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 |   As the first blog entry got exhausted. My second book |
| Evolution of Love Part 2 |
Discovery of the Technique By the year 2001 the author had been studying the teachings of almost all the various religions and spiritual paths for 27 years, from the bodily age of 15 to 42. He had read more than two thousand spiritual books. He had spent time with many spiritual teachers in America and India. It was clear that the essence of most of the spiritual teachings was focusing the attention on the “I AM”. The place where Judaism, Christianity, Islam and “Hinduism” meet is turning inward and focusing the attention on the “I AM”. The most direct and rapid means to eternal bliss, finding the kingdom within, “Self-realization” etc., is turning the attention within to focus on the “I AM”. One modern example of this in “Hinduism” is Nisargadatta Maharaj. Nisargadatta’s Guru told him to pay attention to the “I AM” to the exclusion of all else. Nisargadatta followed his Guru’s instruction for three years. After three years of practicing in his spare time, Nisargadatta realized his true Self. He had to work to support his family, therefore, he could only practice in his spare time. Nisargadatta used to spend hours each day looking at the true Self. Focusing the attention on the I AM, while excluding all else from one’s attention, is an ancient practice in “Hinduism”. The importance of looking inward and knowing the “I AM” is found in the Judeo-Christian teachings also : And God said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM”. And He said “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you”. (Exodus 3:14) “Be still and know I AM God”. (Psalms 46:10) Jesus said “Before Abraham was, I AM”. (John 8:58) “The Kingdom of God is within you”. (Luke 17:21) Jesus did not say the Kingdom of God will be within you after your body dies. Jesus said “is”. “Is” is present tense. “Is” means now. The Prophet Mohammad said: “He who knows his Self knows his Lord”. Another modern example from “Hinduism” is Ramana Maharshi. Ramana Maharshi taught for more than 50 years that the only effective means to end the ego and sorrow and to remain as eternal joy is to focus on the Self, the I, the I AM. By the year 2001 the author had attempted to practice the method of focusing the attention on the I AM for 27 years yet he had made very little progress with that or any other method. In December of the author was in Tiruvannamalai India for the purpose of attending the talks of a teacher in the Ramana Maharshi tradition. He was thinking about all the possible meanings of I and I AM and all the possible approaches to I and I AM that he had read over the years. - The I thought, the thought I AM. - The I feeling, the feeling I AM. - The I consciousness, the I AM consciousness. - To think I or I AM. - To feel I or I AM. - To focus the attention on I or I AM. - The number of different combinations of the approaches and the different views of what I or I AM means. After 27 years, the author still was not sure what I AM means in Direct Experience, wondering if there was some way to solve these questions and to have clarity both in the meaning of I or I AM and what to do with it, focus the attention, feel, think, or? He wanted an understanding that was so clear that there would be nothing vague left, no more choices left. The author really wanted to know the answer, willing to have his previous understanding shattered, if need be. There was a willingness to consider, maybe for the last two and a half decades, the author had not at all understood what the I AM is and how to focus on it. It was a willingness to allow all the old views to be swept away, if need be. Ramana Maharshi had said that Self-inquiry is more like feeling than like thought. Asking “Who am I?” or asking “To whom do these thoughts arise?” are easy instructions to follow as long as one stays in the realm of thought. However, when it comes to feeling “Who am I?” or feeling “I AM”, that had always been a bit vague, because what exactly is the feeling I AM? How do I know I AM? Nisargadatta Maharaj and many others had said the I AM is consciousness. The author wondered is the “I AM” the I-thought or is the “I AM” just my present awareness? If the “I AM” is this present awareness, just the awareness that is now looking at this room, then paying attention to the I AM is just: My awareness watching my awareness! This was a revelation! Instead of having some vague practice where one is told to pay attention to the feeling I AM, without ever being sure exactly what the “I AM” is and feels like, here was an absolutely clear instruction: My present awareness watching my present awareness. Awareness watching awareness. Not some unknown seemingly far away awareness labeled the Infinite Self, or labeled God. This awareness, my awareness, here and now watching itself, while ignoring thought, the body, and the world, etc. Immediately the author tried this practice: Awareness watching awareness while ignoring thought. The author shut his eyes, because the point was also to ignore the world. To turn the attention that normally goes out to the world around 180 degrees and to look inward. To turn the attention away from thought and towards awareness watching awareness. |
