The Four Things Which Bring Great Peace Of Mind.

1. Purity:

There is no other thing in the world which brings great peace of mind, great faith, and great confidence than the purity of the mind. All beings are innately pure. Only ignorance veils this purity. What brings great suffering in our lives is this ignorance. Never give up that faith in your purity, which is inherently yours, and whatsoever trouble that comes across the way, never give up that. What do you mean by purity? It is the faith in the Atman. It is the faith that you are the Atman and not the body. Any spiritual advancement along the direction of the Atman brings us close to the purity. Any downward degeneration brings us to the level of animals. One has to disengage from all sensual enjoyments to attain this state. 'Zero desires or no Vritti or sense impressions' - a person should strive hard to attain this state. I am sure you can be confident of anything and even dare death with purity.

Pure as the white flower.

2. Meditation:

Meditation, at least an hour a day, gives great peace of mind. Meditation is finding the peace within yourselves. Finding the real peace within is a great challenge, as people often take recourse to temples, books, and lectures, to find it. The real peace is within, always within and not without. Find a lonely place for meditation, and remember that meditation is not a kind of advertisement to the world.

Why should we meditate? To understand meditation, we need to understand the underlying philosophy behind it. Our real nature is always pure, as we have seen already, and all suffering is because of entanglement in nature or Prakriti. Meditation is the process of withdrawing ourselves from Prakriti. Detachment is the key to meditation. Men in the world die of attachment to objects. Detach yourselves from everything and be perfectly free. Once you start meditating, with the prerequisites fulfilled, you will find a great peace within. Meditation is the route to exit in this world of illusion and suffering. Exit as early as possible, because the world is not real.

Meditate to Exit. 

3. Detachment:

The only thing which hurts us deeply in our lives is the attachment. Attachment and love don't go together. Attachment intends 'I', whereas sacrifice is the basis of love. We confuse attachment with love and suffer in our whole lives. The emotions are paralyzing sometimes, making us forget our true nature. Don't judge things on emotions, because they always make us weak. Detachment is the key to peaceful life. Be strong in what you are and help others in whatever possible way you can, but never give way to weakness. To develop this attitude takes a great deal of experience, practice, and time. It doesn't come in a single day. Detach yourselves and save yourselves.

Be free.

4. Prayer:

The first prayer in our spiritual life should be this "Oh God! If I have done any kind of inconvenience or any kind of harm, knowingly or unknowingly, to anyone, please forgive me." Praying for others gives great peace of mind than praying for our own. There are millions of people who suffer every day, and it is our sole responsibility of ours to solve those problems. Our problems pale into insignificance when compared to the suffering humanity. Therefore, pray, pray, and pray for others.

Pray for peace

These are the four things, according to me, gives great peace of mind. What do you say?

Thank You.

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Light a Lamp.

The lamp is the symbol of 'Atman' or the highest divine principle in man. The lamp is a symbol of peace, prosperity, and happiness. The light of the lamp dispels all darkness in our lives. The light of the lamp dispels all miseries in our lives. Therefore, it goes without saying that it is the duty of every household members to light a lamp in their homes.

On two festive occasions, we do light the lamps i.e. Karthigai and Deepavali. These two occasions present a matter of great joy to everyone. Young people eagerly lighting lamps in their households and the resulting glow of the lights reflecting on the facade of every home is a great sight to behold. The joy of the children knew no bounds. We keep a steady watch over the lamps all the time and make sure that the oil is properly supplied to the lamps. We play around the lamps, and the first timers are particularly ecstatic over the prospect of lighting the lamps.

First times - delighted.

Nowadays, we use a kind of wax lamps and some designer lamps, but nothing comes near to the traditional earthen lamp. We must make sure that we do not forget this great tradition which our saints had granted us. Nowadays, we find a large number of palatial homes shrouded in darkness. A home which is devoid of lamps is a home of misery.

Karthigai.

The best time to light the lamps is during the sunset hours. During the sunset hours, the mind remains naturally in peace. The mind remains in a higher state without any effort on our part. This spiritual hour lingers for an hour or two. It is during these hours that we must light the lamps in our households. We may also meditate on the light as the symbol of the inner 'Atman'. The light burns all our mental dross and impurities. This light is a great redeemer.

Light a lamp in temples.

