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August 2013

The brilliance of the divine Self radiating through each individual is directly proportionate to the degree of surrender at the higher altar within. – Chinmaya

All are essentially divine. If so, why in this world is seen a ‘saint – sinner’ divide? The above quote clears the doubt with a law divine.

The sinner, ignorant of the higher altar within, makes his ego his master; while the saintly one, through surrender and self-effacement, allows the inner Self to guide and rule over.

The life of Girish Chandra Ghosh, one of the foremost devotees of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, is but another example to prove this point.

Born in Calcutta in 1844, Girish grew up as a lively and carefree soul. It was the time when Western education and culture were thrust upon Indian society, challenging the traditional Indian culture and religion. Consequently, the youth of his generation grew up in an atmosphere of doubt, atheism and cultural chaos.

At the threshold of maturity with no one to guide, Girish started drifting into drunkenness, sensuality and obstinacy. He became a regular visitor to the houses of ill-fame.

In 1874, when he was just thirty, his young wife died, leaving behind a son and a daughter. Shortly thereafter, he lost his job. Six months after his second marriage, Girish became ill with deadly cholera, but miraculously survived a sure-death situation.

Disease, death, accidents, poverty, untold sufferings – all these lead to a turning point in his life where, despite his proclaimed atheism, he began to wonder if a greater Reality did exist.

He had read a lot about Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and was curious to know more about this holy man.

In 1884, Girish’s drama on the life of Chaitanya created a sensation in Calcutta, and this brought him closer to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

Sri Ramakrishna’s joyous singing and dancing with the devotees, his childlike attitude, his state of Samadhi, his words of wisdom, his purity and humility…- all these drew his heart towards the Master and soon he became a frequent visitor to Dakshineshwar. He strongly believed that Sri Ramakrishna was an incarnation of God.

Once, Sri Ramakrishna made a remark about Girish to another devotee, “You may wash a thousand times a cup that has held a solution of garlic, but will the smell ever go?”

Girish heard about it and was very much hurt. He went to Ramakrishna and asked, “Will this smell of garlic go?”

The Master replied, “Yes. It will. All smell disappears when the blazing fire is lighted. When heated, the smell goes and it becomes like a new cup.”

Once, in a gush of anger, Girish harshly abused the Master to the utter shock of all the devotees present there. But later he became repentant, and wept profusely, refusing to eat. The Master came to his house and tenderly consoled him, “It’s alright. It is better for these things to come out, like poisoned blood.”

Once, out of total dejection, Girish came to the Master and lamented that he was a rank sinner unfit to do any sadhana. The Master lovingly advised, “All right. Give God your power of attorney. Henceforth He will take full responsibility for you. You don’t have to do anything.” The jubilant disciple’s joy knew no bounds!

Soon one day, Girish remarked in Master’s presence, “I shall do this.”

“No, no”, corrected the Master, “You can’t talk like that anymore. Say I shall do this if God wills.”

Next time if he had to drink, he had to first offer the liquor to Mother Kali and then drink!

Girish began to understand the mystery of the power of attorney. As time passed he began to realize that he could not perform any action out of his own free will.

He couldn’t continue with the habit of drinking. Once, to test the Master’s grace, he went to a brothel to spend the night there, but due to intense prick of conscience, he ran back home. Again, in the Master’s presence, he tried deliberately to think a worldly thought, but he couldn’t.

A great change started happening to Girish. He started considering the Master as his closest relative. The Master’s loving care and concern made Girish understand that he would not be condemned for his shortcomings. Soon, his passionate love for Sri Ramakrishna endowed him with what the Master himself described as “one hundred twenty-five per cent faith”.

In Swami Turianand ji’s words, “Girish was the most religious of us all. He lived, as he had promised, by the promptings of the Indweller.”

After the Master’s passing away, a series of deaths – of his second wife, of his two daughters and of his young son – took place in his family. This initiated a blazing fire of renunciation, burning up all his attachments, desires and impurities. The garlic cup was being heated and the odour was disappearing. His life-style soon underwent a total transformation.

Girish was a prodigious writer and produced during his time 79 works, including dramas, satires and musicals. In addition, he wrote many short stories, articles, poems and songs. His dramas dealt with religious, social, historical, mythological and patriotic subjects. His innovative spirit had a lasting impact on the theatre in Bengal. He became known as the ‘father of Bengal theatre’. Through his contact, the lives of many, including the actors and actresses of the theatre, were transformed.

During his last years, Girish suffered terribly from asthma. But he remained unruffled at all times. In his death bed, he once told a devotee, “Brother, could you beat me with your shoes? I am not joking! I deserve it. The Master is sitting within my heart and is always protecting me. Yet I wonder what will happen to me after death!”

On 1912, he breathed his last, taking the name of the Lord and proclaiming victory unto his Master.

To quote Swami Vivekananda, “In G.C. (Girish) alone I have seen that true resignation – that spirit of the servant of the Lord… I have not met his parallel. From him, I have learnt the lesson of true self-surrender…”

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

July 2013

Prayer, in its truest sense, is an attempt to invoke the mightier potential that is already in us, through mental integration. – Chinmaya

Usually, our prayer (if at all we pray!) is nothing but a mechanical muttering of some meaningless mystical mantras, chanted uninterestingly, and often wrongly, by our careless mind with all its impatience to finish off this futile monotonous routine. And for the vast majority, prayer is but a short cut to fulfil their illegitimate demands through divine intervention, taken to as a last resort once all other worldly fair and foul means have failed!