| *Classic example of honest politician..* 😎😎 A Businessman went to see a politician to get his work done. He said "Sir, we want to present you a *Brand new car* in lieu of the approval for our work"... Minister: No. No. No.... I don't want to get it free. I want to give some money for this car..... Businessman after high persuasion agreed and said okay sir! Please give one rupee. The minister did not have change and gave two rupee coin. Businessman jokingly said: Sorry sir. I have no change of one rupee to return ... Minister: No problem. You give me another car for *my wife*....🤭🤣 |
| An amazing story on Marvan Attapattu, Srilankan Cricketer. It’s a story that Harsha Bhogle loves to tell, over and over again. Making his debut in Test cricket for Sri Lanka, Marvan scored a duck in his first innings. And again, in his second innings. They dropped him. So he went back to the nets for more practice. More first-class cricket. More runs. Waiting for that elusive call. And after twenty-one months, he got a second chance. This time, he tried harder. His scores: 0 in the first innings, 1 in the second Dropped again, he went back to the grind. And scored tonnes of runs in first-class cricket. Runs that seemed inadequate to erase the painful memories of the Test failures. Well, seventeen months later, opportunity knocked yet again. Marvan got to bat in both innings of the Test. His scores: 0 and 0. Phew! Back to the grind. Would the selectors ever give him another chance? They said he lacked big-match temperament. His technique wasn’t good enough at the highest level. Undaunted, Marvan kept trying. Three years later, he got another chance. This time, he made runs. He came good. And in an illustrious career thereafter, Marvan went on to score over 5000 runs for Sri Lanka. That included sixteen centuries and six double hundreds. And he went on to captain his country. All this despite taking over six years to score his second run in Test cricket. Wow ! What a guy! How many of us can handle failure as well as he did ? Six years of trying, and failing. He must have been tempted to pursue another career. Change his sport perhaps. Play county cricket. Or, oh well, just give up. But he didn’t. And that made the difference. The next time you are staring at possible failure or rejection, think of Marvan. And remember this: If you don’t give up, if you believe in yourself, if you stay the course, the run will eventually come. What's more, you could even become a leader one day. I bet you didn't know, Marvan Attapattu is also a qualified Chartered Accountant. Never give up. Never, never give up. |
| Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. |
Many years ago there was an Emperor so exceedingly fond of new clothes that he spent all his money on being well dressed. He cared nothing about reviewing his soldiers, going to the theatre, or going for a ride in his carriage, except to show off his new clothes. He had a coat for every hour of the day, and instead of saying, as one might, about any other ruler, "The King's in council," here they always said. "The Emperor's in his dressing room." In the great city where he lived, life was always gay. Every day many strangers came to town, and among them one day came two swindlers. They let it be known they were weavers, and they said they could weave the most magnificent fabrics imaginable. Not only were their colors and patterns uncommonly fine, but clothes made of this cloth had a wonderful way of becoming invisible to anyone who was unfit for his office, or who was unusually stupid. "Those would be just the clothes for me," thought the Emperor. "If I wore them I would be able to discover which men in my empire are unfit for their posts. And I could tell the wise men from the fools. Yes, I certainly must get some of the stuff woven for me right away." He paid the two swindlers a large sum of money to start work at once. They set up two looms and pretended to weave, though there was nothing on the looms. All the finest silk and the purest old thread which they demanded went into their traveling bags, while they worked the empty looms far into the night. "I'd like to know how those weavers are getting on with the cloth," the Emperor thought, but he felt slightly uncomfortable when he remembered that those who were unfit for their position would not be able to see the fabric. It couldn't have been that he doubted himself, yet he thought he'd rather send someone else to see how things were going. The whole town knew about the cloth's peculiar power, and all were impatient to find out how stupid their neighbors were. "I'll send my honest old minister to the weavers," the Emperor decided. "He'll be the best one to tell me how the material looks, for he's a sensible man and no one does his duty better." So the honest old minister went to the room where the two swindlers sat working away at their empty looms. "Heaven help me," he thought as his eyes flew wide open, "I can't see anything at all". But he did not say so. Both the swindlers begged him to be so kind as to come near to approve the excellent pattern, the beautiful colors. They pointed to the empty looms, and the poor old minister stared as hard as he dared. He couldn't see anything, because there was nothing to see. "Heaven have mercy," he thought. "Can it be that I'm a fool? I'd have never guessed it, and not