guruji and decided to come to the ashram.
guruji heard this narrative patiently and then enquired about her health and progress of the treatment. he then asked him to visit the ashram and meet at leisure and to bring his wife along too.
this simple act of love and caring by guruji won the gentleman's heart and he left shortly. it was obvious that he would soon return!
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, 12th june 2007
towards the end of the discussion a gentleman entered the kutiya. he was wearing a tie and looked like a senior person from some corporate. anilji then introduced him to guruji as one of the directors in one of the large indian corporate giants. after exchanging pleasantries, anilji mentioned an interesting anecdote which was the reason the gentleman had arrived there that morning.
on one of his previous visits to the ashram, after anilji had met guruji and was on his way back to his hotel after taking prasad from guruji, he noticed that this above-mentioned gentleman's cell-phone number had inexplicably appeared on his (anilji's) cell-phone. he took this as a sign that there must be some reason for this and decided to drop into this gentleman's office which was just a stone's throw away.
when he reached his office, the gentleman informed him that he had dropped into office only for a couple of hours and was now about to leave to accompany his wife to the hospital for her chemo-therapy since she was afflicted with cancer. anilji immediately gave him the prasad which he had received and asked the gentleman to give it to his wife and that it would give her some solace & strength.
the gentleman did give the prasad to his wife and this act had a great impact on this lady.
many months later, when anilji informed this gentleman that he was going to be in mumbai and that he could drop into the ashram in case he wanted to meet guruji. the gentleman's wife wanted him to go and meet guruji.
the gentleman, being a very senior official, had a very important meeting that same morning and he had forgotten this directive once he got into the meeting. he then received an sms from his wife reminding him to go and meet guruji. he then decided that he had to meet guruji and decided to come to the ashram.
guruji heard this narrative patiently and then enquired about her health and progress of the treatment. he then asked him to visit the ashram and meet at leisure and to bring his wife along too.
this simple act of love and caring by guruji won the gentleman's heart and he left shortly. it was obvious that he would soon return!
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, 12th june 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
basking in the light - IV
many of us know that guruji is a great lover of music. when he is listening to music you can see that he is in a completely different plane. he is able to deeply experience the music.
this is one of the reasons that some of the greatest musicians in the country are able to instantly connect with him. the common thread is the divinity that music invokes in them - the musician, the aficionado and the music. in its purest form.
one evening we were assembled in guruji's kutiya after dinner. guruji suddenly popped a question at us - what is the definition of music? he wanted each one of us to share our understanding and definition of music.
each one of us tried to outdo the other in trying to define music. some called it a pleasant rhythmic arrangement of sounds; some a garland of notes; while some other called it the voice of the soul. but everybody knew that none of these definitions were able to completely define music.
finally guruji defined music as 'the adornment of silence'!
he likened it to the adornment on a bride at her wedding. he said that the bride may be beautiful, but the adornments enhance and emphasise the beauty of the bride. similarly music helps us to appreciate the beauty of the silence. and the entire attempt of music is to help us focus on that silence and the divinity that lies therein!
this was the most profound and apt definition of music that i have ever come across.
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, 2006
this is one of the reasons that some of the greatest musicians in the country are able to instantly connect with him. the common thread is the divinity that music invokes in them - the musician, the aficionado and the music. in its purest form.
one evening we were assembled in guruji's kutiya after dinner. guruji suddenly popped a question at us - what is the definition of music? he wanted each one of us to share our understanding and definition of music.
each one of us tried to outdo the other in trying to define music. some called it a pleasant rhythmic arrangement of sounds; some a garland of notes; while some other called it the voice of the soul. but everybody knew that none of these definitions were able to completely define music.
finally guruji defined music as 'the adornment of silence'!
he likened it to the adornment on a bride at her wedding. he said that the bride may be beautiful, but the adornments enhance and emphasise the beauty of the bride. similarly music helps us to appreciate the beauty of the silence. and the entire attempt of music is to help us focus on that silence and the divinity that lies therein!
this was the most profound and apt definition of music that i have ever come across.
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, 2006
Friday, June 1, 2007
cell-phone vedanta
Cell-Phone Vedanta
The cell-phone has almost become a necessity today. This modern instrument is not only very helpful in communication between people but it can also communicate the deepest spiritual truths to us which can help us to face the challenges of life more courageously.
Given below are some parallels we can draw between the cell phone and spirituality :
1. The cellphone instrument is the body. Now-a-days we have phones with which we can take a photograph, see movies, download emails, etc. These are somewhat similar to sensory perceptions of eyes & ears.
2. The cell-phone memory is the mind on which all the impressions of the pictures, phone numbers, etc. are stored.
3. The antenna of the cell phone is the intellect.
4. The battery is the prana.
5. Spirit or Soul is the Electricity.
6. Cell phone number is the name of the individuality.
7. The charging of the cellphone-battery (Prana) is the regular intake of `food' that we take.
8. The charger (food) charges all parts of the phone. Similarly our food must be also holistic and include physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual food.
