Hora incerta, mors certa

Hora incerta, mors certa

Image from here - http://www.oxherding.com/my_weblog/2011/09/yellowstone-4.html

Looks like a day!

நாளென ஒன்றுபோற் காட்டி உயிர் ஈரும்

வாளது உணர்வார்ப் பெறின்!

It looks like a day but the wise realize it to be a

sword that cuts through one life!

Beyond likes & dislikes

வேண்டுதல் வேண்டாமை இலானடி சேர்ந்தார்க்கு

யாண்டும் இடும்பை இல!

Those who live in the space within that is beyond likes and dislikes,

do not suffer!

Children are usually in the pre-conventional stage. Adults are in the conventional stage to varying degrees (some are in the pre-conventional stage too). As one evolves, one enters the post-conventional. Of course, this a continuum and the boundaries are arbitrary. But, when one is desirous of moving in this direction, one would only be happy to set the stiffest of standards for oneself in this regard!

Melencolia

தனக்குவமை இல்லாதான் தாள்சேர்ந்தார்க் கல்லால்

மனக்கவலை மாற்றல் அரிது!

Unless one discovers within one that which has no equals or opposites, its next to impossible to stay free of mental worries!

What is it within you that has no opposites or equals?

முதற்பத்து குறள்கள்

முதற்பத்து குறள்கள் படித்து உணர்ந்தவர்க்

கில்லை யோகத்தின் தேவை!

Live like prana!

Prana flows into us and maintains our health and vitality. But, we can successfully thwart it in many ways, for e.g., by eating unhealthy stuff and thereby inviting digestive issues. But, the moment prana can break through, it will flow in and restore health. This behavior is exactly like the flow of water. This indeed is our essential nature - that of prana. Through the entirety of our lives, can we engage with the world in this fashion? That is, to actively construct a life through which we contribute to the joy and beauty of the world, and in every situation that happens therein, do the best possible and show no anger or frustration when prevented from doing so. Even when one is thwarted continuously, can we watch out with immense poise for the first signs of a break through?

Third eye

When the third eye opens, its light that should come out. Fire should be held within and the light should be let out. Only when the body / mind are not perfected, does fire come out!

Pyrrhic victories

Victories in zero sum games are always Pyrrhic victories!

கொடிது கொடிது

கொடிது கொடிது வறுமை கொடிது
அதனினும் கொடிது இளமையில் வறுமை!

கொடிது கொடிது அஞ்ஞானம் கொடிது
அதனினும் கொடிது முதுமையில் அஞ்ஞானம்!

HRV & Spectral Power Density Function

With a desire to transform ones life and with proper breath training, the moment to moment heart rate curve can be transformed from a haphazard curve to a proper sine curve. The spectral power density function indicates the internal focus on ones life's goals. Without this spiritual development, there is hardly any internal focus as there are way too many conflicting desires. But with proper spiritual development and breathing practice, the spectral power density function shows a proper single spike around the value 0.2, indicating that conflicting desires have been eliminated and that the individual is perfectly in touch with hir inner seed!

Heart Rate Variability

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures the heart rate on a moment to moment basis i.e. the inverse of the duration between two heart beats. When an individual is peaceful and experiences positive emotions, the curve is a nice sine wave. Otherwise, it is a haphazard curve. As we grow spiritually (aka as we drop various facets of our ego), the curve becomes continuously better at all times (even under emotionally demanding circumstances). The higher the amplitude of the sine wave, the more our lives feel fulfilled and the more we have the ability to take 'shit' in our lives. Thus, we give increasingly skilfully responses to increasingly demanding situations in our lives!

ஆறுமுகம்

ஆறுமுகம் ஆன பொருள் நீ அருள வேண்டும்!

Tataḥ dvandvāḥ anabhighātaḥ

"Tataḥ dvandvāḥ anabhighātaḥ", says Patanjali. There is immense depravity all around. Are we even troubled by these? Only when our hearts are troubled by all the nonsense around, will we be triggered from within to construct a life that is a creative and effective response to the darkness around. Then, we also recognize that reality is eternally peaceful. But, simultaneously, everything is a mess. By being troubled by this duality sincerely and by providing it an effective response, we transcend them! The perfect evolutionary challenge! Says Patanjali, "When the right effort ceases, one is no more troubled by dualities!"

