19. Dismiss fears to enjoy life
Do we work when we are at work?
Actually we do not! When we are at work, we wonder what we are missing at home. If we are at home, we think, 'I wonder what is happening at work.' However, when we take a vacation, we sit on the beach thinking about what might be happening at both home and work!
When we worry at office, we call it work. When we worry at home, we call it decisions. When we worry at beach, we call it vacation. Be Aware! We are in constant fear of missing something and being left out of something.
This fear, that we are missing out on something, is the root cause for our all our fears. All our fears have their root in fear of death. If we examine it closely, we realize that it is not that we actually fear death. What we fear or we are afraid of missing is what we think we will actually be missing. We live in the constant fear that we have not done everything we wanted to do with our life time or now. We fear that we did not live our life to the fullest extent. We even fear that we have not lived our life. Our fear of death is actually the fear which says, 'I have not lived my life. I am not ready to die.'
Understand! This fear, this voice telling us that we are not ready for death, is not the only one in our mind or head. We have several other voices running in our head. Our being is the sum total of all these voices. We are not sensitive enough to grasp that.
We have the voice of our mother, father, teacher, neighbor, professor, movie idols directing us every minute.
Be clear! All these voices are just noise!
If there was only one voice inside us we wouldn't have any problem. Our mind will move like a river. We will flow like a river. We will be free like the water in the river.
Understand this beautiful concept. Our mind is almost like a river. Fear, worry, and guilt are the rocks that block the flow and create a whirlpool. They create an energy block. Just like a blood clot, it creates an energy block in our being.
We will miss more in our life when we are not in our life. Flow with the present and enjoy whatever we are doing. Fears will melt away!
20. Morality is customized!
Are you confused with the rules for leading a good life? Look deeper for clarity.
On the outside every religion seems to be saying different things. For Hindus vegetarianism is right; for Christians non vegetarian food is no taboo. A Hindu can marry only once; but in Islam you can marry four times. A Hindu can't drink alcohol and liquor; but in Christianity, Jesus himself consumed wine.
In South Bharat, fish is considered as non vegetarian food. In Bengal, they call it Gangaphal (fruit from the Ganga). Bengali brahmins (priestly class) eat fish. There is no Bengali house which doesn't have a small pond in front of their house. They grow fish. They eat fresh fish. The enlightened master Ramakrishna used to eat fish. Bengali brahmins eat fish every day and fish is considered as vegetarian food. For Bengalis, fish, sweet, and tobacco are the basic requirements. Ramakrishna used to smoke. Vivekananda used to smoke. They were enlightened masters, without a doubt.
There are so many rules, so many regulations in different places, different situations and different societies. As we look deeper, we begin to realize that our understanding about what is right and what is wrong isn't always the same.
Yet, our guilt begins with our understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Let us analyze, what is the scale to measure right or wrong?
We measure it based on local customs and traditions. A custom, during the course of several years, becomes solidified into a moral code, or morality.
If we read the ancient scriptures, epics of Bharat, such as Mahabharata, Princess Draupadi was married to five men! Today she would be behind bars! Kunti was married to five men! Kunti's sons, all five of them, were born of different men! Draupadi lived with five men! Neither Kunti nor Draupadi were considered immoral in their times or place.
Let us open our eyes to explore, observe, and appreciate the plurality around us. There are so many kinds of life systems, so many different customs around the world. Each of these has led to so many different kinds of morality; so many different kinds of life structure and so may different kinds of thinking systems.
At different times special rules were prescribed by leaders. What is morality in one society is immorality in another. In some society some thing is right and in some other society the same thing is wrong.
Life is full of contradictions. THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM says, Don't let them rule you.
21. Free Flow of Energy is Intelligence
Our being is like a river.
Our mind is like a stream, a river. Any guilt we have is like a rock. It blocks the flow and creates a whirlpool. Guilt blocks the energy flow. Any guilt we carry blocks the energy flow. It is like a blood clot.
Guilt not only creates energy clot that blocks the flow of energy, it also kills our intelligence. It creates a rocky river which cannot be navigated. As long as we flow like a river, without blocks, we will express extraordinary intelligence in our life.
We will not only express intelligence we will also express different kind of intelligence. The source of our intelligence is from bliss. The bliss is an inexhaustible source of energy.
The moment we create guilt we create an energy clot inside our mind. Understand one thing. Guilt is the root for many of our problems. It is rooted in our fear of death. When we think that we haven't achieved anything we want to, we develop fear for death. Guilt is the root of greed. We think that we might be able to wipe out the guilt by acquiring new things or winning social acclaim. Yet, because we obtain something with guilt at the root we can't enjoy anything we acquire.
We can watch and understand the circuit of our mind or thoughts. We develop and create guilt or hurt when we can't achieve something. To this guilt, add a generous amount of fear of death hiding in our mind. Now, cover this guilt and fear with a shroud of greed. We are left with constant restlessness and the feeling that our life is not flowing. It feels stagnant.
Release these blocks and allow the being to flow smoothly. Let the intelligence express itself. Let us experience the inexhaustible bliss. Every one of us can do it if we know how.
How to get there? We have to let go of the guilt and remove the energy blocks in our being. Let us release our being so that it can flow.
Second, we need to live in the moment. Explore and experience every moment completely. Accept everything the moment brings. We will be constantly surprised at the depth of every minute. We will be amazed at the riches every moment can offer. We will experience bliss if we constantly live in the moment. Our greed automatically melts away when we surrender to each moment.
Our intelligence will flower and our being will flow like a river.