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Under the influence of false ego one thinks himself to be the doer of activities, while in reality all the activities are carried out by nature as natural process.

The moment we put the ego aside, the curtain disappears. God is not hidden, only our eyes are closed. Open your eyes.

Hatha yoga is a preparatory process of yoga. The word “ha” means sun, “tha” means moon. “Hatha” means the yoga to bring balance between the sun and the moon in you, or the Pingala and Ida in you. You can explore Hatha yoga in ways that take you beyond certain limitations, but fundamentally, it is a physical preparation – preparing the body for a higher possibility. If we want to do kriya yoga, we always prepare people with Hatha yoga because without the body being prepared, it will not be able to take higher dimensions of energy. It will break. It is just like if your pipe is not ready and you pump in too much force, something is bound to burst. So Hatha yoga, so to speak, could be taken to be preparation of the pipe.

There are other dimensions to this, but to put it simply, just by observing the way somebody is sitting, you almost know what is happening with them. If you know yourself, if you have observed yourself, if you are angry, you will sit one way; if you are happy, you sit another way; if you are depressed, you sit yet another way. For every different level of consciousness or mental and emotional situation that you go through, your body naturally tends to take certain postures. The converse of this is the science of asanas. If you consciously get your body into different postures, you can also elevate your consciousness.

The practice as you see it currently – the mechanics of it – is simply of the body. You have to breathe life into Hatha Yoga, otherwise it will not become alive. This is why, traditionally, there has been so much stress on a live Guru – to make it come alive.

After twenty years of yoga entering the West and becoming popular, despite it being taught sometimes in ways that leave much to be desired, still, the health benefits of it are undeniable, wherever you live and whatever you do. Right now the number of people practicing yoga is growing in a big way. This could be  simply because the scientific community is slowly beginning to recognise the depth and dimension of what Hatha Yoga is. But if improper, distorted kind of yoga spreads, in fifteen years’ time, scientific studies will clearly come out and tell you in how many ways it is harmful to human beings, and that will be the downfall.

Therefore it is important that we bring back classical yoga as it was. If Hatha Yoga is taught in a proper atmosphere with a certain sense of humility and inclusiveness about the whole process, it is a really fantastic process of shaping your system into a fantastic vessel, a fabulous device to receive the Divine. There are certain dimensions of Hatha yoga which are almost absent in the world today. It is there in some places, but generally in the known places, it is absent. I would like to bring back those dimensions. It is a very powerful way of living. Power, not over somebody else; it’s all about power to access life.

Altering Your Karmic Cycle

"People often expect different results from doing the same actions" – Alcoholics Anonymous

We are slaves of habit. Besides well-ingrained physical habits, we also have deep-rooted mental ones – our attitudes, perceptions and beliefs that involuntarily guide our unique behavior. Our conditioned mental patterns are like our subconscious blueprint and manifest in our life repeatedly. As a result, we are prone to, and despite efforts usually find it hard to shake off, anger, fear, aggression, anxiety, envy or low self-esteem.

The notion of our deep-seated mental beliefs can be better understood by becoming familiar with the concept of karma. It is invaluable to grasp this concept to understand the inner mechanics of our thoughts and actions. Only by choosing to deal with our individualkarma, can we work on creating a new reality for ourselves.

Karma is the notion of a cyclical process where our every action or intention leads to lasting impressions on our psyche, and these impressions in turn impact our future behavior -- comprising fresh intentions and actions -- leading to new lasting impressions being formed. Our actions are called karma and the latent impressions they create are termed samskaras.

According to the law of karma, all our experiences in the present are dictated by our cumulative stored samskaras of past actions and reactions. This cyclical process ofkarma explains why we repeatedly attract similar situations that create conditions for the stored samskaras to manifest, leading to similar karma being created.

Anger leads to creation of unhappiness, frustration and anger in our emotional psyche. These stored unresolved emotions, our samskaras, eventually lead to generation of anger at the slightest provocation in the future. And, the cycle continues.

Unless we consciously choose to deal with our individual karma, it recurs in our life with great alacrity, and unless resolved, restricts us from experiencing real freedom and happiness.

The question is what good is our material progress if we remain ill equipped to reforming our inner being; what’s the merit in our climbing the social, career or financial ladder if we cannot overcome our mental fragility? In the midst of our reckless pursuit of modern life, what’s our real purpose?

The purpose of human life is to work through our personal karma and experience innate happiness, peace and joy in our state of being. The gifted ability to make that conscious choice is what makes the human life so precious compared to other life forms. The only way to create a new reality, of loving relationships, mental peace, inner happiness, deeper fulfillment, and abundance, in your life is to alter this karmic cycle. That’s the path to experience a new reality.

This journey entails learning to be a witness to our own mental and emotional patterns –our dominant beliefs and our recurring and conditioned responses. What makes you angry or fearful or anxious and how often? What beliefs do you have that make you feel that way?

Further, it requires taking personal responsibility of your situation – rather than blame your circumstances, partner or colleague, this is about focusing your attention towards your own conditioned thoughts, beliefs and actions.

Learning to live in the present, where we can consciously bring our subconscious patterns into our active awareness and make fresh choices in how we deal with a given situation helps us move forward. As we make new positive choices, we start to neutralise the hold the old samskaras have on our psyche. The more we stay in the present, the more we can redirect the future and the more empowered we become to experience inner peace and joy.

Home Remedy For Peace By: Aruna Jethwani

You are the cloud, you are the rain,/ You are the healer! You are the pain!

This Vedanta wisdom can apply to our daily life. Most of the physical pain and illness is self-injected. Naturally, the healing has to come from within, from one’s own self. We hurt and harm ourselves with negative thoughts and energy. The cure has to come from within. It has to come from heart and  mind.

Like the garbage at home, the mind, too, accumulates garbage – both kinds,  the stinking wet garbage and the dead, dry garbage. The wet garbage is hate, envy, prejudice and ill feelings. The dry garbage is regrets, hurt, pain and mistakes committed in the past.

The past is dust, for how long will you gather it? The pain may become sores and numb nerves, and for how long will you nurse it? Somewhere you have to de-link yourself from the past, and come back to the present. This you have to do for two reasons: One reason is so that you remain healthy, physically. Writes Hay, a life coach, "All disease comes from the mind. Whenever we are ill, we should check with ourselves who is it that we need to forgive.” And the second reason to get rid of internal garbage is to live in peace mentally. All that grudge, hurt, and pain cause turbulence in the mind leading to anger and frustration. We have to be free from both in order to be in harmony with our surroundings. You may call this goal as happiness.

