Chintana

April 2012

Our present work may be great or small. Yet the important thing is to do it well. – Chinmaya

A youngster came to the public telephone booth, dialled a number and started a conversation.

“Madam, is there any vacancy for the servant post at your residence?”

A reply came from the other end, “No, thank you.”

The youngster persisted, “Madam, I am ready to do any kind of work – cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, sweeping, gardening, driving, shopping…”

“No, we already have one wonderful boy who is efficiently doing all these.”

“But Madam, I’ll do everything for just half the salary you pay him…”

“Thanks a lot, but sorry, you may try elsewhere.”

The lady disconnected the call. The youngster approached the owner of the shop to pay the bill.

The owner, who was listening to the conversation, consoled him “Dear, come with me and I’ll give you a good job.” But the boy refused, saying he already has a job.

To the confused shop owner, the youngster said, “I am the very same boy who is working at that lady’s residence!!”

What an innovative way of self-assessment!

The great ones gain their inspiration from their vision and conviction, and not from the rewards or recognition.

Once, an officer suggested to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, “Sir let us write the history of Azad Hind Fauz (Indian National Army).”

Pat came the reply, “Let us first make it. Surely, then there will be someone who will eventually write it.”

While putting forth our efforts, let us not compare ourselves with others. Instead, let us compete with ourselves each time to bring out an ‘even-more better’ from us!

Once, Dr Vishweshwaraiah, a renowned engineer, was passing through a village. The teachers of that village requested him to deliver a speech before the children of the school. First, he tried to avoid, but seeing the teachers requesting earnestly, he gave in and delivered a short speech before the children. But later he began feeling sorry to have delivered a speech without any preparation. Next week, he wrote to the teachers of the school that he wanted to deliver a speech again to the same children.

The teachers were greatly surprised to receive such a letter from him. They were not able to understand as to why so busy a person of such great renown had offered to deliver a speech for children without being asked for it.

Dr Vishweshwaraiah came to the school and read his fresh speech before the children. Addressing them he said, “How does it matter if all of you are only children? I should not have brought down the quality of my speech. A good thing comes into existence only after a suitable preparation for it. I was not satisfied with my speech delivered earlier. So I have come again to this place to correct my mistake.”

A person’s greatness is seen not in his big achievements, but in how much of attention he pays to the little insignificant acts of life, says Swami Vivekananda.

Once, Mahatma Gandhi had a short stay in Anand Bhavan. During his sojourn, one day in the morning, he was washing his hands and face with water, and at the same time, he was also discussing something with Jawaharlal Nehru. Suddenly Gandhiji’s mood changed and the discussion stopped abruptly. “What’s the matter Bapu?” asked Nehruji. Gandhiji lamented, “I was so lost in the discussion that the quantity of water that I had taken, and which should have been sufficient for washing the hands and face, has come to an end. Now I have to take some extra water.”

Jawaharlal Nehru laughed and said, “Bapu! There is no dearth of water here. You can use as much water you like. The Ganga and the Jamuna, both the rivers, flow together here.”

Gandhiji said, “The Ganga and the Jamuna don’t flow for me alone. No matter in what large quantities a thing has been provided by nature, one should take for himself only the quantity actually required by him.”

May we serve Him as best as we can by fully utilizing the talents and abilities that He has given us. Living a life of purity and service, may we make our Creator proud and happy for having created us!

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

March 2012

An unruly mind fluttering with greeds and fancies, worries and fears cannot be expected to settle on sublime thoughts. – Chinmaya

An excited youngster, after listening to an inspirational talk of a great leader, poured out his enthusiasm to his father, “Dad, I have decided to dedicate my life in wiping clean all the imperfections in the society. What is your opinion Dad, where should I begin from?”

The father said, “Hmm…good, begin from your room.”!

When I find fault with my neighbours, talk ill of my in-laws, criticize the politicians, make fun of my boss and the subordinates, ridicule the Government, lament on corruption,…the underlying thought current is – A perfect man (myself) in an imperfect world!

But the fact is the world is ever perfect. It cannot be otherwise. The perfection of the Creator is clearly reflected in his creation, be it the movement of the planets, the changing of seasons or the operation of natural laws.

