Immortal “I”

In this vast world of innumerable universes, stars and galaxies, planets and constellations, we exist. It is strange that existence is experienced by us. What about the other living beings and non living things?

Does the universe know it exists? And what about the sun, moon and stars? Have they any idea about who they are and what are their duties?

Plants? Animals? Maybe a little quaint idea they may have, yet they may never face existential crisis like we do.

Humans are way distinct from the rest that exists. Main reason being we know we exist and that everything else exists! Probably that’s the reason we tend to be in a dilemma .

Who am I, where am I and so on are the questions that trouble some of us…

Though these are questions we need to ask, at times I wonder, whether there is any point in asking such questions or seeking answers for the same?

Does it matter who I am and what I am? If it matters, then it matters to whom? Does the universe know I am there…NO!

I will come and I will go and the universe will not even know. Only the humans whom we associate with might know and feel the difference for a short while…in some cases a bit longer. But then life goes on…

As we contemplate on the who I am and I will come and and I will go…where will I go? Where had I come from?

Existence is really strange. If we exist then we exist all the time. In what form and what shape doesn’t really matter. Right now I may seem to be existing in a particular form, shape, color etc. At some point I may have existed in a different form and later also I may be in some other form.

So eventually the form doesn’t really matter. The understanding that ‘I exist’ is all that matters. Now besides this form, or within this form I exist can be experienced.

A simple way to understand would be to just recollect our childhood days, teens and later until the present moment. Though I  do not resemble in size and shape what I was as a child, ‘I was there’ and in all changes ‘I was there’.

 

Now also ” I is there’…which means whatever changes, the “I” does not change. What does not change is not an illusion and so it is the truth!

Now is the time to reflect on this “I” ! The unchanging…immortal “I”…

Roots or fruits?

 

When we see a beautiful high rise building we stare at it with wonder. Amazing buildings 40 ,50 even more than 100 floors leave us astounded. The elevation, exterior finish and the visible pillars etc look so magnificent.

Another example I would cite is a beautiful tree with branches laden with fruits or flowers. Isn’t it an amazing sight? Wow! such colorful flowers, such fresh delicious fruits are some of our observations.

What I am getting to is the unseen strength that lies below. A good foundation laid assures a beautiful structure. A tree with roots gone deep into the soil can have beautiful flowers and fruits.

Who notices the foundation or the roots? Who praises or even acknowledges them? The visible beauty is all that catches the eye and thereby receives applause.

Deep below lies the one that bears the load while the branches bear the fruits. The unseen one, the one who is actually doing all the work without any expectations, without any acknowledgement.

Is this what Lord Krishna was trying to explain to us in the Bhagavad Gita second chapter, verse 47? That we have a right to do our duties, but hold no right over the fruits?

Whether the roots are acknowledged or not, they continue doing their work. how many of us are like that?

Without anyone noticing us, praising us, awarding or rewarding us, would we continue doing our work silently, unconditionally?

How many of us are like the roots or the foundation? How many of us love being the lovely fruits and flowers?

For every action we do we seek approval or some kind of response. We want to be noticed and appreciated. Nothing right or wrong about it…

Just that, for a moment we need to pause and think. Would we do what we do totally, if no one appreciated us? Are we focused on the action or the reward we would get after doing it? Where lies the focus?

Time to sit back and think as glorifying our actions has become quite common nowadays with all types of social media platforms. What we eat, what we do, where we go and so on and so forth…

How and when did so much focus shift on all our actions to the point of sharing it on a minute to minute basis?

Even while we are eating a meal we are clicking images and uploading it to people who may or may not even care. What about the prayer before mealtime and the reverence to the food?

Are we in a crowd and yet lonely? A question we need to ask ourselves…

Space & Privacy

“I need privacy, I need my own space so leave me alone…”

This major desire for space and privacy has broken joint families into nuclear families and now it has become one or two individuals as family and soon will be one man/woman family.

Living alone has become “Fun” as “space” is what everyone needs. Earlier we had one room with the entire family sitting together and now each has his own room and the family has reduced to 3 or 4 members with hardly any time spent together.

