A true Brahmana

Dhyanapeetam has been organizing mass fire rituals called Maha Saptayaagam in various cities of South India where 1008 individuals perform the homa, fire ritual. The group energy that such rituals create is amazing and cleanses the whole space. We will dedicate a post for more on this.

During our weekly group meeting we told a new devotee, 'Swamiji is performing 1008 homas...'. His immediate reply was, 'wow! that would need so many priests...'

For a long time, people have associated rituals like homa or abhisheka with priests. It is assumed that only they can perform these rituals. The so-called non-brahmins themselves assume that they are not qualified to do any of these. And an even more interesting fact is the so-called brahmins themselves believe that these rituals have to be performed by a smaller section of brahmins, i.e. the priests of the temples.

Today, the meaning of brahmana is limited to a dhoti clad man with a small pig tail on his tonsured head and either a namam (vertical lines drawn with vermillion paste to indicate he is a worshipper of Vishnu) or vibhooti smeared forehead (indicating he is a worshipper of Shiva). The italics in the previous statement are to highlight that the fact that the brahmana has to be a male. That is the general notion today.

This has become the meaning because that is what we see. In most major temples, we see only male priests. If we want to conduct a homa or some elaborate pooja, we immediately call a priest. Yes agreed that we do not know the ritual; so we call an experienced priest. But the point is we don't even want to know what the ritual is because most of the times, we believe it is not our job.

Swami Nithyananda says, 'This is one of the biggest conspiracies by the society on humankind.' The varnashrama as defined by the actual Vedic tradition has four classes or varna - brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra. The first class - brahmana refers to the class of people who were inclined towards spiritual practices. And this had nothing to do with the person's lineage or ancestral profession.

Swami Nithyananda is bringing back the ancient true Vedic tradition. He says, 'Anyone who practices the spiritual practices is a brahmana. It does not matter what his parents are, what his grandparents are. As long as he is treading on the spiritual path to merge the aatman (individual consciousness) with brahman (the Cosmic consciousness), he is a brahmana. No questions about it.'

People irrespective of caste, religion, creed or sex are allowed and trained to perform the rituals by Swami Nithyananda. He does not care if one are male or a female. In fact, in the Dhyanapeetam ashram in India, it is females who perform the aarti (fire offering). When He initiates people as monastic disciples He does not even bother what his/her religion was, what his/her caste was, what his/her colour is.

Moreover, in places like Los Angeles ashram, He is training westerners to perform the homa themselves. He is not limiting the Vedic tradition to just to India. Vedic tradition is not related to just one religion or one particular race. It is a science, it is a life style.

The ancient science is being brought to the doorstep of every individual. He is providing various opportunities, various possibilities with just one goal: to guide as many has possible realize their true identity. If a click as happened in you, do not miss Him. You never know how many births you have to wait before you come across a living enlightened master who personally works on you.

A possibility ...

This weekend, we went to Sri Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) in Singapore to witness the Navarathri celebrations. We reached there at about 7.20 pm, just in time for aarthi, and sat through the bhajans till about 8.30 pm. The meditation hall in RKM is simply awesome, so full of energy. As the bhajans were going on, we could enter into the no-thought zone very easily. The life size idol of Sri Ramakrishna, clad in white and surrounded by red flowers, was radiating the innocence, devotion and divine energy in the hall.

Everyone was participating in the bhajans; some of them were meditating; some were singing. As soon as the bhajans ended, it was a different scene altogether. Some ladies started discussing about their childrens' school, some finding out more about their friends' saree; some guys were back in their office or rather they got their office to RKM; and many were of course talking about the menu for dinner that was waiting downstairs.

If we think about it, this is a very common sight in a temple. We see people discussing all their work, daily activities etc. in a temple. While waiting for the darshan, all we do is to talk about our worries, stresses etc. In fact we see people complaining if the queue is too long in temples like Tirupati etc.

A temple is an energy hub. The main deities of the most prominent Indian temples were installed by enlightened masters. Swamiji says, 'the deities in temples in Rameswaram, Kedarnath, Palani, Tirupati etc. were all installed by enlightened masters. So these temples are a storehouse of energy. This is the reason why we feel calmness and peace when we enter these temples. The energy of the Master or the Cosmic energy still reverberates in the garbha gruha, sanctum sanctorum.'

Swami Nithyananda says, 'when we enter a temple, our thoughts per second (TPS) decreases.' But what do we do? We don't even allow this to happen. Instead of immersing in the silence and energy of the temple, all we try to do is pollute the temple also with our thoughts.

The whole purpose of going to a temple is to allow our Being to connect with the Cosmic Consciousness or the Divine Energy. It is probably one of the easiest possible ways to do so...

But only if we allow it to happen.

But no! We do not want to leave our identities. We take our identities, our name, our designation, our status, our money, our job, everything to the temple. We take our EGO along with us to the temple. We just cannot let go of these even for a few minutes.

Sometimes in places like Tirupati, we see people showing off their so-called high status right inside the sanctum sanctorum for a longer darshan. Whats the point of the longer darshan if we still are holding to our ego? How much ever we stay inside right in front of the statue, we go nowhere because our ego is still as solid as a rock.

Swamiji has been building temples all over the world, installing the deities with life energy. One devotee asked Him, 'Swamiji, what is the point of doing all this? Why so many temples and ashrams?'

Swamiji replied, 'One six-foot Kali idol gave one Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. One Ramakrishna again gave us so many enlightened beings. So there is nothing wrong if I spend time and money on temples. It is worth it. There is a possibility. Thats all.'

Each one of us have a possibility to taste the Divine Energy whenever we enter a temple or an ashram. Going one step further, we even have the possibility of becoming a Ramakrishna. Enlightened masters have created so many possibilities for us.

Now the ball is in our court.

Laugh it out!! (Nithya Yoga Series - 5)

2 days ago, I was having dinner with my friend and he said to me 'I don't know why, but I am feeling irritated for no reason nowadays. I know you will tell me to drop the irritation with awareness, but the problem here is I don't even know what's causing the irritation. So, I am trying my best to stop the irritation, but nothing is working'. That led us to a fruitful discussion on one of the things we do in Nithya Yoga - silent belly laughter. I will not be discussing the technique here but talking of the essence of it.

Before we get into it, let us analyse the case above. Firstly, my friend, being a meditator himself, had the awareness of the fact that there is irritation, which is very good in itself. If we don't even know what's controlling us, then we are literally a slave to a stranger. Now, putting in awareness does not mean resisting it or expecting the irritation to drop. It means 'just witnessing' the irritation in a relaxed manner, without judging it or without fighting it.

The problem here is that my friend took the irritation too seriously. Why is this wrong? Because when we take it seriously and start fighting with it, we have already given it power. Swamiji gives a beautiful analogy of how we give power to all our engraved memories controlling us - be it our fear, greed, guilt etc:

In Ramayana (Indian epic) there is character called Vaali. His specialty was that when anybody went to fight with him, half of the energy of the opponent would be sucked up by Vaali. Since Vaali already had some power of his own, he would invariably land up stronger than the opponent. Smart eh?

If we are smarter, we would never fight Vaali. But unfortunately, this is exactly what we do with our problems. We take them too seriously. Every time we think 'Oh this is troubling me', we are indeed allowing that to trouble us. So, what is the alternative you may ask.

