Hi all, 3-05-09
Today we did the 20, 21& 22 verses of chapter 14 of BG. It goes like this.

20, Gunaan etantitya threen dehi deha samudbhavaan
Janma mrityu jara duhka vimukto amrutam asnute.

It means the embodied one who has transcended the three gunas which are born of this body, is free from birth, death, oldage ,pain and enjoys blissful immortality. We all forget the body and mind in sleep. Imagine if in the same way while we are fully conscious we are able to forget the body and mind then there is no more the cycle of birth, & death or the dvandvas of the body and mind. This is the real freedom , freedom from sansar. This freedom is called immortality.I think u know the story of a mahatma who was beaten by some robbers. When his sishyas gave him first aid and then asked him who did this vile thing to him , he answered; the hand that beat me is now nursing me. This mahatma has gone beyond the gunas. There are no dualities for such a person.

21, Arjuna uvaca
Kair lingais threen gunaanetan ateeto bhavati prabho
Kimacharaha katham chaitan threen gunaan ativartate.

Arjuna asks Krishna as to what are the characteristic features of
1) a person who has transcended the gunas.
2) How does he transcend them?

22,Sri Bhagavan uvaca,

Prakasam cha pravrttimcha mohameva cha pandava
Na dveshti sampravrittani na nivrittani kankshati.

Such a person is not affected by prakasam (light- sattva) or pravrittim ( activity- rajas) or delusion ( moha- tamas). He does not hate the gunas for expressing themselves nor does he long for them when they are not there. All of us experience feeling bad for losing our anger or for not having enough sattva while dealing with a situation. This is because we are puppets in the hands of our gunas. Wherever they pull we move and they are all following the order of the phantom king the EGO. So all our sadhana must be directed towards moving from tamas to sattva via rajas and then transcending even sattva.

Dear all,

Just sharing some thoughts. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said just as we oil our hands before we cut a jackfruit so that its juice doesn't stick similarly we must armour ourselves with knowledge and detachment to live in this world.The earlier we do this the happier we will be.Arjuna learnt this late and had to face vishada.Dhruva learnt it early after he suffered at a young age at the hands of his stepmother and Prahlada faced tribulations with a smile at a tender age as he had gained knowledge and detachment inside his mother's womb . His teacher was the great devotee of the Lord----Narada

Dear all,

Tomorrow the 8 May is Swami Chinmayanandaji's jayanthi. There will be chanting of Guru stotram and talk on Bhagavad Gita at nagalands by Nachi. Interested satsangis kindly assemble at Nagalands- Jyotisar at 8p.m. on 8 may.

Yours in spirit

viji

Anapeksha of a voter

It was his turn.He had stood in the line for half an hour patiently in the sun.He entered the room and showed his card.His name was called out and his left index finger was marked with an undelible ink.It was election day.The country was wearing a festive look. The shops were closed and there was little traffic.There were no blaring mikes and it was really silent.It was a sunny Sunday and people were out there in their colourful best going out to exercise their franchise.The past one month was a frenzy.All types of people and parties were vying with each other to woo the voter.And there he was sitting weighing the pros and cons of whome he had to vote for.Should he vote for stability,good administration,development or a young leader.He wanted all these but there was no one offering all of them in one platter and he had only one choice.Should he vote for the party which was offering him some monetary benefit,or the one which offered him many freebies,or a party which offered television sets free or the person who was his same caste creed or religion.Or should he go back home because it makes no difference whome he voted for as all of them were one and the same.This was the first time he was exercising his franchise and he wanted to be sure he made no mistake.His young mind understood that his vote was not for personal gain. It was for the people as a whole for the state for the country.He was voting not only for himself but for a greater cause.He was not bound by the result.It was his duty to vote in spite of the results.So thinking he pressed the button on the EVM and waited for the sound.Ia this anapeksha? Srinivas

A-----a was very anxious.She was preparing for an elocution competion in her school.She was representing her group in the competion and everyones hopes were pinned on her.The last time she spoke she was very good and everyone had praised her.She felt on top of the world.This competition was only two days away.She could visualize herself speaking better than last time and could hear the claps and pounding of benches after her speech and saw herself receiving her prize amidst great applause.From her dreamworld she came down to reality.She saw her mother busy with her work.She went to her mother and started bothering her to prepare the speech.Her mother looked into her eyes.Here was her daughter ,who was a good speaker suddenly not at all confident of herself.She was more bothered of the praise and ovation she would get after her speech rather than how she should deliver her speech.This anxiety was making her confused and unsure of herself.Many of us are in the same position as the little girl.We are more bothered about the result of our work rather the work itself.This makes us anxious,frightened and less confident.How nice it would be if we work to the best of our abilities not bothering much about the result.Dont you feel this is Anapeksha?

Srinivas

Eknath Easwaran--Passage Meditation

Eknath Easwaran developed a method of meditation called "Passage Meditation" — silent repetition in the mind of memorized inspirational passages from the world's great religions.[2] As Easwaran said, "The slow, sustained concentration on these passages drives them deep into our minds; and whatever we drive deep into consciousness, that we become."

