Thursday, December 23, 2010

Light Within



Our body is a sacred temple which houses the Divine. To invoke this divinity one has to be pure and this purification of self can be done in the following ways

1. Meditation
 
2. Devotion
 
3. Self introspection and correcting oneself and moving towards goodness

4. Thinking good, doing good and being good and by service to humanity without expectation.

All the above 4 should be implemented in one's lifestyle to become the purest of purest.And this very purification makes himself aware of the DIVINE.

Authored by GANDHARV






Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Buddha



"When the mind is unguarded, bodily action is unguarded; speech also is unguarded; thought also is unguarded. When the mind is guarded, bodily action is guarded; speech also is guarded; and thought also is guarded. "' 

"By mind the world is led, by mind is drawn: 
And all men own the sovereignty of mind." 

"If one speaks or acts with a wicked mind, pain follows one as the wheel, the hoof of the draught-ox. " 

"If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows one as the shadow that never departs. " 


One can read about life of Buddha and Dhammapada by clicking the below two links

Life of Buddha 
The Dhammapada

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Four Candles



Four candles slowly burned, the ambiance was so soft one could almost hear them talking...

The first candle said " I am peace. The world is full of anger and fighting, nobody can keep me lit". Then the flame of peace went out completely"

The second candle said " I am faith. I am no longer indispensable, it does not make sense that I stay lit another moment ". Just then a breeze softly blew Faith's flame.

Sadly the third candle began to speak: " I am love, people don't understand my importance so they simply put me aside.They even forget to love those who are nearest to them". And waiting no longer Love's flame went out.

Suddenly a child entered the room and saw the three unlit candles " why aren't you burning? You are supposed to stay still lit till the end". Saying this the child began to cry.

Then the fourth candle answered: " Don't be afraid. I am hope. While I am still burning we can re-lit the other candles". With shining eye the child took the candle and lit other candles.

The greatest of these is LOVE.....but the flame of HOPE should never go out of your life. With hope each of us can live with Peace, Faith and Love.

Prayer:

Dear GOD,

You are light and salvation. You are my hope, please come into my heart , forgive all my wrongs, lead me to the right path. Help me be an instrument of Your love and cause Your light to shine others through me.

GOD bless All
--author unknown

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Modes of vision



In one of my previous posts, I spoke about why we are not able to perceive the beauty and splendor of our "Self" and the Almighty Intelligence behind everything. Those who have not read can read it here: Perception. In this post I attempt to explain three modes of vision.

If the doors of perception were cleaned every thing would appear to man as it is.

To understand and explore this beautiful existence we have been gifted by sight. There are three modes of vision or knowing: eye of flesh, eye of mind and eye of contemplation.

Eye of flesh discloses the material, concrete world; eye of mind discloses the symbolic, conceptual and linguistic world; eye of contemplation discloses the spiritual transcendental and transpersonal world. These are not three different worlds, but three different aspects of our one world, disclosed by different modes of knowing and perceiving.

These three modes of vision or knowing have a development sequence lower to higher. In the first year of a baby’s life, eye of flesh develops and evolves to disclose the material, concrete world of solid surfaces, forms, colors and objects. Slowly, as the baby grows, it starts to understand the world through eye of mind. The eye of mind will increasingly emerge and develop, disclosing in its turn the world of ideas, symbols, concepts, images, values, meanings and intentions. If development continues beyond the mind via meditative disciplines then the eye of contemplation opens and discloses the world of spirit, of subtle energies and insights, of radical intuition and transcendental illumination.

You have been gifted with these three modes of knowing, it is up to each person how he uses them to know the ultimate reality, to know the beauty and grandeur of creation, to experience the splendor of consciousness, to know his fundamental identity, to know his connection with all beings, all the things in universe and GOD.

Authored by GANDHARV


*collated from external sources

Monday, October 18, 2010

Swallows

Here his wife is injured and the condition is fatal. She was hit by a car as she swooped low across the road. 



He brought her food and attended to her with love  and compassion.




He brought her food again but was shocked to find her dead.  He tried to move her....a rarely-seen effort for swallows!




Aware that his sweetheart is dead and will never come back to him again, he cries with adoring love.




He stood beside her, saddened of her death.




Finally aware that she would never return to him,he stood beside her body with sadness and sorrow.




Millions of people cried after watching this picture in America, Europe and in Asia . It is said that the  photographer sold these pictures for a nominal fee to the  most famous newspaper in France . All copies of that
newspaper were sold out on the day these pictures were published.
   