எதை தேடுகிறீர்கள்

ஆணிகொண்டு மேனியை தைத்தவரையும்
அன்புகொண்டு மன்னித்தருளியவரின்
என்றும் குன்றா ஒளி உள்ளிருக்கையில்
ஆலயங்களில் எதை தேடுகிறீர்கள்
எனதருமை அன்பர்களே?

இறை-இரை

ஊனின் இறை இரை
ஆன்மாவின் இரை இறை
ஆன்மாவின் உறை அகன்றால்
இரையும் இறையாகும்!

Maitri adishu balani

‎"Maitri adishu balani", says Patanjali! Environmental catastrophe, wars, poverty, emptiness, depression, loss of sensitivity, violence on animals etc etc. The list of atrocities our civilization is entertaining is endless. No individual's actions are sufficient to change them. But, every individuals heart can be moved by this! When that happens, the individual constructs a life that is a creative response to all of this. The life that is so moved is based on compassion, friendliness and happiness at anothers fortune. This is exactly what Patanjali says as that which would give an individual the strength to cut through the infinite fears and desires of the ego and accomplish union with the divine within. The essence of karma yoga!

Inner and outer garbage

Every piece of waste we produce goes to places like these - every chocolate wrapper, every piece of packing material in every single purchase of ours, the waste produced in the manufacturing process of things we consume (which is manifold than the end waste coming after consumer usage) etc etc. Typically the garbage dumps are located near the residences of the extremely poor and the socially marginalized. The air and water in the nearby areas are often critically polluted causing countless diseases to those who are already marginalized and poor. What then is the responsibility of each individual? What do we do about our actions that cause the production of this garbage that goes to places like this, the Kodungaiyur garbage dump in Chennai? Why have our lifestyles become so extraordinarily wasteful and destructive? Why is it acceptable for the rich nations to export their waste (from kitchen waste to nuclear waste) to poorer nations? Even within poorer nations why is it acceptable to have such inequalities? Isnt this external garbage a reflection of the internal garbage?

Saranagathi

Saranagathi or surrender has (almost) nothing to do with rituals and prayers. Instead it implies a sincere commitment of refusing to take the side of ones ego at every point in ones life. Beyond the ego, lies the door to the divine. By, refusing to mollycoddle ones ego, we directly arrive at the door of the divine. This is a deceptively simple route. The ways of the ego or the sense of the limited self are extremely subtle. This can only be overcome with sincerity! Refusing to take the side of the ego does not imply destroying oneself, it simply means adhering to what is right at every point in ones life - in every argument we have, in every decision we make, in our life styles, in our choice of work / principle activity of our lives, in our choice of places where we put our money, in our vision for the society, in our response to varying forms of violence all around us etc. This will naturally lead to an extremely purposeful life filled with love and compassion! When one is able to effortlessly adhere to what is right instead of the preference of the ego, one can effortlessly see the truth that acaryas such as Ramanuja have been trying to elucidate for many millennia!

Inner stillness like a mountain

When ones body acquires the ability to let matter through, no one can ever hit us. Even if someone attempts to hit us, it will go through and hence after a few attempts, they will be astounded and will stop. Basic laws of physics preclude this from happening. But, except our own ego, nothing can prevent this from happening to our mind. When we absolutely refuse to react internally to any offense or abuse, the abuser will have to stop sooner than later. Typically the abuser feeds on our reaction. When that stops due to our cultivation of inner stillness, the pointlessness of the aggressors actions will dawn on hir and they will stop. For, this one needs to cultivate inner stillness - inner stillness like that of a mountain! Perfect external poise will emerge from that stillness and we will be able to provide increasingly skillful responses to all situations!

Saint and Child

The two ways of being that are most beautiful are that of the innocent child and the wise saint! Interestingly, they are realized simultaneously!

Arriving at the Truth

When we drop the need to be heard, seen as correct, justified etc in an argument, we arrive at the truth. When we have lost all such need with respect to any argument with anyone under any circumstance, we would have arrived at the TRUTH! Surely, truth is arrived at only in this fashion - by dropping the darkness within and not by proactively seeking the truth (which is simply impossible). Surely, in this regard, the more we give, the more we receive!

