The Ultimate Insurance

There is always some kind of fear associated with spirituality and meditation. Many people just don't talk about it; these words are tabooed just like the word - death. If I try to bring up this topic with some of my friends, they simply change the topic. They do not want to even speak about it, forget even thinking of trying some meditation.

Why is that so? Many of us have notions about spirituality and meditation. They have been associated with renunciation, people leaving homes and becoming wanderers and sanyasis.

Actually our fear is not about spirituality or enlightened masters. I know of many people, who enjoy reading spiritual books but when it comes to applying them to their own lives, they just back off. That means spiritual truths actually echo with us; they have to because they are meant to echo with everyone's being.

If that is the case, why the fear?

Our actual fear is that of our identity. Spirituality shakes the roots of our notions about our identity. All along our lives, we have been made to believe by society, parents, friends, school, teachers etc. that we are this, we are so and so, we should have this, we should do this ... Spirituality shakes this very belief. Our identity which was based on the external objects be it animate like our family, or inanimate like our possessions, is questioned by spirituality and enlightened masters.

The same is the case with enlightened masters. We resonate with the truths uttered by the masters but there is a deep sense of fear, especially with living Masters. History shows how people condemned masters when they were in their bodies. Buddha was stone pelted, Ramakrishna was called a mad man, Jesus was crucified ... But now, Buddhism is a religion, Ramakrishna Matt is one of the largest spiritual organization ... We fear loss of our identity especially with living masters as they can straightaway work on us.

Paramahamsa Nithyananda says, 'Spirituality is all about exploding in 360 degrees, in all your dimensions. It makes one tap all the energies present in oneself to enjoy both external and internal worlds. It takes away your false identities and lets you realize your true identity - bliss. An enlightened master is an instrument to show you that truth. The body language and the life of an enlightened master radiates that energy.'

From experiences of thousands of disciples of my Master, including my own, what Nithyananda says is the truth. Spirituality makes life a beautiful process every moment. Just remembering these spiritual truths and the face of the Master pulls us out of low mood (if any) and keep us alive and bubbling with energy. Our Master has given us a glimpse that we do not need these external entities to define us and our state of being. He has shown us that we are "bliss" irrespective. He has surely shaken the roots of our false identity and shown us our core.

What insurance company, which million-dollar job, which millionaire... can guarantee me this life-long bliss??? Think over it.

She waits till we call Her...

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa very beautifully quotes a story of a little child busily playing with its toys. The mother knows that even if she calls her child at this point, the child would not bother, because the toys are most dear at that point in time. The toys are the very life of the child. The mother gets busy in the kitchen and doesn't even see the child, because she knows the child does not need her attention. But she waits for her child to call her.

After a while the child gets bored with the toys, it starts to look here and there in search of the mother. Now the mother throws a glance at the child. After a while, the child gets very anxious that it can't find its mother and starts to wail and cry its heart out. Of course, this time the mother comes running and carries the child in her arms.

He goes on to say that this is exactly how our relationship with God is. When we are busy with our toys, we can't be bothered about God or enlightenment. Well, like Swamiji says, instead of small toy cars, we are busy with biggers ones, that's all! Money, bank balance, car, house, family... these are the toys we get immersed in, so much so, that we forget our Mother. We cry over these toys, get stressed up, worried and what not!

She knows that if she comes when we are busy playing, we will only treat Her as a disturbance. So She waits patiently for us to look at Her.

After many lives, when these toys no longer interest us.. when a sense of understanding dawns upon us that we have been playing with the same toys, life after life... a sudden awakening happens.. to search for Her, to search the divine. Because that is where we belong, that is whom we should be calling upon. But until we are ready, the Mother leaves us alone. She knows we don't need Her :)

Sometimes, the Mother out of Her compassion sends a wake up call because she knows that if she leaves us alone, we will take ages to realize that we have been caught up with the toys! She sends living enlightened Masters again and again to wake us up. This awakening or realization is the greatest gift one can ever have!

Imagine the freedom that results when you realize that you have been crying over something so vain, so petty! Suddenly all the so-called worries, sorrows drop, because we now know the space we came from. We now understand our true source, our true nature.