The only thing imperfect is my own creation – my mind. There God doesn’t interfere, unless permitted!

 My imperfection can be easily proved. Sit silently for just one minute with closed eyes and watch one’s mind. The misconception “I am perfect” will find a permanent grave!

As the wise say, “Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful”!

It needs a lot of maturity to admit one’s imperfection. In fact, this realization alone marks the true beginning of the spiritual journey in a spiritual seeker.

The intense awareness of our imperfection coupled with our helplessness takes us to the next stage – Total surrender. From here, the Lord takes over, purifies the heart of all its filth, replacing it with a cheerful heart, filled with divine inexplicable joy. Such a purified heart becomes a means to intuitively experience His Presence.

It was extremely hot. Lord Buddha, tired of walking, sat under a tree. He asked his disciple, Ananda, to bring some water for him. Ananda went near a pond to fetch some water. But a bullock cart had just passed over and the water had become dirty. Ananda returned and told Buddha that the water had become dirty but said that he would arrange water from somewhere else. But Buddha asked him to go to the same place after some time.

Later, Ananda went again, and this time the mud had settled and the water was pure. To his dear disciple, the Master said, “Ananda, allow the muddy mind to settle, and you will see the Truth, shining forth in all Its glory.”

The subtlest Truth needs an equally subtle mind to experience It. A fluttering, worrying mind has no entry into the royal gateway to the Infinite Self.

It is well said, “If you have mastery over the mind, nothing else matters; if not, nothing else matters”!

 Plato is considered as one of the greatest Greek philosophers, who, along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science.

Plato was sentenced to death by the king. But due to certain reasons, the royal orders could not be executed. Plato’s death sentence was then changed to slavery. It was one of the greatest punishments during those days to declare someone a slave. In fact, declaring someone a slave was considered a punishment above death sentence.

But the king, as soon as he came to know that Plato, who had been declared a slave, was a great philosopher and thinker, withdrew his orders and freed him.

The king apologized to him and said, “Sir, punishment order was passed not knowing your real identity. I am sorry to have caused pain to you unknowingly.”

At this Plato said, “O King! I am busy in the quest of Truth. I was not even aware that you had sentenced me to death, slavery etc. Hence the question of forgiveness doesn’t even arise.”

The lighter a thing, the higher it goes. So too with the mind.

And to such a sublime mind, which has learned to scale the heights of Inner Perfection, even death becomes an insignificant happening, what to talk of the mundane worldly problems!

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

February 2012

Religion is to become not a mere practice, but a faithful and constant atmosphere around our head and heart. – Chinmaya

All practices in religion are only with one purpose – to seek our identity with the Divine which is our true nature.

Following are some of the examples of the way the majority of us practice religion:

1) Out of fear.

Grandmother: “Do you say your prayers every night?”

Grandson: “Oh, yes!”

“And every morning?”

“No. I am not scared in the day-time!”

It is said, “As long as there are tests, there will be prayers in schools!”

2) Fulfilment of desires.

A pious old lady after the war: “God was very kind to us. We prayed and prayed, so all the bombs fell on the other side of the town.”

What we usually pray to God is, not that His will be done, but that He approves ours!

3) Mechanical and faithless prayers.

Pilot to the passengers in the mid-flight: “I regret to inform you that we are in terrible trouble. Only God can save us now.”

A passenger turned to a priest to ask what the pilot had said. The priest said, “He says there is no hope!”

God listens to the prayer of heart without words than the one with words without heart.

4) Religious fanaticism.

A recent study shows that the cause of maximum deaths in the history of mankind is not any natural calamity or some incurable epidemic disease, but religion!

This is a strange paradox. All religions preach peace, harmony, tolerance, brotherhood, compassion etc., but ironically, the very same religions have become the cause of all major bloodsheds. No wonder why the educational institutions have kept all religions at a distance in the recent past!

The tragedy is, “Most people, alas, have enough religion to hate but not enough to love!”

In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi tells how in his student days in South Africa he became deeply interested in the Bible, especially the Sermon of the Mount.

One day he went to attend the Mass. He was stopped at the entrance and gently told that if he desired to attend the Mass he was welcome to do so in a church reserved for blacks.

