Take Charge Of Your Body...............................Study your body & Diet to find what suits you the best.
There is a wonderful breathing exercise you can perform to aid the digestion and elimination of food by stimulating the internal fire. Breathe in through your nose a normal breath, and out through your nose very fast while pulling the stomach in. Then relax your stomach and again breathe in naturally and then out quickly by pulling the stomach in to force the air out of the lungs. Do this for one minute, then rest for one minute, then do it again. Then rest for a minute and do it again. About three repetitions is generally enough to conquer indigestion or constipation. This pranayama amplifies the heat of the body and stimulates the fire that digests food and eliminates waste. It is especially good for those who are rather sedentary and do a lot of intellectual work, whose energies are in the intellect and may not be addressing their digestive needs adequately.
Take charge of your own body and see that it is working right, is healthy and you are eating right. If you do overindulge, then compensate by fasting occasionally and performing physical disciplines. Most people have certain cravings and desires which they permit themselves to indulge in, whether it be sweets or rich, exotic foods or overly spiced foods. Discovering and moderating such personal preferences and desires is part of the spiritual path. If you find you overindulge in jelly beans, cashew nuts, licorice, chocolate, varieties of soft drinks or exotic imported coffee, moderate those appetites. Then you are controlling the entire desire nature of the instinctive mind in the process. That is a central process of spiritual unfoldment to control and moderate such desires.
The rishis of yore taught us to restrain desire. They used the words restrain and moderate rather than suppress or eliminate. We must remember that to restrain and moderate desire allows the energy which is restrained and moderated to enliven higher chakras, giving rise to creativity and intuition that will actually better mankind, one's own household and the surrounding community.
The rishis have given us great knowledge to help us know what to do. Study your body and your diet and find out what works for you. Find out what foods give you indigestion and stop eating those things. But remember that eating right, in itself, is not spiritual life. In the early stages seekers often become obsessed with finding the perfect diet. That is a stage they have to go through in learning. They have to find out what is right for them. But it should balance out to a simple routine of eating to live, not living to eat.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Lord Ganesha Depicted in the form of "AUM"...........
"Aum Sri Mahaganapathaye Namaha"
This Year "Lorrd Ganesh Chathurthi Puja on 23 Aug 2009
Why Lord Ganesha is depicted in the form of Symbol AUM ?
Before the creation of the present Universe there was a great deluge, pralaya. It had destroyed the Universe as it existed then. According to Hinduism, creation has no beginning or end – the endless cycle continues. After a great deluge there is Shanti or peace. This peace is broken the sound AUM – the sound which emanates from the Supreme Soul.
The Ganapatya Cult, or the followers of Ganesha, believes that AUM or Pranava Mantra the symbol of Brahman is embodied in the form of Ganesha. It is believed that Ganesh is the first word or the first cause.
This is the reason why occasionally Ganesha is depicted in the form of symbol ‘AUM.’
Each deity in Hinduism has its own favourite flowers and leaves and they are used by Hindus during worship and while performing pukes on festivals. All festivals and rituals in Hindu religion begin with Ganesh Pooja. Red coloured flowers are the favourite of Lord Ganesha.Flowers and leaves used for Ganesh Puja.
Here is a list of flowers and leaves that are offered while praying to Lord Ganesha:
Red Flowers:
Any usual red colour flower used in Hindu rituals.
Durva Grass is an important offering to Ganesh. Especially in South India, you will find vendors selling garlands of Durva outside Ganesh Temples. It is known as arugam pul in Tamil, Dhub, Durva and Haritali in Hindi (North India). Bermuda or Bahama Grass is the English name.
Another important flower offered is the Milkweed flower. It is known as Arka in Hindi and Eruku or Erukkum Poo in South India. Jilledi is the name used in Eastern India.
How to perform Ganesh Chathurthi puja at home............................
Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi is one of the most colourful and widely celebrated festivals in India. Large number of people observe Ganesha Chaturthi poojas at home. Here is an explanation on how to perform Ganesha puja at home as mentioned in Hindu scriptures.
Ganesha puja on the Chaturthi day is usually performed at noon but nowadays people perform it when all the family members are present.
Requirements for Ganesh Puja:-
• A Clay image of Lord Ganesha.
• Red flowers
• Druva Grass blades
• Modak (jaggery filled sweet)
• Coconut
• Red chandan (Sandalwood paste)
• Incense and agarbathis
• First clean the house and take a bath.
• A Clay image of Lord Ganesha is installed in a raised platform.
• Pray to Lord Ganesh and you can recite mantras or bhajans dedicated
to Lord Ganesha.
• Next step is to invoke Ganesha into the image. This is known as pran-prathishta. The Pran Prathista mantra in Sanskrit to be invoked is found in the Rig Veda and is part of Ganesh Suktha.
"ganananh tva ganapatim havamahe kavim kavinam - upamashravastamam |
jyeshhtharajam brahmanan.h brahmanaspata A nah shrivnvannutibhih sida sadanam || (Rig Veda 2.23.1)"
"ni shhu sida ganapate ganeshhu tvamahurvipratamam kavinam |
na rite tvat.h kriyate kinchanare mahamarkam maghavan.h chitramarcha || (Rig Veda 10.112.9)"
We invoke You, O Ganapati of the ganas (Lord Shiva attendants), Who are Brahmana-spati of the brahmas (prayers), the wisest among the wise, Who abound in treasure beyond all measure, the most brilliant one. Do listen to our prayers, come with Your blessings and assurances of protection into our home, and be seated. (Rig Veda 2.23.1)
Sit down among the worshippers, O Ganapati, the best sage among the sages. Without You nothing can be done here or far. Accept with honor, O wealthy One, our great and variegated hymns of praise. (Rig Veda 10.112.9)
•Now Ganesha is installed in the idol and one can perform arati and light the lamps and perform the shhodashopachara, which are 16 forms of paying tribute to Ganesha. (This ritual is usually performed by the priests.)
• Offer 21 blades of Druva Grass.
• Offer 21 modakas
• Offer red flowers
• Apply a tilak using red Sandalwood paste.
• Break the coconut or just keep it along with the idol. You can also
keep fried grains. (The food of the rat – the vehicle of Ganesha).
• You can also recite the 108 salutations dedicated to Lord Ganesha or
read the Ganesha Upanishad or just simply pray.
The number 21 signifies - the five organs of perception, five organs of action, five vital airs (pranas), five elements, and the mind.
While performing Ganesha Puja at home, you can always be flexible. The strict rituals are meant for Vedic priests. All you need be careful is to perform the pujas clean body and clean mind.
Pomegranate leaves and flowers are also offered in many places.
Another important flower and leaf offered is the Sanku Pushpam or Conch flower.
Leaves and flowers of Screw Pine are also offered. It is known as Ketaki or Kedgi in Hindi and Kaita in South India.
There are also other local flowers and leaves that are used like the Naga leaves.
Tulsi leaves and flowers are not generally used in Ganesh Puja. But it is used during Vinayaka Chaturthi or Ganesh Puja.
Its also extremely good to chant the Ganapathi Seersha Upanishad verses during Ganesh Chathurthi puja and reproduced below for the benefit of the beloved readers......................
[Ganapathi Atharva Seersha is a part of Atharvana Veda. It is classified as an Upanishad and not as a chant. But this is considered universally as the greatest and most effective prayer addressed to Lord Sri. Ganesha.
This is also called Gana Upanishad or Ganapthi Seersha Upanishad,]
OM Namasthe Ganapathaye Thwameva prathyaksham thathwamasi
Thwameva kevalam karthasi.
Thwameva kevalam Dharthasi
Thwameva Kevalam Harthasi
Thwameva sarvam khalvidam brahmasi,
Thwam sakshath athmasi nithyam
Hritham Vachmi. Sathyam Vachmi
Sathyam Vachmi. . Ava vaktharam.
Ava srotharam. Ava datharam.
Ava dhatharam, Ava noochana mava sishyam.
Ava paschathath Ava purasthath
Ava utharotharath . Ava dakshinathath.
Ava chordhwathath. Ava adharathath.
SArvatho maam pahi, pahi samanthath.
Sarva Jagad idham thwatho jaayathe.
Sarva Jagad idham thwatha sthishtathi.
Sarva Jagad idham thwayee laya meshyathi.
Sarva jagad idham thwayee prathyethi,
Thwam bhoomir aapo analo anilo nabha.
Thwam chathwari vak padhani
Thwam gunathrayatheetha,
Thwam avastha thrayatheetha,
Thwam deha thrayatheetha,
Thwam kala thrayatheetha,
Thwam moola dhara sthitho aasi nithyam,
Thwam shakthi thrayathmaka,
Thwam yogino dhyayathi nithyam,
Thwam brahma thwam vishnu
thwam, Rudhra thwam, indra
thwam, agnis- thwam, Vayu
thwam soorya thwam chandrama
thwam, Brahma bhoorbhuva swarom
Aum Aum Aum
This Year "Lorrd Ganesh Chathurthi Puja on 23 Aug 2009
Why Lord Ganesha is depicted in the form of Symbol AUM ?
Before the creation of the present Universe there was a great deluge, pralaya. It had destroyed the Universe as it existed then. According to Hinduism, creation has no beginning or end – the endless cycle continues. After a great deluge there is Shanti or peace. This peace is broken the sound AUM – the sound which emanates from the Supreme Soul.
The Ganapatya Cult, or the followers of Ganesha, believes that AUM or Pranava Mantra the symbol of Brahman is embodied in the form of Ganesha. It is believed that Ganesh is the first word or the first cause.
This is the reason why occasionally Ganesha is depicted in the form of symbol ‘AUM.’
Each deity in Hinduism has its own favourite flowers and leaves and they are used by Hindus during worship and while performing pukes on festivals. All festivals and rituals in Hindu religion begin with Ganesh Pooja. Red coloured flowers are the favourite of Lord Ganesha.Flowers and leaves used for Ganesh Puja.
Here is a list of flowers and leaves that are offered while praying to Lord Ganesha:
Red Flowers:
Any usual red colour flower used in Hindu rituals.
Durva Grass is an important offering to Ganesh. Especially in South India, you will find vendors selling garlands of Durva outside Ganesh Temples. It is known as arugam pul in Tamil, Dhub, Durva and Haritali in Hindi (North India). Bermuda or Bahama Grass is the English name.
Another important flower offered is the Milkweed flower. It is known as Arka in Hindi and Eruku or Erukkum Poo in South India. Jilledi is the name used in Eastern India.
How to perform Ganesh Chathurthi puja at home............................
Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi is one of the most colourful and widely celebrated festivals in India. Large number of people observe Ganesha Chaturthi poojas at home. Here is an explanation on how to perform Ganesha puja at home as mentioned in Hindu scriptures.
Ganesha puja on the Chaturthi day is usually performed at noon but nowadays people perform it when all the family members are present.
Requirements for Ganesh Puja:-
• A Clay image of Lord Ganesha.
• Red flowers
• Druva Grass blades
• Modak (jaggery filled sweet)
• Coconut
• Red chandan (Sandalwood paste)
• Incense and agarbathis
• First clean the house and take a bath.
• A Clay image of Lord Ganesha is installed in a raised platform.
• Pray to Lord Ganesh and you can recite mantras or bhajans dedicated
to Lord Ganesha.
• Next step is to invoke Ganesha into the image. This is known as pran-prathishta. The Pran Prathista mantra in Sanskrit to be invoked is found in the Rig Veda and is part of Ganesh Suktha.
"ganananh tva ganapatim havamahe kavim kavinam - upamashravastamam |
jyeshhtharajam brahmanan.h brahmanaspata A nah shrivnvannutibhih sida sadanam || (Rig Veda 2.23.1)"
"ni shhu sida ganapate ganeshhu tvamahurvipratamam kavinam |
na rite tvat.h kriyate kinchanare mahamarkam maghavan.h chitramarcha || (Rig Veda 10.112.9)"
We invoke You, O Ganapati of the ganas (Lord Shiva attendants), Who are Brahmana-spati of the brahmas (prayers), the wisest among the wise, Who abound in treasure beyond all measure, the most brilliant one. Do listen to our prayers, come with Your blessings and assurances of protection into our home, and be seated. (Rig Veda 2.23.1)
Sit down among the worshippers, O Ganapati, the best sage among the sages. Without You nothing can be done here or far. Accept with honor, O wealthy One, our great and variegated hymns of praise. (Rig Veda 10.112.9)
•Now Ganesha is installed in the idol and one can perform arati and light the lamps and perform the shhodashopachara, which are 16 forms of paying tribute to Ganesha. (This ritual is usually performed by the priests.)
• Offer 21 blades of Druva Grass.
• Offer 21 modakas
• Offer red flowers
• Apply a tilak using red Sandalwood paste.
• Break the coconut or just keep it along with the idol. You can also
keep fried grains. (The food of the rat – the vehicle of Ganesha).
• You can also recite the 108 salutations dedicated to Lord Ganesha or
read the Ganesha Upanishad or just simply pray.
The number 21 signifies - the five organs of perception, five organs of action, five vital airs (pranas), five elements, and the mind.
While performing Ganesha Puja at home, you can always be flexible. The strict rituals are meant for Vedic priests. All you need be careful is to perform the pujas clean body and clean mind.
Pomegranate leaves and flowers are also offered in many places.
Another important flower and leaf offered is the Sanku Pushpam or Conch flower.
Leaves and flowers of Screw Pine are also offered. It is known as Ketaki or Kedgi in Hindi and Kaita in South India.
There are also other local flowers and leaves that are used like the Naga leaves.
Tulsi leaves and flowers are not generally used in Ganesh Puja. But it is used during Vinayaka Chaturthi or Ganesh Puja.
Its also extremely good to chant the Ganapathi Seersha Upanishad verses during Ganesh Chathurthi puja and reproduced below for the benefit of the beloved readers......................
[Ganapathi Atharva Seersha is a part of Atharvana Veda. It is classified as an Upanishad and not as a chant. But this is considered universally as the greatest and most effective prayer addressed to Lord Sri. Ganesha.
This is also called Gana Upanishad or Ganapthi Seersha Upanishad,]
OM Namasthe Ganapathaye Thwameva prathyaksham thathwamasi
Thwameva kevalam karthasi.
Thwameva kevalam Dharthasi
Thwameva Kevalam Harthasi
Thwameva sarvam khalvidam brahmasi,
Thwam sakshath athmasi nithyam
Hritham Vachmi. Sathyam Vachmi
Sathyam Vachmi. . Ava vaktharam.
Ava srotharam. Ava datharam.
Ava dhatharam, Ava noochana mava sishyam.
Ava paschathath Ava purasthath
Ava utharotharath . Ava dakshinathath.
Ava chordhwathath. Ava adharathath.
SArvatho maam pahi, pahi samanthath.
Sarva Jagad idham thwatho jaayathe.
Sarva Jagad idham thwatha sthishtathi.
Sarva Jagad idham thwayee laya meshyathi.
Sarva jagad idham thwayee prathyethi,
Thwam bhoomir aapo analo anilo nabha.
Thwam chathwari vak padhani
Thwam gunathrayatheetha,
Thwam avastha thrayatheetha,
Thwam deha thrayatheetha,
Thwam kala thrayatheetha,
Thwam moola dhara sthitho aasi nithyam,
Thwam shakthi thrayathmaka,
Thwam yogino dhyayathi nithyam,
Thwam brahma thwam vishnu
thwam, Rudhra thwam, indra
thwam, agnis- thwam, Vayu
thwam soorya thwam chandrama
thwam, Brahma bhoorbhuva swarom
Aum Aum Aum
The Power of Devotion....................................
The Power Of Devotion............Can be known and learned only from Guru.
It takes great dedication, devotion and bhakti to disentangle awareness from that which it is aware of, to flow into and become aware of expanded areas of mind. The rewards are great. We are able to look over and through our expanded vision the totality of the exterior area of our mind and intuitively know the answer to the experiences that we are going only through the divine Grace of Guru.
This may seem difficult to comprehend, but it is really the truth. When awareness is burdened in the exterior area of the mind, we simply release awareness from that area of the mind that it is aware of. Release the burden,but not by taking on more burdens or trying to find out the whys and wherefores of it all. In other words, we alleviate the pressures that awareness and our nerve system feel because of being involved in the exterior area of the mind and thus become devoted to our own super consciousness. The power of devotion, love, bhakti, melts the odic-magnetic force fields, releasing awareness to soar into super consciousness, the mind of light. And then we can focus, super consciously, from our intuitive state of mind and look at the exterior world from a new perspective,from right within the very core of life itself. It does not take long. It does take one quality though--devotion--found in the yoga called bhakti, showered on us by Guruji with
our efforts, respect and reverence to Guru.
What is devotion? Devotion involves going deep enough to understand the great principle of the fulfilment of one's duty. Who must be devoted to whom? Members of a family to their temple, a wife to her husband, a husband to his religion, children to their parents, the student to the teacher, the disciple/devotee to the guru. No matter what you are studying--mathematics, chemistry, philosophy, cybernetics, sociology, religion, a lifestyle,the professor should represent what you are going to be. That is why you are studying with Guruji. Only through devotion will you be totally aware, open, free, inspired. Only through devotion will you become what you aspire to unfold within yourself........with the guidance and Grace of Guruji.
It takes great dedication, devotion and bhakti to disentangle awareness from that which it is aware of, to flow into and become aware of expanded areas of mind. The rewards are great. We are able to look over and through our expanded vision the totality of the exterior area of our mind and intuitively know the answer to the experiences that we are going only through the divine Grace of Guru.