The intention and purpose of prayer in its truest sense is brought out in the above quote.

The scriptures declare that, like the waves in the ocean, we all are a part of the Infinite and hence all the glories of the Supreme Lord are already ours. To realize this oneness, we are only asked to drop the illusory egoistic self and identify with our real Self. This attempt to tune ourselves to our Creator through humble submission is called prayer.

To the one thus tuned to the Divine, everything that happens – good or bad – is but the sweet leela of the Lord. Such a devotee develops an intuitive eye capable of perceiving the hidden hand of the Almighty everywhere and in everything.

Rabia, one of the greatest woman mystics of Islam was born in the year 717 A.D. The fourth child of her parents, she was born in a poor family. Her mother passed away in her childhood and soon a famine struck their country, and the family members got separated from each other. There seemed to be no end to the tragic tale of this little girl. She was kidnapped and sold as a slave for a paltry sum of six dirhams. To make the matter still worse, her master was cruel beyond words who constantly kept ill-treating her. The girl was made to toil and labour the whole day long. Often she went without food to cope up with the work given to her. But even in those days, she kept awake at night and spent several hours in prayer and meditation.

One night, when her master returned home at a late hour and passed by the little room in which Rabia lived, he heard a murmur, a whispered voice coming from within.

Instantly, he became suspicious. “To whom could my slave be talking to at this late hour of the night?”

He peeped through the window of the room and was amazed by the sight that met his eyes! Rabia was at prayer enveloped in an unearthly light. Like a little angel, she was kneeling down, her eyes closed, her hands folded and out of her lips issued forth the words, “Lord! Please bless my master…”

This master who treated her mercilessly, this master who beat her again and again, this master who was inhumanly cruel – Rabia was actually offering prayer for him!

She was heard saying, “O Lord, please forgive all his faults. Let him prosper, and above all, O Lord, so bless him that he may be drawn closer to Thy Holy Feet, and to Thy Heart which is the heart of love…”

Hearing this prayer, the master was taken aback! He returned to his room but could not sleep. The memory of all his evil deeds haunted him the whole night.

The next day early morning, he came to Rabia’s room and fell down at her feet pleading, “Forgive me. I knew you not, O saint of Allah! I have grievously sinned against you and against Him! I entreat you to continue to stay in my house, not as a slave but as my honoured guest. Permit me the privilege of serving you!”

To err is human; to forgive is divine. The strength to forgive comes only when we are tuned to the Divine.

A true devotee becomes a perfect instrument in the hands of the Lord to express His might and glory. Nothing then becomes impossible for such a man of God.

Guru Arjan Dev is the fifth of the ten Sikh Gurus and the first Sikh martyr. The greatest contribution he made to the Sikh faith was the compilation of the past Gurus’ teachings along with the selected writings of other saints from different backgrounds into one book, known as the holy Guru Granth Sahib.

When Jahangir, the Mughal emperor, demanded Guru Arjan to revise the Holy Granth, removing all references to Islam and Hinduism, the Guru politely refused to do so. Jahangir, who was on his way to Kashmir, asked Murtaza Khan to deal with the Guru. Murtaza Khan immediately jailed the Guru and ordered to torture him to death until he succumbed to pressure.

He was allowed no food, water, or sleep. The next day they immersed him in a large vessel of water with fire underneath and brought it to boil causing his flesh to blister. On the third day, inflicting further torture, they poured burning sand over him, charring his skin. On the fourth day, they forced him to sit on a red hot iron sheet kept over burning charcoal. The Guru bore all those brutalities for five long days with calm serenity. The torturers found the Guru unresponsive and unyielding to their demands. They did not know what to do.

On 1606 May 30th, thinking to torment the Guru’s blistered and burnt body with icy cold water, his captors led him into the nearby river, Ravi. Thousands of followers, dumbstruck, with tears in their eyes, watched the Guru, who could barely walk, make his way to the river, blissfully repeating over and again, “Sweet is Thy Will O Lord. The gift of Thy Name alone I seek…”

Bidding farewell to his followers, the Guru dipped below the surface, disappearing forever from sight. His persecutors could never recover his body.

‘Prayer can work wonders’ is the unanimous declaration of all the great ones of all religions.

Why not give it a try? Why die as a beggar when we are the rightful inheritors of the Infinite Kingdom of the Self?

Abidance in the Self is the highest expression of devotion;

And that itself is the greatest prayer.

Let this sincere heart-felt prayer be our bridge – a bridge to cross over from our present state of finitude to the eternal state of freedom and joy.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

June 2013

Beating one’s own drum is worldly outlook. Beating oneself into shape is spiritual effort. – Chinmaya

The one virtue glorified in all scriptures, in all religions, by all saints and sages of all times, is humility.

The Bible says, “He (The Lord) leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way”.

How to practice it?

‘Beat oneself into shape’ is the answer given above. Swami Shivananda Saraswathi, the founder of Divine Life Society, is considered one of the greatest yogis of the 20^thcentury. It is indeed educative to learn how he cultivated this virtue of humility. The following self-instructions were found in one of the diaries of Swamiji:

“Serve the untouchables, the scavengers and the inferiors; eat from the hands of Muslims; clean the clothes of sadhus; do prostrations to all; return good for evil; live on alms bearing abuse, insult and injury; Give up Brahmana- Sannyaasa abhimaan and Vairagya-tyaaga abhimaan.”