9. When the battery is low, the transmission and receiving is disturbed. When we do not have enough energy, then the functioning of BMI (Body/Mind/Intellect) is not very efficient.
10. All Incoming calls are free. Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji said –" Problems and challenges supplied to us – Free. We don't have to ask. They are given freely"
11. You can choose to attend a call, divert it, keep it on hold or ignore it.
12. Any challenge can be
- Faced objectively (attending a call)
- avoided or one runs away from it (not taking a call and pretending as if the call did not come. This avoidance is only temporary. The problem will `ring' back)
- kept on hold (ruminate over the problem and get tensed. The call which has been kept on hold keeps beeping and one is disturbed in one's present conversation. A problem kept on hold disturbs one's actions sub-consciously)
- Opportunity knocks on everyone's doors. But most of the times we are either `out' or `sleeping in'. This is the missed call.
- When we are in the `home' location, incoming is free and outgoing is charged minimum. When we are in `OM' – our True Home, we are at peace and harmony.
- When we are in the `roaming' area we pay extra charges for incoming and outgoing both. When we are`roaming' in the area of OET (Objects/Emotions/Thoughts) we pay `extra' charges.
- Each cellphone though looking alike, is unique. Each one of us, though made up of BMI (made up of same 5 elements), is yet unique.
- The SIM Card can be called as the Senses, Intellect & Mind. These can be removed from one cell and put into another. At death something similar happens. SIM from one body (Cell-phone instrument) is removed and put into another. The balance on the SIM Card is maintained on it even if it is transferred to another phone. The balance remains unaltered. Similarly, the account of our Karma is maintained in our SIM (Self Intellect Mind) and comes with us life after life.
- The Cell-phone-Company is the Ishwara.
- Just as all the cellphone users are linked to each other through the cell-phone-company, similarly all individuals are linked to each other through the Ishwara.
- The electricity empowering (`illumining' is the Vedantic equivalent) the individual cell phone is the atman. Electricity empowering the cell-phone-company and the other cell-phones is Brahman. Atman and Brahman are one and the same.Tat Tvam Asi !
- The usage of the cell-phone is the karma of the user (Ego). The karma-phala is the monthly bill. Whenever the karma-phala is not yet ready, it gets accumulated in the cell-phone-company (Ishwara) which sends the bill as and when the time is ripe.
- Many cellphone users are too attached to the cellphone. They just can't switch it off. They are afraid and insecure - What will happen if I switch off? What if someone wants to contact me…..? Most of the individuals cannot switch off from BMI and its pleasures. One feels insecure – What will happen if I switch off? What if the family needs my help? How can I `realise' leaving them? etc.
- A Sthitaprajna is one who can use the phone when required and switch off when required. He is not affected by either the usage or switching off. He is equanimous in both the cases. He uses it as a means for communication. Unlike others, his psychological security and peace do not depend on it.
- Not everyone can afford a cellphone. Similarly, Human birth is rare and precious. Let us use the phone and not abuse it. Let us use the human birth and not abuse it.
- Br. Sattvika Chaitanya
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
basking in the light - III
we were a few usual suspects in guruji's kutiya late one evening after dinner. the discussion veered towards bringing up children. guruji mentioned how most parents ask their children to study and tend to get worked up about it too. the parents don't seem to realise that the child is also as much, if not more, concerned about the examinations.
guruji narrated an anecdote to highlight this irony.
a ship has set out to sail and there is a very cheerful, happy-go-lucky kid who is part of the crew. the captain tends to always fret about this kid and believes that this kid is not very serious about his duties.
finally the captain is not able to stand the discomfort any more and decides to speak to the kid. he calls the kid into his cabin, sits him down and then proceeds to tell the kid that he is a crucial part of the crew and that he has a very important role to play. he then informs him that among the passengers there are some very important people and that he should pay extra attention at his job and ensure that he does not make any mistake.
the kid stares at the captain with an innocent look and says, 'but captain sir, i too am on the ship!'. thereby implying that he too values his life which for him is more important than any other lives. so it is only natural that he would take extra precaution to protect himself before worrying about anybody else!
in the same way, the parents should remember that the exams would be as important for the children as it is for them.
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, mumbai, 27th march 2007
guruji narrated an anecdote to highlight this irony.
a ship has set out to sail and there is a very cheerful, happy-go-lucky kid who is part of the crew. the captain tends to always fret about this kid and believes that this kid is not very serious about his duties.
finally the captain is not able to stand the discomfort any more and decides to speak to the kid. he calls the kid into his cabin, sits him down and then proceeds to tell the kid that he is a crucial part of the crew and that he has a very important role to play. he then informs him that among the passengers there are some very important people and that he should pay extra attention at his job and ensure that he does not make any mistake.
the kid stares at the captain with an innocent look and says, 'but captain sir, i too am on the ship!'. thereby implying that he too values his life which for him is more important than any other lives. so it is only natural that he would take extra precaution to protect himself before worrying about anybody else!
in the same way, the parents should remember that the exams would be as important for the children as it is for them.