This may seem difficult to comprehend, but it is really the truth. When awareness is burdened in the exterior area of the mind, we simply release awareness from that area of the mind that it is aware of. Release the burden,but not by taking on more burdens or trying to find out the whys and wherefores of it all. In other words, we alleviate the pressures that awareness and our nerve system feel because of being involved in the exterior area of the mind and thus become devoted to our own super consciousness. The power of devotion, love, bhakti, melts the odic-magnetic force fields, releasing awareness to soar into super consciousness, the mind of light. And then we can focus, super consciously, from our intuitive state of mind and look at the exterior world from a new perspective,from right within the very core of life itself. It does not take long. It does take one quality though--devotion--found in the yoga called bhakti, showered on us by Guruji with
our efforts, respect and reverence to Guru.
What is devotion? Devotion involves going deep enough to understand the great principle of the fulfilment of one's duty. Who must be devoted to whom? Members of a family to their temple, a wife to her husband, a husband to his religion, children to their parents, the student to the teacher, the disciple/devotee to the guru. No matter what you are studying--mathematics, chemistry, philosophy, cybernetics, sociology, religion, a lifestyle,the professor should represent what you are going to be. That is why you are studying with Guruji. Only through devotion will you be totally aware, open, free, inspired. Only through devotion will you become what you aspire to unfold within yourself........with the guidance and Grace of Guruji.
Changing your circumstances.................................
Changing your circumstances..........By directing the thoughts towards right
direction.
You change your own circumstances all the time, whether you know it or not.
Even your mind is different today than it was a week ago. The various
experiences you have brought to yourself have made it that way. The point to
realize is that you can gain an intricate control of the various things that
change in and about you. Lean the thoughts and feelings of your creation in
the right direction, and discover how quickly your circumstances will change
their direction. This is the secret of self-control. This is the practice of
yoga. Try it, and lose the habit of concern, for concern is only a
by-product of a part of the mind being out of control.
What does the world offer us but an opportunity for action? It is the
reaction that we sometimes get surprised by. The circumstances of your life
are either pushing you toward greater understanding, if you are aspiring to
realize the real Self, or they are pushing you toward confusion, if you have
a tendency to react animalistically, making the personal self predominant.
When personal concerns become the most important things in life, you are
bound to suffer under the emotion of resentment, and resentment is just a
confused state of mind.
The unfortunate thing is, resentment tends to attract even more
circumstances worthy of even more resentment. So don't bother to resent,
because you are only making yourself inferior to the person or the
circumstance that you hold resentment for. That is right. Resentment, in all
its heaviness, places your consciousness beneath that of the person you feel
is imposing on you.
Be equal to whatever you meet! That is a better way to react to life. It is
accomplished simply by meeting everything in understanding, by demanding
understanding from within yourself. And if you feel that everything
happening to you is a play of universal love and you are able to maintain
that consciousness of universal love in yourself, then you are beyond the
happenings of the world. Lifted in consciousness, you can see through and
enjoy all the states of consciousness. The circumstances of your life will
reflect this change.
Watch for those small incidents that imperceptively get under your skin and
create an eruption a few days later. Little things that do not contribute
creatively to your life are an indication that there is some kind of
subconscious disturbance that you have not resolved. Look your nature right
in the face in meditation, without squirming, and you will discover what the
little disturbances are, some issue over which you are rationalizing, a
small resentment or worry that is keeping a part of your mind confused, and
thus necessarily, most of your circumstances confused.
direction.
You change your own circumstances all the time, whether you know it or not.
Even your mind is different today than it was a week ago. The various
experiences you have brought to yourself have made it that way. The point to
realize is that you can gain an intricate control of the various things that
change in and about you. Lean the thoughts and feelings of your creation in
the right direction, and discover how quickly your circumstances will change
their direction. This is the secret of self-control. This is the practice of
yoga. Try it, and lose the habit of concern, for concern is only a
by-product of a part of the mind being out of control.
What does the world offer us but an opportunity for action? It is the
reaction that we sometimes get surprised by. The circumstances of your life
are either pushing you toward greater understanding, if you are aspiring to
realize the real Self, or they are pushing you toward confusion, if you have
a tendency to react animalistically, making the personal self predominant.
When personal concerns become the most important things in life, you are
bound to suffer under the emotion of resentment, and resentment is just a
confused state of mind.
The unfortunate thing is, resentment tends to attract even more
circumstances worthy of even more resentment. So don't bother to resent,
because you are only making yourself inferior to the person or the
circumstance that you hold resentment for. That is right. Resentment, in all
its heaviness, places your consciousness beneath that of the person you feel
is imposing on you.
Be equal to whatever you meet! That is a better way to react to life. It is
accomplished simply by meeting everything in understanding, by demanding
understanding from within yourself. And if you feel that everything
happening to you is a play of universal love and you are able to maintain
that consciousness of universal love in yourself, then you are beyond the
happenings of the world. Lifted in consciousness, you can see through and
enjoy all the states of consciousness. The circumstances of your life will
reflect this change.
Watch for those small incidents that imperceptively get under your skin and
create an eruption a few days later. Little things that do not contribute
creatively to your life are an indication that there is some kind of
subconscious disturbance that you have not resolved. Look your nature right
in the face in meditation, without squirming, and you will discover what the
little disturbances are, some issue over which you are rationalizing, a
small resentment or worry that is keeping a part of your mind confused, and
thus necessarily, most of your circumstances confused.
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Art of Harmony.....................................
The Art of Harmony...............How do you get it?
By Verbena
Some people find harmony by striding down a crowded, bustling urban street, hammering out a deal on their Blackberry. For others harmony is found in silence, space, big trees and solitude. Harmony happens most easily when you're living the life you want. You're doing what floats your boat, and life just feels right.
Unlike harmony in music, math or physics, each person's experience of life harmony is unique. But because we live in a world of contrast and change, any sense of harmony that depends on outer circumstances is bound to be jostled and knocked out of alignment - sometimes frequently.
Out of harmony.
Challenges in health, love, money or work are hard to avoid, and some are easier to restore to harmony than others. But what can really mess with your mind is impending change - especially change that seems to be out of your hands, when events appear to be moving you away from what you want. Sometimes they seem to keep going in the wrong direction no matter how hard you struggle.Or you could be experiencing the kind of soul-deep restlessness and incompleteness that usually indicates it's time for you to make a change, no matter how much you hate the thought. For some, though, even getting close to a sense of harmony seems impossible. If you've grown up in challenging circumstances, or recently been hammered by difficulties- or if your experience tells you that life just isn't on your side, and that there's nothing you can do to change it - harmony seems to exist in another universe entirely.
Find and keep it.
To put it simply, maintaining harmony is about finding your centre. This is easiest to define in martial arts terms. The martial arts teach that your centre is an actual place in your body which, when you focus there, allows you to move immediately in any direction with speed, balance and strength.
You can find the same kind of centre in your mind, emotions and spirit if you cultivate an attitude of mind and heart that allows you to respond in the moment to any situation with calm and optimism. Once you know how to get to that place and stay there, harmony is yours.
History.
For at least as long as there's been written language, philosophers in every culture have recorded their thoughts about how to maintain harmony, and they pretty much agree that it's all about a positive attitude. No matter how it is achieved - meditation, non-attachment, faith, trust, or self-confidence - a positive attitude is at the core of a harmonious existence.
Of course, self-confidence is a powerful basis for your positive attitude. If you believe in your heart and soul that you can cope with anything, then many of life's fears won't get you down. But self-confidence isn't enough to keep you in a state of harmony by itself. You can have full faith in your ability to cope with anything and still be desperately unhappy. So what's the missing ingredient?
Staying power.
If you have a spiritual practice that sustains and nourishes you, or if your friends, family, or spiritual community is very supportive of you - or if you believe in a higher power that always works toward well being - then you have found one of the two best paths to harmony.
But very often a person's spiritual practice leads them to an even more powerful path, grounding them in a spiritual reality that can sustain or restore harmony like magic. It seems like the opposite of self-confidence - and yet, amazingly, it confers a deeper and more permanent level of confidence, one that is rooted in a sense of being one with the Divine. It is something that is activated by your open, optimistic participation in life.
Buddhists define this state as one of non-attachment. It means you're willing to let go of control, to accept the situation when challenges and changes crop up. Experience or faith (or both) have taught you that it's a good idea to go along for the ride - first, because it's more restful than struggling, but also (and even more importantly) because very often your higher power is creating something far better than you could have imagined on your own. You just need to stay centred, and alert to the possibilities along the way.
When you're able to take what comes - to go through life with your head up, your eyes open and a delighted interest in everything that occurs, because you just know that the future is a gift waiting to for you to unwrap it - then harmony will become your natural state.
By Verbena
Some people find harmony by striding down a crowded, bustling urban street, hammering out a deal on their Blackberry. For others harmony is found in silence, space, big trees and solitude. Harmony happens most easily when you're living the life you want. You're doing what floats your boat, and life just feels right.
Unlike harmony in music, math or physics, each person's experience of life harmony is unique. But because we live in a world of contrast and change, any sense of harmony that depends on outer circumstances is bound to be jostled and knocked out of alignment - sometimes frequently.
Out of harmony.
Challenges in health, love, money or work are hard to avoid, and some are easier to restore to harmony than others. But what can really mess with your mind is impending change - especially change that seems to be out of your hands, when events appear to be moving you away from what you want. Sometimes they seem to keep going in the wrong direction no matter how hard you struggle.Or you could be experiencing the kind of soul-deep restlessness and incompleteness that usually indicates it's time for you to make a change, no matter how much you hate the thought. For some, though, even getting close to a sense of harmony seems impossible. If you've grown up in challenging circumstances, or recently been hammered by difficulties- or if your experience tells you that life just isn't on your side, and that there's nothing you can do to change it - harmony seems to exist in another universe entirely.
Find and keep it.
To put it simply, maintaining harmony is about finding your centre. This is easiest to define in martial arts terms. The martial arts teach that your centre is an actual place in your body which, when you focus there, allows you to move immediately in any direction with speed, balance and strength.
You can find the same kind of centre in your mind, emotions and spirit if you cultivate an attitude of mind and heart that allows you to respond in the moment to any situation with calm and optimism. Once you know how to get to that place and stay there, harmony is yours.
History.
For at least as long as there's been written language, philosophers in every culture have recorded their thoughts about how to maintain harmony, and they pretty much agree that it's all about a positive attitude. No matter how it is achieved - meditation, non-attachment, faith, trust, or self-confidence - a positive attitude is at the core of a harmonious existence.
Of course, self-confidence is a powerful basis for your positive attitude. If you believe in your heart and soul that you can cope with anything, then many of life's fears won't get you down. But self-confidence isn't enough to keep you in a state of harmony by itself. You can have full faith in your ability to cope with anything and still be desperately unhappy. So what's the missing ingredient?
Staying power.
If you have a spiritual practice that sustains and nourishes you, or if your friends, family, or spiritual community is very supportive of you - or if you believe in a higher power that always works toward well being - then you have found one of the two best paths to harmony.
But very often a person's spiritual practice leads them to an even more powerful path, grounding them in a spiritual reality that can sustain or restore harmony like magic. It seems like the opposite of self-confidence - and yet, amazingly, it confers a deeper and more permanent level of confidence, one that is rooted in a sense of being one with the Divine. It is something that is activated by your open, optimistic participation in life.
Buddhists define this state as one of non-attachment. It means you're willing to let go of control, to accept the situation when challenges and changes crop up. Experience or faith (or both) have taught you that it's a good idea to go along for the ride - first, because it's more restful than struggling, but also (and even more importantly) because very often your higher power is creating something far better than you could have imagined on your own. You just need to stay centred, and alert to the possibilities along the way.
When you're able to take what comes - to go through life with your head up, your eyes open and a delighted interest in everything that occurs, because you just know that the future is a gift waiting to for you to unwrap it - then harmony will become your natural state.
Is sufferring necessary?.................................
Is suffering necessary?.............................
By PARAMAHAMSA NITHYANANDA
ONE of the most deeply hidden reasons for suffering is that you may be enjoying it. For example, falling ill can become a source of pleasure if it gets you the attention and care you have been craving. In the same way as a seed has to rupture before a plant can grow and blossom, intense suffering can rupture your ego and leave you open and vulnerable to transformation. In Mahabharata, there is a beautiful quote by Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas. She prays to Krishna, the enlightened master,
‘Oh Krishna! Let pain and suffering come from all sides in my life. They will constantly remind me about You, my Lord.’
Suffering has tremendous potential to integrate and transform us. Start to witness your experiences without judgement. See with clarity where you are suffering at the gross and subtle levels. If you are just aware, the suffering itself can open your eyes to the unreality of suffering. It can teach you how unnecessary it is to suffer at all. This is what I call ‘necessary suffering’! Once you learn your lesson through necessary suffering, you will handle suffering in a more mature and beautiful way.
One important thing we need to understand is that while pain might be inevitable, the suffering that comes from the pain is not. For example, if you get hurt, there is definitely pain, but how much you choose to suffer from that pain is really your choice.
A small story:
Once a man was seriously injured with multiple fractures and injuries. His friend came to visit him at the hospital. He saw the state of his injured friend and didn’t know what to say. So he asked his friend, ‘How are you feeling my friend? I guess it must be painful with all those injuries. Do you suffer a lot?’ The man replied, ‘Not much — only when I laugh.’
It is a question of attitude! Pain is inevitable, but suffering is your choice. Suffering is not a state of life. It is a state of mind. It is not an event in your life. It is your response to an event. Never curse the pain or the person, inflicting the pain on you. Instead, take the opportunity to use it as a blessing, watch objectively, and cut the root of the pain.
Pain can be a great teacher if you allow it to be. If you properly research the cause and effect of pain within you, it can turn out to be the biggest turning point in your life. The Master Bodhidharma says, ‘Every suffering is a Buddha-seed.’ Suffering can propel you to become a Buddha. He says, feel grateful to suffering and pain because they create the situation for you to search for the truth. Be Blissful!
By PARAMAHAMSA NITHYANANDA
ONE of the most deeply hidden reasons for suffering is that you may be enjoying it. For example, falling ill can become a source of pleasure if it gets you the attention and care you have been craving. In the same way as a seed has to rupture before a plant can grow and blossom, intense suffering can rupture your ego and leave you open and vulnerable to transformation. In Mahabharata, there is a beautiful quote by Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas. She prays to Krishna, the enlightened master,
‘Oh Krishna! Let pain and suffering come from all sides in my life. They will constantly remind me about You, my Lord.’
Suffering has tremendous potential to integrate and transform us. Start to witness your experiences without judgement. See with clarity where you are suffering at the gross and subtle levels. If you are just aware, the suffering itself can open your eyes to the unreality of suffering. It can teach you how unnecessary it is to suffer at all. This is what I call ‘necessary suffering’! Once you learn your lesson through necessary suffering, you will handle suffering in a more mature and beautiful way.
One important thing we need to understand is that while pain might be inevitable, the suffering that comes from the pain is not. For example, if you get hurt, there is definitely pain, but how much you choose to suffer from that pain is really your choice.
A small story:
Once a man was seriously injured with multiple fractures and injuries. His friend came to visit him at the hospital. He saw the state of his injured friend and didn’t know what to say. So he asked his friend, ‘How are you feeling my friend? I guess it must be painful with all those injuries. Do you suffer a lot?’ The man replied, ‘Not much — only when I laugh.’
It is a question of attitude! Pain is inevitable, but suffering is your choice. Suffering is not a state of life. It is a state of mind. It is not an event in your life. It is your response to an event. Never curse the pain or the person, inflicting the pain on you. Instead, take the opportunity to use it as a blessing, watch objectively, and cut the root of the pain.
Pain can be a great teacher if you allow it to be. If you properly research the cause and effect of pain within you, it can turn out to be the biggest turning point in your life. The Master Bodhidharma says, ‘Every suffering is a Buddha-seed.’ Suffering can propel you to become a Buddha. He says, feel grateful to suffering and pain because they create the situation for you to search for the truth. Be Blissful!
Life Book..................................................
LIFE BOOK ...........................................
Health..............................................
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that
is manufactured in plants (factory).
4. Live with the 3 E's - Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time for regular prayer.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did before.
8. Sit in silence for at least 30 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day and while you walk, SMILE !!
Personality........................................
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead
invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do ; keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself too seriously ; no one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her
mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are
simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra
class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and Laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Community..........................................
25.. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend some time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and
friends will. Stay in touch.
Life................................................
32. Do the right things.
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up !
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be HAPPY !!!!!!!
Last but not the least.........................
40. Do forward this to everyone you care about.
Health..............................................
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that
is manufactured in plants (factory).
4. Live with the 3 E's - Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time for regular prayer.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did before.
8. Sit in silence for at least 30 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day and while you walk, SMILE !!
Personality........................................
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead
invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do ; keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself too seriously ; no one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her
mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are
simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra
class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and Laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Community..........................................
25.. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend some time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and
friends will. Stay in touch.
Life................................................
32. Do the right things.
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up !
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be HAPPY !!!!!!!
Last but not the least.........................
40. Do forward this to everyone you care about.
The Power of Marketing Skills..............................
Power of Marketing Skills................................Good One !!!
The top marketing director of Nescafe manages to arrange a meeting with the Pope at the Vatican.
After receiving the papal blessing, the Nescafe official whispers, 'Your Eminence, I have some business to discuss. We at Nescafe have an offer for you. Nescafe is prepared to donate $100 million to the church . if you change the Lord's Prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily coffee'."
The Pope looks outraged and thunders, "That is impossible. The Prayer is the word of the Lord, It must not be changed." Well," says the Nescafe man somewhat chastened, "We anticipated your reluctance. For this reason, and the importance of the Lord's prayer to all catholics, we will increase our offer to $300 million. All we require is that you change the Lord's Prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to Give us this day our daily coffee'."
Again, even more sternly, the Pope replies, "That, my son, is impossible. For the prayer is the word of the Lord and it must not be changed."