Swamiji was very fond of Namaskara Sadhana. He prostrated to men of all kinds; even to birds and animals. He prostrated before his own disciples, to householder devotees and pilgrims who came for his darshan.

Once Maharaja Sahib of Tehri came to the ashram and took the blessings by prostrating to Swamiji. Swamiji, in turn, touched his feet, in front of his own devotees and followers.

Other orthodox ashrams and sannyasis took serious objection to this. But his response was, “I see the Lord in all. Hence I prostrate to all.”

He never allowed others to touch his feet. As one of the devotees puts it, “It was always a race; who ran faster and touched the other’s feet – Swamiji or we!”

Swamiji took great delight in serving the sadhus. He would wash mahatmas’ clothes and fetch water for them from Ganga. When they were ill, he would render them medical aid, massage their feet, attend on them, and bring them their bhiksha.

On special occasions, like Swamiji’s birthday etc., a lot of people would come and garland him with flower, brocade and sandalwood garlands. He would suffer all that to satisfy the devotees. When the whole thing would get over, he would go inside his kutir and sit in a corner of his bathroom. With a pair of old shoes which he had, he would beat his head and thus admonish his mind, “Big teacher! Flower, garlands, adoration. Now take a little sample of this also!”

Every year, an I.C.S officer, Sri Pannalal, used to come to Rishikesh to visit Swami Tapovan Maharaj. On his way back he would visit Swamiji. Once, after the meeting with Swamiji was over, Sri Pannalal stepped out. In those days such a high officer would not stir out without a peon. This peon, who used to assist in putting on his shoes, was somewhere away. The officer looked for him this side and that side. Swamiji immediately sized up the situation, took the shoes and promptly placed them at his feet. The officer’s blushed face was worth watching at that time!

 In 1953, Parliament of World Religions was organized by Divine Life Society. Representatives from various religions came to attend the function. Swamiji spoke in English. In the next session, a sannyasi rose to speak. He was a very stout and aggressive personality. He started roaring in Sanskrit continuously for 10-15 minutes. To make sure that all would understand, he afterwards switched over to Hindi. In his thundering, forceful speech, he outrightly abused Swami Shivanandji left and right, in front of about one thousand distinguished people.

He said, “It was utmost foolishness, a big blemish and an action contrary to Hindu religion and tradition for a sannyasi, staying in Uttarakhand, on the banks of the holy Ganga, to speak in a foreign, alien, polluted language…” He went on with his direct tirade on Swamiji, without speaking on any other subject.

Swami Shivanandji, who was regarded with such high reverence by all, that within a few minutes the whole audience became restless. Words were sent from the audience to stop the speech, to remove the sannyasi from the stage and to cut-off the microphone connection. Though the disciples of Swamiji were also fuming with anger, they dared not do anything for fear of Swamiji’s displeasure.

All through the bitter talk, Swamiji’s face was absolutely calm and serene, without a single ripple or ruffle in his mind. He was seated like a Buddha, completely unperturbed. After the sannyasi had spent all his force panting and fuming, he resumed to sit.

Before anything could be done Swami Shivanandaji immediately got up, went to the microphone and spoke in Hindi, “We are most grateful, most thankful to Swamiji Maharaj for having told us the right thing indeed. Sanskrit is the Devabhasha, and there is no language in the whole world to equal Sanskrit. We congratulate him for his command over the divine language. Hindi, being the national language is next to Devabhasha in importance. His suggestion is indeed very, very correct and timely. We are most grateful to him for giving us this advice.” And he went on praising the sannyasi expressing gratitude and thanks.

The sannyasi felt most uncomfortable. It was as though a fully inflated balloon was pricked by a pin. Like how the speedily charging wrestler coming in full force falls flat when the opponent steps aside! He had expected some applause; some reaction. But nothing came.

Annihilate the ego and awaken to divinity, say the scriptures. According to the famous equation:

God + ego = man; Man – ego = God.

Swamiji used to say, “The complete annihilation of the ego is possible only after a very, very intense and atom-bomb like powerful sadhana. So go to the place where you are not respected, but you are humiliated, abused and insulted. Deliberately go to the place where people are likely to make fun of you. Bear all insults calmly.”

When we beat ourselves to shape, the world beats the drums. But when we beat our drums, the world beats us to shape!

The choice is ours!!

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

May 2013

Temples are the gymnasiums for the mind. – Chinmaya

Local gymnasiums can strengthen and shape only the physical body. But to revive a sick mind from all its negativities, we need a different gymnasium. The temples, the churches, the mosques and other such houses of God fulfil this need.

How do these places of worship help us regain our inner health? The answer is simple.

The moment the mind withdraws from the world and meditates upon God, it is cured of all its illness. Such a God-oriented mind gets filled to the brim with all divine virtues. The arrangements made inside these holy places of worship are such that we cannot but think of God.

Just as each room is designed to serve a particular purpose– bedroom for resting, drawing room for receiving guests, kitchen for cooking etc. – a house of worship is designed for meditation, worship and prayer.

In Hinduism, the outer rituals symbolize the eternal Vedantic messages of the Upanishads.

Every temple is designed similar to a human body. The Lord is seated in the garbha gruha (the sanctum sanctorum, the most sacred place) to indicate that the Lord resides in the heart of every being. Just as the temple gains its sanctity only due to the Lord residing within, the inert body gains its sentience and holiness only because of the presence of the Lord, the Consciousness principle. Normally, the sanctum sanctorum is kept dark, to indicate that the Lord cannot be seen as an object. During the aarati, the idol is seen in the light of the burning camphor, to point out that He can be known only as the subject, the witnessing light of Consciousness, represented by the light of the aarati. Hence we close our eyes during aarati, to seek Him within.