Laughter! :)

This may sound absurd, but mind you, it's a very very powerful technique. An example: if our boss yells at us, we have a choice whether to get upset about it and ruin the rest of the day... or to just let go with a laughter. Who gains at the end of it? When I say laughter, it does not necessarily mean laughing loudly, it could just be a silent one. Think about it, it's your day that is precious.

Genuine laughter does two things: Firstly when you laugh from deep within, you do not think. And when the mind drops, you automatically enter a meditative state. Many of the meditation programs offered at Dhyanapeetam have long laughter sessions as meditations. 42 mins of belly laughter can transport you into a space you have never experienced, bringing with it a deep sense of calmness and joy.

Secondly, and more importantly, the very attitude with which you look at the problem changes. Really, nothing in life is worth taking too seriously. Just laugh at all your problems, and at yourself. Just don't even give the problem the status of a "problem" inside. If you do that, then you have already crowned the problem as "Vaali" and you know what happens next if you do that. When you laugh at it, you are not giving the problem any space inside. When you fight it, you have let it come in.

There are many Zen Buddhist monks who have gotten enlightened by just laughing! We don't have even one good reason to take life so seriously. So let's just laugh it out :)

Here is Swamiji's discourse on Laughter is Medicine. Enjoy!

The mystical triad

This morning, I was listening to a superb discourse by my Master where He speaks about triputi bheda. I would like to share it with you all. The concept is mindblowing. This is in a way related to one of the previous posts, which throws light on our basic way of operation, by first separating ourselves from the scene.

The triputi bheda refers to the separation of the triad - the see-er, the scene and the act of seeing. Let us see what this means. Because of our solid identity with this body-mind, we become a distinct see-er. We have cut ourselves out from the rest of the universe. Now, whatever else we perceive becomes the scene. This does not necessarily refer to seeing through our eyes, but could be applied to any other sense as well.

Now, the process of seeing happens because of a constant jumping that is happening from the see-er to the scene. The constant bridge that fills the see-er and the scene is the act of seeing. In other words, it is the distinction between the see-er and the scene that causes the act of seeing. When this separation stops, the act stops. For example, can we see our own eyes (without a mirror)?

Now, all spiritual practices are aimed at reducing the gap between the see-er and the scene. You may ask how. Let us take the path of knowledge (gnana). Here through sharp reasoning and analysis, you realize there is no scene at all, just the pure witnessing consciousness. The whole scene is only an illusion of the mind. Now when the scene is taken away, the bridge of seeing falls. The triputi unite and the Truth happens. All relativeness drops and absoluteness remains.

What about the path of devotion? Swamiji explains beautifully that in this case, the see-er dissolves in awe of the scene. How Mirabai melted at the glory of Krishna or how Ramakrishna melted at the mention of Kaali, completely killing the see-er. Once again, the bridge falls and the same uniting happens. I am sure many of us have experienced brief glimpses of this state with our close encounters with nature. When we have completely lost ourselves in its beauty - be it a breathtaking sunset, or in front of a vast ocean, or standing in front of mighty mountains.

So, whether we are becoming one with the see-er or the scene it doesn't matter. We just have to immerse ourselves completely in either or them, breaking the bridge and becoming one with the Truth, with Nithyananda!

Breathe in bliss, breathe out bliss (Nithya Yoga Series - 4)

Me: So how are your yoga classes going on.
He: Going good.. today we did a new pranayama (breathing technique)..
Me: Oh ok, so how do you do it?
He: After the asana practice, we enter into pranayama and feel breathing in all positivity and breathing out all negativity...
Me: Hmm.. that's interesting. Are you sure you know what you are doing.
He: Why? Isn't it right to fill ourselves with positivity...
Me: Ya, that part is fine; the second part is what is dangerous.
He: Didn't get you..
Me: You say that when you do pranayama, you feel breathing in all positivity and breathing out all negativity..
He (interrupts): Yup exactly... what's wrong in that?
Me: Hmmm.. you see, when we constantly tell ourselves breathe in positivity and breathe out negativity, though we are telling ourselves to fill positivity, we are also reminding ourselves that we are actually filled with negativity. Isn't it?
He: I see what you are getting at...
Me: Like I said before, words have power; our verbalization has power. Whatever we verbalize, whatever we think, either we speak out or speak in, has immense power. So when constantly tell breathe out negativity, we are actually telling ourselves, we are filled with garbage.

We are reinforcing the idea of us being filled with negativities. In other words, we are actually giving power to all negativities inside us.

And in this process, what we are also doing is filling our surroundings with negativities.. We are actually adding negative thoughts to the Universe. Imagine taking the garbage out of the thrash can and throwing it all around the house :)

He: Wow! Imagine sending out positive waves instead...

Me: Yes, you are absolutely right. Infact that's a beautiful technique for creating peaceful vibes all over the world, yes for world peace.
He: True, I agree...so the solution is ...?
Me: Swami Nithyananda in Nithya Yoga says, just feel the bliss while breathing in and breathing out.. Just say, breathe in bliss, breathe out bliss..
He: You keep telling about bliss. How do we feel bliss?
Me: Interesting question. Bliss is the joyful state which is our innate nature. As children we were always joyful, without a reason. We jumped and danced without a reason. We were continuously in the blissful state.. Now if I ask you to dance, you will have all kinds of thoughts, what will they think, what will my friends think etc.

We have been loaded with layers and layers of social conditioning and in the process, we have forgotten how to even smile without a reason. Thats the keyword - without a reason.

We are happy but with a reason. We are happy because we have a job, a house, a wife. When the same job becomes hectic or is lost, when the same house becomes old, when the same wife tells you are fat, we become sad.

There is a reason for our happiness, whereas bliss is always there; there are no reasons for us to be blissful.

Being alive is enough, for us to be blissful.

You can try a simple meditation. Sit comfortably with eyes closed. Think of all happy moments in your life. Just think and relive all your happy moments. Express the happiness on your face. Whatever may be reason, just relive the experience. Now, drop the reason. You will see that you do not actually need a reason to be happy. You will see that happiness automatically turns into bliss.. try it, you will see for yourself the difference. Just drop the reason.

He: Hmm.. ok let me try..

Me: If you get a chance watch the video on bliss and choicelessness by Swamiji. He gives a beautiful explanation of bliss..

He: Sure will do..

(Continued next post...)

So what if we are born Human ???

Let me start with this question,

How many times in your entire life have you thanked God, or whatever you want to call, for this human birth that you are leading?

In our previous post, we quoted Shankaracharya where He says one of the most difficult thing to happen is human birth. Having a human body is the greatest thing that can happen to the soul that our body is housing.

So, what is so great about this human birth anyway?

It is said that the soul takes up this human birth after going through some thousands of bodies. The concept of dasavatharam, ten incarnations of Vishnu is exactly this. Starting from matsyavatara, incarnation of fish, to koormavatara, incarnation of tortoise, to varahavatara, incarnation of the boar, to narsimhavatara, incarnation of half human, half lion, to vaamanavatara, pigmy and all the way to Krishna, the pure Consciousness in human form. Swami Nithyananda says, 'whether we believe it or not, whether we understand it or not, whether we accept it or not, this is the truth. We have gone through various cycles of birth and death through different bodies before this human birth. '

Now till we reach human birth, there is a continuous natural process of evolution that goes on. Animals act by instinct. They hunt when they are hungry, they mate when they have the urge and they sleep when they are sleepy. They do not have a choice.