Finally, the Nescafe director says, "Your Holiness, we at Nescafe respect your adherence to your faith, we realise that tradition is essential to your beliefs, we fully understand the importance of the word of the Lord ............ ....but we do have one final offer. Please discuss it with your cardinals. We will donate $500 million to the great Catholic church if you would only change the Lord's Prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily coffee'. Please, please consider it." And he leaves. The next day the Pope convenes the College of Cardinals. "There is some Good news," he announces, "and some bad news ..... The good news is, he continues to a hushed assembly, ' that the Church will get $ 500 million."
"And what is the bad news, your Holiness?" asks a Cardinal.
"Sadly" says the Pope ,
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We would have to lose the Britannia Account..... ......... ......... .....
The top marketing director of Nescafe manages to arrange a meeting with the Pope at the Vatican.
After receiving the papal blessing, the Nescafe official whispers, 'Your Eminence, I have some business to discuss. We at Nescafe have an offer for you. Nescafe is prepared to donate $100 million to the church . if you change the Lord's Prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily coffee'."
The Pope looks outraged and thunders, "That is impossible. The Prayer is the word of the Lord, It must not be changed." Well," says the Nescafe man somewhat chastened, "We anticipated your reluctance. For this reason, and the importance of the Lord's prayer to all catholics, we will increase our offer to $300 million. All we require is that you change the Lord's Prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to Give us this day our daily coffee'."
Again, even more sternly, the Pope replies, "That, my son, is impossible. For the prayer is the word of the Lord and it must not be changed."
Finally, the Nescafe director says, "Your Holiness, we at Nescafe respect your adherence to your faith, we realise that tradition is essential to your beliefs, we fully understand the importance of the word of the Lord ............ ....but we do have one final offer. Please discuss it with your cardinals. We will donate $500 million to the great Catholic church if you would only change the Lord's Prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily coffee'. Please, please consider it." And he leaves. The next day the Pope convenes the College of Cardinals. "There is some Good news," he announces, "and some bad news ..... The good news is, he continues to a hushed assembly, ' that the Church will get $ 500 million."
"And what is the bad news, your Holiness?" asks a Cardinal.
"Sadly" says the Pope ,
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
.
..
..
..
..
..
..
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We would have to lose the Britannia Account..... ......... ......... .....
What is Dharma (Righteousness....................
WHAT IS DHARMA?.....................Rightousness.
It is difficult to describe the word DHARMA satisfactorily as it is an expansive and intricate subject. “Dharma is like a price less jewel with numberless facets of brilliance of knowledge”.
Dharma has several meanings........................
THAT WHICH BEHOLDS THE UNIVERSE IS DHARMA.
It means.... NATURAL LAWS (prakriti Dharma),
Justice (NYAYA DHARMA),
NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS (swabhaava Dharma),
Different species (JAATI DHARMA),
SOCIAL CONDUCT (samaja Dharma ),
RELIGIOUS CONDUCT (shroutha Dharma),
Vedic VARNAASHRAMA DHARMA,
PAARAMAARTHIKA DHARMA,
AACHAARA DHARMA,
NEETI DHARMA,
PRAVRITTHI DHARMA,
NIVRITTHI DHARMA ETC.,
That which is the cause of prosperity and salvation is Dharma.
Laws of nature which beholds all creations is called Dharma.
Dharma bestows perennial happiness and Adharma produces sorrow and misery.
That which is eternal is Dharma. Only God is eternal.
Some quotations from great personalities..............................
“That which takes us from the world to Liberation is Dharma.”
Vinoba Bhave.
“That which makes you forget yourself is Dharma”
Masti Venkatesha Iyengar.
“If you protect Dharma, it protects you.”
Bhaasa.
“Darma is in action, not in blind belief.”
Dr.S. Radhakrishnan.
“Good of every one is Dharma”
William Shankaracharya.
“Dharma is self sustaining “
Madhvaachaarya.
“Service for others is Dharma”
Swami Vivekananda
“Whoever feels sorry for others’ misery and feels happy with others is a Dharmatma”
Srimath Bhagavatha.
“Truth, non stealing, conquering anger, feeling sorry for mistakes committed, cleanliness, firm mind, discrimination between good and bad, absence of hautiness, control of senses and good education are the essential parts of Dharma”-
Yajnavalkya.
It is difficult to describe the word DHARMA satisfactorily as it is an expansive and intricate subject. “Dharma is like a price less jewel with numberless facets of brilliance of knowledge”.
Dharma has several meanings........................
THAT WHICH BEHOLDS THE UNIVERSE IS DHARMA.
It means.... NATURAL LAWS (prakriti Dharma),
Justice (NYAYA DHARMA),
NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS (swabhaava Dharma),
Different species (JAATI DHARMA),
SOCIAL CONDUCT (samaja Dharma ),
RELIGIOUS CONDUCT (shroutha Dharma),
Vedic VARNAASHRAMA DHARMA,
PAARAMAARTHIKA DHARMA,
AACHAARA DHARMA,
NEETI DHARMA,
PRAVRITTHI DHARMA,
NIVRITTHI DHARMA ETC.,
That which is the cause of prosperity and salvation is Dharma.
Laws of nature which beholds all creations is called Dharma.
Dharma bestows perennial happiness and Adharma produces sorrow and misery.
That which is eternal is Dharma. Only God is eternal.
Some quotations from great personalities..............................
“That which takes us from the world to Liberation is Dharma.”
Vinoba Bhave.
“That which makes you forget yourself is Dharma”
Masti Venkatesha Iyengar.
“If you protect Dharma, it protects you.”
Bhaasa.
“Darma is in action, not in blind belief.”
Dr.S. Radhakrishnan.
“Good of every one is Dharma”
William Shankaracharya.
“Dharma is self sustaining “
Madhvaachaarya.
“Service for others is Dharma”
Swami Vivekananda
“Whoever feels sorry for others’ misery and feels happy with others is a Dharmatma”
Srimath Bhagavatha.
“Truth, non stealing, conquering anger, feeling sorry for mistakes committed, cleanliness, firm mind, discrimination between good and bad, absence of hautiness, control of senses and good education are the essential parts of Dharma”-
Yajnavalkya.
Teachings from Upanishads...............................
Collection of Teachings from various Upanishads........................
No one can understand the sound of a drum without understanding both the drum and the drummer.
Let one therefore keep the mind pure for what a man thinks, that he becomes.
The only way to know it is to become it.
Self-knowledge is the best of all forms of knowledge; through it, one attains immortality.
Know yourself, so what you’ve done won’t burn you. Nor will what you’ve left undone.
As is the human body, so the cosmic body; as is the human mind, so the cosmic mind; as is the atom, so the Universe.
The spirit down here in man and the spirit up there in the sun, in reality are only one spirit, and there is no other one.
Out of abundance he took abundance and still abundance remained.
In a world where everything changes the divine is everywhere present.
What do the Upanishads teach us?............................ Edmond Holmes
The authors of the Upanishads did not all think alike; but, taking their meditations as a whole, we may say that they are dominated by one paramount conception’ that of the ideal of oneness of the soul of man with the soul of the universe.
The Sanskrit word for the soul of man is Atman and the word for the soul of the universe is Brahman.
‘God’s dwelling place’ ‘is the heart of man. The inner immortal self and the great cosmic power are one and the same.’
Brahman is the Atman, and the Atman is the Brahman. The one supreme power through which all things have been brought into being is one with the inmost self in each man’s heart.’
What is real in each of us is his self or soul. What is real in universe is its self or soul, in virtue of which its All is One, and the name for which in our language is God.
In other words of one of the Upanishads: ‘He who is the Brahman in man and who is that in the sun, these are one.’
No one can understand the sound of a drum without understanding both the drum and the drummer.
Let one therefore keep the mind pure for what a man thinks, that he becomes.
The only way to know it is to become it.
Self-knowledge is the best of all forms of knowledge; through it, one attains immortality.
Know yourself, so what you’ve done won’t burn you. Nor will what you’ve left undone.
As is the human body, so the cosmic body; as is the human mind, so the cosmic mind; as is the atom, so the Universe.
The spirit down here in man and the spirit up there in the sun, in reality are only one spirit, and there is no other one.
Out of abundance he took abundance and still abundance remained.
In a world where everything changes the divine is everywhere present.
What do the Upanishads teach us?............................ Edmond Holmes
The authors of the Upanishads did not all think alike; but, taking their meditations as a whole, we may say that they are dominated by one paramount conception’ that of the ideal of oneness of the soul of man with the soul of the universe.
The Sanskrit word for the soul of man is Atman and the word for the soul of the universe is Brahman.
‘God’s dwelling place’ ‘is the heart of man. The inner immortal self and the great cosmic power are one and the same.’
Brahman is the Atman, and the Atman is the Brahman. The one supreme power through which all things have been brought into being is one with the inmost self in each man’s heart.’
What is real in each of us is his self or soul. What is real in universe is its self or soul, in virtue of which its All is One, and the name for which in our language is God.
In other words of one of the Upanishads: ‘He who is the Brahman in man and who is that in the sun, these are one.’
The :Power of Love turns a.......................................
The Power of Love.............................Turns a frown into smile.
LOVE is more than a four letter word
it packs more power than any we've heard.
LOVE can turn a frown into a smile
make our day more worthwhile.
LOVE never fails, love never tires
Makes more heat than many fires.
LOVE makes us tingle and walk on air
helps us do things we wouldn't dare.
LOVE is a dream, a sweet fantasy
but it is also life and reality.
LOVE can fly us up so high
drop us low when it says goodbye.
LOVE is a strange mysterious force
but one we want to keep of course.
LOVE we don't want to live without
when it's absent, we will pout.
LOVE can go and new love return
better than before you will learn.
LOVE that is perfect and is right
may come along any day or night.
Yes LOVE is more than a four letter word
it's the most wonderful word you have heard.
LOVE is more than a four letter word
LOVE is more than a four letter word
it packs more power than any we've heard.
LOVE can turn a frown into a smile
make our day more worthwhile.
LOVE never fails, love never tires
Makes more heat than many fires.
LOVE makes us tingle and walk on air
helps us do things we wouldn't dare.
LOVE is a dream, a sweet fantasy
but it is also life and reality.
LOVE can fly us up so high
drop us low when it says goodbye.
LOVE is a strange mysterious force
but one we want to keep of course.
LOVE we don't want to live without
when it's absent, we will pout.
LOVE can go and new love return
better than before you will learn.
LOVE that is perfect and is right
may come along any day or night.
Yes LOVE is more than a four letter word
it's the most wonderful word you have heard.
LOVE is more than a four letter word
A Banana a day Keeps doctor Away.......................
A Banana A Day keeps Doctor Away...................................
This is interesting.
After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again .
Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.
Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.
But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit.
It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.
Depression:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
PMS:
Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
Anemia:
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.
Blood Pressure:
This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power:
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
Constipation:
High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.
Hangovers:
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn:
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness:
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites:
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.
Nerves:
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
Overweight and at work?
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.
Ulcers:
The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
Temperature control:
Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):
Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
Smoking & Tobacco Use:
Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium! m and ma caesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Stress:
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.
Strokes:
According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine, 'eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!
Warts:
Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!
So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"
Want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit.
And never store Bananas in the rfefregerator.
This is interesting.
After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again .
Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.
Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.
But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit.
It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.
Depression:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
PMS:
Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
Anemia:
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.
Blood Pressure:
This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power:
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
Constipation:
High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.
Hangovers:
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn:
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness:
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites:
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.
Nerves:
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
Overweight and at work?
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.
Ulcers:
The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
Temperature control:
Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):
Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
Smoking & Tobacco Use:
Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium! m and ma caesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Stress:
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.
Strokes:
According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine, 'eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!
Warts:
Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!
So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"
Want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit.
And never store Bananas in the rfefregerator.
Healthiest Foods on the Earth.........................
The Healthiest Foods On Earth........................................
Berries..................
All berries are low in sugar and high in fiber. Blueberries have been shown to increase memory in lab studies, and raspberries and strawberries are loaded with ellagic acid, a powerful antioxidant that seems to have some anti-cancer properties, according to the American Cancer Society.
Beans.........................
Beans are extremely high in fiber, which helps to control weight, prevent or manage diabetes and blood sugar, and may help prevent colon cancer and protect against heart disease. The National Institute of Medicine recommends 25-38 grams of fiber a day. The average American gets only 4-11 grams. One cup of beans provides 11-17 grams.
Nuts...........................
Some of the largest and most important long-term studies of diet and health have shown that eating nuts several times a week is consistent with a risk of heart attack and heart disease that is 30%-50% lower than the general population. Just one ounce of nuts--almonds, macadamia, Brazil , walnuts, pecans--eaten three to five times a week seems to be the magic number.
Raw Milk...............................
Raw, organic milk nearly always comes from grass-fed cows and contains high levels of cancer-fighting CLA (conjugated linolenic acid) as well as a rich assortment of vitamins, minerals and beneficial bacteria (like Lactobacillus acidophilus)
Brassica Vegetables...........................
Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and kale all contain plant compounds called indoles that help reduce the risk of cancer. In addition to a stunning range of vitamins and minerals, they also contain sulforaphane, an important plant chemical that helps the body detoxify health-damaging chemicals.
Apples.........................
Not only do they keep the doctor away, they also appear to do the same for lung cancer, diabetes and asthma. An apple contains five grams of fiber and a rich blend of nutrients including the bone-building vitamin K and the anti-inflammatory nutrient quercetin. And there's no better way to control your appetite than an apple eaten about half an hour before a big meal.
Onions and Garlic..........................
In an impressive number of published studies, the consumption of onions and garlic has demonstrated protective effects against stomach, prostate and esophageal cancer. Along with broccoli, tea and apples, onions and garlic are among a select group of foods found to reduce mortality from heart disease by 20%.
Pomegranate Juice..................................
Called "a natural Viagra" by researchers at Tel Aviv University , pomegranate juice is loaded with antioxidants. Studies show it can reduce blood pressure and plaque in the arteries. New research indicates it also slows the progression of tumors.. Four to eight ounces a day is highly recommended.
Green Tea.................................
Though all teas are great for you, green tea has a unique profile of plant chemicals that have anti-cancer activity. It's now fairly established that green tea may help prevent the following types of cancers in humans: bladder, colon, esophagus, pancreas, rectum and stomach. If that's not enough, it also appears to help with weight control.
Berries..................
All berries are low in sugar and high in fiber. Blueberries have been shown to increase memory in lab studies, and raspberries and strawberries are loaded with ellagic acid, a powerful antioxidant that seems to have some anti-cancer properties, according to the American Cancer Society.
Beans.........................
Beans are extremely high in fiber, which helps to control weight, prevent or manage diabetes and blood sugar, and may help prevent colon cancer and protect against heart disease. The National Institute of Medicine recommends 25-38 grams of fiber a day. The average American gets only 4-11 grams. One cup of beans provides 11-17 grams.
Nuts...........................
Some of the largest and most important long-term studies of diet and health have shown that eating nuts several times a week is consistent with a risk of heart attack and heart disease that is 30%-50% lower than the general population. Just one ounce of nuts--almonds, macadamia, Brazil , walnuts, pecans--eaten three to five times a week seems to be the magic number.
Raw Milk...............................
Raw, organic milk nearly always comes from grass-fed cows and contains high levels of cancer-fighting CLA (conjugated linolenic acid) as well as a rich assortment of vitamins, minerals and beneficial bacteria (like Lactobacillus acidophilus)
Brassica Vegetables...........................
Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and kale all contain plant compounds called indoles that help reduce the risk of cancer. In addition to a stunning range of vitamins and minerals, they also contain sulforaphane, an important plant chemical that helps the body detoxify health-damaging chemicals.
Apples.........................
Not only do they keep the doctor away, they also appear to do the same for lung cancer, diabetes and asthma. An apple contains five grams of fiber and a rich blend of nutrients including the bone-building vitamin K and the anti-inflammatory nutrient quercetin. And there's no better way to control your appetite than an apple eaten about half an hour before a big meal.
Onions and Garlic..........................
In an impressive number of published studies, the consumption of onions and garlic has demonstrated protective effects against stomach, prostate and esophageal cancer. Along with broccoli, tea and apples, onions and garlic are among a select group of foods found to reduce mortality from heart disease by 20%.
Pomegranate Juice..................................
Called "a natural Viagra" by researchers at Tel Aviv University , pomegranate juice is loaded with antioxidants. Studies show it can reduce blood pressure and plaque in the arteries. New research indicates it also slows the progression of tumors.. Four to eight ounces a day is highly recommended.
Green Tea.................................
Though all teas are great for you, green tea has a unique profile of plant chemicals that have anti-cancer activity. It's now fairly established that green tea may help prevent the following types of cancers in humans: bladder, colon, esophagus, pancreas, rectum and stomach. If that's not enough, it also appears to help with weight control.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Does the Management know their staff????..........
A Good Joke:
Does Management know their Staff ?.................Do they know what common sense is..................
On walking into the factory, the Managing Director of the company
noticed a young guy leaning against the wall, doing nothing.
He approached the young man and calmly said to him,
"How much do you earn?"
The young man was quite amazed
that he was asked such a personal question,
he replied, none the less, "I earn $ 2000.00 a month,
Sir. Why?"
Without answering, the MD took out his wallet
and removed $6000.00 cash and gave it to the young man and said,
"Around here I pay people for working,
not for standing around looking pretty!
Here is your 3 months salary, now GET OUT and don't come back".
The young man turned around and was quickly out of sight.
Noticing a few onlookers, the MD said in a very upset manner,
"And that applies to everybody in this company".
He approached one of the onlookers and asked him, "Who's the young man
I just fired?"
To which an amazing reply came - "He was the pizza delivery guy , Sir!"
Does Management know their Staff ?.................Do they know what common sense is..................
On walking into the factory, the Managing Director of the company
noticed a young guy leaning against the wall, doing nothing.
He approached the young man and calmly said to him,
"How much do you earn?"
The young man was quite amazed
that he was asked such a personal question,
he replied, none the less, "I earn $ 2000.00 a month,
Sir. Why?"
