Open the Door... Let the Breeze in!

Part 3: Open the Door... Let the Breeze in!

Insult

'Insult' is something which is discovered by our mind, based on our status, age, religion etc.
Generally, if a person is higher in status, age, and position higher than we and speaks or behaves with us in a manner of slight disrespect, we give it a name 'liberty' (Oh, how much liberty he takes with me, etc! It is all affection!)
On the other hand. if a person who is lower to us in status, age or position behaves with slight disrespect to us, we call it by the name 'Insult' (If I give a little room, see how much liberty he takes with me, etc! It is all very bad!).
Insult is only a mental illusion.

Many times, the reason for being sorrowful is: the insults we suffer!

'You seem to be literate persons! You don't know how to write a bank loan application?'

'It is now six years since you got married. Still no issues?'

'Throw away all your experiences in the trash. Listen to that supervisor.'

Like so, we are insulted ten to fifteen times each day. We are surrounded by people who want us to bow down our heads, by insulting us.

We have to live only in the midst of such bad people. It is not necessary for us to take seriously the acts of those people who intentionally want to insult us. It is good to be unmindful with them and ignore them to the maximum extent possible.

What does it mean to be unmindful or ignoring them? To explain that sort of state of mind, let me tell you a Khalil Gibran story.

A tourist suddenly entered the country of Lebanon. He knew nothing about Lebanon. There was a big hotel looking like a big palace. He saw people going in and coming out of it. He felt very happy on seeing this and said to himself, ' Aha! what sort of big arrangements they have made to receive me knowing that I am coming here!' He coolly entered into that hotel. Four girls welcomed him. Politely they seated him on a nice cushioned seat. Tasty food was served to him.

The tourist was extremely happy. He said to himself, 'Only these people know my real merit and greatness.'

After he finished his food, the hotel staff gave him the bill. He felt happy, took the bill and put it in his pocket saying, 'Oh, as though this much respect given to me is not enough, they are even giving it to me in writing! '

The hotel staff was shocked. They thought 'When we gave him the bill, instead of paying the money, he is keeping the bill in his pocket. Either he must be a fool or acting to deceive us. Instead of our tackling him, we will produce him before the court. Let the judge punish him.' Hence, they took him to the police. Without properly understanding it, the tourist thought, 'Oh, next, they are taking me to the king's palace, I suppose' and he went happily.

In the court, neither did anyone understand what he said, nor did he understand what the judge said to him. The judge could neither understand whether this man was a fool. He ordered that the tourist be made to ride on a donkey and paraded in the streets, with his face painted with red and black paint dots as a punishment.

But the tourist did not at all take it as an insult. He thought that in Lebanon this is the respectful way in which they will show the town to a visitor and so was happy.

He did not bother even though he was insulted in so many ways. The whole problem was solved for the Lebanese people only when the tourist was literally bundled and thrown out into his own country, as there was no other way out for them.

Generally people approach insult in three ways:

First type: As in the case of the above tourist, in spite of being insulted by various people, they will go to the very same people and get insulted again and again repeatedly. They are not even aware there is a better way. They are dull in their minds.

Second type: Those who get angry for anything and everything. Such people always possess a false sense of prestige and also invent and search for instances of their having been insulted by some people and will say, 'you insulted me in such and such manner in such place,' etc. They always live in an imaginary world of insults.

Third type: Wonderful persons, cultured people. They are of the fact that there is no such thing called insult. They have fully realized the fact that what we consider as insults are only the beatings that we receive to our egos, and they are beyond all these. As they have totally transcended their egos, they are not affected even if they are insulted by anybody.

Those who have attained the ultimate experience of Divine consciousness can never be insulted by anyone. Even if someone insults, it will be related only to the body. The feeling of being insulted will never occur to those persons who have become mature enough as to not to get affected by any- thing.

A very good example for these third type of persons is Ram Tirth. There was an enlightened Master by the name of Ram Tirth living in America. Whenever he was talking about himself, he would never use the word 'I.' Instead he would refer to himself only as 'Ram.'

Once it so happened that he was grossly insulted, but Ram never cared about it.

Someone asked him, 'When such an insult has been thrown on you how is it that you are not at all bothered about it and how you are able to be so calm and quiet?'

Laughingly he said, 'Whatever you call as insult happened only to Ram.'

This is a great state of mind, which is beyond the body. Insult is possible only where there is ego. This truth is experientially realized by such persons. This is a peaceful state.

It is the ultimate aim of every one of us to attain this great peaceful state. We can strive to reach this state in three different ways:

Ignoring all the insults.
Facing the insult.
Going beyond the illusion of insult.