Guru seeking out sincere disciples

I hear often from many gurus that it is the student who needs to go to the guru and that too with devotion. That does not seem quite right. The guru is just a wall but a wall on which divine light is being reflected. It is important to get the seeker of spiritual wisdom to focus on the light and not on the wall. By insisting on devotion, the focus is turned to the wall. In addition, it is tremendously important to the society that we have many people deeply established in spiritual wisdom. When such is the case, it is wonderful if the guru seeks out the sincere seeker! Ramanujacharya famously shouted the sacred words from temple top despite being warned of dire consequences by his guru!

Work time

Baboons in a forest spend about 3 hrs a day to make their living! How much do we spend?

Rituals?

How long will we be literally following rituals? Does it not make us really stupid? This jain example of removing every strand of hair in the head manually is a case in point. What it really stands for is that we need to remove every impurity that covers the state of purity within - every single unresolved emotional conflict, every single fear, every single desire, every single aspect of the ego etc. To do that, one needs to go deep within, discover the state of purity within and be committed to be established in the same. Once that is done, it is up to the individual to decide what to do about the ritual. But without that underlying discovery, following rituals is really naive. Of course, this is true for all belief systems, irrespective of how profound the claimed benefits of adhering to the ritual are!

Cost of selfishness

Consider a network where two units of some content needs to be transported per sec. There are different paths and each path has a cost. Now, two different paths need to be chosen. If each individual unit of content is selfish, then the first unit that gets to pick the path chooses the cheapest and the second is left with no choice. But, if the first unit makes a considerate decision, the second unit gets a much better option. In the latter case, the overall cost to the society is lower. This is a very simplistic situation with only two players. In real life, the setup is extremely complex and there are very many players. The social cost can skyrocket and can be manifold greater than the socially optimal cost when everyone is unselfish. That is mathematics, but in real life, the cost cannot keep on increasing. Factors that have not been taken into account will creep in and the entire system will collapse. That is the fate of our society as is demonstrated by the multi-dimensional environmental collapse we are heading towards. When we see this societal cost of selfishness, what does responsible living constitute?

Inner Space

Lot of people are stuck at the point of zero or very little awareness state. They are incurably obsessed with stimulus from the eternal world and their response to the same. Inner space and awareness do not matter at all to them. Some are naturally gifted with some inner space and hence are not so obsessed. But, sadly, most such people do not still consciously know about it. The presence of inner space is utilized to 'grow' in the world. Instead, if one is serious about expanding that space, there comes a point where only the inner space of awareness remains. Stimulus and response then happen in some obscure corner of that space. They become extraordinarily insignificant!

கந்தா உன் அருள்

உயிரினங்கள் ஒன்றை ஒன்று வாழ்த்திடும் பொழுது
அதன் உள்ளிருந்து வாழ்த்துவது உன் அருளன்றோ
கந்தா உன் அருளன்றோ!

Chain of responsbility

Lot of people are angry, understandably, with the TATA group for such third rate advertising! The issues at stake hardly need elucidation (Singur / Kalinga Nagar etc)! Besides the responsibility of the organization, I would like to call attention to the responsibility of the actresses who acted in this, the so called 'creative' mind that conceived this ad, the technical people behind it etc. It is true that many of the support cast may be unaware of any details of the ad. Still, they must hold themselves accountable for playing a role in producing such profanity! This is exactly similar to the way we all participate in the presence and continuance of various forms of violence in the world! We are all simultaneously pawns at the hands of the world and simultaneously the masters of the world. We are simultaneously forced to do things we may not agree with or feel is appropriate and simultaneously we are responsible for the very existence of such forces. How, then, are we going to shift from being a pawn to being the master?

Kids and ambitions

Why dont people simply want their kids to be outrageously happy and not anything else? Usually happiness is taken for granted and above and beyond that, people drive their kids to have ambitions (directly or indirectly) and thereby make it big. Sadly, that is never true. While effortless happiness and peace are natural and innate, they are not so easy to be established in for most of us. When one is successful in that, out of that happiness, need for action and the action itself will emerge. Then, the personal becoming will not be of any consequence. Action is then done purely for the sake of it.

