Dear all,
For all those who missed Br Rishikesh Chaitanyaji’s talk at Nachi’s place on Thursday here is the gist.
Whatever is there in the beginning and end must naturally be there in the middle too.For eg.the mud which makes up an earthen pot is there before the pot was made and also after it has been broken to pieces. Similarly we arrive crying into this world and leave the world crying and grasping and naturally live in this world in distress . So this world is duhkhamaya.
What is the cause of this duhkha? The cause is seeing bheda, i.e. seeing that Iswara,prapancha and jiva as different and not seeing that everything is the Lord Himself.You attain happiness when u realize that there was never anything other than Him.
Man differs from the Lord in that man suffers from Klesha whereas the Lord does not.The klesha is due to avidya or ignorance about the reality behind oneself,asmita or the sense of Iness,raga or attachment, dvesha or aversion and abhinivesha or the fear of death. The root cause of turbulence in the mind is avidya which leads to all the rest.
The cause of fear is also bheda.We fear that we may lose money,power, status and fame due to the others never realizing that there is no other.There is only one Satchitananda.i.e, eternal, knowledge and bliss.
Satchitananda is our svarupa, which is why we want to live long, are curious and always run after happiness.We should live our life according to the four purusharthas. They are Dharma, Artha. Kama and Moksha.Even if u live ur life by the first three it is of no use. That is not the purpose of human life.The purpose of human life is Moksha alone.Anyone who lives otherwise is living the life of an animal.
The type of Dharma we have to follow is Svadharma.i.e a God conscious life, anything else is paradharma or the life of an animal. How do we reach such a state?This state can be achieved by Jnana or Karma. The former path is tough, so we must follow the path of Karma.. Karma is by Upasana(bhakti) or by surrendering the fruits of action to the Lord.The most astonishing thing is we are God only we haven’t realized it.We are like the lion who was reared by a sheep and lived the life of a sheep till another lion revealed to it its true nature.It doesn’t change the fact that it was a lion from the beginning.Similarly we are all divine only we haven’t realized it.
HURRY HOME!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
What happens if we just let go ?
What happens if we just let go? Nothing happens except inner liberation. There is still food on the table. We are still brushing our teeth in the morning. Ultimately nothing can go wrong. It’s all perfect as it is. If we are dying in the moment, it’s still perfect as it is. All is being taken care of in the realm of perfection. That realm is what reality truly is.
There is a story about a man who traveled in the mountains and was overtaken by nightfall. As he continued walking in the dim light, he fell over what seemed to him to be a steep cliff. He managed to grab onto the branches of a small bush. He was holding on to it for dear life, imagining in his mind sure death if he let go of it. He spent the whole night in agony. By the first light of morning, sapped of all his strength, he lost his grip and fell. He was surprised to find that he landed on a secure ledge just two feet below where he had been clinging to the branches for dear life.
This humorous story illustrates our irrational fear and obsession. Because of our irrational fear we feel we must be in control. This originates from our belief that there is something fundamentally wrong with reality. The truth is that security is unobtainable because it is the very fabric of reality. Reality is all pervading. We can never fall out of it. We are already secure and we are always secure.
There is a story about a man who traveled in the mountains and was overtaken by nightfall. As he continued walking in the dim light, he fell over what seemed to him to be a steep cliff. He managed to grab onto the branches of a small bush. He was holding on to it for dear life, imagining in his mind sure death if he let go of it. He spent the whole night in agony. By the first light of morning, sapped of all his strength, he lost his grip and fell. He was surprised to find that he landed on a secure ledge just two feet below where he had been clinging to the branches for dear life.