So, what are you waiting for? Pick some earthen lamp from the nearby store and purchase some cotton wicks and a bottle of oil. Light at least two earthen lamps in front of your house and see what difference it makes. Light a one in the meditation room, and light a one in the puja room. You will be surprised to find your neighbours getting delighted and will enquire about the lamps. Also, don't forget to light a lamp when you visit temples. 

The lamp is the guiding light in our lives. Therefore, light a lamp for knowledge, prosperity, peace, and liberation.

Thank You.


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The Four Animals in Man.

“Stand firmly and do not flinch in thy daily contest and especially beware of three beasts.

In the morning contend against sloth, at noon against gluttony, in the evening against carnal lust.

The dog will sleep long, the wolf will eat a great deal, and the ass will be wanton in lying down.

Rouse up the dog with a whip, beat the wolf with a staff and scourge the ass with thorns.” 

- Thomas. A. Kempis.

This is one of the popular quotes of Thomas. A. Kempis, the author of the famous 'Imitation of the Christ', one of the most widely read books in the Christian domain. He says that in our daily lives, we have to contend against three beasts namely dog, wolf, and Ass. I would like to add one more animal to the list namely pig. What do these animals represent in our lives? We will see how we behave like these animals under certain circumstances.

The Dog:

We behave like a dog when we sleep too much in the morning hours. The dog spends most of the morning hours in a heavy slumber. Even the scorching heat from the sunlight fail to deter this creature from sleeping. One of the worst thing that we do in our lives is to sleep like this dog, in the morning hours. We sleep until we are no longer able to bear the heat and the sunlight that comes through our windows. Some advanced creatures even sleep through this heat and the light, under the blanket. We ignore even the warning calls from our mothers. We simply behave like dogs.

Dog

Too much of sleep makes a man dull headed. We feel drowsy throughout the day. We forget our duties and go late everywhere. We feel a lack of energy even to do a small work. Too much of sleep is an indication of lack of proper goal orientation in our lives.

The best thing that we can do is to wake up at least an hour before sunrise. The best part is to begin with meditation because of the peaceful atmosphere prevailing in the environment. We can then move on to physical exercises and cleaning our living rooms and so on. Life becomes successful when we begin to use our morning hours in a successful manner. Therefore, we have to shake up this dog that is sleeping in us.

The Wolf:

The wolf is well known for its insatiable appetite. It can even take down an entire buffalo under its belly. We too become like wolves when we eat anything and everything indiscriminately and inordinately. It brings us to the level of the animals.

Wolf appetite

Food has a great impact on our minds, and consecutively in our lives as well. The quantity and the quality of the food matters a lot. We should not go to the extremes in the matter of food. We should avoid taking too much, nor too less. We have to strike a right balance when it comes to the quantity of the food taken. The extreme levels bring us to the level of the body. Man, in order to progress higher in the spiritual life, should overcome the idea of enjoyment in food. Therefore, we have to shed this wolf that is hidden in us.

The Ass:

The ass or a donkey is synonymous with the carnal desires, in a man. Man cannot remain engaged in carnal desires for long, because of the presence of inherent divine principle. The carnal pleasures can give nothing but pain and suffering. The carnal desires lead directly to death. And further, it leads us to consequent rebirth. Desire - enjoyment - suffering - death - rebirth - this is the cycle. One has to break up this animal to break up the above cycle.

Ass

The Pig:

Where do you find a pig? In a gutter. Where do you find a drunkard man? In a gutter. We become like pigs and remain in the gutter when we are intoxicated by liquor and other addictive substances. Too much of spirit (alcohol) is not good for the spirit (Soul). A life of a drunkard is a pathetic one. Under the inebriated condition, a man forgets himself. A drunkard hurls abuses and picks up petty quarrels. Therefore, one has to give up this pig life.

Drunkard or a pig?

     These are the four animals which we have to contend against, in our daily lives. Only when we overcome these animal tendencies, we become a man. Spiritual life begins only when we become a man first.

Thank You.

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How to Transform Yourself into Light.

We are only aware of the light produced by the transformation of the energies. But, there is an inner light which only a few are aware of. Only through this inner light, we are able to perceive this outside world. This inner light pervades our mind and all the organs of our body, but at the same time, it is completely independent of it. This light appears as a witness to all the functionalities of the body and the mind. This light is divine and forms our real nature. This light is of the nature of peace, joy and permanence. It is the light of the Atman.

This is the light which appears as a halo around the great spiritual personalities. This is the light which the ancient and modern seers had prayed for thousands of years, in the form of this beautiful verse.