Without answering, the MD took out his wallet
and removed $6000.00 cash and gave it to the young man and said,
"Around here I pay people for working,
not for standing around looking pretty!
Here is your 3 months salary, now GET OUT and don't come back".
The young man turned around and was quickly out of sight.
Noticing a few onlookers, the MD said in a very upset manner,
"And that applies to everybody in this company".
He approached one of the onlookers and asked him, "Who's the young man
I just fired?"
To which an amazing reply came - "He was the pizza delivery guy , Sir!"
What is Compassion........................................
What is Compassion ?............
Sometimes it is kind to be cruel, and at other times it is cruel to be kind. This statement has come forward from religion to religion, generation to generation. Compassion tempers all decisions, gives clemency, absolution, forgiveness as a boon even for the most heinous misdeeds. This is a quality built on steadfastness. compassion comes from deep sadhana, prolonged happiness, contentment, scriptural study and listening to the Guru. It is the outgrowth of the unfolded soul, the maturing of higher consciousness. A compassionate person transcends even forgiveness by caring for the suffering of the person he has forgiven. The compassionate person is like a God. He is the boon-giver. Boons, which are gifts from the Gods, come unexpectedly, unasked-for. And so it is with the grace of a compassionate person.
"What should we think about those who are cruel toward creatures, who casually kill flies and step on cockroaches?" Compassion is defined as conquering callous, cruel and insensitive feelings toward all beings. A compassionate person would tell a plant verbally if he was going to pick from it, intuiting that the plant has feelings of its own. A compassionate person would seek to keep pests away rather than killing them. A callous person would tear the plant up by its roots. A cruel person would, as a child, pull one wing off a fly and, unless corrected, mature this cruelty on through life until he maimed a fellow human. Compassion is just the opposite to all this.
When we find callous, cruel and insensitive people in our midst, we should not take them into our inner circles, but make them feel they must improve before admittance onto the spiritual path. Compassion is the outgrowth of being forgiving. It is the outgrowth of truthfulness, and of non injury. It of perseverance. It is, in fact, higher consciousness, based in the divine love.
One can't command compassion. Before compassion comes love. Compassion is the outgrowth of love. Love is the outgrowth of understanding. Understanding is the outgrowth of reason. One must have sufficient memory to remember the various points of reason and enough willpower to follow them through to be able to psychically look into the core of existence to gain the reverence for all life, all living organisms, animate or inanimate. Compassion is a very advanced spiritual quality. When you see it exhibited in someone, you know he is very advanced in spiritually-probably an old soul. It really can't be taught. Compassion goes with Amanda. Compassion and bliss are a one big package.
What is the difference between non-injury and compassion, one might ask? There is a distinct difference. Not harming others by thought, word or deed is a cardinal law of Hinduism and cannot be avoided, discarded, ignored or replaced by the more subtle concept of compassion. Non-injury, among the Nyasa, could be considered the only explicit commandment Hinduism gives. Compassion comes from the heart, comes spontaneously. It is a total flow of spiritual, material, intellectual giving, coming unbidden to the receiver.
Compassion by no means is foolishness or pretence. It is an overflowing of soulfulness. It is an outpouring of spiritual energy that comes through the person despite his thoughts or his personal feelings or his reason or good judgement. The person experiencing compassion is often turned around emotionally and mentally as he is giving this clemency, this boon of absolution, despite his own instinctive or intellectual inclinations. This is a spiritual outpouring through a person.
A devotee once mentioned to hid Guru"Recently I was going through some suffering and had bad thoughts and bad feelings for those who caused that suffering. Now that I'm feeling better, can I erase those bad thoughts and feelings?" Thoughts and bad feelings you have sent into the future are bound to come back to you. But, yes, you can mitigate and change that karma by being extra-special nice to those who abused you, hurt you or caused you to have bad thoughts and feelings against them. Being extra-special nice means accepting them for who they are. Don't have critical thoughts or try to change them. Have compassion. They are who they are, and only they can change themselves. Be extra-special nice. Go out of your way to say good words, give a gift and have good feelings toward them.
Sometimes it is kind to be cruel, and at other times it is cruel to be kind. This statement has come forward from religion to religion, generation to generation. Compassion tempers all decisions, gives clemency, absolution, forgiveness as a boon even for the most heinous misdeeds. This is a quality built on steadfastness. compassion comes from deep sadhana, prolonged happiness, contentment, scriptural study and listening to the Guru. It is the outgrowth of the unfolded soul, the maturing of higher consciousness. A compassionate person transcends even forgiveness by caring for the suffering of the person he has forgiven. The compassionate person is like a God. He is the boon-giver. Boons, which are gifts from the Gods, come unexpectedly, unasked-for. And so it is with the grace of a compassionate person.
"What should we think about those who are cruel toward creatures, who casually kill flies and step on cockroaches?" Compassion is defined as conquering callous, cruel and insensitive feelings toward all beings. A compassionate person would tell a plant verbally if he was going to pick from it, intuiting that the plant has feelings of its own. A compassionate person would seek to keep pests away rather than killing them. A callous person would tear the plant up by its roots. A cruel person would, as a child, pull one wing off a fly and, unless corrected, mature this cruelty on through life until he maimed a fellow human. Compassion is just the opposite to all this.
When we find callous, cruel and insensitive people in our midst, we should not take them into our inner circles, but make them feel they must improve before admittance onto the spiritual path. Compassion is the outgrowth of being forgiving. It is the outgrowth of truthfulness, and of non injury. It of perseverance. It is, in fact, higher consciousness, based in the divine love.
One can't command compassion. Before compassion comes love. Compassion is the outgrowth of love. Love is the outgrowth of understanding. Understanding is the outgrowth of reason. One must have sufficient memory to remember the various points of reason and enough willpower to follow them through to be able to psychically look into the core of existence to gain the reverence for all life, all living organisms, animate or inanimate. Compassion is a very advanced spiritual quality. When you see it exhibited in someone, you know he is very advanced in spiritually-probably an old soul. It really can't be taught. Compassion goes with Amanda. Compassion and bliss are a one big package.
What is the difference between non-injury and compassion, one might ask? There is a distinct difference. Not harming others by thought, word or deed is a cardinal law of Hinduism and cannot be avoided, discarded, ignored or replaced by the more subtle concept of compassion. Non-injury, among the Nyasa, could be considered the only explicit commandment Hinduism gives. Compassion comes from the heart, comes spontaneously. It is a total flow of spiritual, material, intellectual giving, coming unbidden to the receiver.
Compassion by no means is foolishness or pretence. It is an overflowing of soulfulness. It is an outpouring of spiritual energy that comes through the person despite his thoughts or his personal feelings or his reason or good judgement. The person experiencing compassion is often turned around emotionally and mentally as he is giving this clemency, this boon of absolution, despite his own instinctive or intellectual inclinations. This is a spiritual outpouring through a person.
A devotee once mentioned to hid Guru"Recently I was going through some suffering and had bad thoughts and bad feelings for those who caused that suffering. Now that I'm feeling better, can I erase those bad thoughts and feelings?" Thoughts and bad feelings you have sent into the future are bound to come back to you. But, yes, you can mitigate and change that karma by being extra-special nice to those who abused you, hurt you or caused you to have bad thoughts and feelings against them. Being extra-special nice means accepting them for who they are. Don't have critical thoughts or try to change them. Have compassion. They are who they are, and only they can change themselves. Be extra-special nice. Go out of your way to say good words, give a gift and have good feelings toward them.
The River, a symbol of Life.......................
The River, a Symbol of Life......................
All of us have heard about the sacred river Ganges, but have we ever wondered why this river is sacred? Why has this river become personified among all the rivers of the world? Let us meditate on this and let the river tell its own story to us.
The river is the esoteric symbol of life's force, and as it flows it tells us how those cosmic currents flow through the physical body, quieting the emotions and awakening the willpower so that we can keep the mind under our control. This all happens, of course, providing we are in tune and flow with that life force, that illimitable power within us.
The birth of this river high in the Himalayas we can liken to our own conception and entrance into physical consciousness. As the river flows to meet the sea, it drops off many disturbances, just as our life absorbs many of its hindrances. The rapids smooth out, the waterfalls become smaller, the mouth of the river broadens, and as the river flows into the ocean we can see this esoteric symbol of life ending its manifest physical form.
Let us relate that symbol to our own consciousness, holding it within our mind, the river as a symbol of life. Now let's look at ourselves and see what stops that river from flowing. What stops you from flowing with cosmic forces and becoming one with life's ocean of eternal bliss? Is it not attachment that keeps us clinging to the bank of the river? Is it not fear that we are attached to? All of the personalities we know and the various material objects we are clinging to keep us holding tightly to the banks of life's cosmic river. The river still flows on, but we do not flow with it. We are fighting against life's currents when we allow ourselves to become attached.
Let us think about the personal experiences in our lifetime and clearly view just how often we cling to the banks of life's river by attaching ourselves to personalities and possessions. Have we ever stopped to think that we even become attached to things that we do not like and to the things that we have done against our better judgement? We are attached to objects, values, schedules, habits, memories, even likes and dislikes. We become attached because we do not stop to understand that each of those experiences that conceived the attachment was just a boulder, a waterfall or an old tree trunk blocking one of the little rivulets as it tried to merge with the great stream ever merging itself into the ocean.
All of us have heard about the sacred river Ganges, but have we ever wondered why this river is sacred? Why has this river become personified among all the rivers of the world? Let us meditate on this and let the river tell its own story to us.
The river is the esoteric symbol of life's force, and as it flows it tells us how those cosmic currents flow through the physical body, quieting the emotions and awakening the willpower so that we can keep the mind under our control. This all happens, of course, providing we are in tune and flow with that life force, that illimitable power within us.
The birth of this river high in the Himalayas we can liken to our own conception and entrance into physical consciousness. As the river flows to meet the sea, it drops off many disturbances, just as our life absorbs many of its hindrances. The rapids smooth out, the waterfalls become smaller, the mouth of the river broadens, and as the river flows into the ocean we can see this esoteric symbol of life ending its manifest physical form.
Let us relate that symbol to our own consciousness, holding it within our mind, the river as a symbol of life. Now let's look at ourselves and see what stops that river from flowing. What stops you from flowing with cosmic forces and becoming one with life's ocean of eternal bliss? Is it not attachment that keeps us clinging to the bank of the river? Is it not fear that we are attached to? All of the personalities we know and the various material objects we are clinging to keep us holding tightly to the banks of life's cosmic river. The river still flows on, but we do not flow with it. We are fighting against life's currents when we allow ourselves to become attached.
Let us think about the personal experiences in our lifetime and clearly view just how often we cling to the banks of life's river by attaching ourselves to personalities and possessions. Have we ever stopped to think that we even become attached to things that we do not like and to the things that we have done against our better judgement? We are attached to objects, values, schedules, habits, memories, even likes and dislikes. We become attached because we do not stop to understand that each of those experiences that conceived the attachment was just a boulder, a waterfall or an old tree trunk blocking one of the little rivulets as it tried to merge with the great stream ever merging itself into the ocean.
Some insightful thoughts.....................
Some insightful thoughts...............................
1 .Life is a game of cards..........
Life is a Game of Cards.
You did not invent the game.......
Nor did you frame the rules.
You have no control over the cards dealt to you......
But you are there to play.
A Good player even with a bad hand of cards,
will play well and emerge a winner........
A bad player even with the best of cards,
will play badly and lose,
How are you playing it?........
2 .Life is filled with possibilities........
That Challenge us each day to take a chance,
Life ism filled with possibilities...............
Try some thing new, see things different way,
And it is through, those special moments,
That we learn to change and grow.
To explore the precious gifts,
of who we are, and what we know
For its not until we try'
That we find out, we can do,
So don't wait until tomorrow
To discover some thing new.
3 .Do not give up and do not give in..........
Do not give up and Do not give in
,
For Hope is there to make you win.
Whether through trouble or pain,
The lesson should never be in vain
Staring through the night,
It might feel like you have lost sight
But behold just a few moments more,
And light will break through with a roar,
Do not give up and do not give in,
For hope is there to make you win.
4 .From the skies of life....................
From the skies of life
Tearing the clouds of sadness
There comes a ray of hope
Enlighten our world
And gives us strength to cope
It fills in height
And teaches us never to bend
It makes us smile......and Brings Joy.
Makes us as happy as a child with toy
A ray of hope is a beam of light
Which removes the ,life's the darkest night.
1 .Life is a game of cards..........
Life is a Game of Cards.
You did not invent the game.......
Nor did you frame the rules.
You have no control over the cards dealt to you......
But you are there to play.
A Good player even with a bad hand of cards,
will play well and emerge a winner........
A bad player even with the best of cards,
will play badly and lose,
How are you playing it?........
2 .Life is filled with possibilities........
That Challenge us each day to take a chance,
Life ism filled with possibilities...............
Try some thing new, see things different way,
And it is through, those special moments,
That we learn to change and grow.
To explore the precious gifts,
of who we are, and what we know
For its not until we try'
That we find out, we can do,
So don't wait until tomorrow
To discover some thing new.
3 .Do not give up and do not give in..........
Do not give up and Do not give in
,
For Hope is there to make you win.
Whether through trouble or pain,
The lesson should never be in vain
Staring through the night,
It might feel like you have lost sight
But behold just a few moments more,
And light will break through with a roar,
Do not give up and do not give in,
For hope is there to make you win.
4 .From the skies of life....................
From the skies of life
Tearing the clouds of sadness
There comes a ray of hope
Enlighten our world
And gives us strength to cope
It fills in height
And teaches us never to bend
It makes us smile......and Brings Joy.
Makes us as happy as a child with toy
A ray of hope is a beam of light
Which removes the ,life's the darkest night.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Fuddy-Duddy............................
Fuddy-duddy
Meaning
A stuffy or foolishly old-fashioned person.
Origin
If any term sounds old and English, it must be this one. As so often,
intuition is found to be inadequate as fuddy-duddy appears to be of
American origin, possibly via Scotland, nor is it especially old. The
first record that I can find of it is from the Texas newspaper The
Galveston Daily News, 1889:
"Look here; I'm Smith - Hamilton Smith. I'm a minister and I try to do
about right ... I object to being represented as an old fuddy-duddy."
That usage - without any accompanying explanation - seems to suggest
that the readership would have been expected to have been familiar
with it. That is quite possible, there are several citations in
American newspapers from the end of the 19th century that relate to a
pair of fictional wags called Fuddy and Duddy. A string of their
rather weak gags was printed in the Boston Evening Transcript. Here's
an example from a November 1895 edition:
Fuddy: So Miss Dandervecken is going to marry an Englishman. A lord, I suppose?
Duddy: Well, no, not exactly: but I understand that he's often as
drunk as a lord.
Whether or not the expression 'fuddy-duddy' was already known and the
names were taken from it, or whether it was the other way round, we
can't now tell. The coincidence in the dates of the arrival of the two
characters and the phrase does suggest that there was a connection of
some kind.
Duddy was a Scottish term meaning ragged - duds having been used to
refer to rough tattered clothes since the 15th century. Fud, or fuddy,
was a Scots dialect term for buttocks. In 1833, the Scots poet James
Ballantyne wrote The Wee Raggit Laddie:
Wee stuffy, stumpy, dumpie laddie,
Thou urchin elfin, bare an' duddy,
Thy plumpit kite an' cheek sae ruddy
Are fairly baggit,
Although the breekums on thy fuddy
Are e'en right raggit.
The full-on Scots dialect in that sentimental, Burns influenced rhyme
is difficult to translate precisely. The gist of the meaning is:
Poor scruffy little lad, bare and ragged, your wet belly and red
cheeks are swollen and the trousers on your buttocks are torn.
There is a British term - 'duddy fuddiel', which is also recorded from
around the same date. William Dickinson's A glossary of words and
phrases pertaining to the dialect of Cumberland, 1899, has:
"Duddy fuddiel, a ragged fellow."
There may be a link between 'duddy fuddiel' and 'fuddy-duddy' but, as
they don't mean exactly the same thing, we can't be certain.
One thing we can be sure about; that the cartoon character Elmer Fudd
inherited the name from the phrase. 'Fuddy-duddy' was in general
circulation in the US well before the character was created in around
1940 and the expression accords with his old-fashioned and obsessive
temperament.
In a rather sad sequel to the Boston Transcript's role in the coining
of 'fuddy-duddy', Time magazine reported in 1939 that a survey
commissioned by the paper found that, "the most frequent word used by
advertisers to describe the paper was fuddy-duddy". The Transcript
ceased trading soon afterwards.
Meaning
A stuffy or foolishly old-fashioned person.
Origin
If any term sounds old and English, it must be this one. As so often,
intuition is found to be inadequate as fuddy-duddy appears to be of
American origin, possibly via Scotland, nor is it especially old. The
first record that I can find of it is from the Texas newspaper The
Galveston Daily News, 1889:
"Look here; I'm Smith - Hamilton Smith. I'm a minister and I try to do
about right ... I object to being represented as an old fuddy-duddy."
That usage - without any accompanying explanation - seems to suggest
that the readership would have been expected to have been familiar
with it. That is quite possible, there are several citations in
American newspapers from the end of the 19th century that relate to a
pair of fictional wags called Fuddy and Duddy. A string of their
rather weak gags was printed in the Boston Evening Transcript. Here's
an example from a November 1895 edition:
Fuddy: So Miss Dandervecken is going to marry an Englishman. A lord, I suppose?
Duddy: Well, no, not exactly: but I understand that he's often as
drunk as a lord.
Whether or not the expression 'fuddy-duddy' was already known and the
names were taken from it, or whether it was the other way round, we
can't now tell. The coincidence in the dates of the arrival of the two
characters and the phrase does suggest that there was a connection of
some kind.