 The camphor burns, leaving no residue, spreading the fragrance everywhere. So too, we are advised to burn away our little egos in the fire of Self-knowledge. Then alone can we become a light unto others wafting the fragrance of universal love to one and all.

As we enter the temple, especially in South India, slippers are kept outside and the gents are asked to remove the upper clothing, to indicate that Lord’s darshan is possible only when we strip ourselves of our egocentric personalities.

The ringing of the bell and the blowing of the conch produce an auspicious sound, Om, the universal name of the Lord. They also help to drown the inauspicious, irrelevant noises and disturbances from outside, and serve as a reminder for the mind to stop all its extroverted preoccupations.

The Namaste posture (where the two palms are placed together in front of the chest) used while praying, indicates that the individual self and Supreme Self are ever together, which is intuitively felt in a purified heart.

The tilak (the sacred mark on the forehead) reminds us of the Lord throughout the day and thus protects us from all evil forces and wrong tendencies.

The food offered to the Lord is called Naivedyam. Everything comes from Him alone– be it the worldly wealth and prosperity or the abilities and talents in each one of us. What belongs to Him is offered to Him.

The very same food comes back after the worship as Prasaadam, which we partake of with cheerful acceptance, without complaining or criticizing, without wasting or rejecting. So too we are advised to maintain this attitude (Prasaada buddhi) of accepting everything that comes to our lives as His Prasaadam.

After offering the prayers, we do the Pradakshina (circumambulation) around the Lord by going around the sanctum sanctorum. The Lord is the centre, source and essence of our lives. Recognizing Him as our focal point, we are advised to go about doing our daily chores.

Also, Pradakshina is done clockwise, so that theLord is always on the right side (and not on the wrong side!). In India, the right side symbolizes dharma/auspiciousness, reminding us to walk the path of righteousness which alone leads to auspiciousness. Pradakshina is done three times or five times, to indicate that the Lord is beyond the three states of experience (waking, dream and deep sleep), and beyond the five sheaths (annamaya, praanamaya, manomaya, vijnaanamaya and aanandamayakoshaas). Again, Pradakshina is done to oneself as well by revolving around, to remind us that the supreme divinity within us is itself idolized as the Lord we worship outside.

By the means of Saashtaanga Pranaama (prostration), we express our meek surrender in obedience, acknowledging the greatness of the Omniscient Lord, by touching our head at His Holy Feet.

Fasting in Indian tradition is called Upavaasa (Upa=near the Lord, vaasa= to stay), so that the time and energy saved from procuring, preparing, cooking, eating and digesting food items can be utilized to think of God.

We find the usage of oil/ghee lamps inside every temple. The oil or ghee in the lamp symbolizes our vasanas or negative tendencies, and the wick- the ego. When lit by spiritual knowledge, the vasanas get slowly exhausted and finally the ego also perishes.

Before leaving the temple, we are supposed to sit in silence for a few minutes experiencing our oneness with Him. Soon the mind is soothed, recharged and revitalized, making it fit to take on the world with all vigour.

Such a strong mind – trained and toughened by the regular ‘work-outs’ in such holy gymnasiums, with its powerful bulging muscles of discrimination, devotion and dispassion – alone can wrestle with the monstrous-world-of-delusions, swirl it and hurl it beyond the frontiers of illusory non-existence.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

April 2013

Man can change his destiny not by wishing for it, but by working for it. – Chinmaya

Very often we hear people say, “We have no choice but to accept whatever is there in our prarabdha…; Who can change what Vidhaata (the Creator) has written in one’s forehead?…; What can we mortals do when planets/ stars have already decided our fate?…; We are just puppets dancing to the tunes of the master puppeteer (God)…; The whole world is like a drama – the story, the end, the characters, the roles – are all decided. We have just to play our part…”

These statements are made by none other than the spineless weaklings who have not the least guts to take the blame upon themselves for their falls and failures. The plain, bare truth is we alone are responsible for whatever happens to us. Thought by thought, action by action, we alone design and carve out our destiny.

But these escapists of life try to detach from their responsibilities by putting the blame on someone else– the grahas (stars)/ ill-luck/ karma / vaastu /fortune/ destiny/fate/apa-shakuna(ill-omen) / raahu-kaala (inauspicious moment) and hosts of other nonsense!

No doubt, it is our past which has brought us to our present. But let us not forget that the equation of life is:
past’s influence + present efforts = future destiny

Thus we need not be helpless victims of our past misdeeds. The present moment is ever available for necessary alterations. Take care of the present, and the bleak past gets transformed into a brilliant future.

Legend has it that Panini was born a dull child, but as one whose interest in learning knew no bounds. An astrologer who happened to come to his school read Panini’s palm and conveyed to him the sad fate that the child’s palm had no line for learning. The heartbroken boy wanted no impediments to his learning. Soon after, Panini’s guru saw a happy boy whose palm was bleeding. Upon asking, Panini answered that he had drawn the “line of learning” on his palm with a knife! The guru was overjoyed on seeing his interest in learning and vowed to make him a scholar.

Today Panini is known all over the world as the author of Ashtaadhyaayi – the earliest complete grammar of classical Sanskrit, unmatched in its brevity and completeness in any ancient grammar of any language. It is considered as the foundational text on Sanskrit grammar, studied exhaustively by the students and scholars of all times.