He left and never returned!

Man will wrangle for religion, write for it, fight for it, die for it; anything… but LIVE it!!

All great saints of all religions were embodiments of love and compassion, humility and forgiveness. It is the immature followers who mess up with their teachings.

As the saying goes, “When Buddha dies, the schools are born.”

Pujya Gurudev puts it well, “It is the shastris who are wrong, not the shastras!”

An inspector was visiting a local school. He asked the headmaster, “When in your time schedule do you teach religion?”

The headmaster replied, “We teach it all day long. We teach it in history, by humanity. We teach it in mathematics, by accuracy and perfection. We teach it in geography and astronomy, by reverence for Mother Nature. We teach it on playgrounds, by fair play. We teach it during exams, through honesty and truthfulness. We teach it in language, by learning to say what we mean. We teach it by being kind to animals, by being grateful to our teachers and elders, and by being loving and helpful to all beings…”

May our religion make us better human beings. In the words of Pujya Gurudev, may it help us to replace the beast in us with the best in us.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

January 2012

Tomorrow, we will be what we are now, plus what and how we have faced life’s challenges today. This is the Law of Cosmic Justice. – Chinmaya

Law of Cosmic Justice, put in other words, simply states that we alone are the makers of our destiny.

Ibrahim Al Adham was a great saint who, despite being a king, renounced his throne and lived a life of an ascetic. His countless acts of righteousness and his humble lifestyle have been greatly praised in Sufi tradition.

Once a beggar came to Ibrahim and asked for charity. The saint told him, “I’ll give you something better. Come with me.” Ibrahim took him to a merchant who gave the beggar the job of a salesperson.

A few days later, Ibrahim found the same beggar on the street, in the very same miserable condition. Surprised, he asked the beggar what the matter was. The beggar narrated his story, “Once while travelling, I found a blind eagle in the desert, and to my big surprise, another eagle came by to feed the blind eagle. Thus I said to myself, ‘He, who took care of that blind eagle, will also take care of me’!”

Ibrahim, after reflection, asked the beggar, “But tell me, why did you choose to be the blind eagle, and not the other one, who can feed others?”

Blind eagle or the feeding eagle – we become what we choose in our life.

The outer circumstances are nothing but a reflection of what we have chosen in our life. A lover of God finds himself amidst satsangs and devotees; so too with the drunkards and the flirts amidst wine and women.

Ultimately, we are left with none but ourselves to blame or to thank for what happens to us.

A watermelon farmer was determined to scare off the local kids who went into his watermelon patch every night to eat their fill.

After some thought, he fixed a board in his field that read, “Warning! One of these watermelons has been injected with POISON!”

The next night he saw the kids run off the field without eating any of the melons. He smiled and returned to his home in great relief, congratulating himself for his effective technique of keeping the kids out. A week later, the farmer went to survey his fields. To his satisfaction, no watermelons were missing, but he found his board with an additional warning which read “NOW THERE ARE TWO”!

Our goodness and wickedness come back to us with exact precision someday or the other – this is in accordance with the Law of Cosmic Justice.

We always find, in the life stories of the great people how much they were vigilant even in their seemingly insignificant transactions with the world. They never slackened in disciplining themselves to purity and integrity because they knew well that what they sow today has to be reaped tomorrow.

Saint Shah Ali was going to Lucknow from Saharanpur. He told his disciples at the railway station to have his luggage weighed and the charges paid accordingly. The guard of the train was his devotee. He said, “This is not required. I am accompanying you.” Shah Sahib asked, “Up to which station?” The guard said, “Up to Bareilly. But please don’t worry!”

“But brother, my journey is yet longer.” Said Shah Sahib. The guard said, “I shall make suitable arrangements with the guard who will take over the charge from me at Bareilly railway station and go up to Lucknow. Remain assured, you shall not have to face any problems.” “Dear, my journey is very very long.” Said Shah Sahib with a smile. “But you said that you have to travel up to Lucknow only.” said the guard.

Shah Sahib said, “Yes, that is true. Right now I have to go up to Lucknow only, but the journey of life is very long. And that journey will end only when I leave this world and reach God. Who will save me there from the consequences of the sin of my not having paid the charges of my luggage?”

