Chintana

October 2009

A happier tomorrow is built when we live today a life divine.
– Chinmaya

One life is given to all of us by the Almighty. He has also given us the power and freedom to make or mar our life. The former is the conscious choice of the wise while the latter is the unintelligent preoccupation of the foolish.

The time utilized, thoughts entertained, words spoken, actions performed – all add up to decide our future. It is so well said that when you sow a thought, you reap an act; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap your destiny!

Destiny is not an accident, nor is it something that you wish for. Destiny is that which you design– hour by hour, day by day. Hence the contents of each moment lived becomes equally important.

A traveller, after walking a long distance through a desert in the hot sun, in the month of summer, was greatly delighted to see a lonely shady tree amidst the burning sands. Tired, exhausted and hungry, he lied down under the tree stretching his limbs with a sigh of relief. Hardly did he know that the tree was Kalpavrksha, the wish-fulfilling tree.

As he was enjoying the cool shade of that divine tree, a thought passed through his mind, “How comfortable it would be to lie down, if only I had a soft bed and a cushioning pillow. . .”

No sooner than he thought thus that he found himself on a soft luxurious bed. Completely amazed, he was unable to believe his eyes. Pushing his luck further, he thought, “If only I had a satisfyingly delicious meal to drive away my hunger.”

Within no time, a banquet was spread before him! Though wonderstruck, the traveller was quite pleased with the turn of the events. After a good sumptuous meal, fully satisfied, as he was getting ready for a nap, a passing thought escaped his mind, “What if a tiger comes and attacks me.” Out of nowhere came a ferocious tiger and tore him into pieces.

God’s perfection can be seen in and through His unerring laws. Every good, noble and pure thought entertained is rewarded immediately with a quiet and peaceful mind. The reverse is also equally true.

As Pujya Gurudev nicely put it, “We are rewarded or punished not for our actions, but by them!”

Nothing goes unobserved or unaccounted. When such is the case, adopting a simple, clean and straight forward lifestyle is the easiest way to happiness and blessedness.

But, in our present state, such a lifestyle appears difficult for us only because we were never trained to live so. No horse gets anywhere until it is harnessed; no stream of gas drives anything until it is tunnelled; no life ever grows great until it is focussed, dedicated and disciplined.

It is rightly said that success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, desperation, perspiration, and inspiration!

Like destiny, happiness is also not an accident, nor is it something born out of circumstances. Happiness comes only to those who choose to live their life consistent with their higher values and deepest convictions.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it a Present! Let us make use of every moment that life presents to us and carve out of it a better future.

Let us cease to be mere creatures of circumstances, but instead wake up to become the creators of our circumstances.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

September 2009

“Nothing worth achieving can be achieved without self-effort.”
– Chinmaya

When we flip through the pages of history, we find that every remarkable feat or achievement was preceded by great obstacles and strong resistances – physical illness, insufficient funds, uninspired men to work with, unhealthy surroundings, lack of support, sharp criticisms from all over proving why the vision is impossible to materialize…

They all appear to be rather a good justification to retreat and to quit. It is always seen that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. The truth is that every problem comes to us as a blessing in disguise. Only in the face of difficulties, we remain alert and hence learn more. As we stretch all our faculties to meet the bigger and unfamiliar challenges, we slowly come to realize that our potentials were never limited. In every field, we find people emerging stronger and wiser after going through certain dark periods. No wonder, the best steel has to pass through the hottest furnace.

Hence obstacles are unavoidable for progress.

We walk forward only because of the resistance offered by the ground. In electrical circuits, resistances are deliberately introduced for the smooth functioning of various devices. In gymnasiums, the bodybuilders develop their muscles, not by going along, but by going against the force of gravity. All successes seen in this world have come about only by overcoming the difficulties through the right efforts.

No pain, no gain is the strict law here. In the dictionaries alone we find success coming ahead of work!

As someone has nicely put –“The only thing that ever sits its way to success is a hen!!”