Thank you Master for bestowing this awakening on us. What compassion! Blessed are we....

Why search when you have found?

A few weeks ago, we visited the house of a devotee to perform the Sri Vidya Puja at his place. While we were setting up for the puja, he was showing us his 'spiritual' collection. A huge book shelf in the living room had books by all Masters one could think of. He also has a little corner where he does his meditation and daily prayers, where he had kept souvenirs from various ashrams, holy places. He was reading our selective passages from different books to us in the context of a few conversations we had.

It was an interesting experience for me as I was for the first time meeting someone whom Swamiji calls a 'professional seeker'. It was amazing how he was quickly referring to various sources and quoting lines. Later after the puja, this gentleman shared with us how he feels so touched by Swamiji after he met Him. But he expressed how he is undergoing a big confusion in his life as a seeker with so many masters, so many different methods, so many different ways of expressing the truth. Although he was now clear from within about that special connection he shares with Swamiji, he was going through a painful dilemma about whether he should choose to go with just Him or whether it is okay to have many Masters.

This reminded us of what Swamiji beautifully clarifies in one of His discourses on seeking (watch below), that at the initial level, when the seeking is first triggered in a person, a seeker is encouraged to explore. If every Master is a garden, then he should visit as many gardens, pluck those flowers he likes and make a garland or bouquet for himself. This is a good inspiration in the beginning because the spark of "seeking" that has just been triggered is fanned in the process of searching various sources.

However, once we have found the click with a particular Master, then there is no point in continuing to search. The Master warns that if we are really serious about finding out the truth, then it is the intensity that matters (Here are our previous posts on intensity of seeking). And for this intensity to happen, He says drop all else once the connection with a Master has happened. Just dive in with all heart and soul. There is no logical explanation to feeling connected with a Master. An intense connection with the Master is a gift of Existence. Something much deeper than our logical analysis guides us towards him.

And when this happens, and we drop all else and go to that one Master with all conviction and trust, the true miracles start to unfold. Otherwise we will just be wasting our time with analysing, criticizing other Master or passing our judgements/opinions about them. If we are smart enough we will realize that none of this analysis is actually going to help us progress spiritually.

An enlightened master's touch can do much more than what a thousand meditation sessions through one's own effort can do. Such is the compassion of the master. But to avail of this grace, one has to be open. When we trust the Master and are ready to receive, it's only then we are truly open. Master is like a river who has abundance. It is upto us whether we want to go to Him with an empty teaspoon or an empty mug or an empty bucket or an empty reservoir! If we are really smart, we would consider building a dam!

Here is a discourse where Swamiji clarifies this beautifully in His own words:

Conflict-free clicks for Jeevanmukti!

Our beloved Master Paramahamsa Nithyananda uses the word 'click' often. He defines a click as a revelation that happens in our inner space; a sort of explosion of clarity on listening to certain truths, a feeling of "Ah Yes, How True!" from deep inside. He infact says the process of initiation happens through these clicks in a disciple. It is these clicks that are like sparks that eventually catch fire to burn the thick forest of ignorance that lies inside. Here is a video on clicks and initiation:




25th December was celebrated as Acharyas day as part of the 10 day Brahmotsavam celebrations culminating with Swamiji's Jayanthi on 1st. That day Swamiji addressed all His acharyas in a conference at the ashram. He said very beautifully that if we scan our inner space, we will see that there are 3 types of clicks.

The first category is those clicks which would have experientially created an impact in our lives and we know for certain that they work. Personally, I experienced many such clicks for the first time when I attended the Life Bliss Program. Starting from insight into our engraved memories and how we give power to them, understanding about being in the present moment and how it can help us improve our work efficiency etc etc. Those clicks which we have internalized experientially are like weapons that we readily use to raise ourselves out of low mood or depression or worry or fear... they are like instant solutions.

There is a second category of clicks which we know work, but we need to put in a certain effort each time we try it. Then there is a third category which consists of those clicks that the Master has given us but which really haven't clicked in us. Swamiji said that as Acharyas it is very easy to be talking about the clicks in the first category, but when it comes to the second or the thrid, it will be transparent to the audience that the experience is yet to happen.