a soul must know. Am I unfit to be the minister? It would never do to let on that I can't see the cloth." "Don't hesitate to tell us what you think of it," said one of the weavers. "Oh, it's beautiful -it's enchanting." The old minister peered through his spectacles. "Such a pattern, what colors!" I'll be sure to tell the Emperor how delighted I am with it." "We're pleased to hear that," the swindlers said. They proceeded to name all the colors and to explain the intricate pattern. The old minister paid the closest attention, so that he could tell it all to the Emperor. And so he did. The swindlers at once asked for more money, more silk and gold thread, to get on with the weaving. But it all went into their pockets. Not a thread went into the looms, though they worked at their weaving as hard as ever. The Emperor presently sent another trustworthy official to see how the work progressed and how soon it would be ready. The same thing happened to him that had happened to the minister. He looked and he looked, but as there was nothing to see in the looms he couldn't see anything. "Isn't it a beautiful piece of goods?" the swindlers asked him, as they displayed and described their imaginary pattern. "I know I'm not stupid," the man thought, "so it must be that I'm unworthy of my good office. That's strange. I mustn't let anyone find it out, though." So he praised the material he did not see. He declared he was delighted with the beautiful colors and the exquisite pattern. To the Emperor he said, "It held me spellbound." All the town was talking of this splendid cloth, and the Emperor wanted to see it for himself while it was still in the looms. Attended by a band of chosen men, among whom were his two old trusted officials-the ones who had been to the weavers-he set out to see the two swindlers. He found them weaving with might and main, but without a thread in their looms. "Magnificent," said the two officials already duped. "Just look, Your Majesty, what colors! What a design!" They pointed to the empty looms, each supposing that the others could see the stuff. "What's this?" thought the Emperor. "I can't see anything. This is terrible! Am I a fool? Am I unfit to be the Emperor? What a thing to happen to me of all people! - Oh! It's very pretty," he said. "It has my highest approval." And he nodded approbation at the empty loom. Nothing could make him say that he couldn't see anything. His whole retinue stared and stared. One saw no more than another, but they all joined the Emperor in exclaiming, "Oh! It's very pretty," and they advised him to wear clothes made of this wonderful cloth especially for the great procession he was soon to lead. "Magnificent! Excellent! Unsurpassed!" were bandied from mouth to mouth, and everyone did his best to seem well pleased. The Emperor gave each of the swindlers a cross to wear in his buttonhole, and the title of "Sir Weaver." Before the procession the swindlers sat up all night and burned more than six candles, to show how busy they were finishing the Emperor's new clothes. They pretended to take the cloth off the loom. They made cuts in the air with huge scissors. And at last they said, "Now the Emperor's new clothes are ready for him." Then the Emperor himself came with his noblest noblemen, and the swindlers each raised an arm as if they were holding something. They said, "These are the trousers, here's the coat, and this is the mantle," naming each garment. "All of them are as light as a spider web. One would almost think he had nothing on, but that's what makes them so fine." "Exactly," all the noblemen agreed, though they could see nothing, for there was nothing to see. "If Your Imperial Majesty will condescend to take your clothes off," said the swindlers, "we will help you on with your new ones here in front of the long mirror." The Emperor undressed, and the swindlers pretended to put his new clothes on him, one garment after another. They took him around the waist and seemed to be fastening something - that was his train-as the Emperor turned round and round before the looking glass. "How well Your Majesty's new clothes look. Aren't they becoming!" He heard on all sides, "That pattern, so perfect! Those colors, so suitable! It is a magnificent outfit." Then the minister of public processions announced: "Your Majesty's canopy is waiting outside." "Well, I'm supposed to be ready," the Emperor said, and turned again for one last look in the mirror. "It is a remarkable fit, isn't it?" He seemed to regard his costume with the greatest interest. The noblemen who were to carry his train stooped low and reached for the floor as if they were picking up his mantle. Then they pretended to lift and hold it high. They didn't dare admit they had nothing to hold. So off went the Emperor in procession under his splendid canopy. Everyone in the streets and the windows said, "Oh, how fine are the Emperor's new clothes! Don't they fit him to perfection? And see his long train!" Nobody would confess that he couldn't see anything, for that would prove him either unfit for his position, or a fool. No costume the Emperor had worn before was ever such a complete success. "But he hasn't got anything on," a little child said. "Did you ever hear such innocent prattle?" said its father. And one person whispered to another what the child had said, "He hasn't anything on. A child says he hasn't anything on." "But he hasn't got anything on!" the whole town cried out at last. The Emperor shivered, for he suspected they were right. But he thought, "This procession has got to go on." So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn't there at all. |