We are communicating less on the physical level and more through mobiles and messages. The specialty of speech given to us humans to express, interact, emote and connect thereby has gone missing. Nowadays emojis are saying what words can say. It has become convenient to reduce the use of our tongue for speech and silence has become golden!

But due to this has the mind become more tumultuous? As a being, have we become lonely even in a crowd? Does the crowd truly exist physically or are they in the mind or on the browser or on social media?

The scene as far as the current and coming youth is that they are becoming individualistic and lonely. They need a lot of space on the physical level and yet their social media is jam packed with the so called friends. Messages are so many that the mobiles run out of space. The mind has so much that it is constantly signaling to delete some stuff. Brain is multi tasking, while the body is not moving out of the chair or bed.

It is worrying to see all of them trapped in the virtual and plainly ignoring the visible. Understanding as per the Gita that everything is Maya, changing constantly and therefore an illusion, I would definitely love to see a lot of change.

As we delve deeper into the scriptures, the one thing we understand is all that we see is unreal. So probably it has been understood by our younger crowd in a way where they feel that all the people and beings they can see are unreal and all that they can see in the virtual or on the mobile screen are real!

Actually both are unreal only because change is constant and what we saw a moment ago has already changed. So what exactly is real or who exactly is real…this is something very important to ponder about.

But the virtual is addictive and also far away thereby more preferred by the current generation. Technology was supposed to be of help to connect with more and more people and communicate with more people. It was to join all and yet it has made most kids into recluses who avoid talking to everyone who is visible but would talk for hours to someone who is not physically available.

It is an escape wherein the true responsibility of Being human is evaded. Technology is to be used for the benefits it offers and not as the only medium of survival.

If we tell the kids of today to leave their cell phones/tabs or usage of internet totally for a few days, they might undergo withdrawal symptoms like what happens when one takes drugs.

But even before that actually happens, they will have to go through a list of mental illnesses, traumas due to loneliness, insecurity and fear and a lot more.
Who is going to take responsibility for this? As parents are we trying to balance what our parents taught us and what our kids feel is “cool”?

A lot of questions have to be asked and a huge shift in the current mindset is needed to avoid what seems like “The End”!

A lot of broken marriages, disputes and separations in the last few decades could have been one of the reasons for the way the children have drifted from humanity. Technology suddenly boomed and entered as a respite, replacing all wrecked relationships. Technology took over the lives of people and destroyed most of the interpersonal relationships.

A virtual world was created that took away the pain that would arise from physically relating to people. It was safe, hidden, and private and pain free.
Where there is love, pain might exist. So what? It is all temporary! What is the big deal about privacy? What is it that we are doing so privately that except our own family the entire search engines on the web know!

We feel whatever we are sharing or posting is private and limited only to the people who we share with. It is so?

When I share with my spouse or my kids or my loved ones I know it is private. When I share on the internet its ‘public’ even though, I might have chosen to opt ‘private’ in the settings.

Hands holding the hand of a younger

Is it not time for us to direct and guide the young kids away from so much internet and give them a happy loving fun filled time with family? Is it not our responsibility as Human beings to bring back togetherness, love and care for all living beings on the physical level? Actual visit to farms, meeting farmers, sharing our things with the ones who are not as privileged, spending time with the aged, playing with the mentally challenged and orphans who long for friends and company…

So much to give back to humanity…being a human being…

“Being Human”

As we move farther away from our own clan on the physical level and end up in the virtual world, we are escaping from our very responsibility of being born as a human being. “HUMAN” has MAN in it and also sounds like “Woman” and the “Woman” has “Man” in it and thus creates the base for the male and female element to stay combined and operate as one.

Many species of beings are getting extinct and if the virtual world continues and deepens as a trend in the coming generations, humans might very soon become extinct too!

Earlier every boy and girl had dreams of marrying and having a family. Now marriage is out and “live in’ is IN. This means directly running away from responsibility of understanding and adjusting with another human being. And if they marry they surely do not want any kids so that they can live freely enjoying their life! (considering that bearing and rearing children is a big burden?)