The guard of the train was embarrassed. Shah Ali’s devotees got the entire luggage weighed and made full payment of the freight charges.

Who can cheat God, the Ultimate Witness within? May we bow down at His Holy Feet, the Ruler of the Cosmos, the Maker of Cosmic Justice. Giving up all our crookedness and street-smartness, may we adopt the ways of the wise by ever remaining humble, pure and clean in our thoughts, words and deeds. This is the surest and the only way to bring these laws to our advantage.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

December 2011

When the transience of life is understood in all its depth and significance, material possessions are viewed merely as gifts granted for temporary enjoyment. – Chinmaya

A man once went to an exhibition mela along with his son, five years of age. Enchanted by the colourful balloons flying high, the little child expressed his intense desire to possess one. The loving father fulfilled the innocent wish of his beloved child and soon the boy was playing joyfully in the open ground with his favourite balloon. The father too didn’t mind joining him in his merrymaking.

For some time everything was going well.

A loud burst and lo! The balloon disappeared from the sight. The shocked child started weeping. And the father couldn’t control his laughter!

The situation was the same – a balloon burst. But the reactions were so different – One burst into tears while the other burst into laughter! The reason? The above quote answers it all.

The child gave permanent reality to the balloon and got blindly attached to it. Hence he was heartbroken when the balloon was gone; whereas the father, even while engaging in the play, was expecting a burst any time. His prepared mind made all the difference to his reaction.

 In fact everything of the world – our relationships, physical beauty, health, strength, mental and intellectual capacities, worldly possessions and positions, name and fame, power, influence… – are nothing but varieties of colourful balloons, very enchanting and attractive, but unfortunately, one day or the other they have to ‘burst’ and depart from us.

A king once built a beautiful palace and invited saint Kabir to have a look at it. The saint saw the entire mansion and was about to leave without saying a word.

The king, expecting a word of praise, asked the saint to give his comment. Kabir said, “O King, the palace is, no doubt, wonderful. But it has two flaws.” The King, who had taken the greatest care in an error-free construction, became curious and enquired what they were.

The saint answered, “Number one, a day will come when it will be reduced to dust. Secondly, when you depart from this world, you can’t take it along with you!”

Expecting from an object what it cannot give is called moha or delusion. For example, expecting sweetness from salt is moha. Expecting permanent happiness from an impermanent changing world is the cause of all our suffering.

Alas! Life is half spent before we know what it is!

For most of us, life ever remains a foreign language, with all grammatical errors and mispronunciations!!

Once a devotee went to saint Eknath ji and asked, “Sir, how are you able to remain cheerful all the time?” Eknath ji stared at him for some time, ignoring his question, and said, “I see in you that you will not be alive after seven days.”

The devotee returned with a shock. From that day was seen a miraculous change in his behaviour. His wife, children and even the neighbours were surprised to see the change. On the seventh day, the devotee, taking bath early in the morning, and wearing a pair of clean cloth sat in his puja room meditating while awaiting death. Just then Eknath ji happened to come there. He asked, “How did you pass your seven days?”

The devotee said, “During the last seven days I never behaved harshly or got angry with anyone. I kept myself aloof from all unworthy worldly matters. I lost interest in all gossips. All my worldly problems became insignificant. Fearing death, my mind was in God alone as that alone gave me true peace and strength.”

Eknath ji smiled and said, “Good! Now you have truly understood how to remain ever-cheerful!”

A philosopher puts it well, “God writes a lot of comedy; but the tragedy is He is stuck with so many bad actors who don’t know how to play funny.”!!

A Chinese proverb says, “The real miracle is neither in flying in the air nor in walking over water, but in walking on the earth!”

We have no choice but to live amidst the fleeting world and the decaying bodies. Understanding the nature of the world as impermanent and hence developing a healthy detachment from the world of things and beings, and at the same time, ever fixing the attention upon the Real and the Permanent, is called the perfect way of living.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

November 2011

Let us develop a sense of gratitude to the Lord by focusing our attention on what we have. – Chinmaya

A saint was walking along a crowded road when his eyes fell on a child begging by the wayside.