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, mumbai, 27th march 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
how to manage anger
(this is the fifth session of 'what's on your mind?', the question and answer series being conducted by br. sattvika chaitanya at kalina in santacruz, mumbai. this session was conducted on 5th april 2007.)
the fifth session was based on the question 'how do we effectively deal with anger?'
sattvikaji started off the session by explaining how in today's modern life we are living in the midst of conflicts. and many of us have a false notion that anger is essential to deal with these conflicts. we even go to the extent of considering anger to be a sign of strength and power! but the bhagwad gita (chp. XVI) tells us that anger is one of the three doors to our self-created hell.
but in contrast, a calm mind is a happy mind, an efficient mind, a loving mind, a creative mind, a strong mind and a spiritual mind. when the mind is calm, the intellect is sharper & decisions are rational right & rewarding. the gita defines such a person as a yogi; one who is unaffected by the pairs of opposites.
what is anger?
“anger is nothing but an attachment for an object, when expressed towards an obstacle between ourselves and the object of our attachment.” - swami chinmayananda
sattvikaji mentioned that anger comes & overwhelms us at a certain moment. if we win that moment we will be fine. he then shared the key tips for anger management by saying that we need to look at anger at two levels and address it accordingly -
the fifth session was based on the question 'how do we effectively deal with anger?'
sattvikaji started off the session by explaining how in today's modern life we are living in the midst of conflicts. and many of us have a false notion that anger is essential to deal with these conflicts. we even go to the extent of considering anger to be a sign of strength and power! but the bhagwad gita (chp. XVI) tells us that anger is one of the three doors to our self-created hell.
but in contrast, a calm mind is a happy mind, an efficient mind, a loving mind, a creative mind, a strong mind and a spiritual mind. when the mind is calm, the intellect is sharper & decisions are rational right & rewarding. the gita defines such a person as a yogi; one who is unaffected by the pairs of opposites.
what is anger?
“anger is nothing but an attachment for an object, when expressed towards an obstacle between ourselves and the object of our attachment.” - swami chinmayananda
sattvikaji mentioned that anger comes & overwhelms us at a certain moment. if we win that moment we will be fine. he then shared the key tips for anger management by saying that we need to look at anger at two levels and address it accordingly -
- handling impulsive reactions & provocative situations - by identifying 'stabilizers' and holding on to them to weather the storm
- handling deeper causes of anger - by finding an 'anchor'
some of the stabilisers that he shared with us included :
- delaying our response but not denying it
- broadening our angle of view
- chanting a mantra and doing a 'mantram walk'
- deep breathing & breath observation
- setting up an inspiring ideal and focusing on that ideal
- cultivating tolerance & patience
we then tried to understand the deeper root causes of anger.
- kama - desires which created expectations which in turn turned into insistence and then finally anger when the expectations are unfulfilled.
- raaga & dvesha - strong likes & dislikes
- attachment - which leads to fear of loss and subsequent anger
- taking things personally at our ego level
the anchors that he then indicated to us included :
- acceptance - accept life and move with the flow
- minimise likes & dislikes with the help of tapas (austerity) & vrata (vows)
- choose your sense inputs (balance & moderation)
- choose role models & visualise yourself as being calm & composed
- cultivate 'sattva guna' (pure & noble traits)
sattvikaji finally concluded by highlighting that a person who has attained this equanimity and calmness of mind gets established in the 'truth'!
--------------------
the presentation used by sattvikaji can be downloaded by clicking on the following link : http://whats-on-your-mind---kalina-talks.googlegroups.com/web/anger%20management.ppt?gda=jWDBBUUAAADGvikJHVjX_C0KD1rTtWd2-EMI0PVpMwQxyYVwQZH9AGG1qiJ7UbTIup-M2XPURDQBXUmJOfcH_PSnwicjgtGKgpuClco-BFKssGxc48tqVQ.
and if that doesn't work you can try copying this link to the address bar of your browser. or you could right-click on the link and select the 'save target as' option.
(and please do send in your comments and questions you would like sattvikaji to answer in these sessions.)
Saturday, March 24, 2007
how to practice spirituality practically
(this is the fourth session of 'what's on your mind?', the question and answer series being conducted by br. sattvika chaitanya at kalina in santacruz, mumbai. this session was conducted on 15th march 2007.)
The third talk was based on “How to apply spirituality practically?” In this session Sattvikaji began by explaining the meaning of spirituality as the art of living life every moment with clarity, courage and confidence. As Gurudev says – It is not a way to look at certain things – it is a certain way to look at all things.
