THE SAHASRARA CHAKRA
(Sahasrara = 'thousand petalled' - from the mystical experience of a thousand-petalled lotus blooming on the crown when this chakra is activated)
Located: On the crown of the head Locked by: Discontentment, taking life for granted Unlocked by: Gratitude and bliss Meditation technique from: Sufism (Islam) Name of technique: Sahasrara Dhyana
All our life, we pray to God. But our relationship with God is only a business, a bargain.
A man prays to God every day: O God, I don't have enough money! Please help me win a big lottery worth ten million rupees! If I win, I promise you I'll offer 20% of my winnings at your shrine!… and if you don't believe me, why don't you deduct 2 million yourself, and give me only the remaining 8 million?!
(uproarious laughter from audience)
All our dealings with God are exactly like this!
One day a fakir (poor mendicant) went to Emperor Akbar's palace. He wanted to request Akbar to give him some land to build a shrine. Akbar was famous for not turning away anyone who asked for help. When the man reached the palace, Akbar was offering his prayers to god. So the man waited outside the prayer hall with the others. When the king came out, everybody made their requests and received help from Akbar. Only the fakir turned away to return without asking for anything. But Akbar spotted him and called him back.
Why did you not ask for anything?, he asked the fakir. The fakir replied frankly,
Your Majesty, when I was waiting outside, I heard you praying to god. You had such a long list of requests! I felt as if you were even poorer than me! I thought that if I anyway have to beg, why beg from another beggar? Why not directly approach god, who provides for you and me and all humanity?
There are only two kinds of religion in the world: religions based on prayer, and religions based on gratitude.
The religion of prayer can be followed by the masses. The religion of gratitude can be followed only by a select few.
That's why the world's major religions are all based on prayer and bargaining.
Only the few meditative religions, like Buddhism or Sufism, are based on gratitude. These religions have very few followers, but the quality of the followers is high.
There is nothing wrong with prayer, but it should be used as a jumping board to enter into meditation.
The Sufi master Junnaid used to pay his gratitude to god five times every day. At one time, he and his followers were wandering through some villages where Sufism was not accepted.
In the first village, people refused to give them alms, so they were forced to go without food that day. The next day, the same thing happened. On the third day, the village they passed through was so hostile that they were driven out with sticks and stones.
But that night as usual, Junnaid knelt down and offered his thanks to god. Seeing this, some of his disciples were furious. For three days we have gone without food, Master! Today we were driven out of that village like dogs! Is this what you are offering your gratitude for?, they questioned him. You fools!, replied Junnaid. You talk about three days of hunger! Have you thanked god for the food you have received for thirty years?
Life has been given to you as a gift, that's why you don't realize its value!
Can any of us say that we've worked very hard to earn this life? We take everything for granted – our bodies, our daily food, the beauty of nature – everything. Every day we ask god for diamond rings – but do we think him for giving us fingers? Man's greed is such that if he is made king of the earth, he will think – the seas don't obey me, the sun and stars don't obey my commands.
In the Shiva Purana, there is the story of Shiva and the Brahma Kapala. The Brahma Kapala was a skull that Shiva was forced to use as a begging bowl, when he was wandering in the guise of a mendicant.
The strange thing about the Brahma Kapala was, whatever alms people put into it would promptly be swallowed by the bowl itself!
No matter how hard Shiva tried to fill it, the bowl always remained empty.
This Brahma Kapala is inside all of us. It is nothing but our own ego. The ego is such that it swallows everything!
Whether you want to base your life on asking, or on gratitude, is entirely up to you.
Gratitude is not some kind of morality which is imposed on you. It is a basic principle for your own happiness!
Once a man went to Ramana Maharishi and said, Bhagwan, I want peace!
Ramana replied, From your own statement, just remove the word 'I', remove the word 'want' – and what remains is Peace! The only way to have a live connection with reality, with Existence, is through gratitude.
When you are loving, flowing, filled with gratitude, you will always feel the tremendous energy of Existence flow through you.
We have not tasted the sweetness of gratitude, the tremendous sense of fulfilment that you feel when you pay your gratitude to Existence.
Shall we try an experiment?
For the next two hours, keep aside your worries, and focus on all that Existence has already given you.
I know you must be thinking, If I don't worry about my needs, how can I fulfil them? What will happen to my family? What will happen to my business?
Agreed, you have to think about all these things. But just for the next two hours, take all these loads off your head. In any case, do you think your family or your business is running because of you?
Let me tell you, things are running smoothly not because of us, but despite us!
If Existence had to depend on our intelligence to sustain our families or our wealth, we would all be destitute by now!
Shall we spend a while paying our gratitude to Existence?