This humorous story illustrates our irrational fear and obsession. Because of our irrational fear we feel we must be in control. This originates from our belief that there is something fundamentally wrong with reality. The truth is that security is unobtainable because it is the very fabric of reality. Reality is all pervading. We can never fall out of it. We are already secure and we are always secure.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
TEACHER VERSUS GURU
A teacher takes responsibility of your growth
A Guru makes you responsible for your growth
A teacher gives you things you do not have and require
A Guru takes away things you have and do not require
A teacher answers your questions
A Guru questions your answers
A teacher helps you get out of the maze
A Guru destroys the maze
A teacher requires obedience and discipline from the pupil
A Guru requires trust and humility from the pupil
A teacher clothes you and prepares you for the outer journey
A Guru strips you naked and prepares you for the inner journey
A teacher is a guide on the path
A Guru is a pointer to the way
A teacher sends you on the road to success
A Guru sends you on the road to freedom
A teacher explains the world and its nature to you
A Guru explains yourself and your nature to you
A teacher makes you understand how to move about in the world
A Guru shows you where you stand in relation to the world
A teacher gives you knowledge and boosts your ego
A Guru takes away your knowledge and punctures your ego
A teacher sharpens your mind
A Guru opens your mind
A teacher shows you the way to prosperity
A Guru shows the way to serenity
A teacher reaches your mind
A Guru touches your soul
A teacher gives you knowledge
A Guru makes you wise
A teacher gives you maturity
A Guru returns you to innocence
A teacher instructs you on how to solve problems
A Guru shows you how to resolve issues
A teacher is a systematic thinker
A Guru is a lateral thinker
A teacher will punish you with a stick
A Guru will punish you with compassion
A teacher is to pupil what a father is to son
A Guru is to pupil what mother is to her child
One can always find a teacher
But a Guru has to find and accept you
A teacher leads you by the hand
A Guru leads you by example
A teacher instructs you
A Guru constructs you
When the course is over you are thankful to the teacher
When the discourse is over you are grateful to the Guru
When a teacher finishes with you, you graduate
When a Guru finishes with you, you liberate
A Guru makes you responsible for your growth
A teacher gives you things you do not have and require
A Guru takes away things you have and do not require
A teacher answers your questions
A Guru questions your answers
A teacher helps you get out of the maze
A Guru destroys the maze
A teacher requires obedience and discipline from the pupil
A Guru requires trust and humility from the pupil
A teacher clothes you and prepares you for the outer journey
A Guru strips you naked and prepares you for the inner journey
A teacher is a guide on the path
A Guru is a pointer to the way
A teacher sends you on the road to success
A Guru sends you on the road to freedom
A teacher explains the world and its nature to you
A Guru explains yourself and your nature to you
A teacher makes you understand how to move about in the world
A Guru shows you where you stand in relation to the world
A teacher gives you knowledge and boosts your ego
A Guru takes away your knowledge and punctures your ego
A teacher sharpens your mind
A Guru opens your mind
A teacher shows you the way to prosperity
A Guru shows the way to serenity
A teacher reaches your mind
A Guru touches your soul
A teacher gives you knowledge
A Guru makes you wise
A teacher gives you maturity
A Guru returns you to innocence
A teacher instructs you on how to solve problems
A Guru shows you how to resolve issues
A teacher is a systematic thinker
A Guru is a lateral thinker
A teacher will punish you with a stick
A Guru will punish you with compassion
A teacher is to pupil what a father is to son
A Guru is to pupil what mother is to her child
One can always find a teacher
But a Guru has to find and accept you
A teacher leads you by the hand
A Guru leads you by example
A teacher instructs you
A Guru constructs you
When the course is over you are thankful to the teacher
When the discourse is over you are grateful to the Guru
When a teacher finishes with you, you graduate
When a Guru finishes with you, you liberate
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Quiz
Where is this passage from ?
Men call the Aswattha, - the Banyan-tree, Which hath its boughs beneath, its roots on high, The ever-holy tree. Yea! for its leaves Are green and waving hymns which whisper Truth! Who knoweth well the Aswattha, knows all.
Its branches shoot to heaven and sink to earth, Even as the deeds of men, which take their birth From qualities: its silver sprays and blooms, And all the eager verdure of its girth,Leap to quick life at touch of sun and air, As men's lives quicken to the temptings fair Of wooing sense: its hanging rootlets seek The soil beneath, helping to hold it there, As actions wrought amid this world of men Bind them by ever-tightening bonds again. If ye knew well the teaching of the Tree, What its shape saith; and whence it springs; and, then
How it must end, and all the ills of it, The axe of sharp Detachment ye would whet, And cleave the clinging snaky roots, and lay This Aswattha of sense-like low, - to set
New growths upspringing to that happier sky, Which they who reach shall have no day to die, Nor fade away, nor fall - to Him, I mean, Father and First, Who made the mystery
Of old Creation; for to Him come they From passion and from dreams who break away; Who part the bonds constraining them to flesh, And, - Him, the Highest, worshipping alway
No longer grow at mercy of what breeze Of summer pleasure stirs the sleeping trees, What blast of tempest tears them, bough and stem To the eternal world pass such as these!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Dear all,
Jai Sri Krishna,
It has been decided that in the next satsang 6 of us are going to summarize the 14 chapter. Date is 17 May(sunday). Introduction and first five stanzas by Srinivas, next five by Jaya,the next five by Ramana,the following 5 by Madhavi,the next 5 by Murali and the last two by Nachi.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
14 Chap completed
Dear all,
This is just to inform that we concluded 14 Chap today. Next satsang will be the opening of the new Chap, the 15 th one. Quite exciting and interesting to look back with satisfaction and look ahead with anticipation!
Hari om and Jai Sri Krishna.
Nachi
This is just to inform that we concluded 14 Chap today. Next satsang will be the opening of the new Chap, the 15 th one. Quite exciting and interesting to look back with satisfaction and look ahead with anticipation!
Hari om and Jai Sri Krishna.