When we reach human birth, the process of evolution is no more natural. Yes, you read it correct. Several enlightened masters have talked about it. Swami Nithyananda says, 'the natural process of evolution stops with human birth. Now it is in your hands.'

As a human, we are given complete freedom and will as to how we want to evolve. Here evolution is towards realization of the Ultimate. The whole journey of the soul is to merge with the Ultimate. As a human, we are entitled for the greatest gifts of all - freedom, will and the most important one - conscious choice.

Swami Nithyananda says, 'we have all the freedom but we do not have the will.' This is the truth. We have all the freedom in the world but we take it for granted. We take this human birth of granted. We do not even stop for a moment and look back and thank for this birth. All we do is keep complaining. Even if we thank God or whatever, it is with either in fear or in greed; fear of losing what we have or greed of wanting more and more.

The greatest gifts that we have have become the greatest obstacles towards our very own evolution. This is because we do not want to exercise our conscious choice. This is because we want to remain in the same state for ever and ever. Deep down, we do not want to evolve because we feel safe with this identity. It is like a scared ostrich burying its head into the ground and feeling safe from predators. This is what we do.

Now the bouncer; in this human birth, if and only if we make a conscious choice towards the Ultimate, will we ever be able to move towards it. Otherwise, we rot in this cycle of birth and death. And even worse, we might go a few steps back in the chain of evolution to take up an animal's body.

An enlightened master holds the master key to the Ultimate Consciousness. Only as a human, we have the greatest opportunity and freedom to consciously choose to get the key and open the door. And to top it all, the company of a living enlightened master makes the path even more easy because He keeps on reminding us, 'don't waste this human birth...' He works on us personally because He is pure compassion and wants us to experience exactly the same state in which He is living.

This human birth is an opportunity. Now its upto us to either remain deluded and stuck in the web of life and death or exercise our right to enlightenment.

Walking on the razor's edge

It is said that walking in this spiritual path is like walking on the edge of a razor. Why? Because, only the daring and the focussed ones survive the walk. If we are not strong enough, we wouldn't even try to venture out. Or even if we decide to walk on it, if we are not focussed, convinced and brave, it is very easy to fall off the razor, sometimes even causing hurt.

In our limited experience on this path, we have seen all three categories of people. One, who do not even bother to try, second, those who try but give up very soon and the third who are the 'spiritual warriors'. The first category are those who are scared deep down about transformation. Of course sometimes they give excuses about not being interested or not having the time. Trust me, these are just excuses. Because no excuse can stop the fire from burning, if it is ignited already. We just want to postpone the process as we are too caught up with our so called 'busy' lives.

Second category are those who feel 'why not give it a shot?'. Now after standing on the razor to walk on it, if our mind is elsewhere we will obviously fall. Normally whatever we do, whatever we talk, whatever we think etc. are all inspired by what is appreciated by society. But to walk on the spiritual razor, it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks, only YOU have to be convinced 100% about it, else the fall is certain. We have encountered many who start off meditation and other spiritual practices with great enthusiasm, but then after a while the fizz wears off. There is no more push and the person just drops out, either feeling tired or bored.

This is because the conviction was never present. If we were to treat spirituality as something that would just add to the count of things in our showcase, then the fire was never ignited in the first place. Hence after a while, the boredom or fatigue kicks in. If the fire is really lit then nobody needs to push another for these things, something inside will keep pushing with great strength. Swami Nithyananda calls this igniting of fire as a 'click'. He says each time the words of the Master resonate deep down in our being saying 'Hey, that's so true'. It doesn't matter whether we are able to express to others or not, but we couldn't be more clear or convinced, then we have had that click, that spark. These clicks are what Swamiji calls 'Initiation'.

The third category are those in whom this spark is given the right conditions to burn into a flame, with vigor and valor. Gradually, the flame becomes so bright that it starts to radiate the light to others as well. We have had the fortune of interacting with many of such disciples of Swami Nithyananda who are absolutely clear and convinced. You should see them talk, the glow in their eyes, the bliss on their face, the depth of their conviction. Truly as our Master puts it, when His disciples inspire others towards the truth, it the Master talking through them.

Initiation from the Master is the greatest thing that can happen in one's life. Only those who have experienced it can attest it. To be honest, we have been with our Master physically only for a few minutes, but that touch of the Master has done so much deep down. We may not have seen anything phenomenal immediately after our brief interactions with our Master, but we know that the flame that He has ignited burns every day brighter and brighter, reminding us of the Truth. If we look back at who we were and the changes that have come about, we know clearly why.

I leave you with this video of Swamiji delivered during Guru Poornima this year, when He spoke about how to catch the clicks and allow them to work on us constantly.

Missing, again and again and again...

There is a verse from Bhagvat Gita which goes:

avajananti mam mudha
manusim tanum asritam
param bhavam ajananto
mama bhuta-mahesvaram 9.11

In this verse Krishna tells Arjuna - Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be.

Now I know how true the words of Krishna are! During the last one and a half year, when I talk about Swami Nithyananda to people or when I showed His videos, I have seen quite a few people who say, 'Nah, I don't get the idea of worshipping a human...'

There are people who are strong believers of God, who go to temples/church/mosque, who do all kinds of Vedic rituals at their place. They have strong faith in the power of the idols. But you say one word about a living enlightened master, they run away from you.

This has been happening from the time of Krishna, otherwise why would Krishna say that in Bhagvat Gita. As recently as the 19th/20th century, the world saw one of the greatest enlightened masters - Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. When He was alive, people thought He was a mad man; they said He was acting when Ramakrishna used to enter into ecstasy with the mention of the word Kali. Now, after a hundred years, people throng his ashrams around the world. Every Vijaya Dashami when Goddess Kali is worshipped, people go to the nearest Ramakrishna Ashram.

To these very same people if you talk about a living enlightened Master like Swami Nithyananda, I have seen how they started speculating - 'I can believe Ramakrishna is God; He is enlightened. How can this living person be enlightened?'

We are very comfortable with a stone idol being called as God; we are ready to bathe in the holy rivers; we are happy to see and worship a person physically not present. But, we just cannot accept another living person as God or some Supreme Soul or some Supreme Power... whatever you want to call it.

Why? Why can't we associate the word God with a living person? The answer is simple. Our ego! Our ego does not allow us to accept anything else as more supreme than itself. It is ready to accept a stone idol as God, a dead person as God because it thinks it can back off when the same idol asks it to surrender in return. That faith to an idol is not wrong. That devotion is not wrong at all. Ramakrishna became enlightened because of His strong devotion to a 6 feet Kali idol. But Ramakrishna surrendered Himself completely. He had such a craving for Kali that for a glimpse of Her, he was ready to behead himself.

In the name of rituals and pooja, whatever we are doing is just a farce because our ego is still solid. How many times have we completely immersed ourselves in ritual? We cannot accept a living person as God because of the same reason. When we surrender to a living enlightened person, our ego is scared that it will be killed.

Because it knows, that is precisely what a Master would do - Kill Ego...