Duddy was a Scottish term meaning ragged - duds having been used to
refer to rough tattered clothes since the 15th century. Fud, or fuddy,
was a Scots dialect term for buttocks. In 1833, the Scots poet James
Ballantyne wrote The Wee Raggit Laddie:
Wee stuffy, stumpy, dumpie laddie,
Thou urchin elfin, bare an' duddy,
Thy plumpit kite an' cheek sae ruddy
Are fairly baggit,
Although the breekums on thy fuddy
Are e'en right raggit.
The full-on Scots dialect in that sentimental, Burns influenced rhyme
is difficult to translate precisely. The gist of the meaning is:
Poor scruffy little lad, bare and ragged, your wet belly and red
cheeks are swollen and the trousers on your buttocks are torn.
There is a British term - 'duddy fuddiel', which is also recorded from
around the same date. William Dickinson's A glossary of words and
phrases pertaining to the dialect of Cumberland, 1899, has:
"Duddy fuddiel, a ragged fellow."
There may be a link between 'duddy fuddiel' and 'fuddy-duddy' but, as
they don't mean exactly the same thing, we can't be certain.
One thing we can be sure about; that the cartoon character Elmer Fudd
inherited the name from the phrase. 'Fuddy-duddy' was in general
circulation in the US well before the character was created in around
1940 and the expression accords with his old-fashioned and obsessive
temperament.
In a rather sad sequel to the Boston Transcript's role in the coining
of 'fuddy-duddy', Time magazine reported in 1939 that a survey
commissioned by the paper found that, "the most frequent word used by
advertisers to describe the paper was fuddy-duddy". The Transcript
ceased trading soon afterwards.
The habit of being constant.................................
The Habit of Being Constant........for greater power of observation.
There are several ways we can make decisions, and there are guidelines to help us. There are basic principles that we can follow in life that other people have followed which helped guide their decisions along. It worked out fairly well, so we can follow basic principles, too. And we'll go in after a while to outlining some of these basic principles that help us make good, positive decisions, for we can learn by observing other people, the decisions they have made, the reactions and experiential patterns that follow. We can learn by observing other people.
The first faculty of the expression of the inner being of your immortal soul is the great power of observation, to learn through observation, as your individual awareness detaches itself from that which it is aware of. You have tremendous powers of observation, for you are a free spirit. You're just here on this planet to observe. And through your powers of observation, you can go through the experiential patterns of other people, by observing what they're going through, without having to go through them yourself. Some mystics live several lifetimes in one in this way.
Living by basic principles keeps awareness clean-cut, pure, direct and positive, out of the areas of the mind that are confused, unwholesome, unhealthy, areas that react back upon the nerve system of the physical nature. When we are clean-cut, our perceptions are precise. We make our decisions from an up-down point of view, and our path through life is guided by each decision that we make.
When we make a decision, it has its reaction. If we do not make a decision, that has a reaction too, for then decisions are made for us by circumstance, other people, situations or confusion. The confusion becomes so intense that finally we're forced into a decision. When we become accustomed to making one decision after another from an up-down point of view, our lives are guided in a systematic, positive, clean-cut, beautiful way. Who does the guiding? You do, with your awakened perceptive faculties.
There are several ways we can make decisions, and there are guidelines to help us. There are basic principles that we can follow in life that other people have followed which helped guide their decisions along. It worked out fairly well, so we can follow basic principles, too. And we'll go in after a while to outlining some of these basic principles that help us make good, positive decisions, for we can learn by observing other people, the decisions they have made, the reactions and experiential patterns that follow. We can learn by observing other people.
The first faculty of the expression of the inner being of your immortal soul is the great power of observation, to learn through observation, as your individual awareness detaches itself from that which it is aware of. You have tremendous powers of observation, for you are a free spirit. You're just here on this planet to observe. And through your powers of observation, you can go through the experiential patterns of other people, by observing what they're going through, without having to go through them yourself. Some mystics live several lifetimes in one in this way.
Living by basic principles keeps awareness clean-cut, pure, direct and positive, out of the areas of the mind that are confused, unwholesome, unhealthy, areas that react back upon the nerve system of the physical nature. When we are clean-cut, our perceptions are precise. We make our decisions from an up-down point of view, and our path through life is guided by each decision that we make.
When we make a decision, it has its reaction. If we do not make a decision, that has a reaction too, for then decisions are made for us by circumstance, other people, situations or confusion. The confusion becomes so intense that finally we're forced into a decision. When we become accustomed to making one decision after another from an up-down point of view, our lives are guided in a systematic, positive, clean-cut, beautiful way. Who does the guiding? You do, with your awakened perceptive faculties.
Be Ready to turn inward.....................through consistency.
Be ready to turn inward....................through consistency.
Why not be Ready To Turn Inward? Basic principles for a good foundation in our lives can be established through consistency. The consistency in approach to what you are doing, a good habit pattern in living our life,as we approach our inner life, the understanding of our inner life, the study of it and the experience of it has to be on a day-to-day basis. To develop a contemplative lifestyle that is sensible, that is positively worked out, and programmed that into our complete pattern of daily life gives us a foundation strong enough to face decisions and the ensuing experiences and the reaction to those experiences in a way that they enhance our spiritual unfoldment.
Remember, the lifestyle that we now have was programmed for us by mothers, fathers, teachers, people that we had just met along the way, and good friends. It's not a particularly good lifestyle in which to hold the perspective that we're an immortal being. It's a great lifestyle to hold the perspective that we're a temporal being, and we're only here for some years and then we..................................... become mortal.
To develop a whole new lifestyle takes thought. Our desire has to be transmuted into doing that. In the ordinary lifestyle of human consciousness, our desires generally are for things, for emotional experiences, for intellectual knowing. And that's all good, but they are not organised. We have to organise the tremendous power of desire so that it's transmuted, and we desire the realisation of the Self more than anything else. Then you'll have enough desire left over to get things, to get happiness and to get all the getting that humans want.
But the tremendous force of desire is transmuted. The perspective is changed. We see our self as an immortal being, and we work consistently with our lifestyle day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year. Each decision that we make is an easier decision to make, and each reaction that we face, we face it joyfully. Each meditation that we hold is more profound than the last, and the spiritual being, the soul body, begins to merge with the physical body, as the elements of the instinct and the elements of the intellect that have been supreme life after life after life begin to give up and transmute their energies into the immortal body of the soul.
Why not be Ready To Turn Inward? Basic principles for a good foundation in our lives can be established through consistency. The consistency in approach to what you are doing, a good habit pattern in living our life,as we approach our inner life, the understanding of our inner life, the study of it and the experience of it has to be on a day-to-day basis. To develop a contemplative lifestyle that is sensible, that is positively worked out, and programmed that into our complete pattern of daily life gives us a foundation strong enough to face decisions and the ensuing experiences and the reaction to those experiences in a way that they enhance our spiritual unfoldment.
Remember, the lifestyle that we now have was programmed for us by mothers, fathers, teachers, people that we had just met along the way, and good friends. It's not a particularly good lifestyle in which to hold the perspective that we're an immortal being. It's a great lifestyle to hold the perspective that we're a temporal being, and we're only here for some years and then we..................................... become mortal.
To develop a whole new lifestyle takes thought. Our desire has to be transmuted into doing that. In the ordinary lifestyle of human consciousness, our desires generally are for things, for emotional experiences, for intellectual knowing. And that's all good, but they are not organised. We have to organise the tremendous power of desire so that it's transmuted, and we desire the realisation of the Self more than anything else. Then you'll have enough desire left over to get things, to get happiness and to get all the getting that humans want.
But the tremendous force of desire is transmuted. The perspective is changed. We see our self as an immortal being, and we work consistently with our lifestyle day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year. Each decision that we make is an easier decision to make, and each reaction that we face, we face it joyfully. Each meditation that we hold is more profound than the last, and the spiritual being, the soul body, begins to merge with the physical body, as the elements of the instinct and the elements of the intellect that have been supreme life after life after life begin to give up and transmute their energies into the immortal body of the soul.
Patience............Essential to the Divine Path.
Patience.........................Essential to the Divine Path.
Patience, is as essential to the spiritual path as the spiritual path is to itself. Impatience is a sign of desirousness to fulfil unfulfilled desires, having no time for any interruptions or delays from anything that seems irrelevant to what one really wants to accomplish.
We must restrain our desires by regulating our life with daily worship and meditation. Daily worship and meditation are difficult to accomplish without a break in continuity. However, impatience and frustration come automatically in continuity, day after day, often at the same time-being impatient before breakfast because it is not served on time, feeling intolerant and abusive with children because they are not behaving as adults, and so on and on. Everything has its timing and its regularity in life. Focusing on living in the eternity of the moment overcomes impatience. It produces the feeling that one has nothing to do, no future to work toward and no past to rely on. This excellent spiritual practice can be performed now and again during the day by anyone.
Patience is having the power of acceptance, accepting people, accepting events as they are happening. One of the great spiritual powers that people can have is to accept things as they are. That forestalls impatience and intolerance. Acceptance is developed in a person by understanding the law of karma and in seeing God and His work everywhere, accepting the perfection of the timing of the creation, preservation and absorption of the entire universe.
Acceptance does not mean being resigned to one's situation and avoiding challenges. We know that we ourselves created our own situation, our own challenges, in a former time by sending forth our energies, thoughts, words and deeds. As these energies, on their cycle-back, manifest through people, happenings and circumstances, we must patiently deal with the situation, not fight it or try to avoid it or be discouraged because of it. This is patience in the raw. This is pure patience. Patience cannot be
acquired in depth in any other way. This is why meditation upon the truths of the Sanatana Dharma is so important.
It is also extremely important to maintain patience with oneself. Many people are masters of the fade of being patient with others but take their frustrations out on themselves. This can be corrected and must be corrected for spiritual unfoldment to continue through an unbroken routine of daily worship and meditation and a yearly routine of attending festivals and of pilgrimage.
Most people today are intolerant with one another and impatient with their circumstances. This breeds an irreverent attitude. Nothing is sacred to them, nothing holy. But through daily exercising anger, malice and the other lower emotions, they do, without knowing, invoke the demonic forces of the world of Hell. Then they must suffer the backlash: have nightmares, confusions, separations and even perform heinous acts. Let all people of the world restrain themselves and be patient through the practice of daily worship and meditation, which retroactively invokes the divine forces from the Heavens. May great peace pervade the planet as the well-earned result of these practices.
The next time you find yourself becoming impatient, just stop for a moment and remember that you are on the upward path, now facing a rare opportunity to take one more step upward by overcoming these feelings, putting all that you have previously learned into practice. One does not progress on the spiritual path by words, ideas or unused knowledge. Memorized precepts, shlokas, all the shoulds and should-nots, are good, but unless used they will not propel you one inch further than you already are. It is putting what you have learned into practice in these moments of experiencing impatience and controlling it through command of your spiritual will, that moves you forward. These steps forward can never be retracted. When a test comes, prevail.
Sadhakas(disciples/devotees) must be perfect in patience, forbearing with people and patient under all circumstances, as they have harnessed their karmas of this life and the lives before, compressed them to be experienced in this one lifetime. There is no cause for them, if they are to succeed, to harbor intolerance or experience any kind of impatience with people or circumstances. Their instinctive, intellectual nature should be caught up in daily devotion, unreserved worship, meditation and deep self-inquiry. Therefore, the practice that mitigates intolerance is devotion, cultivating devotion through daily worship and meditation.
Patience, is as essential to the spiritual path as the spiritual path is to itself. Impatience is a sign of desirousness to fulfil unfulfilled desires, having no time for any interruptions or delays from anything that seems irrelevant to what one really wants to accomplish.
We must restrain our desires by regulating our life with daily worship and meditation. Daily worship and meditation are difficult to accomplish without a break in continuity. However, impatience and frustration come automatically in continuity, day after day, often at the same time-being impatient before breakfast because it is not served on time, feeling intolerant and abusive with children because they are not behaving as adults, and so on and on. Everything has its timing and its regularity in life. Focusing on living in the eternity of the moment overcomes impatience. It produces the feeling that one has nothing to do, no future to work toward and no past to rely on. This excellent spiritual practice can be performed now and again during the day by anyone.
Patience is having the power of acceptance, accepting people, accepting events as they are happening. One of the great spiritual powers that people can have is to accept things as they are. That forestalls impatience and intolerance. Acceptance is developed in a person by understanding the law of karma and in seeing God and His work everywhere, accepting the perfection of the timing of the creation, preservation and absorption of the entire universe.
Acceptance does not mean being resigned to one's situation and avoiding challenges. We know that we ourselves created our own situation, our own challenges, in a former time by sending forth our energies, thoughts, words and deeds. As these energies, on their cycle-back, manifest through people, happenings and circumstances, we must patiently deal with the situation, not fight it or try to avoid it or be discouraged because of it. This is patience in the raw. This is pure patience. Patience cannot be
acquired in depth in any other way. This is why meditation upon the truths of the Sanatana Dharma is so important.
It is also extremely important to maintain patience with oneself. Many people are masters of the fade of being patient with others but take their frustrations out on themselves. This can be corrected and must be corrected for spiritual unfoldment to continue through an unbroken routine of daily worship and meditation and a yearly routine of attending festivals and of pilgrimage.
Most people today are intolerant with one another and impatient with their circumstances. This breeds an irreverent attitude. Nothing is sacred to them, nothing holy. But through daily exercising anger, malice and the other lower emotions, they do, without knowing, invoke the demonic forces of the world of Hell. Then they must suffer the backlash: have nightmares, confusions, separations and even perform heinous acts. Let all people of the world restrain themselves and be patient through the practice of daily worship and meditation, which retroactively invokes the divine forces from the Heavens. May great peace pervade the planet as the well-earned result of these practices.
The next time you find yourself becoming impatient, just stop for a moment and remember that you are on the upward path, now facing a rare opportunity to take one more step upward by overcoming these feelings, putting all that you have previously learned into practice. One does not progress on the spiritual path by words, ideas or unused knowledge. Memorized precepts, shlokas, all the shoulds and should-nots, are good, but unless used they will not propel you one inch further than you already are. It is putting what you have learned into practice in these moments of experiencing impatience and controlling it through command of your spiritual will, that moves you forward. These steps forward can never be retracted. When a test comes, prevail.
Sadhakas(disciples/devotees) must be perfect in patience, forbearing with people and patient under all circumstances, as they have harnessed their karmas of this life and the lives before, compressed them to be experienced in this one lifetime. There is no cause for them, if they are to succeed, to harbor intolerance or experience any kind of impatience with people or circumstances. Their instinctive, intellectual nature should be caught up in daily devotion, unreserved worship, meditation and deep self-inquiry. Therefore, the practice that mitigates intolerance is devotion, cultivating devotion through daily worship and meditation.
Mantras & Mantra Sadhanas...........
Mantra and Mantra Sadhanas............................................
What is a Mantra ? Which is the most powerful Mantra? How are Mantras to be learnt? How Mantras are to chanted? some thoughts and understanding in this regard...........................
A Mantra can be said to be a word-symbol or symbols representing and expressing, as nearly as possible, the particular view of God and the universe they stand for. When the Mantras that are of the nature of symbols, syllables etc.are given to the disciple/devotee by an illumined Guru, it becomes a living seed. The Guru, by his spiritual power, gives life to the word and at the same time awakens the spiritual power latent in the disciple/devotee. That is the secret of Guru`s initiation. A Mantra is an aid to meditation.
There are three types of Mantras: -
The first category include those that invoke the low powers of nature and are called as Tamasik Mantras.
The second category of Mantras excite and manifest might and power and are called Rajasik Mantras.
and
Lastly, those that are of quiet and purely spiritual types are called Satwi Mantrass.
All the Mantras again fall under two classifications: -
(a) Those that need only to be chanted and there is no need for one to know their meaning and
(b) Those Mantras that are of the nature of an invocation and the disciple/ devotee must necessarily know the meaning of those Mantras. In the absence of knowledge of meaning of the Mantras he will not be able to bring his mind to play upon the Divine theme constantly.
The Vedic Mantras are both in prose and poetry. Metrical Mantras are called "Rik" and "Yajus" is the name of the prose .
Mantras originated at the time of India`s Vedic Religion. The word' Mantra' belongs to Samskrit language, but it is now being used in English language to mean various things, just as words like Guru from Samskrit and Jungal from Hindi are also used in English Language. That which protects on account of it being repeated is called Mantra.
"Mananaat Trayate iti Mantrah."
It is said that mantras can excite the emotions and give suggestions to the mind. Mantras have influence and effect on both the one who chants and the those who listen to them. Ramana Maharishi says, repetition of the mantras , with attention directed to the source of the sound, completely engages the mind. This source is not only in the vocal chords alone, but also the idea of the sound is in the mind, whose source is the Self. Thus the practice of Mantra repetition is a means of getting in touch with our Self. Mantra is a sort of ladder in spiritual evolution. Mantras are used in worship, rituals, for purification, healing etc.
What is a Mantra ? Which is the most powerful Mantra? How are Mantras to be learnt? How Mantras are to chanted? some thoughts and understanding in this regard...........................
A Mantra can be said to be a word-symbol or symbols representing and expressing, as nearly as possible, the particular view of God and the universe they stand for. When the Mantras that are of the nature of symbols, syllables etc.are given to the disciple/devotee by an illumined Guru, it becomes a living seed. The Guru, by his spiritual power, gives life to the word and at the same time awakens the spiritual power latent in the disciple/devotee. That is the secret of Guru`s initiation. A Mantra is an aid to meditation.
There are three types of Mantras: -
The first category include those that invoke the low powers of nature and are called as Tamasik Mantras.
The second category of Mantras excite and manifest might and power and are called Rajasik Mantras.
and
Lastly, those that are of quiet and purely spiritual types are called Satwi Mantrass.
All the Mantras again fall under two classifications: -
(a) Those that need only to be chanted and there is no need for one to know their meaning and
(b) Those Mantras that are of the nature of an invocation and the disciple/ devotee must necessarily know the meaning of those Mantras. In the absence of knowledge of meaning of the Mantras he will not be able to bring his mind to play upon the Divine theme constantly.