A wealthy businessman wanted to enrol his son in a famous university. But he was taken aback when he realized that it would take 4 years to get a degree, and that too with so many midterm tests, assignments, and exams in each of the eight semesters. Frowning, he flipped through the catalogue of the courses and asked the Dean, “Why does my son have to go through so many courses? Can’t you make the whole thing shorter? I want him to get out of it quickly.”

“Certainly he can take a shorter course,” replied the Dean politely. “It all depends on what he wants to make of himself. You see, it takes 20-30 years for an oak tree to grow, but a mushroom springs up overnight!”

Any great achievement takes its own sweet time and hard work. The ability to remain cheerful and optimistic despite all discouraging results is the greatest gift one can ever have.

Once, during a war, an army general was informed that the enemy troops have surrounded them from all directions. The general laughed aloud saying, “That’s very good news. Now we can attack them from any direction!”

Success is defined as, not in never falling, but the ability to get up and try again each time one falls!

Revealing the secret of his success, Bernard Shaw once said, “When I was young, I observed that 9 out of 10 things I did were failures. So I did10 times more work!”

Dreaming of success alone will not do; one has to wake up and work hard for it!

The glory of self-effort is such that even our destiny can be rewritten. Markandeya, who was destined to live only for sixteen years, became immortal when he held on to Shiva Linga, disobeying the order of Yamaraj to follow him. Such was his hold that Lord Shiva Himself had to intervene to protect his devotee, completely sidelining the destiny, represented by the Lord of Death.

Let us do our part – of putting forth the best of our efforts. The rest, let us allow Him to decide, as He alone knows what is ultimately good for us.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

August 2009

Without I go only to come down; Within I go only to rise above.
– Chinmaya

 Giving reality and importance to things, beings and happenings, wherein one believes that the solution to all problems lie outside oneself is to go without. “I am lean/fat, unintelligent … my wife, relatives etc are the cause of my joys/ sorrows… success in that business deal would have changed my life…he/she is my inspiration… l can’t live without coffee…”

The examples can be multiplied. Our dependence on some external source for our well being only proves our slavery to them. As someone has rightly said, the key to our happiness then lies in others’ pocket! In such a case we will always find ourselves complaining and grumbling for every trivial issue and ultimately lowering ourselves in the eyes of all, including our own near and dear ones.

When we beg for the love and attention of others, we become a parasite only to be kept away by all. Everywhere beggars are kept away – be he/ she a beggar of paisa, position, pleasure, power or popularity.

Then how to face the challenges uninterruptedly thrown to us by the world? The solution lies in the scriptures. They ask us to do only one thing – go within and find out who we truly are.

All the scriptures unanimously thunder forth – “You are not this tiny, puny, miserable, mortal, wretched creature limited in strength, intelligence etc., but the Immaculate and Immortal, most Auspicious, Omniscient and All-Pervading, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute, which is the very support for this entire universe! In fact, the existence of this universe is only a borrowed existence, borrowed from Your existence! Hence none of these unreal happenings of the world has the power to affect You, the one and only Reality – just like the dream world happenings can never affect the waker! Hence WAKE UP to this Reality which is your own true nature!! …”

When we regularly meditate upon these scriptural statements, our mind gathers a new strength to face the challenges – the challenges which were earlier labelled as ‘humanly impossible’. Even by merely entertaining worldly thoughts, one attains destruction (dhyaayatovishayaan pumsaha…Bh.Geeta ch-2) whereas looking within gives us liberation itself (Satsangatwe…Jeevanmuktihi – Bhaja Govindam).

Living with the notion ‘i am so and so’ is going without; but to live as ‘I alone am’ is to go within. Living in the past, present and future, is going without; but to live in the Presence is to go within. This itself is called Living with God. It is so nicely said, “If an Egg breaks from an outside force, life ends; If an egg breaks from within, life begins!”

Going within, Ratnakara, the dacoit was transformed into a great sage Valmiki. Kaushika, the king who fought and lost several battles against sage Vasishta, lifted himself to become the great Brahmarishi Vishwamitra only by looking within. Great things always begin from within.