Shankaracharya, an enlightened master who was exponent on Advaithic (non-duality) philosophy, says in his Vivekachudaamani,

Durlabham Trayamevaitat Daivanugraha-hetukam;
Manushyatvam Mumukshutvam Maha-purushasamsrayah.

which means, the three things that are most difficult to obtain are - a human birth, desire for liberation and the company of a living enlightened Master.

And when such an opportunity is placed right in front of us, we do not recognize it. Instead we think, 'how I wish I was born during the time of Krishna' People used to go and tell Ramakrishna exactly this. Ramakrishna used to tell them, that same Krishna is in front you. And today many tell our Master 'how nice it would have been if I could sit at the feet of Ramakrishna...'

Swami Nithyananda says jovially, 'the grandfather when alive was outside the house, in the out-house; when he died, he was brought inside the house, inside the God's room!'

Our ego is continuously finding different ways to escape from dissolving and in this process, we have been missing living enlightened masters all along. We have either missed them due to our ignorance or mistook them to be just humans.

Mind you, if you have a chance, better grab it; otherwise you never know how many more births you have to take before you find a living enlightened master again.

Why postpone enjoyment?

Let me start by sharing a small personal experience with you. Last year, I made a trip with a bunch of friends to Taman Nagara, a dense tropical jungle in Malaysia. 160 million years old, filled with gigantic trees, creepers, all kinds of colorful birds and large pretty insects with a mighty river cutting right across it, the vibes of the place was amazing! During those 3 days there, there was a strange peace and bliss that was overflowing within me and felt deeply connected with every tree, creeper and creature there. Honestly, a beautiful connection with nature, with existence happened within, I may not be able to put them in words. I couldn't be bothered about anything at that time, totally carefree.

Now, one of my friends A who wasn't quite the nature-loving types was bored and disappointed as he felt it wasn't as exciting as making a trip to a happening place like Sydney or Bangkok. Another friend B who is supposedly a nature lover was always glued to his new camera. Whatever he spoke when he took breaks from the camera was about the pictures he took and the pictures he planned to take.

This brings me to two important points, thanks to my friends A and B. First: Why did A find the place boring? and Second: Why was B so busy clicking photographs instead of enjoying the place?

To answer the first, as Swamiji says, we are always busy fueling our mind with external inputs, stimuli through our senses. The busy, fast-paced lifestyle wherein we are used to pumping so much data just through advertisements and other news keeps us going. We have completely forgotten how to enjoy the silence within. Our mind rapidly races from one thought to another and literally drives us. Sadly we think this is how things should be. That is why we like spicy food, enjoy fact-paced movies... almost anything that gives us a kick. We want the mind to be continuously at work and cannot imagine being otherwise. Swamiji gives simple and efficient techniques to break free from the clutches of the mind in his various programs.

Secondly, what is with our addiction to taking photos all the time? To put in plain words - We love to postpone our enjoyment. When a beautiful sunset is happening, we are busy adjusting the focal length and aperture size of the camera instead of soaking into the sunset. We feel we can always enjoy the same on a postcard sized photo later! And when that happens, it can never be as real and beautiful as the actual sunset.

The same goes with anything that we do in our lives. We are more worried about our savings accounts, insurance policies, retirement plans because we are paranoid and take steps that would help us enjoy later. Will that enjoying later ever happen??

In the process of postponing enjoyment, let us not miss the beautiful present moment!

Watch your Words!! (Nithya Yoga Series 3)

A lady comes home for healing regularly and every time we ask her, how are you feeling, the reply is this: I feel very weak. I am very tired. Its so miserable. What should I do?

Words, which we speak, which we write have immense power. One of the most powerful gift that we humans have is the ability to speak and communicate. We speak in different languages, we convey what we want to say to others using words.

When we speak to others, we take great care in selecting the words. We chose and pick words which do not offend others. There is a continuous check on what words we use to communicate with people around us, the society outside us.



Now lets see what we do inside us. We have continuous inner chatter, we constantly do something called speaking in. We verbalize our thoughts internally using words and what are these words - my life is miserable, its so pathetic, I am so lazy, it is useless.. and what not. We dump all kinds of negativities in our system. There is no check whatsoever when it comes to what we speak inside.

Now to top it up, the words we chose attract the same events in our life. Words are nothing but a way to express our thoughts. When we constantly feed ourselves with negative thoughts, we attract exactly the same kind of events. There is a very famous book/video called The Secret which talks about this in great detail. Our words, our thoughts have the power to attract similar kinds of events.

Swami Nithyananda talks about this beautifully. He says, 'Whatever we speak can become reality. Our words are like slides that can be put in front of a projector and can be projected onto a screen.' When we continuously feed ourselves with negative words, we are make ourselves more and more depressed. It has been scientifically proved that diseases like cancer are nothing a but a physical manifestation of our continuous negative inner chatter.

One of the many things that Nithya Yoga deals with is this inner chatter. Swami Nithyananda calls it - yoga for verbalization. In a Nithya Yoga session, we see the power of strong intention, the power of strong affirmation. People who have done Nithya Yoga have testified this. This is something that can be practiced anywhere, in each and every little act of ours.

Try this simple exercise next time when you feel tired or have headache in office. Just close your eyes. Set a strong intention of you being completely healthy; you are fit; your head is blissful; you are in complete ecstasy. Be very clear, do not use the word headache. When you say that you are actually feeding your system with 'ache' which is again negative. Set an intention without such contradictions. Believe me, you will feel rejuvenated.

For now, enjoy this video on yoga for verbalization.

-- Sri Nithya Arpanananda

Science of Rituals

A few days ago, we had the inauguration ceremony of our new Nithyananda Center in Singapore (Pictures of Event), for which we had some prayers and rituals done. The energy that day in the center was phenomenal. A few years ago, I used to wonder 'What is the point in all these rituals?'. Often we attach the tag of 'superstition', 'blind belief' etc. with rituals and idol worship.

Swami Nithyananda throws light on this subject beautifully. He says when a ritual is done with awareness it becomes meditation; but when even meditation is done without awareness, it becomes a mere ritual. Existence is made up of 5 elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether. Each of these rituals is an attempt to connect with Existence, with the Cosmic Energy that lies within us.

The five elements are in order of subtlety. The earth is the grossest element; one can feel it, see it, hold it, smell it. Water is more fluid; you can see it and feel it, but cannot hold it. Fire is more subtle; you can feel it, sometimes cannot even see it. Subtler than fire is air; you can feel it but can never see it. The last is ether; it is beyond the sense perceptions, you can only experience it. Let us now see how we connect with each of these elements through rituals and meditation.

Take the earth element. All our worship of idols made of stone or metal are means to connect with the earth element in us. When this is done with awareness, you will no longer be worshiping the stone. You will be worshiping through the stone. Next, the water element. Taking a bath in any of the holy rivers or bathing the dieties (abhishekam) helps us relate with cosmic energy through water. Next is the fire element and all fire rituals and offerings (homa) are ways to relate with this. The air element is us is responsible for the words that we speak. Prayers that involve chants invoke the air element in us. Lastly, ether can be experienced only through silence. Silence does not refer to absence of words, it is a vibrant silence that is experienced in deep moments of meditation.

