Cycle of Desires,🔗

The Wheel of Karma

❖ What were you before your birth? What will you be after your death?

❖ When does the unformed foetus which is made up of billions of cells which takes shape in a mother’s womb change into a separate human life? When did life actually enter into that foetus?

❖ What exactly is life? How will it be? How can we evaluate life by modern scientific methods?

Man takes birth again and again. Is it as a result of past karma? At this date, there is no scientific explanation for karma.

To understand karma, here is a small story…

A miracle happened in the life of a stone cutter.

A fairy appeared before him and told him, ‘From today, you will become whoever and whatever you would like to be.’

The stone cutter had always wanted to be rich, very rich and he wished he could become the king, and instantly he became the king.

He slept happily that night, ‘there is no one more powerful than me from now.’ The next morning, the stone-cutter who had then become king, wanted to go round his city in his chariot and called his minister.

The minister said: ‘Oh king! It has been raining heavily from yesterday and you cannot ride in the chariot.’

The king thought: ‘Is the rain more powerful than I? Then I should become the rain. Forthwith, he became the rain.’ He was extremely happy as the rain and flooded the city. Suddenly, there came a strong gust of wind which scattered away the clouds and stopped the rain.

Very angry at this, the rain thought: ‘Is the wind more powerful than I! All right, then I must become the wind.’ The rain instantly changed into wind.

The wind became very happy and blew hard and fast. It uprooted very big trees and destroyed many houses too. But, try as it might it could not do any thing with the mountains.

‘What? Are the mountains and the rocks in it more powerful than I? I then wish to become a mountain.’ The moment he thought so, he turned into a mountain.

At dawn, a stone cutter came to the mountain and began to cut on the rock face. The mountain could do nothing. Every cut and blow hurt terribly.

Even as the mountain thought, ‘Is this stone cutter so powerful that I cannot stop him even though he hurts me? I may then as well be a stonecutter,’ the mountain changed into a stonecutter.

The stone cutter returned to his starting point. One cycle was completed. How he has to be hereafter depends upon his desires. This is what continuously happens due to desires.

The stone cutter would not have continued upon such a cycle if at any stage he had remained contented and happy with whatever nature had bestowed on him, and without any pride whatsoever.

It was only because, at every stage of his desires, he did not feel fulfilled that he had to go frantically searching: what next? What next?

What we call karma, is the collection of unfulfilled desires and unsatisfied aspirations that we accumulate during our lives.

Enlightened Masters and incarnation appear from time to time, to teach each one of us how to stop the wheel of karma and attain the state of bliss.

Some questions for those who may think that it is rather difficult to understand about karma:

❖ Why, out of two children born in the same house, is one child intelligent and the other dull?

❖ Why is it that only a few people are very lucky? Why do a few people suffer and fail in whatever they do?

❖ Why do a few people contract chronic diseases even though they do not have any bad habits?

The reason for all these is the result of activities of one’s previous births and the accumulation of unfulfilled desires and discontentment!

If the awareness is brought to eliminate these desires, the wheel of karma can be stopped. Suffering can be stopped.

An easy method to make that awakening happen is meditation. Enlightened Masters arrive on this planet earth, so as to educate people at different periods in these steps: Raise ourselves in awareness through meditation.

Examine our desires thoroughly.

Find out which are practically feasible.

Enjoy and experience fully those desires which are actually possible.

Let go of all other desires, along with dissatisfaction and discontent.

This running cycle of the wheel of karma can be easily stopped. It is not possible to make the vast subject of ‘The wheel of karma’ any simpler in a few pages.

Let’s make our attempts sincerely and wholeheartedly. Everything is possible!

Knowledge! Experience!

❖ Generally men have two views about wisdom:

❖ Real wisdom is beyond both these types of wisdom.

❖ Bliss is beyond knowledge and experience. This is the peak of joy. It is enlightenment.

A long time ago in China, a metal worker fashioned a mirror for the first time ever. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, this man said: ‘Oh, my God! My father has descended from the heavens.’

On seeing her husband talking to himself, his wife peeped into the mirror. She saw her own face and screamed: ‘Why are you talking to another woman?’

The husband replied: ‘I was not talking to a woman, I was talking to my father!’

His wife was furious. She shouted: ‘Not only are you talking with other women behind my back, but you are also lying about it. You must be having an affair!’

A preacher, who was passing by, heard the noise, stopped and looked at the mirror which started the quarrel. On looking at the mirror he was shocked. He shouted with fury: ‘I am the only preacher in this area. Where did this monk come from?’

He flung the mirror on the ground and it broke into many pieces.

If he were a wise man, this would not have happened.

What is wisdom?

Wisdom is not Knowledge.

Knowledge is accumulated information. Wisdom is knowledge processed through experience and found to be true.

Fireflies emit light so that the male and female fireflies can locate each other, mate and multiply. That is the truth and wisdom. If someone observes fireflies emitting light, and from that observation concludes that the purpose is to light the way in the night, it is useless and misleading knowledge, as most of our knowledge is.

It is easy to gather knowledge. We fill our minds with knowledge by reading, watching TV, and listening to people. It is so easy. Most of such knowledge and information is useless. They only add to your ego.

Experience is born out of real hard labor. We cannot change knowledge into experience, as there is no connection between worldly knowledge and life experience!

Start by reducing the accumulation of knowledge which increases only the ego. Instead, internalize the knowledge you have and relate it to experiential wisdom. Let the breeze of joy blow in your life.

Continue to be involved in spiritual practices. You will always be continuing to progress towards more and more wisdom.

The great philosopher Aldous Huxley divided the earth into East and West. The symbol of West is the brain. The symbol of East is the heart. When you say heart, it denotes love, compassion and affection. Fulton, Jaishin, Mark Twain and other philosophers also agreed on this.

Religions were born in the east. The Buddha was full of compassion. Light of Africa is flooded with his grace. Jesus is also overflowing with compassion. That is why his pictures in every country show him as not revealing his intellect but revealing his heart only. Wisdom that is experiential wisdom just springs from the heart.

Aldous Huxley points out two types of great philosophers. One type thinks within the boundaries of time. They are timely philosophers. The other type goes and thinks beyond the confines of time. They are eternal philosophers.

The second type includes those who first changed themselves and then went on thinking of changing others. Adi Sankara, Jesus Christ and The Buddha come under this category.

Those who do not change themselves first but try to change others, fall under the first category. They promote their own conceived philosophies.

Many amongst us think only within a time frame. We never have even an idea to change ourselves at any time. Even before that, we start correcting and changing the world. To make a change in ourselves, first of all, the knowledge needs to manifest as experiential wisdom.

One cannot reach God through money either; nor through education. Digging deep within oneself is the only way to reach God.

Today's education teaches us, for example, who the prime minister of Australia is. However, it does not teach us what type of fertilizer is suitable for a particular type of soil in a field or for growing a particular variety of crop.

Our farmers know much more than our agricultural scientists.

Our education produces only teachers. Its aim does not seem to be to produce men who can execute properly.

Our education, which gives great exercises for the intellect, does not at all give importance to creative things which come from the heart. That is why there are some professors in our society who teach the same lessons continuously for twenty-five years without any change.

We pay very meager wages to the wood-cutter who sweats all day long and work hard. Experience is born out of real hard labor. It is easy to gather wisdom. But it is rather difficult to enhance the experience. Mere knowledge will not give fulfillment. Experience only will give fulfillment to man.

If we try to change knowledge into experience, the truth will never be revealed. That is, there is no connection between worldly knowledge and life experience!

It is immaterial whether information, news and articles etc. which are of no use to real living, leave their impressions in our intellects or not.

Perhaps the weight of our heads may increase due to the richness and quantity of knowledge.

First of all, reduce the richness of knowledge which weighs our heads down and transform our knowledge to experiential wisdom. Let the breeze of joy blow in our life.

Let us continue to be involved in spiritual practices. We will always be continuing to progress towards more and more wisdom.

Enjoy Life

❖ To exist without utilizing the God-given gift of blissful energy; This is self destructive behavior.

❖ What do we expend for the sake of money, power, name and fame? Our body, life and mind!

❖ In what way is it just and fair to spoil our body, life and mind just for the sake of money, power, and name and fame which are ready to desert us at any moment? Think for a little while.

❖ If we know how to enjoy life, even for a beggar, this world will appear as heaven. If we do not know that, even for a rich man, it will appear as hell.

There were two great thinkers in the last century who actually shook the western hemisphere: Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud.

Out of the various statements of Marx, I like his statement, ‘Which one do we lose, to get which other?’ Oh what potent words these are!

Just think for awhile. As we rise up in the morning, we have no time to enjoy the beautiful rising sun. We don’t have a mind to water the rose plants which are in a beautiful bloom in the garden and caress them. We have no time at all even to interact, converse and play lovingly even with our own children.

Money....money....money.... Just for this sake, we lose all types of joys and wonders and suffer and struggle right through our life. Even if we continuously run, run and run and earn money in thousands and millions, what is going to remain with us ultimately?

A few cars and a few houses.

Do we know what we are giving away as a price for these lifeless objects? The valuable and great God-given gift of life! The blissful life force given by Him!

Even if viewed as a sort of bargain, we will come to realize how unjust it is to give away the joyful life just to acquire some lifeless objects.

Once there was an old man aged about sixty years sitting on a beach and was expecting something. A young man sitting beside him asked him, ‘Sir, what are you expecting so eagerly?’

The old man said, ‘Oh, nothing... I have decided to marry a girl who is perfect in all respects. I am just waiting to see if any such girl is coming.’

The young man again asked, ‘Even after waiting for so many years, were you not able to get a beautiful and perfect girl?’

The old man said hesitatingly, ‘When I was thirty-five years old, I came across a perfect girl.’

The young man hurriedly asked, ‘What then? You could have married her.’

‘The problem is, like me, she was also searching for a perfect man’, said the old man.

Like a blind cat jumping over the loft, people just hang on to some sort of principles, etc. and totally ignore their joyful living.

Those who start their lives thinking to achieve greatness, even after achieving, continue to go on and on and on. Then, even after achieving much, they feel not fully satisfied, and begin to lament, saying they could have lived a very normal life without straining to achieve anything at all. The reason: they have not enjoyed life at all.

I will tell you a story as told by Jesus Christ.

There lived a rich man who wanted to live happily and indulged in wine, women and mansions, etc. Opposite to his house there lived a beggar who was suffering from some disease. He used to live by eating whatever wasted food was thrown from the rich men’s houses, fighting with street dogs in the process.

Since the methods adopted by the rich man to live merrily involved using excesses of everything, what remained for him ultimately were only a diseased body and a dis-satisfied mind.

At last, both the rich man and the beggar died almost the same day.

After death the conditions were topsy-turvy. The rich man was in hell. He was suffering too much with thirst, struggling for even a drop of water.

But the beggar was lying happily on the lap of Abraham in heaven.

The rich man begged, ‘Oh Abraham, I am very, very thirsty. Please give me just a drop of water.’

Abraham said, ‘No, it is not possible at all.’

The rich man now in hell, said, ‘If so, at least send that beggar to the earth and ask him to tell everybody about my sufferings in hell; let my brothers at least escape from these.’ Abraham said, ‘No. Even that is not possible. Even if the beggar goes to the earth and tells about your sufferings, nobody would believe or listen. They will mock him.’

What is the meaning of this story?

It is not the purpose of some people to preach and say that rich men go to hell and beggars go to heaven or such as that. One cannot get joy and contentment by being rich or leading a life of pomp.

A person will be a proud owner of joy and satisfaction, if, and only if, he is able to think. ‘Oh, I have this present moment available to me, it is enough if I utilize and enjoy the present moment.’ By this thought one can enjoy himself and his surroundings as well. This story is only to reveal this great truth to one and all.

The life of the beggar is to be noticed. In spite of the rich man having all luxuries and pleasures, he did not possess some particular thing which the beggar possessed. It is the quality of life which the beggar relished and enjoyed. He was in unison and perfect harmony with his surroundings and environment.

You are a person, who is able to devote sufficient time and money to read this book and so can never be a beggar.

‘If one is able to know enough to enjoy and live life happily, even a beggar can realize heaven.’ If that is so, why can it not be possible for us? We must earn to respect ourselves and our environs. We will realize…. heaven is within us.

Even though such great truths have been revealed by many great seers and avatars, many people continue to do what they think is right and then, when they begin to suffer, then only they begin to realize these great truths.

Before such a state sets in, let us just ponder this ….. Without wasting time, start to respect our surroundings, enjoy and begin to live accordingly. We will not get caught or struggle in life. We will love and enjoy life. We will simply celebrate!

‘Life is a big and continuous festival.’ The hidden meaning of this statement of our forefathers will become the meaning of your heart and soul!

Enjoy life and live blissfully!

Don't Compare One With the Other

❖ Merely comparing is useless for life.

❖ Comparing self with others and getting depressed.

❖ Daily comparing self with others and feeling ourselves as too small will lead us to the peak of jealousy and it will lead to the fault of always bossing others and manipulating them.

Many among us might not have seen a giraffe in real life. A few might have seen it in a zoo. But many have seen it on the T.V. on the Discovery Channel.

The giraffe thought one day, ‘Why am I so tall? If I were short and small, I could hop and run like a rabbit.’ And he felt sad about it.

Then there came a fox and asked the giraffe, ‘Why are you so tall?’ The giraffe replied, ‘My worry is also about the same.’ Then the fox jumped on to the top of an up-turned basket and started to speak.

‘Man feeds the cow with grass, hay, etc. Why? Because it gives milk, because it will draw a cart, man feeds the horse with grain, etc; a dog watches and guards the house, so man feeds the dog with some food. Man does not worry or take care of any thing which is not useful to him in any way. But you neither give milk, nor draw a cart, nor do you even guard a house.’

‘Hence during summer, even if there is no grass on the ground, only if you are tall, you can reach some leaves from trees and eat them. That is why God has created you so tall,’ said the fox. Then only the giraffe understood that there is a reason for God creating it so tall.

This is a meaningful and beautiful story for each and every child who has nurtured the seeds of envy, jealousy, etc.

There is a specific purpose for every thing on this planet earth. Those who have understood the purpose and utility are living happily. Those who cannot understand struggle and suffer.

It is only the ‘struggle’ of their inability to understand the purpose, which creates in them the negative feelings of comparison, envy, jealousy, etc.

A beautiful rose has thorns just below the blossom. Why did God create it like this? It is only to protect the nice rose from the cattle. If there were no thorns, rose would have lost all its respect and glamour. So, there is no meaning in differentiating between the two.

Amongst the bamboo, some are used to carry corpses to the burial grounds; some are used to put up platforms for conducting meetings, etc. Only very few become flutes. So, if we say only bamboo which become flutes are the best ones, then that only means our thinking has not become mature enough.

Whatever we are, however we are, we have to remain what we are. We should not appear like someone else. How is it that even now there is a saying, ‘What is born to a tiger cannot become a cat?’

The reason: the cat looks like a tiger. Only rats are the enemies for the cat. Even cats do not fight with them face to face and kill them. Cats make the rats run, run and run and make them mentally weak out of fear and kill them finally. But the tiger is not like that. As such, here, the cat which compares itself with the tiger becomes a symbol of disgrace.