The easiest way to reach there is to dispose of your mental garbage.

How should I get rid of all the garbage I have accumulated, you may ask. The simplest way to carry out this operation is through practice of forgiveness. It is a tradition among some communities to write every year what they call a Kshama Patra. The Hindi film ‘Dor’ was based on this theme. The written ritual of ‘kshma patra’ is one way of disconnecting ourselves from the past. It purifies the mind, creating space for peace and harmony in the present, while writing the script for the future.

The other way is to sit in silence before a lit lamp and forgive those who have insulted, humiliated, harmed and hurt you. Actually there are three stages in forgiveness. The first is to forgive verbally in a prayer. The second is to think positively about them. Thirdly you should do something that is good for them. Send a gift, or take them out for coffee or simply acknowledge them. Yes, do not forget to forgive yourself. Also you have to seek forgiveness of all the animals, trees, and birds you have harmed or intend to harm.

Forgiveness lifts the burden of the mind and creates space within. It is said that if you want to create your own destiny then you must create space for it by throwing away the emotional garbage in you that leaves little space for anything else. Forgiveness is a way of disposal of unwanted hurts and humiliations. By forgiving one can destroy past evil karmas, and create a clean space to write one’s future destiny.

“How many times should you forgive?” asked Dada J PVaswani, messenger of love, peace and compassion. “Seven times,” I replied confidently.

“No. Not seven times; you should forgive everyone and everything at least 700 times!” he smiled radiantly, echoing the words of Jesus Christ.

We Need To Practise Compassion By: Arup Mitra

Every faith promotes compassion, for once the majority is compassionate, Earth would turn into Heaven indeed. Since today, most societies are dominated by selfish individuals, it is natural for one to dismiss the path of compassion as foolhardiness.

In this situation Swami Vivekananda’s argument appears very convincing. Serving others, if taken by an individual as an opportunity to refine oneself and go a step closer to God, would ensure that one is not bothered by consequences even if he ends up being exploited by others. That is, one begins to feel grateful for having the opportunity to serve another. It would be churlish on my part to think that I am doing good to the poor.  Rather I should be grateful to the poor that their suffering has actually brought me an opportunity to improve myself and thus progress further in the pursuit of higher goals in life.

There are several instances when the benefactor gets hurt by the beneficiary. In fact, that is human natur: once you get served by someone you enjoy the benefit and forget the benefactor and his act of compassion. It hurts your ego to remember that you have taken a favour from someone. So by pretending to be superior or by trying to demean the benefactor we nurture our ego and convince ourselves that we haven’t really been helped by anyone. However, heart of hearts we know that it is not true but by repeating it to ourselves we try to get convinced by what we want to be true.

In such a situation remember the tree. The tree does not judge anyone: its nature is to give and it goes on doing what it is does best -- nurturing.  Even if someone hurts the tree after enjoying the shadow it offers and flowers and fruits, it remains indifferent. It continues its karma of giving always. It does not matter even if an undeserving person has taken full advantage of you and at the end pushed you down. What matters is your state of mind. Who you give to is unimportant; the fact that you could give without any expectation is something that is desirable. Rather, one should be prepared for negative outcomes while serving others. Ishwar Chandra, the educationist from Bengal was once informed by a colleague that someone was abusing him. He quickly asked, “Why so? I don’t remember having done any good to him!”  We often are worried about harm caused or caused to us by others. But if we introspect, then we will find that what can be harmed is temporary and what we belong to is permanent, which cannot be harmed in any manner.

Ramakrishna says, who are you to show mercy to others? The all-merciful has been rather generous to you to give you the ability and a full-fledged opportunity to utilise it selflessly. Hence, it is compassion for others, not mercy that we should be striving to practice. If we start thinking in this manner then the selfish attitude of the rest of society cannot disturb us or de-motivate us from pursuing what we believe in.

Another way of avoiding frustration is to forget completely if we ever did any good to others but remember always what we took from others and try to reciprocate in whatever way we can. Forgetfulness in certain contexts can indeed be bliss.

Meditate without any expectations for a meaningful experience, says OSHO

A seeker asks, “Many years ago, it seems, I used to be able to meditate. A beautiful, silent, transparent state would arrive from somewhere; I presumed this was meditation. Now, nothing comes except a racing mind. What happened?”

You became aware of the unknown. A little taste of meditation, and you became greedy. Your desire and greed spoilt the whole game. Still, everything can be put right. You see the mind continuously racing; let it race - just be a bystander, an observer.

Watch The Mind
Just watching the mind is one of the greatest secrets of life, because it does not show that it works — but it works! Just as you watch, indifferent, uninterested, as if it has nothing to do with you, those thoughts start getting thinner; there is less traffic on the track of the mind.

Slowly there are small gaps, and in those gaps you will have a glimpse of what you used to have. Enjoy it, it will also pass; don’t try to cling to it. Thoughts will start coming again; again a gap will come, a bigger gap. Slowly, slowly bigger gaps will appear and the mind will become empty.

In that empty mind, the beyond can enter into you, but the basic condition is that you should not cling to it. If it comes - good; if it does not - good. Perhaps you are not ripe, perhaps it is not the time - still, be grateful.

I have often told you the story of a Sufi mystic, Junnaid. He was the master of Al Hillaj Mansoor and because of Mansoor, he became very famous. Mansoor was killed by orthodox fanatics, and because of him, Junnaid’s name also became famous.

Be In Gratitude
Junnaid used to go on a pilgrimage with his disciples to Kaaba every year. He was a revolutionary kind of saint. The people in the villages Junnaid had to pass through were very angry with him. They were so angry that they would not give him anything to eat, drink or even allow him to stay there. Yet, in all his five prayers of the day, Junnaid would raise his hands to God and say, “I am so grateful to You. How should I express my gratefulness? You take care of me in every possible way; Your compassion is infinite, your love knows no bounds.”

The disciples were tired of praying five times a day, thanking God for situations in which they did not see any grace of God, for they had not received food or water, nor shelter from the hot desert sun. Once it so happened that for three days at a stretch they were thrown out, stoned, given no food, water or shelter, but Junnaid continued praying the same way.

On the third day, the disciples freaked out. They said, “Enough is enough. For three days we have not eaten a single thing, we are thirsty, we have been sleeping in the desert, shivering in the cold night. For what are you being grateful?”

Junnaid’s answer to his disciples is worth remembering. He said, “Do you think I cannot see that we have not received any food, that we have been thrown out and stoned, that we are thirsty, that for three days we had to remain in the open desert? But this does not mean that He is not taking care of us. Perhaps this is the way He is taking care of us; perhaps this is what we need at this time.”