Nachi
Gurudev jayanthi
Thanks to Madhavi who suggested that we meet to celebrate Gurudev jayanthi, we had a spiritually rich and satisfying evening on the 8 of May. We chanted Guru stothram to begin with and followed it by reading a letter written in the 1950's by Gurudev to a devotee. He talks about how learning is the beginning and fulfills itself only in education. He also says that man begins with learning and becomes a real man when he turns the learning into education and becomes a super man in meditation. A man is a victim of his circumstances, a real man struggles and puts in self effort to gain mastery over the circumstances but a super man has all the circumstances under control.
We shared another interesting story about a king who renounced his kingdom to become an ascetic. He built himself a hut in the forest, but still did not attain realisation. A Holy man passed by and the King asked him for guidance to attain realisation. The Holy man replied 'renounce Oh' King, renounce what is yours'. The King thought he renounced the kingdom and all his possessions and all he had now was a hut. He burnt the hut and sat under the tree for meditation. He still failed to attain peace. The Holy man once again passed him and the King asked for guidane again. The Holy man replied ' 'renounce Oh King, renounce what is yours'. The King was puzzled and thought that all that his was his rosary and the water container. He burnt these two items and sat for meditation again. Once again he failed to attain realisation. The Holy man once again passed the King and repeated the same advice. The King was foxed and thought he had only his body to renounce and nothing else left. So he prepared his funeral pyre to immolate himself, when the Holy man appeared before him and stopped him and asked him "Is the body yours?". The King replied "This is all that is left of me...and when my body is burnt, all that is left will be my ashes" The Holy man replied, " you claim even the ashes to be yours...you have not truly renounced as long as you have not renounced the 'myness'. you have only replaced one possession for the other. One has to renounce not the possessions, but the possessiveness"
The evening ended with singing of Adisankara's Nirvana Shatakam. The chorus joining for 'Sivoham...Sivoham'. It was a memorable evening.
Hari Om
We shared another interesting story about a king who renounced his kingdom to become an ascetic. He built himself a hut in the forest, but still did not attain realisation. A Holy man passed by and the King asked him for guidance to attain realisation. The Holy man replied 'renounce Oh' King, renounce what is yours'. The King thought he renounced the kingdom and all his possessions and all he had now was a hut. He burnt the hut and sat under the tree for meditation. He still failed to attain peace. The Holy man once again passed him and the King asked for guidane again. The Holy man replied ' 'renounce Oh King, renounce what is yours'. The King was puzzled and thought that all that his was his rosary and the water container. He burnt these two items and sat for meditation again. Once again he failed to attain realisation. The Holy man once again passed the King and repeated the same advice. The King was foxed and thought he had only his body to renounce and nothing else left. So he prepared his funeral pyre to immolate himself, when the Holy man appeared before him and stopped him and asked him "Is the body yours?". The King replied "This is all that is left of me...and when my body is burnt, all that is left will be my ashes" The Holy man replied, " you claim even the ashes to be yours...you have not truly renounced as long as you have not renounced the 'myness'. you have only replaced one possession for the other. One has to renounce not the possessions, but the possessiveness"
The evening ended with singing of Adisankara's Nirvana Shatakam. The chorus joining for 'Sivoham...Sivoham'. It was a memorable evening.
Hari Om
Dear all,
Jai Shri Krishna,
Another week has passed by so quickly. Today we completed the remaining 5 verses. They are as follows.
23. Udaasinavat asino gunair yo na vichalyate
Gunaa vartanta iti evam yaha avatishtati na ingate.
The benevolent Lord in reply to Arjuna’s question as to how a man who has transcended the gunas behaves in the world answers;
A man who has transcended the senses is centred in the Self and with a sakshi bhava observes the 3 gunas acting through the body , mind & intellect equipment, knowing fully that he is different from them.Therefore he is not agitated at all by the gunas.
Chinmayanandaji said an ordinary man is a victim of circumstances, a real man overcomes challenges with effort but a superman rides over challenges effortlessly as he is not a slave of the gunas.For this to be possible one has to identify with That---- the Atman.
24. samaduhkha sukha swastha samaloshtaashmakanchana
Tulya priyaapriyoh dhira tulya atmasamstuthi.
Shri Krishna continues
He (i.e.) the one who has transcended the gunas is balanced or equipoised in the face of dvandvas or dualities like sukha-happiness, duhkha- sadness; swastha- balanced,reacts similarly to a clod of earth, stone or gold. I once heard that when the late Kanchi acharya Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati’s 90 b’day was celebrated by showering goldcoins on his head; there was no expression of happiness or pride on his face. He accepted it as if it were a routine affair.Such is the greatness of Mahatmas for whom even gold carries the value of a lump of mud. The gunaateetha is said to be the same to his likes and dislikes, to praise or censure.If u had seen A.R. Rehmaan when he was felicitated with a gold crown by singer suseela, he said in all humility that he was happy just to be seated next to suseela who was a goldmine.These are the ideals we must follow if we are to be supermen.
