Selected Quotes From 'Reflections' So Far.

Conflicts:

• Do you think that war happens only outside? If you think then you are wrong. War happens both inside and outside as well. Deep beneath the subconscious mind, we are in a constant ‘state of war’. This war is fought for ‘self-determination’, as all other outside wars are fought. But there is a difference. The war is to find out that whether we are a ‘finite self’ or ‘infinite self’.

• We, to regain our ‘real-self’, project the so-called ‘conflicts’ in our lives. From our childhood, all the conflicts of love, hatred and anger etc., that we have experienced, are nothing but our ‘projections’ to deduce our ‘real-self’.

• Whenever there is a conflict in life, know that we are creating it to find out our 'real-self'.

• Two spheres of life coexist in man. One is the 'spiritual-sphere' and another, the 'material-sphere'. These two spheres of life are inherently incompatible with each other, and yet they coexist in man. All conflicts of mankind, arises mainly due to the incomprehensibility in resolving the nature of existence between these two spheres of lives.

• The whole struggle of mankind, is the struggle to arrive at the 'spiritual-sphere' of life. All challenges that we undertake in our lives, is simply aimed at arriving at this phenomena.

Death and Sense Objects:

• There is death when you open your senses; and there is immortality when you close your senses.

• The sensory systems are akin to a fire or a concentrated acid ready to react on the sensory objects. When the sensory system react with the sense objects, death is the residue.

• Death is nothing but the summation of, or cumulative effect of individual acts of deaths, which we experience in everyday life, by succumbing to sense objects. 

• We at several points and at several instances in our lives, give way or succumb to these sense objects, which according to me is death, and not the one which comes later in life.

• Day dreaming arises when we fail to face or confront the real world. It is just like hiding ourselves under a mask from the real world. Only when tragedy strucks, the mask falls for a while, only to be worn again, for we are utterly weak and helpless.

• First, the sense object deludes. Delusion is the first and foremost characteristic of a sense object. It deludes by beauty and aesthetics, pleasing color, taste, and form etc. An ordinary object does not creates delusion. Second, the sense objects create a feel of permanence. You feel the object is permanent and it stays intact and that it is going to accompany you forever. An ordinary object does not creates this feeling. Third, Sense objects are not satiated, it asks for more. An ordinary object is satiated. Fourth, the sense objects creates pain in the end.

Peace and Non-Violence:

• Peace is not goodness and not evil either. Peace is above good and evil. Therefore, transcend both good and evil alike.

• Enjoyment is a fleeting sensory experience, derived from objects outside; whereas peace is a long lasting art of abiding in the subject.

• There must not be an occasion or an excuse for not being peaceful, because peace is often related to the subject rather than the object or the environment in which we are exposed to.

• A man of non-violence is actually a man of no desires, and not the one who doesn’t harm, and lurking with desires.

• A man lives in the world by continuously displacing the lives of others.

• The whole universe is one. Whatever we do out of greed, desire and anger, the repercussions will be felt on the other side of the globe.

Meditation and Mind:

• Meditation is Samadhi. In Samadhi, there are no ‘Vrittis’ or sense impressions.

• Great saints meditate in every breath. They inhale all the sufferings of humanity and exhale peace.

• Man, after a prolonged series of meditative life, transforms himself into something larger than life, just as the ugly duckling transforms itself into a beautiful swan. This is the transformation, which nothing can alter, which nothing can disturb and which is permanent.

• A man meditates only to converge his forces on a higher plane, where the limitless dimension is revealed.

• All forms of restraint of the senses reveal the limitless dimension of man.

• Mind is a very delicate thing and is devised for a concentrated single stream of thought.

• Any ‘objective impression’, which draws the mind out, has to be rejected. Because, according to yoga, all objective impressions, end up in misery and weakness.

Religion:

• True religion consists in transcending both goodness and evil alike.

• Religion, still had to move from primitive – animal slaughter and ritualistic to a more broadening of love and meditation. 

• Any spiritual solution must be universal, otherwise it is merely a farce.