He went on to say that if we constantly keep experimenting with the clicks, we suddenly see that many clicks would have moved from the second category to the first, and from the third to the second. We eventually reach a point where all clicks have become an experience in us. We reach a space where there are no conflicts in the clicks inside, here there is no inner chattering.

That is the point when we start to radiate Jeevanmukti, living enlightenment. To live all clicks in a conflict free manner and to radiate that experience of the Truth that has happened inside. So, let us all keep experimenting with all the clicks that have been gifted to us by the Master and allow the explosion of inner clarity to happen. The Master, out of His compassion and grace has blessed planet earth to enter a new cycle of divine consciousness (in His Jayanthi message). Let us be one amongst those radiating Nithyananda and living Jeevanmukti!

The Fig Tree

Over the last few days I have been watching a fig tree in our University campus. It is a huge 'sea fig' tree with a huge trunk and long, bulky branches; with its roots criss-crossing the near-by area like snakes crawling all over :) It has a thick canopy with beautiful long, flat, green leaves. All these branches and the trunk are filled with figs (some biological specialty, I heard). During afternoons, I have to take my internal shuttle bus and the bus stop is right below this tree. Thanks to its thick canopy, it is amazingly cool standing below it though our dear Sun in Singapore has been pretty harsh to people over the last few weeks. Not only humans, other species of fauna like birds and squirrels also spend quite a bit of time under the cool shade of the tree. They have figs also to feed on, you see.

Anyways, over the last one week, I saw that more sun rays were hitting me and the ground below the tree was filled with more leaves. And to my surprise, last weekend, I saw the tree completely bald. I mean there were no leaves at all on the tree; no leaves, no figs, nothing!! And so no birds, no squirrels and no humans also...

But today morning, I saw a beautiful sight. There were tender, light green leaves smiling like small babies filling all the branches of the fig tree. It was awesome; just seeing the tree covered in a light green carpet was breathtaking. I saw that the birds and squirrels were returning back to the tree, slowly but steadily.

Now, why I am telling all this... firstly it was beautiful to see that almost dead looking tree turn into a lovely and lively model and I wanted to share it. Secondly, I wanted to share something which I observed while this whole episode was going on. Whatever was happening to the leaves, the figs etc. etc., the trunk of the tree was still and steady. Whether the outer periphery of the branches was active and alive with action from animals and birds or whether it was completely deserted, the trunk was least affected. It enjoyed the presence of the leaves, the animals, the birds, the nests etc. but it also enjoyed the silence when they were gone.

Now imagine happening this to us. We are in an amazing job, have an amazing family. Everything is going great for us. We are all happy. In anyone of these is taken away from us that's it, we enter in a depression. In fact nobody has to take anything away, the very fear of losing what we hold keeps us in a state of continuous depression even if nothing has really happened.

All this is because our state of being is governed by the outer periphery. Unlike the fig tree, we get upset if the outer periphery is deserted. We enter into such a state that it takes a long time to fully recover from it and sometimes we can't even come back out of it. The trunk of the fig tree is not affected because it is happy unto itself. Its happiness is not because of them but despite of them. It is rock solid.

However, in our case, our trunk or our core is not centered at all in the first place. If someone says something positive today, we feel happy; if something good according to our ideas happens today, we feel happy and God forbid, if something, even one thing goes against our plan, that's all our whole foundation of happiness is shaken.

Paramahamsa Nithyananda says, 'Meditation makes your core strong and steady. It teaches you to be blissful irrespective of what is happen around you and that is spirituality.' When the core is blissful, nothing, not even death can affect us (please watch this video by a professor from Carnegie Melon University who spoke about himself in Oprah).

That fig tree is living its life, it is living true spirituality and what about you...

Haven't we taken our toys too seriously?

Most of us have our lives centered around our family, career, money, house, friends, spouse, children, their education, our health, parents' health etc. If we just peek into a gathering of friends or relatives anywhere in the world, you will find them all talking about these same things with minor variations. Our inner space is like a tape recorder that continuously plays thoughts related to one of these in a fixed pattern, day in and day out.

