10. Who Runs Your Life?

Most of us have no understanding of what life is. If our actions are unconscious and automatic, we are not living.

To understand what life is, we should know of Samskara- the emotion filled memories. They are extremely powerful memories that are stored throughout our body. When we are presented with a situation, it simply takes over our being and we get into automatic mode. It is almost as if we have no choice. Samskara pulls us to do the same thing again and again so that the memory of the activity is imprinted deeply in us.

It is a vicious circuit. 'Doing' creates a samskara and repeating the deed makes it deeper. By making samskara we do things, doing things makes the samskara deeper.

When we understand samskara, we will understand what life actually is. As of now, we don't live, only samskara are living in us. In our daily life, we are guided by the imprints made in our mind by social conditioning, by the way we are socially brought up, by our unconscious decisions. Whatever we do, they create a set of samskara and these are living through us. Never think we are living life and we have some control over life. Only samskara's are living through us.

If we cannot stop any habit we have, then the habit is holding us hostage. If we eat what we want, how much we want and when we want, then we are eating the food. If we eat without an ounce of control of our mind, then, the food is eating us. First we have to drink a little; after that drinks will drink us. That is what is happening in all levels of our life.

Be Clear! At first we create samskara later on samskara live our life. As of now it is pure samskara, habits.

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM always says, the word 'habit' is the perfect word to describe this. If we drop the 'h', a bit is left, if we drop the 'a', bit is left. Drop the 'b', it remains. Only when we drop the 'i' it will die. Our mental habits live through us.

When we decide to live consciously life happens to us. When we are born, only the seed, the potentiality of life is given to us- never life itself. When we decide to live, only then we are born, reborn.

Resolve today to become aware of who runs the life. Live consciously and take control of it.