For the ones who do wish to have kids, technology is helping the extinction process by creating all kinds of hormonal issues ruling out conception.

Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita is in tears not wanting to be on the battlefield where the war is against his own family members, friends and near ones. His emotional bond with them is termed as bondage and it is this bondage from which we need to cut off and be in a state of equanimity. How can love be a bondage?

Love, togetherness, involvement are the qualities of humans. It is these very bonds that raised us from lower beings to humans. Emotions come naturally to humans and “Being Human” is respecting life for what it is, it is about respecting and adhering to humanity.

Growing cities are taking us farther away from our roots and living in concrete jungles feels like living like a king. In reality, riches has made us poorer and the one living in the lap of nature among the birds and bees, animals and trees and all real humans with minimum use of technology is the richest man alive.

How far are we now from our roots? Are we happy being lonely? Is this the way humans should live? Has virtual living taken over actual living and the true essence of life?

Questions that we need to ask, we need to ponder over and also work towards finding practical solutions…

There is much more going on and the posts will continue on this line of thought…

Fruits to roots

As the tree grows taller, the branches so many, the fruits innumerable, the roots are forgotten!

When I look around, what I see and sense is more of an individualistic society coming up. All lonely individuals living in a virtual world and probably sad and depressed having forgotten and detached from their roots.

When Lord Krishna kept telling Arjuna about Vairagya ( non-attachment, usually understood as detachment), did he know what was to happen 5000 years later?

Ten decades ago the story was different. We were all learning the Bhagavad Gita and trying to understand how to bring Vairagya and how to attain self-realisation or attain moksha (liberation).

Now, in 2019 and in the coming years, Vairagya has become easy and will become easier. People sitting in the same room are totally detached and many a times not even aware of each others existence.

The virtual world has become their reality and the vast endless sky seems lesser in comparison to the unlimited internet packages and the countless social media platforms. The world is all meeting at one place, knowing everything about each other and yet totally detached!

Is this what the Lord was trying to preach Arjuna? Is this what even I and my previous generations trying to learn? So much love and care for all our family members, neighbors, society, country and the world at large…how to become detached was our question too, just like Arjuna. Right in the middle of the battlefield Arjuna shoots questions after questions to his best friend and guide, Lord krishna. He is confused, sad and in a dilemma as to how would he fight a war with his own kinsmen.

All through the Bhagavad Gita, the 18 chapters and 700 verses Arjuna and Krishna converse and discuss and advises and ideas, methods and philosophies follow.

Always my generation people will wonder how to follow Lord Krishna’s advise. How can one detach with ones loved ones?

But now, as I watch the new generation kids, I can see clearly how easy detachment has become.

All through the Gita, it was about non-attachment, which means understanding that everything is changing, so its an illusion (Maya), so there is eventually nothing or no one to get attached to including this body of ours.

This “NOT GETTING ATTACHED TO” has gone deep into our children and the ones joining them. They are born Vairagis and so need no training of the Gita.

They are the smart generation who decided they did not want to get involved in all kinds of relationships in the world and decided to change the physical into virtual and if we ever need to understand what MAYA is we just need to understand the virtual world.

Somehow the fruits seem totally disconnected with the roots and seem like separate individuals or special entities. Reaching out to the sky and the various options of virtual life, the very earth from where they exist is forgotten.

They are like those balloons flying in the sky with the rope free…like the kite with the string cut off from the roll…

Where will they land? On earth right?

Joy & Sorrow- Yoga sutras

मैत्री करुणा मुदितोपेक्षाणांसुखदुःख पुण्यापुण्यविषयाणां भावनातः चित्तप्रसादनम् ॥३३॥

maitrī karuṇā mudito-pekṣāṇāṁ-sukha-duḥkha puṇya-apuṇya-viṣayāṇāṁ bhāvanātaḥ citta-prasādanam ॥33॥

The above sutra is giving us the methods to tackle the mind that is always bringing forth obstacles. The nine obstacles are mentioned in the earlier verse number 30.