ऊँ असतोम सद्गमय, तमसोमा ज्योतिर्गमय ।

मृत्योर्मा अमृतंगमया, ऊँ शान्ति शान्ति शान्तिः ।।

Om, lead me from unreal to the real; lead me from darkness to light; lead me from death to immortality. Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

If the light is our real nature, then why are we not able to perceive it? We are not able to perceive because we are shrouded in ignorance. The ignorance covers our real being and prevents us from seeing it.

“…Embodied beings, however, are bewildered because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge.” (Gita 5.15)

Therefore, how to know our true being and transform ourselves into this light. This can be done by the following three steps.

Step1 - Transformation from a personality to a principle:

As we progress in spiritual life we become more of a principle than a person. For example, Swami Vivekananda became synonymous with the principle of the 'Atman', Buddha became synonymous with the principle of ‘Enlightenment’, and Mahatma Gandhi became synonymous with the principle of ‘Non-Violence’, and so on. All these personalities though live in the body become the living principles. We have to take note that these principles are eternal and cannot be destroyed. As a result, they transcend the time and space and become omniscient. So, this is the first step i.e., the transformation of a personality into a principle.

Step 2 - Elimination of 'Chitta Vrittis':

The next step involves the elimination of 'Chitta Vrittis'. The Chitta Vrittis are 'sense impressions', which prompts us to an action motivated by desires culminating in misery. The Chitta Vrittis are responsible for rebirth. Even a Vritti of an ice cream or a chocolate can produce a rebirth. In order to transform oneself into a light one has to eliminate all Chitta Vrittis.

The Chitta Vrittis are responsible for the so-called 'coming into being or existence'. We exist and come into appearance because of these Vrittis. The body is a kind of a gross Vritti, whereas thoughts accompanied by sense-impressions form the subtle Vrittis. When the subtle Vrittis are eliminated, the body has no scope for coming into being.

Step 3 – The final resolution:

            This is the phase where one transforms into light. The Gross body, when eliminated of its Vrittis, gets resolved into subtle elements, and the subtle elements get resolved back into its causal form. Now, the dissolution of the causal form in the light takes place.

    After reading this you may feel that it is highly improbable to do so. It looks like a fiction, but it is completely possible. Many saints in the past have done that. And one particular saint is our ‘Ramalinga Swamigal’, who dissolved himself into light. During his final departure, he locked himself in a room and disappeared with the body altogether.

The great Ramalinga Swamigal.

    It is a matter of great happiness to be a light rather than being entangled in the sufferings of the body.  Therefore, transform yourself into light.

Thank You.

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The Evolution of the Futuristic Sense Organs for a Rapid Spiritual Illumination.

Men are not to be blamed for the lack of spiritual illumination. It stems from the inherent defect in the human configuration. The human configuration is made in such a way that it is always made to looks without (outside). The Katha Upanishad, one of the foremost principal Upanishad, points out this defect. It says,

“The self-existent (God) has rendered the senses defective that they go outward, and hence man sees the external and not the internal self. Only some wise men desirous of attaining immortality turns his eyes in, and beholds the inner Atman.” (Katha Upanishad - 2.4.1)

If the human configuration and the sense organs are made to look within, then there would be a large number of spiritually illumined people in this world. Why only one Buddha? There would be so many Buddhas in this world. Therefore, the problem is with the human configuration of the sense organs.

The human beings are the result of the evolution of minuscule organisms for billions of years. In fact, there were so many sub-species of human beings like the Homo habilis, the Homo erectus, and the Homo neanderthalensis, differing in DNA, brain size, and the size of the bodies. All these sub-species became extinct except the Homo sapiens (the modern human beings). Also, the human beings are in a constant state of evolution even today.

The Evolution of Homo Sapiens.

The sense organs play a significant role in the evolution of the human beings. In the primitive man, there was a complete orientation of the sense organs towards the external world. It was 100%. The sense organs remained sharp, keen, and sensitive to the dangers of the nature outside. The sense organs were then purely used for the preservation of the human body. As a result, the life of the primitive men was full of animalistic tendencies. Men experienced 'maximum suffering' in that life.

As mankind progressed into a society, the sense organs were utilized for higher pursuits. Men begin to investigate the forces behind nature, formulated laws and found solutions for the problems caused by nature. Men made rapid strides in all fields. Nevertheless, the sense organs could not be withdrawn completely inside. The suffering, therefore, could not be eliminated completely.