To every passer-by, the child called out, “Give me something in the name of God! My parents are blind! Help me feed them!”

The saint told the boy, “Why do you need to beg my child when you are so rich!”

The beggar boy was taken aback. “Alas sir, I am poor! My parents are blind and we live on the alms I get.”

The saint thought for a while and then said, “I shall give you Rs.10,000/-. Will you cut your hands and give it to me?” The boy was horrified.

The saint persisted, “How about your legs? Take 10,000/-, but give both your legs.” The boy shook his head, speechless with shock.

“All right then, give me those pretty eyes of yours for 10,000/-…”

“How cruel you are!” the boy burst out. “Will you have me disfigured, deformed and maimed for life?”

The saint smiled. Lovingly he said, “My dear child, God has blessed you with such strong and healthy limbs. Why don’t you make use of them effectively? Why beg when you can work hard and live a life of self-respect!”

God blesses us every moment. But we are habituated in taking all His blessings for granted… or we are busy comparing and proving that we got less… or we pay more attention to what is missing and thus miss out what is present. At the end of the day, there is a thankless, discontented heart craving for more.

No wonder why our hearts ever remain hard and dry, despite receiving so much in abundance.

The statement “Man gets and forgets while God gives and forgives” makes the cause of our misery plain and clear.

True happiness lies not in gaining what we don’t have, but in recognizing and appreciating what we already have. Soon we will discover that counting our blessings is the hardest arithmetic to master!

Once in a children’s camp, the teacher asked the children to list down the ‘seven wonders of the world’. While the grown-up ones rushed in to present their standard stereotype answers, a small girl too, about five or six years of age, hesitatingly submitted her list of wonders. They were 1. To see 2.To hear 3.To smell 4.To feel 5. To taste 6. To love 7. To laugh.

How true!! As has been rightly said, “We thank the one who gave us the wrist-watch but forget the One who gave us the wrist!”

God’s gifts are priceless and invaluable. Lose it, and it’s lost forever. Despite all the modern technological advancements, they remain, even to this day, irreplaceable.

Someone has put it nicely, “I was sad that I didn’t have shoes till I saw someone who didn’t have legs!”

Noble souls find ample reasons to thank the Lord even in the most tragic situations.

Recently, in one of the reputed hospitals, a cancer patient, whose case was declared incurable by the expert doctors, was seen joyously chanting aloud Lord’s name. An astonished visitor, seeing his blissful state asked him with curiosity, “Sir, how is it possible for you to thank God despite giving you such a painful end?”

The patient smiled and replied, “Sir, I am truly grateful to God. How lucky I am that I know the arrival of death long before I die! Now every moment has become precious for me. Facing the inevitable end, my mind now doesn’t wander anymore. All relatives have left me and thus I clearly perceive that God alone is my true companion. With His sweetest name on my lips, I weep and pray from the depth of my heart, which I was unable to do before. Thanks to this disease, I feel His consoling presence as never before…”

Cheerfully accepting even the bitterest experience as prasadam from the Lord is the sign of a true devotee.

O Lord, next time when You answer our prayers, ensure that You have given us the most (and the only) important thing – a thankful heart filled with gratitude.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

October 2011

A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn’t, will find an excuse. – Stephen Dolley

For a mind that is willing, there is nothing impossible.

An old man lived in Minnesota. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation:

“Dear son, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden, because your mother always loved planting them. I am just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were there, all my troubles will be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren’t in prison… Love, Dad.”

Shortly the old man received this telegram, “For Heaven’s sake, Dad, don’t dig up the garden! That’s where I buried the GUNS!!”

At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden, but couldn’t find any gun. Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what had happened and asked him what to do next.

His son’s reply was, “Go ahead and plant your potatoes Dad… This is the best I could do for you from here.”

For a man of determination, no reason can become an excuse for not achieving the goal. For him, all excuses are lame, however rational or logical they may sound to be. “If I don’t realize my dreams and objectives, then I alone am responsible, none else.” is his open and bold declaration.

But unfortunately, according to us, any responsibility means nothing but a ‘detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck, Star or one’s neighbour’.