The tendency to compare oneself with another happens due to one’s inferiority complex. Actually the thought that we are inferior by birth, causes us to compare ourselves with those who appear to be superior to us. But problems will arise by comparing thus, ‘I am not like him; he is not like me, etc.’

When Swathi Thirunal was king of Travancore, he was witnessing a drama. One man was acting the role of Lord Rama.

It so happened that the king had to arrive when the drama had progressed halfway. The man who was acting as Rama bowed to the king as he arrived. Immediately the king left the place. What was the reason for the king’s anger?

The king said, ‘The actor, who should have actually become Rama himself on the stage, thought that he was only an actor and bowed to me. By this he has insulted Rama himself.’ The king’s sense of deep devotion to Lord Rama did not allow him to see the actor merely as an actor.

Such troubles start arising when we expect the noble qualities of great men in normal average people. The true respect the actor had for the king was not understood by the king. The reason: the quality of comparing. It will be only a problem if great seers are compared with ordinary men. We should learn to accept people as they are, with all their merits as well as de-merits. It is wrong to compare one with the other and look upon someone as lowly.

By comparing, one more problem may also arise.

Somewhere in a desert, a passer-by knocked at the door of a tent. The owner of the tent received him inside, and cooked and served him some food. Before he started to eat the food, the tent owner told him. ‘Oh guest, first of all thank God and then begin to eat.’ But the guest said, ‘I have so far never mentioned the name of God. If you want, I will say my thanks to you.’

But the tent owner insisted that the guest should and must say his thanks to God and then only, eat. The guest left the place without eating.

That night God appeared in the dream of the tent owner and said, ‘I have been feeding him, as my child so far even though he has not mentioned my name even once. Just because he did not thank me before you for a single day, have you sent him away with hunger?’ On hearing this, the tent owner felt sad.

This happened simply because the tent owner had compared himself with religious and pious people and set for himself a wrong image. The very process of our trying to judge people as good or bad depends solely on the scales of comparison we have set in ourselves as to which is right and which is wrong.

What is right and what is wrong is applicable only to you. The trouble starts when you start assessing and judging people, measuring them with your scale which is applicable only to you.

We get depressed due to these comparisons and we make others become depressed as well.

Put a big stop to your getting depressed through comparing yourself with others. From now on, start seeing the achievements and fulfillments of others as motivating factors for yourself.

Recognition

❖ The feeling of craving for recognition is a handicap for an enthusiastic mind.

❖ It is only the inability to recognize ourselves which makes us crave for recognition by others.

❖ If we need to say the truth, for a man who is alert and motivated, outside recognition is not necessary. A person who longs to have recognition from outside cannot remain alert and motivated.

A couple, who had gotten married two years before, came to see me. They had a beautiful child with them. But they were sad. Why sad? I could not understand at first. But after talking with them I could understand the reason for their sadness.

That young couple used to visit their friends' houses often. When they had been to a friend's house, they were shown a newly purchased refrigerator. They asked the couple, ‘What brand of refrigerator do you have in your house?’ On hearing this question, the couple became sad.

The couple then went to another house and saw a VCD and MP3 players there. Again they got upset. The reason for their sadness was their going to the friends' houses joyfully and comparing their own house with others and becoming sad every time. They were not able to accept and reconcile easily their own status.

Again the reason was due to the shocks they got on seeing the growth and prosperity of others. It is only the act of ours of not being able to accept and recognize ourselves as we are, that makes us crave and wait in anticipation of others' recognition of ourselves.

Many of us must have experienced this. The main reason for our feeling bad is only our comparing ourselves with others and feeling terribly low about ourselves.

J.Krishnamurthy, while once speaking in London, said, ‘Don’t measure.’

What he said was not about taking measurements of the body, however. He was speaking about people losing their hearts by comparing himself with another.

We give more respect to what others think about us than to what we think about ourselves regarding what we actually are and what type of persons we are.

A husband always expects a certificate from his wife that he is a good husband. A teacher expects a good certificate and opinion from his students. Many people go on and on suffering, always expecting a good certificate from others.

Why are people going on suffering with expectations of other’s opinions, which are always changing?

Until recently, in Europe, no medicine was prescribed for asthma. They thought that asthma was the ultimate punishment sent to man by God. Do they not give medicines for that now?

Aristotle wrote saying that women had more teeth than men. It took many centuries later for Bertrand Russell to come and question it. Russell asked, ‘Should Aristotle not have at least counted the number of teeth of his wife before writing?’

Opinions are always likely to change; so are the recognitions.

Walt Wiltman sent his poem collections called ‘Leaves of Grass’ to Leo Tolstoy, who was famous at that time in the world of literature. But as Tolstoy had a bad opinion of Whitman, he threw it into the trash.

Expectations of approval and recognition have existed in the world from time immemorial. Depending on the recognitions, some of the trends of history have been influenced.

Many times, others’ recognitions have become the basis of our lives. Our lives do not take shape on the basis of what we really think of ourselves. We have shaped out lives on the basis of buying others opinions about us. We are actually a totality of marks given to us by others.

Every one of us has almost become like a parcel loaded in a goods lorry. We have put our stamps on the parcel. It will be good if there is one seal over the stamps on an envelope. But if there are so many seals over the address itself, then the letter will never reach the correct address. We have all become like that.

Once upon a time, one Vachaspathi Misra wrote a commentary on Brahma Sutra. His guru, who had requested him to do so, gave his daughter Bamathi in marriage to him.

But Misra spent a lot of time in writing it. Brahmasutra, which contains Mahavakyas, is a world’s treasure of knowledge. So, to write a commentary, it took him nearly fifty years. He was going on writing without proper food and without even getting out from his place of work.

You should not ask whether all these things are possible, because, only to reveal great truths such historical incidents happen, but people leave the truths and hang on to the stories. A ladder is meant for people to go up, but if you are just hanging on to the ladder, what can be done? Finally, when Misra finished writing the commentary on Brahmasutra, he raised his head. He saw an old lady standing before him. He asked her, ‘Who are you?’ But she said ‘Have you finished writing? It is my good fortune to be of help and serve you while you are writing.’

Surprised and shocked a little, Misra asked again, ‘Who are you?’ She asked, ‘I am your wife Bamathi. Have you finished writing?’ He said, ‘I have finished. I am yet to give it a caption.’ She again said, ‘I am fortunate to serve you.’

Vachaspathi Misra, recognizing her sincere service without the anticipation of any returns, gave as title for his book the name of his wife, ‘Bamathi.’ The lady, who never expected any sort of recognition, got the very best recognition.

From this story, we come to know that there have been wives who have not demanded their husband’s attentions.

Today however, there are wives who snatch away the newspapers from their husbands if they go on reading it for more than ten minutes. There are also husbands who become angry on seeing their wives absorbed in watching T.V. serials.

The reason for all this is that each one is waiting for recognition from the other.

Recognition is the thing which creates the craving sign of approval. Other’s deficiencies are only their shadows. Only their efficiencies are the real truths. The sigh of crazy cravings for recognition is merely leaving the object and giving importance for its shadow.

There are husbands who do not fulfill the expectations of their wives as per the wives’ expectations and wives who do not fulfill the expectations of their husbands as per their thinking. The reasons for people behaving this way is leaving the real object and hanging on to its shadows and living only for the shadow.

We cannot estimate the quality of others’ lives by simply seeing the outward facilities they enjoy. Those are only shadows. They can never become real.

Others’ opinions cannot become truths. They are only superficial thinking about you. Others praising you or abusing you – both are only half truths. Half truths are worse than lies. They are only shadows of truths.

A real life is one filled with joy and peace. Let us turn our minds to live a real and true life. There is no need to envy and suffer just by recognizing only shadows.

If we recognize and approve ourselves, shadows will not attract us any- more. We will not be waiting eagerly for others’ recognitions. Our joy and peace can never be shattered by others.

The World is a Reflection of Our Minds

❖ Our thoughts get formed as per our mind.

❖ Our lives get formed as per our thoughts.

❖ Our success gets formed as per our lives.

❖ Our health gets formed as per our success.

❖ Our mind gets formed as per our health.

Do you understand...? It is a cycle.

Mind: this is the way it acts. People always act like reflecting mirrors. If we give respect, we can get respect. If we bother somebody, we will be bothered. If we show love, we will receive love. If we are always in an irritated and angry mood, it will appear as though the entire world is always wrong and everybody is irritating us in a planned manner.

To explain this, a small story....

A dog which was roaming in the streets accidentally entered the king’s palace. The king had built a guest house using a thousand mirrors. That dog was having the habit of barking angrily at any other dog entering its street and territory. The moment that dog entered the king’s guest house, it was shocked and got very angry, because it saw nearly 1000 dogs in the mirrors.

As usual, the dog started barking. All the 1000 dogs were barking from different angles. The dog became a little afraid. Still unable to bear the anger, the dog started barking again. All the dogs also started barking. When the dog stopped, all the dogs stopped barking. When the dog barked again, all the dogs barked. The dog barked all night long, lost its energy and ultimately died.

The dog did not know that he was the only real dog and all the other dogs were only its own reflections in the mirror. It was rather difficult for the dog to understand too. If only the dog had observed keenly that the moment this dog stopped barking, all the other dogs also stopped barking, it might have understood the reality. It would have understood what is maya or illusion.

The planet earth is always a heaven. All are basically very good people. If we are angry, we feel that the whole world is doing wrong. If we always feel irritated and are in low spirits, the whole world seems uninteresting.

When we are successful, happy and contented, we feel really happy and say, ‘Aha! What a wonderful world! Beautiful relationships! Nice people!’

Understand the truth. Mind will always be barking like a dog. Whether our eyes are open or closed, our qualities such as anger, hatred, jealousy, being in low spirits etc. will always be there with us. No change will happen.

Moreover, all the faults we discover in others around us are actually our own faults. What the dog saw in the mirrors at different angles were all its own reflected forms.

Making statements like, ‘Who are these people, they don’t have any sense of understanding, fools, senseless fellows…etc.’ These are all the voices of our minds, not our real, true voice. When we think about others thus, ‘Oh, what nice people, how affectionate they are, this is the correct way to behave’ is also just the action of our mind.

It is an illusion to think very badly about people and the world.

As a matter of fact, all are normal and nice people. The world will change according to our method of approach towards it. The planet earth is very beautiful. We must start realizing it. We will know the truth!

Laughter is a Medicine

Laughter An indication that the body, mind and soul are all functioning in harmony.

Observe the people around you. Who attracts more crowds?

There will always be a group of people around those who are always cheerful and laughing every now and then. People will move away from those, who, with a serious face, always talk about philosophies. All like to be laughing, forgetting all worries.

However forward-looking an idea may be, it will reach ordinary people only when it is conveyed in an easy way, mixed with a lot of laughter.

We fill up a bag with rice. If it has become full, and if we want to add some more, we usually shake it up a few times and again fill. It will hold more then.

In the same manner, if the listeners in a crowd are filled with lots of information and messages by a speaker, for the crowd to listen more, great speakers will sprinkle some jokes here and there in their talks.

Laughing and making others laugh is not an ordinary matter possible by all. Some who do not laugh at all, may say that it is not a serious thing. It is not correct. There is nothing more serious than to enjoy laughter.

Certain dramas are sometimes presented in our villages. Of these, ‘Panchali Sabatham’ (Challenge of Panchali) is a famous one. In a village, where this drama was being enacted, the scene of ‘Panchali thugilurithal (pulling away the saris of Panchali) was going on. The person who acted the female role of Panchali was actually a young man.

The village people, who were watching the drama, were immersed in that scene. It so happened, on that day, the person who usually played the role of Krishna, who had to continuously supply fresh saris as the saris worn by Panchali were being pulled away, did not turn up.

The person who was acting the role of Dusschasana, did not know this fact. As usual, when Dusschasana started vehemently pulling the saris from Panchali, since the fresh saris from Krishna did not reach Panchali, finally, the actor (Panchali) stood there with only his undergarments.

Immediately the person who acted as Panchali, cleverly managed the situation and changed his dialogue, suiting this condition and spoke thus: ‘Oh, Lord Krishna, Oh protector of those in dire need, protector of orphans, you have really done a great miracle by changing me from woman to a man!' All the audience, the village people, had a hearty laugh, seeing that.

If you laugh to your maximum capacity, you will be rid of all diseases. This is not simply an adage. This is actually a formula of meditation, which has a healing effect. Laughing continuously for 20 minutes, by itself, is a type of meditation. They give a lot of importance to continuous laughter in Zen Buddhism. If only the kings of olden days had not given such importance to laughter, we would not have gotten Tenali Raman and Birbal.

Laughter breaks our ego. Some do not laugh in gatherings. They think that laughing changes them as ordinary people.

A leader who laughs wholeheartedly, however, dissolves himself and merges with the gathering and there is no difference between him and the others. Generally egoistic persons will be morose, tight and rigid.

They get a chance to become hollow and empty. That emptiness only is the first step towards attaining enlightenment.

Many times, due to anxieties and worries, our mind gets tired and depression may set in. Laughter is a good medicine to make us normal in those moments.

Some are even able to tell us great things in such an easy way, like poking a ripe banana with a needle! The reason: their sense of humor and laughter.

In a house, the wife was working in the kitchen, when she heard a sound. 'What is that sound?' asked the wife. The husband said, 'A shirt has fallen out of the window.'

The wife again asked, 'So much sound for simply a shirt falling?' When the husband said, 'I was within that shirt,' she felt a little ashamed.

The husband, who was a mature person, to make his wife understand that she was not at all respecting him, said this humorously. He settled the matter without giving room for any quarrel much in the same way as poking a ripe banana with a needle.

An eye doctor had kept three sets of eyeglasses on his table. A person who came there to get his eyes checked, pointed to one of the eyeglasses and asked, What is this suitable for?' The doctor replied, 'It is for nearsightedness.'

The visitor showed the second eyeglasses and asked, 'What is this one for?' The doctor replied, 'This is for farsightedness."

He pointed to the third eyeglasses and asked, 'What is this one for?' Immediately the doctor said, 'This one for seeing where the other eyeglasses are.' Disease is common to all. It will come to you and to me as well. It will come to everyone. Only to make it understood, the doctor replied that way. Only if a person possesses a sense of humor, he can manage even an embarrassing situation with ease and pleasure.

For a few people, it is possible to make others laugh even in a critical situation. At a time when Hitler was having his heyday, he was holding a meeting with the journalists on the top floor of a multi-storied building. To prove his might and his total control over everything, Hitler asked a soldier to jump out. Immediately the soldier jumped out to the ground and turned to pieces. Hitler thought that the journalists may think that only an ordinary soldier had obeyed and jumped out. So he called another high ranking major-general and asked him to jump out.

As he was about to jump, one of the journalists rushed and prevented him from jumping out. Then that general whispered into his ears, ‘Oh, you sinner, you have actually prevented me from the only chance of escaping from Hitler.’ You can find throughout history lots of such laughs. Laugh. Are you asking, ‘thinking about what?’

Think about yourself and laugh! If we deeply think about our own selves, we can find out that we, ourselves are an object to laugh at. Instead of mocking and laughing at others, if we only know ourselves fully and totally, we can laugh at ourselves freely. We will know about ourselves.