 And many people think animals don't have a brain or feelings?????

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Keep Your Mind Open



Keep your mind open,
Keep your mind open else you cannot open your mind.

Keep your mind open,
Keep your mind open else you cannot know the unknown.

Keep your mind open,
Keep your mind open else you cannot open the 7 doors of mind.

Keep your mind open,
Keep your mind open this can make you know who you are.

People should not limit their understanding and should be of open mind. When you limit your mind it’s like limiting your growth and learning. It limits your opportunities and obstructs the path you are traveling.

 Life becomes very dull when the person does not explore the truth of his existence and creation. Each person has great potential in him. To know anything worthwhile in this life it requires great self effort. Just as we spend time in the study of other subjects similarly one should dedicate himself to study the nature of mind. It is this mind that can take you to the core of your being.

Don’t come to any kind of conclusion from the books you read or what you hear from others when you are investigating the truth of life. You would have read and heard about many sacred texts but it is similar to a blind man listening to what people describe. Different people write different things based on their level of understanding and experience. Observe, learn from everything and come to a conclusion only after your true experience.

Only when you start your search for truth can you study the nature of it. Keep your mind open to all the ideas and experiment on them. Without experimenting you can never know the truth of life, you can never know the splendor, the beauty of your existence.

Authored by GANDHARV



Friday, October 1, 2010

Sky




Every person undergoes these two states: state of depression; state of happiness.

I want to share a small lesson that I learnt from watching the sky the other day.

Observe the vastness of the sky - that is how we should be. We should have a broad vision and a large heart.  By large heart I mean a heart large enough to accept life as it is and face it courageously. And the clouds - sometimes the clouds are dark and sometimes they are white and they keep moving. Similarly a person’s life is filled with sadness like dark clouds and happiness like white clouds. They are moving all the time. We should learn to tolerate them and remain non- attached as the sky is detached from the clouds. And the glowing Sun during the day time and moon during the night represents the hope of light in everyone’s life – during difficult times.

I believe everything in life has a reason; it may be difficult to know what may happen in future or why it happened so in the past. But one day when time comes, we will definitely be able to connect all the dots in life.

Authored by GANDHARV



Monday, September 27, 2010

Teacher


Lord Vishnu taught Arjuna on the war field which triggered him to fight for the truth and integrity.



Two lines of wisdom can alter your life for ever. It can change the course of your dreams and thinking pattern. Yesterday, I was thinking about teacher though it is personal, I thought of posting this on blog.

In my life, the greatest teacher has been GOD and life itself (This includes all the people that I have met, nature, books that I have read and everything that has happened until now). I deeply respect this and I am very thankful for this.

I want to share with you a small story from our scriptures in this context.

Why should the teacher be respected?

It seems, some friends of Arjuna, the mighty warrior in Mahabharata, asked him why he gave so much respect to his teacher Dronacharya. Drona was old, not as rich as Arjuna, and never ruled any kingdom. But Arjuna would always sit at his feet respectfully. When asked why, it seems Arjuna replied “In this life everything perishes over a period of time. Whether it be diamond, beauty, gold or even land. Only one thing withstands this destruction. It is knowledge. The more you give the more you get”. A teacher gives knowledge to students and I consider him the richest person. That is the reason a teacher is respected; not for his riches but because he is the source of knowledge.

I bow down with great respect to the Lord and all the great teachers in this world.

Authored by GANDHARV

Monday, September 20, 2010

Prayer



Prayer is the purest form of love one can offer to the divine Almighty GOD. And prayer is at its purest form when expectations are not attached to it.

Prayer is a sacred expression of love to the divine and should be offered with deep conviction and love.

 Everyone is so busy in their daily worldly life, that they have forgotten the value and sacredness of prayer. They have time for partying, eating, sleeping, shopping, movies, gym, beauty parlour etc and are busy in making money but they don’t have time for prayer. They can schedule everything into their list but cannot spend 10 minutes a day for prayer. When they are asked why? The standard answer you get is “I have no time and I am so busy”. Think about this.  Is everything more important than GOD? This very existence is HIS great gift and don’t we have 5 minutes in a day to thank him for it. Realize how ignorant we are.

There is a saying in Kannada “ Kasta bandaga venkataramana” . It means when a person is in trouble or suffering he tends to pray to GOD. Is this not similar to shop keeping business? When you want to buy something what do you do? You go to a shop take the item you want and pay for it. Wherever there is any question of buying and selling, it is not love. So, when a man prays to God, "Give me this, and give me that", it is not love. How can it be? I offer you a prayer, and you give me something in return; that is what it is, mere shop keeping.