*Ghalib (1797 -1869)* *Iqbal (1877-1938)* *and Faraz (1931-2008)* Their views on the universality of God in these famous couplets . It was not a feud. At best, you can call it a poetic difference of opinion among witty intellectuals spread across centuries. *Ghalib started it in the 19th century* “Zahid, sharaab peene de masjid mein baith kar Ya wo jagah bataa, jahaan Khuda nahin” Translation: Let me drink in a mosque; or tell me the place where there is no God.' Allama Iqbal was not convinced. He decided to reply about half a century later, his poetic reply to Ghalib. “Masjid Khuda ka ghar hai, peene ki jagah nahin Kaafir ke dil mein jaa, wahaan khuda nahin” Translation: Mosque is the abode of God, not a place to drink. Go to the heart of a non-believer because there God is not. *Faraz had the last word. (Later half of 19th century)* “Kaafir ke dil se aaya hun, main ye dekh kar Faraz, Khuda maujood hai wahaan, par usey pata nahin” Translation: I have returned from the heart of the disbeliever and I have observed that God is present in his heart too, but he just doesn't know it. |
| One Sunday morning, a wealthy man sat in his balcony enjoying sunshine and his coffee when a little ant caught his eye which was going from one side to the other side of the balcony carrying a big leaf several times more than its size. The man watched it for almost an hour. He saw that the ant faced many impediments during its journey, paused, took a diversion and then continued towards its destination. At one point the tiny creature came across a crack on its way. It paused for a little while, analyzed and then laid the huge leaf over the crack, walked over the leaf, picked the leaf on the other side then continued its journey. The man was captivated by the cleverness of the ant, one of God’s tiniest creatures. The incident left the man in awe and forced him to contemplate over the miracle of Creation. It showed the greatness of the Creator. In front of his eyes there was this tiny creature of God, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to analyze, contemplate, reason, explore, discover and overcome. Along with all these capabilities, the man also noticed that this tiny creature shared some human shortcomings. The man saw about an hour later the creature had reached its destination – a tiny hole in the floor which was entrance to its underground dwelling. And it was at this point that the ant’s shortcoming that it shared with the man was revealed. How could the ant carry into the tiny hole the large leaf that it had managed to carefully bring to the destination? It simply couldn't! So the tiny creature, after all the painstaking and hard work and exercising great skills, overcoming all the difficulties along the way, just left behind the large leaf and went home empty-handed. The ant had not thought about the end before it began its challenging journey and in the end the large leaf was nothing more than a burden to it. The creature had no option, but to leave it behind to reach its destination. The man learned a great lesson that day. Isn't that the truth about our lives? *We worry about our family, we worry about our job, we worry about how to earn more money. We worry about accumulating more and more. We want multiple large houses. Multiple vehicles, more dresses, shoes and accessories than ever one may need. Only to abandon all these things when we reach our final destination.* *We don’t realize in our life’s journey that these are just burdens that we are carrying with utmost care and fear of losing them, only to find that at the end they are useless and we can’t take them with us.* *Nobody gets everything they want. There will always be something. New problems arise. Instead of striving for perfection, strive for contentedness. Find a way to be happy with what you already have and you'll always have exactly what you need.* |
I shall now narrate some of my personal experiences. It was in Solan, near Simla, where we had been invited to take part in a Nama Yaj in the presence of Anandamayi Ma. We went in a batch from Simla on a Saturday and did our best till about 9 o'clock at night. We felt tired and moved into a room situated at some distance from the temple of Siva where the ceremony was being held. There we spread ourselves to rest our aching limbs. It was a dark night and the sky was overcast with clouds. Soon a very heavy downpour followed. We were smoking and talking and our talks naturally centred round Anandamayi Ma. One of our party wanted to convince us that She had supernatural powers. A disbeliever in miracles, I sneered at him and blurted out: 'Better keep your cock and bull story to yourself. If your Anandamayi Ma is anywhere near about the position you ascribe to Her, let Her appear before us here and now and I shall then believe your stories'. I had hardly finished when we heard a bang from outside. The door, which we had shut to prevent rain water coming in, went ajar and, believe it or not, there appeared before us a figure robed in white, thoroughly