Are You Fine?

❖ If we feel that men are gods, houses as palaces, the world as heaven, then it means that we are really healthy. ❖ Those who are healthy will be joyful. Those who are joyful should and must be healthy. There is no other way. This is a ‘Formula of Bliss.’

Physical problem = Disease.

❖ Mental problem = Suffering.

❖ Emotional problem = Deficiency in health.

Whenever there is deficiency in health, disease begins to form. Disease does not occur suddenly. It is not possible. Health and Well-being slowly becomes lesser and lesser, suffering increases slowly and steadily and at an unexpected moment, bursts out in the form of a disease.

A healthy mind is necessarily required for a healthy body. If the mind is in good shape, then the body will also be healthy.

Doing work mechanically, polluted air and water, food mixed with chemicals, city life (which is far from the natural unpolluted surroundings), stereotyped jobs, ever-unsatisfied relationships, unsatisfied mind regardless of what happens, new diseases which are being discovered continuously.....

It is rather difficult for a man to devote his attention to a healthy life when he is living a life contrary to his true nature.

Many do not even know that they are not truly healthy. They think that if they do not have high blood pressure and diabetes, they are healthy. Know one simple truth. Disease is only an outcome of a prolonged deficiency of good health.

When the energy in our body starts reducing, our health starts deteriorating. When this condition continues for a prolonged period, only then disease starts to manifest.

Are our minds and bodies truly healthy? Read the following questions. If your answer is ‘yes’, then your health is O.K. If the answer is ‘No’, then it means that there is a problem.

❖ Do you feel fresh as you get up from bed in the morning?

❖ Do you get sleep as soon as you lie down?

❖ After sleeping for six hours, do you get the satisfaction of having slept well?

❖ While laughing, are you able to have a hearty laugh?

❖ Do you have normal digestion?

❖ Does remaining alone give you any joy?

❖ Do you feel energetic while walking and while doing normal household jobs?

We actually start losing our health as our enthusiasm and joy start reducing.

What are the basic things for a healthy life?

Healthy food:

In Sanskrit, they divide it into three types:

Sattvic foods are those which contain very low quantities of oil, hot ingredients like chilies etc. and other spicy items.

Rajasic foods are those which are hot, containing lots of oils and all foods cooked with spices.

Tamasic foods include fried foods which contain large amounts of fat, foods which have become old and spoiled and foods which are taken solely for their tastes and are without any nutritional values.

Sattvic foods possess the quality of keeping the body and mind very pleasant.

Rajasic foods have the quality of increasing the tension and anger in us.

Tamasic foods have the quality of increasing dullness, laziness and sleep.

If you like to have pleasant feelings and a light body, take only Sattvic foods. You will see the results for yourself in only a few days.

Healthy environment:

A peaceful atmosphere containing clean air and unpolluted water is the environment most suitable for a man to live in.

That is why all the old civilizations were formed on the banks of the rivers. Due to the uncontrolled population growth, a healthy atmosphere has become utterly impossible.

Still, here and there, there are some parks and temples which contain a healthy atmosphere. For those who live in cities, sitting peacefully and meditating in a healthy atmosphere will be healthy to their minds and bodies.

Healthy relationships:

Those who possess a healthy body and mind cannot sit at all with laziness. Even in dreams they cannot have a sad face. They will always like to remain alert and joyful.

Those who remain wounded in their minds can only wound others' minds. Some people ask others, thoughtlessly, ‘Alas! What really happened to you? Why have you become so thin?’

On listening to such a question, even persons with perfect health and strong mind also, will run away from such people. They will even become doubtful about their well-being.

Those who are healthy, even without their knowing so, will have positive, good and healthy relationships with all people. They will ask everybody, ‘What Sir, how are you? Fine?’ They will ask ‘Healthy?’ Innocently they will ask ‘Oh! You should be very happy! You have put up some flesh too! Good!’

On seeing such an inquiry, even if a person has some problems in his body, he will soon be alright.

It is enough if our approach is healthy. We will get good relationships easily. Try to become healthy! Be healthy!

Oh Mind! Oh Mind! What is the Confusion?

❖ The answers given by most people for the question ‘Who are you?’

An illiterate:

❖ All these three thoughts are only the illusions of the mind. Mere opinions. Who is the real you? This cannot be understood until we get self-realization.

❖ Life is Maya (Illusion)

❖ An average person will misunderstand the statement of an enlightened Master’s saying ‘life is maya.’ He will use it as an idea to justify his own struggling life. That is all. This is nothing but misunderstanding the truth and turning it into a lie. This is the biggest maya; greatest illusion of all illusions!

Some people will be sitting sad. If we ask them, ‘What is the matter?’ they will say, ‘I am not feeling well at all mentally….’ Some others will say ‘Oh, the mind is a monkey. You should not allow it to jump as it likes. You must keep it under control.’

We always talk about mind. What is it? It is only an organized structure gifted by God to man for him to live as a real man. The mind is a servant which helps in satisfying the needs and necessities of its Master, which is man, to lead a happy life.

The reason for all the problems is that the mind, which should be under the control of man, has become a structure which actually controls the man.

If a servant behaves like a Master at a time when he is adequately careful, how will it be?

An immature servant becoming a Master is like catching a monkey and seating it on a throne. That is why all great enlightened Masters compare the mind to a monkey and call it a ‘monkey mind.’ Until the monkey is removed from the throne, problems and worries are bound to follow.

Mind has the quality of creating all sorts of problems and imitations. Maya is one of them.

Maya, or illusion, is that which shows something non-existing as existing. Being afraid, thinking about or desiring a non-existent thing as if it really existed, are outcomes of maya.

Here is a story to understand more clearly about maya....

Two monks were traveling on a journey towards Tibet. They continued their journey begging for their food all along the way. The older monk among them was feeling restless from the time they started their journey, after finishing a nice feast in the house of a person who was a devotee of Lord Shiva.

The elder monk, as he was walking, was looking back again and again. There was a little unusual frustration in his face that day. He was walking hurriedly. There was a shiver in his voice. He was often touching and feeling for something in his shoulder bag.

The younger monk, who was walking with him thought ‘Why is he looking frustrated?’

Then both the monks drank some water near a well and rested for awhile. In a short while, the elder monk slept soundly. Without disturbing his sleep, the young monk slowly took away his bag.

On opening the bag, he saw that there was a golden crown in it. (That crown was earlier given to the old monk by the devotee of Shiva). Now he could clearly understand the reason for the hurry and frustration of the old monk.

The young monk took out that golden crown from the bag and threw it away and replaced it in the bag with a wooden piece of almost the same size and shape and put it back on the lap of the sleeping older monk.

After some time, both of them resumed their journey. The old monk continued to walk with his same frustration. He was also touching and feeling the bag as before.

The younger monk asked as though he was innocent, ‘Oh Monk, why are you looking so frustrated? Any problem?’

The old monk replied, ‘No. No. That devotee of Shiva, in whose house we had the nice feast, had given me a golden crown and asked me to donate it to some temple at Varanasi. On the way, some thieves or robbers may come! That is why I am feeling frustrated.’

The young monk asked, as if innocent, ‘Is it the small crown in that bag that took away your freedom and caused frustration in you?’ The old monk replied ‘Yes.’

‘Can you surely say that only the crown in this bag frightened you this much?’ asked the young monk.

‘Yes,’ said the old monk.

‘If that is so, then open your bag and see.’ said the young monk.

On opening the bag, the old monk was shocked. Except for a small wooden piece there was nothing else. He was almost shaken. The young monk said, ‘It is I who threw away that crown and kept this wooden piece as well, when we were near the well. Now do you realize to what extent the maya, or illusions of the mind, shakes up and controls a man?’ This made the old monk realize the truth.

Overcoming his shock, the old monk laughed with all his heart, at having remained in a frustrated state of mind to such an extent, all the while thinking about an actual wooden piece as a golden crown.

Like this golden crown, our mind also involves itself wholly and fully in protecting as if it is a treasure, all the name and fame, money and such other illusory things.

In reality, all these things, name and fame, position, things, money, etc. are not golden crowns, but mere wooden pieces. Just like a water bubble, they will be with you only for certain duration.

If we understand this reality and act accordingly, we will control our mind and the mind will not control us.

Let us Welcome Confusion

❖ We need not hate confusion; understand that it is an indication that we are growing.

❖ There is nothing wrong if we are confused. It is wrong only if we continue to remain confused.

❖ It is just for us to be confused; to confuse others is unjust.

❖ Today's confusion is tomorrow's clarity.

❖ Confusion is just the method of action by the mind in clarifying a matter as right or wrong.

We can drive away the confusion to half the distance if we read the above lines carefully and retain them in the mind.

Some people will seem to remain confused always. They will remain perturbed in taking any sort of decisions. Some keep on lamenting: 'Confusion alone is my first enemy; this only is actually an obstruction to my progress.'

The problem is not with confusion. It is only in our method of approach towards it. The problem is in our thinking that it is wise to run away from it, as we think that confusion is an evil power to give us trouble.

Now I will tell you a story. A king by the name of Sharo Shaun was very much confused due to a dream he had the previous night.

First thing in the morning he assembled his court and told about his confusion.

The king said that he had had a dream in which he had become involved in a big problem and in that difficult moment he did not have his minister or his military chief by his side to counsel him.

The king proclaimed an order, 'What should I do on such occasions when I do not have anybody by my side to advise me? I must get an immediate reply for this.'

Because a reply was sought for a confusing thing, the confusion rose to a climax. When all of them were thinking that it could not be resolved at all, an elderly person stood up and said, 'I have found an answer.'

Continuing, he said, 'Oh king, one condition. The reply for this is only a single line. But you should not read it now. You should read it only when a crisis arises.' The king accepted the condition. All the persons present there, except the king, read that reply and said, 'Oh, what a wonderful answer.'

The old man put that reply, containing the answer to the king's question in a diamond ring and inserted it on the king's finger.

After a few months, a war started with the adjacent country. The king was defeated. Just as the king was escaping alone on a horse, the enemies were chasing him. The king's horse reached the top of a hill and stopped there. When the king felt sad thinking ‘What do I do next, there are no ministers or advisers here to advise me now’ he remembered about the lines written on the diamond ring. Immediately he opened the ring and saw what was written.

It read, ‘This too will pass away.’ The king felt easy with those words. Soon after the enemies left him and went on their way. The king also escaped.

That king, after a few months, invaded that same adjacent country and won the war. When he was celebrating the victory, he once again opened the ring and read it.

It said, ‘This too will pass away.’ He took it as a warning not to feel too much pride about his victory.

In the same way everything will change.

It is enough if the truth that the present condition will surely change is realized by one and all of us. We can approach and tackle any sort of confusion easily.

Do not take any decision at a time when you are at the peak of confusion. Relax for ten minutes, take a deep breath in and out, and after your mind has relaxed, and in an enthusiastic mood and atmosphere, face the crisis or confusion and make a decision. You will get a good solution. The confusion will leave you.

Welcome the confusion fully and totally. Don’t be afraid even if you reach the peak of confusion. The moment we go beyond confusion, we will get clarity. This is a subtle truth. Those who have gotten clarity, each and every one of them agree with this truth.

No matter what struggle we undergo, it is only for the child of clarity to be born within us. We can calculate ourselves how many times we have aborted and prevented the birth of the clarity within us by trying to destroy the confusion, being afraid to face the confusion.

Like the king mentioned above, approaching the confusion with ready-made statements like, ‘Surely this condition will also pass,’ is the first approach.

The step which is beyond this is ‘welcoming the confusion’. Facing boldly and fighting with the confusion and obtaining both clarity and the solution, is the second type of approach.

The second type is better than the first. However, it is somewhat more difficult. Great things are not available for free.

Don’t be afraid of confusion!

Don’t feel sad also in the face of confusion!

Say thanks for the confusion; welcome it!

Clarity

❖ It is rather difficult for a man who has a weak mind, to enter into and come out through unexpected twists and turns of life. A weakened mind is unclear.

❖ Clarity is one of the essential requirements to enter and come out through the intricacies and twists and turns of life.

❖ Clarity is not so cheap that we can get it just by reading a few books. It is only a collection of the experiences of many individuals which will create clarity.

Once an ant slipped from a wall and fell onto a balloon. For an ant, a wall and a balloon is each a broad and flat surface. If we go to the ant and try to explain to it in its own language saying, ‘Oh ant, the surface over which you are standing, is not, as you believe, a very much wide and vast area. It is only an ordinary balloon,’ the ant will not be able to understand. The reason is its own very small body structure.

In the same way, man also firmly believed that the planet earth that he saw was a ‘very, very far and wide stretching flat surface.’ Galileo, who was somewhat spiritually oriented, due the broad outlook he possessed, and helped by his instinct, strongly affirmed that the earth is actually spherical in shape.

In those times, neither the people nor the government believed in Galileo. Thinking that he was telling only a lie, they not only insulted him but also tortured him.

What is the reason?

As far as the ant is concerned, through its eyes, the balloon looks like a big giant. The earth is the same way for man. Man is smaller than the earth by many million times. How can he see that the earth is actually a sphere?

If the ant were to be at least as big as a pup, it could have understood that the balloon is also an ordinary thing, like the pup itself.

Until man knows science and understands science, no one can accept that the earth is a sphere. In the same manner, until a man knows spiritual wisdom and understands spiritual wisdom, he cannot realize that life is full and blissful. He cannot clear himself out from the grip of sufferings.

It is because we have wisdom only to the size of an ant or a mustard seed, we continue to suffer from all sorts of troubles, sorrows and disappointments. As the wisdom begins to grow bigger and bigger from the size of an ant, many truths will begin to be revealed.

❖ By simply suffering, one cannot come out of difficulties. Suffering is not the solution to a difficulty.

❖ Feeling sorrowful will not relieve one from grief. Sorrow is not a solution for grief.

Clarity is understanding the truth or the reality and not embroiling oneself in difficulties and grief continuously. Clarity is the intelligence to realize that these are all just ordinary things in life’s natural flow.

If we get clarity, that is enough. We can find solutions for all problems and come out from them. Even if we don't get solutions, we can think clearly and come out very quickly from our mental confusion by knowing that the sufferings may take their own time to get solved and we will know what is to be done at the then existing moment.

Thinking that we can come out of a problem, without clarity, is just like a blind man trying to walk nicely on a slippery and slushy road, without even using a stick. When we try to lead a clean life, without getting to know the correct ways to lead a crystal clear life, we get only troubles and disappointments continuously.

Even though we believe that we live with a clear mind, the fact is, that, from our youngest age, due to the adulterations in thought caused by disappointments, our clarity is really ‘unclear’.

One small story:

A fellow, Johnny by name, got frustrated in life, decided that suicide is the only solution for him and went to a medical shop, bought some poison, ate it and lied down.

He waited on and on till the morning with expectations, thinking, ‘I am going to die in ten minutes, die in five minutes......’

In the morning, Johnny went to the medical shop and asked the shop-owner with anger, ‘Sir, what sort of poison did you sell me? ; Nothing has happened!’

The medical shop owner, without getting irritated at all, said very casually, ‘Nowadays where do you get unadulterated poison?’

