Monday, July 30, 2007

Just relax and enjoy the movie!

In the previous post, we spoke about how scared we are to peep within ourselves, lest we get exposed! "Ok, I am ready to look within, but tell me how" you may ask. You just have to decide to become a witness. It is actually simple if we want it to! Let me explain.

Imagine you are watching a movie, completely relaxed. And in that movie, characters jump with happiness in one scene, and there is bloodshed in the other. To what extent do we let this affect our so called "real" lives? At most our eyes become moist, but we immediately console ourselves "It's after all a movie! Cheer up!" and once we are out of the movie hall, we forget about those characters, isn't it?

Now, why is it that we treat our lives any differently? Why is there so much seriousness in whatever we do? Why is it that we are a bunch of emotions and mood swings? We literally have become slaves to those emotions. They rule our day. They decide whether we have had a good day or a bad one. If we got a shouting from our boss at office, or a quarrel with our spouse or parents, then depression or anger takes over. If we get a promotion or some pay hike at office or a surprise gift from our spouse or parents, excitement and happiness rule. These emotions decide how our day goes, we have given them 100% power to rule our lives. Why have we done this to ourselves?

Now you may say, it is not that we are slaves to those emotions, but slaves to the incidents. It's not very different. We are slaves anyway. So how do we take charge of our lives? Just become a witness. The moment any emotion rises within you, just watch it. Imagine you are playing a role in this movie called "life" and you are the spectator as well. Just sit back and enjoy the movie!

Trust me, when we develop this witnessing attitude, we simply rise above the events and emotions of the day. We remain completely calm, relaxed and learn to smile at everything and take everything in the stride. Next logical question: how do we develop this witnessing attitude?

Ok, here are some practical tips that Swami Nithyananda gives. These can be practiced when you sitting in the bus, traveling to office or when you are waiting for a friend - any spare time that you have. We just have to start experimenting, it's like playing a game with ourselves. So here goes:

1. Witness your breath: Buddhists call it Vipassana, a very powerful yet simple technique. Just bring your awareness completely on the breath. As you inhale, watch the air going in, watch the tummy getting inflated like a balloon with the air coming in. As you exhale, feel the warmth of the air on the lips. As you breathe, watch what happens inside.

2. Witness your boundary: Normally, if we are sitting in office, our mind is at home and vice versa - completely disintegrated. Just become aware of where you are, the physical surroundings, you will fall in tune with the present moment!

3. Witness your thoughts and emotions: I will write more about these inner thoughts (called "inner chatter") in another post. To put it simply, when thoughts arise, just watch them like watching clouds in the sky.

Practice these techniques and let us know how you feel!

Here is a youtube video where Swamiji talks about how witnessing erases the boundary that we have created with the world and makes us realise our true consciousness. Enjoy!

Nithyanadam!
Ma Nithyananda Arpana

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Usually, we get interested into spirituality when things are not going our way... But what if things are going our way? How then do we convince ourselves: "It's just a movie... continue being a witness, and don't get involved!", when on the other hand getting involved seems to be all the more delightful?

Remember the character called Cypher from the first movie in The Matrix Trilogy who, even though knew that the matrix world was not for real, goes back into it while making the statement: "You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is Bliss"?

Ma Nithyananda Arpana said...

Nithyanandam Joy!

Nice to hear from you. Thanks for bringing up this interesting point.

Well, the veyr understanding that we are slaves to the "happy" emotion is enough for us to want to go beyond. Ignorance might be charming in order to enjoy this world, but the bliss of awareness is a million times more charming! Once a person tastes teh juice of being blissful for no reason, he knows nothing can beat the taste of it!! Because nothing can dampen it.

Like you said, if a person wants to get involved to enjoy better, so be it. But he would be desperately hoping things continue the way he wants. With or without his knowledge, he would be trying to extend that moment or incident that caused the happiness. The very fear that the moment might disappear would reduce the enjoyment. Anything conditional comes with it the fear that it may be snatched away one day.

Ignorance can never be 'bliss', it can at most be a mix of happiness and sadness.