• I would like to declare as a law that God is not associated with material things or material phenomena. I feel, one must use God and its associated places solely for the purpose of nature – spiritual, and not as a medium of propagating wealth, and not as medium for satisfying greed and selfish desires, not as a medium for business and trading, because immortality is not attained through these.

• By practicing dharma, a man becomes more graceful, outshining the manners of kings and queens, because real beauty consists in dharma.

• Dharma is not refraining from work; but doing the right work leading to meditation.

• Dharma is not always lingering on the suffering part, but a concrete, pragmatic transition to the practice part which brings peace and happiness.

Life:

• The key to building our lives lies in not the forces of attachment but in the forces of detachment.

• Strength is detachment.

• Dream is not just a personal goal but a universal vision, impelled by an idea to do good to humanity.

• Dreams are a thing which is not to be taught, which cannot be bought, and which is uniquely yours, and which cannot be copied.

• Dreams are always worth attempting, as it is always yours and you only can do it.

• If you dream you are going to lose your sleep; and if you sleep you are going to lose your dream. 

• Often that which is ugly turns out to be beautiful.

• To live in present reality, one must reject all hypothetical realities that the world offer.

• When we clean our house, it is not a mere cleaning, but cleaning our ‘selves’.

Thank You

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How to Sustain Peace?

Quiet and disquiet:

Many times we don’t want to be in peace. People are afraid to be peaceful. Even when peace comes by itself, we don’t want to sit quiet, and do something, which disquiets the quiet. Many times we don’t know what to do, and end up in watching some television series, or open the internet and watch some news and videos, or tune up the radio and listen to music, or simply eat something. We simply lost the capacity to be in peace or lost the capacity to meditate.

Peace and death:

Now the question arises, what is wrong with doing all these things? Why should we be in peace at all? The reason is there is death when you open your senses, and there is immortality when you close your senses. Peace lies when you close your senses.

Beware of Sense organs

 The sensory systems are akin to a fire or a concentrated acid ready to react to the sensory objects. When the sensory system reacts with the sense objects, death is the residue. First the sensory system creates a bondage towards the sense objects, being attracted its beauty and permanence. Next comes the creation of an individual self or a false identity with respect to the objects. Next, when the object recedes, there is a loss of an individual self. People suffer when they lose their individual self. They lose the power of concentration to focus on the real self. They simply lack the strength and resolve to focus on the real self. 

Peace - Its benefits:

Therefore, it is very important in our lives to guard our senses against sense objects, it is very important in our lives to be in peace and meditate, even for a short duration of time. It is very important to exercise restraint and say ‘no’ to every sensory corruption.

When we refrain from sensory corruption, we feel the following development in ourselves.

1.    We feel healthy. We become less prone to diseases.

2.    We feel our hot temperament is lost and become cool.

3.    We develop a genuine love and concern for others.

4.   We take up only useful activity rather than the activity which leads to sensory enjoyment.

5.   We feel positive and find our goals.

6.   We, at last, meditate and open up the higher realms of life and triumph over death.

How to Sustain Peace?

                So the obvious question is how to sustain peace? How to keep up peace? To keep peace one must prevent the mind from fragmentation. Too much of sense-impressions or too much of fretting of mind in external objects can result in mind fragmentation. The mind is a very delicate thing and is devised for a concentrated single stream of thought. When mind fragments, it loses the power of concentration and as a result, the mind and bodily energies are lost or go in vain. One example of mind fragmentation is too much surfing of internet and too much reading of news articles in a paper. The mind cannot follow all currents of thought and, as a result, fragments. So the first thing would be to stop the mind from fragmentation. This point is even discussed in Bhagavad Gita. (Vyavasayatmika Buddhi ekehe Kurunandana; Bahusaka hyanantaksha Buddhayo Avvyasayinaam Ch 2.41).