There was a beggar who lived in abject poverty. With the few coins, he got through begging every day he could barely fill his stomach. One day he fell ill. With no one to take care, and having no money to consult a doctor to buy medicines, he suffered untold miseries until at last, he breathed his last. Soon after the beggar died, that plot of land was sold to a rich businessman who decided to construct a huge building at that very site. When the workers started digging the land they found a mine of treasure- large urns buried under, filled to the brim with gold, diamonds, rubies and precious stones!

We are also leading the life of that beggar, ever discontent, weak and sick, chasing the paltry pleasures of the world, while the unlimited treasures lie undiscovered within. Tulsidasji says that those who seek the sense pleasures instead of God are like the foolish people throwing away the philosopher’s stone already in their hand, and picking up the ordinary glass pieces lying on the ground.

God is ever waiting… expecting that someday we would turn our attention within and seek His Kingdom, His guidance and His Protection. Let us turn within and rise above. After all, let us not keep Him waiting!!

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

July 2009

Character is formed from the repeated choice of thoughts and actions. Make the right choice; then we shall have noble character. – Chinmaya

In the Bhagawad Geeta, the Lord says that we are our best friend and also our worst enemy.

Every thought entertained in the mind cuts as though, a groove or a channel in the brain and repeatedly when that thought is entertained, the channel becomes deeper. Once such a deep channel has been made, the thoughts flow through the channel effortlessly, making the channel even deeper with the passage of time.

Therefore utmost care has to be taken as to what kind of thoughts are flowing through the mind – noble, ignoble or useless. Now and then attention should be withdrawn from the external world and must be directed within. When this practice of watching the contents of the mind is done regularly, over a period of time, we find a remarkable change in ourselves in terms of the peace, happiness, cheerfulness, clarity in thinking etc.

No doubt, the task is easier said than done. For innumerable births, we have left our mind unattended. To clean up such a mind filled with all sorts of garbage is not an easy task. Therefore our scriptures have suggested the path of action (Karma Yoga) before taking up the path of meditation (Dhyana Yoga). This is because directing our grosser actions in the right direction is easier than disciplining the subtler thoughts. For example, to sit for one minute not doing anything physically is easy, but not to think of anything for the same duration is very difficult!

It is an observed fact that every noble thought entertained adds to the peace of the mind. Therefore the quietude of the mind is directly related to the nobility of the thoughts. Quieter the mind, the more sensitive and subtle it becomes. With the increasing subtlety, the mind then becomes more and more alert, and thus capable of detecting even those thoughts which are in their budding stages. Such an alert and vigilant mind is the greatest possession one can ever have in this otherwise ephemeral world.

The high price to be paid for this attainment is the merciless eradication of all vices, conscious cultivation of the noble virtues, and all the time being aware of the various states of the mind.

Let us remember that every negative thought entertained 1) disturbs the mind 2) brings in undesirable reactions from the world 3)adversely affects everyone 4) leads to suffering after death in the form of various painful experiences in the lower worlds and 5) brings us back in this world to the lower wombs in the future births. Therefore, it becomes clear that the little gains or pleasures derived after compromising with our ideals are no gains at all. Knowing this the wise ever stick to the path of righteousness.

As a student the great saint Sadhu Vaswani was brilliant. He stood first in almost every examination. At one such examination, he topped the class with 73 per cent while the second rank holder had got only 65 per cent. The answer sheets were returned to the student. When Vaswani tallied his marks he found that he scored only 63 per cent and not 73. Immediately he went to the teacher and pointed out the mistake and requested the teacher to declare the second rank holder to be the first. The teacher was amazed seeing the truthfulness of the child.

May we keep the sanctum sanctorum of our heart ever pure and holy through goodness practised in thought, word and deed. This alone is the right choice to have a noble character.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

June – 2009

None gets bound by one’s possessions; it is the mental slavery to our possessions which shackles us. – Chinmaya

The one who thinks that the object, beings and situations are the cause of one’s happiness and misery is a ‘samsari’ even if he may be in the garb of a sannyasi. But the one who is ever happy and cheerful, even amidst all family responsibilities, office-related work pressures and social obligations, fulfilling one’s duties but remaining ever detached, is a true sannyasi.