Of course when we see priests at temples chant away mantra but counting money in their hands, you lose respect for these rituals. Awareness is the key. When we do these rituals with a deep understanding, they can transform our very being. Here is a video where Swamiji gives some amazing insights into rituals.

Those of us who do guru pooja (an offering of gratitude to existence) regularly invariably experience a deep joy and silence within, it is certainly a powerful meditation in itself. In Singapore, we will be starting to conduct classes to train people to do the guru pooja/guru homa on their own. Those interested can send an email to lifebliss.singapore@gmail.com.

-- Ma Nithyananda Arpana

Another New School?? (Nithya Yoga Series 2)

'Yeah, another school of yoga, what's new in this one?' - this is the obvious question that one would ask if someone reads my previous blog post in Nithya Yoga series. And I agree this is a valid question.

So lets go back in time, thousands of years ago to see how it all originated ...

Patanjali, an enlightened master and the father of Yoga, wrote Yoga Sutra thousands of years ago. He introduced to the world then, what is called Ashtanga Yoga. It was not like there were no yogis before Patanjali or there were no yogic practices before Him. Patanjali for the first time gave the world a complete 360 degree approach through Ashtanga Yoga. For the first time, someone made a proper documentation of what it takes to be enlightened, how to get enlightened. Swami Nithyananda says Patanjali's Yoga Sutra is one of the rare books, which gives a complete solution.

Over the years, there have been innumerable number of yoga schools and gurus with different chains of thought. Swami Nithyananda says, 'they were developed keeping the human consciousness in mind at that point in time.' Here we are not referring to the pseudo yoga schools with fancy names but the schools which were developed by enlightened masters. Each master saw a certain need for overall human consciousness at that time and accordingly designed yogic practices to elevate the human consciousness.

Now coming to the present, let me answer the obvious question...

Eminent cellular biologists and doctors, like Dr. Bruce Lipton and Dr. Deepak Chopra, agree that the human biological system has changed over the last hundred years both physically and mentally. New synaptic connections have been formed in our brain called cerebral layer which helps us cope with the fast paced lifestyle that has developed over the last century.

Swami Nithyananda says, 'we need something really really strong to remove the negativities which we continuously accumulate in our system due to our lifestyle.'

He says, 'Nithya Yoga is yoga for jet age generation...'

Swami Nithyananda understands both Patanjali and the modern man very well. Through Nithya Yoga, He brings Ashtanga Yoga as it was intended to be keeping in mind the state of current human consciousness.

In the next post, we will see what this is in greater detail. For now enjoy this short entertaining video, which we will show later is directly connected to Nithya Yoga.

-- Sri Nithya Arpanananda

Yoga - it's MORE than just fashion (Nithya Yoga Series 1)

A few days back, I bumped into a friend of mine early morning.

Me: Hi man, how come you are awake on a Sunday morning?

He: I went for my weekly yoga class...

Me: Wow, thats a nice way to begin a Sunday. So what exactly do you do in the class?

He: We start off with some warm up exercises, then do some asana (postures) and breathing techniques and at last we do shavasana (resting pose) which is my favorite (laughs) because all others are really complex. I simply can't do them. I don't know how people do it.

Me: Thats nice. So how does it feel?

He: Yup. Its a great work out. Theres no doubt about it. Then during that one hour of session, I feel nice, peaceful. But sometimes, it gets really depressing...

Me: Hmm.. I can understand. So whats the plan for today?

He: Man, there are so many things to do. My boss wants a report by tomorrow. So I have to go and work on it. And then a party in the evening.. Man I wish I had 48 hours..

Yoga is such a commonly used word now. The very first thing that comes to our mind when someone tells us about yoga is a slim lady posing in some complex posture. We hear about all kinds of yoga - power yoga, deluxe yoga, blue yoga, super deluxe yoga .. I can go on :)

Most people like my friend associate yoga session with a physical workout and at most with some mental peace during that one hour session. But yoga was meant to be much more than this. It was not a tool, as it has become now, to keep oneself slim. It was not meant to be a fashion statement.

Patanjali, the father of Yoga, developed what is called Ashtanga Yoga as a tool to look inward. It was called a darshana, literally meaning 'looking inward'. Swami Nithyananda says the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga were meant to prepare the mind-body-spirit for enlightenment. That was the depth at which Patanjali proposed the aphorisms on yoga called Yoga Sutra.

Yoga was meant to be a continuous process of being aware of one self but now it has been reduced to a one hour workout session with postures, breathing techniques and meditations. Yoga was meant to be a way of living, a lifestyle wherein one is aware of oneself throughout the 24 hours. From the above conversation, complex postures is not yoga; going back to worrying is not yoga; physical workout is not yoga.

Swami Nithyananda introduced what is called Nithya Yoga, literally meaning, Yoga of Eternity which He says captures the essence of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga for the jet age generation. Describing Nithya Yoga completely in one post is impossible but one thing that is common to each and everyone who has done Nithya Yoga is that, 'it is out of this world.' People who have been doing yoga for 25 years say, 'I have never seen anything like this before.'

In the next few posts, I will take you through some amazing insights into yoga as told by Swami Nithyananda. For now, I leave you with this short video on Nithya Yoga.

-- Sri Nithya Arpanananda

Merging of Wisdom and Devotion

2 days ago, all Krishna devotees celebrated with splendor 'Krishna Janmashtami' - the happening of their beloved Lord Krishna in their lives. Although, in most of our previous posts our attempts have been more towards connecting with the intellectual mind, here I would like to put a post on devotion - something that is possible only through the heart, and something beyond.

If you see, there are broadly two categories of people: the first category uses the mind to communicate, the second through the heart.

Most of us brought up in the western way of thinking independently can relate to the first category. We are normally trained to use logic as a tool to reason out everything that we do and bring clarity. However, the problem with this is we do not know how to use logic reasoning fully. Unfortunately, we think through a filter made of past conditionings. This same weapon of logic if used with skill can be used to kill logic itself! However ironic it may sound, all spiritual practices are all about techniques to drop the intellect, drop logic, transcending logic into the no-mind zone. The greatest of the intellectuals like Sri Sankaracharya, Ashtavakra and Ramana Maharsi exposed the Truth using their razor-sharp intellect as a weapon to strip away intellect.

Then, there are great enlightened masters like Ramakrishna whose heart was so ripe that it used to melt at the mere mention of the divine. Just reading about Ramakrishna's life, about the divine emotion of that of a child that just flowed from his heart to the Divine Mother can put anyone to tears. Those who can connect through the heart usually feel one of these five bhava (emotions) for God: 1. Dasya Bhava (that of a servant, as Hanuman shared for Sri Rama), 2. Sakhya Bhava (that of a friend, as Arjuna shared for Krishna), 3. Maatru Bhava (that of a mother, as Yashoda shared for Krishna), 4. Vatsalya Bhava (that of a child that Ramakrishna shared for Kaali) and 5. Madhura Bhava (that of a beloved, as Radha shared for Krishna).

It is said that Krishna was a poornavatar - where all the 5 bhava come together. Many of Nithyananda's devotees feel the same way about Nithyananda, as they relate with him in all these 5 bhava.