Mind fragmentation

                The next step would be to say ‘no’ to our past habits. Past habits related to sensory system keeps rising and it is our exercise to say ‘no’ to that. By this process, old habits are completely erased and mind is free from all sensory pulling towards objects. By cutting down the individual self, man broadens proportionally in universal self. By saying ‘no,’ our real character is formed. 

                After stopping the mind from fragmentation and after saying ‘no’ to our past habits, the next step would be to sit down and meditate. While meditating choose a place which is free from noise and keep the place clean. The other important point in meditation is the proximity of sense objects. Always keep yourself away from sense objects, when you are in meditation. This is the key to sustaining peace.

                Again, I would like to repeat these words, ’There is death when you open your senses, and there is immortality when you close your senses’.

Thank You.

               

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Why America needs the ideal of Mahatma Gandhi more than ever.

Civil War:

          It is said that when a nation becomes too powerful, and when there are no external threats to its existence, the nation dies by itself, by means of a civil war. The Charleston church shooting bears testimony to this fact, when 21-year-old Dylan Roof, the shooter, posed for a photograph with a confederate flag. 

Civil War

Civil war does not necessarily mean a powerful rebel warring-faction, with an ideology of its own, fighting a war with modern weapons. As warfare is constantly evolving, and when the freedom of the society is so unhindered, that anyone and everyone can possess a gun, and when it falls into the hands of the Psychopaths, the result is a civil war. 

The ideals:

          Where lies the problem? It is in basics. Society must be built upon a strong coherent ideal, and when the ideal crumbles, the nation disintegrates. American Society had very great ideals in the beginning, with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and other great patriots providing an ideal framework for the nation’s foundation. It immediately becomes manifest when the Americans proclaimed neutrality and did not side with France, in a war against Britain. Abraham Lincoln saved the union, and the nation fought for high ideals i.e., the emancipation of slavery and equality of man.

Washington and Abe

           These ideals which had hold the American society is slowly giving way to a degenerative form of chaos. People take the name of freedom to justify violence. The expression of freedom must be in the form of non-violence. Freedom and violence don't go together.

Founding Fathers of USA

             Today, the young American generation take to the killing at a very young age, in the form of shooting games, expressing freedom in the form of violence, bullying others, in the development of abnormalities, in the development of mental problems, and when they grow, they resort to violence, to express themselves. The nation has lost its ideal. The young generation, failed to understand the meaning of strength and weakness, failed to understand the meaning of freedom, failed to understand the meaning of love and life.

There is one man whose ideals resonates even today. I feel the man has found an antidote to violence. Every contemporary violent-society needs to embrace his philosophy and ideals to save themselves. He is none other than our Mahatma Gandhi. The gun-toting kids, mass shootings, racial hatreds, violence motivated by anger, will all vanish into thin air when they learn of this beautiful philosophy of non-violence. Below are the six quotes of Mahatma Gandhi, and is the medicine for every violent society to redeem themselves.

The Six quotes:

1. Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong.

2. Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.

3. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

4. An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.

5. Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love.

6. Where there is love there is life.

These ideals had been put to test by Mahatma Gandhi, under the most violent circumstances, and under the very nose of the British Empire, who were then the global superpower. And what happened at last was that a spinning wheel toppled a battle tank.

Mahatma Gandhi

  

Thank You.

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Alternate Meditation Techniques.

Mediation and sense impressions:

Meditation is Samadhi. In Samadhi, there are no ‘Vrittis’ or sense impressions. Meditation chiefly consists in reducing or lowering down the number of sense impressions, or roasting down the sense impressions, so that they lack the potential to create a desire-motivated action, resulting in suffering. When the sense impressions are thus eliminated, they fail to achieve any volition, thereby eliminating a potential desire-action, and the consequential suffering is thereby eliminated.

Great saints, who have eliminated the sense impressions completely, were able to remain absorbed in Samadhi for a long duration of time, even the bodily needs fail to bring them down. It is said that a person, who has attained Samadhi, will not be able to hold on to his body for not more than 21 days. It is only by great Avatars, who even after attaining Samadhi, were able to come down for the benefit of humanity.