We must begin by watching our WATCH –
W- Words
A- Actions
T-Thoughts
C- Character
H-Habits
The third talk was based on “How to apply spirituality practically?” In this session Sattvikaji began by explaining the meaning of spirituality as the art of living life every moment with clarity, courage and confidence. As Gurudev says – It is not a way to look at certain things – it is a certain way to look at all things.
We must begin by watching our WATCH –
W- Words
A- Actions
T-Thoughts
C- Character
H-Habits
Then Sattvikaji introduced select verses from the 17th Chapter of the Bhagwad Geeta to enable practical application of spirituality. The tips that he gave us were to :
- Economise energy
- Empower emotions
- Expand vision
- Eliminate the ego, and finally
- Experience ecstasy
We can do all the above through a combination of Study, Sadhana, Samyam (self control) and Seva. Through these practices we will evolve in 3 ways – by doing, thinking and finally being. Our culture has defined this formula for us as a way of life – doing in the first 2 stages (Brahmacharya and Grihasthashrama), thinking and introspection in Vanaprastha stage and being / awareness in the Sanyasa stage. He then went on to discuss the application of spirituality in our professional life through the ABCDE formula (Ambition, Belief, Challenge, Dedication, Efficiency) with special emphasis on delinking our worth from our work. He then discussed how to empower relationships through spirituality by loving people and using objects and not the reverse. The other points that he emphasized were the importance of listening in a relationship and the nature of true love which is a fulfillment in itself.
The detailed discussion on these points are available in the presentation used by Sattvikaji. You could download the presentation by clicking on the following link : http://groups.google.com/group/whats-on-your-mind---kalina-talks/web/practical+application+of+spirituality.ppt. And if that doesn't work you can try copying this link to the address bar of your browser. Or you could right-click on the link and select the 'Save Target As' option.
(And please do send in your comments and questions you would like Sattvikaji to answer in the next session.)
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
basking in the light - II
last night we went to the ashram to see off guruji. as you can imagine there were a lot of people. guruji was in a very good mood and the atmosphere was special.
after dinner, at about 9.30 (he was to leave for the airport at 10 for his 1 am flight to the us for his surgery) he had asked the students to assemble outside his kutiya. he was joking with them in his usual, inimitable style.
when meera's mother (who does all his cooking for him at the ashram) said she wanted to come to the airport he dissuaded her. then he narrated an anecdote about his first visit to the reunion island. he was apparently staying with an old christian lady named elizabeth who reminded him of his mother. she couldn't speak english and he didn't understand french. the only phrase he learnt was 'bon bon' which he used whenever she served him food. on the eve of his departure she said she would accompany him to the airport to see him off. but next morning she apparently said she had changed her mind. when guruji asked her the reason, she said she did not want to see him off as she would break down and cry!
by sharing this anecdote, guruji communicated that he didn't want meera's mother to come to the airport as he didn't want to see them cry.
and then when it was time to leave, all the brahmacharis chanted the 'margabandhu stotram'. and the 'mrityunjaya mantra'. the effect was electric! even now as i recollect those moments as i write this posting, i get goose-bumps.
and then as he was leaving from his room he hugged swamini nishthanandaji and asked meera to take special care of her while he was away.
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, mumbai, 19th dec 2006
after dinner, at about 9.30 (he was to leave for the airport at 10 for his 1 am flight to the us for his surgery) he had asked the students to assemble outside his kutiya. he was joking with them in his usual, inimitable style.
when meera's mother (who does all his cooking for him at the ashram) said she wanted to come to the airport he dissuaded her. then he narrated an anecdote about his first visit to the reunion island. he was apparently staying with an old christian lady named elizabeth who reminded him of his mother. she couldn't speak english and he didn't understand french. the only phrase he learnt was 'bon bon' which he used whenever she served him food. on the eve of his departure she said she would accompany him to the airport to see him off. but next morning she apparently said she had changed her mind. when guruji asked her the reason, she said she did not want to see him off as she would break down and cry!
by sharing this anecdote, guruji communicated that he didn't want meera's mother to come to the airport as he didn't want to see them cry.
and then when it was time to leave, all the brahmacharis chanted the 'margabandhu stotram'. and the 'mrityunjaya mantra'. the effect was electric! even now as i recollect those moments as i write this posting, i get goose-bumps.
and then as he was leaving from his room he hugged swamini nishthanandaji and asked meera to take special care of her while he was away.