Now an important question: If the Ultimate Truth is "Absolute", then how can there be differences in the path of the wisdom and devotion? Swamiji answers this beautifully:

"Let me tell you more about the Triveni Sangam. It is a confluence of the three sacred rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. While the former two are visible, the third flows underground and becomes visible only at the point of merging. Ganga is the river of Lord Shiva and stands for wisdom or gnana. All Shiva temples are on the banks of the river Ganga. Yamuna is the river of Lord Krishna and stands for devotion or bhakti. All Krishna temples, you will find on the banks of the river Yamuna. When Ganga and Yamuna merge, when wisdom and devotion merge, Saraswati (or knowledge) happens! That is the symbolic significance of Triveni Sangam. Unless this merging happens, you cannot see or experience knowledge. That is why Saraswati remains hidden until the point of merging."

In other words, the peak of wisdom and peak of devotion culminate with the same Truth. I bow in gratitude to all those Masters for their compassion to show us the Truth.

-- In Nithyananda,
Ma Nithyananda Arpana

Are we a bunch of conditioned monkeys?

A few days ago, I received this email about "The Monkey Experiment" in one of the Nithyananda mailing groups. I thought it was very interesting and that I must share this with you all.

"A group of scientists placed 5 monkeys in a cage and in the middle, a ladder with bananas on the top. Every time a monkey went up the ladder, the scientists soaked the rest of the monkeys with cold water.

After a while, every time a monkey went up the ladder, the others beat up the one on the ladder. After some time, no monkey dare to go up the ladder regardless of the temptation. Scientists then decided to substitute one of the monkeys. The 1st thing this new monkey did was to go up the ladder.

Immediately the other monkeys beat him up. After several beatings, the new member learned not to climb the ladder even though never knew why. After sometime,2nd monkey was substituted and the same occurred. The 1st monkey participated on the beating for the 2nd monkey.

A 3rd monkey was changed and the same was repeated (beating). The 4th was substituted and the beating was repeated and finally the 5th monkey was replaced. What was left was a group of 5 monkeys that even though never received a cold shower, continued to beat up any monkey who attempted to climb the ladder.

If it was possible to ask the monkeys why they would beat up all those who attempted to go up the ladder, I bet you the answer would be.... 'I don't know - that's how things are done around here'

Does it sounds familiar?"

This is exactly how we operate. We are so socially conditioned to do things in a particular way that we sometimes even forget that we can operate from a source within us.

Just think of how we are brought up. As children, we would have heard these things being told to us 'Don't jump and run around, everyone is looking at you', 'Don't laugh so loudly, what will people think?', 'Don't accept gifts with your left hand, it's rude' etc. etc.

The layers of conditioning gradually build up and we start using them as guidelines for survival. Are we any different from this bunch of conditioned monkeys?

Here is a related video where Swami Nithyananda talks about how we create a life style that makes us miss life. Life style is conditioning given by society. Life Style is societal and life is natural. The changes that happen naturally is life.

-- Ma Nithyananda Arpana

Sssshhhhhh!!!!

'Don't say the D-word,' this is how parents react when children talk about death. Its like saying - you-know-who or the one who must not be named in the Harry Potter books.

Death, in almost all cultures, traditions and religions, is a taboo word. When someone dies, children are not allowed to enter that place. They are just kept away. Forget children, elders also avoid this subject. They are either scared or do not want to bring up this topic.

The most logical reason that one says is - why should we think about death or talk about it. Just enjoy life now, just live.

Swami Nithyananda says - only when you know about death, you will know what life is. When you understand death, you will know how to live.

We either shrug off or avoid talking about death. The fact is we believe death is the end of life; death is something that will take away everything from us. Swami Nithyananda says, death is not the end, it is the climax. He says when we understand truly what death is, we start to see death in a totally different light. We see death as something giving, not as something taking away.

Swami Nithyananda quotes a story from Socrates' life. When Socrates was about to be poisoned, people around him saw him to be completely happy. They did not find him perturbed by it at all. Someone asked him, 'are you not scared? You are going to die soon.' Socrates gives a beautiful reply, 'why should I be scared? What can happen? Either I will start living in another body or I will be liberated. Either way, I will not lose anything.'

We always fear death because we believe that it will take away what ever we have. We want to hold on to our name, our status, our desires, our guilts, our pleasures, our sorrows strongly. And we believe that death will take all these things away from us.

Just one realization that all these are as temporary as flowing river, will give us a new insight into death. Just this clutching to what we think as ours makes us think death as a villian.

Only an enlightened master can speak what death is, what exactly is the process of death. Only he can express that experience because he has undergone a conscious process of death. In Life Bliss Program 2 (LBP2), Swami Nithyananda throws light on the process of death. He speaks out of His personal experience of death and takes us through the different body layers that a soul passes through at the process of death.

On a personal note, after going through LBP2, our whole perspective to death and life has undergone a 180 degree shift. After internalizing the deeper truths, we and I am sure many who have done LBP2, see death in its truest form and are no longer scared of it.

This topic is too big to put in one post and we putting it in words is not as experiential as an enlightened master speaking out of his experience... So we leave you with this video by Swami Nithyananda...N!joy!

-- Sri Nithya Arpanananda

The biggest irony of life!

Last night, I was reading a book whose ending left the reader feeling nostalgic. It spoke about all the good and bad times the author spent with his buddies at college and how he misses them when they are all over. Am sure each of our 'last days' at school, university would have been dramatic in some way or the other. People sobbing on shoulders not able to digest that it's all over, some in shock about how it could all end so abruptly.

When we go back into our past and recollect incidents, we always seem to miss so many things. If you are visiting your native place after a loooong gap of 10 years and see the familiar streets, something cries within you. The feeling hits you strongly that so much has changed, you have grown up and have moved on so much in life. Why does this feeling make us cry? Why do we miss our past so much? Why do we want many things to never come to an end?

It brings us to the most interesting irony of life. We love to see everything as permanent and eternal, although we know everything around is temporary! How true isn't it? We cry when something or somebody close to our hearts is taken away from us. We just take the presence of everyone in our lives for granted and are never prepared to see things otherwise. Even our own lives, we see as permanent. That's why when we hear about accidents or other mishaps, we keep thanking God that it wasn't us. It's going to be our turn sometime anyway, we cannot run away from it, however much we try. So, why not accept it and face it? Even better if we prepare to face it. (Will definitely dedicate a post on "death" and how we can prepare for it. It's a beautiful and deep subject!)

Not seeing things as they are, is what sages called 'Maya' (closest English translation being illusion). In this context, we keep missing the truth every moment and keep fooling ourselves that everything is permanent and ours. Have we ever wondered why this is the case? Why do we see things as permanent and love to see them that way? Why do we see our own lives as eternal?

Swamiji gives an amazing explanation to this: Very deep down, our very being, our true nature, consciousness knows no death. It knows that it is eternal. It is beyond life and death. This is the same Truth elaborated in the Bhagavat Geetha when Krishna says:

nainam chindanti sastrani
nainam dahati pavakah
na cainam kledayanty apo
na sosayati marutah (2-23)

which means "The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can he be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind".

In other words, our true nature is untouched. To put it in Swamiji's words, we are by nature "unclutched". It is our mind that makes all connections and conditionings. Clutching to the past and seeing a future based on the past is all a game of the mind. Let us unclutch and be free!