My intention of writing this article is to wake people who have forgotten the sacredness of prayer and is living in ignorance by valuing worldly things.


Authored by GANDHARV



Thursday, September 9, 2010

Perception

We are not just the body,

We are not just the mind,


We are much more than body and mind.


We are not able to perceive the beauty and splendour of our "Self" and the Almighty Intelligence behind everything is because our sensory equipment is designed the other way. The veil before our eyes is the creation of our senses. Our senses act only within a particular range. Areas beyond that range are completely shut out from us. And we live in this limited perception of life.


Just imagine how limited we are in our sense. A moth can smell its mate from even as far off as seven miles and a shark can scent blood two miles away. Bees find their way by polarized light imperceptible to human beings, and whales locate their prey with sonar-echo thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean. What worlds are hidden from us we cannot even imagine?


To add up with this from the time of our birth our schools have taught us to look outside and we have never been taught to silence our senses and to look deep inside our mind.


Is it not the time to become aware of our Self?
Is it not the time to know and experience the splendour and grandeur of consciousness?
Is it not the time for us to explore the beyond?


People who ignore will always remain in darkness. They can never come to know the truth and beauty of existence.

Yesterday, I saw a video from TED, I was very impressed by Alwar Balasubramaniam's works...



Authored by GANDHARV


*collated from external sources

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Appreciate the Good



We don’t have to embrace everything about a person in order to appreciate the good that he or she does. If we judged everyone according to things they have done that we don’t agree with, or by the sins they may have committed, we would miss out on a lot of very good things.

Every person has a part in him which is good. We should appreciate it and help him to build on that.

Encourage everyone around you. Help them to get the best out of them. Each person has a talent in him. Some are aware and are in nurturing state and some are not aware of their talents. Help them to identity them. Love and share their joy and yours. Let’s build a beautiful world filled with love and joy.

Appreciate and be grateful for this existence. This very existence is a gift of GOD. Lead a life with broad vision with no fear. 

A small quote which I remember—

Life is just like a sea, we are moving without end. 
Nothing stays with us, 
What remain is just the memories of some people who touched us as Waves”



Authored by GANDHARV



Thursday, August 26, 2010

Words of Wisdom





1. When Snake is alive, Snake eats Ants. 
When Snake is dead, Ants eat Snake. 
Time can turn at any time. 
Don't neglect anyone in your life........ ... 

2. Never make the same mistake twice, 
There are so many new ones, 
Try a different one each day. 

3. A good way to change someone's attitude is to change our own. 
Because, the same sun melts butter, also hardens clay! 
Life is as we think, so think beautifully. 

4. Life is just like a sea, we are moving without end. 
Nothing stays with us, 
what remain is just the memories of some people who touched us as Waves. 

5. Whenever you want to know how rich you are? 
Never count your currency, 
just try to Drop a Tear and count how many hands reach out to WIPE that- that is true richness. 

6. Heart tells the eyes see less, because you see and I suffer lot. 
Eyes replied, feel less because you feel and I cry a lot. 

7. Never change your originality for the sake of others, 
because no one can play your role better than you. 
So be yourself, because whatever you are, YOU are the best. 

8. Baby mosquito came back after 1st time flying. 
His dad asked him "How do you feel?" 
He replied "It was wonderful, Everyone was clapping for me!" 
Now thats what I call Positive Attitude

Friday, August 13, 2010

Simple Ways To Refresh Your Energy



Energy is the most important of all, we continuously live on energy. Without energy there is no life. There are 5 main sources of energy food, water, sleep, deep breathing and Meditation. Usually people are familiar only with the first 3 types of energy i.e food, water and sleep, they are not completely aware of the benefits of deep breathing and Meditation.


We are using this energy for our body and mind activities like seeing, speaking, hearing, thinking and all physical actions.So more the energy more is the efficiency and we feel more lively, more active and strong.

Unfortunately there are many factors which are throwing us out of balance. Many may not getting good sleep, no proper nutrition, no proper sunlight, electrolyte or water. Many others like mental stress, physical stress, toxins in water, food, air, cell phone radiations, due to electrical lines, cables and lighting, all these diminish the energy level and reduces the efficiency.

Now then, how to keep our energy levels up all the time ? What is the remedy?

Do deep breathing and meditation.