Aspirants of spiritual life, struggle to reduce the number of sense impressions, which are haunting them. An aspirant will be able to spend long hours of time in meditation, only if the sense impressions doesn’t arise. What to do to prolong this meditative effort? And what to do at times, when we are not able to meditate? This is explained here.

Long Vs Short meditation:

It is said earlier that the key to meditation lies in minimizing the number of sense impressions. A person who has a large number of these impressions, and at the same time decides to sit for a long duration of time in meditation, ends in disaster. Because as soon as the mediation effort is over, the mind spirals down in a second and goes on enjoying the sense objects. The objective of meditation is defeated thereby.

Meditation

On the contrary, it is good, if a person puts his effort in eliminating sense impressions, even if he sits for meditation for a shorter duration of time. Both must be undertaken simultaneously. Both mediation and curbing sense impressions must go hand in hand.

How to reduce sense impressions?

The sense impressions, which are already in work, cannot be undone. But the sense impressions, which are yet to be formed, can be undone. How?

1.       Keep a distance from sense objects. This simple technique will save a great deal.

2.       Shut down the sense organs. This is another simple technique. Just close your eyes and ears and do not allow the sense impressions from taking shape.

3.       Run a consequential process in your mind. If one happens to encounter any sense impression, just take them to the logical conclusion. Sense objects – contact – sense impressions – volition – desire action – enjoyment – suffering – rebirth.

In this way, the sense impressions are eliminated, and mediation can be prolonged for a long duration of time. But still, if one is not able to sustain, there are some alternate techniques which will help them. They are very simple, just like breathing and walking. In fact, it is breathing and walking meditation techniques, which helps to prolong this effort.

Breathing Meditation:

                Breath and mind are interconnected. The more one is restrained, the other is automatically restrained. This is the principle. Control the mind, and you control your breath; control your breath, and you control your mind. This generally we call it as pranayama. It is a very simple breath-in and breath-out process can be learned from any meditation centers. This is for beginners.

                For a person, who has considerably brought down the sense impressions, even breathing becomes a meditation. Great saints meditate in every breath. They inhale all the sufferings of humanity and exhale peace. They literally take the sufferings of humanity through their breath and give peace in turn.

Inhale suffering and exhale peace.

                When we come in contact with these great saints, they will be able to penetrate through our breath and stall it, and thereby bringing peace to the mind. The person is not aware of it, but the saint knows what he has done. The person only experiences peace in the presence of the saint. Because the breath has penetrated the breath.

This is the technique – inhale all human sufferings and exhale peace.

Walking Meditation:.

                Buddhism strongly enforces this technique. It is a simple walking on a lawn or a garden or a busy road. The only condition is that a person must be alone. Take slow to medium steps in a rhythm. The focus must be on cutting down the non-self.

Walking Mediation

When walking 1) Think that you have given up the world completely. 2) Then, cut down the non-self, which then arises (when the world is completely given up, there is no reason for the objects to rise), i.e. the objects or desires, through ignorance, attributes itself to the self. 3) Send your peaceful thoughts to the world. By this process, the breath is automatically stalled, and one can enjoy the ensuing peace.

                This is the technique – 1. Cut down completely 2. Whatever then arises – cut down 3. Pray for peace.

Undercurrent meditation:

                This is a technique, which is very difficult to grasp. It is only for the advanced spiritual aspirants. This undercurrent meditation is to put your part of the mind in meditation all the time, below the surface and to put your other part of the mind on the surface engaging in day to day activities. An advanced aspirant will look normal from outside, doing all the activities just like an ordinary person, but deep beneath the surface of the mind, he is seated in meditation.

Calm below and activity above

                The spiritual aspirant too gets angry and laughs etc. But it is only for a moment, for they are not real and only a feigning. Whereas, for an ordinary person, anger, and other emotions are real since they are connected with objects. For the spiritual aspirant, since there are not objects to hold on, all the emotions disappear in a moment. There is no substantial reality to sustain these emotions.

                This is the technique – Put your mind to meditation below and do all your activities above.