“It is very easy to thank God when life is comfortable. It means nothing. These three days I have been watching. Slowly, all of you have stopped thanking Him after the prayer; you failed the test. It was a beautiful test. Even if death comes to me, I will die with gratefulness. He gave me life; He took it away. It was His, it is His, it will be His. Who am I to interfere in His affairs?”

So there will be times when you will not find any moment of peace, silence, meditation, love or blissfulness. But do not lose hope. Perhaps those moments are needed to crystallise you, to make you strong. Be grateful not only when things are going good, but be grateful when everything is going wrong.

A man who can be grateful when everything is going wrong is really grateful; he knows the beauty of gratefulness. For him, things can go wrong forever, but his gratefulness is such a transforming force, it is going to change everything.

So don’t be worried about the racing mind; let it race — you just be a watcher. Soon, without fail, as a natural law, gaps will start happening. And when gaps happen, remain relaxed. Enjoy them, but without greed and desire, because they will disappear. They will disappear faster if you become greedy.

Keep Your Doors Open
This is the whole training of meditation. Soon, the day comes when the mind is completely silent, filled with great joy. But remember, it is not your doing, or else it may disappear. Always remember that you are the doing of existence. All that is great is going to happen to you not by your effort, but by your relaxed openness and availability. Just keep your doors open.

Awaken ‘Krishna’ In Your Consciousness By: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Janmashtami celebrates the birth of Krishna. He is not a vyakti or person but shakti or energy. Krishna was poornakalaavataran, a complete incarnation. The purpose of celebration is to realise that Krishna is in me. In the Bhagwad Gita, Krishna says, “One who sees everyone in Me and sees Me in everyone, for such a person, I shall never remain hidden and he shall never be far from me.”
Krishna’s life has all the nine rasas or flavours. For instance, he was naughty like a child, a warrior, joy personified and a source of knowledge. He was a perfect friend and guru. His birth on ashtami signifies his mastery of both spiritual and material worlds. He is a great teacher and spiritual inspiration as well as the consummate politician. On the one hand, he is Yogeshwara, the Lord of Yogas while on the other, he is a mischievous thief. His behaviour is a perfect balance of extremes — perhaps this is why his personality is so difficult to fathom. The avdhoot is oblivious to the world outside and a materialistic person, a politician or a king is oblivious to the spiritual world. But Krishna is both Dwarkadheesh and Yogeshwar.
 To understand Krishna, simply become Radha, Arjuna or Uddhava. Three kinds of people seek refuge in God -- the lover, the miserable and the wise. Uddhava was wise, Arjuna was miserable and Radha was love personified. Krishna’s teachings are most relevant to our times as they neither let you get lost in material pursuits nor make you completely withdrawn. They rekindle your life, from being a burnt-out and stressed personality to a more centred and dynamic one. Krishna teaches us devotion with skill. To celebrate Gokulashtami is to imbibe extremely opposite yet compatible qualities and manifest them in your own life.
 Krishna tells Arjuna, "You are very dear to me" and says he must surrender. Surrender begins with an assumption. You assume you are the most beloved of the Divine, and then surrender happens. Surrender is not an action; it is an assumption. Non-surrender is ignorance, an illusion. Surrender has to begin as an assumption and then it reveals itself as a reality. Finally, it reveals itself as an illusion. An illusion, because there are no two aspects, no duality. There is no independent existence of anyone. An individual has no independent existence.
 So, in the Gita, Krishna says, "He is dear to Me who neither goes on thanking people nor hates anyone.” Thanking and feeling obliged indicates that you believe in someone else's existence rather than in the Divine who is ruling everything. When you feel obliged, then you are not honouring the principles of karma or the divine plan. Appreciate people for what they are; do not thank them for what they do. Otherwise your thankfulness is centered around the ego. You are grateful, but not for an act. You are grateful for what is.
Hence the most authentic way of celebrating Janamashtami is to know that you have to play a dual role — of being a responsible human being and at the same time to realise that you are above all events, the untouched Brahmn. Imbibing a bit of avadhoot and a bit of activism in your life is the real significance of celebrating Janmashtami. Awaken the Krishna in your consciousness – “Krishna is not far from me, not separate from me, he is within me’-- this feeling will fill your life with Krishna.

What should you keep a secret and what should you confess? Find out with SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

Meditation is the journey from sound to silence, from movement to stillness, from a limited identity to unlimited space. There are five ways through which meditation happens.

Physical manipulation: Yoga, Tai Chi, all these come under that. By stretching and contracting the body, the mind experiences a state of awareness that you can call meditation.
Breathing exercises and pranayama: The mind becomes quiet and still.
Through the five senses and sensory objects: You can experience a state of no-mind, no thought, calmness, serenity and inner beauty.
Watch empty space: On a free day, just lie down and keep looking at the sky; a moment comes when the mind becomes still, there are no thoughts and you don’t know where you are, but you know who you are. Experience the centre everywhere and circumference nowhere. Limitless awareness can happen by just watching an empty space, because our mind is also space; consciousness is space.
Intellectual stimulation: Through knowledge and awareness, you can go into meditation. This is called Jnana yoga.

If you have been into a space museum, you are in a different state of consciousness when you come out of the museum. There is a different context, because you have seen yourself in the context of the universe. Who are you? What are you? Where are you? How are you in reference to the unfathomable, infinite universe?

If you have studied Quantum Physics, you start to see that everything is just atoms, just a wave function, just energy. If you really listen to Quantum Physics and then you study Vedanta or the art of meditation or yoga, you will find striking similarities. You will find that the same language is being spoken.

Adi Shankara said, ‘All that you see doesn’t exist’. Eminent scientist Hans-Peter Durr said, “I studied matter for the last 35 years, only to find out that it does not exist! I have been studying something that does not exist”. So, through knowledge also you can experience a state of meditation.

What is the secret of meditation? There is a difference in the Orient and in the Occident when it comes to secrets. In the Occident, anything that is shameful is kept a secret. In the Orient, anything that is sacred is kept a secret. I find a startling difference between the two.

If you say something is very secret, it must be very sacred. That is the attitude in the Orient. In the Orient, a shameful act is never kept a secret; it is always confessed. There is nothing to hide there. But what is to be secret is one’s mantra — a sound which is kept very secret in the mind.

Why is it kept secret? It is said that mantras are like seeds and seeds sprout in secrecy. You put the seed under the ground and cover it with mud and then the seed sprouts and becomes a tree. Of course, the sprouts you eat are different. The ancient concept of mantra is a sound which is kept very secret in you; itgrows from inside; means it resonates inside you. Anything that you keep to yourself as a secret does not leave you, but it takes you deeper and deeper to  subconscious layers. That is one of the reasons for confession also.