By deep breathing and by meditation we can draw lots and lots of energy. When you draw more and more energy , you feel very strong, stable and lively.You can actually feel tingling of energy in your body.

* There are some other simple ways to refresh you energy too , I have listed them below try them

1. Spend one day a month in total silence! It may seem difficult at first, but I guarantee that you will find it refreshing and energizing. Imagine, just for a moment, what it might be like to give the chatterbox in your head a rest!

2. A simple and quick walk can do wonders for your energy level. Walking gets your heart a pumpin’, and once again, the blood rushes to your brain, energizing those tired, slumping brain cells!

3. Studies show that 20 minutes of sunlight can make all the difference in your energy level. Get as close to daylight as you can, and smile.

4. Smiling lowers your blood pressure, helps you to relax, relieves stress, exercises 15-26 facial muscles, makes you look younger as it lifts the face…and it fires up various parts of your brain.

5. Slouching can cause your brain to receive up to 30% less blood and oxygen. It also compresses your internal organs, compromising their efficiency. Hunching over your computer promotes shallow breathing. Break this!

6. Most people are “shallow breathers.” This type of breathing causes carbon dioxide to build up in your blood and make you doze-y, snooze-y and lethargic. By taking in a few deep breathes, you will get the oxygen moving through your system again. This will help you to become alert!

7. Trying to be perfect can be exhausting, and it can lower glucose levels in your brain, making it that much more difficult to function! When your “perfection gene” gets activated, remember to embrace imperfection. What a relief! Enjoy the wave of peaceful and calm energy that now flows through you.

8. Flowers are another one of life’s miracles! They have a wonderfully bright, positive, and warm energy that can lighten and energize any room and/or person. Try putting a white vase with red or pink flowers on your bedside table and just see how energy rises.

9. Watching funny movies decreases certain stress-related hormones! Stress slows us and drains us. Laughter energizes us. Enough said? Make a list of your top 10 funny movies, now! And watch them.

10. Human beings are made up of approximately 70 percent water. If you are not drinking enough, if you are dehydrated, then your body slows its circulation and, in turn, your energy goes tumbling on down. Drink a glass right now, so that you are energized while reading the rest of these refreshing tips! Bottoms up!

11. A quick splash of cold water, first thing in the morning, may energize you even better than a cup of caffeinated coffee! No kidding.

12. Sing, chant, hum, dance, prance, bang your drums, run in circles, skip, and/or walk backwards. Do what you have to do to shake the doldrums out of you!


Authored by GANDHARV

*Collated from external sources




Friday, August 6, 2010

The Big Rocks

An expert on the subject of time management was speaking to a group of business students. He stood in front of these high-powered overachievers, pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar, and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.



When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked " Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes".

Then he said , "Really?"

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"




By this time the class was on to him. " Probably not," one of them answered.

"Good!" he replied.

He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.



Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the class shouted.

Once again he said,"Good!"

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked.

"What is the point of this illustration?"

One of them raised his hand and said," The point is, no matter how much full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fill some more things into it!"

" No," the speaker replied," that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is this

" If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."


What are the big rocks in your life?

Are you putting them in first?

Life is not just eating, work and sleep.There is so much to life.

First things first!

Pray to the almighty GOD your Creator. Meditate daily, keep some time for yourself, spend time in silence.

Work towards realization of Self and realization of GOD.

                                          
                                                     Lord Shiva in Meditation posture

Friday, July 30, 2010

Jill Bolte Taylor : A Stroke of Insight

Many of you may have seen the Ted video by Jill Bolte Taylor, the neuroanatomist and spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center who survived a stroke in 1996, at age 37, to describe the shifts in her brain that took place as part of her recovery.

Fascinating stuff. And very useful and inspiring to not only those recovering from neurological disorders, but also psychological ones.




Right Brain:


  • Nonverbal
  • Thinks in pictures
  • Kinesthetic
  • Present moment
  • Holistic thinking
  • Seek similarities
  • Perceives energy
  • Compassionate
  • Noncontroversial
  • Time lost in the flow
  • Joy


Left Brain:
  • Thinks in language
  • Details
  • Linear/sequential
  • Past/future
  • Seeks differences
  • Critical analysis
  • Judges right/wrong
  • Competitive
  • Confrontational
  • On the clock
  • Stress
  • Sense of urgency

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Reaction / Response



Suddenly, a cockroach flew from somewhere and sat on her. I wondered if this was the cockroach’s response to all the glory that was spoken about it! She started screaming out of fear. With panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group got cranky to what was happening.