You are intelligent if you adopt any of these three ways. Progress well continuously on the path of life. Those who are affected by insults, learn to ignore them. Those who have learned to ignore, learn to bear them. Those who have learned to bear them, learn to jump over and go beyond that.

Don't Worry, Brother!

Every moment of life, when there is no light of happiness, then the darkness of sorrow will come and fill it.
Bliss is that condition which is beyond happiness and sorrow.
Nobody is in happiness permanently. Many can say when a sorrow will come and how long will it remain. But even a few cannot say when happiness will come and how long will it stay. That's why happiness is 'Dosha' or affliction.
Sorrow is a poison to happiness. Happiness is a medicine for worries.

In the last century, a man from Coimbatore went to Thaniavur to meet a Veena Vidwan (Veena, a musical instrument; vidwan is a musician) to draw up a contract with him to play for a function that he was celebrating in his place.

After arranging things, when he was starting back, he recommended to the vidwan a particular person to play ghatam for him, to accompany him in his music program, saying that people in his place like his ghatam playing very much.

Feeling offended with this, and due to envy of the ghatam vidwan getting name and fame, he said, 'It is all right that he may be an expert in playing ghatam, but due to enthusiasm he will toss up his ghatam some times and when he does so, if the ghatam, being a mud pot, falls down and breaks into pieces, it will be a bad omen for you.'

The Coimbatore man did not go to the house of ghatam player and silently returned home without engaging him to play.

The program day was approaching. Having come to know that he has not been invited to play ghatam, the ghatam vidwan came to his house to ask him why he had not been invited. He in turn explained to him what happened.

The ghatam vidwan listened to him patiently and then began to talk, saying 'It is all right that the veena vidwan may be an expert in playing veena and he can even be compared to the Goddess Saraswathi. But when they carry the veena instrument, covering it with a white cloth and bringing it with both hands, it will appear as though they are carrying into the house a dead body. On such an auspicious day, when you want to really celebrate nicely, should such a bad omen happen at all? You can decide yourself.' On hearing this, the Coimbatore man was shocked.

After the ghatam player left, he decided not to have any music program to celebrate the function.

Why did I tell you this story? It is only to show how one person's envy has affected the ego of three persons. If the problem of ego comes, the first casualty will be happiness only. Therefore it is our job not to allow the ghost of envy to raise its ugly head in us at all.

Another easy way to retain happiness is not worrying at all. Lord Krishna is never seen to be worried or sorrowful. That is why he was able to be in bliss always.

When an aircraft flies in the sky, safety is mostly in the hands of the pilot. The flight will not be enjoyable if we don't believe that the pilot is really capable and responsible for our life and property.

In the worldly life also, the only best way to be blissful is to do our duties, leaving the burden of our care entirely to the divine energy. The first step to bliss is to remove the thinking from our mind that we are the doer.

As a poet has said. 'Keenly watch the glass fish tanks. In them we can see the golden fish swimming joyfully with colorful dreams.' We can observe that the fish do not worry about the water becoming messy due to their playful splashing, jumping, etc. Think about the blossoming flowers in the mornings, spreading a nice fragrance all around. Watch the small birds like sparrows, which enjoy in the musically running rivers. When nature itself is so happy, why should man have worries?

Reason: In a place when light disappears, the next moment itself darkness spreads without any one inviting it. When happiness begins to reduce in a man, the very next instant sorrow begins to appear in his mind.

The three main factors which reduce the happiness in a man are: jealousy, disbelief and ego.

Our nature will be revealed in each of our words and actions. If we observe carefully, we can find out the factors which reduce our happiness from our own words and actions. Try it . . . .

What? Have we found out the reasons for our sorrows? Then what are we thinking and waiting for? Let's begin to root out the factors which reduce our happiness.

By removing whatever is hiding the light from us, brightness will increase, darkness will go away. Our joy will begin to increase when we begin to remove from our minds whatever is reducing our happiness. Sorrows will begin to disappear.

Brothers! Sisters!

Don't worry. Be happy and joyful. Then, go beyond that and be blissful.

Origin of All Worries

心 The condition of a man who is not bold enough to face worries, but is desirous of possessing anything and everything -- PATHETIC (Reason: unfulfilled desires become worries)

必 It is human nature to desire everything. The mind will also encourage that, but, before you desire, think for yourself: Is it possible? Or impossible?

必 It is easy to desire anything, but it is rather hard to let a desire go when we know that it is impossible to achieve. So it is wise to think well before we desire. It is easy, too.

હુન I know how to desire. If I come to know that it is impossible or not necessary, I also know how to drop it! I don't worry about worries.

If we have maturity to approach life with this attitude. we can verv well desire for anvthing. No harm. We can aspire for anything. It's O.K.