Sound Mantra
Why do you confess and say something out? This is so that it does not go deep into your consciousness. A mistake or sin that you committed, once you confess, it just goes out. It no longer stays in and bothers you. But the mantra; a sound which has been given, and that too by one who is deep into meditation, one who has mastered it, helps you go deeper. The sound (mantra) is given to another person, a student saying, ‘Keep it to yourself, it is your personal mantra, and let it grow.’

Here, the meaning of the sound is not important, just the vibration is. Understanding the meaning is superficial compared to the vibrational aspect of any sound. It could be the same sound which everybody knows.

A child’s mind is always focused on something and it sticks there. But as the hormones in our body start functioning more and more, the mind starts swinging and wavering, and that focused attention becomes less and less. In earlier days, before this happened, before someone gets into their teenage, they used to train him in yoga and meditation. So, all through the teenage years when the mind is swinging and going here and there, already a youth is trained how to handle the mind. It is a very good age to start, at eight or nine years. Just before the hormonal changes start appearing is the right time to initiate one into meditation, yoga and all the martial arts. The body is ready and is flexible and mind is ready. This is most ideal, but any time is good to start meditation, any age is okay.

व्यक्ति अकेले पैदा होता है और अकेले मर जाता है;और वो अपने अच्छे और बुरे कर्मों का फल खुद ही भुगतता है; और वह अकेले ही नर्क या स्वर्ग जाता है.

कोई काम शुरू करने से पहले, स्वयम से तीन प्रश्न कीजिये – मैं ये क्यों कर रहा हूँ, इसके परिणाम क्या हो सकते हैं और क्या मैं सफल होऊंगा. और जब गहरई से सोचने पर इन प्रश्नों के संतोषजनक उत्तर मिल जायें, तभी आगे बढें 

Invite A Moment Of Calm By: J P Vaswani

What should you do when faced with betrayal, hurt, anger or disappointment? You can choose to react differently, by taking responsibility for your own emotions and feelings. You do this in full awareness that others do not ‘cause’ your feelings. You choose your own. We have to learn to let go of disappointments and get on with our life. We need to forgive.
This is especially difficult when other people don’t seek our forgiveness, or indeed when they are clearly in the wrong and don't deserve to be forgiven. Never mind -- let go! In such situations, forgiveness allows you to let go of a no-win situation and walk out of it unscathed.
Think of two people who have hurt you, made you angry or let you down recently -- two people about whom you still feel animosity. Now ask yourself: what is my animosity doing to me? Do I feel happy holding on to it? Does it make me feel happier? Does it improve my sleep? Is my life better, richer, more meaningful because of my resentment? If the answer to all the above questions is ‘No,’ then take a courageous decision.
Let go! Walk away from the disappointment and the bitterness!
A girl came to a holy man and said, “I know not why, but I am unable to sit in silence and pray or meditate. I feel restless. I used to be so happy.”
The holy man asked, “Try to think why this is happening.”
The girl answered, “I think it has something to do with one whom, at one time, I regarded as a friend. But she was very cruel to me, and I said that I would never forgive her, never talk to her. I am sorry I said it, but since then there has been no peace in my heart. What shall I do?”
The holy man said, “It is better to break a bad vow than to keep it. Go to her and seek her forgiveness.”
The next morning, she went to her friend and confessed her uncharitable attitude and asked her forgiveness. Her friend burst into tears. She said, “You have come to ask for forgiveness. It is I who should be asking for forgiveness, for I am ashamed of my attitude.” The two friends were reconciled.
To arrive at forgiveness, one has to pass through four stages. The first is the stage of hurt. Someone has wronged me, done something mean to me. Someone has been unfair to me and I cannot forget it. I feel hurt. The hurt keeps on throbbing in me. Remember that it is not I who feels hurt, but the ego.
Hurt leads to hate, which is the second stage. I cannot forget how much I have been hurt and I cannot send out thoughts of goodwill to my enemy. In some cases, I hate the person so much that I want him to suffer, as much as I am suffering.
The third stage is of healing. God’s grace comes to me and I begin to see the person who has hurt me in new light. I begin to understand his difficulty. My memory is healed and I am free again.
The fourth stage is of coming together. I am anxious to make friends with the person who hurt me; I invite him into my life. I share my love with him and we both move to a new and healed relationship.

Attachment And Detachment By: Kishor Kulkarni

Have you observed a balloon seller?. He inflates a few balloons, ties a thread around each one and wraps those threads around his fingers. When someone comes to buy a balloon, he removes one from one of his fingers and gives it away. Then he inflates another balloon and ties it to his finger again.

Our mind is like the balloon seller. Myriad different objects in the world entice us like balloons and our desires are like the threads that keep our mind attached to the objects.  The moment one desired object is acquired, it gets detached from our mind. But our mind immediately inflates another one and promptly gets attached to it!

Now, when does the balloon seller stop this repeated activity of detaching and reattaching balloons to his fingers? Possibly, at the end of his work day when he thinks he must go home now. Then he disposes off his last balloon and does not inflate any more balloons. So, now he becomes detached from the balloons, but only temporarily. Again, the next morning, he is out to repeat the cycle of inflating, attaching and detaching balloons. Likewise, we also take a temporary respite when our life ends, but only to restart the repetitive cycle of desires all over again in the next life.

Is there a final end to this cycle? When the balloon seller becomes old, he may finally decide that he can no longer continue going out and selling balloons. So, he will then hang up his boots and be free from the repetitive inflate-attach-detach cycle. Similarly, we have to develop a lasting vairagya bhav – cultivate a strong determination -- that makes us lose all interest in worldly pursuits driven otherwise by unending desires. That is when we will be released from the repetitive cycle of birth and death.

It is said that a sincere spiritual seeker should cultivate true detachment. So then, he would tell himself that he should reduce his attachment, for example, to smoking. He may manage it with considerable effort after some time. But that is only one attachment gone and we tend to have so many of them! We can imagine the plight of someone trying to detach himself from good food, sports, entertainment, hobbies, spouse, children, grand children, friends and so on. It is like the balloon seller having too many balloons tied around his fingers and their threads getting entangled with each other, complicating the process of detachment.