In future, with the development of robotics and automated technologies, men will become free to pursue the intellectual and the spiritual goals. The Robots, drones, and automated systems will then make up for the services of the mankind.  The future has only the scope for intellectual and spiritual pursuits. In future, there would be no scope for war. The humanity will stand united as one whole unit.

Future Robots.

The progress not only takes place in the technological sphere but in the evolution of the sense organs as well. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that in the Kali Yuga, men remain engaged in food or in the sense organs. In future, they may be pushed to secondary roles. Mankind, because of the experience of suffering in the billions of years of evolution, will be able to mutate and will be able to reconfigure the sense organs so as to look within.

Experience -> suffering -> mutation - this is the process of evolution. The physical configuration of men will then undergo a complete change to accommodate this mutation. This mutation helps in achieving the spiritual illumination. At present, with the current sense configuration, it is difficult for men to understand the ‘Atman’. Men, in this configuration, need a hard practice of self-control and sense-control to achieve liberation. That is why only a few men could break through the barriers and achieve illumination. The future will see an enlightened mankind, full of spiritual illumination. And that complete illumination of mankind will mark the end of the cycle of this Yuga (age).

Thank You.

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What Hinduism Failed to Learn from Buddhism.

*The views presented here are of my own and not the order which I belong to. I am sorry if this post hurt any religious sentiments of our friends. 

The Hindu religion failed to incorporate many important aspects of Buddhism, with the exception of the fact that we declared him (Buddha) as an Avatar in a typical Hindu manner of idolization, and the result of which we are bearing the brunt at present times. The religion which is able to translate the highest ideals and which is able to incorporate it into the society is a successful one. The religion which fails to do so will work only in mountains, forests, and in monasteries. The highest aspect of Hindu religion, i.e. the Advaita philosophy can be summed up in one word - 'Oneness'. The Brahman is one without a second. Nowhere in the history of religions had oneness been taught so boldly and vigorously than the Hindu religion.

But the highest ideal failed to translate itself into the social level. The progression of caste remained the basis of Hindu religion. In the beginning, people of all caste had the entitlement to attain Brahminhood but later the structure became rigid. The caste system in India became more of heredity than by character. As a result, people of lower classes were barred from religious doors. They were kept in the dark about the religious ideals. More brutal methods of punishment were incorporated upon the lower classes of the society.

Then came the Buddhism. Buddha opened the doors of spirituality to one and all. Everybody had the right to spiritual pursuit regardless of the caste and the strata in the society. This paved the way for the shattering of the caste structure based on heredity. The society based on no caste became one of the key ingredients of Buddhism. The Hinduism received a tremendous jolt in its conscience, and, later, during the downfall of Buddhism and during the re-emergence of Hinduism, it failed to learn the lessons from the latter. The rigid caste structure was incorporated again into the society.

Buddha and his disciples.

India though saw its golden period during the Gupta dynasty fell from its grace during the subsequent periods. The caste based society had always developed deep fissures within. As a result, they failed to present themselves as a united front. A society which is not united will not be able to defend itself against an external aggression. As a result, India became a subjugated nation under the invaders from the west. The Mohammedan rulers exploited this fissure; the British rulers exploited this fissure, and so on. We remained as slaves for thousands of years.

The British East India Company.

Even after independence we are no different. The Indian nation is still clueless about the origin of the conflicts. Even now, in 2016, we had a Jat agitation for quota in Haryana. The agitators blocked all waterways and roadways and went on a violent spree throughout Haryana. We had a Patel agitation for quota in Gujrat. The violence spread to many cities and again claimed many innocent lives. We had Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan and so on. We are still clueless about how many agitations are still left. The surprising thing about quota agitation is that all these castes wanted to demote themselves in status so that they will get government benefits. They were made a laughing stock in newspapers across the world. Therefore, the progression of caste in the social level is only a failure. It failed to unite us into a single race.

Jat agitation in Haryana, 2016.

We are proud that India is the largest democracy in the world. But we must understand the meaning and the workings behind the real democracy. Democracy is based on social equality and freedom. In India, democracy hinges on a caste vote bank. Most of the political parties and political leaders are but caste representatives. They ensure that the people remain divided so that they may remain in power all the time. The outcome of such caste based politics would be an uneven development and an atmosphere charged with tension and mutual suspicion.