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, mumbai, 19th dec 2006
Friday, February 23, 2007
basking in the light - I
(this is a series that i am starting where i wanted to share various sessions with guruji, swami tejomayanandaji, where he shares insightful comments and answers to some of the most vexing questions we come across, his usual jokes (and pj's), and his views on various topics. these are not based on his formal lectures and talks. they are based on his interactions with people at various places including their homes, the ashram and while travelling. i am sure all of you will find this very interesting and useful. if you have similar anecdotes to share, please do send in the details so that i can post them here for all to read and benefit from.)
guruji was requested to send his views on 'desire' to somebody who was going to make a presentation on this topic. he shared some of his ideas aloud with us in his kutiya (cottage) -
"desire is a great force, a power. any power without control and direction is disastrous. but the same power under control and given a direction becomes a blessing. scriptures acknowledge the role and power of desire. it does not ask us to wish it away or ignore it. instead scriptures show us how to deal with desire and even fulfil desire. scriptures show us how to grow out of them; grow out of baser and lower desires and divinise them within ourselves! dharma shastra (scriptures) is the science of desire management."
- mumbai, 22nd feb 2007
guruji was requested to send his views on 'desire' to somebody who was going to make a presentation on this topic. he shared some of his ideas aloud with us in his kutiya (cottage) -
"desire is a great force, a power. any power without control and direction is disastrous. but the same power under control and given a direction becomes a blessing. scriptures acknowledge the role and power of desire. it does not ask us to wish it away or ignore it. instead scriptures show us how to deal with desire and even fulfil desire. scriptures show us how to grow out of them; grow out of baser and lower desires and divinise them within ourselves! dharma shastra (scriptures) is the science of desire management."
- mumbai, 22nd feb 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Would You Call This A Sin?
This was a question posed by a seeker to which Br. Sattvikaji responded. The response has been copied below :
Q : A person finds out he has a terminal sickness. He cannot be cured as there is no cure in medical science. He suffers from pain day and night. The hospitalisation and other medical expenses are being borne by his family not to mention the labour of visiting doctors and hospitals. Even though money is no problem still it is waste of same and precious time and labour as there is no cure for the ailment and death is the only final result. It is being prolonged with medicines and treatment but ultimately that is going to be the result. At such a time if the patient in his full senses decides to end his own life would you call it a sin?
--------------------------
Sattvikaji's response :
Poojya Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda, was asked a similar question about Euthanasia. Enclosed is Poojya Gurudev's reply from a book titled - "On Wings & Wheels" Many topics like euthanasia, vegetarianism, grey areas of choice, decision making etc. are handled by Gurudev through Q & A
Q: In the case of a patient suffering from an incurable disease, would mercy killing be justified when the patient himself wants it.? (P.44 in "On wings & wheels")
Gurudev: Knowledge is to be used only in the service of mankind, and not to extend suffering. In certain cases in which our knowledge is limited and we know there is no other remedy available, mercy killing may be justified. It is not the killing that is important, as I told you earlier; it is the motive behind the action.
There should be a council of wise men from the medical profession who could meet and decide whether in a particular case and in their branch of knowledge there is any remedy.
All of them would have to agree. Then the individual could be allowed to die. It would not be killing. In fact it is not to be said that it is killing, rather it is not contributing to the continuation of the individual's sorrows.
Q: The other day in your talk you mentioned that one could withdraw medicines in such cases, but could one do something to put an end to the suffering altogether?
Gurudev: I am not asking you to inject and kill - NO! Only withdraw the medicines.
Q: Suppose after the withdrawal of medicines the person continues to linger on...
Gurudev: It can't be helped. It must be allowed. We being religious people we must surrender unto HIM. Let the Lord cure the patient or let HIM make him suffer where we are not contributing with our knowledge to lengthen the disease. The mercy killing is the mercy of the Lord, not your mercy. We leave it to God's mercy. May be the patient is required to go through the experience and for that purpose
he has been made a vegetable. If he lingers as a vegetable, you and I, the family people or members of the community, are duty bound to watch over him and ensure that no harm comes to him from outside. Let nature take its own course.
Q : A person finds out he has a terminal sickness. He cannot be cured as there is no cure in medical science. He suffers from pain day and night. The hospitalisation and other medical expenses are being borne by his family not to mention the labour of visiting doctors and hospitals. Even though money is no problem still it is waste of same and precious time and labour as there is no cure for the ailment and death is the only final result. It is being prolonged with medicines and treatment but ultimately that is going to be the result. At such a time if the patient in his full senses decides to end his own life would you call it a sin?
--------------------------
Sattvikaji's response :
Poojya Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda, was asked a similar question about Euthanasia. Enclosed is Poojya Gurudev's reply from a book titled - "On Wings & Wheels" Many topics like euthanasia, vegetarianism, grey areas of choice, decision making etc. are handled by Gurudev through Q & A
Q: In the case of a patient suffering from an incurable disease, would mercy killing be justified when the patient himself wants it.? (P.44 in "On wings & wheels")
Gurudev: Knowledge is to be used only in the service of mankind, and not to extend suffering. In certain cases in which our knowledge is limited and we know there is no other remedy available, mercy killing may be justified. It is not the killing that is important, as I told you earlier; it is the motive behind the action.
There should be a council of wise men from the medical profession who could meet and decide whether in a particular case and in their branch of knowledge there is any remedy.