'How are vou?' >>'I am fine; O.K.' >'All are fine in your home?' >>'By God's grace, all are fine." >'How is the business going on?' >> 'Fantastic. The One above looks after everything without any worries.'

Our conversation proceeds in the above fashion. Outwardly, everybody shows that he is all right. But each one knows only for himself how much troubles and worries he is undergoing.

Everybody is surely ambitious to live without any sort of worries. The fact that we are not aware that only desires are the main root cause for all sorts of our worries is the main reason for all troubles.

It is only desires that sow the seeds for doing any sort of work. By the time one desire is fulfilled the next one comes along. Due to this continuous flow of desires in our mind, we are always engaged in either doing or thinking about some work or the other.

Even though we possess enough of every thing. most of us continue to worry about some thing or the other. Why do we worry so much? Let me explain this through this story.

One day Mr. THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAMrajan went to a restaurant, ordered for a lot of items and ate them. Finally he told the waiter 'Bring me some sweet beeda (betel leaves with lime, nuts and spices) to chew,' and went to wash his hands.

The waiter had brought and kept the beeds on a plate and was waiting for Mr. THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM. When THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM returned to his table, he asked the waiter, 'I asked you to bring only beeda, but what is this paper you have brought?' The waiter replied, 'This is the bill for what you have eaten. You have to pay Rs.545' Frightened at this Mr.THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM said 'I asked for only some food. I never ordered this bill; who asked for this?' Though this story looks funny, it has a deep meaning. The bill for Rs.545, was only as a result of THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM having ordered and eaten so much food. We also begin to do various things driven by our desires. But we refuse to accept the worries that also come along with them.

In whatever activity we get engaged, there is always pleasure as well as pain. If only we involve ourselves wholeheartedly and with full attention in whatever we do (for example, if we read, read with full attention, when we eat tasty food, enjoy fully and eat; while doing any work, do the same fully realizing the responsibilities). . . . . .

First of all, we will get a sense of satisfaction.

Second, there will not be any chance for the next desire to rise up. Desire ..... worries ..... next desire.....this cycle will come to a halt.

The reason for not being able to do any work fully is because of the desires rising without any limit. With whatever speed we throw the ball of desire on the wall of life, having so many limitations, it will bump back and return with the same speed.

The number of our worries is the same as that of our desires reduce, worries also automatically reduce. We select our worries through our desires.

The moment we understand this fact, we begin to step into a contented and peaceful life. Having known now that only desires are the main reason for our worries, why hesitate then? Think clearly.

Just leaving from our minds all unnecessary and unachievable desires, we will soon realize that we have unloaded most of our burden of worries. This is definitely possible!

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Sorrow: Way to Hell

Do we wish to peep into Heaven? Laugh.
Do we wish to peep into Hell? Feel Sorrowful
If our mind is happy and enthusiastic, even a blade of grass will appear as a weapon. Even in small possibilities we will be able to perceive that impossible things are possible.
If we are mentally tired, we will have fear, even though a big army is behind us and we will begin to think, 'Now it's OK: but I don't know when I will be defeated next. Our mental perception will recognize clearly only small possibilities in things which are real possibilities.

A survey was conducted to find out 'which disease has actually affected mankind most in this century.' It was thought that it may be anything like AIDS, cancer, blood-pressure, diabetes, poverty, etc.

But the result of the survey was quite unexpected. It was known that SORROW affected mankind the most. The reason for this was found to be DEPRESSION. The biggest problem for humanity in this century is only depression.

How are sorrow and depression, which affect mankind so much formed? Listen to this story.

In a village, there was a woman who was always sad about her sons, who were living in a city nearby. She came to know that an enlightened Master, who solved all sorts of problems for people, had come to the adjacent village. She went to see him.

She asked the Master 'Oh Master. I am always worried about my sons. Please tell me some ways that my sons will see better times.'

The Master asked, 'Is it so? Why are you always sad thinking about your sons?'

The woman replied, 'See, now it is rainy season. My first son is doing salt business. In the rains all the salt will get wet, and since there is no sun he cannot make salt at all. '

' After a few days, it will be summer. My second son has a business selling winter caps. During summer because of sun, due to want of buyers, he cannot do any business.'

'If my first son is not able to earn money for six months in a year and my second son is not able to earn for the next six months either, how can I be happy?' she asked.

The Master said, 'Why are you troubling yourself unnecessarily? Thank God for your first son being able to do good salt business during summer. And, feel happy for your second son being able to do good business of winter clothes during winter. Then you see that your grief goes away!'

In the same way, many people feel always sad, worrying about something or the other. As the Master said, that woman could have remained happy throughout the year.