“He that is good in making excuses is seldom good in making anything else!” says Benjamin Franklin.

Someone has jokingly defined an inefficient ‘committee’ as “Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together”!!

The weak alone seek excuses; the strong hardly find any.

There was a giant who was bullying and harassing the children in the village. One day a shepherd boy came to visit his brothers and asked, “Why don’t you stand up and fight the giant?”

The brothers were terrified and they replied, “Don’t you see he is too big to hit?”

But the shepherd boy said, “No. He is not too big to hit; rather he is too big to miss!!”

The mind trained to succeed will find opportunities anywhere.

This is an incident which happened around 40 years back at the intersection of the then Mount Road and Nungambakkam High Road in Chennai. On a busy hour, a man lay there on the roadside in a pool of blood, screaming for help. Seemed to be a road accident. Office-goers resumed their rush to their offices after a split-second glance at the man.

A construction worker woman, seeing this scene, threw aside her spade and her lunch pack, gathered the victim, put him in an autorickshaw, and sped off to the hospital. This timely step saved the man.

Of course, she had to part with her tiny nose-ring made of gold to pay the auto fare. Added to this, the loss of that day’s wage which she would otherwise have earned by dint of hard work at some construction site. But had she the mind to calculate it all? No chance!

Where there is a will, not one but thousands of ways unfold from within and without. For a man of stern will, even ‘Impossible’ appears only as ‘I’m possible’!

All situations are but God-sent, with a definite purpose, i.e. to assist us in our evolution. Excuses and escapisms defeat this very purpose. They only serve to delay the evolutionary process. A lesson not learned will be re-taught until well-learnt. Self-discovery is that ultimate lesson to be learnt compulsorily and none can escape it. Thus facing all situations, without looking for short-cuts, with total faith in Omniscient God as our Well Wisher is the best way to lead a fruitful life.

If this is our attitude, then never will we wallow in excuses and accuses, which are but the preoccupation of the inefficient and the incompetent.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

September 2011

Those who know, do not say. Those who say, do not know. The wise are therefore silent. The clever speak, the stupid argue. -Lao Tsu

This is a true story.

A woman used to travel from Philadelphia to New York every day by train. One day, she was a little late arriving at the station, and hastily managed to board the train just in time.

She found herself in a compartment totally empty – except that a heavy-set gentleman was seated in front of her.

The man lit a cigar and began to puff. The woman was annoyed. Wishing to show her displeasure, she began to clear her throat and groan loudly. But the man continued to puff away lighting a fresh one when the first was over.

Seeing this, the lady lost all her patience. She shouted at him for a long time for disregarding the co-passengers and disobeying Government rules. The man cast a questioning glance at her. Then wordlessly, he stubbed his cigar out and started to read.

A little later, a railway official entered the compartment and was startled to see the lady.

“You are not supposed to be seated here, madam,” he whispered to her. Pointing at the heavy-set man with great respect, he continued, “This is General Grant’s private compartment”.

Shocked, the lady got up made a quick hasty exit. The General did not even glance at her as she left, for he did not wish to embarrass her!

Our condition is exactly similar to that lady. We go on blabbering about every happening, not knowing that the visible world is unreal, being a projection of our own disturbed mind. It is only the wise who know that the world is as unreal as our dream. Just as we ignore the blabbering of a dreaming person, so too the wise remain silent when the worldly people argue, for, he knows that the Self, the Pure Consciousness alone is real, and anything seen in it is but an illusion and hence, essenceless.

For the ignorant, the world alone is real and God, unreal. For the awakened, God alone is and nothing else! Quieter the mind, nearer are we to God.

Once S. Radhakrishnan, the then Vice President of India, went to meet Ramana Maharshi. After around 45 minutes Radhakrishnan came out, and when the media people gathered around him anxiously enquiring what they had discussed, he gave a short, sweet answer, “We met in Silence”!

 The empty vessels make all the noise. The deepest rivers make least din. So too with people.

Practising inner silence is easier said than done. A famous writer narrated his experience, “Once I was condemned to three month’s absolute silence. As I could not speak, I wrote a book”!