All of them would have to agree. Then the individual could be allowed to die. It would not be killing. In fact it is not to be said that it is killing, rather it is not contributing to the continuation of the individual's sorrows.
Q: The other day in your talk you mentioned that one could withdraw medicines in such cases, but could one do something to put an end to the suffering altogether?
Gurudev: I am not asking you to inject and kill - NO! Only withdraw the medicines.
Q: Suppose after the withdrawal of medicines the person continues to linger on...
Gurudev: It can't be helped. It must be allowed. We being religious people we must surrender unto HIM. Let the Lord cure the patient or let HIM make him suffer where we are not contributing with our knowledge to lengthen the disease. The mercy killing is the mercy of the Lord, not your mercy. We leave it to God's mercy. May be the patient is required to go through the experience and for that purpose
he has been made a vegetable. If he lingers as a vegetable, you and I, the family people or members of the community, are duty bound to watch over him and ensure that no harm comes to him from outside. Let nature take its own course.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
bcool@life.calm
(this is an article written by br. sattvika chaitanya which gives us very simple, yet practical and profound tips on how to be truly 'cool' in our lives!)
---------------------
bcool@life.calm
What is cool?
•Cool hairstyle, cool rayban glasses
•Cool levis jeans, cool reebok shoes
•Cool body, pumped up muscles
•Cool nano-i-pod, cool laptop
What is cool?
•Cool eliminator bike, Cool ericson cell
•Job in a call-center
What is cool?
•Atleast 5-6 girlfriends, hot-cash for parties, movies, disco, dancing ……………its a cool life man!
What is cool?
•Doing whatever one feels like – free bird
•Doing something unconventional to get attention
•Doing something daring
•Violating rules, breaking tradition & customs
•Doing nothing about mistakes & wrong happenings is being cool?
•`ho jayega' , chalta-hai…..not doing one's duties is cool?
Cool life
•All this may be cool but can we call such a life as `cool – life' ?
•Cool-hair is not `cool-life'
cool-jeans is not `cool-life'
cool-house is not `cool-life'….
•What is a cool-life?
cool@life?
•Life Management = Mind Management
•In all achievements, the mind is the doer, not merely the body.
•If our mind is cool, life is cool.
Cool mind
•Cool mind is a happy mind
•Cool mind is an efficient mind
•Cool mind is a loving mind
•Cool mind is a creative mind
•Cool mind is a strong mind
•Cool mind is a spiritual mind
5 Coolers
•Think `cool'
•Feel `cool'
•Act `cool'
•Speak `cool'
•Accept `cool'
Think Cool
Not to think is not `cool' To THINK is Cool.
Why?
Intellect is the greatest gift to man
Without thinking, man is worse than animals
Think Cool
• Think with a cool-head.
• `Think! Don't brood.
To think is to use the mind.
To brood is to abuse it.' - Sw.Chinmayananda
• Think!
–Why am I doing whatever I am doing?
–Balanced Thinking not positive thinking
•What are the pros & cons.
–Objective thinking & not biased thinking
• Rise above likes & dislikes
Think Cool
• Think!
–Means & Goal
•Goal of life & Goals in life.
Wealth, Enjoyment, Values – Goals in life
Freedom – Goal of Life
•`Knowledge is the Goal of Life, not pleasure.' -Sw.Vivekananda
–Permanent & Impermanent
Feel Cool
• Positive feelings cool the mind.
Negative feelings agitate the mind
•Love, Care, humility, sharing, honesty, service, straightforwardness etc.
•True Love is truly cooling.
"To love & To be loved is the greatest privilege of life." - Sw. Chinmayananda
Feel Cool
•`Let not the storms of your heart cover the sun in your head.'
- Sw. Chinmayananda
•Impulsive emotions & reactions must be overcome
Be `cool' in most provocative situations. Hold on to the Mantram or Devotion
Act Cool
•Not showing off. Or merely acting in `style' to get applause.
•"Efficiency is proficiency in action."
•"Bring your mind where your hands are."
- Sw.Chinmayananda
Act Cool
•Acting with
–sense control
–Present mindedness
–Necessary skills
–Technological support for efficiency
–Co-operation with team/family members
Speak Cool
•Gossiping is not cool. They agitate u and others.
•Speech must bring solace & peace to you and others.
•Vani aisi boliye manva sheetal hoye auro ko sheetal kare apahu sheetal hoye
•Use positive vocabulary.
Accept coolly
•Cheerfully accept whatever life brings to u.
•Be grateful to the Lord for His Kindness
•Life is a package deal. "So What?"
Accept coolly
•Surrender
•Expect & Accept
•`Do the Best. Leave the Rest.' -Sw.Chinmayananda
•Happiness keeps u Sweet,
Trials keep u Strong,
Sorrow keeps u Human ,
Failure Keeps u Humble,
Success keeps u Glowing,
But only God Keeps u Going.