How does one manage to get detached from the whole of samsara without having to go on trying infinitely to painfully detach from many objects one by one? As we can see, there are so many different objects at the far end of our attachments. Trying to get rid of those objects one by one is indeed extremely difficult. However, at the near end, there is just a single entity involved in all these attachments. That single entity is your limited bodily identity or ego. That is the driver behind the various attachments forming. So, if this single entity is removed, all the many objects at the far end will be instantly detached.  Thus, it should be relatively easier to detach yourself from samsara if you can manage to get rid of your ego.

It is by our Sadguru’s grace that we can manage to rid ourselves of our ego and develop a durable vairagya bhav that alone can lead us to moksha or liberation.

Those Innocent Days Of Our Life : 

Once Choosing Colour Of Sketch Pen Was A Tough Process. 

Catching The Seat Near The Window In A Bus Was Called Obsession. 

Gettng A Toffee As A Birthday Treat From Friends Made Our Day. 

Being The 1st To Finish Copying From The Blackboard Was The Moment Of Pride. 

Hiding Your Answer From Your Partner Was Not Called Selfishness. 

When Homework Was The Last Torture & You Thought All Elders Are Ideal. 

Sleeping Early Was A Routine. Owning A Cycle Was Like Owning Everything. 

To Look Pretty Was To Put Loads Of Powder And A Neat Comb. 

Awesome Were Those Childhood Days :) ♥ 

I Miss Them X) ! ♥

Is God playing games with us By: Swami Sukhabodhananda

Why is God playing cruel games with us? – is an attempt at explaining what is essentially inexplicable. For, God is playing a game is the allegation that God is light-hearted, not serious, in His dealings with us. Thus, the asking of the question is not a very satisfactory approach to understanding.
We can give explanations, but explanations need not be answers.
Let me add a few more words on life and death as these are terms you have employed in framing your question. You are looking at death as an opposite of life. In fact all of us perceive the phenomenon of death as opposing to the phenomenon of life. So, our encounter with death is conditioned by our definition of death as opposed to life. Change this definition, and death is no longer what we have felt it to be. In fact, death is one of the forms of expression of life. Life scientists declare that death is the most critical defining feature of life. Please understand that all and only living things die. When you die, you are making the ultimate undeniable assertion that you have been alive. In fact, at a certain level of analysis, death is even a precondition to life. The Holy Bible says, “Unless a seed falls into earth and dies, it cannot produce any grains”. That is, a seed has to cease to be itself in order to be a source of life to several others like it.
Rabindranath Tagore gives another beautiful example of the inseparability of life and death. You were in your mother’s womb. The most comfortable place for you is to be in your mother’s womb. In fact, when you were born you search for that experience which you had when you were in your mother’s womb. You search for that comfort. That is why in Hindu temple, the sanctum sanctorum is called garbhagudi – representing a mother’s womb. It is not foolish to speculate that our pursuit of wordly comforts is an attempt to recreate the prenatal pleasantness of the womb. At the time of delivery, the body of the mother pushes the child out. When it is pushed out, every child goes through what is called birth trauma. When we are pushed out, we experience a form of death. Tagore asks, “Is it death or is it life?” What do we experience? Birth – exit from the womb where life originated and was sustained for about nine months into the world outside – is a form of death that leads to life although in different environments. Similarly, death – exit from the world – can be a door to some other form of life or life at yet another plane.
The way an old dress is removed and a new one is worn, so, as the body becomes old, it is given up, and a new one is born. Death is only a change of the perishable. Much of our post-traumatic stress, of which grief over someone’s death is psychological. Probably only about 5% of what we consider suffering is purely physiological. Once a 45-year old man asked me how he could manage old age. He said he was mortally afraid of old age. And he was only halfway to real old age! Now this man offers a good example of purely psychological suffering.
With the great dotcom bust of the post-millennium years, a lot of people went through depression all over the world, but especially in California. Let us think of what really happened. Nothing more than the fact that what had been hyped sky-high was brought down to earth. The same thing had happened in Bangalore real estate. It happens cyclically in stock markets across the globe. You build the bubble, and, when the bubble breaks, you feel depressed. Those who know that the rise is artificial make all the profit while gullible believers in the longevity of the bubble lose everything.
The value we attach to objects of speculation like stocks, shares, land, and commodities is purely psychological, i.e., illusory or insubstantial. Likewise all sorrows are chiefly mind-made. You invest 10 million rupees on a piece of land expecting to make a profit of 10 million, but the profit is only notional in the sense that it is based on your expectation that the value of your purchase will double within the time frame of your expectation. It your expectations are defeated, you start suffering, naturally isn’t it your mind?
Therefore the trauma that you feel at events like accident or death is also mainly psychological, and thus something you can overcome through spiritual discipline.

INNER ENERGY

SCHOLARS WHO INCESSANTLY CONTEMPLATE ON ACQUIRING STRENGTH AND KNOWLEDGE SHOULD ALSO CONSIDER IT THEIR MORAL DUTY TO IMPART KNOWLEDGE TO THE IGNORANT, SO THAT THEY CAN DEVELOP THEIR MENTAL FACULTIES. THIS WOULD AUTOMATICALLY LEAD TO THE LATTER"S SELF DEVELOPMENT AND SPIRITUAL PROGRESS.

THE SUN, SYMBOLIZING WISDOM, DIVINE KNOWLEDGE AND SPIRITUAL LIGHT,WHICH RECEDED FROM YOU WHEN YOU REVEL LED IN THE DARKNESS OF IGNORANCE,DELUSION AND SENSUALITY,NOW JOYOUSLY TURNS ON ITS NORTHWARD COURSE AND MOVES TOWARDS YOU TO SHED ITS LIGHT AND WARMTH IN GREATER ABUNDANCE,AND TO INFUSE INTO YOU MORE LIFE AND ENERGY.

ONE DIMENSION OF ENERGY IS MOTIVATED,AND THE GOAL IS OUT THERE...ANOTHER DIMENSION IS UNMOTIVATED CELEBRATION.THE GOAL IS HERE,NOW,YOU ARE THE GOAL.

THE ENERGY OF THE MIND IS THE ESSENCE OF LIFE.

How To Rise Above Chronic Fatigue By: Swami Kriyananda

Chronic fatigue is not due to overwork -- we do not work nearly so hard as our ancestors did -- but rather due to a scattering of our forces.

Ours is not a “focused” age. Countless influences pull us in conflicting directions. We find ourselves trying to do a hundred things hastily, rather than one thing at a time carefully and well.

We measure achievement by numbers rather than by excellence. A result is the exhaustion one finds written on the faces of so many in our bustling cities, where strangers pass one another with never a smile or even a glance of greeting.