The Vedic Mantras are both in prose and poetry. Metrical Mantras are called "Rik" and "Yajus" is the name of the prose .
Mantras originated at the time of India`s Vedic Religion. The word' Mantra' belongs to Samskrit language, but it is now being used in English language to mean various things, just as words like Guru from Samskrit and Jungal from Hindi are also used in English Language. That which protects on account of it being repeated is called Mantra.
"Mananaat Trayate iti Mantrah."
It is said that mantras can excite the emotions and give suggestions to the mind. Mantras have influence and effect on both the one who chants and the those who listen to them. Ramana Maharishi says, repetition of the mantras , with attention directed to the source of the sound, completely engages the mind. This source is not only in the vocal chords alone, but also the idea of the sound is in the mind, whose source is the Self. Thus the practice of Mantra repetition is a means of getting in touch with our Self. Mantra is a sort of ladder in spiritual evolution. Mantras are used in worship, rituals, for purification, healing etc.
Sublime &Propelling Thoughts of JK...........
Sublime & Propelling Thoughts of J.K..........................
"There is nothing you cannot be,There is nothing you cannot do,
And there is nothing you cannot achieve, All you have to have is “BELIEF IN YOU.”
"When you believe in yourself:-
Ever strive to excel.
Yearn to Learn.
And seek to have fire in the belly.
Bounce in the step.
Twinkle in the eyes.
Hope in the heart.
Steel in the nerves.
Spirit in the limbs.
Aim in the Mind.
Tact in the tongue.
Smile in the lips.
Grace in the face.
.
Humour in the speech.
Logic in the thought.
passion in a mission.
And a purpose in life.
"Ignorance, absence of discipline and disobedience are the causes of disappointment and stress in life."
"Time is illusion’s trickery. Realise the timeless eternal truth of this reality-i.e. Why, When Indians have breakfast, Aussies have lunch & Americans have dinner." (For appropriate time sense and time management)
"If there are two perfections, there is limitation. Therefore perfection has to be one- Why not it be YOU?
"The society is built upon TRUST, the TRUST is built upon FAITH and the FAITH is built upon TRUTH."
"If you try you will never MAKE IT, if you do you will always MAKE IT. Therefore do it and MAKE all good things happen in your life."
" Life is beautiful; Living is a gift and make best use of the beauty and the gift every Moment of your life."
" Think of me at my best, if I have done, for ever."
"Learn to live diligently with dignity, decency, divinity, dedication and decorum to fulfil and attain your mission of life’s vision."
"Do things rightfully, gracefully, confidently & articulately- this will gratify many and astonish the rest."
"You have to see the INVISIBLE to do the IMPOSSIBLE."
"Throw away "Escapism" from your life and replace it with"Empowerment".
"Make excellence a habit and not an act."
"If you are a great believer of Luck, you have to work hard for it."
" If you know the ART OF LOVING no body needs to teach you ART OF LIVING."
"It is dangerous to be right when governing is wrong."
"Many things I have not learned from my life’s experience can now be learned from my Son............................. and ‘am at it."
"Trying is the first step towards the failure & doing is the first step towards Success. Keep doing."
"Learn to tell truth so that you don’t have to remember anything."
"Do not wait for the opportunities to come and knock at your door, instead go out, walk through the road, and find opportunities."
"Life is not a race, do not compete with it, It’s a journey and undertake safely."
"You only live once-but if you work and make it to LIVE right, once is enough."
"The bond that links your true family is not one of the blood, but of respect and joy in each others life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof mainly for reasons of "Money & Matrimony."
"Do good, and leave behind you, a monument of virtue that the storms of time can never destroy. Write your name in kindness, love, and mercy on the
hearts of thousands you come in contact with year by year, and you will never be forgotten. Your name and your good deeds will shine as the stars of heaven. "
"Ignorance, absence of discipline and disobedience are the causes of disappointments and stress in life .Keep appointments in life and not
disappointments."
"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great."
"What you have to do to-day, do it to-day or else today will become yesterday by tomorrow."
"Do not fail to "PLAN" unless you have plan to "FAIL".
"Silent" and "Listen" both are spelt with same letters- So, silently listen.”
"Is "GOOD" a good word and "BAD" a bad word? Both are the net result of ones deed."
"It is merely our choice that shows what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
"Knowing is not DOING, Doing is not Doing-Knowing and Doing is doing.”
"If only you learn the art of' INVOLVE', you will learn the science of 'EVOLVE'
Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework in which they were created.
Never Assume, as Assume makes an Ass out of U & ME.
"The one important thing that I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous."
"Never take some one for granted. Hold every person close to your heart and in esteem, because you might wake up one day and realise that you have lost a diamond while you were busy collecting stones."
"Always be the reason for some one's happiness,never be just a part of it. Always be a part of some one's sadness, But never be the reason for it."
"Do not count the words I write, count the value it contains."
And
"Whatever I say is like water, and those by genius are like champagne-
Incidentally every one drinks water."
Most Important one..........
"Life is always unsafe and unstable like a drop of water on the Lotus Leaf. The Company of Pujya Guruji even for a moment can save and redeem us."
"There is nothing you cannot be,There is nothing you cannot do,
And there is nothing you cannot achieve, All you have to have is “BELIEF IN YOU.”
"When you believe in yourself:-
Ever strive to excel.
Yearn to Learn.
And seek to have fire in the belly.
Bounce in the step.
Twinkle in the eyes.
Hope in the heart.
Steel in the nerves.
Spirit in the limbs.
Aim in the Mind.
Tact in the tongue.
Smile in the lips.
Grace in the face.
.
Humour in the speech.
Logic in the thought.
passion in a mission.
And a purpose in life.
"Ignorance, absence of discipline and disobedience are the causes of disappointment and stress in life."
"Time is illusion’s trickery. Realise the timeless eternal truth of this reality-i.e. Why, When Indians have breakfast, Aussies have lunch & Americans have dinner." (For appropriate time sense and time management)
"If there are two perfections, there is limitation. Therefore perfection has to be one- Why not it be YOU?
"The society is built upon TRUST, the TRUST is built upon FAITH and the FAITH is built upon TRUTH."
"If you try you will never MAKE IT, if you do you will always MAKE IT. Therefore do it and MAKE all good things happen in your life."
" Life is beautiful; Living is a gift and make best use of the beauty and the gift every Moment of your life."
" Think of me at my best, if I have done, for ever."
"Learn to live diligently with dignity, decency, divinity, dedication and decorum to fulfil and attain your mission of life’s vision."
"Do things rightfully, gracefully, confidently & articulately- this will gratify many and astonish the rest."
"You have to see the INVISIBLE to do the IMPOSSIBLE."
"Throw away "Escapism" from your life and replace it with"Empowerment".
"Make excellence a habit and not an act."
"If you are a great believer of Luck, you have to work hard for it."
" If you know the ART OF LOVING no body needs to teach you ART OF LIVING."
"It is dangerous to be right when governing is wrong."
"Many things I have not learned from my life’s experience can now be learned from my Son............................. and ‘am at it."
"Trying is the first step towards the failure & doing is the first step towards Success. Keep doing."
"Learn to tell truth so that you don’t have to remember anything."
"Do not wait for the opportunities to come and knock at your door, instead go out, walk through the road, and find opportunities."
"Life is not a race, do not compete with it, It’s a journey and undertake safely."
"You only live once-but if you work and make it to LIVE right, once is enough."
"The bond that links your true family is not one of the blood, but of respect and joy in each others life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof mainly for reasons of "Money & Matrimony."
"Do good, and leave behind you, a monument of virtue that the storms of time can never destroy. Write your name in kindness, love, and mercy on the
hearts of thousands you come in contact with year by year, and you will never be forgotten. Your name and your good deeds will shine as the stars of heaven. "
"Ignorance, absence of discipline and disobedience are the causes of disappointments and stress in life .Keep appointments in life and not
disappointments."
"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great."
"What you have to do to-day, do it to-day or else today will become yesterday by tomorrow."
"Do not fail to "PLAN" unless you have plan to "FAIL".
"Silent" and "Listen" both are spelt with same letters- So, silently listen.”
"Is "GOOD" a good word and "BAD" a bad word? Both are the net result of ones deed."
"It is merely our choice that shows what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
"Knowing is not DOING, Doing is not Doing-Knowing and Doing is doing.”
"If only you learn the art of' INVOLVE', you will learn the science of 'EVOLVE'
Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework in which they were created.
Never Assume, as Assume makes an Ass out of U & ME.
"The one important thing that I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous."
"Never take some one for granted. Hold every person close to your heart and in esteem, because you might wake up one day and realise that you have lost a diamond while you were busy collecting stones."
"Always be the reason for some one's happiness,never be just a part of it. Always be a part of some one's sadness, But never be the reason for it."
"Do not count the words I write, count the value it contains."
And
"Whatever I say is like water, and those by genius are like champagne-
Incidentally every one drinks water."
Most Important one..........
"Life is always unsafe and unstable like a drop of water on the Lotus Leaf. The Company of Pujya Guruji even for a moment can save and redeem us."
Monday, July 20, 2009
Tempest in a Tea Pot
Tempest in a teapot
Meaning
A small or unimportant event that is over-reacted to, as if it were of
considerably more consequence.
Origin
Readers from England might well be tut-tutting about the mangling of
their perfectly good phrase 'a storm in a teacup' and castigating the
American 'tempest in a teapot' as a newcomer, having little more
reason to exist than its neat alliteration.
In fact, the teacup wasn't the first location of the said storm, nor
was the teapot. The phrase probably derives from the writing of
Cicero, in De Legibus, circa 520BC. The translation of his "Excitabat
fluctus in simpulo" is often given as "He was stirring up billows in a
ladle" (correctly translated or not, I don't know; I don't speak
Latin).
Whether the first user of the expression in English had Cicero in
mind, he made no mention of tea-making, although he wasn't so far
away. The Duke of Ormond's letters to the Earl of Arlington, 1678,
include this:
"Our skirmish seems to be come to a period, and compared with the
great things now on foot, is but a storm in a cream bowl."
Also, before the 'teacup/teapot' versions were well-established,
another nobleman came up with a version that didn't involve the
tea-table at all. The Gentleman's Magazine, 1830, records:
"Each campaign, compared with those of Europe, has been only, in Lord
Thurlow's phrase, a storm in a wash-hand basin."
'Tempest in a teapot' is the version that is used most often in the
USA, and hardly at all in other places, but which nevertheless appears
to have a Scottish rather than an American origin. Blackwood's
Edinburgh Magazine, 1825, included a debate over the relative merits
of the Scottish poets James Hogg and Tom Campbell. Campbell's imagery
of raging tempests in his poetic work wasn't well received there:
What is the 'tempest raging o'er the realms of ice'? A tempest in a teapot!
Finally, we come to the version of the phrase that we English might
imagine is the 'proper' original version. This appears to be neither
original or English as it is later than the versions above, and the
first mention that I can find of it also hails from north of the
border. Catherine Sinclair, the Scottish novelist and children's
writer, wrote a novel of fashionable society life, Modern
Accomplishments, or the march of intellect, in 1838:
"As for your father's good-humoured jests being ever taken up as a
serious affair, it really is like raising a storm in a teacup."
________________________________
Meaning
A small or unimportant event that is over-reacted to, as if it were of
considerably more consequence.
Origin
Readers from England might well be tut-tutting about the mangling of
their perfectly good phrase 'a storm in a teacup' and castigating the
American 'tempest in a teapot' as a newcomer, having little more
reason to exist than its neat alliteration.
In fact, the teacup wasn't the first location of the said storm, nor
was the teapot. The phrase probably derives from the writing of
Cicero, in De Legibus, circa 520BC. The translation of his "Excitabat
fluctus in simpulo" is often given as "He was stirring up billows in a
ladle" (correctly translated or not, I don't know; I don't speak
Latin).
Whether the first user of the expression in English had Cicero in
mind, he made no mention of tea-making, although he wasn't so far
away. The Duke of Ormond's letters to the Earl of Arlington, 1678,
include this:
"Our skirmish seems to be come to a period, and compared with the
great things now on foot, is but a storm in a cream bowl."
Also, before the 'teacup/teapot' versions were well-established,
another nobleman came up with a version that didn't involve the
tea-table at all. The Gentleman's Magazine, 1830, records:
"Each campaign, compared with those of Europe, has been only, in Lord
Thurlow's phrase, a storm in a wash-hand basin."
'Tempest in a teapot' is the version that is used most often in the
USA, and hardly at all in other places, but which nevertheless appears
to have a Scottish rather than an American origin. Blackwood's
Edinburgh Magazine, 1825, included a debate over the relative merits
of the Scottish poets James Hogg and Tom Campbell. Campbell's imagery
of raging tempests in his poetic work wasn't well received there:
What is the 'tempest raging o'er the realms of ice'? A tempest in a teapot!
Finally, we come to the version of the phrase that we English might
imagine is the 'proper' original version. This appears to be neither
original or English as it is later than the versions above, and the
first mention that I can find of it also hails from north of the
border. Catherine Sinclair, the Scottish novelist and children's
writer, wrote a novel of fashionable society life, Modern
Accomplishments, or the march of intellect, in 1838:
"As for your father's good-humoured jests being ever taken up as a
serious affair, it really is like raising a storm in a teacup."
________________________________
Friday, July 17, 2009
Karma sakthi....................................................................
Karma Sakthi (Cause & Effect of Deed/Act)........Guru on behalf of God can mitigate some of the Karmas of his disciple/devotee.
Karma is a concept in Hinduism which explains causality through a system where beneficial effects are derived from past beneficial actions and harmful effects from past harmful actions, creating a system of actions and reactions throughout a person's reincarnated lives.
The doctrine of transmigration of the soul, or fateful retribution for acts committed, does not appear in the Rig Veda. The concept of karma appeared in Hindu thought during the period 800-200 BC and became widespread during the period considered as "Classical Hinduism"
"Karma" literally means "deed" or "act", and more broadly names the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction, which Hindus believe governs all consciousness. , Karma is not fate, for man acts with free will creating his own destiny. The Vedas tell us that if we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow evil, we will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determine our future. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate reaction. Not all karmas rebound immediately. Some accumulate and return unexpectedly in this or other births. We produce Karma in four ways :-
through............................................thoughts
through............................................ words
through ...................actions that we perform ourselves
through............. actions others do under our instructions
Everything that we have ever thought, spoken, done or caused is Karma; as is also that which we think, speak or do this very moment. Hindu scriptures divide karma into three kinds :
Sanchita is the accumulated karma.
Prarabdha Fruit bearing Karma.
Kriyamana Everything that we produce in current Karma
It would be impossible to experience and endure all Karmas in one life. From this stock of sanchita karma, a handful is taken out to serve one lifetime and this handful of actions, which has begun to bear fruit and which will be exhausted only on their fruit being enjoyed and not otherwise, is known as prarabdha karma.
Prarabdha Fruit-bearing karma is the portion of accumulated karma that has "ripened" and appears as a particular problem in the present life.
Kriyamana is everything that we produce in current life. All kriyamana karmas flow in to sanchita karma and consequently shape our future. Only in human life we can change our future destiny.
After death "we loose Kriya Shakti" "(ability to act)" and do (kriyamana) karma until we are born again in human body.
Actions performed consciously are weighted more heavily than those done unconsciously. But just as poison affects us if taken unknowingly, suffering caused unintentionally will also give appropriate karmic effect. Only human beings that can distinguish right from wrong can do (kriyamana) Karma. Animals and young children are not creating new Karma (and thus can not affect their future destiny) as they are incapable of discriminating between right and wrong. However, all sentient beings can feel the effects of Karma, which are experienced as pleasure and pain.
"Our destinity was shaped long before the body came into being." As long as the stock of sanchita karma lasts, a part of it continues to be taken out as prarabdha karma for being enjoyed in one lifetime, leading to the cycle of birth and death. A life cannot attain liberation until the accumulated sanchita karmas are completely exhausted.
The cycle of birth and death on earth is formed from 8.4 millions forms of life and only one of them is human. Only as humans, are we in position to do something about our destiny by doing the right thing at the right time. Through positive actions, pure thoughts, prayer, mantra and meditation, we can resolve the influence of the karma in present life and turn the destiny for the better.
A spiritual master(Guru) knowing the sequence in which our Karma will bear fruit, can help us. As humans we have the opportunity to speed up our spiritual progress with practice of good Karma. We produce negative karma because we lack knowledge and clarity.
Unkindness yields spoiled fruits, called sin, and good deeds bring forth sweet fruits, called punya. As one acts, so does he become: one becomes virtuous by virtuous action, and evil by evil action.
The role of divine forces....................
Several different views exist in Hinduism regarding the role of divine beings. In Hinduism, many see the devas as playing some kind of role/symbol. Still others such as followers of Vedanta consider Ishvara, a personal supreme God, as playing that role. In these theistic schools, karma is not seen merely as a law of cause and effect, a view espoused by Buddhism, for example, but dependent on the will of a personal supreme God. A good summary of this theistic view of karma is expressed by the following:
"God does not make one suffer for no reason nor does He make one happy for no reason. God is very fair and gives you exactly what you deserve."
Other Hindus,such as the Mimamsakas, reject such notions of divinity being responsible and see karma as acting independently, considering the natural laws of causation sufficient to explain the effects of karma.
These differing views are explicitly noted in a series of passes in the Brahma Sutras (III.2.38-40), an important text in Vedanta, the major school of Hinduism, which endorses the concept of Īśvara i.e., a personal supreme God, as the source of fruits of karma, but note opposing views in order to refute them.According to Swami Sivananda, Verse III.2.38 from the Brahma Sutras refers to the role of Īśvara (the Lord) as the dispenser of the fruits of karma. According to Swami Vireswarananda on the same verse, says that the purpose of this verse is specifically to refute the views of the Mimamsakas, who say that karma (work) and not Īśvara, gives the fruits of one's actions. According to the Mimamsakas it is useless to set up an Īśvara for that purpose, since Karma itself can give the result at a future time.