Being happy or sad depends only on how we approach our lives. We will feel sad only if we do not have a clear mind. Dwelling over experiences of the past and worrying about the future only result in sadness.

It is a normal thing for a person to experience grief once in awhile. But to be always in grief and anxiety is terrible! Being in grief has become a habit. There is an easy way to be free from grief or depression.

Be always active and busy. To be always active, may not be possible. We cannot become active by telling ourselves, 'I am active, I am active, busy,' etc. only by reading some books on the subject.

Being always alert and active is a thing which should blossom from within us. Whether you are a student or a family man, involve yourself totally and take all necessary responsibilities.

We can live an enthusiastic, active and busy life to the extent that we actually take on responsibilities. Then depression will come nowhere near us.

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GOD

God has form.
な God has no form
Form, formless; both are God.
God is beyond form and formless.
God is a concept created by man.
❖ There is nothing in the universe as God.
There is nothing in the universe other than God.
The statement 'God is everything' is the many faces of the one truth in all the above statements.
It is the nature of the mind to hang on to any one of the above statements and then go on discussing it with all possible imagination. It is human nature.
Instead of all sorts of discussions, it will be of use if only we pass on beyond the mind and reach (God) deep inside. Only time will be wasted in futile discussions. No use.

One day a blind man was brought to the Buddha. Though he was good at debating about all sorts of philosophies as if he had Mastered them.

On all sorts of subjects, he would not stop without proving that he was always right. Anybody arguing with him would have to compulsorily listen to him only and could never change the ideas of the blind man.

For example, he will emphatically assert that there is no such thing like light in the world. If someone said there is light, can you imagine how he would begin to argue?

'If something called light really exists, catch hold of it and show it to me.'

The blind man would also argue 'I want to go around it; smell it: touch and play with it. If all these can be done, then I will accept that there is light.' How can anybody catch light or who can go around it or play with it?

Since nobody could do all these things, it appeared that the blind man was going to be proven correct. He would also roam about with the pride that he had won; and there was nobody to win over him in his arguments. People did not know how to make him realize the fact.

He was taken to Buddha. Immediately the blind man started arguing. 'There is no such thing called light. If it is there, prove it.'

Without a word in reply, Buddha asked his doctor to examine and treat him. The blind man did not argue, and as a result, he received his vision. As soon as he got the blind man's joy knew no bounds. He enjoyed seeing all colors. Then bringing some flowers and fruits, he offered them at the feet of Buddha and prostrated.

The blind man spoke from the depth of his heart: 'O Lord Buddha! Blindly I have been arguing with everybody. Others also argued with me and destroyed me. It is good that you have not argued with me. If you also had argued. I too would have argued with you and I might have been ruined. But now I well understand that light exists.'

There are many among us who argue unnecessarily with pride and without any substance. It does not matter if they talk about anything else. But it is dangerous if they begin to argue whether or not God exists. Many times, atheists will come to me and draw me into arguments saying 'Is there a God? Can you prove it?'

I will emphatically tell them that there is a God. If they persist, I will be silent in the same way Buddha was with the blind man. In this particular matter, keeping silent is not an indication of defeat. If we try to prove that there is a God, and if it is proved, that matter will become bigger than God Himself. It is not a small or low matter requiring proof. It is not an ordinary matter.

God is such a state that is beyond proof by ordinary human common sense. It can only be experienced. In the same way as it is not possible to prove light to a blind man, it is impossible to prove God to an atheist.

The fact that God cannot be proven is by itself the proof that God is beyond human understanding and knowledge. Here is a story:

In a cold and snowy place, there was a snake lying frozen like a wooden stick. A blind man passing by that way stumbled upon it and took it in his hand. Feeling over it, the blind man was happy and said to himself, 'I have a good stick to help me to walk with.' An enlightened Master, passing that way, saw what he was doing and warningly said to him 'Oh Sir, it is not a stick but a snake; shortly there will be sunlight. Once the sun comes out, the snake will be free and become normal and will harm you.' The blind man did not accept what the Master said. He thought to himself that he had a good stick and the Master was only trying to take it away from him. Only after the snake bit him did he realize the truth.

In the same way, whenever enlightened Masters try to save mankind, man makes his own life a hell, due to ignorance and doubts.

Instead of asking questions such as 'Where is God, why God, what for God?', and leaving it at that, ask and analyze yourself by asking "How will God be? Why should there not be God?" You can realize God totally and fully. If you get that experience, then that is BLISS!

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The Principle Behind Temples

Devotion! Energy! Salvation! These three are intricately connected to one another.
Fulfillment of devotion is the revelation of Energy. Fulfillment of energy is the revelation of Salvation.
Your quantum of absorption of devotion determines the quantum of absorption of Energy.
Mostly there is no relationship between real devotion and what we think is devotion.