Fatigue is also a direct result of a loss of interest. Our energy supply depends not primarily upon food and other external causes, but our capacity for smiles, for enthusiasm. People lead “one-horsepower lives” when they forget how to smile, when they over-complicate their daily routine, and clutter their minds with the debris of useless desires and preoccupations.

The person who can simplify his life and marshal his energies to do a few things well, instead of scattering his forces restlessly, will find that he has more than enough strength for whatever he has to do.

Be willing in everything you do, for willingness begets energy. My guru Paramhansa Yogananda used to say, “The greater the will, the greater the flow of energy.”

“Will” in this context means willingness – not physical or mental strain, but a pleasant, steadily increasing focus of our whole attention upon a goal.

A good technique for drawing energy into the body is to stand facing the sun. Raise your hands above your head. Feel the warmth of the sun striking your forehead at the point between the eyebrows, and the palms of your hands. Feel that you are drawing warmth and energy into your body through those “windows.” After some time, turn your back to the sun, and feel its warmth upon the area of the medulla oblongata at the base of the brain. Keep your hands raised above the head. Again, draw the sun’s rays into your body.

The next time you feel fatigue, do some deep breathing. Then fill your mind with the sense of wonder that a child feels who sees this world with a fresh outlook.

Fatigue, finally, is a symptom of self-centeredness. One who can forget himself in helping others and in giving strength to them will find himself rarely exhausted.

Foods, too, can strongly affect our energy. The stimulation one receives from some foods is due not to the energy they give us, but only to their irritating influence upon the body. Loud noise, similarly, may seem to give us energy, but in fact it only whips up the nervous system into a frenzy.

Coffee is a well-known example of a stimulating food. While its immediate effect is sometimes uplifting, its long-range effect is depressing. Caffeine has been said to kill Vitamin B in the body. People who drink too much coffee find that their own natural supply of energy is, if anything, lessened. They require more and more coffee to get the “lift” they seek. The same may be said of tea, tobacco, and other stimulants.

In yoga teachings, much emphasis is placed on a harmonious, rather than a stimulating, diet. If the inner Self is allowed to work through a relaxed and peaceful nervous system, it will be able to fill the body with energy and strength. External stimuli prevent this harmonious expression from within. Dietary stimulants are therefore self-defeating.

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” - Plato


“बुद्धिमान व्यक्ति बोलते हैं क्योंकि उनके पास बोलने के लिए कुछ होता है, मूर्ख व्यक्ति बोलते हैं क्योंकि उन्हें कुछ बोलना होता है।” - प्लैटो


“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” - Charles Darwin


“ऐसा व्यक्ति जो एक घंटे का समय बरबाद करता है, उसने जीवन के मूल्य को समझा ही नहीं है।” - चार्ल्स डारविन

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” 

- E E Cummings

“हंसी के क्षणों के बिना बीता दिन सबसे खराब दिन है।” -

 ई ई कम्मिंग्स

proof of god

WHO KNOWS THIS TRULY, AND WHO WILL NOW DECLARE IT, WHAT PATHS LEAD TOGETHER TO THE GODS? ONLY THEIR LOWEST ASPECTS OF EXISTENCE ARE SEEN, WHO EXITS ON SUPREME, MYSTICAL PLANES.

FOR WHAT CAN BE KNOWN ABOUT GOD IS PLAIN TO ALL, BECAUSE GOD HAS SHOWN IT TO THEM. EVER SINCE CREATION OF THE WORLD HIS INVISIBLE NATURE, NAMELY, HIS ETERNAL POWER HAS BEEN CLEARLY PERCEIVED IN THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE.

IT IS DIFFICULT TO DISCUSS THE BEGINNING OF THE UNIVERSE WITHOUT MENTIONING THE CONCEPT OF GOD. IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT GOD ACTS IN WAYS THAT CANNOT BE DESCRIBED BY SCIENTIFIC LAWS. BUT IN THAT CASE ONE WOULD JUST HAVE TO GO BY PERSONAL BELIEF.

DO YOU NEED PROOF OF GOD? DOES ONE LIGHT A TORCH TO SEE THE SUN?.

Be An Arrow of Attention By: K M Gupta

When the Kurukshetra war was all set to begin, Krishna converts interspace into a classroom. To set Arjuna to proper action, Krishna has to put him on the right approach that comes from right attitude which in turn comes from proper understanding and that, from proper knowledge. So midfield has to turn into a classroom.

Life is a classroom and you never cease to be a student. The moment you cease to be a student you become deadwood. So the first lesson for all students of life is how to be a good student. And that is the first lesson to be taught to all students from Kindergarten.

How can a student be a good or even best student? Look at the knowledge-understanding-attitude-approach chain. Knowledge comes first. Gaining knowledge is the primary aim of education. Knowledge metamorphoses into wisdom in the form of understanding-attitude-approach. So go get knowledge first.

But knowledge doesn’t favour all. It comes only to those who have curiosity which is the mother of knowledge. It is the greatest virtue. What do all science, discovery and invention owe their origin to? Curiosity. What made Albert Einstein the greatest of all scientists? Curiosity. Those without curiosity are ‘knowledge-challenged’. So cultivate curiosity, for curiosity cultivates knowledge.

I have one thing in common with Isaac Asimov, the renowned science fiction writer. He said, “My father taught me all that I have today. How? He taught me curiosity, and with that I learned all I have.” Once the Head Teacher of my son’s school summoned me and gave me a dressing down: “Your son has fared awfully badly in maths this time!” I taught my son maths at home. Not for long, only for a short while. Next time he became topper and also, maths became his first love. What was the magic? I taught him maths. But not just maths but curiosity as well, which I learned from my father.

In the present system of education students can’t expect curiosity to be taught. So students must teach themselves curiosity. Don’t just cram lessons. Cultivate curiosity towards what you learn. Anything can be the subject of your curiousity — grammar, maths, even morals. Convert everything into curiosity. What is it about? What is it for? How does it work? How does it fit in with life? If you have curiosity, nothing is dull or tough. Mathematics is usually the bête-noir for average students. But mathematics is the most interesting of all subjects in the world — if only you are curious. If you are dull in mathematics, it means your teacher has failed in cultivating curiosity in you. Don’t wait for the teacher. Teach yourself curiosity. Start looking at things with curious eyes. Sit for a while in the class of the greatest of all teachers of all times and listen: ‘Shraddhavan labhate jnanam.’