But there are times when all this seems meaningless! This could happen when we enter into places with high spiritual energy like temples or quiet ashrams. Something deep down tells us that this deep peace which we experience in those places is where we actually came from, and where we should be. Suddenly the whole life seems to be a drama. We start to see the insignificance of our so called problems, our so called worries.

Recently my aunt after visiting the ashram at Bidadi said to me 'It was such an amazing experience! I have now realized how I have been wasting my time and energy all these years. From now I have decided I will put in my entire life into spiritual upliftment etc.' Then what happens after we go back home? We cling back to our old routine, old thought patterns, old sources of pleasure and what not.

Why does this happen? Ramakrishna says beautifully: When a child is engrossed in the toys given to it, the mother is relaxed doing her chores in the kitchen, because she knows the child is alright, enjoying. But after a while when the child gets bored of the toys, it starts to look this side and that side. It suddenly wants the mother beside it. Then it starts to cry - first softly. Then begins to wail. Now, the mother cannot bear to see the child crying. So she comes running to puts the child in her arms.

Does this sound familiar? This is exactly the game we play in our lives with our toys. Till such time we are busily playing with our toys, the cosmic mother Parashakti waits patiently. Only when we realize the futility of the whole thing and cry for her earnestly, she responds!

Swamiji quotes this beautiful story that will further throw light on this. There were two little boys building sand castles at the beach. In the process, one of them got into a quarrel with the other and kicked the sand castle of the other in anger. Now this other boy went and complained to the king, for which the king laughed and said "Why are you crying for such a trivial thing? After all they are just sand castles". For this the minister said "Dear king, how different is this from you crying over your stone castles?"

So, when we are young, we cry for toy cars. When we grow up we cry for bigger toy cars! That's all. No difference!

There is nothing wrong with playing with the toys as long as we know we are only playing with toys! The problem is that we start to take the toys too seriously and forget that we have our mother waiting for us. All we need to do is to cry for her, she will come running to embrace us!

India ... the spiritual incubator

Last week, we were in Paramahamsa Nithyananda's ashram in India for His birthday celebrations. Though indescribable, we have tried our best to give a gist of what it was like to be in the energy field of a living enlightened master for just a few days. Everyone in the ashram was blissed out totally, dancing, singing, jumping in ecstasy, completely immersed in the energy.

Anyways, after the birthday celebrations, we left the ashram to my parents' place by train. Its an overnight journey. I found myself allocated to the middle berth and on the lower berth, I found a long haired, bermuda-t-shirt clad westerner lost in his own world. As soon as he saw me, he turned his head, his attention on the book I was reading- Sri Sharada Devi - The Holy Mother. He smiled and immediately said, 'that's a nice book.'

Why am I quoting this incident? This incident brought back one of my very old questions. Why is it that any person from any part of the world comes to India in search for deeper truths? Why do seekers of the Ultimate Truth think India is the place where there is an answer? This guy is not just touring India. He is certainly come to India for something more because he knows and read about masters like Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Sharada Devi.

Paramahamsa Nithyananda declares, "India is the spiritual incubator of the world." There is no doubt about it. Several enlightened masters and beings happened in India, Krishna, Buddha, Mahavira, Patanjali, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Vivekananda, Sharada Devi, Ramana Maharshi, Annamalai Swami, Sai Baba, Osho, Ajja, Paramahamsa Nithyananda ... the list goes on and on. There are thousands of enlightened masters and beings sitting in remote corners of India who are not even known to common people.

India is a culmination of the energy of these enlightened masters and it is this energy that strikes a chord with the seekers from the rest of the world. Osho puts it beautifully, "India is not just a geography or history. It is not only a nation, a country, a mere piece of land. It is something more: it is a metaphor, poetry, something invisible but very tangible. It is vibrating with certain energy fields that no other country can claim."

That is India. In terms of materialistic possessions, India may be termed as developing but in spiritual possessions, India is the only developed country. The people of so-called developed countries turn to India when everything external fails to fulfill the deepest inner craving for the Ultimate Truth.

India is a metaphor for the Ultimate Truth; India is a beautiful poetry penned down by the energies of the enlightened masters; India is a colorful painting with strokes of energy made by these masters and India is a culmination of the faith, hope and trust of a billion people on this Ultimate Truth in one way or the other.