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 |   As the first blog entry got exhausted. My second book |
| Evolution of Love Part 2 |
1. " It is Better to have Loved and lost, THAN never to have Loved at all....." 2. " Love is PATIENT, Love is KIND. It Does Not envy, it Does Not boast, it is NOT proud. It is NOT rude, it is NOT self-seeking, it is NOT easily angered, it keeps NO record of wrongs. Love Does Not delight in evil but REJOICES with the Truth. It ALWAYS Protects, Always Trusts, Always Hopes, Always PERSEVERES........" 3. " I no longer believe in the Idea of Soul Mates, or Love at First Sight. But I BELIEVE that a very few times in your Life, if you are LUCKY, you might Meet Someone who is EXACTLY Right for You. Not because he or she is Perfect, or because you are, But BECAUSE your combined flaws are arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together..........." AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THOUGHT ABOUT RELATIONSHIP........ 4. “No Relationship is Perfect, EVER. There are always some ways you have to Bend, to Compromise, to Give Something Up in order to GAIN something GREATER. The Love two individuals have for EACH OTHER is BIGGER than small differences. And THAT - Is THE KEY. It's like a big pie chart, and the Love in a Relationship Has to be the BIGGEST PIECE. Love can Make up for a Lot..........." AND DO ALWAYS REMEMBER............. 5. " Life will Break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You Have To LOVE. You Have TO FEEL. It is THE REASON you are here on earth. You Are Here to RISK your Heart. You are here to be Swallowed Up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could..........." SO SO TRUE..... |
| "You all are at present in a state of constant wanting. This has for the time being become your second nature. When you are hungry you are in need of food; having eaten you feel satisfied. Then again you want to sleep. After waking up you conceive the need to go out or to talk to someone. In this way you are always wanting something or other. This condition of ceaseless wanting has become your second nature. The ability to dwell in his true nature, in his own Self, in his own state of Being, is potentially inherent in man. The veil of ignorance is there, yet there is also a door to knowledge. By passing through that door of knowledge man returns to his own true nature, becomes established in his own state of Being." |
| Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a highlight of their lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You're my knight in shining armor." He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy. The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady stated the price. The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again stated the price. The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus? Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket." The man understood what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family." My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with. Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide. *That day I learnt the value to Give.* *The Giver is bigger than the Receiver.* *If you want to be large, larger than the life, learn to Give.* *Only if you Give can you Receive more. The Givers heart becomes the Ocean, in tune with the Almighty - The Source* *Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything. |
| MY DEAR RAKHAL, I feel I have been working as if under an irresistible impulse for the last ten days, beginning from Kashmir. It may be either a physical or a mental disease. Now I have come to the conclusion that I am unfit for further work. . . . I now understand that I have been very harsh to all of you. But I knew, however, that you would bear with all my shortcomings; in the Math there is no one else who will do so. I have been increasingly harsh to you. Whatever has happened is now past — it is all the result of past Karma. What is the good of my repentance? I do not believe in it. It is all Karma. Whatever of Mother's work was to be accomplished through me, She made me do, and has now flung me aside breaking down my body and mind. Her will be done! Now I retire from all this work. In a day or two I shall give up everything and wander out alone; I shall spend the rest of my life quietly in some place or other. Forgive me if you all will, or do what you like. Mrs. Bull has given much of the money. She has implicit confidence in Sharat. Do the work of the Math with Sharat's advice; or do as you will. But I have all along been like a hero — I want my work to be quick like lightning, and firm as adamant. Likewise shall I die also. Therefore kindly do my work for me — no question of success or defeat enters here at all. I have never retreated in a fight — shall I now . . . ? There is success and failure in every work. But I am inclined to believe that one who is a coward will be born after death as an insect or a worm, that there is no salvation for a coward even after millions of years of penance. Well, shall I after all be born as a worm? . . . In my eyes this world is mere play — and it will always remain as such. Should one spend six long months brooding over the questions of honour and disgrace, gain and loss pertaining to this? . . . I am a man of action. Simply advice upon advice is being given — this one says this, that one says that; again that man threatens, and this one frightens! This life is not, in my view, such a sweet thing that