Though it looks rather funny, it is worth pondering deeply. Our clarity has become adulterated. It has become commonplace nowadays for people to roam about thinking that they speak everything with clarity, only even though they do not possess any clarity at all. It is rather sad.

How to change unclear clarity to clear clarity?

Let us add a pinch of salt to the taste of our life, by adding meditation gradually to enhance our intelligence which, at present, is the size of an ant.

How? Only if the ant becomes bigger to the size of a puppy, it will become clear to it that the balloon is only an ordinary thing like itself. In the same manner, it will be known that, as the intelligence increases, all the difficulties and problems are mere ordinary stones on the path of life.

Clarity will begin to blossom in us, petal after petal!

Education: A Burden?

❖ Education is an art.

❖ Until there is an attachment in life, there will not be enthusiasm and intelligence in education.

❖ It is only the compulsions and struggles imposed by society on education which creates hatred for education.

❖ It is difficult to learn painting or sculpting with aversion in the mind.

If we try to learn with aversion, even art will create worries and anxieties. It will appear only as a burden. This is the subtle thing which makes education a burden.

Is education an obstacle to live life joyfully?

Either due to various problems, without a regular education, some spend their life without understanding life properly at all. For this reason many do not really understand what life is. They have to suffer later on due to an inferiority complex.

Otherwise, having read very much, some people obtain PhDs in two or three subjects. Because they have read so much, they think very highly about themselves. They begin to suffer from feelings of superiority. In the end, both these types of people struggle by failing to enjoy their lives.

As a matter of fact, education is not an obstacle at all to happiness and joy. Real education is a method which helps us to understand ourselves. Education for worldly life means learning to understand the worldly life and live a good life.

Our understanding about ourselves and our understanding of the world are both only for living a good life. Of these, understanding ourselves is more possible and understanding the world is very difficult.

If we begin to understand ourselves, the process of 'studying' which happens in us will become a natural and ordinary one. Until we begin to understand ourselves, 'studying' will only appear as a burden.

We have very many wrong ideas about how to study, actually. If we go one step further, we have to admit that we are educating our children exactly in the wrong ways. In the name of educating the young children, what some teachers do to them is a form of torture.

At this date, the most important thing is to teach such teachers how to teach children in the correct way.

Children possess an abundant wealth of imagination. They have the capacity to think and act in such peculiar ways that are even unthinkable for us. We don't understand their creative abilities. We think of our children as plain slates with nothing written on them.

We are in such a great hurry to write something on them ourselves before the child can write anything on himself.

The result is, when they should to be actually playing at this age, they are writing, making their fingers swell with pain. At a time when they should be seeing with awe and wonder a squirrel and an owl, they see them only in books. At an age when they should be learning new words in their mother tongue playfully, they are being compelled to read this and that.

When they are compelled to read in this manner, they develop an aversion to reading. Therefore, their attention towards reading gets scattered and they get attracted to watching T.V., games, chit-chatting, bad habits, etc.

Because this compulsion continues to be there even as they grow further, some youngsters become addicted to drugs, etc.

The idea that the youth should be allowed to watch T.V. excessively from very young age to keep them happy and form other bad habits (possibly drugs) is wrong. The great aversion and difficulties created knowingly or unknowingly over studies creates an attraction to and happiness from, other things such as T.V. and possibly drugs. If this is understood, half the problem will be solved.

Recently a gentleman came to me with his 22-year-old son. The son is studying in the medical college in Bangalore. Whether he learned medicine or not he learned well to use ganja (drugs). He had been spending his time using all sorts of drugs.

The old man had brought him to me, as he was afraid that he might lose his son ultimately.

After speaking with that boy, it was known that the boy had absolutely no desire at all to study medicine. As he had started doing medicine only on the compulsions of his parents, he easily fell a victim to drugs.

When his condition was explained to him suitably and tactfully, he realized his mistake. It was easily possible to redeem him and bring him back to the correct path. He understood that mere aversion had shaken him and brought him to such a bad extent. The aversion over the education was gone and desire was born in him.

It is wrong to say: ‘Persons who don't study; persons who cannot study.’

It is correct only to say: ‘Persons who have failed to study at the time determined for studying.’

In fact, all have the capacity to study well.

Education is a necessary burden for today's life, today's world. You may wonder about my calling education a burden. You must understand it as a burden which has failed to become a pleasure.

The first twenty-one years of a man can be divided into three stages.

The first stage is from age one to seven. This is the child stage. ‘I should be with the mother; I should get whatever I want; all should accept me.’ Children have such desires.

Whoever is trying to separate the child from the mother or from its playing, will be hated by the child. Children cry for at least a few days when going to school because they think that the school, studying and the teacher: all of these things control them and bother them.

This is the reason why the children joyfully run out of the school when the school closes daily and they run out like prisoners escaping from jail.

The second stage is when the children are between the ages eight and fourteen desire to play much. But they are deprived of such opportunities because they are attending special classes, etc.

So many desires are not satisfied and remain in their minds as unfulfilled desires.

The third stage is during the ages between eleven and twenty. This is the time when the child becomes a youth. This is the time when they have to fight with their hormones for the first time; a time to accept responsibilities and become an achiever.

During the period of life from birth till the age of fourteen, it is a time of moving about happily like an independent bird. It is only because this independence is either ‘refused’ to them or because they ‘think that this independence is refused to them’. Children of the age of fourteen to twenty-one prepare themselves mentally to satisfy those pleasures which they think they have lost. The reason is the independence and the bubbling youthfulness present in them in this age.

It is sufficient if they know the basic reasons for their lack of concentration, they will come to know that whatever things are diverting them from their studies are just illusions which don’t really exist. If this is understood, automatically, the aversion towards studies and attractions towards other things will begin to reduce. Interest in the studies will naturally begin to increase. Enthusiasm, intelligence and eagerness in studies will happen. Studies will no more be a burden.

My dear youngsters! Study well during student days. Never doubt whether it is possible for you. The indisputable fact is ‘Everything is possible for you.’

Continue to keep in mind always the belief that you are capable of achieving and the belief that you can achieve things.

Enough with your sleep and sadness. Rise up. There is no end at all to the race called achievement.

Desire – Birthplace of Memory

❖ Studying is a burden

❖ Studying is tasteful

❖ Saying that studying is either a burden, or pleasing, depends upon the amount of one’s desire.

Drrrring....Drrrring..... (Telephone rings)

‘Hello! This is Kannan speaking. I am studying in the 10th grade. I have very little memory power. So I am not able to read and not able to get good marks.

....... You suggest to me some way to increase my memory power.’ This is what a student asked in a live question and answer program on the T.V.

I asked him, ‘Brother, did you watch the last cricket match? With great enthusiasm he replied, ‘Yes, are you asking about the India – Australia match? Oh! It was a super match, Master.’

‘Is it so? Who was the man of the match? Who all took the wickets?’ I asked.

He began saying, ‘The man of the match……’ and continued to tell all the details and gave all statistical information for all questions I asked and also for those not asked by me.

I told him, ‘Brother, just now you told me that you are having very low memory power and that’s why you are not able to get good marks. If you had very low memory power, how could you relate all statistics about a match which was played last week?

The student began saying, ‘Oh, Master, which is ……’

I told him, ‘Brother, now do you understand what your real problem is? You have a liking for cricket. So you are able to grasp easily and clearly about that.’

Because the desire or liking for studying is somewhat less, it is difficult to grasp and retain in the mind, studies and all related information. That is the reason why whatever is read is not retained in the mind. It is only the collective result of these things which create the illusory appearances such as loss of memory power, etc.

‘In fact there is nothing wrong with your memory power. There is only a shortage in your desires,’ I said.

Yes, the real thing is, memory, understanding, ability, executing capacity, application, enthusiasm – all these things emerge from the seed of ‘desire.’ Your memory power, executing capacity, etc, get formed in you depending upon the quality and the magnitude of your desire.

To understand this, a small story:

One John Millan belonged to a middle-class family which was bound by meaningless controls in the name of morals, justice and straight-forwardness. All such controls, as well as his poverty led him to decide that ‘only authority and wealth’ will give peace to a man.

Due to that young man’s view (for whatever he had decided), only his principal appeared as his model. He wanted to become like him.

For a person to reach that status, good education and good virtuous qualities are required. The desire to become like the principal changed Millan completely. He became very good in his studies. He exhibited himself as a good person and also got a good name easily.

Suddenly, an incident occurred. One day in the evening, long after the school time was over, he had to pass by the principal’s room. In the principal’s room, the principal was standing and somebody was scolding him. The principal was only answering his questions politely and never retorted in any manner.

Next day, it was known that the man who was scolding the principal was the chairman of the institution. That chairman was a politician. John Millan’s desires now changed their direction. His desire and aim was only authority and money. Now he came to the conclusion that only the chairman was his model.

This desire became deep-rooted in him, because if he became a chairman, the entire and total control of such an institution would be solely with him. For one or two years he observed keenly the activities of the chairman and began to change himself in a similar fashion.

The quality of ‘intelligent study’ which he had acquired when he wanted to become like the principal left him. The desire to change like the chairman caused him to nurture ‘political qualities’ within himself. He lost many good friends.

He changed his aim and nature, thinking, ‘What is there after so much of studying? Life means, you have to achieve something, somehow.’

John Millan, who had changed his directions, could only think of anything in a villainous way. Studying became rather difficult. Even after studying, nothing was retained in his memory. So he started saying, ‘Nowadays, I don’t like studying at all.’

We know the fact as to how John Millan once was, and how he has changed now. But John Millan does not know. John Millan will now be only of the idea that his memory power has decreased.

In the same way, every one of us, even without our knowledge, has been affected in many ways by various factors such as society, relatives, and due to some matters seen or heard by us. Our desires and aspirations will also have changed many times.

Our minds are not with us due to reasons of there being very many ways to distract our minds, and also for the reason that education has become like a big burden. As in the case of John Millan, all our desires are ever changing as per the circumstances that exist.

Whatever desires and ambitions we now have, there is 99% chance that they are not really our own, true ambitions. If we know this truth and also understand how education is of basic importance in the present day world, and use the God-given intelligence, we can really shape up our actual desires and ambitions.

Let us enhance the breadth and depth of our desires. Application, enthusiasm, memory and such things will reach us by themselves automatically. This is the straight path; an easy path.

It will be a difficult path if we think of merely enhancing our memory. That is the reason why studies appear difficult for many.

To study well, it is enough if we learn to divert our minds from unnecessary, useless and time-wasting activities. The memory power within us will begin to bloom and bubble up!

Enhance your desires and attitudes. (In studies) memory power will increase by itself automatically!

Dream! Imagination! Reality!

❖ The incompatibility between our imagination about life and actual real life makes life miserable.

❖ Without trying to make the mental cinema of imagination run in real life, those who fritter away their life energies by scattering their attention, are really 'great sinners.'

❖ Imagination is one 'action of the mind' given as a given by God to man to enable him to change himself, as per the needs of the future, such as, 'How has a man to live in the future? What type of wife, life and family will be formed? What sort of property and other life comforts are required, etc.?

❖ For a man who strives to make it really happen, imagination is a 'driving force'. On the other hand, for a man who, without making a fantasy become real, if he wastes his life simply on fantasy only, for him imagination is a 'dull force.'

Many people have inquired about me. Readers have asked many questions such as 'Who am I, where was I born, why this saintly appearance at such a young age, etc...

I was born in Thiruvannamalai in a simple family. At a very young age, I had a spiritual urge. I used to sit and do penance on the very rocks of Thiruvannamalai where Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi and other great saints have lived. Formal education gave me mere knowledge. So I began to wander in search of real wisdom and truths.

I have only one dress to wear. That is all. I do not touch money. I started walking. I wandered for 3000 kilometers throughout India by walking. I met many great saints and stayed for many months in the Himalayas. After ten years of severe penance, I realized myself and got enlightened.

A few years back, when I established a small ashram in Tamilnadu and was staying there, many would come to meet me in the evenings.

Then, I would be watering the plants in the garden. Those who came to see me would ask me, 'Is Master available in the ashram?' I would tell them, 'Yes, he is available; you go inside and be seated.' Then I would go and sit before them.

They would tell me, 'We have come to see the Master.

My young age was an obstacle for them to see me as an enlightened Master. People have imagined a saint as a man with beard, moustache, a water jug (kamandalam), with rosary in hand. Even if it differs in a small way, they don't accept it.

One has to accept the things as they are. If one does not possess such maturity to accept such, only anxieties and worries will remain.

But what are we doing? One sculpting the other has become a way of life. A father sculpts his son in the way he wants his son to become without knowing his son's desires. The father thinks, 'I am a police officer, my son also should become a police officer.' But the son acts in a way quite opposite to the desires of the father.

On account of this, there is struggle between the father and the son. The father starts lamenting everywhere 'My son does not listen to me.' The basic problem is with the father. Without knowing this, what is the use of lamenting?

Cotton cannot grow in a marshy land. Jute cannot grow in black soil. The possibilities of children performing in the disciplines which they don't like are very low. The parents do not realize this. Apart from this, in this ever-changing world, the world as seen by the father was different from the new world which the son sees.

As time changes, ideals change too! Even now the bullfight is there in Tamilnadu. In early days the girls used to marry only those men who bravely tackled, caught hold and controlled the bulls with sharp horns.

So, a Tamil teacher asked his daughter, 'There is a brave youth who has fought with a bull and controlled it. Will you marry him my dear girl?' But she asked, 'He has done so much with the bull; what will he not do with me?' Values of one period of time go on changing with the change of times.

A man was searching for his life partner, with his own desires as to how she should be. A marriage broker asked him, 'What sort of girl do you want to marry?'

'The eyes of the girl I am expecting should be like the eyes of such-and such actress. The nose should be like that of another actress... he continued relating.

The broker searched for such a girl, found one, and produced her before him. But when she was asked to accept, she simply refused. When she also produced her list, saying 'The person who is to be my husband should have a nose similar to that of some actor, his moustache like another actor's etc., he lost all his spirit.

Many search for persons matching their imaginary ideal.

Mostly there is no agreement at all between the beauty and love of the real wife and the beauty and love of the imaginary wife before marriage.

Similarly, there does not exist any similarity between the love and affection of a real husband and the love and affection of an imaginary husband before the marriage.

The reason is the imagination being very far from the realities.

The power of imagination is a wonder given by God for us to plan and execute our works properly.

If we misuse our God-given imagination by daydreaming, then the fantasies that result are rather useless.

There is nothing wrong with imagining. It will be decided to be right or wrong depending upon how we are going to use our imagining power.

If we are going to make what we imagine a reality, then we should go ahead and imagine. Surely such an imagination is right.

Persons, who cannot make their imaginations a reality, turning their minds towards imaginary literature, and getting temporary satisfaction and again spending time in fantasies, has become common, and it is a horrible thing. Such imagination is certainly wrong.

The reality that there is a high likelihood that the future wife would be a girl similar to himself in all respects regarding body, mind and mental struggles is hidden completely by the black smoke of fantasy.

It is natural for persons who expect queens in their imaginations while naturally imagining themselves as kings, with pride and ego forming itself deep in their hearts. It is only this pride and a false ego which cause men to disrespect and crush the flower-like tender femininity.

In the same manner, it is also natural for girls to expect in their imaginations, great heroes, and to imagine themselves as nice heroines and become very proud in the depth of their hearts.