Some interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita[16] suggest an intermediate view, that karma is a law of cause and effect yet God can mitigate karma for His devotees.
Another view holds that a Sadguru, acting on God's behalf, can mitigate or work out some of the karma of the disciple/devotee
Mitigation of bad karma - Karma in the Dharmaśāstras
In Hinduism, more particularly the dharmaśāstras, Karma is a principle in which “cause and effect are as inseparably linked in the moral sphere as assumed in the physical sphere by science. A good action has its reward and a bad action leads to retribution. If the bad actions do not yield their consequences in this life, the soul begins another existence and in the new environment undergoes suffering for its past deeds”. Thus it is important to understand that karma does not go away, one must either reap the benefits or suffer the consequences of his past actions.
The Brahdaranyakopanisad states, “According as a man acts and according as he believes so will he be; a man of meritorious acts will be meritorious, a man of evil deeds sinful. He becomes pure by pure deeds and evil by evil deeds. And here they say that person consists of desires. As is his desire so is his will; and as is his will, so is his deed; and whatever deeds he does that he will reap”. The doctrine of karma dates from ancient times and besides the above author is mentioned in the Gautama dharma-sutra, Satapatha Brahmana, Kathaaka-grhya-sutra, Chandogyopanisad, Markandeya-purana and many others.
The sastras written about karma go into some detail about possible consequences of karma. There is often talk about coming back as a variety of different object when it comes to reincarnation and pasts lives. In this case, it holds true, or at least insofar as the texts state. The Kathaaka-grhya-sutra states, “some human beings enter the womb in order to have an embodied existence; others go into inorganic matter (the stump of a tree and the like) according to their deeds and according to their knowledge”.
More extensively discussed is the consequences of karma in relation to sin. “Karmavipaka means the ripening (or fruition) of evil actions or sins. This fruition takes three forms, as stated in the Yogasutra II. 3, viz.
Jati (birth as a worm or animal),
Ayuh (life i.e. living for a short period such as five or ten years)
and
Bhoga (experiencing the torments of Hell”.
There are long lists of birth of lower animals and the diseases and deformities from which sinners suffer. Some authors offer specific ramifications for specific sins. For example, in “the Haritasamhita it is said the killer of a brahmana suffers from white leprosy and the killer of a cow from black leprosy.” While the list is extensive for ways of reducing sin and therefore reducing bad karma, some authors, such as Mitaksara, a commentator on the Yarjnavalkya, believe karma is, “not to be taken literally, but is meant to induce sinner to undergo such prayaschittas as
Prajapatya which entail great worry and trouble and which no one might willingly undertake.”
Further the Karmavipaka states, “that no soul need be without hope provided it is prepared to wait and undergo torments for its misdeeds, that it need not be appalled by the numerous existences foreshadowed in those works and that the soul may in its long passage and evolution but ultimately able to discover its true greatness and realize eternal peace and perfection.” Thus the sastras turn to means of reducing sin, some of which are hard to reconcile with the doctrines of karma. For example, one practice, sraddha, or as the Brahmapurana sates, “whatever is given with faith to brahmanas intending it to be for the benefit of pitrs at a proper time, in a proper place, to deserving persons and in accordance with the prescribed procedure” is meant to honor ancestors, however a believer of karma would agree that when the body dies the soul automatically enters into another body. Therefore, in contrast with karma, Kane states about srāddha, “the
doctorine of offering balls of rice to three ancestors requires that the spirits of the three ancestors even after the lapse of 50 or 100 years are still capable of enjoying in an ethereal body the flavor or essence of rice balls wafted by the wind.”. Of course the two can be reconciled if taking into account the sastras that state that karma is not to be taken literally, but as evidenced by the variety of opinion written on the subject this will not hold true everywhere.
Besides narrow meaning of karma as the reaction or suffering being due to karma of their past lives and that one would have to transmigrate to another body in their next life, it is often used in the broader sense as action or reaction.
Thus, karma in Hinduism may mean an activity, an action or a materialistic activity. Often with the specific combination it takes specific meanings, such as karma-yoga or karma-kanda means "yoga or actions" and "path of materialistic activity" respectively. Yet another example is Nitya karma, which describes rituals which have to be performed daily by Hindus, such as the Sandhyavandanam which involves chanting of the Gayatri Mantra.
Karma is a concept in Hinduism which explains causality through a system where beneficial effects are derived from past beneficial actions and harmful effects from past harmful actions, creating a system of actions and reactions throughout a person's reincarnated lives.
The doctrine of transmigration of the soul, or fateful retribution for acts committed, does not appear in the Rig Veda. The concept of karma appeared in Hindu thought during the period 800-200 BC and became widespread during the period considered as "Classical Hinduism"
"Karma" literally means "deed" or "act", and more broadly names the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction, which Hindus believe governs all consciousness. , Karma is not fate, for man acts with free will creating his own destiny. The Vedas tell us that if we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow evil, we will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determine our future. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate reaction. Not all karmas rebound immediately. Some accumulate and return unexpectedly in this or other births. We produce Karma in four ways :-
through............................................thoughts
through............................................ words
through ...................actions that we perform ourselves
through............. actions others do under our instructions
Everything that we have ever thought, spoken, done or caused is Karma; as is also that which we think, speak or do this very moment. Hindu scriptures divide karma into three kinds :
Sanchita is the accumulated karma.
Prarabdha Fruit bearing Karma.
Kriyamana Everything that we produce in current Karma
It would be impossible to experience and endure all Karmas in one life. From this stock of sanchita karma, a handful is taken out to serve one lifetime and this handful of actions, which has begun to bear fruit and which will be exhausted only on their fruit being enjoyed and not otherwise, is known as prarabdha karma.
Prarabdha Fruit-bearing karma is the portion of accumulated karma that has "ripened" and appears as a particular problem in the present life.
Kriyamana is everything that we produce in current life. All kriyamana karmas flow in to sanchita karma and consequently shape our future. Only in human life we can change our future destiny.
After death "we loose Kriya Shakti" "(ability to act)" and do (kriyamana) karma until we are born again in human body.
Actions performed consciously are weighted more heavily than those done unconsciously. But just as poison affects us if taken unknowingly, suffering caused unintentionally will also give appropriate karmic effect. Only human beings that can distinguish right from wrong can do (kriyamana) Karma. Animals and young children are not creating new Karma (and thus can not affect their future destiny) as they are incapable of discriminating between right and wrong. However, all sentient beings can feel the effects of Karma, which are experienced as pleasure and pain.
"Our destinity was shaped long before the body came into being." As long as the stock of sanchita karma lasts, a part of it continues to be taken out as prarabdha karma for being enjoyed in one lifetime, leading to the cycle of birth and death. A life cannot attain liberation until the accumulated sanchita karmas are completely exhausted.
The cycle of birth and death on earth is formed from 8.4 millions forms of life and only one of them is human. Only as humans, are we in position to do something about our destiny by doing the right thing at the right time. Through positive actions, pure thoughts, prayer, mantra and meditation, we can resolve the influence of the karma in present life and turn the destiny for the better.
A spiritual master(Guru) knowing the sequence in which our Karma will bear fruit, can help us. As humans we have the opportunity to speed up our spiritual progress with practice of good Karma. We produce negative karma because we lack knowledge and clarity.
Unkindness yields spoiled fruits, called sin, and good deeds bring forth sweet fruits, called punya. As one acts, so does he become: one becomes virtuous by virtuous action, and evil by evil action.
The role of divine forces....................
Several different views exist in Hinduism regarding the role of divine beings. In Hinduism, many see the devas as playing some kind of role/symbol. Still others such as followers of Vedanta consider Ishvara, a personal supreme God, as playing that role. In these theistic schools, karma is not seen merely as a law of cause and effect, a view espoused by Buddhism, for example, but dependent on the will of a personal supreme God. A good summary of this theistic view of karma is expressed by the following:
"God does not make one suffer for no reason nor does He make one happy for no reason. God is very fair and gives you exactly what you deserve."
Other Hindus,such as the Mimamsakas, reject such notions of divinity being responsible and see karma as acting independently, considering the natural laws of causation sufficient to explain the effects of karma.
These differing views are explicitly noted in a series of passes in the Brahma Sutras (III.2.38-40), an important text in Vedanta, the major school of Hinduism, which endorses the concept of Īśvara i.e., a personal supreme God, as the source of fruits of karma, but note opposing views in order to refute them.According to Swami Sivananda, Verse III.2.38 from the Brahma Sutras refers to the role of Īśvara (the Lord) as the dispenser of the fruits of karma. According to Swami Vireswarananda on the same verse, says that the purpose of this verse is specifically to refute the views of the Mimamsakas, who say that karma (work) and not Īśvara, gives the fruits of one's actions. According to the Mimamsakas it is useless to set up an Īśvara for that purpose, since Karma itself can give the result at a future time.
Some interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita[16] suggest an intermediate view, that karma is a law of cause and effect yet God can mitigate karma for His devotees.
Another view holds that a Sadguru, acting on God's behalf, can mitigate or work out some of the karma of the disciple/devotee
Mitigation of bad karma - Karma in the Dharmaśāstras
In Hinduism, more particularly the dharmaśāstras, Karma is a principle in which “cause and effect are as inseparably linked in the moral sphere as assumed in the physical sphere by science. A good action has its reward and a bad action leads to retribution. If the bad actions do not yield their consequences in this life, the soul begins another existence and in the new environment undergoes suffering for its past deeds”. Thus it is important to understand that karma does not go away, one must either reap the benefits or suffer the consequences of his past actions.
The Brahdaranyakopanisad states, “According as a man acts and according as he believes so will he be; a man of meritorious acts will be meritorious, a man of evil deeds sinful. He becomes pure by pure deeds and evil by evil deeds. And here they say that person consists of desires. As is his desire so is his will; and as is his will, so is his deed; and whatever deeds he does that he will reap”. The doctrine of karma dates from ancient times and besides the above author is mentioned in the Gautama dharma-sutra, Satapatha Brahmana, Kathaaka-grhya-sutra, Chandogyopanisad, Markandeya-purana and many others.
The sastras written about karma go into some detail about possible consequences of karma. There is often talk about coming back as a variety of different object when it comes to reincarnation and pasts lives. In this case, it holds true, or at least insofar as the texts state. The Kathaaka-grhya-sutra states, “some human beings enter the womb in order to have an embodied existence; others go into inorganic matter (the stump of a tree and the like) according to their deeds and according to their knowledge”.
More extensively discussed is the consequences of karma in relation to sin. “Karmavipaka means the ripening (or fruition) of evil actions or sins. This fruition takes three forms, as stated in the Yogasutra II. 3, viz.
Jati (birth as a worm or animal),
Ayuh (life i.e. living for a short period such as five or ten years)
and
Bhoga (experiencing the torments of Hell”.
There are long lists of birth of lower animals and the diseases and deformities from which sinners suffer. Some authors offer specific ramifications for specific sins. For example, in “the Haritasamhita it is said the killer of a brahmana suffers from white leprosy and the killer of a cow from black leprosy.” While the list is extensive for ways of reducing sin and therefore reducing bad karma, some authors, such as Mitaksara, a commentator on the Yarjnavalkya, believe karma is, “not to be taken literally, but is meant to induce sinner to undergo such prayaschittas as
Prajapatya which entail great worry and trouble and which no one might willingly undertake.”
Further the Karmavipaka states, “that no soul need be without hope provided it is prepared to wait and undergo torments for its misdeeds, that it need not be appalled by the numerous existences foreshadowed in those works and that the soul may in its long passage and evolution but ultimately able to discover its true greatness and realize eternal peace and perfection.” Thus the sastras turn to means of reducing sin, some of which are hard to reconcile with the doctrines of karma. For example, one practice, sraddha, or as the Brahmapurana sates, “whatever is given with faith to brahmanas intending it to be for the benefit of pitrs at a proper time, in a proper place, to deserving persons and in accordance with the prescribed procedure” is meant to honor ancestors, however a believer of karma would agree that when the body dies the soul automatically enters into another body. Therefore, in contrast with karma, Kane states about srāddha, “the
doctorine of offering balls of rice to three ancestors requires that the spirits of the three ancestors even after the lapse of 50 or 100 years are still capable of enjoying in an ethereal body the flavor or essence of rice balls wafted by the wind.”. Of course the two can be reconciled if taking into account the sastras that state that karma is not to be taken literally, but as evidenced by the variety of opinion written on the subject this will not hold true everywhere.
Besides narrow meaning of karma as the reaction or suffering being due to karma of their past lives and that one would have to transmigrate to another body in their next life, it is often used in the broader sense as action or reaction.
Thus, karma in Hinduism may mean an activity, an action or a materialistic activity. Often with the specific combination it takes specific meanings, such as karma-yoga or karma-kanda means "yoga or actions" and "path of materialistic activity" respectively. Yet another example is Nitya karma, which describes rituals which have to be performed daily by Hindus, such as the Sandhyavandanam which involves chanting of the Gayatri Mantra.
Everything has a vision & Mission........................
Everything...................Has a Vision & Mission.
"Everything that happens has a purpose, Every purpose is sculpted out
of a dream............... And Every dream is a stepping stone to a vision- Leading you towards fulfilling your mission"
May all your Dreams come true........... Not only Today but All Days.
J.K
"Everything that happens has a purpose, Every purpose is sculpted out
of a dream............... And Every dream is a stepping stone to a vision- Leading you towards fulfilling your mission"
May all your Dreams come true........... Not only Today but All Days.
J.K
Positive Thinking.................for achievement & Success.
Positive Thinking..........for achievement & Success.
Do not think of what you do not have;
Instead, appreciate what you have and can still have.
Do not think of things lost;
Instead, value what you still have and may yet find.
Do not cry over spilled milk;
Instead, rejoice in what was left.
Do not think of what you are not;
Instead, be humble with what you are and can still become.
Do not think of what others say you are;
Instead, concern yourself with what you affirm to be.
Do not think of the hours and days past;
Instead, look eagerly to times that are yet to come.
Do not think of what you failed to do;
Instead, think of those that you were able to do and can still best do.
Do not think of mistakes committed;
Instead, count the things you did right.
Do not think much of the pain you have caused;
Instead, plan for ways to make amends.
Do not think of the sufferings you now bear;
Instead, look to the comfort when relief draws near.
Do not consume yourself with thoughts of what could have been;
Instead, marvel at what has become and will become.
Do not be anxious to attain greater happiness;
Instead, content yourself with the little things which bring you bliss.
Do not aspire to fill your cup at once;
Instead, have the patience to do it little by little.
And if by chance you fail, do not fret over the empty part on top;
Instead, celebrate the space filled up.
Do not condemn nature when it is at its worst;
Instead, think of the times when it was at its best.
Do not blame luck for things you miss;
Instead, learn from things in which you have been remiss.
Nor should you curse luck or others for life's misfortunes;
Instead, accept them as part of life.
I say then, Live fully, die a little,
Learn much but question less.
Have just enough but give much more,
Be contented each time to crave much less.
Doubt less and affirm a lot,
Understand more, and be understood less.
Worry a little but hope you must,
Accept all, resist the least.
For all things happen, In due time they must,
As time is a big factor to things to happen...................
And always remember the good old four factors attributes to the success of your mission ......."Yathnam"(Efforts) "Prayathnam(Efforts in the right direction)" "Kaalam" (TIME) & "Deivam" (Grace of Guru and God).
Do not think of what you do not have;
Instead, appreciate what you have and can still have.
Do not think of things lost;
Instead, value what you still have and may yet find.
Do not cry over spilled milk;
Instead, rejoice in what was left.
Do not think of what you are not;
Instead, be humble with what you are and can still become.
Do not think of what others say you are;
Instead, concern yourself with what you affirm to be.
Do not think of the hours and days past;
Instead, look eagerly to times that are yet to come.
Do not think of what you failed to do;
Instead, think of those that you were able to do and can still best do.
Do not think of mistakes committed;
Instead, count the things you did right.
Do not think much of the pain you have caused;
Instead, plan for ways to make amends.
Do not think of the sufferings you now bear;
Instead, look to the comfort when relief draws near.
Do not consume yourself with thoughts of what could have been;
Instead, marvel at what has become and will become.
Do not be anxious to attain greater happiness;
Instead, content yourself with the little things which bring you bliss.
Do not aspire to fill your cup at once;
Instead, have the patience to do it little by little.
And if by chance you fail, do not fret over the empty part on top;
Instead, celebrate the space filled up.
Do not condemn nature when it is at its worst;
Instead, think of the times when it was at its best.
Do not blame luck for things you miss;
Instead, learn from things in which you have been remiss.
Nor should you curse luck or others for life's misfortunes;
Instead, accept them as part of life.
I say then, Live fully, die a little,
Learn much but question less.
Have just enough but give much more,
Be contented each time to crave much less.
Doubt less and affirm a lot,
Understand more, and be understood less.
Worry a little but hope you must,
Accept all, resist the least.
For all things happen, In due time they must,
As time is a big factor to things to happen...................
And always remember the good old four factors attributes to the success of your mission ......."Yathnam"(Efforts) "Prayathnam(Efforts in the right direction)" "Kaalam" (TIME) & "Deivam" (Grace of Guru and God).
Vedic Management by Dr. S. KANNAN.................
Vedic management.......By Dr. S.KANNAN- A rare combination of top notch professionalism with very high academics combined with immense spiritual and Vedic Knowledge.
Dear All,
I earnestly believe that my beloved readers will find this article by Dr. S.KANNAN quite interesting and useful.
Ancient values for modern managers......................................
The Vedas insist on proper distribution of wealth. Wealth earned by 100 hands has to be distributed to 1,000 hands.