I would long to live through so much care and caution and fear. Money, life, friends, and relatives, and the love of men and myself — if one wants to enter into work fully assured beforehand of all these — if one has to be so much ridden with fear, then one will get just what Gurudeva used to say, "The crow thinks itself very clever but . . ." (The crow thinks itself very clever, but it cannot help eating filth.) — well, he will get that. After all, what is the purpose behind all these — money and wealth, Maths and institutions, preaching and lecturing? There is only one purpose in the whole of life — education. Otherwise what is the use of men and women, land and wealth? So loss of money, or loss of anything else — I cannot bother about, and I will not. When I fight, I fight with girded loins — that much I fully understand; and I also understand that man, that hero, that god, who says, "Don't care, be fearless. O brave one, here I am by your side!" To such a man-god I offer a million salutations. Their presence purifies the world, they are the saviours of the world. And the others who always wail, "Oh, don't go forward, there is this danger, there is that danger" — those dyspeptics — they always tremble with fear. But through the grace of the Divine Mother my mind is so strong that even the most terrible dyspepsia shall not make me a coward. To cowards what advice shall I offer? — nothing whatsoever have I to say. But this I desire, that I should find shelter at the feet of those brave souls who dared to do great deeds even though they failed to succeed, of those heroes who never quailed nor shirked, of those fighters who never disobeyed orders through fear or pride. I am the child of the Divine Mother, the source of all power and strength. To me, cringing, fawning, whining, degrading inertia and hell are one and the same thing. O Mother of the Universe, O my Gurudeva, who would constantly say, "This is a hero!" — I pray that I may not have to die a coward. This is my prayer, O brother. "उत्पत्स्यतेऽस्ति मम कोऽपि समानधर्मा — certainly there is, or there will be born one equal to me"; some one or other will certainly arise from these thousands of devotees of Shri Ramakrishna who will be like me, and who will be able to understand me. O hero, awake, and dream no more. Death has caught you by the forelock . . . still fear not. What I have never done — fleeing from the battle — well, will that happen today? For fear of defeat shall I retreat from the fight? Defeat is the ornament the hero adorns himself with. What, to acknowledge defeat without fighting! O Mother, Mother! . . . Not one capable of even playing second fiddle and yet the mind filled with petty self-importance, "We understand everything". . . . Now I retire; . . . everything I leave in your control. If Mother sends me men again in whose heart there is courage, in whose hands strength, in whose eyes there is fire, real children of the Mother — if She gives me even one such, then I shall work again, then I shall return. Otherwise, I shall take it that, by Mother's will, this is the end. I am in a tremendous hurry, I want to work at hurricane speed, and I want fearless hearts. I have rebuked poor Sarada severely. What to do? . . . I do scold; but I also have much to complain. . . . Almost suffocated by short breathing, standing and standing, I have written an article for him. . . . It is all good, otherwise how will renunciation come? . . . Will Mother in the end kill me with attachment? I have offended all of you — do what you want. I bless you all with a full heart. May Mother enshrine Herself in your hearts as strength: अभयं प्रतिष्ठां — the support that is fearlessness — may She make you all fearless. This I have seen in life — he who is over-cautious about himself falls into dangers at every step; he who is afraid of losing honour and respect, gets only disgrace; he who is always afraid of loss always loses. . . . May all good attend you all. Yours affectionately, VIVEKANANDA. |
| 'You may have heard that you are already enlightened and perfect and that there is nothing that you need to do. You may have also read that there is no you and that everything is beyond your control, so doing a practice is impossible. However, if just hearing those statements were enough, you and the millions who have heard them would already be enjoying endless uncaused stillness and peace. If you are, you don't need this book. If that isn't your reality, you will need to do some work. This book, which has come from nowhere and is written by no one, will give you approaches that can make that realization yours and the ever present mysterious reality and happiness that you are apparent. Let's get to it.' |