I can talk meditation, I can walk meditation, I can laugh meditation...

Thank You.

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10 Steps to Spirituality.

1.       Do not injure.

2.       Do not form sense-impressions.

3.       Do not be swayed by joys and sorrows.

4.       Cut off all attachment.

5.       Do not complain.

6.       Do not feel helpless.

7.       Exercise daily.

8.       Be Truthful in work.

9.       Meditate and pray for others.

10.    Be the last for liberation.

1.       Do not injure:

Non-injury is to refrain from doing harm to the body of others. The body is precious not for the fact that we live and enjoy through it, but for the fact that the highest spiritual illumination (Samadhi) is attained through it. Therefore, body ought not to be harmed, for the fact, that it bars the spiritual progress of beings. Highest non-violence is the basis of true religion. Therefore, do not injure.

Non-Violence

2.       Do not form sense-impressions:

Sense-impressions implies death, and death implies rebirth, and rebirth implies suffering. Unless all sense impressions are stopped, Samadhi cannot be attained. Sense impressions simply draw us out towards action, motivated by desires, which is centered on the idea of body, and which creates additional karma, and which at last brings suffering.  Therefore, do not form any sense-impressions.

Yoga is stopping the sense-impressions from taking shape.

3.       Do not be swayed by joys and sorrows:

Our lives are a constant oscillation between joys and sorrows. Joys and sorrows are always attached to a system or a structure or an object in which we are involved in. By this constant oscillation, we lose our spiritual end in sight and get lost in the quagmire of the cycle of joys and sorrows. We then become a finite entity, confined to a body or an object or a system or a structure. Therefore, don’t get swayed by joys and sorrows.

Don't be swayed.

4.       Cut off all attachment:

This is the root of all our problems - attachment. We get attached and receive blows, and yet we could not retreat. Attachment is an idea rooted in the false-self that doesn’t exist, and that is the reason why we find sometimes our life appear like a mirage as if it were a shadow. Attachment is nothing but an emotional layer, clinging to a false-self for survival. As soon as the cover of false-self is blown, man loses his objective-identity and suffers. Attachment = Suffering; therefore, be detached.

5.        Do not complain:

Complaining is a sign of weakness. We create our own lives, and, therefore, we are responsible for what we are now. Always remember that there is no hindrance in our lives, expect that we bring in. We form goals, we then block it, and then we complain. Therefore, stop complaining, clear the blocks by yourselves, and steer towards the goal.

6.       Do not feel helpless:

Helplessness is a sign of weakness. Helplessness indicates that we are obsessed with our own selves and that we lack a broad vision for humanity. Start doing things to yourself and the whole world will follow you. The first person who is going to help you in your life is yourself. Therefore, do not feel helpless.

Do not feel Helpless

7.       Exercise daily:

Body, mind, and spirit are interconnected. The body has its own basic functionality and basic needs like food, sleep and work. Everything must be tuned to an optimum level so that our minds are focused on higher planes of spirituality. Exercising is like refreshing our body, which in turn helps in forming a posture or asana, from which we can consistently focus on higher planes of spirituality. Therefore, exercise to meditate.

Run everyday

8.       Be Truthful in work:

This life is nothing but a test of truthfulness. Why should we be truthful? The answer is simple – This life system is based on truthfulness. Truthfulness needs complete detachment and even demands complete sacrifice. Sacrifice for nothing? By Sacrifice, we grow from a finite to an infinite stature.

Truth alone Triumphs

9.       Meditate and pray for others:

The solution for the problems of our lives must be universal. Any spiritual solution must be universal, otherwise, it is merely a farce. Therefore, the problem of others is the problem of yours as well. When men, animals, and the world suffer, we cannot simply remain quiet, for it is our responsibility to resolve it. Therefore, meditate and pray for others.

Meditate and Pray

10.   Be the last for liberation:

Always help others, and be the last even if it mean death. Do not take on privileges even in liberation. Help others to go through the process and be the last in liberation.

              

Thank You.

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