Once Pujya Swami Brahmanandji was conducting a camp at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Mumbai. One among the delegates was a sixty-year-old lady who had undergone heart-valve-transplantation operation three months earlier.

During one of the days of the camp, as the class was in progress, Swamiji noticed her absence in the class. When enquired, Swamiji was informed that the lady had fainted while climbing the steep slope to the temple and was now lying down in her room. Immediately she was taken to a famous hospital nearby where she was admitted in the I.C.U. Her husband, a rich businessman in Shimoga was asked to rush immediately to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Swamiji made it a point to visit her every day in the hospital.

After three days, the husband arrived at Mumbai. He had come by car from Shimoga to Mumbai. There was absolutely no sign of worry, tension or anxiety on his face. When he was asked how he was able to remain so calm and composed despite his wife’s serious condition, he smilingly replied, “She has come for a noble purpose. Moreover, what is there to worry, when she is under the protection of Swamiji’s grace and loving care?”

True to their firm faith and unflinching devotion, the lady recovered soon and later on the blessed couple got the rare opportunity to serve Pujya Gurudev during one of His yajnas in Shimoga.

The true bondage is the bondage of the mind. To free ourselves from the bondage, the scriptures advise us to educate the mind by developing viveka and vairagya.

A deeper reflection will reveal the fact that all pleasures of the world are finite, time-bound and pain giving. Just as a fire can never be put off by pouring ghee into it, indulgence, which only intensifies our cravings, can never be the solution to gain absolute contentment. But in our thoughtless stampede to quench the insatiable thirst of the mind and the senses, we get totally drained out of all our vitalities leaving us tired, exhausted and weak in the end.

The realization which then dawns to us – that all pleasures are nothing but sugar-coated-poison – is called vairagya or dispassion.

To know that the Supreme Self is the only Reality of this world and that it is our own true nature is called viveka.

Thus, the wise man, endowed with viveka and vairagya, abides in his own blissful, infinite Self and ever remains peaceful and secure, irrespective of the ups and downs of the happenings around. Being ever content and ever full, no possessions can dictate terms to him or enslave him, just like the mirage water can never tempt the knower of the illusion.

Let us, therefore, first admit the weakness of our mind, instead of blaming others, and then try to come out of these self-created mental shackles of slavery and bondage.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

May 2009

That which feels ‘I AM this I’ is neither mind nor matter. It is the eternal Self. The external things exist because of the imagination of this ‘I’. – Chinmaya

‘I’ is neither mind nor matter:-

Both mind as well as matter is made up of five elements – space, air, fire, water and earth. The only difference is that the matter is made up of the gross elements while the mind, that of subtle. All five of them are inert by nature, i.e. they are insentient, which means they are not capable of knowing themselves or others. Hence any matter which is a combination of these five inert elements has to be inert. This is because inert things combining together can produce only another inert thing -just like darkness combining with darkness can result only in darkness and not light.

But the ‘I’ is clearly not an inert entity. No proof is required for this as this is our direct experience. Nobody at any point in time feels that “I am inert”! Our experience is “I am and I am aware of my existence.” Hence doubtlessly we can say that we are all sentient beings.

So then it becomes clear that the sentient ‘I’ is different from the inert mind and matter. But, is it not true that the mind appears very much sentient when it listens, thinks, questions, understands, plans, executes etc.? Yes, but this apparent sentiency seen in the mind is only a borrowed sentiency – borrowed from the sentient ‘I’- just like the rotation of a motionless fan borrowing the energy from the electricity.

Once during the British rule, a British officer approached Sri Udiya Baba, a great saint of North India, and requested politely, “Babaji, please show me a miracle!”. Babaji said laughing aloud, “This body made up of all inert matter is walking, talking, eating, laughing etc. Can’t you see any miracle in this? What greater miracle can I show you?”