It is only this pride and ego, which prevents some mothers from exhibiting their motherly qualities, which is essential for a family to be peaceful and joyful.

Throw away the fantasies and accept reality. You will begin to regard men and respect them as men. Peace is sure to blossom!

Futile Talk

❖ Why are we talking? What did we intend to talk about?

How are we talking?

❖ The very nature of futile talk, in a particular atmosphere, has the quality of disconnecting relationships. It is one reason to worry.

❖ During conversations, allowing futile talk is like driving a car without brakes in a city.

❖ In futile talk, there will not be any inherent clarity in what we speak.. It will be just flowing without any control of the mind. This will affect both the speaker and the listener.

‘Sister, oh, that lady in the opposite house…….’

‘Oh! How nice that Sachin plays….’

‘That MLA’s wife……’

‘That hero has …..somebody’

‘In yesterday’s T.V. serial……’

‘That saint is a ……’

All feel happy in speaking about such useless matters. However some have no liking for such gossip. But still they too will give some lame excuses saying when all are talking and I alone keep quiet, will they not wonder about me?

Politics – Sports – Cinema

The gossiping stalwarts will usually be talking about only three things again and again. When they feel bored, they will even mix up spirituality with politics in their talks!

The subjects of gossiping ladies are different. Their job is to talk ill of their neighbors, discuss about cinema, T.V., saris, jewelry, etc. If they get fed up with these subjects, they begin discussing about devotion, cooking, etc.

It is all right if, in this modern, mechanical world, these talks happen only for passing time or entertaining. But it becomes a serious problem when we waste precious time.

In India, though there is enormous manpower available, it is being utilized only to a small extent. If only the time wasted in futile talks were utilized in constructive ways, India would emerge as a superpower.

We know of many historic quarrels ending in big catastrophes, which had begun only as ordinary futile talks.

Discussions, arguments, quarrels, misunderstandings, hatred and gossip, beginning in ordinary, simple things and ending with parting-of-ways, etc. reveal clearly the incapacity of clear understanding by one party and the intolerance of the other.

No. Not possible just immediately. We are always talking, sometimes outwardly and many times inwardly in our minds. We call this 'inner chattering'. Can we not reduce this futile talk?

When we are alone and not talking to anyone, we begin talking to ourselves. In sleep, we begin talking in dreams. We are not able to be peaceful, simply because we keep on talking the whole 24 hours.

We may not feel anything if we run for one or two minutes. If we run for five minutes, we will be gasping for breath. But if we keep on running, what will happen to the body? In the same manner, it will become difficult if the mind goes on talking.

There is no question of perfect health or a blissful life unless the horse-like mind which keeps on running and the never-ending debates which go on in the mind are brought to an order.

A Zen Master was living outside the town. A professor came to know that the Master was a great man and was giving good explanations and solutions to all problems of the people.

The professor also went to see him. He requested the Zen Master to teach him about tranquility and bliss. The action of the Master in front of the professor was rather confusing.

There were two tumblers, one filled with water and the other empty. The Master filled the empty tumbler with water and then poured the water in the already full tumbler also. It overflowed.

The professor asked, 'Oh Master, why are you doing this?'

The Master replied, 'In the same way as we cannot add even a drop of water to the tumbler already filled up with water, you also have your mind filled up with many matters. Until you empty your mind of all those matters, I cannot teach you about tranquility and bliss.'

We have our minds packed with all sorts of information, saying this man said this, that man said something else, etc. We cannot talk about any thing else other than those we have come to know in the name of religion, movements, etc. Our inner chattering also gets formed based on these.

As a first step, let's throw out of the dust bin of our minds, all that stinky garbage which we have accumulated unnecessarily. The more important thing is that we must ensure that we do not accumulate any further garbage.

The beauty of our inner self (feelings) will be revealed in our face.

The beauty of mind (thoughts) will be revealed in our speech.

When essential and necessary, things only get deposited in the bank, that is our mind, then there is absolutely no chance of any gossip or any futile talks to emanate from you and your life will be blissful, too! By cleansing our minds, our speech will become attractive. Those who hated us will begin to love us. Let us make our speech attractive and beautiful as soon as possible.

Where is Peace?

❖ True attachment gives peace and joy. Attachment of the mind steals peace and joy.

Trying to possess people in the name of relationship = Attachment of the mind.

❖ Valuing people as highly as one's own life Through the opportunity of relationship = True attachment.

❖ The detached state of mind is beyond both the above types of attachments. In this state of mind, one can see the presence of God within oneself as well as in others. One can get real, true peace.

There are many among us who lament, ‘What is this life, Sir? There is no peace at all...’

Those who go to the peak of dejection saying, ‘All this is my fate……’ do not understand one thing clearly. That is, for our dejected feelings, we are one hundred percent responsible.

There are people who have earned millions and still committed suicide; and there are also people who do not even have enough daily food and still live happily without any worries.

Life is one thing that is waiting for all with all sorts of unexpected turns and opportunities. It is only those who do not possess awareness and who wish to live lazily, who lose all the opportunities and also lose their peace of mind, and suffer.

When do we begin to lose peace of mind for the first time? It is only when we begin to search for security. The wheel of our life is being turned on and kept in motion on our expectation that we will feel secure if we have a good amount of money, more property, a good name and fame.

The seed begins to sprout in the depths of our hearts with the thought that our life will be more secure the more we possess. The attachment is only that quality which has caught hold of the man as an off-shoot of his persistent resistance to insecurity. It is just this useless feeling of ‘me’ and ‘mine’.

Real attachment does not result in afflictions. But mental attachment only creates all sorts of trials and tribulations.

Real or true attachment is based on reality. Mental attachment is based on our mind only.

Real attachment: It is the understanding with correct earnestness, of all our possessions, all our relationships and of having pleasant love and relationships with our friends. Real or true attachment is only living the life fully in this manner.

Mental attachment: Wasting our money just for name and fame and living extravagantly. Living just for duty without understanding fully our relationships and friends, without having any tolerance, having hatred, frustrated and having enormous ego; all this is mental attachment. It will only spoil mental peace.

To explain the extent to which this desire will ruin mental peace, I will tell you a story.

An old man was returning home from the next town and from a distance he just saw his house and started crying aloud. His house was actually burning.

His first son saw this and came near him and said, 'Father, don't cry. We have sold the house for a good price two days back.' The old man said, 'Is it so. I am glad.' And he became consoled and wiped his tears.

Just then his second son came to him and said, 'Father we have not yet legally sold the house; we have only got twenty thousand rupees as advance.' On hearing this, the old man asked 'Is it so?' and started crying again.

The third son then came near him and said, 'Father, don't cry. The man who bought the house is a very nice man. He has never gone back on his words. So he has said that he will buy the house at the agreed price.' Again, the old man was happy.

Read this story carefully. The detached feeling 'As another person has bought the house, it is no more my house' gave him so much of peace and tranquility. The attached feeling that 'the buyer has given only twenty thousand rupees as an advance, so it is still my house' came to him, the old man was very upset.

Can you understand that even though the old man did not lose anything from beginning to end of this story, when he got the information that the house no longer belonged to him on two occasions it gave him so much relief and peace?

Whether we accept it or not, believe it or not, it is only our attachment which destroys our peace. To whatever extent we wish to have a secure feeling, to the same extent we will begin to increase our properties and relationships.

Each and every thing changes in this world. It will continue to be changing. Never is it constant. Nobody is possessed by anybody. Each one has his own individuality. The solid truth is that any thing can happen at any time. It is enough if this is understood. Nobody, nor any circumstance can spoil our tranquility.

Change your mental attachment as a true attachment. Start stepping towards peace. Get peace.

Tightness

❖ Pride-giving knowledge!

Intoxication-giving status!

Overwhelming, joy-giving money!

Another sort of pride-giving name and fame!

These are the things which, like brokers, bring tension to man.

❖ Results a person gets when he carries on his life with tension.

Knowledge should become wisdom.

Status should become service.

Money should be shared.

Fame should be properly digested.

If a man lives like this, then these will become like an angel which brings sweetness in a man. There is no chance of these things bringing tension to man.

I have read much about Babur (a famous king). You might have also read about him. I will tell you about an interesting incident which happened in his life.

Once, a learned man wanted to meet Babur, so he sought and obtained the permission to meet Babur.

On a particular day, he went to the palace. Babur was talking jovially, mingling with ordinary people.

The learned man was surprised to see this. People in high positions do not laugh at all.

Even at something very funny, they only smile. The learned man could not digest seeing such a great king mingling and laughing with his own servants.

He said to the king, ‘Oh king! I have heard that you are a very wise man and an intelligent man, too. That’s why I wanted to meet you.

I came here to see and enjoy your discussions with great people such as wise men, great intellectuals, poets and philosophers.

But, after my coming here and seeing this, I don’t see any intelligence in your behavior. I am not able to bear this. So, I am going away.’ So saying, he hurried up to go away.

Babur said, ‘Just wait. Listen to what I am going to say. After you hear me, you can decide whether to stay here or leave.’

The man was shocked and stood still. Babur began to speak…

‘Look there, I have kept a bow in that corner. You also see that I have not tied the string strongly at both ends of the bow.

Do you know why I have done like this? If I had tied the string at both the ends of the bow tightly, it would always remain under tension. If the bow is always under tension, it will surely break in a few days.

A bow should always be flexible. If it is in such a condition, the arrow, on release, will jump and go swiftly like the wind. Only then success will be achieved.

I also wish to be like a flexible bow. If I am always tight, I will become mad. As a result, I am like this: soft, flexible, playful and joyful. That is the reason for my success.’

The learned man was dumbfounded on hearing the words of Babur.

We should be soft and flexible like a bow, with the string not tied tight at the ends. When we are tight and rigid, lots of changes occur in our body and mind. Muscle catches and sprains which happen in our body are indications of tightness and stress. Pains occurring in various parts of the body are another sign.

Those who are rigid and tight get chest pain often. They may have head-aches too. The treatment I give for such people who come to me is just to make them laugh. I will make them laugh, forgetting all their worries. In a few minutes they will say, ‘My chest pain is gone!’

There are many ways to ease your tension. Play with children for some time. (It is all right if they are your neighbor’s children too!) Tension will disappear. Fondle affectionately, the plants in your garden. Become easy and light. Tension will break away from you.

Watch the fish swimming swiftly in the fish tank in your house. Tension will be gone. Even when you hear a very small joke, laugh aloud. Tension will be cut off from you.

Understand one thing clearly. Whatever way we may try, man cannot fly like a crow. We cannot be in water like a frog. It is foolish to think that man can perform anything and everything. Whatever is meant to happen naturally will happen.

If we understand this, tension will ease away. ‘It has not happened as I thought! I have not good people as I thought and expected!’ Rigidness is only due to the deposits made in our minds for many days of sticky things made in our mind due to such irritations.

It is only the accumulated irritations and all sorts of disappointments of many days which become mental tensions.

The only easy way to release such mental aberrations is to throw away the illusory thinking of ‘others, as well as circumstances should change as I expect’ and trying to remain happy and joyful every minute.

Begin to merge with the natural flow of life and act naturally. Tension will begin to dissolve and disappear.

Why? Why Unable to Tolerate?

❖ Animals do not know how to be tolerant. Tolerance is a culture only developed by everyone born as a man.

❖ Tolerance is the first stepping stone in the growth of man’s mental structure.

❖ Intolerance is not a culture of man. (Only because man has got mind as the sixth sense, different from the animal, which has got only five senses, is he called man). Intolerance is only an indication of improper growth of mind.

Every incident which occurred in the Buddha’s life will reveal a very great truth. I will tell you about one such incident.

Once, Buddha and his chief disciple were walking from one city to the other.

They missed their way while passing through some forests, hills and plateaus. They came to know about it only when they reached a place which was very far away from their original intended destination.

Then, after inquiring about the correct path, they started walking again. After walking some distance, they asked the people there, ‘How much distance we have to walk to reach the city?’

When the people said, ‘If you walk two more miles, you will reach the place to which you want to go,’ they started walking enthusiastically. Even after walking for further two miles, they did not reach any city.

Again they asked the people there, ‘How many more miles do we have to walk to reach the city?’ They replied, ‘If you walk two more miles, you will surely reach the city.’

After that they could not see any city even after walking further two miles. The chief disciple, Ananda could not bear this and became angry. He shouted with anger, ‘What foolish people these are, without telling the correct distance, why are they annoying and deceiving us?’ The other disciples agreed with Ananda.

But Buddha did not think so. He said, ‘Without understanding them, why are you angry with those people? All the people from whom you have inquired about the path, have, in fact, showered their grace on you. The city is still very far away. The fact is that you have to walk many miles to reach it.

What will happen to all of us, if they tell us so? We will get upset and simply sit down here thinking ‘so much more distance to walk’? We should not lose our enthusiasm.

Buddha told his disciples ‘It is only because you have to surely reach your destination, the people have been saying every time that you would reach the city in a few miles.’ The disciples became satisfied, having understood the reasons for the people’s actions.

Many of us are also like the disciples of the Buddha.

The desire to achieve anything and everything just at the thought of it, to do things very quickly, the hurry to change things at the wink of an eye, haste for everything; all these have become the mental set up of the present city-dwelling people.

A man, who does every thing hastily and without any enjoyment, behaves only like a machine. A man who eats a nice dinner in great hurry, does not even know whether the food requires some more salt, or it is sour, etc.

A man, who reads a collection of poems in great speed, horribly misses the beautiful lines of the poetry. The man, who walks hurriedly through the parks where there are plants in full bloom, badly misses the nature itself.

As the saying goes ‘Haste makes waste.’ Hasty people only embrace defeat instead of success, on many ocasions. Watch carefully the 1000 meters running race on the T.V.

A person, who runs fast at the beginning of the race, will not usually run till the end. Even if one is running as a third person, if one decides to run slowly but steadily, that person will run fast in the end and win the race and get the prize.

The hurry and haste is only due to the abnormal desire and expectations.

Both restlessness and haste are the outcomes of intolerance.

Intolerance is the root of the tree of impatience.

The world will appear differently to us each time depending upon the quality of our tolerance.

Patience or tolerance is an important qualification essentially required at all stages of life, beginning from the ordinary actions of simple bargaining and even up to the holy and sacred actions of service and showing affection etc.

It is the concluded opinion of psychiatrists, that the root cause for many divorces is the intolerance to digest and bear the current problems and insults in life. This quality of tolerance in a man actually depends upon his quality of understanding.

Please do not understand this incorrectly. Do not think that tolerance means ‘not showing any reaction at all to whatever anybody does, and to keep your feelings suppressed.’

The quality of tolerance is not suppression of feelings. It is a state of matured feeling.

Whenever our feelings happen to be very much disturbed, unable to bear the happenings outside, then, we should begin to turn inwards, asking why am I struggling so much? Why? Why? Why?

Don’t stop with just asking, ‘Why? Why? Why? If we begin to understand as to why we are losing our patience and tolerance, we will begin to understand the reasons for the irritations we get from external things. The struggling feelings inside us will begin to reduce. The more and more we are able to understand the value of tolerance, actually our tolerance will even begin to increase. Let’s begin to understand.