Cool Formula
•XMS – 20-20-20
–eXercise (Body)
–Meditation (Mind)
– Study (Intellect)
Best wishes for a truly cool life.
Contact :
Br. Sattvika Chaitanya
Chinmaya Mission,
Chinmaya Vihar Room No.102,
Sandeepany Sadhanalaya,
Next to Hotel Renaissance
Saki Vihar Road, Powai,
Mumbai – 400 072.
Ph: 22814646, 22884646
Email: brsattvika@rediffmail.com
---------------------
bcool@life.calm
What is cool?
•Cool hairstyle, cool rayban glasses
•Cool levis jeans, cool reebok shoes
•Cool body, pumped up muscles
•Cool nano-i-pod, cool laptop
What is cool?
•Cool eliminator bike, Cool ericson cell
•Job in a call-center
What is cool?
•Atleast 5-6 girlfriends, hot-cash for parties, movies, disco, dancing ……………its a cool life man!
What is cool?
•Doing whatever one feels like – free bird
•Doing something unconventional to get attention
•Doing something daring
•Violating rules, breaking tradition & customs
•Doing nothing about mistakes & wrong happenings is being cool?
•`ho jayega' , chalta-hai…..not doing one's duties is cool?
Cool life
•All this may be cool but can we call such a life as `cool – life' ?
•Cool-hair is not `cool-life'
cool-jeans is not `cool-life'
cool-house is not `cool-life'….
•What is a cool-life?
cool@life?
•Life Management = Mind Management
•In all achievements, the mind is the doer, not merely the body.
•If our mind is cool, life is cool.
Cool mind
•Cool mind is a happy mind
•Cool mind is an efficient mind
•Cool mind is a loving mind
•Cool mind is a creative mind
•Cool mind is a strong mind
•Cool mind is a spiritual mind
5 Coolers
•Think `cool'
•Feel `cool'
•Act `cool'
•Speak `cool'
•Accept `cool'
Think Cool
Not to think is not `cool' To THINK is Cool.
Why?
Intellect is the greatest gift to man
Without thinking, man is worse than animals
Think Cool
• Think with a cool-head.
• `Think! Don't brood.
To think is to use the mind.
To brood is to abuse it.' - Sw.Chinmayananda
• Think!
–Why am I doing whatever I am doing?
–Balanced Thinking not positive thinking
•What are the pros & cons.
–Objective thinking & not biased thinking
• Rise above likes & dislikes
Think Cool
• Think!
–Means & Goal
•Goal of life & Goals in life.
Wealth, Enjoyment, Values – Goals in life
Freedom – Goal of Life
•`Knowledge is the Goal of Life, not pleasure.' -Sw.Vivekananda
–Permanent & Impermanent
Feel Cool
• Positive feelings cool the mind.
Negative feelings agitate the mind
•Love, Care, humility, sharing, honesty, service, straightforwardness etc.
•True Love is truly cooling.
"To love & To be loved is the greatest privilege of life." - Sw. Chinmayananda
Feel Cool
•`Let not the storms of your heart cover the sun in your head.'
- Sw. Chinmayananda
•Impulsive emotions & reactions must be overcome
Be `cool' in most provocative situations. Hold on to the Mantram or Devotion
Act Cool
•Not showing off. Or merely acting in `style' to get applause.
•"Efficiency is proficiency in action."
•"Bring your mind where your hands are."
- Sw.Chinmayananda
Act Cool
•Acting with
–sense control
–Present mindedness
–Necessary skills
–Technological support for efficiency
–Co-operation with team/family members
Speak Cool
•Gossiping is not cool. They agitate u and others.
•Speech must bring solace & peace to you and others.
•Vani aisi boliye manva sheetal hoye auro ko sheetal kare apahu sheetal hoye
•Use positive vocabulary.
Accept coolly
•Cheerfully accept whatever life brings to u.
•Be grateful to the Lord for His Kindness
•Life is a package deal. "So What?"
Accept coolly
•Surrender
•Expect & Accept
•`Do the Best. Leave the Rest.' -Sw.Chinmayananda
•Happiness keeps u Sweet,
Trials keep u Strong,
Sorrow keeps u Human ,
Failure Keeps u Humble,
Success keeps u Glowing,
But only God Keeps u Going.
Cool Formula
•XMS – 20-20-20
–eXercise (Body)
–Meditation (Mind)
– Study (Intellect)
Best wishes for a truly cool life.
Contact :
Br. Sattvika Chaitanya
Chinmaya Mission,
Chinmaya Vihar Room No.102,
Sandeepany Sadhanalaya,
Next to Hotel Renaissance
Saki Vihar Road, Powai,
Mumbai – 400 072.
Ph: 22814646, 22884646
Email: brsattvika@rediffmail.com
Saturday, February 3, 2007
rendezvous 2 - how do i handle negative emotions?