If it is in the form of: 'I want this, that...... Please save me from this, that ... If only you give me this ......... '

Then it is only bargaining or business with God, believing that it is devotion.

Bubbling with devotional emotion transcending as feeling of thanksgiving and saying: 'Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks for giving me this, that .... Thanks that I am alive this minute .... Thanks for whatever you have done to me so far and still going to do ..... '

Praising and thanking the divine force from the depths of your heart, breathing deeply at this very moment, and praying thus; then, that only is true devotion.

Why do we feel a sense of peace when we go to a temple, sit there and return home? Why do we also feel a sense of peace when we have been sitting in a beautiful scenic atmosphere and return back home?

The reason is nothing but enriching ourselves with energy. Unpolluted energy will always be there in nature in a scenic and beautiful atmosphere. Our body gets refreshed and our mind becomes calm only because our body and mind get energized by nature similar to a battery getting charged.

When a person goes to a temple, church or mosque and prays with a state of sincere devotion (sincere devotion is meditation), unknowingly he stands before the divine presence with a wide open heart. Each and every one of God's sanctum sanctorum are small energy centers. If we keep our hearts open, that is, if we are in a state of open mind, then, as per law of nature, the cosmic energy will descend and fill us up to make up any deficiency of energy within us. Going to temples gives satisfaction to many mainly due to this.

How and from where do these temples derive the divine energy? If an enlightened Master establishes and plants an idol or anything at a particular 'sacred location,' his experiential divine energy will continue to flow there forever ...

We can know this from a lot of examples. The establishment of the holy town of Tirupathi and the sacred installation of the presiding deity there were done by an enlightened Master by the name of KONGANAVA. Every Master leaves a particular type of energy in each temple he establishes. All the famous temples are so famous in their own different and unique ways due to this reason.

There are two main reasons why our prayers are being answered in holy places:

1. Our open minds, true and sincere devotion.
2. The presence of divine energy in that place.

While it was BOGAR, an enlightened Master, who established the hill temple of Palani, it was KAROORAR in the case of Thanjavur Big Temple. It was IDAIK-KATTU SIDDHAR who established the Tiruvannamalai temple, which symbolizes the fire form of divine energy. The temple at Chidambaram was established by a great Master named Patanjali.

The reason for the millions of people visiting Mecca continuously is the divine energy released therein by the enlightened Master (messenger of God), Mohammed Nabi. It is only because of the benefits derived from that divine energy resulting in satisfied and fulfilled desires, etc, that people continue to visit this place again and again.

The reason for the huge crowds of people visiting Velankanni in South Bharat is also due to the presence of the divine energy there.

Each person gets his spiritual feelings and devotional feelings at different places.

It is not important to which temple or place we are going. But it is very important whether we get a feeling of true devotion deep within us or not.

Without a sense of true devotion, if a person goes to a temple just because his parents or somebody asks him to go, or performs it just as a duty, then, if he calls himself a theist, he in fact, is really an atheist.

Such people will remain theists just for name's sake, but, by feelings deep in heart, they will remain only atheists.

It is only because we become enriched by the energy field present in the temples, that when we go and sit and meditate there with true devotion, our body gets refreshed and we get peace of mind. Then we should understand one thing clearly, which is: the reason for our body feeling tired and dull and being without any enthusiasm is only the deficiency of energy.

If we remain without peace of mind, wavering, and feeling restless, with a sense of craving or discontentment, for this also the reason is the deficiency of energy. Hence, it will be enough, if by some means we learn to give energy to our body and mind. We can live happily by correcting the energy deficiency, which is the main cause for all the problems.

Meditation is one technique which enables us to make use of the energy which remains dormant in us.

Going to temples and 'remaining there in the divine presence with a pure devotional mind' is one easy method which takes the energy present outside and feeds it to your body and mind.

Involve yourself totally and fully in whatever you do. When you go to a temple, do not return without sitting there calmly and meditating at least for half an hour.

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Where is God?

& All religions, all spiritual paths containing various prayers and rituals, all meditation techniques are there for us only to realize the gigantic divine power within us.
❖ There are just only two kinds of people
- 1. Man who has become God
- 2. God in the form of man.
Omnipresent, omnipotent is God. -- Spiritual statement
Omnipresent, omnipotent is Energy -- Scientific statement

By analyzing the above, any learned man can easily come to a conclusion.

That is, spirituality identifies 'energy' as 'God' Science identifies 'God' as 'Energy'

Before answering the question 'Where is God?', here is a small story:

A disciple by the name Sevananda was returning to his Ashram. From a distance he saw a huge crowd. Getting curious, he looked inside the crowd and was shocked..... A dog was trying to eat some food from a plate and Sevananda's Master (Guru) was sitting and riding on the dog!