| That is, environment is, after all, the social system and that system which we call religion, made up of many doctrines, beliefs, dogmas, innumerable prejudices, and the mind is a slave to this environment. Take for instance, if you depend on mind for your livelihood, as most people do, as everyone must, you are controlled to a great extent by the beliefs that you hold. Suppose that you are a Roman Catholic, and you want to find a job in a Protestant place, or if Protestant, you want to find a job in a Roman Catholic institution or office; if they discover your beliefs, it might not be so easy to find a job, so you put away your beliefs or accept what the other says momentarily, because you desire to earn money, because you must have money. Through external environment, mentally, you are under control, so your beliefs are merely the result of environment, conditioned by the environment; and as long as you do not break down the false environment of society and religion, your beliefs and ideals are worthless, because they are but the result of environment born of fear. So to understand that which is lasting, eternal, there must be conflict between the individual and the environment, and only in that conflict can you pierce through the walls of limitation. We accept thoughtlessly or unconsciously so many conditions imposed by society or by religion, accept them as being true. Traditionally, our mind is driven into a mold, and we unconsciously accept these things, and therefore we are slaves to these things; and it is only by continually questioning, by constant awareness, that we can free the mind from the environment, and therefore be master of the environment. |
| “To lose control over oneself is not desirable. In the search after Truth one must not allow oneself to be overpowered by anything, but should watch carefully, whatever phenomena may supervene, keeping fully conscious, wide awake, in fact retaining complete mastery over oneself. Loss of consciousness and of self-control are never right. While absorbed in meditation, whether one is conscious of the body or not, whether there be a sense of identification with the physical or not – under all circumstances, it is imperative to remain wide awake - unconsciousness must be strictly avoided. Some genuine perceptivity must be retained, whether one contemplates the Self as such, or any particular form. What is the outcome of such meditation? It opens up one’s being to the Light, to that which is Eternal.” |
*A. Two things to check often:* (1) Your blood pressure (2) Your blood sugar *B. Four things reduced to minimum:* (1) Salt (2) sugar (3) dairy (4) starch *C. Four things to increase:* (1) Greens (2) Veggies (3) fruits (4) Nuts *D. Three things to forget:* (1) Your age (2) your past (3) your grudges *E. Three things to have:* (1)True Friends (2)Loving family (3)Positive thoughts *F. Four acts to stay healthy:* (1) fasting (2) Laughing (3) Exercise (4) Weight loss *G. Four things not to wait for:* (1) Don't wait till you are sleepy to sleep (2) Don't wait till your tired to rest (3) Don't wait till your friend is sick to go to see him. (4) Don’t wait for problems to pray to God. |
| 1. “ Share your WEAKNESSES. Share your Hard Moments. Share your REAL SIDE. It'll either Scare Away every FAKE Person in your life or it will Inspire Them to finally LET GO of that Mirage called " Perfection," which will Open the Doors to the MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP you'll EVER BE a Part Of……………….” 2. “I am a Broken Person. And I know EXACTLY where my Cracks are and HOW DEEP THEY RUN. I Don't pretend to not be a Broken person and therein lies the BIG difference. Because The TRUTH IS, We are All broken in places, but it is Those who know Exactly where and how they are broken, Who Also Know EXACTLY where and How They Are WHOLE !.......” – C.JOYCE BELL.C 3. “Anyone can Possess, Anyone can Profess, but it is An Altogether Different thing to CONFESS..” 4. “Forget about being Impressive and COMMIT to being REAL. Because BEING REAL is Impressive……..” A FEW DEEP PERSONAL BELIEFS……… . 5. “ You Are – NOT What Happened to You BUT What YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME……..” 6. “Do EVERYTHING with your WHOLE HEART, or Not At All. Don't Put Up with Lies or with people who lie to you. DON’T Risk hurting people just for the fun of it. And Lastly, your Best Foot Shouldn't be Put Forward ; it Should Be with You AT ALL TIMES— Right There Beside the Other One………” AND A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE FROM LIFE……..As Aptly described by Shannon Alder 7. “Vulnerability gives us FREEDOM, power and CONNECTS US to a Network of Injured Souls. It is Through the Art of BEING REAL that we can HEAL OURSELVES………AND OTHERS…………” SO VERY TRUE………… |
| The Making of the Saranagati Song: The Life of Manavasi Ramaswami Iyer Native to Manavasi Village of Trichy Dist, in 1907 Saranagati Ramaswami Iyer was transferred to Villupuram just 60 kms from Tiruvannamalai. Now that he was near Bhagavan, he set off for Tiruvannamalai one day during the Kartigai Deepam Festival with a view to meet Bhagavan for the first time. Having for a long time suffered sleepless nights caused by chronic dyspepsia and unable to digest normal food, Ramaswami Iyer’s life had been ‘hell on earth with no peace of mind’. So when at last he found Bhagavan at Virupaksha Cave, the poor man cried out in desperation: “I am suffering from a number of ills and diseases. Pray, have mercy on me!” Bhagavan simply said, “I am neither a doctor nor a magician. What can I do?” Then waving his hand in a casual manner, Bhagavan said, “Go home with the courage that nothing will affect you”. Ramaswami Iyer saw in this gesture a ray of hope and took Bhagavan’s words to heart. Deeply impressed by Arunachala, he made up his mind to shift to Tiruvannamalai. For the time being, however, he would have to make short journeys from Villupuram to Tiruvannamalai by train. Beggar at Station One day as he approached Tiruvannamalai Station, he decided to seek out Seshadri Swami whom he had only heard about. As he got down from the train, a feisty, brawny beggar approached him for a coin but the visitor angrily refused him saying that he could not encourage lazy, able-bodied men who were perfectly capable of work to take up a life of begging. He then set about