Helen Keller, born in Boston, the USA in 1880, lost her eyesight when she was a mere two years old baby. Soon, due to a terrible fever, she lost her power of hearing and also the ability to speak.

The compassionate Lord takes care of all. Divine help came duly in the form of a teacher named Anne Sullivan, who developed a special interest in this utterly helpless, dumb, deaf and blind child. Their relationship lasted for almost 50 years. Anne taught her untiringly, with infinite patience and love, and soon the little girl was able to communicate by writing on the palm with fingers. As the years rolled by, their combined efforts started yielding results.

Mastering the Brail language for the blind, she learnt English, German and French. Joining the college, she became the first deaf-blind person to pass the BA degree, that too with first-class! Her hobbies included horse riding, swimming, rowing, and playing chess and cards!!

She has authored twelve books. Her autobiography ‘My Story of Life’ was translated into fifty languages of the world. Her book “My Inner World” is a treasure to the world literature.

Helen Keller established the “Blind Society” and published many books for the blind in Brail language. She travelled around the world to places like Europe, Canada, Australia, Egypt, India, Japan, South Africa etc., encouraging blind and deaf people all over the world.

Someone asked, “Don’t you feel that God was unjust towards you?”

Her calm reply was, “I believe that God is in me, as the Light in my darkness, as the Voice in my silence… So much has been given to me by Him that I have no time to ponder over what has been denied… I thank God for all my handicaps; for through them, I have found myself, my work and my God…”

She added, “If the blind put their hands in God’s, they find their way more surely than those who see but have no faith or purpose…”

About success, she said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing… No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit…We can do anything we want as long as we stick to it long enough. There are no shortcuts to any place worth going…The character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

Her message to the world is “Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look at the world straight in the eye. Nothing is impossible for you.”

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

March 2013

Ethics is something we have to cultivate in ourselves. Its expression in the world becomes morality. – Chinmaya

From the above definition, one may say that purity of our thoughts, intentions and motives determines ethics; while the nobility of our actions performed in the outer world determines morality.

Thus, one may be apparently moral but not ethical; and one who is ethical spontaneously becomes moral, as thoughts decide actions.

Hence the above quote says: Be ethical within, and you become moral without.

But why should we be ethical?

The answer to this question can be obtained when we start watching the mind. The following facts are revealed under close observation:

Nobler the thoughts, the quieter the mind.

Subroto Bagchi, the Co-Founder of the IT firm called Mind Tree Ltd., mentions an incident in his book, ‘The Professional’.

In Japan, he had to go to a hotel for a conference. He hired a taxi and upon reaching the destination, paid the money according to the meter reading.

The cab-driver, politely returning a part of the money, said, “Sir, actually there is a shorter route to this place which I came to know just now. Being in this profession, it was my responsibility to take you to the shortest route. Asking you to pay extra due to my ignorance will be absolutely unjust. As for the loss of your time, my sincere apologies.”

Wise men pay great attention in keeping their conscience pure and clean as that alone gives true peace and happiness.

Thoughts that are often repeated become our habit and ultimately decide our personality.

Our mind decides our response to outer situations. And the mind is trained by thought-repetition.

A mind trained in loose living, yielding to every temptation and compromising with all higher values and nobler ideals, crumbles in the wake of any challenge thrown by the world. On the other hand, a positively trained mind faces all the ups and downs of life with a smile of confidence.

A depressed state of mind only means that deep down we are entertaining some negative thoughts which many times we are not aware of. Once the mind is out of these negative thought-whirlpools, it regains its healthy state.

What you sow (as thoughts), so shall you reap (as outer situations).

A student dreams to become an engineer, and soon he is surrounded by eng. books, eng. students, eng. professors, eng. campus, eng. laboratories, eng. devices/circuits and eng. problems!

So too, the good attracts good and the evil attracts evil. Sometimes we hear people say, “I don’t know why, no one likes me; I feel lonely; I am ignored by all…etc.” Today, if we are disliked by others, we alone are to be blamed. Negative thought currents in us, if left undetected, gain root, eventually giving rise to a stinking personality, repelling the world away from us.

Pujya Gurudev used to say, “Some people give happiness wherever they go, some – whenever they go!”

What thoughts to entertain is our choice. The rest is determined by the laws of nature, governed by God.

Even as a child, the famous saint Sadhu Vaswani would go, sit in a corner and pray when he found someone suffering. One day, his mother, Varan Devi, spoke to him of a close relative who had lost his job. He had a wife and children to support and had no savings. The family was passing through a difficult time. The mother lamented, “If only he can get a job with a salary of twenty rupees per month, the family would be able to breathe again…”

At night, the little boy went up to the terrace, closed his eyes and prayed devoutly to God, asking Him to help the afflicted family. He continued to do so for seven days.       

On the seventh day, the mother came and announced that their relative had been given a job with a salary of exactly twenty rupees a month!

“God has heard your prayers,” said the mother to her son. “In future, if I need anything, I will come to you and not approach your father.”           

“No Ma,” said the child, “We both will approach God, Who alone is the source of all and Whose stores are never empty.”

As the famous quote says: Take care of your thoughts, for they become your words; take care of your words, for they become your actions; take care of your actions, for they become your habit; take care of your habit, for they become your character, and ultimately your destiny.

How to cultivate a healthy mind?
Pujya Gurudev gives a 5-point solution: Observe, detect, eliminate, substitute and strengthen.          

Observe the mind; detect the negativities; eliminate them. Substitute with positive thought patterns; through repetition strengthen them.