Sevananda could not understand anything. 'What is this nonsense going on here? Oh Master, what are you doing?' he asked utterly confused. The Master replied leisurely. 'Don't you see? Some brahman (god) has kept some brahman on a brahman. One four legged brahman is trying to eat it. Another brahman is riding on it. Many brahmans are standing all around and watching this event. That's all.'

On hearing this, the crowd dispersed saying, 'What is this madness?' But Sevananda felt that there should be some great truth hidden in this statement.

He sat under the nearby tree and started contemplating. The potent words: 'plate, the food, the dog, the Master, the people are all brahmans' were ringing again in the ears of Sevananda. As time passed, words slowly faded and disappeared and feelings of intuition started arising in him. Gradually he started to realize that all things surrounding him were brahmans.

He could realize and understand that the divine energy, God was blissfully moving about in each and everything. In a moment everything changed for Sevananda. The thought of 'I' was lost; instead, the feeling of 'Self' dawned. The fulfilling feeling of 'All is Brahman, everywhere is Brahman is within me too' was born. He experienced the feeling of the ocean of Ananda or Bliss within himself as well as outside continually. Sevananda had the first experience of enlightenment.

All are Brahman; God is everywhere. Divine energy is filled and overflowing at all places. Only to reveal this I have told this story.

As God is present everywhere, there cannot be any place where He is not present; why, this is true even of an atom.

The basic truth in spirituality is that God is in the form of energy and is formless. God can not be an individual. It may be energy. It is only the religions that give shapes and forms to the divine energy. It is, however, a good beginning, not an end.

What is the basis in saving that God is in the form of energy? There is a beautiful explanation in Quantum Physics. It says that 99.99 % of an atom is simply empty space. There are continuous vibrations going on in that empty space. Only these vibrational waves exhibit themselves as energy. Each and everybody is filled with energy. Today science says 'Everything is filled with energy.'

Our enlightened Masters have expressed it this way: 'God is energy and He fills all space and is omnipresent.'

Even thousands of years before science developed, our sages and seers have revealed this truth. They were able to pronounce these truths only on account of certain specific experiences they clearly had, which was beyond reach of normal human minds.

Energy is indestructible; it can only change from one form to the other. Electricity stored in a battery fades away and disappears after some time. Then the iron plate and the carbon pieces become separate bodies and then change to another material or another battery.

In the same manner, the human life, after it becomes an embryo, is born as a child, grows as a man and remains in a human body for a specified time and merges again in the atmosphere.

That very same life which merged with the atmosphere comes alive again and becomes man. In this way, energy appears again and again. In the universal scheme of things, in the universal timetable, human existence is just momentary, like a bubble in the water.

This is the reason the great Masters said. 'God is present in a pillar, and He is there even in a particle of dust.' The basic thing present in these as well as in a man is only energy. This energy is God. Energy is constantly present even when it changes from one form to the other.

Even our body itself is just a shroud or a cover for our life energy. God is very much present in each and every cell, every atom.

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Courage to Make the Unfavorable, Favorable

If we hesitate on seeing an unfavorable situation, the path of life will become darkened. ન્ડ્રન
ું મુ "COURAGE" is one of the great gifts mankind has.
ું જુ Hesitation and drowsiness are both the outcomes of lack of courage.
જુન The fate of our future is written, at this very present moment available to us.
The courage in us is equivalent to the very big banyan tree lying hidden in its seed.

One day a farmer had to cross a forest on a dark night. An enlightened Master who was there gave him a lantern to help him through the forest.

The farmer asked him 'How many miles do I have to walk to reach the town?'

'Ten miles,' replied the Master.

'You say I have to walk ten miles. But this lantern does not seem to show me the way for even ten feet.' grumbled the farmer.

'You start walking and you will know,' said the Master.

Only after starting did the farmer realize the fact that the lantern which showed the way for only ten feet, would continuously give him light, though for ten feet at a time, for the entire ten miles.

There is a Chinese proverb: 'Even a 1000 mile run begins with a small step.'

Don't bother about however big a thing which you are going to face. The solution is small. Finding a solution to a big and rare problem will usually be an aggregation of methods of approach with small, small solutions.

So there is no need to lose heart on seeing the enormous nature of the problems. But we struggle when we face problems. Successful persons do not do so. They know fully well that solution to a problem does exist within the problem itself in the same way a beautiful child remains in the womb of its mother.

Look at those successful men in the world. They have come up in life only after going up the steps of courage, planning, steadfastness, hard labour, God's will ...etc.