George Bernard Shaw sees another reason why we should remain quiet. He says, “Choose silence among all virtues, for, by it, you hear other man’s imperfections, and conceal your own”!

A Sanskrit subhashitam glorifies silence thus, “Much talking is the cause of danger. Silence is the means of avoiding misfortune. The talkative parrot is shut up in the cage. Other birds, without speech, fly freely about”!

God is far far away from people puffed up with the arrogance of learning. Many are the learned and the eloquent, who, despite their vast knowledge in scriptures, grope in darkness within.

But to the humble and the meek, the Lord reveals all His secrets. To such a one who approaches God in all nakedness with a simple and pure heart, He makes him realize his oneness with Him.

God can never be found in noise and restlessness. He loves silence. In nature the trees, the grass, the flowers grow in silence; the sun and the moon and the stars move in silence. To discover Him within, one has to be in silence.

An ancient proverb says, “He who is asleep in continual noise is awakened by silence”!

May the Silence of the Self awaken us all, now sleeping comfortably amidst the continual noise of the ego and the egocentric demands.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

August 2011

To restrain the vagrant mind and channel its enormous potential towards a given goal constitutes yoga. – Chinmaya

Ordinary sunlight can do nothing to a piece of paper. But the very same light, when converted into a focused beam by passing through a magnifying lens, reduces the paper into ashes instantly. So too with our mind. The art of disciplining the mind is called yoga.

A mind that has learnt to concentrate becomes capable of discovering the deep mysteries of the universe, unavailable for the casual passers-by. Such a disciplined mind, applying itself single-pointedly, cruises towards the chosen goal with utmost ease without any distraction.

Henry Ford is an immortal figure in the annals of the 20th century. The visionary entrepreneur, who introduced the concept of assembly-line technology, became the first industrialist who pioneered the mass production of automobiles. He also introduced the first-ever low priced car, called Model T. he dreamed that every common man should be able to afford a car. True to his dream, around 1.6 crores of such cars were sold in the U.S itself!

Ford’s mass-production techniques led to the manufacture of a Model T car every 24 seconds, almost 10 times faster than the earlier techniques!

Ford’s affordable Model T irrevocably altered American society. As more Americans owned cars, urbanization patterns changed. The United States saw the growth of suburbia, the creation of a national highway system, and a population entranced with the possibility of going anywhere anytime. As the owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. His innovations made him an international celebrity.

On his 75th birthday, Ford was asked the secret of his successful career. His answer was simple:

1. I never over-eat. 2. I never worry too much. 3. Whatever I do, I do my best. 4. I trust in the Lord; hence whatever happens to me, I know, it is for my best.

There is nothing impossible for a disciplined mind.

A youngster given to a loose way of living approached a Mahatma. Complaining that he always remained a failure in all his undertakings despite his sincere efforts, he pleaded for guidance. After some thought, the Mahatma gave him a pot full of holes and asked him to fill it with water. The youngster protested saying that it was impossible to fill such a leaking pot. The saint smiled and said, “My child, how can you expect to achieve anything worthwhile with a mind that is also leaking like this pot?”

With all its worries and anxieties, grievances and regrets, likes and dislikes, hatred and jealousies, lust, greed and anger, the mind leaks every moment. Truly, the pot of our mind has too many holes than we can ever imagine; and sadly, through all these holes, the precious ‘present moment’ is wasted.

The mind trapped in the lower becomes incapable of contemplating upon the Higher.

One day Devadatta came to Buddha, saying, “Master, accept me as your disciple! Grant me initiation!”

Buddha said, “Come tomorrow morning at 4 o’clock. But see that you come all alone. Bring no one with you, for I can initiate only one at a time.”

The next morning, exactly at 4 o’clock, Devadatta entered the cottage of Buddha. The Master looked at him and then said, “Devadatta, I asked you to come alone. You have brought a crowd with you!”

Astonished, Devadatta turned back to see who had followed him.

“The crowd is not behind you, Devadatta, the crowd is within you,” said Buddha. “Rid yourself of the crowd, and then come to me for initiation.”

Devadatta turned his gaze within and, sure enough, there were his wife and his two children. He was thinking of them. His mind was filled with thoughts of name and fame and earthly greatness, of possession and power, of the many good things he had done.