Attention is the sharp edge of curiosity. In the Upanishad the guru tells his student, ‘sharavat thanmayo bhavet’ — be like an arrow set on its aim. To be an arrow set on its aim, you should have no diversions. And to have no diversions you should have your senses in control. So Krishana adds: ‘Tatparah samyatendriyah.’ Have no diversions and have your senses in control. Curiosity can lead to bad things also. So Krishna asks you to know what is day and what is night, in which to wake up and in which to sleep, when to open your eyes at and when to shut them. The Gita is a guide on how to be an Arrow of Attention.

Your Body Is God’s Palace By: Swami Sivananda

Creation has many aspects and among the various beautiful creations of God, the human body stands out prominently as His most wonderful creation. Swami Sivananda calls the body a mysterious moving palace within which God dwells. Buddhi or intellect is His prime minister; mind is the commander; the 10 indriyas or senses are soldiers; the eyes are the windows of the palace; and the devatas who preside over the indriyas — eyes, nose, ears, for example — are the gatekeepers.

The human body is therefore without doubt a work of art. Observing the artistic manner in which all the muscles are attached to the bones by tendons, joints balanced with the help of ligaments, fat deposited in a manner that imparts good shape to the limbs, trunk and abdomen; the skin pigment that makes the body look attractive — looking at all of these, one cannot help marvelling at God's creative output.

God makes use of the five elements of nature while creating the body: bone is nothing but earth or clay; blood is water; the radiance of skin and eyes is fire; and the prana or breath that moves through the nostrils and lungs is nothing but air which derives its support from ether. The four elements — air, fire, water and earth have all emanated from ether.

Swami Sivananda says that after demise of the body, all the elements get dissolved. What happens is that the bones merge with the earth and by doing so they go back to their source. When the body is placed on the funeral pyre, mantras are chanted with the purpose of invoking the blessings of the Lord so as to ensure that the body gets dissolved with its five material components of earth, water, fire, air and ether from where it originally emanated. The body is then offered to the fire.

It is rather ironical that despite the Lord dwelling right within the innermost chambers of one's heart, people remain unaware of His presence throughout their lives. Under the influence of maya or illusion, the power that deludes, people tend to cling to the perishable body even though it is filled with impurities like urine, faecal matter, pus and so on and they get trapped in the vicious circle of the unending process of transmigration.

Coaxing aspirants to become aware of the transitory nature of life, Swami Sivananda urges them to wake up from their slumber. Use the present time and devote the precious moments of your lives to the practice of meditation in order that the Eternal Lord — who provides support to all the pranas, mind, intellect, senses and the body — could be realised. He says that when the body is free from disease and decrepitude, when old age is still far off, when the powers of the senses are not affected and life is not decaying, the person of discrimination ought to constantly endeavour to attain Self-realisation through meditation. It is useless to dig a well when the house is on fire.

We may conclude with the following words of Swamiji: "O friends, wake up, sleep no more. Meditate. Open the gate of the temple of the Lord in your heart with the key of love. Hear the music of the soul. Melt your mind in His contemplation. Unite with Him. Immerse yourself in the ocean of Love and Bliss".

Swami Sivananda entered mahasamadhi on July 14, 1963.

SELF EXAMINATION

WHEN MIND AND BODY ARE TOGETHER, AT THE SAME PLACE, AT THE SAME TIME, THERE BEGINS AWARENESS OF THE SELF.

WHEN YOU MEET SOMEONE BETTER THAN YOUR SELF,TURN YOUR THOUGHTS TO BECOMING HIS EQUAL. WHEN YOU MEET SOMEONE NOT AS GOOD AS YOU ARE, LOOK
WITHIN AND EXAMINE YOURSELF.

IF I TRY TO BE LIKE HIM, WHO WILL BE LIKE ME?.

ONLY BY MUCH SEARCHING AND MINING ARE GOLD AND DIAMONDS OBTAINED, AND MAN CAN FIND EVERY TRUTH CONNECTED WITH HIS BEING IF HE WILL DIG DEEP INTO THE MINE OF HIS SOUL.

EVERYTHING THAT IRRITATES US ABOUT OTHERS CAN LEAD US TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF OURSELVES.

AT THE CENTER OF YOUR BEING YOU HAVE THE ANSWER YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT.

sri sri ravishankar

Our human body is made to bring heaven on this earth, meant to bring sweetness into this world, not spill venom. It is easy to put down anybody but it takes some guts, some intelligence and courage to uplift people, to bring out the divine quality in others around. By bringing out divine qualities in others, you will be able to see Divinity deep inside yourself.

Looking For God In The Lab

God is not proved objectively. What is proved objectively -- the electron, neutron or proton? Nobody has yet seen electrons, neutrons, protons, but the scientists say they are. If nobody has seen them why do you say they are? Scientists say, "Because though we cannot see them, we can see their effect." The mystics say the same thing: "God is not observed objectively, but we can see the effect."

Can't you see the universe running so intelligently? Can't you see tremendous intelligence permeating the whole?

It is not only the mystics who say the universe is full of intelligence. Albert Einstein' said, "The scientist's religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at harmony of natural law which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection."

Listen, this is not Bohme, Ramakrishna, or Rajneesh. This is Einstein saying that it is not a dead universe, that it is not a "stupid" universe, that it is intelligent.

Physics has become metaphysics again. Physicists even talk about atoms having free will. Einstein said no event can be postulated without the presence of a witness, an observer.

Molecular biology has conclusively proved that the "matter" of organic life, our very flesh, really is mind-stuff. What is the purpose of this intelligent universe? Scientist David Foster says: "To become more intelligent." I love this answer. This is what the mystics have always been propounding. From unawareness to awareness... from unintelligence to intelligence... there is the way and there is the goal. The Upanishads say: "tamsoma jyotingamay" -- "O Master of the Universe, take me from darkness to light."

What do we mean when we say "God is"? We only mean that the world is intelligent, nothing else. God cannot be proved objectively, that's true. Nobody is trying to prove him objectively. In fact, if God is proved objectively, he will be no longer God. Then he will become a thing. Then you can dissect God in your lab, you can analyse; then it will not be God at all.

I have again and again said that Creation is the Creator, that the world is God; that there is no separation; that it is not like a painter and the painting -- in fact it is like a dancer and the dance. God is existence. There is no separation. Not that God has created it; God has become it. You cannot find God anywhere else other than in his existence, and you cannot separate them.

Can you find the dance when the dancer has gone? Or can you call a person a "dancer" when he is not dancing? They are always together; the dance and the dancer are together. They are two aspects of One energy. Creation and Creator are together.

In fact, my own choice is that I don't like calling God "Creator". I call God "creativity".  It is an ongoing process. Not that one day God created the world. Creation continues. It is moment to moment, moving, it is a process, it is dynamic, it is river-like. And God is not separate. Through meditation you come to your innermost core of intelligence. Through meditation you become so silent that your own intelligence is revealed to you. In that very revelation, God is revealed.

