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

  

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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...

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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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