‘I’ is the Eternal Self:-

The ‘I’ in each one of us was never born and will never die. Death is a movement from existence to non-existence. To experience death, one should experience existence before death and non-existence after death. Experience of existence before death (i.e. when alive) is common to all. But the second case, i.e. the experience of non-existence after death is known to none. The experience of non-existence is not possible because if the question is asked, “Who experienced non-existence?”, and if someone says ‘I’, then that will mean that ‘I’ still exists even after death! Therefore there is never a disappearance of ‘I’. Hence ‘I’ is eternal.

The external things exist because of the imagination of ‘I’:-

There cannot be a better example of this than our dream experience. The whole external world of things and beings including the dreamer is nothing but the imagination of the waker. Among all, the waker alone is real. Even while dreaming, the waker alone was present as the witness of the dream. That is why the waker is able to recollect the dream experiences.

In the same way, this pure ‘I’, the only Reality, is present in us even now as a witness of all happenings without and the imaginations within. This pure ‘I’ is different from the impure egoistic ‘I’ which is the only ‘I’ which we know in our present state of ignorance. Ramana Maharshi, when approached by spiritual seekers, used to advise them to go to the very source of this ‘I’ which is none other than pure ‘I’. Hold on to this pure ‘I’ to come out of all sufferings and limitations – is the ardent and sincere plea of all scriptures and masters at all times.

May we all walk this only path of Light. And thus merging ourselves in that pure Light may we become yet another guiding Light for the generations to come.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

April 2009

The suffering of each depends, not upon the factual happenings, but upon the texture of each one’s mind. – Chinmaya

“Why do good people suffer?”

This is one of the frequently asked questions all over. A Mahatma gave a beautiful reply. “Good people never suffer. If they suffer, then they are not truly good!”

The entertainer of ignoble thoughts is punished then and there in the form of disturbances in the mind. One has no choice but to suffer these mental disturbances if the mind is allowed, consciously or unconsciously, to wallow in negative and base thoughts.

Therefore the solution lies in improving the texture of our thoughts by inculcating noble values like honesty, humility, gratitude, compassion etc. The mind has to be trained in such a way that even the greatest tragedies happening to us should be seen only as a blessing and an opportunity to grow.

It was in 1914. A huge fire engulfed the entire laboratory of Thomas Alva Edison (a renowned scientist and the inventor of the electric bulb). The laboratory was worth two million dollars with all the modern equipments. Moreover, it also contained all the manuscripts of Edison in which he had noted down all his observations and findings. The flames had already gone beyond control. Edison, looking at these huge flames with great wonder called his son near and said, “Charles! Go and call your mother! She will never be able to see such a wonderful sight in her lifetime!”

The next day, as he was strolling around the ashes of his burnt hopes and dreams, Edison, already 67years old, with his white hair flowing in the air, said to himself, “There is one good thing about this disaster. All my mistakes are burnt. Thank God. We can start afresh!”

For the one who has cultivated devotion for the Lord, this attitude is but natural. He knows that whatever God decides for us is always the best because all His decisions are based on His infinite love for us. A devotee has total trust in His justice and he knows that all problems are sent by the Lord only to make him perfect.

There was an old man who had to undergo lots of struggles, pain and sufferings throughout his life. He had been an abandoned child – an orphan. When he grew up, he lost both his legs in an accident. And yet, he always wore a lovely smile!

Once a group of spiritual seekers approached him and asked, “Sir how do you continue to smile amidst so much pain and suffering?”

The old man, with a genuine surprise, replied, “I am afraid you have come to the wrong address! I am 73 years old and in all these years I have never had to face any difficulty! The Lord has always been good to me and protected me in His mercy. How can I teach you how to smile in the midst of difficulty?”