the town searching for Seshadri Swami. When somebody pointed him out, Ramaswami Iyer was bewildered and dismayed to see that Seshadri Swami was none other than the very beggar on whom he had hurled abuses just an hour earlier. Demurely, he approached the Swami with apologies but could immediately see the Swami was not bothered by such things. After settling down in Tiruvannamalai, Seshadri showed Ramaswami Iyer great kindness and regularly took him to visit Bhagavan. Hope in Bhagavan Once settled in Tiruvannamalai, Ramaswami Iyer visited Bhagavan as often as possible. His physical ailments continued unabated and Bhagavan, it seemed, was his only hope of deliverance. One day Ramaswami Iyer found Bhagavan sitting alone in front of Virupaksha Cave: “Swami! Jesus and other great souls have come down to earth to save sinners. Have I any hope?’’ When Bhagavan heard this cry of distress coming forth from the depths of the heart, Bhagavan moved close to the man and said tenderly, “There is hope. Yes. There is hope.” First Song After this incident, though still in despair, Ramaswami Iyer found himself composing a song, the first in his life. It came of its own. Never having been a poet, when he sang the song to Bhagavan, Bhagavan gave him tips in prosody. And thus began Ramaswami’s song-writing which would last up till Bhagavan’s Mahanirvana. In the Dewy Grass One festival day Echammal brought tiffin up to Virupaksha. Ramaswami Iyer sat dejectedly as Bhagavan and the others made ready to eat the special food befitting a feast day. He excused himself saying that the rich food would not suit his weak stomach. But when he turned in Bhagavan’s direction, the latter beckoned him to join them and Ramaswami Iyer felt an irresistible pull. When he was served like the others, Bhagavan ordered him, saying “Eat!” At that moment Ramaswami Iyer lost all fear and ate his fill. He did not neglect any of the dishes, even the richest. For one who theretofore would have had no hope of sleeping after violating his strict dietary regimen, it was nothing short of a miracle when he discovered that he slept soundly that whole night at Virupaksha Cave. When he awoke at day-break, he felt ‘fresh like a flower in the dewy grass’. It was then that he knew, beyond any doubt, that his disease had left him once for all. Promotions from Bhagavan Meanwhile, Ramaswami Iyer’s supervisor at work continually ridiculed him about his monthly salary of Rs. 150 per month. “Why so much?” the superior would probe tauntingly. When Bhagavan heard about it, he said, “How would he feel if you got Rs. 200?” The next Government gazette brought news of Ramaswami Iyer’s promotion and salary increase to Rs. 200. Departing from Bhagavan Later when Ramaswami Iyer was transferred to Shiyali, he left Tiruvannamalai weeping at the thought of being separated from Bhagavan. The distance was intolerable and Ramaswami Iyer made up his mind to leave his family and take sannyasa in order to be with Bhagavan. But Bhagavan would hear nothing of it. Dowries and Such Ramaswami Iyer continued his trips to Tiruvannamalai to see Bhagavan. Once at Skandasramam with his eldest daughter, Bhagavan asked why he had not yet gotten her married. “I would like to but I don’t have the money for a dowry, nor even enough for the marriage ceremony. Echammal happened to be there and hearing the discussion, suggested one Nilakantha, a school teacher known to her. Bhagavan endorsed the idea. When Ramaswami Iyer went down the hill to catch the evening train, he passed Echammal’s house en route and found Nilakantha’s father there. Even before Ramaswami Iyer could make his proposal, the boy’s father volunteered to take the girl as his daughter-in-law. Once back in Shiyali, as Ramaswami Iyer worried about how to raise money for the ceremony, a neighbor just opposite him came over. “I hear your daughter’s marriage is to take place. But where will you find the money?” When Ramaswami Iyer could give no satisfactory answer, the neighbor admonished him, “Could you not have asked me? Would I not have given it cheerfully?” He then gave Ramaswami Iyer a thousand rupees and the marriage was duly performed. Messengers from Bhagavan One day years later after Ramaswami Iyer had been transferred to Berhampore, Orissa, several boils appeared on his leg. Besieged with pain, he could hardly walk but only meditated on Arunachala. No treatment whatsoever proved of any use. But then came a knock at the door. “Who’s there?” he asked. “Arunachalam!” was the reply. With great surprise, Ramaswami Iyer found two Brahmins standing at the door. Forthwith he fell at their feet. “We are coming from Arunachala on pilgrimage to Kasi. Bhagavan asked us to get down here and meet you.” When the two ‘messengers of Bhagavan’ saw his state, they rifled through their bags and took out herbs of tamarind and fragrant gum powders. Once applied to the affected areas, within twenty hours the boils were gone. It was then that Ramaswami Iyer understood the fullness of Bhagavan’s grace; it was then that he found words and notes pouring forth from within him, forming themselves into a hymn of devotion that would later be sung by devotees everywhere; it was then that he understood true surrender to Bhagavan, and so he sang “Saranagati, Saranagati!”* Saranagati: complete self-surrender; sarana: ‘house’, ‘protection’, ‘refuge’, ‘means to a goal’; + agati: ‘to approach’, ‘to reach’: hence ‘approaching the Lord who is the sole means or refuge’. |
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