Forgive and Forget

❖ The one who is affected by our anger,

The one who is benefited by our forgiveness,

Who is affected more by this? Is it the man who is angry, or the other person who takes easily all our outpourings, which come out as a result of our intense anger?

❖ If we forgive, the very next moment, our volcano of anger will cool down. Body and mind will become light. The wasting of energy due to anger will be saved. The time required for thinking how to take revenge will also be saved.

The person who is benefited due to savings in energy and time is:

THINK!

With the enthusiasm obtained from thinking, continue to read further:

A disciple came in search of a Sufi Master. He had come only to learn how to live life properly.

However, there were rays of anxiety on the disciple’s face. His behavior showed the restlessness of his mind.

He opened the door of the Master’s house with a big bang. With the same force, he closed the door.

He threw away the shoes he was wearing, into a corner. Due to these actions, he felt pacified a little and then silently sat as a good boy before the Master. Then he paid his respects to the Master.

But the Master did not accept his respects. He said, ‘I will not accept your respects. First of all go and ask to be excused by both the shoes and the door and then come!’

The disciple could not understand what the Master said. He looked at the Master, wondering why he was blabbering so.

The disciple continued putting questions to the Master, thinking himself to be too clever and intelligent. He asked, ‘How can I ask for an excuse from the shoes and the door? Are they living beings? Even if I ask to be excused by them, what can these things know?’

The Master did not become angry when he listened to him. ‘When you came here, you came with anger. You did not have the courage to show that to some people and became calm. So you showed it to the door and shoes. What wrong have the shoes and the door done to receive kicking and beatings from you?

You thought they were living things when you showed your anger toward them. But when it comes to asking to be excused by them, you call them inanimate objects.

How can I accept this? I cannot accept you as my disciple,' the Master said. The disciple hesitated to accept what the Master said. But he did not want to leave the Master. He felt there was some hidden message in the Master's words, beyond all these things.

He thought, 'The man whom I have approached now, is a slightly different type of person. There appears to be some truth in what he says. So, why not obey what he says?' and prepared to ask to be excused.

'Friends, don't think much of all my insults to you. Have a heart and excuse me,' the disciple asked politely and submissively.

The disciple did not, however, act with all his heart. As he was asking to be excused, there was only fun and a giggle in his tone.

In spite of it, after he finished asking to be excused, there was a change in the disciple's mind. He felt as though a big burden which was on his mind, had broken free and fallen away.

The disciple began thinking, 'I asked to be excused only in a playful (and not sincere) manner. Even for this, my mind has become so light. If I begin to ask with all sincerity and seriousness, how much more relief and peace might I get.' Now, again he asked to be excused by them one more time, sincerely and truly. He then felt a comfortable and nice feeling within himself.

From that day, he changed himself completely. We should also begin to forgive. We will blossom as new persons.

The mind which excuses is great. We need not fight to get such a mind. It is enough if we begin to see everything with compassion. The tendency to forgive will blossom by itself.

We may ask, 'Is that state of mind of forgiveness such an important one? Somebody makes a mistake. We get angry with him. Our anger does not decrease until we forgive him. In fact, anger will only be increasing day by day.

Too much anger will create problems in our body and mind. In the same way as a very small fire, which is formed in some corner of a house, gradually becomes bigger and bigger and ultimately consumes and destroys the house completely, the anger which is not under control will destroy us completely.

Only a mind which excuses has the capacity and strength to destroy this big fire.

Important thing: Forgive, and then, immediately forget it.

'Do you know what sort of big mistakes you have made? But I have forgiven you. So I am great. You are nothing.......' Don't commit another mistake by your thinking high about yourself. The worst type of pride and ego is only the thinking 'I am a very good person.'

So let us learn to forgive. Also learn to forget it immediately.

If we are not able to forget, then, that means we are only acting in the name of 'I have forgiven.' If the forgiving is total and wholehearted, simultaneously as the act of forgiving happens, forgetting will also happen.

My Dear Youngsters

❖ The secret of achievement lies hidden in these three words: Belief, morality, enthusiasm.

❖ It is known to everyone that belief and enthusiasm are essential for achieving. But the fact that morality is also essential is not known to many.

❖ Individual morality is one thing, Social morality is another.

What I say is essential, is about individual morality. Individual morality has the power to save an achiever from wavering from his path.

This is an era of youngsters. It is only the youngsters who have the capacity and skill to lead the present-day society in the proper direction.

There was once a time when elders led the way for us. Some experienced middle-aged persons and some extraordinarily talented women have led us properly.

The time has come for them to move aside and give way to the youngsters. Reason: This era is for the youngsters.

I have been to the United States recently. I saw that the youngsters are not leading a good life. I could understand easily that they are heading toward a dangerous and confused state, as the institution of the family is disintegrating and they are without any control whatsoever.

But I was stunned to see the amount of confidence and belief these youngsters possess. They have the urge and fire in them. They also possess the clarity of mind as to how they have to shape up in the future, and also what are the steps to be taken for achieving those goals.

More than anything else, they possess the necessary belief. It will not be wasted. They also possess lots of confidence that they can do something very useful to themselves, as well as to their country.

As I observed the American youth keenly, immediately the thought about our youngsters came to my mind.

Our youngsters are really ideal in the matter of morality. For the youth of the entire world, if you have to search for guides in the field of morality, we could well send our youngsters for the task.

However......morality alone will not give progress in life. I had the feeling of regret when I thought about the fact that our youngsters do not actually possess that much belief, perseverance and clarity of mind as possessed by the American and European youths.

Our present day youngsters do not possess the same amount of clarity of mind possessed by the youth during our independence struggle.

During each period of time in history, when the youngsters have some good quality, they are lacking in some other good quality.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa moulded and shaped Vivekananda. In those days, Vivekananda could create thousands of Vivekanandas.

But now?

The brains of the modern day youngsters are blunt. We can see them rising only if their minds, which are at present distorted.

Disbelief exists in our youngsters to a somewhat great extent. There is no meaning at all to this disbelief. If we compare the environments in which the foreign youth are living to that of our youth, it has to be said that our youth have much better. Whatever competition is existing in the West is not present here in the East. The cultural collapse which is prevalent there, fortunately, does not exist here. It is really an unfathomable puzzle as to why we have to subject ourselves to so much disbelief, in spite of our having a nice and congenial atmosphere here.

The second deficiency which our youth possess is the absence of the enthusiasm to change the environment in which we live. They do not have the desire and ambition to become great scientists or big entrepreneurs. They do not also think that they possess the required amount of energy.

However, as a matter of fact, our youth’s minds do possess an abnormal amount of energy. If you were to show something as a symbol of the amount of our youth’s energy, you would have to point to an ocean.

The minds of youth are as powerful as the depths of the ocean. Like the waves, whenever we perform each task, a little amount of energy leaves us.

Have we seen an end to the waves in the ocean? Have we seen an ocean completely dried up? Likewise, the energy you possess is never destructible at all.

Vivekananda once said, ‘Give me a hundred youngsters. I will change India.’ The task of changing our country is fine. First of all, let us try to change ourselves.

Childhood is past. We cannot change it now. Old age is the future. If we want it to live in a particular age, youth is the present time. Let’s not miss it.

There is morality in most of our youth. Particularly, individual morality is very present in some. The belief and enthusiasm which the foreign youngsters have, is wanting in our youngsters.

If morality, belief and enthusiasm are present, then, such a person’s run for achievement will be similar to the steady running of a horse with proper blinders on its eyes. They can hit the target. They won’t miss their way.

If a person possesses mere belief and enthusiasm and is devoid of morality, then it will rule and trouble the man like a wild horse. It will ultimately cause him to become like a very old horse. Only dullness will remain in his life.

How do we wish our running to be?

The run of an old horse?

The run of a winning horse in a race?

Decide yourself.

If morality, belief and enthusiasm are exhibited in abundance, success is for certain. Winning is sure. Succeed in life!

Wake Up

❖ Many are attracted to a life of constant struggling with lots of quarrels, etc., rather than living a joyful life with a sense of awakening.

❖ If we say, ‘awaken’, all of us know how to open our eyelids. The human mind will find it more difficult when it is explained that ‘awakening’ is not - simply opening up our eyelids.

❖ ‘Awakening’ is an easy way to get rid of ego, which carries the seeds to destroy the individual.

The story which I am going to tell may already be known to many of you. We have lots of stories. We have also grown up listening to lots of stories. But it is only our misfortune that we have missed the messages and principles conveyed through them.

Every time I tell you a story, it is not for making you happy or to just entertain you. It is to make you understand the principles contained in it.

There was a very big lake by the side of a village. Due to continuous rains, it was full to the brim.

One day, before sunrise, a boatman came to the lake. His job was to take the people who wished to go to the adjacent town in his boat.

As he was walking along the lake’s edge in the darkness before the sunrise, he felt a bundle on the path near his feet.

He was trying to find out what was in the bundle just by running his fingers over it. He felt as though there were some pebbles in the bundle. He lifted the bundle and put it near his boat by the side of the lake. He continued in his thoughts while keeping his feet on the bundle.

There was a lot of time left before the sun would rise in the east. He took a stone from the bundle and threw it on to the water’s surface. He heard a nice ringing sound.

As he had no other work to do, he continued throwing the stones in the water, one after the other.

After some time, the sun started slowly rising up in the east. Light started spreading everywhere. He had thrown all the stones from the bundle, except the last one.

He was surprised and shocked to see the last stone in his hand in the bright sun light. The boatman had just awakened to reality.

The stone he had in his hand was not an ordinary pebble; it was a costly gemstone! Frustrated and upset very much, he cried, 'Alas! How have I wasted so many costly gem stones by throwing them away into the lake?'

We are also like this boatman. We are really wasting our lives.

A youngster who was born in a village was lamenting, 'Oh! What sin have I committed to have been born in a village?'

If the youngster had awakened, he could have given good education to the children of the village. He could have arranged for the road facilities there. He could have brought new small industries, etc. to the village and contributed for the economic development of it.

Even though there were so many opportunities for him, he wasted his life badly. That youngster had been thinking that if he lived in a city, he could progress well.

However, only the city youths know the various kinds of obstructions to progressing well in the city.

I say again and again.......

This life is a very great boon we have. It is a great sin to waste it.

We have two fine legs. We waste them by not using them properly. We have two good hands. We also waste them by not using them in the proper way.

We waste our eyes. Why? We waste even our brains which perform with great efficiency.

The boatman in the above story was, in a way, a lucky man. He could see at least the last stone before also throwing it in the lake. He had the satisfaction, 'At least this one stone has remained. It is good that I have awakened.'

But many among us are not even as lucky as the boatman. Only after wasting our life in totality do we begin to realize the greatness of life.

It was enough for the boatman to have kept with him the last gemstone. With that he could have wealth sufficient for three generations to live. He need not worry about the wasted gemstones.

If you are asking how to spend the rest of your life usefully, whatever be your age, stop worrying about the life you may have wasted so far.

Life left over yet to be spent is equivalent to a few gem stones. We must learn to live the balance of our lives usefully. It is enough. All our mental grief will disappear. This is called 'awakening'.

Bliss will begin to overflow. We will attain the basic qualification to enjoy the present as well as all our future births blissfully!

Love

❖ What we get on seeing a flower is attraction!

What we get on seeing a beautiful art is attraction!

What we get on seeing a human body is also attraction.

What we get on seeing the qualities of a person is also an attraction.

Attraction + Lust = Infatuation.

Attraction + Affection = Love

Attraction + Respect = Friendship

❖ When the feeling of attraction in the mind is mixed with a feeling of lust it becomes infatuation.

❖ When the feeling of attraction in the mind is mixed with a feeling of affection it becomes love.

❖ When the feeling of attraction in the mind is mixed with a feeling of respect it becomes friendship.

Love is a wonderful sense of feeling. You may be surprised whether a saint can speak about love at all.

I will tell you about an incident which happened in the life of Sri Ramanuja. This will give you clarification.

Ramanuja was a revolutionary saint. In those times, when suppressed people were not considered as human beings at all, it was Ramanuja, who got on top of the temple tower and proclaimed loudly, ‘All men are embodiments of God.’

Ramanuja was a great Vedanthi (Exponent of all Vedas). He was very thorough with lots of philosophies. But, those who speak relentlessly about various philosophies do not possess a heart with soft feelings such as love etc.

Philosophers are those who give more importance to the brain than to the mind.

Ramanuja was not such a philosopher. The importance he gave to love and affection was unique and special.

Once, a middle-aged man came to see Ramanuja. He prostrated at the feet of Ramanuja and asked, 'Swami, I want to reach God, so teach me a way for that.'

Ramanuja asked him, 'Before I tell you the way to reach God, I want to ask you a question. Have you loved anybody? Have you shown a lot of affection towards anybody?'

The man asked Ramanuja angrily, 'What? Do you ask me whether I have loved anybody? I am a perfect bachelor. I will run away from girls as one runs away from diseased persons. That being the case, why do you ask me such a question?'

'That is all right. During any time in the past, was there a feeling of love in some corner of your mind?' asked Ramanuja.

'You are asking me the same thing again and again! I have come to you only to learn how to pray. Not for learning how to love.' He said again with anger.

'From what you say, I find that you are a man, who cannot feel what is love and affection. How can I teach about the prayer to reach God, to a man who does not know how to love? It is not at all possible to know about prayer for a man who does not know how to show affection.'

Affection and love are two other wonderful forms of prayer. Prayer will be successful easily through love. Through that one can also reach God easily. But you don't possess that basic thing at all. First of all, learn to love the people. Afterwards you can think about reaching God.' So saying Ramanuja sent him away.

After Ramanuja has explained about the greatness of love and affection so easily, who can raise his voice against it at all?

The best way to rule and control our ego is only love. Between two lovers who have intensely immersed and merged in each other at the being level, the question whether 'you are important' or 'I am important' does not at all arise. We enter into a dark room with two lit candles.

The light which emanates from the candles floods the room with bright light. Is it possible to divide and measure the brightness and say this much of light is coming from one candle and this much from the other?

Love is also such a thing which cannot be divided and measured. Even then, each one will, at the same time, preserve and retain its own individualities. For a river to flow, surely two banks are required on both the sides. Can the river flow with only one bank on its side? These two banks are the two lovers. The river which flows in between these two banks is the love which blossoms between the two lovers.

Though the two banks appear to us as two separate entities, they are actually united under the water. Lovers are also like that.

True lovers will not actually fight for retaining their individualities. Only by mutual self-sacrifice, they will protect their individualities.

Do not mix up the sacred feeling of love with feelings of lust and infatuation, etc. Infatuation is only one aspect of love. Infatuation is connected with the body only.

If it is a feeling of true love, we forget ourselves and have a great and nice feeling of praise for others. But if it is a feeling of infatuation, we forget others and give importance and prominence to ourselves only.

Love is not one of robbing and ruining others. Infatuation is, in the name of mutuality, deceiving each other. It is only for this reason there is absolutely no feeling of closeness and a sense of security between two persons who are attracted to each other merely by infatuation. That is why they drift apart.

What comes at a very young age is just bodily infatuation. It is misunderstood as love.

Giving importance to this sort of confusing feelings will only lead to unnecessary, complicated problems. So, in the matter of love, one has to be very careful.