Right and Detached Action

Two sides of the same coin! One without the other cannot exist. To claim to adhere to one without the other is mere delusion!

ஒவ்வொரு முத்தமும் தேவை கண்ணா

சில முத்தங்கள் நெற்றியில்
சில முத்தங்கள் கன்னத்தில்
சில முத்தங்கள் நக்கலாய் மாறும்
சில முத்தங்கள் கக்கலாய் மாறும்
ஆனால் ஒவ்வொரு முத்தமும் தேவை கண்ணா!

Boat on one shore

Given that a boat is well tethered to one shore, how best should one row in order to reach the other shore quickly?

Relaxed breathing

When we carry active / residual stress from events of the past or fear from events of the future in our minds, it is usually reflected in the ability to breath in a free and relaxed manner. Observe how babies breathe. Their stomach bulges out on inhale and goes back in on exhale effortlessly. This is the breathing pattern of someone with no stress whatsoever. For most adults though, this is very difficult and the most common reason being the amount of stress they carry within. When asked consciously to inhale, many people pull their stomachs in. Possible indication of stress. Developing the ability to breathe rhythmically at about 6 seconds per inhale and 6 seconds per exhale is a wonderful way to negate that residual stress in our system. That ability is also a good indicator of the mental health of the person.

Cleaning house

We share the world with all the creatures of the world. In particular, the space of our house is shared with spiders, ants etc. While it is indeed good and desirable to keep our house clean and hygienic, its way better if we apologize to the spiders and the ants when we destroy their hard built residences. These days, sadly, we hit all these insects with poison in the name of cleanliness. When are we going to stop that? When our heart is lightened with compassion, one can feel the pain of these creatures and then one will be called to do what best one can do!

For the sheer joy of it!

Action need not always be performed with an end in mind. Like the squirrel that runs up and down a tree for the sheer joy of it, one can act for the sheer joy of it! In fact, life itself can be found effortlessly through such actions!

Inner Seed

When you have accomplished your big dreams, settled down in your family life, have had your share of entertainment, what would you do in your life? Towards what kind of action / living / life will you be propelled (from within)? Therein lies the clues to your discovery of your inner seed. Self actualization involves watering that seed and letting it flower! That is the real you which is waiting fo...r your attention while you are caught up in the million fears and desires of your body and mind. It takes courage to accomplish this after going beyond the countless fears and desires we harbor! Waiting for all the fears and desires to give way for us to reach that seed is akin to waiting for the waves to stop. The one who sees this with clarity is the one who is awakened. How many of us have it in us to listen to our deepest and innermost voice?

மோகம் - ரோகம் - யோகம்

மோகமென்னும் ரோகத்தில்
மீண்டும் மீண்டும் நான் மூழ்கினாலும்
யோகமென்னும் போகத்தில்
யோகமுதல்வா என்னை நீ ஆழ்த்தி
மோகரோகத்திலிருந்து விடுவித்தாய்
யோகநாயகா, யான் பெற்ற இன்பம்
பெருக இவ்வையகம்!

Junk food to the mind

Junk food - seductively tasty! And at the same time, horribly unhealthy! Most of us would agree that regular consumption of this is injurious to health. But, we do not apply the same logic to the mind. Regularly subjecting the mind to junk input is pernicious and makes the mind junk. When all we talk / think is egoic or entertaining, mind accumulates junk and becomes heavy with tamas. Constant input of meaningful and trans-egoic thoughts and ideas, makes it fit and nimble! Are we willing to at least see that we are subjecting our mind to junk constantly and therein bring about a change?

No inadequacy

The spiritual path is not a path of self denial. Torturing oneself is only a perverse form of pleasure. The spiritual path is about discovering that there is no inadequacy in our essential nature and bringing that out in our daily lives. When that sense of completeness within is discovered, all desires drop by themselves. Ultimately, the purpose of desires is to give some satisfaction. When all the satisfaction is found within, there is absolutely no need for one to expend any effort to obtain external satisfaction. Any temptation would be like seeing an extremely tasty and well prepared food when ones tummy is already filled with tasty and healthy food.