In the beginning, one has to work hard. The old thought- grooves have to be filled up and new channels have to be cut open. Once healthy thinking becomes a habit, the joys of life are ours forever!!

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

February 2013

To derive a sense of lasting joy, give the mind a new direction. Change the direction of your thoughts; make them divine. – Chinmaya

Man is constantly seeking lasting joy – beyond the sky, beneath the ocean, within the earth, within the atom… But alas, nowhere is lasting joy found.

The one who has searched everywhere, has experimented with everything life can offer, and has been disappointed completely, is considered the fit student of spirituality, says Mundakopanishad. The world can allure him no more, as this matured seeker of Truth comes to these following conclusions about the pleasures that life can promise:

1) Worldly joy is uncertain:

This is so because the results are uncertain. The one who depends on the results for happiness will surely have to go through fear, anxiety, worry, stress etc. If you connect happiness with something uncertain, your happiness also becomes uncertain, says the laws of nature!

2) Worldly joy is finite:

What we seek is infinite happiness.

3) Worldly joy is impermanent: Even if we gain the object of desire, the happiness can last as long as the sense object remains in contact with the senses. Both of them being impermanent, the happiness derived cannot be the reverse.

4) Worldly joy drains out the physical vitalities:

No gain, no pain. For every pleasure enjoyed, there is a price to be paid in terms of weakened body and the senses.

5) Worldly joy makes us a slave of the mind:

Every time one goes through indulgence, the vasanas become strong. The cravings of the mind increase. A mind filled with intense cravings compels us to yield to all temptations.

6) Worldly joy makes the intellect dull and inefficient:

Intellect is the faculty which helps us take the right decisions in life. Intense attachments cloud the intellect, making us incapable of discriminating between right and wrong.

7) The belief that joy comes from the world is a myth:

True, though difficult to accept! When we get what we desired, the anxious, worrying, doubting mind becomes quiet. The happiness is experienced, not because of object, but because of the quietened mind! The source of joy is not the outer world but our own mind. Once a person comes to this conclusion in life, the extroverted worldly man in him dies, and the inward-looking spiritual seeker is born.

This story is about a silent sage, Tinnai Swami, an ardent devotee of Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. His birth centenary was observed recently on 12-12-2012.

Sri Tinnai Swami was born in Coimbatore on 12th December 1912 in a family of lawyers and doctors belonging to a Telugu Brahmin community. As a young man, he was employed as a biochemist in Madras Medical College, during which time he married and had four children.

In the mid– 1940’s, he came to Tiruvannamalai on three occasions to have darshan of Bhagavan.

One day, he approached Sri Bhagavan and asked permission to leave for Pondicherry to apply for a job, to which Bhagavan replied, “Iru”(Stay/Wait/Be).

Sri Tinnai Swami obeyed both colloquial meaning (i.e Stay) and the literal meaning (Be) of the word uttered by Bhagavan. From that moment till his death, for more than five decades, he never left his place in Tiruvannamalai, and remained firmly fixed in the eternal state of Self-abidance.

Sri Tinnai Swami’s inward transformation was reflected in a complete transformation in his outward life. He remained away from the eyes of the public. He seldom spoke, and when he did his words were usually enigmatic, often allegorical, and at times, appeared meaningless. He neglected his appearance, allowing his hair to grow long and matted. He lived by begging his food, usually just one meal a day,and sometimes not even that.

His finger and toenails grew long, thickened and curled, which grew back into the flesh, causing bleeding and obviously painful wounds which were sometimes invaded by the small red variety of ants, whose bite stings sharply. From the occasional words, he uttered it was clear that he knew many things, including things which he had no means of knowing through the usual channel of the five senses, but he was simply unaffected and untouched by anything.

Towards the end of 1985, Sri Tinnai Swami lost his eye-sight, apparently due to cataract, but he never allowed the doctors to check his eyes. He remained unaffected by and totally unconcerned with the failing strength and health of his body. His state remained unshakable as ever.

Finally, a few days before his 91st birthday, on Deepam Day, 6^th December 2003, he left his body as quietly as he had lived in it, in the early hours of the morning when everyone in the compound was asleep.

In the eyes of the world, which attaches importance only to doing, there may appear to be little greatness in the extraordinary life of Sri TinnaiSwami. He did not speak, write or teach anything, nor did he perform any other “useful” function.

But whether we are able to recognize it or not, his mere being was a great blessing bestowed upon the whole world by Sri Bhagavan, the effect of which cannot be known or measured by our finite intellects.

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January 2013

Silence heals; silence soothes; silence comforts; silence purifies; silence revitalizes us. – J. P. Vaswani

All goodness and auspiciousness in nature express as silence.

Sun rises in silence. Bodily organs function in silence. Flowers bloom in silence. Beings evolve amidst the marching seasons in silence. Mother Nature’s love pours out in silence. The sick recuperate in silence. The bereaved recover in silence. The ignorant rejuvenates in the sleepy depths of silence…

An intellect free of doubts is silent. A heart soaked in love and gratitude is silent. A devotee surrendered totally unto the Lord becomes silent. A meditator merged in the non-dual Self becomes silent…

All love silence. Why? The above quote gives the answer. But again, why is it that silence alone has the ability to heal us, energize us? It is because in silence we are closest to our real nature – the Self, the ultimate Truth.

Self is of the nature of supreme peace and happiness, because in It there is no ‘otherness’. The Upanishads say, ‘The fear comes from the other’.