25.manaapamanayoh tulyastulyo mitraripakshayoh
Sarvarambhah parityaagi gunaatitaha sa uchyate.
The Lord further continues such a person is the same in honor and dishonor, treats a friend and enemy alike and undertakes all activities without the sense of doership.Such a person has really transcended the gunas.
26. mamcha yo avyabhicharena bhaktiyogena sevate
Sagunaan samityeetyaitaan brahmabhooyaya kalpate.
The Lord says the one who with faith and devotion to Him & with a one pointed mind serves Him will undoubtedly transcend the gunaas and reach Him the Brahman or the Truth. Serving the Lord is serving the world with love as the world is also Him the unmanifest.
27. Brahmanohipratishtaaham amrutasyaavyayasyacha
Shaashvatasya cha dharmasya sukha syaikantikasyacha.
Reaching the Brahman is becoming Him who has the following qualities.
Amrutasya- immortal, avyaya—imperishable , shaashvatasya—eternal and whose dharma or nature is sukha atyantika---ultimate happiness or bliss.So we become Satchitaananda----- eternal , consciousness and bliss.
In this chapter the Lord lovingly tells us about the gunaas, how we must recognize them, what their properties are and how we can transcend them to reach Him. He also tells us how a gunateetha behaves. Are we ready to tread the path shown to us ? Do we have the courage to face the world and not think of giving up at the smallest obstacle? With this the Lord has shown us that the problems are not out there but in here the mind . So the journey is always inward. Hari om!
Jai Shri Krishna,
Another week has passed by so quickly. Today we completed the remaining 5 verses. They are as follows.
23. Udaasinavat asino gunair yo na vichalyate
Gunaa vartanta iti evam yaha avatishtati na ingate.
The benevolent Lord in reply to Arjuna’s question as to how a man who has transcended the gunas behaves in the world answers;
A man who has transcended the senses is centred in the Self and with a sakshi bhava observes the 3 gunas acting through the body , mind & intellect equipment, knowing fully that he is different from them.Therefore he is not agitated at all by the gunas.
Chinmayanandaji said an ordinary man is a victim of circumstances, a real man overcomes challenges with effort but a superman rides over challenges effortlessly as he is not a slave of the gunas.For this to be possible one has to identify with That---- the Atman.
24. samaduhkha sukha swastha samaloshtaashmakanchana
Tulya priyaapriyoh dhira tulya atmasamstuthi.
Shri Krishna continues
He (i.e.) the one who has transcended the gunas is balanced or equipoised in the face of dvandvas or dualities like sukha-happiness, duhkha- sadness; swastha- balanced,reacts similarly to a clod of earth, stone or gold. I once heard that when the late Kanchi acharya Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati’s 90 b’day was celebrated by showering goldcoins on his head; there was no expression of happiness or pride on his face. He accepted it as if it were a routine affair.Such is the greatness of Mahatmas for whom even gold carries the value of a lump of mud. The gunaateetha is said to be the same to his likes and dislikes, to praise or censure.If u had seen A.R. Rehmaan when he was felicitated with a gold crown by singer suseela, he said in all humility that he was happy just to be seated next to suseela who was a goldmine.These are the ideals we must follow if we are to be supermen.
25.manaapamanayoh tulyastulyo mitraripakshayoh
Sarvarambhah parityaagi gunaatitaha sa uchyate.
The Lord further continues such a person is the same in honor and dishonor, treats a friend and enemy alike and undertakes all activities without the sense of doership.Such a person has really transcended the gunas.
26. mamcha yo avyabhicharena bhaktiyogena sevate
Sagunaan samityeetyaitaan brahmabhooyaya kalpate.
The Lord says the one who with faith and devotion to Him & with a one pointed mind serves Him will undoubtedly transcend the gunaas and reach Him the Brahman or the Truth. Serving the Lord is serving the world with love as the world is also Him the unmanifest.
27. Brahmanohipratishtaaham amrutasyaavyayasyacha
Shaashvatasya cha dharmasya sukha syaikantikasyacha.
Reaching the Brahman is becoming Him who has the following qualities.
Amrutasya- immortal, avyaya—imperishable , shaashvatasya—eternal and whose dharma or nature is sukha atyantika---ultimate happiness or bliss.So we become Satchitaananda----- eternal , consciousness and bliss.
In this chapter the Lord lovingly tells us about the gunaas, how we must recognize them, what their properties are and how we can transcend them to reach Him. He also tells us how a gunateetha behaves. Are we ready to tread the path shown to us ? Do we have the courage to face the world and not think of giving up at the smallest obstacle? With this the Lord has shown us that the problems are not out there but in here the mind . So the journey is always inward. Hari om!
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