In these videos (video1, and video2) Swamiji talks beautifully about how our very nature is being unclutched. N!joy!

- Ma Nithyananda Arpana

Melting into a bigger pot

Last evening, a bunch of us friends went out to watch 'Chak de India'. The movie portrays extreme patiotism oozing out in the context of hockey and the Indian hockey team. I am not going to write about the movie here, but a whole thought process that it triggered inside me as I sat in the theatre.

Why does patriotism send strong signals of awe and inspiration inside us? Why does one feel respect and admiration for the heroes who died for their country? Let us analyse this in the context of our daily activities.

If you see carefully, most of our thoughts, words and actions are centered around fulfilling our needs, bodily pleasures and comforts, either directly or indirectly. For many, their food and sleep are very close to their hearts, for others it's their work or salary. Our identity with this body and mind is so strongly engraved in us. All name, fame, money and recognition in society that we are after, all are fuels that keep this so-called body-mind identity alive in us. This stops us from thinking beyond.

At one level above, you do not stop at thinking about just youself, but go to the extent of thinking about other members of your family. Even here, you are thinking about them because they are strongly and directly connected to you rather than an overflowing compassion or love to a fellow human being. If the latter were to be the case, we would have loved any stranger on the street as much as we would 'love' our parents or spouses.

Now, going back to the movie, every time the Indian team scored a goal, a huge wave of applause echoed in the audience, celebration time! Perhaps this is a similar sentiment that becomes alive when we watch a cricket match and literally pray for India's victory. At that time, nothing is more important to us than India winning! A similar, but more serious sentiment happens when we hear about heros like Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh who readily sacrificed their lives for the nation.

In each of these cases, what really happens is a shedding of our body-mind identity for the sake of a bigger identity, for the country. Soldiers who die for their nation are ready to let go of their personal small identity consisting of one or few people, for an identity that binds millions together. In the movie, at first, all players in the national team introduce themselves by saying their name followed by their state. The coach, Shah Rukh Khan gets mad at them for that. He tells them to identify themselves with Team India and asks them to shout their name and 'India'. During this scene, one could feel a gush of pride in the audience. From an individual level, we start to connect as one single nation on the stands of the stadium.

If we go one level deeper, each individual connects to the other at a cosmic level because we cannot escape the fact that we are part of the Whole. Self realization is all about melting the individual identity of body-mind (called Jivatma) for merging with that higher identity (called Paramatma). The individual identity or our 'ego' is an obstacle that blinds us from our real identity, something much deeper and vaster than what we normally perceive. A life led with awareness and the grace of an enlightened Master can simply knock this obstacle and put us face-to-face with who we really are. Only we should be willing and curious for this encounter to happen!

-- Ma Nithyananda Arpana

Break free from the shackles within!

In today's earlier post, Sri Arpanananda asked a question "Are you really free?"

Here are some points to ponder, to help us answer that question to ourselves.

1. If your colleague gets a promotion and you get jealous, then you are a slave to your colleague's progress.

2. If you are a happy person today just because of the praises and compliments you got, then you are a slave to those compliments, coz you wouldn't be as happy otherwise.

3. If you can't sleep peacefully because you're scared about an exam the next day, then you are a slave to that fear of exams.

4. If you are constantly worried about what your boss would say about your progress at work, then you are a slave to your boss's opinions.

5. If you lost your cool and started to yell while arguing with your friend or spouse, then you are a slave to your anger.

6. If you are not able to stop smoking or drinking even though you want to quit, then you are a slave to those habits.

7. If you are not at ease if you have not had your morning coffee or newspaper, then you are a slave to the coffee/newspaper.

8. If you are disappointed at having lost in a competition, then you are a slave to the thought of success.

9. If you always keep praying that your business should go well or that your partner should not dump you, then you are a slave to your insecurities.

10. If you are not able to sit for 5 minutes silently with youself because the thoughts are taking you for a fast roller-coaster ride, then you are a slave to the thoughts and inner chatter!

If we are honest to ourselves and ask each of the above questions to us, we will know how much of injustice and slavery we are putting ourselves into.

To be able to be blissful, NO MATTER WHAT is the Ultimate Liberation, the Ultimate Freedom. For this we need to take the bold step into ourselves and decide to break free from the bondages of greed, jealousy, fear, anger and lust. These shackles can never liberate us unless we make a conscious attempt. Let us take the plunge, let us break free.

What is the worst that can happen to us? We lose our life, that's all! Thousands lost their lives to get our Motherland her independence from external bondage. Let us get inspired from them to live our life with courage, confidence and break free from the internal bondages. Let us strive for the Ultimate Liberation, for Enlightenment.
--
Ma Nithyananda Arpana

From independence to Independence ...

Today it is August 15th. India is celebrating 60th year of independence. If one goes through Indian history, there are innumerable stories of bravery and valour that finally won them independence. Both violence and non-violence were used and the fight was won as everyone came together as one force.

The fight was necessary because the very freedom of existence of people was being curbed. When that very freedom is taken away, we feel suffocated. Imagine a person being constantly watched, being put under 100 different rules, being locked in a cell, a dungeon. Thousands were put in cellular jail, in cells hardly few feet by few feet. Living conditions were really pathetic. People were not allowed to speak what they wished to. If they did, they were locked up in prisons.

If we retrace through Indian history, British sailors were welcomed by Indians in early 1700. They were treated very well by Indians and in return Brithishers also reciprocated warmly. Contrary to what happened later, Britishers and Indians shared a friendly bond. But along the way, something changed. British started taking charge of Indians. They started controlling everything around. They wanted to hold the power. In return of petty profits, Indians too allowed Britishers to take charge initially. That's it. That was all was needed for a 200 year long battle to start off.

This independence was necessary for people to express themselves, to preserve their culture, their heritage, their tradition. This independence was needed before they got eliminated by the pressure of the British regime. The very survival of an Indian was at stake. This independence was needed and finally achieved...

Now let me ask you a question - are we really free? Do we really express what we really are?

The answer is ... NO!

Let us go one level deeper. When we were kids, we expressed ourselves more freely. We just did not care what others would say and we would do things that are unthinkable now. We expressed our freedom in the true sense of freedom. But now, we have carved out an identity based on society. We define ourselves based on what we are in this society. We behave in a certain way when we are in front of our boss, but in a different way when we meet our friends.

What has happened along the way? Why did we stop feeling that sense of freedom, that independence?

The answer is simple; just like the Indians in early 1700, we let someone else take charge of ourselves. We let the society take charge. We let ourselves ruled by the societal pressure. We express what the society wants us to, we talk what is acceptable by the society, we walk the path which the society says is the safest. Each and everything that we do has some relation or the other with the society. Our whole identity is knit by the society.

Also, along the process, we have built a false ego around us, an ego that is powered by the society. The foundation stones of our ego are made up of the society. We do something because we will be placed higher in the society; we talk in a certain way because we will be recognized in the society; we walk a certain path because that we believe that is the path that will keep us on top of everyone.

Clutched in the shackles of society and ego, we have just forgotten our true identity, our true independence - to merge with the Ultimate Consciousness.

This was the only fight of independence that ancient India fought thousands of years ago. Neither violence, nor non-violence but spiritual truths were the only weapons they used. The only independence that they believed was the Ultimate Liberation. Along the way, we have strayed away from this fight.