The lady finally managed to push the cockroach to another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed and threw it out with his fingers.
 
Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.
 
I realized even in my case then , it is not the shouting of my father or my boss that disturbs me, but its my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. Its not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. More than the problem, its my reaction to the problem that hurts me.
 
Lessons learnt from the story:
 
I understood, I should not react in life.
 
 I should always respond.
 
 The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.
 
 Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always intellectual

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Om Mantra





Before the beginning, the Brahman (absolute reality) was one and non-dual. It thought, "I am only one -- may I become many." This caused a vibration which eventually became sound, and this sound was Om. Creation itself was set in motion by the vibration of Om. The closest approach to Brahman is that first sound, Om. Thus, this sacred symbol has become emblematic of Brahman just as images are emblematic of material objects.
The vibration produced by chanting Om in the physical universe corresponds to the original vibration that first arose at the time of creation. The sound of Om is also called Pranava, meaning that it sustains life and runs through Prana or breath. Om also represents the four states of the Supreme Being. The three sounds in Om (AUM) represent the waking, dream and deep sleep states and the silence which surrounds Om represents the "Turiya" state.


Because the first of the three states of consciousness is the waking state, it is represented by the sound "A" pronounced like "A" in accounting. Because the dream state of consciousness lies between the waking and the deep sleep states, it is represented by the letter "U" which lies between the "A" and "M". This "U" is pronounced like the "U" in would. The last state of consciousness is the deep sleep state and is represented by "M" pronounced as in "sum." This closes the pronunciation of Om just as deep sleep is the final stage of the mind at rest.


Whenever Om is recited in succession there is an inevitable period of silence between two successive Oms. This silence represents the "fourth state" known as "Turiya" which is the state of perfect bliss when the individual self recognizes his identity with the supreme.






Just as the sound of Om represents the four states of Brahman, the symbol Om written in Sanskrit also represents everything. The material world of the waking state is symbolized by the large lower curve. The deep sleep state is represented by the upper left curve. The dream state, lying between the waking state below and the deep sleep state above, emanates from the confluence of the two. The point and semicircle are separate from the rest and rule the whole. The point represents the turiya state of absolute consciousness. The open semicircle is symbolic of the infinite and the fact that the meaning of the point can not be grasped if one limits oneself to finite thinking.


The Power of Chanting Om

  1. The chanting of Om drives away all worldly thoughts and removes distraction and infuses new vigour in the body.
  2. When you feel depressed, chant Om fifty times and you will be filled with new vigour and strength. The chanting of Om is a powerful tonic. When you chant Om, you feel you are the pure, all pervading light and consciousness.
  3. Those who chant Om will have a powerful, sweet voice. Whenever you take a stroll, you can chant Om. You can also sing Om in a beautiful way. The rythmic pronunciation of Om makes the mind serene and pointed, and infuses the spiritual qualifications which ensure self-realization.
  4. Those who do meditation of Om daily will get tremendous power. They will have lustre in their eyes and faces.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Kahlil Gibran


Quote's from Kahlil Gibran

1. A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.


2. Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood.


3. Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.


4. If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember.


5. Knowledge of the self is the mother of all knowledge. So it is incumbent on me to know my self, to know it completely, to know its minutiae, its characteristics, its subtleties, and its very atoms.

6. Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Supercoherence



The first step is to measure whatever can be easily measured.
This is okay as far as it goes,
The second step is to disregard that which cannot be easily measured
or to give it an arbitrary value.
This is artificial and misleading.
The third step is to presume that what cannot be measured
isn’t really important.
This is blindness.
The fourth step is to say that what can’t be measured
            doesn’t really exist.
            This is suicide.
                                                -- Robert MacNamara

Everything in this world cannot be explained by logic or in scientific terms. But our system is such that a person looks for a scientific explanation for everything. Yes, by all means look for scientific explanations but don’t stop at that, it is not the end. Some things can only be explained by pure awareness of the being, logic and scientific explanations fail here. The person has to have a direct experience to understand. For example: Love

It is difficult to understand love,
But it is easy to feel it,
It is difficult to derive an equation and prove love,
But it is easy to experience and love.

Similarly realization of self is something that can only be understood when a person experiences it. Mind is the only connection to realize our true Self. Mind is the only starting point to uncover the hidden inner world. It is only by training the mind that a person can open the doors to his inner self within his mind.

Every person has the divine with him; it is left to each individual to uncover it. Only by looking inward can a person experience the reality of himself.

Authored by GANDHARV