On the contrary to what Cypher said, when we know the truth, every thing around becomes a million times more beautiful. When we see a rose, only our eyes see it, but when an Enlightened Master sees a rose, his whole being sees it and enjoys it. He is so absorbed in the present moment that simple things like drinking a cup of tea can be order of magnitude more enjoyable.

I guess only experience will answer that question.

Unknown said...

found this fascinating article on the net.. very similar to this article... worth a read.
and finally my first comment on this blog.
http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2003/4july03/yogvish.shtml

prabhu.i.am said...

Nithyanandam As'!

I always wanted to post this excerpt ("The Story of the Three Non-existent Princes") in one of my blogs... but I don't mind putting it up here. Phalgun's comment was the trigger point for me to type this from the book I have been carrying to office all week but not opening it up to read! :(

_____________________________

Vasishta's Yoga, translated/expounded by Swami Venkatesananda, unabridged version, Page 122-123.

RAMA asked: Holy sir, you said that when the mind thinks of something it materialises. Now you say that bondage does not exist! How can these be reconciled?

VASISTHA replied: O Rama, the mind, in a state of ignorance, imagines bondage. The bondage exists only in that state of ignorance. Just as the dream-objects vanish when the dreamer wakes up, all these hallucinations known as bondage and liberation do not exist in the eyes of the enlightened.

VASISTHA continued:
To illustrate this, there is an interesting legend. Kindly listen to it.

A young boy asked his nanny to tell him a story and the nanny told him the following story to which the boy listened with great attention:

Once upon a time in a city which did not exist, there were three princes who were brave and happy. Of them two were unborn and the third was not conceived. Unfortunately all their relatives died. The princes left their native city to go elsewhere. Very soon they fell into a swoon unable to bear the hear of the sun. Their feet were burnt by hot sand. The tips of grass pierced them. They reached the shade of three trees, of which two did not exist and the third was not even planted. After resting there for some time and eating the fruits of those trees, they proceeded further.

They reached the banks of three rivers; of them two were dry and in the third there was no water. The princes had a refreshing bath and quenched their thirst in them. They then reached a huge city which was about to be built. Entering it, they found three palaces of exceeding beauty. Of them two had not been built at all, and the third had no walls. They entered the palaces and found three golden plates; two of them had been broken into two and the third had been pulverised. They took hold of the one which had been pulverised. They took ninety-nine minus one hundred grams of rice and cooked it. They then invited three holy men to be their guests; of them two had no body and the third had no mouth. After these holy men had eaten the food, the three princes partook of the rest of the food cooked. They were greatly pleased. Thus they lived in that city for a long long time in peace and joy. My child, this is an extremely beautiful legend; pray remember this always, and you will grow up into a learned man.

O Rama, when the little boy heard this he was thrilled.

What is known as the creation of the world is no more real than this story of the young boy. This world is nothing but pure hallucination. It is nothing more than an idea. In the infinite consciousness the idea of creation arose: and that is what is. O Rama, this world is nothing more than an idea; all the objects of consciousness in this world are just an idea; reject the error (dirt) of ideation and be free of ideas; and remain rooted in truth, attain peace.

____________________

Now you are going to relate this with Nithyananda's Unclutching! You already have started connecting ideas! :P

The above story is best suited for a book titled: "The Unpublished Works of An Unborn Yogi!" Howzzat! :)

In Nithyananda.

Ma Nithyananda Arpana said...

Nithyanandam Rajendra!

How wonderful!!! Really enjoyed reading the story that was not typed by you. Each of these scriptures must have risen from such high consciousness.

And no, I didn't connect :). But now let me connect. Actually Swamiji says 'how can this body be unreal? You are able to feel it. He says what is unreal is the shaft due to clutching!'

Anyway, it feels great when same ideas expressed differently have a convergence inside.

Two volumes of Yoga Vasishta (of Ramakrishna Mutt) are lying in our book shelf, should sit down and get right into it.

Nithyanandam!
Ma Nithyananda Arpana