Answer without the question

Pray, what is the question? Obviously, without knowing the question and without solving it by transforming ones life, knowing the answer intellectually is of no use. That would be like a child refusing to learn to solve a maths problem because the answer is found in the answer key!

Stinking Jobs

Most of us would not even go somewhere near the place of work these people. We might not be able to do anything immediately. But shouldnt we at least realize every time we take their services (directly or through any organization that we are associated with), we propagate social / economic / caste inequalities. What then are our responsibilities? Can we listen to our hearts call on this?

Ego in Awareness

Folktale has it that vampires cannot stand light and disintegrate in the presence of light. So does the ego - in the presence of awareness. Typically, most peoples awareness does not encompass the entirety of their thoughts and feelings. For that to happen, it has to be choiceless. When one is able to be choicelessly aware, when one can see the entirety of ones life story, then the ego collapses. Then one starts developing lot of space between ones life story and oneself. Then, that awareness can be aware of itself!

Action & Divinity

Action does not lead to divinity. Action can express divinity!

Peace activism

The fragility of the ego can be seen all too often in crowded public transportation vehicles. The heat, pressure to reach on time, crowd intruding into personal space etc, keep the individuals on boil all the time and the moment an ego is pricked in the slightest way, even a mild stamping of ones feet is enough for people to burst out. Seeing this, how does one treat ones ego. Shouldnt we treat it as a diseased part that is just waiting to be offended. When one sees this and is sincere about transforming it, all ugly dimensions of the same can be chopped off gradually and it can be transformed into a ripe ego. Possibly, the most important peace activism an individual can engage in!

Ideological solutions

Some/many communists may want to get rid of such mechanization and employ more people with shovels! But, unfortunately, human problems are much more complex than what proponents of ideological solutions can fathom. While the compassion behind needing to provide employment to (starving?) people is admirable, stubborn adherence to ideological solutions is naive (why not employ even more people with table spoons?). While systemic changes may certainly be needed, the key change is to be done within the individual. In particular, the change is to be free of all belief systems and ideologies!

Kids for universe

Why train kids merely to enter university? Why not prepare kids to face the universe and make it better? Though the two are not necessarily contradictory, the latter subsumes the former!

Jatharagni

Jatharagni, located in the duodenum, that is responsible for eliminating impurities in the food we eat and maintaining good health in the body. Surprisingly, this seems to loose its potency the moment someone is married or settled into a good job. This can be seen in the sudden increase in weight when people get married and/or get settled in a good job.

Jatharagni itself is the physical manifestation of the fire which is deeper inside. For most people, this fire is almost but extinguished by a marriage or a good job - leading to accumulation of impurities (obesity and ego). If one can hold on to the deeper fire (by aiming at something trans-egoic that one finds meaningful), then impurities can be eliminated from the system - neither body mass nor mental mass (ego) will accumulate!

Duration of NOW

For most people, now represents their current psychological stage in life. Future is beyond the boundary of now - may be the fulfillment of their ambition, next growth in career, progress in personal life etc and past is before the commencement of this now. While this is not unreal, as regards to the individuals life story, what almost everyone misses is that in the background there is another NOW - the eternal NOW. When one witnesses that NOW, the psychological now pales in significance. While an awakened person may be duty bound to respond to the psychological now, s/he knows in hir heart, that it is always NOW!

Pursuit of Happiness

That captures the story of pursuit of (individual) happiness outside of oneself - be it career / ambition / marriage / gold / whatever! Happiness within is here, now! Would'nt it be great to access it?

सबके दुख भगावो

अपने हात उठावो,

सबके दुख भगावो,

कृपा करो भगवान!

Clown

A clown gets you to laugh at him. Spirituality gets you to laugh at yourself.

Pyramid of Change

This is a beautiful model / guide on how to get relationships to flower (from the book 'Anatomy of Peace' by Arbinger Institute). At the base of the pyramid is the main work - 'obtaining a heart at peace' and at the top is correcting things that go wrong. Fundamentally, the work is about setting things up so that things go right. Finally, we also need systems to ensure we can correct things when they go wrong. This is as beautifully applicable to personal relationships as it is to social work. The Lokpal, when works perfectly as envisaged, will work to correct things when they go wrong. What about ensuring that things go right, which is really the bulk of the work? When individuals view themselves as separate from their society and which they are willing to exploit for their growth / ambitions / greed / desires, without worrying about their responsibility to give back in proportion to what they take, how can things go right? What are we going to do about that in our lives?