Columbus, who discovered America, did not intend to reach America. After his sincere efforts of many years, he started out in a ship given to him by a king. An instinct within him that there was land on the west side persuaded and pushed him to go.

Along with his colleagues he started westward on the sea. He met with a lot of dangers in his venture. Winds, heavy rains and whales opposed him. His friends scolded him saying, 'We would have remained happy with our families in our homes. You have pushed us into the midst of the seas.' Columbus even lost his basic desire for a moment. But he was of the conviction that courage would help and continued.

The next morning, he saw some sea-gulls flocking together in the sky. After some time, he saw some land with lots of trees. He thought of it initially as an island. All were happy. When he alighted from the ship and walked, he came to know that those who lived there were Red Hindus. But for his courage and the ability to face dangers and his perseverance, the name of Columbus would not be found in world history.

Ordinary men are those who make favourable things unfavourable. It is only those who, with courage, convert the unfavourable, and have their names etched in world history.

There is no success without courage. In fact, there is no life without courage. It is enough if there is a feeling of courage. The path for achievement will continue to form by itself.

It is sufficient if we have a little lamp called courage. Clarity of mind will be born to understand life in all its nuances. The energy to change the unfavorable will be born. Stand up and be courageous.

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Heaven or Hell?

It's your Choice

Anger, hatred, anxiety, grief: when any of these happen in us, we really live in hell. In ું જુ those moments, we will only taste a feeling of being in hell.
જુન Peace, happiness, tranquility, love: if these happen to us, we are, for sure in heaven. In such moments we will definitely enjoy a taste of being in heaven.
નું Ananda is that which is beyond these above two kinds of feelings.
ું જુ Gnana or Enlightenment is that state beyond heaven and hell.

Some people, per force, will be doing only good for others. They will be very liberal in matters of donation, charity, etc.

Their intention, in reality, is not wholly doing good for others, but rather to reach heaven after their death.

We have heard about people cursing those who harm others saying 'This man will surely go to hell.' Such curses are being said based on the belief that such people will get the punishment only in the hell. Frying men in very hot oils, roasting in the fire, whipping, etc are some punishments in hell which are explained to us right from childhood and we begin to develop fear, even as children.

Is there really any such thing as a hell or heaven at all? Before finding an answer to this, let us hear this small Zen story:

A warrior asked a Zen Master one day 'Are there really a hell and a heaven?'

The Zen Master asked, 'First tell me who you are.'

He proudly said, 'I am a warrior.'

The Master sarcastically asked 'You! A warrior? Which king will keep you as a guard? Your face looks like a beggar! You don't possess the looks of a warrior!'

Upset at these words, the warrior swiftly got out his sword and rushed to kill the Master.

Stopping him, the Master said, 'This is hell! Realizing his mistake, the warrior put back the sword in its sheath and bowed to the Master with a smile and the Master said. 'Well, this, in fact, is heaven. ' The warrior felt convinced and was happy that he had so easily understood such a big concept.

There is no such thing as heaven or hell geographically. It exists only psychologically.

It is only those who have not understood this fact who are getting caught in such false feelings and are suffering. We have to understand this very big fact that real heaven and hell are not anywhere outside. They are very much within us. Hell is that moment when we are very angry. When our mind is overflowing with love and joy we are, for sure, in heaven.

Those who meet me often ask me how to control anger. As far as I am concerned, it is a very old and aged question. I will tell you some facts about anger.

'If somebody tells you that you are Harshad Mehta and that you have swindled many millions in the stock market, you will simply laugh and you will never get angry. Because you know full well that it is a lie.

But if somebody tells you, 'You are a dishonest rogue,' you become instantaneously angry. Why?

Because this accusation means that there is at least some element of truth. We get upset and start reacting angrily only when we feel somebody has stabbed at the wounds in our minds.

Be careful when becoming angry. Instead of suppressing our anger, examine the reason for our anger. Think on the lines: 'The mistake being on my part, why should I be angry with others?' If we are really innocent and have not committed any mistakes, who can point an accusing finger at us?

We have to notice one thing when we are angry. The magnitude of our anger is always more when it is directed against weak persons.

If a worker of ours is worthy of a salary of one thousand dollars, we pay him only one thousand dollars. We are never liberal and pay three thousand. We never pay many times more than his due.

But if the same worker commits a small mistake, our anger is not of the order of one thousand dollars, but to the tune of five thousand or even more. For one unit of mistake committed, we pour out many units of energy equivalents of anger. Who loses most? Think about it.

When we exhibit an unnecessarily high amount of anger. we are wasting our constructive energy very much. This is the energy required for us to do things in the best manner possible. Those, who become abnormally angry, become dull and weak only on account of losing this energy. So, if unavoidable, limit your anger to the extent much less than what the occasion demands.