Our inner self, the life force that runs us, the life force that runs the Universe is getting suffocated and choked due to our own ego. Time has come to start the true battle of independence ...

-- Sri Nithya Arpanananda

The Fundamental Assumption

In few of our previous posts, we brought in references to science concurring with what has been branded as 'Spiritual'. When I say science, I mean science as we know it to be, with experiments, laboratory research, statistical observations and proofs. Starting from Dr.Emoto's experiments with water crystals and the power of thoughts, Dr.Bruce Lipton's experiments at the cellular level, throwing light on energy healing (what mystics have been following for thousands of years), a detailed documentation of Dr. Yen's healing of criminally ill patients through love...

However, we have no choice but to admit that science, as of today, has its limitations. For example, until recently it was believed that the Big Bang theory explained the origin of the universe. One day or the other, the question had to come 'what before that?'. Recently, some scientists are suggesting an alternate model called the Big Bounce Theory in an attempt to cover the loopholes of the Big Bang. However, unless we say the Universe always existed, the question about 'what before that?' will always exist.

Whatever we know as science today is built on one basic assumption: 'the observer and the scene observed are different'. You may say, that doesn't make sense. Let me elaborate. Why do you see something as a house, or somebody as being different from you? A sense of identity that you have created with your body makes you think you are different from everything around you isn't it?

The approach to science has been that man first cut himself from the scene because he thought he is different, then saw the plants, animals, planets around him. Then he started to classify these, study them and science originated - one branch for each of the things he put under a category.

Let's call this science of the external world. The flaw here is that the observer was never questioned. The distinct separation of the observer from the scene was taken for granted. This is where the problem lies. This can only lead us to relative findings, not absolute, because the very framework is relative to the observer.

The scientists of the inner world were very thorough. They made no assumptions. They went to the very roots. They questioned the observer first. They asked the question 'What am I?', 'Am I this body?', 'Am I separate from the rest of the world or is it just my projection?'. They went to the root of the problem and were not satisfied with relative findings. These amazing scientists of the inner world cracked the problem to life, existence, God.

Great scientists like Einstein recognized that there is more to science that what we perceive and said 'The end of science is the origin of spirituality'. What this means is that where the science of the external world stops, the science of the inner world begins. Today, top quantum physicists are asking fundamental spiritual questions. Watch the movie What the bleep do we know? to understand what I am saying.

Many of us think that spirituality is subjective and science is absolute. Friend, if you feel that way, you are mistaken. Spirituality talks about the Absolute Truth. That is why Truth is written with a capital 'T'. Whether it was Jesus, Krishna or Buddha, they spoke about the very same Truth. If we see them as different, it is our ignorance. Of course, this Truth can only be experienced not intellectualized using logic. Because once we start using logic, we are once again talking in relative terms. And the Truth is Absolute.

Ancient scriptures of India like the Upanishads is a thorough documentation of all the scientific experiments and study done in the inner world. It gives us techniques to crack the mysteries of life and contain nothing but the Truth. Unfortunately, there is so much of misconception about these scriptures, many think these books promote religious fanaticism, or it contains mythological stories. No way, these wonderful books contain just pure knowledge about Existence, about the very fundamental question 'Who am I?'.

Anybody who has been truly touched by Swami Nithyananda has experienced at least one glimpse of this Truth. What happens in this space when the boundaries disappear is simply beyond words. As mystics put it, it is Sat-Chit-Ananda (Truth-Awareness-Bliss). Swamiji has proven to us that it is not just the mystics, but you and I can experience it. Ofcourse, when one experiences it all the time, he becomes enlightened! Let us start with at least a glimpse, you never know, enlightenment may be around the corner!

-- Ma Nithyananda Arpana

Cacophony can be harmony!

Recently, at office, the fire alarm went off suddenly for no reason (it happens often). This was the conversation that took place at that moment:

Colleague1 (frowning): What's wrong with this?

Colleague2 : Yeah man. Why does it go off without anything happening at all?

Colleague1 (getting irritated): Could someone shut this thing? It is just too irritating.

Even after a few minutes, the alarm did not stop ringing...

Colleague2 (frustrated): Man, let's get out of here. Just can't stay here any longer...

Many of us have faced situations where we get very irritated at small or no incidents at all. We go to a shopping complex and sometimes get bugged seeing hoards of people moving aimlessly or so we think.

When we board a crowded bus with each one narrating his/her story to the other at the top of their voices, we simply cannot take it. We just want get out of that bus as soon as possible. The sounds of so many people, the chaos in the bus is just too much for us to be calm and patient.

Let me give you one more situation. Those of you who have written exams would have experienced the eery silence in the exam hall. This silence can also be shattering and we think 'why is this place so quiet'. Next moment, in this silence if someone starts tapping his foot or clicking his pen, again irritation starts to creep in us.

In all the above situations, if we notice, we are actually not even the subject, i.e. the crowd in the bus is not talking to us or about us, the hundreds of people in the shopping mall are not even bothered about us, the fire alarm is no way related us and we don't even know the student who is tapping his foot in the exam hall.

If that is the case, why do we take them so personally on ourself? Why do we get so irritated?

A simple answer: we are not at peace within ourselves. We are not comfortable with ourselves. There is so much of chaos in us that a small external event is enough to irritate us. We just cannot tolerate anything. For example, the days when you had an argument with your colleague or boss, you are in a terrible mood and in such a scenario even a slight external disturbance is enough to pull the trigger. Isn't it?

Internally there is chaos going on. There is so much inner chaoas and a small trigger can cause it to just spill outside. All that is needed is a small vent in the form of an external disturbance.

Swami Nithyananda quotes an incident from his life:

When I was in Calcutta, a man came to see me.

He said, “Swamiji, I have a problem. I don’t sleep well at night because I live in an area where there are plenty of street dogs. Every night they start barking, and keep barking till sunrise. I am already a very light sleeper, and I simply can’t get any rest because of this noise.”

I told him, “Go home and try this tonight. When you hear the barking, just drop the anger, the negative feelings that rise up in you. Just listen to the barking sound without resisting. Tell yourself that the dogs are barking, that’s all. Don’t allow yourself to react. The problem is not the barking, but your resistance to it.”

The man went back tried what Itold him. After a few days he came back to me and reported, “Swamiji, I tried dropping my resistance as you said. Instead of thinking, ‘How dare those stupid dogs spoil my sleep!’ I tried changing my thoughts gradually:

‘The dogs are barking. It is spoiling my sleep.…’

‘The dogs are barking…’

‘Some animals are creating some sounds…’

By the time I came to that sentence, I think I fell asleep. Anyway, I’ve been having excellent sleep all these days. Thank you Swamiji!”

It is because of our resistance to the disturbance that it is a disturbance in the first place. As Swamiji says, a disturbance is a disturbance as long as we allow it to be; just tune into the disturbance and it will stop to disturb us.

A large percent of our energy is wasted due to this internal disturbance. Meditation acts as a catalyst to convert that disturbance into peace. When we are at peace with ourselves, we are not bothered by the chaos outside us. If there is a disturbance, it is possible to just tune into it, like the above incident.

Next time you get irritated, just see why it is happening.. is it really external?? Or is it internal?

-- Sri Nithya Arpanananda