Easwaran's program for spiritual growth consists of eight points:

* Passage Meditation
* The repetition of a mantram (a holy word or phrase), sometimes referred to as Japam
* Slowing down
* One-pointedness
* Training the senses
* Putting others first
* Satsang, or a spiritual fellowship
* Reading the writings of the mystics


Passage meditation is a modern meditation technique developed by spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran. Rooted in classic methods found in most spiritual traditions including a long-standing tradition of Hinduism dating back to Vedic times [1] it involves silent, focused repetition of memorized selections (passages) from scriptures of the world and writings of great mystics. According to Easwaran, the principle of meditating on inspired passages is that the words sink deep into our minds, eventually transforming “character, conduct, and consciousness.”

Passage meditation does not require adherence to any particular religion or belief. For example, a minister in the Roman Catholic diocese of Oakland and a registered yoga teacher, describes [2] how passage meditation has served her as a tool for personal transformation. As another example, a group of recovering alcoholics has produced a brochure [3] explaining how passage meditation is a practical method that can be used as part of a 12-step program.

Generally, meditation methods may reduce stress, and research published in 2006 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology provided evidence that suggests that passage meditation reduces stress and may enhance mental health.[1]

People with low neuroticism (not being easily distressed) have a 50% lower risk of developing dementia, according to research published in 2009 in the Journal of the American Academy of Neurology "Personality and lifestyle in relation to dementia incidence"

Practiced for one-half hour daily on first arising, passage meditation is the foundational discipline of Easwaran’s Eight Point Program for drawing spiritual ideals into every aspect of daily life:

Jiddu on Meditation

There are various schools, in India and further East, where they teach methods of meditation - it is really most appalling. It means training the mind mechanically; it therefore ceases to be free and does not understand the problem.So when we use the word 'meditation' we (Jiddu means himself, I think) do not mean something that is practiced. We have no method. Meditation means awareness: to be aware of what you are doing, what you are thinking, what you are feeling, aware without any choice, to observe, to learn. Meditation is to be aware of one's conditioning, how one is conditioned by the society in which one lives, in which one has been brought up, by the religious propaganda - aware without any choice, without distortion, without wishing it were different. Out of this awareness comes attention, the capacity to be completely attentive. Then there is freedom to see things as they actually are, without distortion. The mind becomes unconfused, clear, sensitive. Such meditation brings about a quality of mind that is completely silent - of which quality one can go on talking, but it will have no meaning unless it exists.

Without expectations

Dear all,

jai sri krishna, reg the discussion about Anapeksha- being without any expectation.It means strive wholeheartedly for the goal you want to achieve and accept the result unconditionally.The result could be anything; it may or maynot be to the minds' liking, yet accept it completely and do what has to be done.Expectations have two bad side effects.1)It causes performance anxiety due to which your effort to achieve the goal may be affected 2)It may make u feel low if the result is not what you want it to be. Anapeksha is another way to attain equanimity.

Contradictory meanings

Dear All,

When I read the explanation of 'sarvarambha parityagi' and 'udaseena,' (compiled from an unknown origin) in our blog, followed by the conclusion that-" This picture of a contemplative can hardly be made to correspond to what is required of a warrior on the battlefield," I was perplexed.

When the geeta was taught to Arjuna in a battle field, then surely Krishna would not have said something which was not meant for a warrior. So there is another interpretation which is meant to propel a man to act with contemplation.

Sw Chinmayanandaji's explanation goes like thiis- Sarvarambha parityagi is to give up the arrogant and ignorant feeling that we are the initiators of any action. We are but a part of a thread of a series of connected actions whether we are aware or unaware of it. So to act, giving up the identity of 'I' to the action is sarvarambha parityagi. Swamiji says that 'Udaseena' is being unconcerned about the result of our action.

Love and Peace
Nachi

Commentary

anapekshak suchir daksha
udasino gatavyathah
sarvarambha pariyogi
yo madbhaktah sa me priyah

He who neither rejoices nor hates, nor grieves nor desires,
and who has relinquished (both) the beneficial and the
harmful, such a one endowed with devotion is dear to Me.

The epithets suchi (clear, clean) and daksha (expert) do
not suggest the sloppiness or slovenliness which is often
condoned in the name of other-worldliness or mysticism. A
man of devotion is not steeped in the negative state of inert
ignorance. A contemplative is not a hobo type. The Gita
here discountenances any type of spirituality which does not
include being awake to the details of a given situation,
without which no-one could be described as daksha (expert),
i.e. a man of savoir-faire. I
The epithet sarvarambha parityagi (relinquisher of all
undertakings) just means that he does not initiate any course
of action as a conscious agent. He participates in life only
as a boat would go downstream.
The expression anapekshah (one who expects no favours)
indicates his neutral poise, in the same way as the
other term :udasinah (one who sits unconcerned). This
picture of a contemplative can hardly be made to
correspond to what is required of a warrior on the
battlefield.

Welcome

Welcome to ANAPEKSHAH!

This is a space for creativity. A space to express in words a unrecorded thought. A space to share a stimulating feeling. A space for threading spiritual camaraderie. A space to let someone else experience the wonder of a new understanding that we have experienced!
To make a beginning, can each of you write in what the word anapekshah means to you? Bloggers enjoy the read!!!
Love to all
Nachi