Two steps of perception

Every person perceives the same thing. But their perceptions are different. All perceptions are dependent on the story that they have with the individual. This is a two step process. 1.) Perceive cleanly without the story first. 2.) Apply story. Very few people even know step 1 exists. When we slow our lives down, we can discover step 1 in every situation. Gradually, we will be well established in step 1 and develop lot of space between us and step 2. Eventually step 2 will become immaterial and our actions will be free of the same. Perfect step 1 is choiceless awareness! Can we discover the same in every situation in our lives?

The Rugged Altruists

The Rugged Altruists

Rye Barcott was a student at the University of North Carolina who spent a summer sharing a 10-by-10 shack in Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi, Kenya. One night he awoke with diarrhea and stumbled to the public outhouse. He slid onto the cement floor and vomited as his bare body hit puddles of human waste.

He left his soiled pants outside the hut, but when he went to find them later they were gone. He was directed to another hut where a stick-thin girl, with missing clumps of hair, had the pants, scrubbed and folded, in her lap. Barcott said softly, “I’m grateful,” and asked her why she had cleaned them. “Because I can,” she replied. A week later, she died of AIDS and her body was taken in a wheelbarrow to a communal grave.

Ardhanareeswara

Ardhanareeswara - The masculine and the feminine of spirituality! The part of spirituality that deals with meditation etc to calm oneself, put ones heart at peace and discover beauty, harmony and unity is the feminine part. Then, there is the other part - the part of self actualization. It is the part that discovers the seed within oneself and works to eliminate all fears and desires that blocks the flowering of the seed within. That is the masculine part. Emphasis on any one is not sufficient. In fact, they are mutually dependent. When one is sincere in ones quest, one is bound to develop both!

Within you!

Can we discover that within us, which all these people have been pointing out for centuries?

Charity

A common view among 'spiritually inclined' people about work is that its a means to satisfy ones 'basic' needs and also donate to charity. This no doubt is a noble way of life though there are many issues. Simplest among them is the oft ignored fact that ones 'basic' needs increases with ones income. Another is that the more ones income is off from the societies average, typically, the more one needs to sell ones soul. It will be highly difficult for someone to part with such money that has been earned after petrifying ones soul. Most importantly, such people are blind to the ugly under belly of the economic / social / political systems that they have to partake in order to have the money / position that they have. More seriously, they have no clue that they refuse to look at them out of fear of losing the benefits they have! Neither do most of them recognize the importance of the work of those who question these systems and step out of (at least some of) them! Not that, everyone should do that. Neither is either act better than the other. Each person can only be truthful to that which is within and ones state of evolution. But, charity does not only mean giving money to the needy. It also necessitates looking at the cause of all violence in our human society. Then, one will be able to see the ugly manifestations of human ignorance in the various economic / political / social institutions. Then, one can situate ones personal sadhana within the economic / political / social context of the world one lives in, as one sees fit!

Secret of serenity

When ones carefully constructed life appears to be deleted, rejoice, for amidst the gloom, there is great chance for serenity and awakening! The secret of serenity / awakening is whole hearted & enthusiastic co-operation with everything that happens! Such collapses do not happen for most and hence they are happily asleep. While the collapse is also a calamity, its also a chance to discover deep peace by whole heartedly & enthusiastically accepting the worst. Interestingly, such collapses do not need to happen for awakening but most people seem to prefer only that route!

Courage vs Sincerity

Its not for the most courageous or the most intelligent. Its for the one who is sincere!

Symphony of galaxies in motion

Do you have the time to feel the symphony that the harmonious motion of galaxies are playing out? In those precious moments when ones mind is silent, one may be able to glimpse the same. Meditation consists of expanding those moments and making it the default state!