Reason: At the age of youth, when there will be changes in the levels of hormones, it is rather difficult to differentiate between true love and infatuation. If it is self who has fallen in love, due to the presence of ego, the mind will assert and emphatically say it is true love. Youth and immaturity will cause this.

If one possesses a very large amount of awareness as well as intelligence, it will be possible to distinguish between love and infatuation.

Best lover (male) - Good friend (male)

Best lover (female) - Good friend (female)

Best parents - Good friends

Best brother - Good friend

Best sister - Good friend (female)

In this manner, when we indicate our relationships as the best ones, there is no harm pointing them out as good friends. In all relationships, when friendship blossoms in them, they attain completeness.

Start traveling from love towards real affection!

Equanimity

❖ The permanent peaceful state we possess within us is - Equanimity.

❖ Equanimity – The spokesman who releases the news that we are in perfect health.

❖ Equanimity – The symbol of a spiritual person.

Equanimity - If we possess it, we are the prime minister of our house.

❖ If we are able to handle anger, that is equanimity.

If anger handles us, it is lack of equanimity.

❖ Handling anger as a mere energy to be used only at the time of necessity, is the first step towards equanimity.

I will tell you a story of a Buddhist monk. Listen.

That Buddhist monk received an unexpected invitation. The person who gave the invitation was a prostitute. She blocked his way and asked the monk in her own begging and seductive manner, ‘You must stay in my house for the entire rainy season.’

Nobody can think, even in a dream, of a monk receiving such an invitation.

A monk is a man who has detached himself from the grips of all feelings and from the dragnet of sexual pleasures (not by running away from all this), and has approached the next step in life with equanimity. Such monks will never get disturbed under any type of circumstances and environment. Their equanimity will help them celebrate all types of circumstances in totality.

The lotus which enjoys its coolness and presence of water, under any circumstances, will not stick to the water. Even if the water tries, it cannot stick to the lotus. A lotus will remain as a lotus.

A true monk will be only like this. Whether a person is living with the society or in a forest, or in a palace, because he remains independent and is with tranquility, whoever he is, he is really a monk! A saint!

With a smile the monk said, ‘If your invitation is true and sincere, certainly I will come.’

The prostitute was shocked to hear this, since she had asked the monk playfully as she had thought that the monk would ask her, ‘What question did you ask? Are you in your normal senses to know that you are asking this question to whom? Are not the sins committed by you so far not enough and hence started to spoil the monks also?’ She had thought that she could enjoy all this and have a hearty laugh.

Without showing her surprise and shock, she said, ‘Hmm.... Yes, I am inviting you sincerely and truly.’

The monk said, ‘I will come, but after getting the permission from the Buddha, I will come. Until then, you have to wait.’

She said, ‘Oh, yes. I will surely wait.’

She also said, ‘After you have promised to come, is Buddha’s permission necessary?’

The monk said, ‘The promise I gave that I will come, is the experiential clarity I had from my equanimity; asking for permission is my duty.’

Next day, after the Buddha’s discourse was over, the monk told the Buddha, ‘On my way, one prostitute blocked my way and invited me to come and stay in her mansion for the entire rainy season.’

The Buddha said, ‘Why are you asking my permission for such things? If one is disturbed by an ordinary woman like a prostitute, he cannot be a true monk.’

A true monk cannot be disturbed by any woman.

‘Without getting disturbed and waiting only for my permission, you are a true saint. You can go boldly. For you, a prostitute’s mansion and a monastery are same. Take rest for the entire rainy season and return.’

The monk went to the prostitute’s house. The prostitute received him with love and affection and served him to her heart’s content. Each day she celebrated differently. She utilized all her known ways with a variety of dress, foods and celebrations, etc. She started slowly shivering mentally. Because, by this time an average man would have become a slave to her, but this monk was always remaining with a clear mind under all circumstances. The prostitute could not shake even a little, the peace and tranquility in him. The question started arising in her mind as to how it was possible for this monk to remain calm and composed even when whatever happens.

One morning, the prostitute was holding his feet and crying.

The monk asked, ‘Oh girl, why are you crying?’ She replied, ‘I cannot act any further. How is it possible for you to remain peaceful and calm? I want to know the secret immediately?’ she asked begging.

The monk replied, ‘It is very easy.’ ‘Firstly, find out how much you are disturbed and also find out how much mental balance you have. Half the problem will be solved.

Secondly, whenever you feel disturbed, be with awareness. Be fully aware as to how much you are disturbed, how you are disturbed and what for you are disturbed. If you continue to remain with your awareness or in an awakened state, a change will happen within you.’ the monk said.

The prostitute utilized the teachings of the monk in her day to day life. As she continued to use them, she realized that gradually equanimity was flowering in her.

What a surprise! After a month, when the rainy season was over and the monk started to leave saying, ‘Good-bye’ to her.....She said very calmly and with equanimity, ‘Please take me also to the Buddha. I also want to become a monk.’ Equanimity is real peace, equanimity is real independence. Equanimity is real tranquility. To enter from ‘lack of equanimity’ to ‘equanimity’, it is enough if you have the visa of ‘Awareness.’ You will reach equanimity.

As you have realized the value of equanimity, you will be eagerly awaiting to get equanimity.

Equanimity is O.K. What does ‘lack of equanimity’ mean?

How to reach ‘equanimity,’ from ‘lack of equanimity?’

Is ‘lack of equanimity’ vacillation?

If you want to get answers for such questions arising in you, read the topic ‘Lack of Equanimity.’

Lack of Equanimity

❖ Anger and outpourings are external indications of the presence of 'lack of equanimity'.

❖ Feeling of struggle is an internal indication of the the presence of 'lack of equanimity'.

❖ At the time of anger, outbursts and struggles, being fully aware of it is being with awareness.

All our anger is childish. It is an indisputable fact.

Anger is not under our control. We are under the control of anger.

We become angry for very small matters, such as for changes happening outside, some wrong behaviors in relationships and for things not turning out as expected.

The small changes which occur outside us only cause us to lose our tempers and to lose our balance. This upsets our equanimity; creates lack of equanimity. Enlightened state is only that of remaining with equanimity and wholly within you at all times and under all circumstances. The Hasid enlightened Master Ju-Malki is one such person.

The news spread like wild fire that disciples of Ju-Malki are all joyful and many of them have already become enlightened.

One Negam C belonged to such a group of people, who, while remaining in the hurry-burry way of life, wished to get enlightened immediately just like that.

One day, Negam C came to Ju-Malki and asked him, 'I need enlightenment very urgently. Can you get it inside me immediately?'

Ju-Malki asked Negam C, 'Why are you in so much of a hurry? Why do you want to get enlightened so hurriedly?'

Negam C said, 'I have started a new business with huge capital. I don't possess the maturity to manage the business. Moreover, the health of my father, who was of great help and support to me, is also deteriorating. Hence, I should get enlightenment as soon as possible. Then I can live with equanimity. Please tell me very early a method for me to get enlightenment.'

Ju-Malki, with an unchanging smile, looked at him, surveyed him and said, ‘At least twelve months will be required.'

Negam C begged of him, ‘I will do whatever you say. Whatever severe penance and meditation you want me to do, I will do so. Kindly make early arrangements for me to get enlightenment.'

Ju-Malki said, ‘If you have this much of haste and disturbance inside you, you will have to strive and work hard at least for five or six years.'

Negam C could not accept such a sort of reply. He was angry that this man was not able to realize his position and also his urgency.

But Ju-Malki did not bother about this and again said calmly, ‘If you are so disturbed inside and feel so much urgency, then it is rather difficult. Even in your imagination, you cannot experience equanimity and enlightenment unless you are on the path of spirituality for at least ten or fifteen years.

Negam got utterly confused. He asked, much perturbed, ‘Then, what am I to do?'

Ju-Malki, with all his grace, said, ‘My intention is not to injure your feelings. I spoke like this only to make you understand the truth.

You must understand one thing deeply. To whatever extent there is urgency and hurry, to the same extent there will be anger and bad temper. Depending upon the amount of anger and bad temper, equanimity will be affected giving rise to lack of equanimity.

Stop this hurry and look at yourself inwardly. Haste will be lessened. Until then, don’t even come near me.’ So saying, he sent him out. With uncontrollable anger, Negam exited from there.

It will be known to what extent our equanimity has become polluted and turned as lack of equanimity.

Have you found out the faults? If the answer is ‘yes’, it means you have taken the step towards equanimity for yourself. Yes, one should really have an open mind to accept that there is struggle going on within you.

Even beyond this, if we have found out the nature and quality of the struggles inside us, then, know for sure, that we have begun our walk from lack of equanimity towards total equanimity.

It is an achievement for the people who live in the outside world finding a ‘bridge’ through which to go into the inner world. This is the first step for the achievement of the inner world.

Finding out the struggles is equivalent to discovering that bridge. Overcome the struggles. Equanimity, which is devoid of all sorts of struggles, is waiting within us.

The easy way to overcome all the struggles is to enter into the struggle with courage and the awareness to accomplish that, no matter what happens.

Begin right from this moment, to enter into the lack of equanimity and begin the travel toward a state of total equanimity. If we get equanimity, we can also become Ju-Malki. We will be able to shower equanimity as a gift to ourselves and also to the world.

If we continue to live with lack of equanimity, as the enlightened Master said to Negam C, our own lack of equanimity will appear too much for us and we will pity ourselves and also make others pitiful and lose our peace of mind. Ponder. Walk towards equanimity.

Sainthood in Youth

❖ True saints are not made, they are born.

❖ One who does not utilize his youthfulness in his youth stage is only an ‘old man’ in the garb of ‘youth’

❖ The juicy part of life is the youth! It has happened that ‘youth’ has become a burden filled time of life due to education, work and fear about the future.

Those who see me, ask, sainthood at this age? Or renunciation in youth?

Once I was speaking in a meeting. It was question and answer time. A well-learned pundit asked about ‘Varnashrama Dharma’. He tried to corner me by saying, ‘At a time when you should be a Grahastha (householder), you are in Sanyasa (renunciate).’

I told him, ‘At a time when you have to be in ‘Vanaprastha’, having renounced all attachments though still outwardly in the family life, how is that you are still a ‘Grahastha’. He could not give any answer for that and simply sat down.

It is not possible for all to become monks. So some people like me, become monks and we are blissful and also show the path for others to become blissful. It is a social necessity, God’s will.

In our history, when the war happened between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, many small kings joined sides with one side or the other. However, in Tamilnadu, one king by the name of Perunchotru Udiyalathan, did not join any side. He concentrated only on food production, thinking, ‘if all go for the war, who will make the people work on the fields? Who will contribute for food grains production? Like Perunchotru Udiyalathan, at least one or two persons have to share their wisdom with others.

What is not possible at the stage of youth will not be at the old age either! This is true as far as average people are concerned. There are people who have become rich and who have reached good positions in their old ages too!

Generally, the seeds of success which we attain later on, are actually planned during youth. Youth is the essence of life. Unless this is crushed and extracted and offered, great heights cannot be reached.

It is only the dedication formed in the youth which later transforms to wisdom, riches or positions of power. There are people, who, in their youth, kept themselves aloof from the general flowing of the world and attained enlightenment due to their intense penance.

In some cases, God Himself has showered His full grace and made them godly in their very young ages. But, even for such a thing to happen, an urge and search should have been there before that or even in their earlier births.

It is said, that when the great saint Thirugnanasambanthar, after suckling from the Goddess Parvathi, sat by the side of Thoniappar temple tank in Sirkali and sang the song, “Thodudaiya seviyan” he was said to be only three or five years old.

In our history, people like Adi Sankara and Vivekananda kept themselves aloof from the world in their youth and then fulfilled their aims for coming into this world.

To become a saint, such a sort of courage is required, which is not possessed even by warriors. A warrior wins over others. A saint wins over himself. So, all cannot become saints.

Just because the seed looks small and tiny, we should not come to the decisive conclusion that a banyan tree is not contained in it. A poet ‘Allama Iqbal’ says beautifully:

‘O crescent moon, don’t feel sad, Full moon is buried inside you.’

So, the field for success is only youth. Is there not some age limit for persons who play cricket? The mind may be still young. But it is not compulsory for the body to cooperate at an old age. So it is better to start the achievements during the stage of youth.

All of us who are in the present worldly life can become saints. How? Ramakrishna Paramahamsa tells a beautiful story.

‘There was a servant maid working in a rich man’s house. She used to care for the sons of the rich man, using such words as Hari and Rama. But she would be only thinking of her own children who were in her hometown, who were suffering in utter poverty, and who were always thinking about her dearly.

In the same way, though, we are in this world and we must be thinking of God. For, whatever we are offering in our youth, we will receive the same thing as a gift in our later life.

Not only youngsters, but everyone should understand one important matter. There are not two types of lifestyles named ‘spiritual life’ and ‘ordinary life.’

Spiritual life means blissful life. After man began to realize that his life was not joyful due to self-pity, the title created by him to somehow convince others is ‘ordinary life.’

All of us want to reach the peak of joy. But we toil like a bull all the way, and in the way we prefer, to enjoy things such as love, name and fame, money, power, etc.

Right from the Buddha up to Ramana Maharishi, who had reached the peak of sense pleasures and even gone beyond, have been saying in various languages, that the joy which we are searching cannot be obtained from outside.

There is nothing wrong at all in our enjoying the ‘sense pleasures’ by the use of our five senses. However, having the required amount of energy and intelligence, if we begin by searching for pleasure and satisfaction, then the problem starts.

Meditation will create the necessary ‘energy’ to enjoy life fully. Wisdom teachings will greatly help to obtain the ‘understanding capacity’ to know the world and understand the people and help them to live with equanimity.

Meditation and wisdom are very essential, more for the youth who is eager to enjoy every atom of life than for an old man who has missed enjoying the life.

Master? Or disciple?

❖ Come!

Come near!

Come near me!

Come and merge with me!

Come so that I become you and you become me!

❖ A Master’s job is to help you and enable you to turn back and see the soul which is waiting for you and to make you merge with your soul.

❖ A disciple is one who enjoys and experiences fully and totally his Master’s job. The aim of a Master is only to make bliss flower in an individual.

I was in a discussion with some college students in Salem. Then, suddenly a youngster rose up and started asking some questions. His aim was to corner me by asking some question. I understood his intention as soon as I watched the manner in which he rose up and asked the question.

The question that the youngster asked me was this: ‘Have you seen God?’

Laughingly I asked him, ‘Are you asking me in the same way Vivekananda asked Ramakrishna?’

The youngster replied, ‘Yes.’

‘When Vivekananda asked Ramakrishna whether he had seen God, Ramakrishna told him, ‘I have seen. I can show you also. If you want to see God, follow me,’ Ramakrishna had said.

Without having any doubt about the words of the Master, Vivekananda simply followed him.

There was a ray of pride along with a smile on the face of that student with the thought, ‘Oh, see, what sort of sensational question I have asked!’, until I told him, ‘I have seen God. With these two eyes and even beyond that, I have seen God, enjoyed and also became enlightened.’

But the youngster was shaken somewhat for the next question I asked him. ‘Come with me. I will show you God. Are you ready to come?’ His pride gave way and he became confused. Unable to bear the shock, he went away and merged with the crowd and ultimately disappeared.