Silence implies no-otherness. The moment the ‘other’ comes, there is noise and disharmony.

A lady went to a Mahatma and complained, “Swamiji, there is no peace at home. My husband argues, fights and ultimately beats me up.” The Mahatma gave her a bottle of water. The lady inquired, “Swamiji, when should I give it to him?”

The saint said, “It is not for him; it is for you. Whenever he argues, fill your mouth with this water. All problems will be solved!”

One among the 24 gurus for Lord Dattatreya is a maiden. Once, a family came to visit her, seeking her hand in marriage for their son. As she was alone at home at that time, and the guests had to be entertained with refreshments, she at once started husking the paddy, pounding the food grains with a pestle etc. The bangles on her hand started knocking against each other creating too much of jingling noise. The wise girl reflected thus: “The party will detect, by the noise of the bangles, that I am husking the paddy myself, and that my family is too poor to engage others to get the work done.”

Removing all the bangles except one in each hand, she was able to finish her job quietly.

Just as a single hand cannot clap, so too the Self alone does not create noise. Someone else is also necessary. That someone else is our superhero – the Ego, an illusion born of ignorance.

The ego, in the guise of the Self, arrogates that it knows everything, that it does everything!

An elephant was crossing over a bridge. The bridge started shaking under his weight. A fly was sitting on his trunk. When they both got to the other side, the fly said, “Son! We really shook that bridge.”

The elephant said, “Sweetie! Until you spoke I didn’t even know you existed.”

Destroy the noisy illusory ego, to experience the silent real Self. But how to destroy the ego? Destroy the mind, the ego is destroyed. And how to destroy the mind? Watch the mind, and the mind vanishes – so says Ramana Maharshi in Upadesha Sara.

In the life of Baal Shem, a great mystic, there is an incident. He used to go towards the river in the middle of the night, just to be alone with himself. On the river bank was a rich man’s mansion, and the watchman there was puzzled about this man, Baal Shem. Every night, exactly as the tower bell was tolling twelve, Baal Shem would appear out of the darkness.

The poor watchman could not contain the temptation. “Why do you come here every night and sit next to the river in the darkness? What is the purpose of it?” He enquired once.

Rather than answering him, Baal Shem asked, “What do you do?” He said, “I am a watchman.”

Baal Shem said, “Me too. The only difference is, while you watch somebody else’s house, I watch my own!”

As we watch our mind, a great secret is revealed to us – that this noisy mind is nothing but a mind full of thoughts; and the root of all thoughts is the ego, the subtlest thought. As the watching becomes more intense, another secret gets revealed – that the thoughts vanish when observed without identification. Once thus the ego is burnt in the fire of intense observation and washed off in the tears of devotion, the mind becomes silent. The silent mind uncovers the pure Consciousness – the Truth Absolute, of the nature of peace, joy and contentment –which is our own true nature.

Such Silent Ones alone know that Silence – the Silence of the Self Divine – the Presence that presides over even the dead silence of the burial grounds – the resting grounds of the silent ones.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

December 2012

Every sunrise is a message from God and every sunset is His signature. – Chinmaya

The above quote will make no sense to the modern man buried in his iPods and iPads, the internet and the mobile phones, busy with his career, business, or the stock markets… He has no time even to look at the sun! Being with the machines, he has become another machine, devoid of all noble emotions and feelings…

Let’s come out of the rat race, at least a few moments in a day, and watch this majestic cosmic happening in the infinite expanse of the sky.

What message does the sun bring along with it? Well, when we start pondering, the list appears unending!

The rising and setting sun serves as a reminder that the Lord is in full control of His creation – whether it is the heart’s beating or the sun’s heating. The message is clear: Why fear when God is here?

How to live life? Learn from the sun. It goes on burning itself down silently for the welfare of all, nourishing all with its heat and light. Lead a silent life of sacrifice and service, dedicating your entire God-given talents in the wellbeing of all.

The rising sun and the setting sun – both look exactly alike! No one can make the difference if asked to identify from a photograph. Always remain equanimous amidst the pairs of opposites ( like the joys and sorrows etc).

Every sunrise is fresh and new – no decrease in the brightness or temperature despite burning for millions of years! The exhaustion of the past is not carried forward to the present! Learn from the past but don’t live in it. Face life every day with a fresh mind without polluting it with the past regrets or future anxieties.

The sunlight waits outside a shut window or a closed door, making itself ever available to brighten up the dark room, but never forces its way in. Let us not force our opinion on others, but let us be ever available to serve.

Sun is self-effulgent. So too, the Self in us, the pure Consciousness, is that light of awareness because of which everything else is known, including our body and the mind. Hold on to God, the Pure Consciousness in us.

 In the presence of the sun, everything happens, but the sun ever remains detached from all these happenings. Serve all maintaining a healthy detachment from all.

Even when ignored by all, or disbelieved by the blind, the sunlight falls equally upon all without any discrimination. Love everyone unconditionally based on the vision of oneness.

The sun, a little closer, and we are burnt to death; a little away and we are frozen to death! Avoid all extremes. Follow the middle path. Be moderate in food, sleep etc.

Close the eyes – the sun becomes invisible. Press the eyeballs – the sun becomes double! The Truth, though self-evident remains ungraspable to the crooked minds. I am the one to be changed, not the world.

The rising or the setting of the sun is never doubted. Be consistent, and you become trustworthy.

The sun ever remains contented, not depending upon anyone for anything. Be a Master of all situations by ever remaining contented in the Self.