Here there are four objects – sukha dukha punya apunya – basically happiness sadness meritorious non-meritorious.
When we face the above four, we need to maintain a particular state of mind to avoid sadness, depression and so on as mentioned in verse 31.

1. We need to handle sukha/happiness of others with friendliness/maitri. It may not always be easy as when we see others happy it is easy to be friendly if we are happy too. But in case we are sad and facing some challenges, it becomes difficult to be friendly to others who are happy. So this state of mind of being friendly to others who are happy will bring peace for us.

2. We need to handle dukha/sadness of others with compassion/karuna. When we see others in a sad state many a times we end up making them feel worse by relating to them our own sad issues. Unknowingly we end up making them sadder. At times we are happy but we spend time and embrace their state of mind and become sad too. Here we need to be alert and feel compassion for them and yet not compromise our state of mind. So in the most positive manner we must manage sadness.

3. We need to handle punya/merit with grace by being happy/mudita. It is not easy to be happy for others who are succeeding as many times it brings jealousy. To avoid this negative emotion, we need to appreciate and be happy for all the meritorious works the other is doing. There are times when we become jealous and start looking for the negative traits of such a person and try to defame them or blame them for the same. This will bring demerit to us and later result in guilt and sorrow. Instead if we are happy for their punya we become peaceful.

4. We need to handle apunya/demerit by simply ignoring/upekshanam. Ignore here does not mean that we are indifferent. But instead we can give our positive guidance and after trying once to reform the demerit, we must ignore it. Usually we end up thinking of the person and their demerits and waste time in criticizing them. All this will make the mind turbulent. So instead it is best to manage demerit with indifference by remaining stable and unaffected.

As mentioned by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the Gita, to remain sthith prajna ( one with a stable unwavering mind ) is the best way to manage this.

So the four methods to deal with four types of people or situations are very clearly stated by Rishi Patanjali here.
The entire purpose of yoga is to make our mind stable and calm. An unwavering mind, calm and serene is what yoga is. To attain this state we must read and understand all the sutras and work in applying this knowledge.

We need to know that it is not simply about being able to read the words or just understand the meaning. One needs to also apply this knowledge in order to tackle the obstacles brought up by the mind.
The sutras are actually threads leading us to enlightenment. In the very first chapter itself a lot is revealed and if understood well and applied, life becomes simple and one naturally becomes a yogi!

More on this in further posts.

Challenges in Yoga – Yoga sutra

दुःखदौर्मनस्याङ्गमेजयत्वश्वासप्रश्वासाः विक्षेप सहभुवः ॥३१॥

duḥkha-daurmanasya-aṅgamejayatva-śvāsapraśvāsāḥ vikṣepa sahabhuvaḥ ॥31॥

Sorrow, depression, anxiety, and irregular breathing are signs of this lack of clarity. 

Am I walking the path without an issue and am I able to face the challenges that come up? Are the obstacles cleared?

As mentioned in the previous verse, there are obstacles that come up on the path. When these obstacles arise and one is unable to face the same in a positive manner, it leads to the above issues.

Dukha – Sorrow As one strives and is unable to reach, one may feel sad and many a times will drop the practice. As all of us are oriented towards fruits for our action we tend to face sorrow when fruits are not received or not up to our expectations. Hoping for results even before it is time is another reason for sorrow.
Daurmanasya- Mentally feeling low and depressed. This happens when one is not focused and is unable to continue the abhyasa. Constant practice with focus is required. Laziness or tamas will also deter one from the practice and eventually it leads to depression.
Angamejayatva- Anxious or nervous. When one wants to know what will happen in advance one becomes nervous. What will be the result? How am I doing? Am I right or wrong? All these self doubts will lead to anxiousness.
Svashaprashvasaha- irregular breathing. When one is angry, one breathes heavily and has short breaths. When one is sad, the breath pattern changes. In positive and happy moods, the breath changes again. Irregular breathing is the outcome of uncontrolled emotions. This could be due to disease, discomfort, mental agitation, desires and so on.