Responsibility in Capitalism

Capitalism is not only about more products in the super market shelf and more economic freedom. As is the case with all 'isms', it comes as a package. Some of the choices it takes / inevitably leads to, have horrendous consequences. While society has a whole, through very complex forces, decides the currently in vogue ism, every individual has the responsibility of considering the impact of ones participation (some of which may be without choice) in any ism. Considering that capitalism strongly encourages greed and that people blamed for such disasters are just accidentally at the wrong place and the wrong time (just like traffic accidents in Indian roads - could have been anyone), it just could have been anyone else (competitors / suppliers / vendors / share holders / consumers). Then, should not people who participate in it, consider why they should push the wheel harder and harder by their personal ambitions, desires for higher salaries / positions and lucrative foreign positions? Should we not consider that its all these little greed vectors that combine to produce horrendous consequences like the Bhopal disaster?

Laylas beauty

It takes the eyes of Majnun to notice the beauty of Layla! Likewise, it takes the eyes of a master to notice the beauty of the leela (divine play) of Krishna! Sadly, one cannot get those eyes on loan from the Master. But, one can develop the same!

Reality by dissection?

When we dissect something, we get lot of information (some useful and some not so) about the object. But, we also end up killing it! When such is the case, how can reality be known after dissecting it into you, me and a gazillion other things?

Integral Yoga

Classical Integral Yoga! Unless all four are present, one cannot be said to adhere to Yoga, though the proportions may vary little! Sadly, as is popularly practiced today, all forms have become travesties of what they should be, at least in my opinion. Unless many individuals integrate all these in their lives, I do not see how our society can be peaceful, healthy and happy!

Virtues of a master

While biological evolution is an observed statistical and biological phenomenon, no individual organism consciously attempts to evolve. Similar is the case of the evolved person. While the mind (of that of the evolved person or others) may observe virtues like humility, simplicity, wisdom etc, the evolved person hirself does not actually try to exhibit the same.

Grand unifying theory of human suffering

What is the grand unifying theory of human suffering? The venerable Buddha figured it out! Of course, there have been many individuals how have figured it out too. Only when we figure it out for ourselves, can we stop contributing to it. Only then, can we work towards healing it! Do we have it in us to do so?

இரண்டா? ஏது?

இரண்டா? ஏது? ஒன்று பட்ட பொழுது!

Heart lightened by love

‎"A heart lightened by love is more precious than all the gems and jewels of the world." - Hazrat Inayat Khan

Transcending space-time

Scientists work hard on their math and physics to dig deep into the complexities of space-time. Exhilarating work indeed, for those who like it that is. For the common man (scientists included) though, all one needs to do is see how ones love is limited by space and time. We love / deeply care for some people (family, close friends etc) but do not extend the same degree of love and care to those outside the circle - love limited by space. Even to those whom we extend genuine love, the moment they do something that does not go down well with our ego, we hold back love, affection and care - love limited by time. The moment an individual transcends these limitation on hir love completely, the individual transcends space and time!

Identities

None of these is permanent. Any such identity one may have is purely accidental. If the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs had hit earth one day later, would any of these identities that one has still be true? Such is the frivolous nature of these identities. The clash of these frivolous identities causes lot of violence - in fact, it is the primary cause for most violence that humanity has unleashed upon itself. When such is the case, should we not drop all these identities NOW?

Activist vs Hoi Polloi

In the self righteousness of the 'activist' is the seed of the nonchalance of the 'hoi polloi'. In the arrogance of the 'hoi polloi' is the seed of the hurt and frustration of the 'activist'. When one sees this, shall one not commit oneself to rebel against the structures within that plays out this game?

Chaturtahah

When all the impurities of the mind are cleansed, individual realizes he/she is free of bondage to past and future and when the individuals love and compassion are extended to everyone at the highest level at all times, then the rarely spoken about fourth state of consciousness becomes a possibility! Perfect understanding and clarity dawns!

Fountain of truth

"As water in a fountain flows in one stream but falls in many drops, divided by time and space, so are the revelations of the one stream of truth" - Hazrat Inayat Khan

Correct Understanding

Unless one is free of the past (not forget the past), one cannot understand any thing accurately. When such is the case, should'nt every individual at least be circumspect of their feelings / thoughts and actions as they could potentially be corrupted by their own past history? Patanjali says the Yogi is one who is always established in correct understanding. Its an oblique indication about the understanding of the non-Yogi. Is'nt desiring correct understanding desirable?