For a true devotee of God, even the sufferings are nothing but prasadam from the Lord. Thus for him, all the sufferings taste sweet! This happens when he sees the guiding and consoling hand of the Lord in and through these sufferings. Such a one sees only Bhagawan’s leelas everywhere and at all times irrespective of the nature of factual happenings.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

March 2009

The attitude of egolessness is the secret of unveiling the nobler and the dynamic in us. – Chinmaya

There is only one thing that the infinitely compassionate Lord demands from us – the surrender of our ego. To do the rest, i.e. giving us the strength, knowledge, fearlessness, dynamism, peace, dexterity, success etc. is His responsibility.

The meek, the lowly and the humble are extremely dear to Him. For their sake, He doesn’t even hesitate to become their servant!

It is said that of all things of this world, Lord Krishna chose only a bamboo reed to keep near to His lips. Why? Because only that reed had emptied itself! And the result? The music that flowed out of that flute brought the whole world under its spell capturing the hearts of even the birds and the animals!

But when we ignore that Lord and assert the ego in all the activities of our life, then we are depriving ourselves of our birthright – the unlimited resources of the Infinite Self. As Gurudev beautifully puts it, “When the ego enters, the Lord vanishes and when the Lord enters, the ego vanishes.”

Once a world-famous painter came out with a unique painting: Jesus holding a lantern on one hand and knocking at a door. Someone objected, “Sir, you forgot to fix a handle for the door!” The painter clarified, “It is no mistake. It is a unique door which can be opened only from inside!”

The choice is ours- whether to ignore and reject Him or to allow Him to work through us!

Thousands of people used to come to listen to the great American musician, Roland Hayes. His wonderful music transported them to realms of ecstasy.

When asked about the secret of his success, Roland replied, “Whenever I give a recital, before proceeding to the stage, I go to a silent corner, and with eyes closed, I offer a brief prayer “O Lord! Let Roland perish, Let Thy name be glorified forever and evermore! Let my name perish, but let these songs bring many closer to Thee, O Lord!”

This has been the testimony of all the great ones in all fields, whether in arts, music, sports or literature. All the literary works of great saints in India have come forth as a divine outburst during the sacred moments of total attunement with the Almighty.

Egolessness is but natural for a sincere seeker of Truth. When we observe ourselves and the world around with open-mindedness, We can easily conclude that nothing belongs to us – the body, the mind, the intellect, their functioning, their abilities etc. Even the ideas and inspirations seem to come from an unknown source. None can take credit for these. Moreover what we know is so insignificant compared to what is unknown.

In admiration, someone asked Isaac Newton, the distinguished scientist, “You must be indeed feeling proud and satisfied when you look back and contemplate upon the achievements of your life! How many mysteries of nature have you unravelled and made known to the world!”

Newton smiled and replied, “Far from feeling proud, I feel like a small child picking up a few pebbles from the seashore while the vast ocean of truth lies unexplored before my eager eyes!”

Let us realize our insignificance and surrender unto Him in all humility. That is the only way to allow His perfection to get reflected upon us.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

February 2009

Lift yourself by yourself; nobody else can do it for you. – Chinmaya

Evolution is but a continuous process of self-improvement involving constant effort till one realizes one’s own Self as all-perfect, infinite and complete.

At the body level, the highest evolution possible is to obtain a human body. After that, it is only the subtle body consisting of mind and intellect complex that evolves.

A mind that evolves becomes richer in all noble values. It is only such a subtle and pure mind that can lift itself and glide forth to comprehend the deeper mysteries regarding the individual and the creation and thus to intuitively feel one’s oneness with the entire universe.

The sadhana of purifying the mind, which is unavoidable, has to be done by ourselves. No one else can do it for us, just like eating food or taking rest. Immature seekers wait for a Guru to confer upon them the vision of God by a magical touch or a mystical look only to get disappointed in the end.

After listening to the inspiring lecture of Sadhu Vaswaniji, a youngster approached him and requested, “Master, please bless me that I have the vision of God.” Vaswaniji advised him, “Speak the truth. Never hate others. Look none with lust. Be contented with whatever one has. Always take the Lord’s name.”

The young man replied, “Master, I have been doing all these for a long time. I have heard that Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa had blessed Swami Vivekananda with the vision of God. Master, you are my Ramakrishna. Please bless me.”