The religious conversions thrive in such an atmosphere. The missionaries target mainly the backward classes and underprivileged people. Now is the time for the Hindu religion to reform itself and present a united front. The first thing would the elimination of caste certificates. Everything must come to the one word 'Hindu'. Also, quota must be based on economic backwardness rather than caste. Every Hindu must be entitled to Brahminhood. Some political parties in the south tried their best to pull down the ideal of Brahminhood under the garb of atheism but is a failure.

The next thing which we failed to learn from Buddhism is the stopping of this cruel animal sacrifices. Ahimsa remains the basis of all religions.  The practice of proper Hindu religion begins with the practice of Ahimsa. Ahimsa is one of the preliminary requisites of Ashtanga Yoga. But in India and in Nepal, the animal sacrifices in the goriest forms still exist. In a festival for Goddesses (Gadhimai festival) in Nepal, an estimate suggests that around 10,000 buffaloes and 1, 50, 000 goats were sacrificed. (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/29/world/asia/nepal-gadhimai-ritual-slaughter/)

Animal sacrifices in Nepal.

Also, there is a need for a proper religious education in India. The Hindu religion is the best when it comes to the broadness and accommodation of various philosophical thoughts. This gave rise to a maze of scriptures and reading of which will take a lifetime. What we need is the simplification of the process of study. For example, Buddhism begins and ends in four noble truths. It is simple and easy to grasp. The higher philosophical speculations of Nagarjuna and other thinkers comes later. The Bhagavad Gita must be made the central key to unlocking the treasures in Hinduism. The Upanishads and yoga must form the basis of proper religious education. Otherwise, the confusion prevails as to what exactly the Hinduism is. I am not sure as to how of us have actually read and understood the concepts of Brahman and Atman in Bhagavad Gita. This is the state of our religion in India.

The Hindu religion still remains mired in the caste system. We have learned nothing from Buddhism and the result of which is a fractured community based on caste lines. We need a lot of introspection to bring change to our community.

Thank You.

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The Real Visions of Life.

            There are many countries in the world which had taken up the scientific pursuit as the national agenda. These countries spend billions of dollars pumping money into research and development, and in developing new technologies. These technologies, then find their way into our daily lives, making it simpler and easier. These technologies have benefited millions of people across the world. Nevertheless, they don’t make up the complete solution which the humanity is looking for. They only make up the partial solution in our lives.

The motto of all these technological companies remains the same i.e 'making a perfect world'. Goodness, simplicity, purity, love etc., are some of the commonly used words in their slogans. They tend to offer a "smooth and comfortable experience" reducing the pain and drudgery involved in the work. The goal of these companies remains the same as the spiritual goal of human life i.e. to reduce the pain and suffering. But these technologies, though they offer a solution, comes with a side effect. First, the solution which they offer is for the senses. And around the sensory experiences are build the technological world. All sensory experiences come with a limitation. One cannot have an everlasting or an 'infinite mode' of sensual experience. What happens when we try to do that? The result would be mental derangement.

Making lives easier.

That is the reason we find, in the most advanced of the scientific nations, a large number of patients with mental disorders. On the flowery side there are malls, cafes, theaters, and casinos, and on the other side, there are mental asylums, prisons, and drug cartels. The society then becomes an exclusive and divisive zones. The other side of the story always remains hidden, shrouded in darkness. Thus, the spiritual solution through technology remains a failure.

Mexican soldier in a drug war.

The technologies fail to cover up the real visions of life. The real visions of life can never be patched up. They cannot be hidden under the garb of technologies. These visions present a real challenge to our notions in our lives. These visions are everywhere, only we need a discerning eye to see them. Old women wailing and weeping, and begging for money in a railway platform, a man with a missing arm, children in rags roaming around the traffic signals, men with terminal diseases, a dead body in a mortuary and so on. The technologies cannot offer a 'smooth and comfortable' experience to a dead body. Neither can they stop the natural phenomena (old age, disease, and death) from happening. They can, at best, postpone the events, but not its eventuality.

Therefore, do not take pleasure in the advances of the material society, for they do not offer a complete solution. One can have all the fine sensory experiences, but one has to swallow the bitter pill as well. Only the spiritual solution is complete. If offers a solution for old age, disease, and death. Do not try to run away from the real visions of life, for some other day, it comes back haunting you. Therefore, challenge yourselves to find the real solution of human life.

A complete solution.

Thank You.

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