DR S. KANNAN, AUTHOR, VEDIC MANAGEMENT
Bio:
Apart from being a CA, Dr S. Kannan is a post-graduate in Management Accounting, a Certified Information Systems Auditor and a Certified Information Security Manager. He holds a Ph.D. in Commerce and another inter-disciplinary Ph.D. in Management and Sanskrit in the domain of Vedic Management. Currently a Consultant with Tata Consultancy Services, Dr Kannan has authored books on Corporate Laws, Industrial Laws, and Project Evaluation.
What accounts for the sudden downfall of otherwise successful organisations? Are there any insights from the scriptures in this regard?
In answer to these questions, Dr S. Kannan, a Chennai-based chartered accountant, and author of Vedic Management finds it apt to cite the maxim ‘Vinasa kale viparita buddhih,’ which in Sanskrit means that when one is on the path of destruction, his mind gets perverted.
“This happens due to the negative vasanas (inherent impressions) of a person which suddenly manifest and show the true colours,” he explains during the course of a recent email interaction with Business Line.
“Kings like Ravana and Duryodhana, though highly learned, powerful and wealthy, faced destruction finally when they went against dharma (righteousness). The great king Harischandra suffered a lot but emerged finally victorious as he remained steadfast and upheld truth at all costs,” says Dr Kannan, making a reference to the epics.
He also quotes from the Vajasaneya Samhita that one shall not covet the wealth of others. “In the organisational context, it is the top leader who either makes or breaks the organisation. Hence a leader should master the art of proper self-management and abide by the moral and ethical values.”
Excerpts from the interview:
These days, we hear a lot about corporate governance. Is this a topic on which we can draw from ancient Indian wisdom?
There is a lot to learn from our ancient Indian wisdom, which would be of immense help in the modern times where there is a steep fall in the value system. To put it simply, the Vedas inspire us to speak the truth and follow the path of righteousness.
Satyam vada! Dharmam cara! - Taittiriya Upanishad i-11).
The path of truthfulness is said to be supreme (Tasmat satyam paramam vadanti - Mahanarayana Upanishad lxxviii-1). Truth is the foundation of the earth (Atharva Veda Samhita xiv-1-1). Truth alone wins (Satyameva jayate - Mundaka Upanishad iii-1-6). Do not swerve from truth. Do not swerve from righteousness (Taittiriya Upanishad i-11). Truth is honey to all beings and all beings are honey to this truth (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ii-5-12).
In order to say that you follow corporate governance, you need to be truthful, transparent and righteous. For this purpose, your thought, speech and action have to be the same.
Tasmat yatpurusho manasabhi gacchati! Tad vaca vadati! Tad karmana karoti! – Taittiriya Aranyaka i-90). Business has to be done truthfully (Vajasaneya Samhita iii –50).
Can you list a few values that can be imbibed from our traditional literature as guidance for corporates?
The Vedas, which represent the storehouse of our ancient value systems, talk about the following key values as very important:
(a) Satyam — Truth
(b) Tapah — Austerity
(c) Damah — Sense control
(d) Samah — Tranquility of mind
(e) Dharmah — Righteousness
(f) Danam — Charity
(g) Daya — Mercy
and
(h) Nyasah — Renunciation.
The Bhagavad Gita specifies twenty values in Chapter XIII (8 to 12), which are immensely relevant for any manager in the modern day corporate context as well. All these are declared as knowledge:
(a) Amanitvam — Humility
(b) Adambhitvam — Pridelessness
(c) Ahimsa — Non-violence
(d) Kshanti — Tolerance
(e) Arjavam — Simplicity
(f) Acaryopasanam — Service to the teacher
(g) Saucam — Cleanliness (internal and external)
(h) Sthairyam — Steadfastness
(i) Atma vinigraha — Self-control
(j) Vairagyam – Renunciation
(k) Anahankara — Absence of ego
(l) Janmamrityu jaravyadhi duhkha dosa anudarsanam — Reflection of the
sufferings of life-death, old age-disease, and distress
(m) Asakti — Non-attachment
(n) Anabhisvanga putradaragrhadishu — Detachment towards son and wife
(o) Nityam samacittatvam istanistopapattishu — Equanimity amidst pleasant
and unpleasant happenings
(p) Mayi ca ananyayogena bhaktih avyabhicarini —Constant and unalloyed
devotion towards God
(q) Vivikta desa sevitvam — Love for solitary life
(r) Aratir janasamsadi — Detachment towards company of people
(s) Adhyatmajnana nityatvam — Understanding the importance of self-
realisation; and
(t) Tattvajananartha darsanam — Philosophical search of the ultimate truth.
Did our rishis and munis favour only asceticism frowning upon development and growth, competition and excellence? Or is it just one of the many myths doing the rounds?
The Vedas contain a lot of mantras which focus on welfare, prosperity and wealth. In the Rig Veda, the very first mantra eulogises Agni the Fire God as the bestower of wealth (Hotaram Ratna Dhatamam - Rig Veda Samhita I-1-I). There are verses to encourage and motivate us to maximise wealth so that we can take care of those dependent on us. (Annam bahu kurveta! Tad vratam! - Taittiriya Upanishad iii-9). At the same time the Vedas guide us to earn wealth only through deeds of glory (Rig Veda Samhita vi-19-10). They advise us to take care of our wealth as well as welfare. (Bhutyai nappramaditavyam! Kusalanna pramaditavyam! - Taittiriya Upanishad i-11).
One shall not blame wealth and that’s the vow (Annam na nindyat! Tad vratam! Taittiriya Upanishad iii-7). They encourage us not only to possess wealth but also enjoy the same (Annavan annado bhavati! Taittiriya Upanishad iii-7). The rich have to satisfy the poor (Rig Veda Samhita x-117-5).
The Vedas insist on proper distribution of wealth. Wealth earned by 100 hands has to be distributed to 1,000 hands (Atharva Veda Samhita iii-24-5). They encourage us to give charity in plenty with utmost faith and humility (Sraddhaya deyam! Sriya deyam! Hriya deyam! Taittiriya Upanishad I-11). Thus the social obligations are also taken care of.
The Vedas also inspire us to innovate and improve upon (Rig Veda Samhita i-31-8), and also to succeed in trade (Atharva Veda Samhita iii-15).
And, there’s more.....................................................
Take care of quadrupeds in addition to bipeds (Atharva Veda Samhita vi-107-1 to 4). Overcome all encounters (Rig Veda Samhita ii-40-5). Be vigilant, closely united, happy and prosperous in the new environment (Rig Veda Samhita x-85-36). Aspire to be the eldest, the best, the effulgent and the sovereign (Chandogya Upanishad v-2-6). Importantly, the Vedas caution us to take care of the ecology and environment as well, in the process of development and growth.
On values, again, how are they best imparted: In schools or in organisations? Are there gaps in our education system that can be filled with learnings from traditional wisdom?
The values have to be followed in letter and spirit as a way of life. Mere preaching without actual practice makes no sense. In the Bhagavad Gita iii-21 it is said,
“Whatever a great man does, others follow it.” (Yadyat acarati sreshtah tad tdeva itara janah. Sa tat pramanam kurute lokas tadanuvartate.)
In the traditional Gurukula system, the students lived together with the teacher and learned the values from the latter as a role model. The absence of appropriate living role-models to inspire the youth is a sad reflection of the contemporary reality. One shall emulate the best practices of others (Yan yasmakam sucaritani! Tani tvayopasyani – Taiitiriya Upanishad i-11).
It is always advisable to start value-system-based teaching from the early days of schooling. The scriptures contain a wealth of knowledge, which would definitely fill the gaps in our understanding of the moral and ethical values.
What are the time-tested truths about right approach to work?
Action has to be done whole-heartedly without attachment to its fruits. The result of an action has to be accepted by a learned person as the gift of God (Isvara prasadah). One has the right only to perform the duty but has no right over its results (Karmanyevadhikaras te ma phaleshu kadacana – Bhagavad Gita ii-47).
There should be proper understanding of the concepts of karma (action), akarma (inaction) and vikarma (forbidden action). You have to see action in action and inaction in action. You attain perfection only through action. You have to perform action equi-poised (Yogasthah kuru karmani - Bhagavad Gita ii-48).
How do the Vedas describe and condemn untruth, such as what we saw in the recent disclosures about tainted accounts?
The Vedas condemn one who speak the untruth and impel him to speak the truth. Man can either become a demon or a God depending on his truthfulness. One who follows the path of untruth suffers in the end.
Here are a few quotes..................................................
"The deluded demons preach untruth (Maitrayana Brahmana Upanishad Vii-1-10)."
"One who speaks the truth verily suffers; but in the end he prospers like Gods (Satapatha Brahmanam ix-5-1- 16)."
"One who speaks untruth becomes prosperous; but in the end he suffers like demons (Satapatha Brahmanam ix-5-1-17)."
"Guile closely follows those who are untruthful (Rig Veda Samhita vii-61-15)."
Dear All,
I earnestly believe that my beloved readers will find this article by Dr. S.KANNAN quite interesting and useful.
Ancient values for modern managers......................................
The Vedas insist on proper distribution of wealth. Wealth earned by 100 hands has to be distributed to 1,000 hands.
DR S. KANNAN, AUTHOR, VEDIC MANAGEMENT
Bio:
Apart from being a CA, Dr S. Kannan is a post-graduate in Management Accounting, a Certified Information Systems Auditor and a Certified Information Security Manager. He holds a Ph.D. in Commerce and another inter-disciplinary Ph.D. in Management and Sanskrit in the domain of Vedic Management. Currently a Consultant with Tata Consultancy Services, Dr Kannan has authored books on Corporate Laws, Industrial Laws, and Project Evaluation.
What accounts for the sudden downfall of otherwise successful organisations? Are there any insights from the scriptures in this regard?
In answer to these questions, Dr S. Kannan, a Chennai-based chartered accountant, and author of Vedic Management finds it apt to cite the maxim ‘Vinasa kale viparita buddhih,’ which in Sanskrit means that when one is on the path of destruction, his mind gets perverted.
“This happens due to the negative vasanas (inherent impressions) of a person which suddenly manifest and show the true colours,” he explains during the course of a recent email interaction with Business Line.
“Kings like Ravana and Duryodhana, though highly learned, powerful and wealthy, faced destruction finally when they went against dharma (righteousness). The great king Harischandra suffered a lot but emerged finally victorious as he remained steadfast and upheld truth at all costs,” says Dr Kannan, making a reference to the epics.
He also quotes from the Vajasaneya Samhita that one shall not covet the wealth of others. “In the organisational context, it is the top leader who either makes or breaks the organisation. Hence a leader should master the art of proper self-management and abide by the moral and ethical values.”
Excerpts from the interview:
These days, we hear a lot about corporate governance. Is this a topic on which we can draw from ancient Indian wisdom?
There is a lot to learn from our ancient Indian wisdom, which would be of immense help in the modern times where there is a steep fall in the value system. To put it simply, the Vedas inspire us to speak the truth and follow the path of righteousness.
Satyam vada! Dharmam cara! - Taittiriya Upanishad i-11).
The path of truthfulness is said to be supreme (Tasmat satyam paramam vadanti - Mahanarayana Upanishad lxxviii-1). Truth is the foundation of the earth (Atharva Veda Samhita xiv-1-1). Truth alone wins (Satyameva jayate - Mundaka Upanishad iii-1-6). Do not swerve from truth. Do not swerve from righteousness (Taittiriya Upanishad i-11). Truth is honey to all beings and all beings are honey to this truth (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ii-5-12).
In order to say that you follow corporate governance, you need to be truthful, transparent and righteous. For this purpose, your thought, speech and action have to be the same.
Tasmat yatpurusho manasabhi gacchati! Tad vaca vadati! Tad karmana karoti! – Taittiriya Aranyaka i-90). Business has to be done truthfully (Vajasaneya Samhita iii –50).
Can you list a few values that can be imbibed from our traditional literature as guidance for corporates?
The Vedas, which represent the storehouse of our ancient value systems, talk about the following key values as very important:
(a) Satyam — Truth
(b) Tapah — Austerity
(c) Damah — Sense control
(d) Samah — Tranquility of mind
(e) Dharmah — Righteousness
(f) Danam — Charity
(g) Daya — Mercy
and
(h) Nyasah — Renunciation.
The Bhagavad Gita specifies twenty values in Chapter XIII (8 to 12), which are immensely relevant for any manager in the modern day corporate context as well. All these are declared as knowledge:
(a) Amanitvam — Humility
(b) Adambhitvam — Pridelessness
(c) Ahimsa — Non-violence
(d) Kshanti — Tolerance
(e) Arjavam — Simplicity
(f) Acaryopasanam — Service to the teacher
(g) Saucam — Cleanliness (internal and external)
(h) Sthairyam — Steadfastness
(i) Atma vinigraha — Self-control
(j) Vairagyam – Renunciation
(k) Anahankara — Absence of ego
(l) Janmamrityu jaravyadhi duhkha dosa anudarsanam — Reflection of the
sufferings of life-death, old age-disease, and distress
(m) Asakti — Non-attachment
(n) Anabhisvanga putradaragrhadishu — Detachment towards son and wife
(o) Nityam samacittatvam istanistopapattishu — Equanimity amidst pleasant
and unpleasant happenings
(p) Mayi ca ananyayogena bhaktih avyabhicarini —Constant and unalloyed
devotion towards God
(q) Vivikta desa sevitvam — Love for solitary life
(r) Aratir janasamsadi — Detachment towards company of people
(s) Adhyatmajnana nityatvam — Understanding the importance of self-
realisation; and
(t) Tattvajananartha darsanam — Philosophical search of the ultimate truth.
Did our rishis and munis favour only asceticism frowning upon development and growth, competition and excellence? Or is it just one of the many myths doing the rounds?
The Vedas contain a lot of mantras which focus on welfare, prosperity and wealth. In the Rig Veda, the very first mantra eulogises Agni the Fire God as the bestower of wealth (Hotaram Ratna Dhatamam - Rig Veda Samhita I-1-I). There are verses to encourage and motivate us to maximise wealth so that we can take care of those dependent on us. (Annam bahu kurveta! Tad vratam! - Taittiriya Upanishad iii-9). At the same time the Vedas guide us to earn wealth only through deeds of glory (Rig Veda Samhita vi-19-10). They advise us to take care of our wealth as well as welfare. (Bhutyai nappramaditavyam! Kusalanna pramaditavyam! - Taittiriya Upanishad i-11).
One shall not blame wealth and that’s the vow (Annam na nindyat! Tad vratam! Taittiriya Upanishad iii-7). They encourage us not only to possess wealth but also enjoy the same (Annavan annado bhavati! Taittiriya Upanishad iii-7). The rich have to satisfy the poor (Rig Veda Samhita x-117-5).
The Vedas insist on proper distribution of wealth. Wealth earned by 100 hands has to be distributed to 1,000 hands (Atharva Veda Samhita iii-24-5). They encourage us to give charity in plenty with utmost faith and humility (Sraddhaya deyam! Sriya deyam! Hriya deyam! Taittiriya Upanishad I-11). Thus the social obligations are also taken care of.
The Vedas also inspire us to innovate and improve upon (Rig Veda Samhita i-31-8), and also to succeed in trade (Atharva Veda Samhita iii-15).
And, there’s more.....................................................
Take care of quadrupeds in addition to bipeds (Atharva Veda Samhita vi-107-1 to 4). Overcome all encounters (Rig Veda Samhita ii-40-5). Be vigilant, closely united, happy and prosperous in the new environment (Rig Veda Samhita x-85-36). Aspire to be the eldest, the best, the effulgent and the sovereign (Chandogya Upanishad v-2-6). Importantly, the Vedas caution us to take care of the ecology and environment as well, in the process of development and growth.
On values, again, how are they best imparted: In schools or in organisations? Are there gaps in our education system that can be filled with learnings from traditional wisdom?
The values have to be followed in letter and spirit as a way of life. Mere preaching without actual practice makes no sense. In the Bhagavad Gita iii-21 it is said,
“Whatever a great man does, others follow it.” (Yadyat acarati sreshtah tad tdeva itara janah. Sa tat pramanam kurute lokas tadanuvartate.)
In the traditional Gurukula system, the students lived together with the teacher and learned the values from the latter as a role model. The absence of appropriate living role-models to inspire the youth is a sad reflection of the contemporary reality. One shall emulate the best practices of others (Yan yasmakam sucaritani! Tani tvayopasyani – Taiitiriya Upanishad i-11).
It is always advisable to start value-system-based teaching from the early days of schooling. The scriptures contain a wealth of knowledge, which would definitely fill the gaps in our understanding of the moral and ethical values.
What are the time-tested truths about right approach to work?
Action has to be done whole-heartedly without attachment to its fruits. The result of an action has to be accepted by a learned person as the gift of God (Isvara prasadah). One has the right only to perform the duty but has no right over its results (Karmanyevadhikaras te ma phaleshu kadacana – Bhagavad Gita ii-47).
There should be proper understanding of the concepts of karma (action), akarma (inaction) and vikarma (forbidden action). You have to see action in action and inaction in action. You attain perfection only through action. You have to perform action equi-poised (Yogasthah kuru karmani - Bhagavad Gita ii-48).
How do the Vedas describe and condemn untruth, such as what we saw in the recent disclosures about tainted accounts?
The Vedas condemn one who speak the untruth and impel him to speak the truth. Man can either become a demon or a God depending on his truthfulness. One who follows the path of untruth suffers in the end.
Here are a few quotes..................................................
"The deluded demons preach untruth (Maitrayana Brahmana Upanishad Vii-1-10)."
"One who speaks the truth verily suffers; but in the end he prospers like Gods (Satapatha Brahmanam ix-5-1- 16)."
"One who speaks untruth becomes prosperous; but in the end he suffers like demons (Satapatha Brahmanam ix-5-1-17)."
"Guile closely follows those who are untruthful (Rig Veda Samhita vii-61-15)."
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