The sun’s rising and setting reminds us of the fleeting time. Time is precious. Never waste it.

A retreating sun? Never! With an understanding clear and the intentions noble, march ahead, unmindful of the criticisms and abuses en route; not a step backwards!

There are no two suns. You are unique and special in the whole cosmos. You are irreplaceable.

The sun rises and lo! The darkness disappears. So too with knowledge and ignorance. Attain Self-knowledge, the only solution to all sufferings born of ignorance.

To form the rain-clouds, the sun takes only the water-vapour from the ocean and leaves the salt behind. Pay attention to the goodness in others; ignore their weaknesses.

The sun serves us even in its absence in the night by making the moon a reflecting medium. Where there is a will, there is a way!

The sun’s hot rays of discipline and cool rays (through moon) of love – both are necessary for our growth and nourishment. Rich in love, strict in discipline – they form the rules in Parenting.

The stars boast of their brilliance only in the night. But with the rising sun, they fade away and disappear like the valour of the cowards. When the going gets tough, the tough get going!

When difficulties and failures make our minds sway, have a look at the passing sun and say – Even this will pass away!

In life, every moment contains His message with His signature. The purpose of life is served once the message is decoded and the Messenger is identified. Then alone the Signatory is recognized!

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November 2012

Watch in others for weaknesses which you should guard against in yourselves. – Chinmaya

All of us, without exception, have been blessed with one great ability in abundance; and that is to find fault with others!

Why not use this ‘God-given talent’ creatively?

The above quote shows us the way.

Why is it that we generally show greater interest in others’ weaknesses than in their goodness? It is because our egos find great joy in proving themselves better than all others around. ‘Either lift oneself high or pull others down’ is the way of the ego. The latter being the easier and the cheaper way, the ego derives its sense of satisfaction by probing into the negativities in others.

This story is of the time when Sheikh Sadi, a famous Persian poet and a great saint, was studying in a school. He was a bright and meritorious student. Anything taught by the teacher would form part of his permanent memory. He would even cram the meanings of the tough words of the Hadis (the traditional sayings of Prophet Mohammed) very easily. His extraordinary capabilities caused jealousy for him among his classmates, which he was very well aware of.

One day Sadi went to his teacher and said, “Sir, some of the classmates are jealous of me. Will they be liable to go to Hell for this?”

The teacher looked at his student carefully and said, “Sadi, you too are committing a crime of complaining against them. This act of yours will cause you also to go to Hell!”

The moment we touch filth, our hands become dirty! So too, the moment we contemplate upon the evil traits in others, we find our minds getting disturbed.

Any mental agitation is an indication that we are going astray from the path of righteousness. It indicates the Lord’s displeasure. He has created us to live in love and harmony with each other. Fault-finding will only lead to mutual hatred. In Gurudev’s words, “When the fault becomes thick, love becomes thin!”

If we develop a lovable nature in ourselves, it becomes very easy to deal even with uncultured people and handle difficult situations.

There is an incident mentioned in the life of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (Indian educationalist, the founder of Banaras Hindu University – the largest residential university in Asia, notable freedom fighter and who also had been the President of Indian National Congress for many years).

Once some university students went to the bank of river Ganga. They went berserk after climbing into the boat and as a result, damaged it badly. In great distress, the boatman came running to the residence of Malaviyaji. Boiling with anger the boatman began shouting at the top of his voice, “You have formed a band of hooligans…”

Malaviyaji, hearing the noise outside, came out of his room. When he learned that the students had damaged the boat of the boatman, he stood before him with folded hands in all humility and said, “Brother, with deepest regrets, I seek forgiveness for all that has happened. I am ready to take any punishment for whatever loss my students have caused you. I shall in no time arrange to have your boat mended.”

The boatman was greatly embarrassed to see a great personage like Malaviya ji behaving in so humble a manner. He began begging for his forgiveness and said, “I am extremely sorry sir! I had lost control over my tongue due to anger. Please forgive me. I shall have my boat mended myself.”

The one who ever remains alert guarding the inner purity, detects and rejects the outer impurities with ease.

Someone once wrote an abusing letter to Mahatma Gandhiji which ran into many pages. Gandhiji went through the letter, kept the paper-clip, and threw away the letter to the dustbin. To those present there watching this, he said with a smile, “In life too, we must learn to retain the useful and reject the worthless!”

Many times we get disturbed and irritated seeing the uncultured behaviour of others. But let us not forget that once upon a time we were also like them!

It takes millions of births for anyone, to graduate from the animal kingdom and attain the saintly status of Godly Perfection. Going up the ladder of evolution is always slow and steady. Like the foetus in the womb, every being takes its own time to emerge out of its sheaths of selfish imperfections. No haste is ever observed in nature.

This being the case, when we see the imperfections in others, let us be reminded of our unrefined pasts in all our previous lives. Let us, time and again, bring into our minds how others too, in their magnanimity, had put up with our imperfections silently, forgiving and forgetting our ungrateful moods and unethical motives.

In one of the favourite Bible stories, Jesus saves a prostitute, Mary Magdalene, from being stoned to death. Jesus says, “If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” All leave, because in the heart of hearts they knew that none was clean!

Bumps and pot-holes are but part of any ride; so too the uncultured and the unrefined, the careless and the inadvertent, the arrogant and the boisterous in the journey of life. None can avoid them. Let us equip ourselves with solid shock absorbers – of forgiveness and compassion – and thus make each moment of life’s journey pleasant and memorable.

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