Mind's Tricks

The mind is the instrument,the flywheel, and the thickest comrade of man.Through it,one can ruin oneself.Regulated and controlled, channelled properly it can liberate;wayward  and let loose, it can entangle and blind fast.

To enjoy good health,to bring true happiness to one's family,to bring peace to all,one must first discipline and control one's own mind.If a man can control his mind he can find the way to enlightment,and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.

Mind is consciousness,which has limitations.We are orignally unlimited and perfect.Later on we take on limitations and become the mind...There is no mind to control if you realise the self. The mind having vanished,the self shines forth.

If we can become aware of the mind's despective play to deceive us, we can take steps to overcome its tricks.

Divine Nature Of Silence

Silence is God’s nature. In His formless state in the beyond, silence is absolute and eternal. Silence represents Oneness. Sound represents duality. Sound needs a source and the receiver. As the urge to know – Koham – was latent in the beyond state, the Word was. As the original urge flowed to the beyond state to manifest, Word was also transmitted and manifested along with the urge. As it manifested, it produced sound. Sound then expanded over all creation and permeated through God’s journey of evolution from Infinite Unconsciousness to Infinite Consciousness. Sound is the nature of maya. We stay with the sound as long as we are overwhelmed by duality. We resolve back to silence once we experience unity.

Word and sound are signs of unfulfilment; a cry of desires and craving. When an individual  is at peace with himself and content within, he finds words irrelevant. Silence signifies completion – perfection. Sound denotes incompletion – imperfection. Our journey began with the sound and will end in silence. Sound is not separate from silence. While silence is the nature of God, sound is quest for Self-knowledge. Silence includes sound. Sound, in its diverse expression and effect, was not intended to create chaos. God takes human form to bridge the gulf between silence and sound, activating the immense possibility of silence to bear upon the movement of sound, and restores lost harmony of thought, words and deeds amongst people.

There is fundamentally no antagonism between silence and the Word. The origin and invariable end of all words is silence. From silence, we come. To silence, we go. The interregnum is Word.

Sound originates from and is dependent on silence though it is allowed autonomy for certain time when it enjoys freedom and a sense of illusory detachment from silence. It traverses through the extremes of opposites such as sorrow and happiness, pain and pleasure until it loses control. Harmony gives way to cacophony and sound degenerates to noise. Ignoring the pure inspiration of his conscience, man uses sound to further impulses of selfish motives, causing commotion and confusion.

Thus, sound loses its moorings. It is not able to withdraw; nor can it absorb itself. Unable to restore harmony in life, it becomes like a faulty siren that goes on and on, causing unbearable irritation.

So, we ignore the silence of God which has been communing with us deep within, everlastingly; and get entangled in the uncontrolled, unguided sound. Being tired of this commotion, man’s heart instinctively aches for peace and craves for silence but cannot shut the sound off.

At such times, Avatar, the God-man, descends to bring back harmony in the world, giving sound a new meaning, life and orientation.

To remain silent is to poignantly bring out the meaninglessness of words. Through the power of silence, you can counterbalance sound forces. Avatar is stationed at the fulcrum of the universe. His actions create ripples across levels in creation. Such silence reverberates through the breadth, length and depth of the universe. Unique silence of an avatar is distinct from that of spiritual seekers, yogis or mahatmas.

(On this day, 87 years ago, Avatar Meher Baba commenced his silence and maintained it for 44 years, until he breathed his last. The distinctive nature of Baba’s silence is not its duration but the fact that Baba chose to adopt silence to carry out his avataric mission.)

Ten Characteristics of Dharma By: Shri Anandamurthi

Those who follow the path of dharma should cultivate ten characteristics of dharma within. The first one is dharti or patience. In the spiritual sphere, if someone expects immediate results after starting the practice of Tantra, that would not be realistic. Therefore, be patient. Thus, dhrti is the first characteristic of dharma.

The second characteristic of dharma is kshama or forgiveness. Each and every action produces an equal and opposite reaction provided the three relative factors remain unchanged. But these three factors often change – because of transformation from one state to another. Suppose someone has started doing some mischief by hitting you: this action will certainly have a reaction. When the time comes for you to take revenge, you should not express any reaction yourself. In this way you will break the continuity of the chain. The point at which the cycle of action and reaction stops, due to your initiative, is called forgiveness. This is the second characteristic of dharma.

The third aspect of dharma is damah or control. Damana is the state of achieving control over internal enemies – that is, debasing propensities. The fourth is asteya. Asteya literally means not to steal anything physically or mentally. The fifth characteristic of dharma is shaocha and this is of two types: external and internal cleanliness. External cleanliness refers to body, clothes and surroundings. Internal cleanliness is that of mind.

The sixth feature of dharma is indriyanigraha. In Sanskrit Indra means ‘controller’, ‘headman’ or ‘patriarch’. There are ten indriyas or organs: five sensory and five motor. As they exercise control over the physical activities, they are called ‘indra’, meaning “dominating entity”. The subtler mind or atman is superior to these organs. The indriyas are to be kept in check with your mental and spiritual power. This is why in dharmic life the control of organs is considered imperative. In the spiritual sphere one will have to exercise control over the sensory and motor organs.

The seventh characteristic of dharma is dhi which means ‘benevolent intellect’. If human intellect is not channelised well it becomes destructive; it corrupts and exploits society. It may even become a demonic force. Dhi means intellect that helps regenerate society, which can benefit not only human beings but all beings.

The eighth characteristic of dharma is vidya meaning ’internal assimilation of external objectivities’. It is of two types: vidya and avidya. Avidya is mainly concerned with external life whereas vidya is concerned with internal life. According to Ananda Marga philosophy, we cannot afford to ignore the external world, and thus ours is a subjective approach through objective adjustment. Avidya means ‘modern science’. You should not ignore modern science because whle avidya helps us develop in the physical sphere, vidya, helps one strive to attain liberation. Vidya and avidya will help human beings achieve success in material and spiritual spheres.

The ninth characteristic of dharma is satyam or truth and it is to be observed in your individual and collective lives. The tenth and final characteristic is akrodha or non-anger, a very subtle propensity. You should not be misguided or swayed by krodha or anger. Anger means to remain under the influence of nerve cells and fibres instead of being influenced by subtler layers of mind. It is therefore very dangerous. You may show anger to stop unholy activities of sinful people in society. This is called “sentient anger”. These are the ten characteristics of dharma.