drenched from head to foot. We were startled by a loud laughter, which we knew to be Anandamayi Ma's. Before we could collect our wits, the figure had vanished into darkness! It was still raining cats and dogs, but we did not mind. We sprang to our feet and ran out in the torrential rain to the temple, to be told that Anandamayi Ma had gone o unnoticed and had just returned thoroughly drenched. Another story: Once, while slaving away in office, I had a ring on the phone telling me that Anandamayi Ma had just come. This was unexpected and I immediately rang up my wife to say that I was coming home to take her along with me. Before long, I was driving along Baird Road, New Delhi. My wife said if we had had some time we could have purchased a garland for Anandamayi Ma. By then we were passing through the Baird Square. All on a sudden something struck the windscreen of the car and the steering wheel in my hand became unsteady! I curbed the speed and looked out. To our utter astonishment we found a garland of marigold flowers hanging on the screen as if invisibly nailed! It was not a Tuesday when garlands of marigold abound in and near the Hanuman Temple and our anxious gaze did not discover a pedestrian anywhere near about us! We caught hold of the garland, which was fresh and wet and felt that it was meant for Anandamayi Ma. We took it to Her and told Her the story. She smiled and said, such things did happen! During Anandamayi Ma's first stay in my house at 27, Asoka Road, New Delhi, a Kirtan had been arranged by me under a Shamiana on a bright sunny day. Sadhus like Hari Babaji and Chakrapaniji were there' along with a big crowd. Rain came all of a sudden and it became so heavy that someone proposed that Anandamayi Ma should be seated in my car to avoid getting drenched. This was suggested, as She does not enter anyone's house, but stays under canvas or in temples, ashrams or dharmasalas. I felt miserable, as there was a risk of the Kirtan being stopped. I did not know why, but I suddenly started offering fervent prayers to Anandamayi Ma begging of Her to stop the rain! She smiled and suddenly joined us in singing. In a trice Her face became flushed and Her voice loud and She became oblivious of Her surroundings; Within a couple of minutes, the source of that torrential rain dried up and the hot sun came out again in the sky! I could go on multiplying instances but that may be tiresome. A pall of gloom sits heavily over the world at present and humanity is heading towards a crisis. At this juncture it may be wise for us all to meet and keep in touch with the living phenomenon of peace and bliss, which is Anandamayi Ma. |
| People feared when our country's corona count was 100. But now, there is no fear when it is over 170,000. The answer lies in the psychological view of man. There is a philosophy called the "Kubler Ross Model". That is, when a human goes through any tragedy, natural disaster, accident, they pass through 5 stages. They are-- 1.Denial 2.Anger 3.Bargain 4.Depression 5.Acceptance _1. *Denial* - Refusal to believe such a thing never happened. For example, we all denied that Corona will not come to us. Even it comes , repeated denial that it will not spread to our place due to hot climatic conditions._ _2. *Anger* - Getting angry. For example, anger over the loss of income and the loss of normal life due to lockdown._ _3. *Bargain* - Inwardly lamenting that the Corona may not have come and there should not have been a lockdown at all._ _4. *Depression* - It happened like this and goes in to mental pressure and depression._ _5. *Acceptance* - the last stage. The other way around is to accept it. Example: Get used to live with Corona._ These 5 levels are not limited to Corona alone. Applies to all the problems in human life. _The worst sufferers are the ones who do not reach Acceptance level and remain stuck in previous levels._ |
"If you can give your undivided attention to the Goal and remain concentrated on it with unwavering steadiness, you will hold your ground in spite of everything that may be opposed to it. The kind of world in which one lives and the company one keeps in that particular world will naturally exercise a powerful influence on one's mind and character. When one has entered into close contact with one's real Guru - provided He has let this close relationship be established - then the responsibility for one's actions rests no longer with oneself, for He can do everything. In what manner He may choose to impart His teachings to a particular person - for sometimes a child is taught to walk by catching hold of his hand, at other times by being left to himself - the aim will always and in every case be the same, for the disciple is the Guru's very own. He Himself selects the method by which to draw His children close to Himself, the method that is best suited to each one. Such is His own free and absolute Will. Those who, taking the responsibility upon themselves, wish to judge from their own level, will reap the consequences of their way of proceeding. Quite obviously it is difficult for the ordinary person to understand all matters for he does not know what course of action is right for which purpose. This is why the One appears to him in the guise of disappointment and failure." |
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