PS: Image flicked (and mildy edited) from the slides shown at a talk by Dr Ananda Wood at KFI on Jul 31, 2011!

C'est la vie!

Met a lady who is almost 80 years old today. She was complaining about her recent loss of health and the consequent hospitalization. She had to spend Rs. 15K for her treatment, which is an astronomical sum to her considering her meager and almost non-existent income. She was sad for she felt she could have bought another golden bangle for that money!

Some people love gold till they die. Some people love god all their lives. C'est la vie!

வாழ்க்கை பயணம்

எங்கே வாழ்க்கை தொடங்கும், அது எங்கே எவ்விதம் முடியும்?
இதுதான் பாதை, இதுதான் பயணம் என்பது யாருக்கும் தெரியாது!

Layers of mind

The Dhammapda opens with the lines, "All that we are is the result of what we have thought". Every thought we have is influenced by our prior notions of ourselves and the world. These prior notions themselves were created by previous thoughts. When one can see this in action in oneself, one can see that every thought leaves a residue and except the seer, all else is created by these residues. Yoga provides a neat model for these different components of the mind. The part of the mind that accumulates all these residues is the Citta. And sadly we associate ourselves only with these residues, which craves for desires to be satiated. Patanjali defines Yoga to be the state where the Citta is cleansed of all these residues!

Vijnanamaya

Every layer of the human individual is represented neatly by a bird model in Yoga (described in the chapter called brahmanandavalli in taittiriya upanishad). This is the model for the vijnanamaya, the level of the unique personality of the individual through which the individual creatively engages with the world. The head is sincerity or faith with respect to ones inner voice (this decides the goals or sets the vision). The wings are absolute truth and the same packaged with compassion (the right means to get there). The body is consistent union with the non-dual atman within (the individual hirself). The tail is the universal ego i.e. an identity that encompasses all that exists (provides stability, guides and helps change directions). May all of us identify the inner voice and let it manifest itself in the external world to the fullest!

Evolution of Love

As humans we can positions ourselves anywhere. Where do we want to position ourselves? Do we have enough motivation to speed up the haphazard process of evolution by actively eliminating our boundaries?

Svastha

Sanskrit word for health is svastha - comes from the two words sva (self) and stha (to reside in) meaning, 'to reside in ones self'. Ones self is the five layers (the five mayas above) of each individual. Discovering all the five levels and being effortlessly established in all of the mayas, in their fully developed states, is considered healthy. Are you healthy?

Kull-i shayin Hal-i kull

Kull-i shayin Hal-i kull

Everything will perish except His own Face.

sthavarakkaLivunTu jangamakaLivilla

Things standing shall fall, But the moving ever shall stay

Big bang

What is the opposite of the big bang?

Singularity

Sorry technocrats and scientists. Singularity is not in the future. It is already present in the present moment, every moment since start of time. The means of its discovery are not telescopes peeking into the vast expanses of space or microscopes probing every nook and corner of the atom. Love and compassion are the means to its discovery. Peeking into every nook and corner of ones heart can bring one to that singularity - the single being of which everything that exists, has existed and will exist are inseparable parts! Then, the singularity itself may be revealed as love and compassion!

Heart at the feet of the divine

As long as the heart is not in continuous touch with the divine, there is bound to be unhappiness. But, this does not happen easily when the mind/intellect is well developed and strong. The perfect antidote for a strong mind/intellect is a meaningful life - a meaning not defined by external rules but that comes from within and that which is trans-egoic! Then, the heart can rest effortlessly at the feet of the divine!

When in doubt, seek guidance

அம்மா - அப்பா

அம்மா (சக்தி) வந்து சொன்னாதான் அப்பாவின் (சிவா) பெய்ர் தெரியுமடா!

சபாஷ் சரியான போட்டி

பாட்டியை பார்த்து பேரன் சிரிப்பதை ரசிப்பதா!

பேரனை பார்த்து பாட்டி சிரிப்பதை ரசிப்பதா!

சபாஷ் சரியான போட்டி!

Blessing

There is nothing called a blessing in disguise. Every event is a blessing in plain sight!