All of us are again and again examining the capacity, maturity and wisdom of those persons around us. The doubt we have about the Master only makes us test him again and again. But we never even once test or analyze our own capacity or maturity. When we worry so much about the dirt on the back of others, we never bother about the glaring dirt present on our own face.

When we search for a capable Master, we do not remain as a deserving disciple. Leave aside your attempts at assessing the grades of your Master and try to observe your own true colors. Utilize them. There will be benefits. When we really change as a deserving disciple, God must and will surely send a competent and able Master to us. He will send him for certain.

Thousands of people had seen Ramakrishna when he was alive. But only a few hundred had realized his true greatness and powers and also felt that he was a form of God.

Only matured disciples can know and understand fully their Master. So, it is enough if our whole attention is concentrated on enriching our maturity. A Master will appear and reach us by himself.

The student who asked me ‘Have you seen God?’ had, in their heart of hearts, no real intention or thought about knowing God.

Nowadays, there are many in number, who, after reading one or two books on spirituality, and without any real urge or sincerity about searching for God, just wish to show others their own expertise and knowledge of these matters. It is sad that the number of such people is increasing day by day. If God is to be seen, very many great sacrifices have to be made. God is not just instant coffee or tea to come to the table as soon as you pay some money for it.

It is important, before testing the capacity of a good Master, to test and examine whether we are really true and good disciples. If you are a good disciple, even a stone will become God and show you the path of light in your life. Otherwise, even if God appears in person, we will ask him, 'From where are you coming? Show me your identity card. What is the proof you have for me to believe that you are God.' God is one who is within ourselves and not outside.

We need not worry too much about the Master. Our sincerity and earnestness itself will show us the way to God. Because God is sincerity personified. If we search with all our hearts, we will get what we search for.

Until we make a decision to lead a blissful life, even if the Master comes to us in person, he cannot help us in any manner.

If we have decided wholeheartedly to lead a blissful life, even if we don't go in search of him, Master will come in search of us. The surprising thing in this is, if we make a decision wholeheartedly, we cannot just sit and relax and waste our time, even for a minute.

Our decision will change the end of our life altogether. Take the decision. The dawn, the solution, God Himself will look after!

Don't Believe the Enlightened Masters!

❖ All the wise teachings about wisdom are all applicable to all times without any change.

❖ If you believe only some of the truths of the enlightened Masters:

2. Reason: Whatever truths a Master may say, we will understand them only depending on our mental attitudes and views and accept them only as some ideas of the mind.

3. When we believe the truths given by a Master only partially, deficiencies of our mind will begin to appear as efficiencies of our mind. Ego will become alive.

4. Only if we believe the words of the Master in totality, truths will reach us as truths. Otherwise, truth will enter in us as mere idea and opinion.

5. Enlightened Masters are not needed just to get some mental ideas and nourish our ego. Some low quality book available on the streets are enough. The speeches of some low-grade speakers are sufficient.

6. If we believe the truths fully and totally only, it can effect useful and nice changes within us.

Do you know about Sufis? Like our Siddhas, they go to various places, like vagabonds, in search of wisdom. They spread the wisdom they have to others.

There lived in a city called Pistan, a Sufi saint named Bayasid. He was the most famous amongst the Sufi saints.

One day, the king of that country wanted to become a disciple of Bayasid. The king himself came personally and asked for permission. When the king himself is asking, who can refuse it?

The Sufi saint knew the fact that the king had absolutely no fitness or qualification of any kind to become a disciple. But how could he say that to the king?

That Sufi saint decided, instead of directly conveying the king’s unsuitability, he could make him understand through some incident.

‘Oh King! There is no dearth of saints in this country. When so many are loitering everywhere with locks of hair and beards, why did you come in search of me? I am a very ordinary person,’ said the Sufi saint.

‘Oh saint! I have heard that you are a very nice person. That is why I came in search of you,’ said the king. ‘Observe me keenly. Then come to a conclusion,’ said the Sufi saint.

After some days, the king went to the forest for hunting. There he saw Bayasid sitting on the banks of a small lake.

It was all right if Bayasid was sitting alone. But there was another girl with him. She was also pouring some thing in a tumbler and giving it to him. What was it?

The king got confused. ‘Aha! I was thinking about him as a very big, enlightened man! He is enjoying beside the lake with a girl! It is good, that now at least I am able to know about him by seeing personally myself! After this, I should not become his disciple,’ the king decided.

But what happened really? The girl who was with the saint was his own sister. What she poured into the tumbler and gave him was merely water!

After having come near the saint, and after understanding the truth, the king begged him, ‘Oh Master, in a haste I have misunderstood you. You kindly accept me as a disciple.’

The saint sent him away saying, ‘You have absolutely no fitness to become a disciple.’

Why this story? It is only to show that where we have to act with total belief we should not be going on doing some research wrongly.

To raise questions like ‘why’ and ‘what for’ is no doubt a basic thing for knowledge. For that purpose, if we are going on raising questions for any thing and everything, the belief in us will get exhausted and we will become like a desert.

Are you asking, ‘Mere belief, will it not push us into ignorance? If you do not ask questions, then how do we know the facts? What information you know about this universe, is what you have seen through your physical (mental) eyes.

Beyond our normal physical eyes, begin to see with our hearts, (with our being). We will wonder, seeing the vastness of the universe. The universe itself will appear to be a puzzle.

The same way, as this universe is full of puzzles, so are our minds, lockers full of puzzles. Start traveling in your mind.

Only the truths we know about our mind are permanent. All others are temporary in nature. He is a fool who loses the permanent ones to obtain temporary ones.

Believe! Believe!! Believe!!! Belief only is life! Belief only is everything!

Otherwise, don’t believe.

Believing partially, understanding partially, ‘That Master will talk like this. Of all the statements he made, only this is right and I like it. He is a wise man, all right. But for that reason, can we accept what all he says? What that Master is trying to tell us through that is?’ In this way, if you speak some useless philosophy and if somebody listens to you, and thinks, ‘Oh, it is because of that Master this man has begun talking like a lunatic,’ in this way we should not be instrumental for others to lose a real enlightened Master.

If we believe, we must believe 100%, totally. We will not be talking uselessly. We will begin to stride towards success....

Hello! How are you?

❖ To talk proudly about loving the world is very easy. But loving only one person truly and wholly is equivalent to trekking to reach the summit of the Himalayas.

❖ How we move with others, will reveal how we are with ourselves.

❖ A person who respects his own body, mind and life force, can only respect others wholly.

❖ A person who respects his own body, mind and life force half-heartedly, will respect others only in the same manner.

❖ It is a horrible pity that behaving normally with others has become an extraordinary matter.

❖ It is difficult to think about happiness even in imagination as long as we live in a narrow circle of ‘Me, me, mine, mine.’

❖ Dharma: All actions that give happiness to oneself as well as others is Dharma.

❖ Adharma: All actions that give troubles to ourselves as well as others is Adharma.

❖ There is no need to be born as man if one remains confined to himself and his own affairs. Already animals remain in that state.

Human relationships are very wonderful. Joy-giving ones.

Those who behave in a very pleasant and congenial manner with the surrounding persons, turn out to be great successful persons.

For those who are ever ready to quarrel for anything and everything, for example, problems with the neighbor, fighting with the co-passenger on the bus, fighting with the other department people in the same office, etc.; what remains at the end is only defeat and restlessness.

There is always a special value for an introduction. You buy a new flat and start living in it. The person already residing there looks upon you as an enemy. If you also behave in a similar fashion, a good relationship, will not flourish. Only quarrels will remain.

After occupying the house, a few days later, on a holiday, go with your family and say, ‘My name is Ramaseshan; I have come newly to this flat. She is my wife. She is my daughter. You come to our flat one day.’ In this manner, you invite them. Then you watch how the flat owners behave toward you with love and affection.

We may wonder as to how to introduce ourselves to strangers. If we begin by giving importance to some questions, no work will be done properly. Moreover, we can introduce ourselves only to the strangers and there will be no need to get introduced to those already known to us.

Once, George Bernard Shaw was out walking. He came upon a person who had just occupied his newly built house and was watering his plants in his garden.

George Bernard Shaw asked him, ‘How are you?’

The man, who was watering his plants, got angry. ‘Who are you? I have not seen you before at all.’ So saying, he angrily went away.

Next day also the same man was watering the plants in his garden. George Bernard Shaw did not hesitate. When he asked ‘Hello, how are you? Yesterday we got introduced to each other. Do you remember?’ that man, who had come to the new house, had no choice but to extended his hand in friendship to Mr. Shaw, to greet him.

If we learn to move with people pleasantly, we can pacify even those persons of a shouting nature.

We should not take human relationships lightly. We should behave in such a manner that if somebody comes to our house, our presence is felt.

This is not a matter of pride. It is a wrong thing which hides our greatness.

Mingle with people with truth and sincerity without any expectations such as: ‘What benefit will I get by moving cordially with my neighbour? What help he will do to me if I just enquire about the welfare of the people in the opposite house?’

Our pleasant approach will shower joy for others and gentleness to us.

By our joyful dealings, let us shower happiness profusely on others and experience peace within ourselves.

Children

❖ Children need not be brought up; they just grow up.

❖ The greatest gift by the parents to the children is that, in the name of bringing them up, they neither change the direction of their children’s growth nor hinder the progress of their growth.

❖ Instead of claiming it as a right: ‘This is my child,’ and making the child as a possession, value the child as a life which has made you father/mother. Then the child will be seen as God.

❖ We should realize that mere giving food, clothes and protection; scolding them sometimes and cuddling them at other times, is not ‘bringing up.’

❖ Punishing a child is not 100 % wrong; pampering a child is also not 100 % correct.

❖ Spoiling a child in the name of bringing her/him up or failing to bring up the child to avoid spoiling the child – both are 100 % wrong.

❖ First of all, start finding out the deficiencies in your behavioral patterns and correct them as early as possible; secondly, find out the wrongs being done by average parents in the name of bringing up the children. You grow to make your children grow. Both are 100 % correct.

Children are gods, since the divine qualities of innocent smile and clarity in the eyes are always present in children.

Children do not act from their heads.

Children always act from their hearts.

Since children act (till they are seven) from their hearts, their power of grasping will be total. Whatever they have seen or known, whether right or wrong, will get registered in them as it is. They themselves will become those imprints. The experiences one gets in his tender ages determine the basic qualities of a person.

Some people ask me whether bad people become so due to being brought up badly in their childhood. It cannot be said that there is always some thing wrong in the methods of upbringing. The mistake lies always in the lack of maturity in those who bring up the child.

Even though there may be differences in the maturity levels of those who bring up the children, we cannot find fault with the methods as they do have the desire, sincerity, love and affection to see that their children grow up well.

A man who is fully mature cannot bring up a child in a wrong way. In the same way, a parent, without adequate amount of maturity and with average feelings of hatred, irritation, envy, grief etc., however much they read or listen about child-rearing methods, cannot bring up the child properly.

Children do not observe our words or our expectations, since these are related to the mind. Children wholly absorb only our facial expressions and our feelings, because these are related to the heart.

Mostly, people live their lives with a masked face. They have to hide their real feelings, desires and anger for various reasons and act as per the demands of the circumstances. As they have practiced living this sort of double lives, they almost forget how to live with their heart and soul and with real feelings.

Like cotton, the children’s minds absorb the colors we exhibit and give. This is an intricate truth. If a child grows always seeing quarrelling parents, it will get ingrained in the child’s mind that quarrelling is a part of life. The seed of confusion and fear is sown in its tender mind. Such children grow up to become angry men and rebels.

If a child grows up seeing their parents live without any quarrels, loving, caring for each other, it will then get implanted in such a child’s mind that love, helping others, etc. are all part of life, a way of life.

For a mind which has been planted with the feelings of love, culture and similar good things, aggression, anger, fight, harming others, etc. will appear as poison.

The child growing under the care of the first type of parents, to become a ‘good’, ‘loving’, and ‘cultured’ child, lots of efforts are required.

However, the child who grows under the care of the second type of parents need not take any special efforts at all to become a good, loving and cultured adult. These things will come naturally for that child.

Poor children! Children are gods; nobody refutes it. But until the child becomes a grown up, you, the mother or the father, is their Guru and God.

The child sees God and the world only through us. Our small mistakes and our immaturity will all add up to poisoning the child’s tender mind. They will not even be aware that they are absorbing poison (for their qualities of mind, and in regard to money). They entirely believe us, so try to feed them with nectar.

Our mature mind is that nectar. In addition to accumulating wealth, we also acquire good culture. Besides gathering name and fame, let’s acquire clarity of mind. Instead of learning methods of bringing up children, strive to learn the methods of growing up ourselves, which is of paramount importance.

Learn to learn

❖ Every sudden turning point of our life is waiting with lessons we have to necessarily learn

❖ Every incident in our life: Veda.

❖ Every person we come across: Teacher.

❖ Every moment of our life: Meditation.

❖ The main reason for all our troubles is only our failure to learn whatever we had to learn when required.

First, I will tell you a story. There was a religious preacher by name Abichithananda. He was very famous for his spiritual lectures. Thousands of people would listen to his lectures with rapt attention when he talked about Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita. That preacher, who was above sixty years of age, got a doubt suddenly one day.

His doubt was: ‘Have I completed the task for which I have taken birth in this world?’

Always contemplating on that, he roamed about here and there without peace of mind. He consulted right from the doctors to great enlightened Masters in search of a solution. It was of no use.

In that same place there was a Christian Father, whom many people approached with their problems and received solutions. Some people told the preacher, ‘If you approach him, you may get an answer to your question.’

Thinking ‘What is the Father going to say? He will give me a Bible and ask me to read. Anyway, let me go and see him,’ he started out. After listening silently to Abichithananda, the Father took out a book.

The Father said to him: ‘Oh friend! There are answers in this book for whatever questions you ask. If you read this, you will realize yourself.’ He gave him the book. The book he gave was not the Bible. It was Bhagavad Gita.

Abichithananda was disappointed. He asked, ‘For the last 30 years, my job was to deliver lectures on Bhagavad-Gita. You are asking me to read Bhagavad Gita myself.’

Abichithananda was shocked when the Father said, ‘It is all right that you read Bhagavad Gita for thirty years. But you have read it only for others. Now read it for your own sake. You will get answers to your questions.’

We also suffer on various occasions the same faults that Abichithananda did. We do not observe either from the incidents that happen in our lives or when we read good books, as to what they tell us. Whatever we have grasped from the good books or from our life experiences, we use them only to brag about ourselves, and we forget about trying to realize our true selves.

If some one tells us about charity, instead of thinking what we have donated ourselves, we start lamenting ‘Oh, my neighbor is a great miser. When approached for Murugan temple Kumbabhishekam,( a Vedic ritual) he gave just ten rupees and left it at that.’

In this world, however small a matter may be, learn from whatever it teaches. In this way, we can make ourselves grow and progress in life. Each and every incident in life contains great secrets. This truth will be known to us only when we begin respecting other people and life fully.

Learning to learn is only learning to respect other people and also life. After we have learned fully to respect, we will find that the teacher, the Vedas and meditation; all these exist around us. Learn to learn the secrets of life. Begin to respect the world and the relationships. Truths will begin to be revealed.