All the above changes happen due to the obstacles. In the next few verses, simple methods to overcome all the above are mentioned.

Will be posting them soon.

Obstacles on the path -Yoga sutras

व्याधि स्त्यान संशय प्रमादाअलस्याविरति भ्रान्तिदर्शनालब्धभूमिकत्वानवस्थितत्वानि चित्तविक्षेपाः ते अन्तरायाः ॥३०॥

vyādhi styāna saṁśaya pramāda-ālasya-avirati bhrāntidarśana-alabdha-bhūmikatva-anavasthitatvāni citta-vikṣepāḥ te antarāyāḥ ॥30॥

These obstacles – (illness, inertia, doubt, carelessness, laziness, obsession with desires, illusion, lack of focus and failure in achieving, irregularity) are the inner distractions of the mind.

What are the obstacles on the path of a yogi? What deters him on the path? How does one striving to be a yogi manage the obstacles? How will he recognize the obstacles?

So here Sage Patanjali very clearly mentions the nine obstacles a yogi will face.

1. Vyaadhi/Illness – Any kind of physical discomfort or disease will be the biggest obstacle on the path. One has to be physically capable to be able to do the asanas and pranayama. Certain disciplines have to be maintained and all that needs a basic healthy body.
2. Styaana/Inertia – One on the path will also face difficulty in motivating the self to do the asanas and maintain the discipline. The inertia in a person pulls the person down and makes reasons for lack of interest and thereby deters the person from moving ahead. Inertia is basically inaction or inactivity which takes one lower and lower into the lower energies and depression. It is basically a mental low.
3. Samshaya/Doubt – This is another big obstacle as it will keep creating confusion and in the end will lead to inaction. Whether I should do this or that? If I do this how will it benefit me? Such questions will arise leaving one in doubt about his doing or non doing both. Doubting the path, the master and the results attained all these are major obstacles.
4. Pramada/Carelessness– Here the person will know what he is supposed to do and yet not do it. Also it is possible that he will know he is wrong and yet he will not change it. This is another obstacle.
5. Aalasya/Laziness– This is the main issue in most people as the motivation to do something will be missing. The non doing nature will be supreme and to bring oneself up and do something either for the self or for others will be difficult. It brings down one’s energy levels and promotes tamas
6. Avirati/obsession with desires – We all have desires and the desires are due to the past impressions. If one likes a particular fragrance, one can smell it for some time. 24/7 one cannot do it or keep thinking about it. The five senses and their objects leads the yogi away from the path. So one must be aware that fulfilling a desire is not a problem but getting obsessed about the same and thinking of the same all through will be a very big obstacle for the yogi.
7. Branthidarshana /illusions– This is a tricky one as getting caught up in something that ‘is not’ is like a blind man on the path. Many times we get entangled in the illusions and start thinking its all real. Everything that changes cannot be real as its not permanent. When everything is changing, everything is by default an illusion.
8. Alabdha bhumikatva/lack of focus and failure in achieving – Without focus, one wavers on the path. One pointed focus if missing then one will quickly get confused and lose focus and concentration. Having a goal will make the focus happen. One day I will do this, one day I will do that and if we try digging wells every day on a different spot, there will never be a well, but just pits. So select one and stay focused, if not it will be an obstacle.
9. Anaavasthitavaani/Irregularity– Unable to be regular and consistent in one’s efforts and wavering here and there is another obstacle.

These are the nine obstacles on the path and further to this the Sage explains to us how to overcome these obstacles in the following verses.

Obstacles will always be there on any path we walk on. If we understand them as challenges and face them with the right knowledge, they no longer remain obstacles, but turn into steps to move upwards.

So it is how we look at it, whether we know about it or not, do we acknowledge it and then do we work on it…

Will be posting more on this soon…

Inner silence

Action outside, with complete silence inside!

Isn’t is the opposite generally? Silence outside and total sound inside.