Don't be surprised when I say 'you become angry.' Anger is a state of mind. In worldly life, there is a meaning and even a need for it. Only if it exceeds the limit, it becomes a death knell for us.

When we suppress anger within ourselves, it lies dormant in us, waiting to explode anytime. Suppressed anger affects our body in many ways. Those who often become angry and are unable to show it and hence suppress, become vulnerable to blood pressure connected diseases: they get heart-attacks also.

However, side effects happen only when anger exceeds certain limits. So, if the horse named anger is under our control, we can ride safely on it and reach our destination. On the other hand, an uncontrollable horse will kick us and throw us down onto the ground.

Only an anger exceeding a limit becomes a curse. To escape from this curse, escape from limitless anger. Conserve energy. You will begin to move towards liberation.

In anger, man lives in hell, and is so also during such moments of suffering from grief and pain. As in happiness and joy, man lives in heaven during all such moments which make him feel pleasure and enthusiasm.

If we try, we can create our own heaven. Heaven and hell, without any doubt, are in the hands of man! Let's create our own heaven and enjoy.

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Good Luck? Or Bad Luck?

Generally speaking, it can be said:
Good luck and bad luck come and go of their own accord in Life.
One can enjoy good luck or digest bad luck only if one has the courage and maturity to face them.
心 If observed keenly, it can be understood that there are absolutely no separate states existing as good luck or bad luck.
We are happy if we get good things in life easily without much strain or labor. Also, we feel sad if something does not give the desired results in spite of our best efforts in all manners.
Both good and bad luck in life depend not only upon results but also differ according to happy or sad states of our minds.
Results together with our state of mind are what create good or bad luck.
'An abundance of luck' is waiting for one who is eager to utilize every minute of life usefully.
Imaginary 'Bad luck, aplenty,' of course, is waiting too, for one who is dull and lazy and wastes time unduly.

A small story: Once upon a time in China, in a particular year, there was no rain and hence all the crops had withered away. But in one particular farmer's land there was an abundance of crop waiting for harvest. So everyone praised him saying he was a lucky man. But the farmer simply said 'Good luck or bad luck, I don't understand anything. I also don't understand the reason why you are saying this.'

When he was about to do the harvest, the previous night, some horses from the adjacent hillside came and destroyed all his crops. Then all the surrounding farmers gathered together and said 'Oh! What bad luck has descended on you.' But the farmer again said, 'Good luck , I don't know anything.'

The son of that farmer trained some of the hill horses and was riding on one such horse. But, while so doing, somehow he fell down and broke his leg.

Again all the farmers gathered and said, 'It's good luck, all right, you got some of those hill horses, but it is surely ill-luck that your son got his leg broken.' One more time the farmer repeated 'I don't know good luck, bad luck and such.'

That very same evening, the army men came to that place and recruited all able-bodied youngsters. They left the farmer's son because he was injured and took all others.

All the farmers now said to this farmer. 'Oh. it is your good luck that your son has not been taken.' This time also, the farmer said that he did not know whether it was good luck or bad luck.

If we have to live happily, it is essential that we too should possess the state of mind of this farmer. We should never worry at all about good or bad lucks.

Our duty is to work hard without any kind of expectations.

As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita 'Do your duty without expecting any particular results.' This only goes to show that we should only continue to work without stagnating at any stage.

Many feel that they are not successful in spite of hard work. They don't realize that hard work by itself is a success in a way. One can convert bad luck into good luck by the depth of the labor.

When Alexander the Great was returning home with pride of having won more than half of the world, he saw a great saint sitting on his way near his hometown. Alexander went to him to say that he was conquering almost the entire world.

But the saint, without any hint of respect whatsoever, gestured to him silently to move aside. Alexander could not understand why he did so. The saint was simply enjoying the golden yellow sunset.

For an enlightened Master who lives enjoying every moment of his life, that is, who always lives happily in the 'present moment,' he will not at all be afraid of anybody, be it even a king. An enlightened Master who is always blissful will not mind about Alexander the Great or anybody else for that matter. The reason: he has no fear.

It is always fear, which is a wound in the mind that magnifies even ordinary simple things in life. If we drop the fear and begin to face life, bad luck will never threaten us. If we can do that, then cravings such as 'I am not lucky; I don't think I will ever be lucky…etc' will not be there.

If we turn our minds from fear to courageousness we can convert bad luck into good luck.

Only the fear and lack of hard work ignites in us the fire of expectations of good luck. The very same factors spread the smoke of ill-luck, etc. around even simple things in your life, which you are unable to digest. Bad luck is nothing but what one cannot digest about ordinary life situations.