A year elapsed before he could rid himself of the crowd. Then he turned to Buddha saying, “Master, now I have come to you alone. Grant me initiation!”

The vagrant mind stops wandering once it tastes the subtler joys of the Self. May we thus through right knowledge discipline our mind and take up the greatest and the most adventurous voyage in life – going towards the Alone, all alone!

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

July 2011

In introspection, the mind itself is the subject of study. – Chinmaya

 In every field, we find the instruments tamed to ‘dance’ to the tunes of their wielding masters – be it the violin of a violinist, the sword of a soldier, the bat of a batsman, the axe of a wood-cutter, the brush of a painter or the plough of a farmer. Experts perfect their instruments before entering their respective fields of expertise.

So too, to be a master of all situations, the mind, the instrument with which we respond to the outer world, has to be trained to remain efficient by not allowing it to lose its equipoise even in trying circumstances.

 Once in America, Swami Vivekananda gave a reverberant speech proclaiming that fearlessness is the message of all Upanishads. A few young men decided to put the Swami to test. They invited him to deliver a lecture.

On the appointed day, within a few minutes after Swamiji started his speech, bullet shots were heard inside the hall. People fled in panic, women shrieked in fear and some fell unconscious. Amid these confusions, there was only one man – Swami Vivekananda – who stood firm, immovable as a rock, fearless like a lion.

Soon the shots ceased. Swamiji resumed his talk exactly where he had paused. People returned to the hall, things returned to normal and it seemed as though nothing had happened.

After the lecture was over, the youngsters approached Swamiji and said, “Sir, please forgive us. The shots were fired to see how fearless you were. Your faith and courage have put us to shame.”

The thoughts entertained, the words spoken and the deeds done – all of them indicate the state of our mind. Hence it is absolutely essential to take charge of our mind to ensure a life of peace and harmony within and without. And the most efficient way to master one’s mind is through the method of introspection.

In introspection, the mind itself becomes the subject of study – that is to say, instead of applying the mind one starts observing the mind. Great inner secrets are revealed when we thus watch our mind remaining as an alert, impartial witness, without coming under the sway of its likes and dislikes.

A self-examiner in his early days of introspection gets to witness innumerable manifestations of one’s own devilish mind – an indisciplined mind taking delight in the lower, vulgar pleasures of the senses… a disturbed mind tormented by worries, fears and anxieties… a dull mind showing a lack of interest in everything… or a stubborn mind unwilling to give up its old unhealthy habits… a tempting mind compelling to yield to temptations disregarding all intellectual convictions and moral principles… a deceitful mind posing itself as saintly for the seemingly selfless acts of charity and service… an accusing mind eagerly trying to cover up its weakness by finding fault with others… a boastful mind revelling in its own achievements and accomplishments… a wandering mind unable to abide in the Higher … a doubting mind questioning the very existence of God…

The silent moments of ‘witnessing the within’ in the brilliant light of the Pure Awareness speak volumes to the alert and the vigilant.

Once Acharya Vinoba Bhave received a letter from Mahatma Gandhi in which the latter had showered praises on the former saying that he was one of the noblest men on earth. Vinoba ji immediately tore away the letter before anyone could read it and put it to the dustbin. He never allowed the wicked ego to wallow in self-glorification or even to raise its hood!

Maintaining a clean garden of conscience within is possible only by those, who, like a good gardener, time and again clear up the fallen leaves and worthless weeds of mental garbage along with nourishing the plants of noble thoughts.

A person went to a mahatma and asked how to gain peace of mind. The mahatma mockingly remarked, “You have made your mind like the waiting room in the railway station. How can you have peace when you indiscriminately allow all ignoble and vulgar thoughts to enter your mind? So from now on maintain your mind like you maintain your Pooja room. Chant the Lord’s name. Enthrone Him in your heart. Allow Him to remain there, and He will purify you. From then on you will never know misery.”

Let us set aside a definite time every day to peep within ourselves and have a look at what is going on in the mental factory. The poisonous negativities detected while churning the within will then automatically goad us on until we attain the summit of inner perfection called liberation.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T