(based on the Q&A session 'what's on your mind?' with br. sattvika chaitanyaji on 1st feb 2007 at kalina)
here we first need to understand that negative emotions are in the realm of the mind which in turn affect the other two instruments that we have, viz. the body and our intellect.
negative emotions are therefore the result of a negative mind-set, where we entertain a certain pattern of thoughts which then shape our attitudes towards most things we face in life.
the various negative mind-sets that we entertain could be classified as -
1. exaggeration - where we magnify the problems and give it more importance than is due; or we minimise the positives in our lives.
2. mind reading - we jump to conclusions and assume that something bad is bound to happen and that someone is against you.
3. black or white - an all-or-nothing attitude where if something doesn't turn out perfectly you see it as a total failure.
4. dwelling - we focus on one negative situation and keep thinking about it excessively.
5. discounting - you discount the positive and never give credit to yourself or others.
6. expectations - you get angry and frustrated when things go in a certain way or people don't behave in a certain way.
7. labels - you label yourself or others with negative interpretations.
8. blaming - you blame yourself or others for all problems.
emotions, even negative ones, by themselves are not a problem. its how we handle these emotions which create the problem. eg. sometimes you need to consciously use anger for the benefit of someone you love or care about.
negative emotions are misplaced positive emotions. they are like the other side of the same coin. the trick is to be able to focus on the positive emotion to replace the negative ones. eg. jealousy can be converted into admiration.
many times we get comfortable with our negative emotions. we must strongly want to overcome our negative emotions.
the most important first step in handling negative emotions is acknowledging them, and not trying to fight them. the more you fight the negative emotions, the more you strengthen them! instead of trying to tackle individual emotions we must address our mind-set; we must open our minds to bring about this change!
the formula for successfully handling our negative mind-set is being 'OPEN',
where N is for saying 'no' to our minds when it tries to blame people, things and situations around us for the state of our mind. we have to take responsibility for the state of our mind.
and E is for managing the 'energy' in us through taking care of our physical body (proper diet and exercise), our pranic body (through pranayama), our mind (through positive emotions), our intellect by entertaining high inspiring ideals, and our spiritual self through faith (in god, a higher power)
and P is for 'positive' reaffirmations and substitution of negative emotions with positive ones. mercilessly reject the negative emotions and replace them with positive ones. chanting of mantras are effective means of sending in positive reaffirmations into our own subconscious mind!
and O is to be able to 'observe' the state of our mind through introspection and be able to be alert and ensure that our mind does not slip and get sucked into a negative state.
-----------------------------------------
here we first need to understand that negative emotions are in the realm of the mind which in turn affect the other two instruments that we have, viz. the body and our intellect.
negative emotions are therefore the result of a negative mind-set, where we entertain a certain pattern of thoughts which then shape our attitudes towards most things we face in life.
the various negative mind-sets that we entertain could be classified as -
1. exaggeration - where we magnify the problems and give it more importance than is due; or we minimise the positives in our lives.
2. mind reading - we jump to conclusions and assume that something bad is bound to happen and that someone is against you.
3. black or white - an all-or-nothing attitude where if something doesn't turn out perfectly you see it as a total failure.
4. dwelling - we focus on one negative situation and keep thinking about it excessively.
5. discounting - you discount the positive and never give credit to yourself or others.
6. expectations - you get angry and frustrated when things go in a certain way or people don't behave in a certain way.
7. labels - you label yourself or others with negative interpretations.
8. blaming - you blame yourself or others for all problems.
emotions, even negative ones, by themselves are not a problem. its how we handle these emotions which create the problem. eg. sometimes you need to consciously use anger for the benefit of someone you love or care about.
negative emotions are misplaced positive emotions. they are like the other side of the same coin. the trick is to be able to focus on the positive emotion to replace the negative ones. eg. jealousy can be converted into admiration.
many times we get comfortable with our negative emotions. we must strongly want to overcome our negative emotions.
the most important first step in handling negative emotions is acknowledging them, and not trying to fight them. the more you fight the negative emotions, the more you strengthen them! instead of trying to tackle individual emotions we must address our mind-set; we must open our minds to bring about this change!
the formula for successfully handling our negative mind-set is being 'OPEN',
where N is for saying 'no' to our minds when it tries to blame people, things and situations around us for the state of our mind. we have to take responsibility for the state of our mind.
and E is for managing the 'energy' in us through taking care of our physical body (proper diet and exercise), our pranic body (through pranayama), our mind (through positive emotions), our intellect by entertaining high inspiring ideals, and our spiritual self through faith (in god, a higher power)
and P is for 'positive' reaffirmations and substitution of negative emotions with positive ones. mercilessly reject the negative emotions and replace them with positive ones. chanting of mantras are effective means of sending in positive reaffirmations into our own subconscious mind!
and O is to be able to 'observe' the state of our mind through introspection and be able to be alert and ensure that our mind does not slip and get sucked into a negative state.
-----------------------------------------
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