Vaswaniji corrected him saying that he is no Ramakrishna Paramahamsa but a humble servant of the saints. But the youngster kept persisting with the same request on the subsequent days also, saying that he was ready to obey any command.

Vaswaniji asked him to shave his head off and meet him the next day. Needless to say, the youngster was missing for the rest of the lectures! His hair was more important for him than his love for God!!

Pujya Gurudev used to say that he was not a ‘mule-Guru’ to carry his disciples on his back so that they could reach the destination of self-mastery without any effort of their own.

While expounding the term Uddharet aatmanaa aatmaanam in Gita, Pujya Gurudev gives the example of a mountaineering school, wherein the aspirants are trained to climb steep mountains. The instructor can only guide them by giving all the tested and tried techniques of climbing and various postures of relaxation en route. But as far as the real climbing part is concerned, each one has to raise oneself by oneself. As a result, true to the effort put forth, the joy and the fulfilment of reaching the peak is experienced not by an air-lifted one, but by the one who has gone through the adventure of lifting oneself.

This has been true in every field. No one has become a musician, a doctor, a saint or a sportsperson overnight. Every achievement demands its own quota of efforts. ‘No pain no gain’ is the strict law of nature.

Similarly, the one who treads the razor-edge path of self-perfection alone reaches the Peak in oneself. To him alone belongs the abode of boundless bliss and everlasting peace that passes all understanding.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

January 2009

The day we rediscovered ourselves to be really something higher than our own ego, it is the beginning of a new era. – Chinmaya

Spirituality advises us only to cultivate right thinking. To know that we are not the ego but the Supreme Self of the nature of pure Existence – Consciousness – Bliss, is right thinking. This right thinking is absolutely unavoidable because all our sorrows and miseries are directly or indirectly linked to our wrong identification with the ego. It is a law that whenever wrong thoughts are entertained, the mind becomes disturbed. Hence the solution lies in setting our thinking right.

But how do we know that we are not this limited ego?

Logically when we analyse, we come to know that the ego is a non-existent entity. The body, mind and intellect (BMI) are inert. It is only because of the sentient Self that they appear sentient. This sentient Self wrongly identified with the inert BMI is ego. The ego borrows the sentiency from the Self and the identity from the BMI. Since a sentient entity can never combine with an insentient entity, their characteristics being absolutely opposite in nature, like darkness and light, the possibility of giving reality to the ego, which appears to be a combination of both, is entirely ruled out.

Now, what is our experience about ourselves? We clearly recognize ourselves not as an inert entity but a sentient one having the ability of being aware of the happenings within and without. Also, the entire inert body-mind complex is always an object of observation. Using the simple logic that the observer – the subject, can never be the observed – the object, we can deduce that we are the sentient Self ever detached from BMI, and hence not the ego.

Above all, the very same fact is emphatically declared by all our scriptures also. Thus all the three – the shruthi (scriptures), yukthi (logic) and anubhuti (experience) – are unanimous in their final conclusion. All our sufferings are only because of our giving reality to this false entity called ego. It is always observed that whenever we dilute the ego, peace and joy wells up within our heart. In deep sleep, we are peaceful only because the ego doesn’t exist there to torment us.

All scriptural practises are only to uproot and destroy the ego completely. In Upadesha Saram, Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi says that the best tapas/sadhana is that by which one destroys one’s own ego and allow the Self to shine forth.

One devotee went to have the darshan of Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi. He saw that Bhagawan was reclining on his bed amidst the devotees who were squatting on the floor below. There was total silence and none spoke. Later a bell rang indicating the time for lunch. One by one all got up and went to the dining hall. At last, only Bhagawan and the devotee were left.

Making use of the opportunity, the devotee asked, “Bhagawan! Please give me some advice now that only I am left”.

Bhagawan replied gently, “Let that ‘i’ also go!”

“Die to Live” – Kill the ego and be reborn as the supremely blissful, eternal, infinite Self is the message of the Upanishads. May the effort in his direction be our resolve for the new year.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T