Check! When we observe a person who is very silent and speaks less, we may feel he/she is a very calm and quiet person. Externally, yes, but internally you cannot be 100% sure. Most cases, it will be total chaos inside.

A silent person need not be silent inside. The best equation is to be in complete action outside and in complete silence inside. Silence inside depicts a stable and calm mind.

Inner quietude will also lead to excellent work performance outside.

Then we have combos like inner chaos and outer chaos! This happens with persons who have very high levels of ego. For a person who feels “he is the doer” and if he does not do probably the whole world will be in a mess.

This reminds me of a story :

Once a lizard is clinging on the ceiling of a big mansion. Another lizard who decides to leave the mansion and have a look at the world outside invites this first lizard. At this the lizard replies, “you go and do whatever you wish. I have such a huge load on myself. Unlike you I have a big responsibility. You are free, lacking responsibility. So go and roam the world or wherever it is that you are going. Do you even realise what you are asking me to do? You are asking me to leave this ceiling and come with you. It is something that I can never do as I am a very responsible lizard. I know you are ignorant and so asked this question to me. I will tell you why I cannot come with you. If I come with you, I will have to let go of this ceiling and if I let go, the whole ceiling will fall down and so the mansion will collapse.”

Well, we all need to check if we are by any chance like that responsible lizard!

If we are light from within, in a state of surrender, understanding that the divine plays through us…we would be humble and this would by default result in extraordinary work happening through us. Not only good work, but good amount of work will happen. As there is a complete let go of “I the doer”, things around us happen in a smooth way, with minimal or no chaos.

So inner silence and outer work/action is the best formula to apply for a happy and successful life. This is best achieved with yoga –

As Lord Krishna says, ‘Yogastaha kurukarmani Arjuna’

Always be in the state of yogah – union. This state can be attained through abhyasa  of yogasanas, pranayama, meditation, chanting and being in nature (nature walks, beaches, sunsets, gardens, fields and so on…)

 

Bhagavad Gita-Chapter 2.50 Yogah Karmasu kaushalam

 

Chapter 2 verse 50
बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते |
तस्माद्योगाय युज्यस्व योग: कर्मसु कौशलम् || 50||

buddhi-yukto jahātīha ubhe sukṛita-duṣhkṛite
tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśhalam

Excellence in the work we do (without any attachment) is yoga.
Yogah karmasu kaushalam…
Here Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to get rid of attachment to either good or bad deeds and strive for excellence in work.

The very first question that would come to our mind is that, would one feel like working if one has no expectation or attachment to the work and its fruits? The fruits we receive are the rewards and one is motivated purely by rewards generally. Rewards could be appreciation, a pat on the back, awards etc. When one works diligently towards a goal and achieves the same, does he not do it with the expectation of some reward?
The verse lays stress on getting rid of attachment using wisdom. Attachment to the good and bad deeds both…

We keep doing our work always with a small hope of some reward. If we get the reward we are happy and if we do not we feel sad. This creates ups and downs in our emotions and the mind becomes turbulent.

Now suppose we are not attached, would our work performance be better? Actually yes! Because we would be then not focused on the award but would be focused on our work entirely.

The awards, rewards or whatever the result is just a consequence. One must not focus on the consequence as it will anyway happen. Focus must be on performing the work 100%.
This excellence in work once achieved is termed as Yogah…the union.
To achieve the state of mind where there is no attachment to good/bad deeds or for rewards one must practice yoga and pranayama daily.

A tranquil mind is the gift of yogasana and pranayama. So in order to strive for karmasu kaushalam, which is being in union or yogah…one must set the ground by practicing asanas.

Aligning the asanas with the breath makes it perfect and mind becomes calm.
Yogas chitta vritti nirodaha…

It makes the mind stable while at work and one would be performing his action in a state of yoga, wherein the mind body breath and spirit are aligned. This beautiful union is yogah.

Karmasu Kaushalam is the consequence of dirgha kala nairantarya satkar sevito- (abyaasaa).

Focus on yoga and be consistent in the practice…the rest will just happen…