Just Be yourself

Somebody asked Jesus,”How we should live?” We’d automatically think that Jesus might have given a list of ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’. But no, Jesus didn’t reply that way. Instead, Jesus looked into the eyes of that man and said,”Do not ask me. Go ask the trees, flowers, mountains, birds and fish.”

What did he mean by this? Well, what I understand from this is a spiritual message: ’Live simply and in a pure way. Live with existence. Try to be what you are . don’t destroy your originality by imitating others. Every personality has his/her own individuality and everyone is perfect creation of God.’
Have we ever thought about why the entire world is turning into a house of neuroses? Surely it’s because no one is ready to be in communion with existence, no one is discovering his/her individuality. Everyone is ‘aspirational’, striving to be something else or someone else instead of realizing their own selves. SO Jesus suggests looking at Nature. The lotus is not trying to be the rose, nor is the rose trying to be the lotus. The dove is not trying to be the peacock. But with us, somebody is trying to become Buddha, Somebody Christ, somebody Nanak, somebody else Gandhi and so on. But we never wish to be ourselves, do we?
Jesus says,”Just be yourself, in pure ordinariness. Don’t try to become ‘extraordinary’. Just be in ordinariness and you will find extraordinary transformation within yourself, you will find and extraordinary ecstasy in your inner world’. So why should we waste time trying to be ‘extraordinary’:we already are! We just have to live consciously, moment-to-moment, giving the present our full attention and effort.
Osho explained it beautifully, “God is perfect. We come prefect with the signature of God. Out of perfection comes perfection. And then we are manipulated, contaminated conditioned and pulled apart by human beings. And immediately our open sky starts closing, our windows, our doors, start closing. We are no more available to existence. We become windowless. And that is our misery.’

Devi, the multi-tasker

‘On the first three days, Devi meditated as Herself, the next three days as Mahalakshmi and the last three days as Sarasvati. This signifies progression from tamasik (dark) to rajasik (noble) to satvik (pure) states of being and eventually obtaining liberation: a lesson for human beings. The tenth day,’Sharada Navaratri’, is Vijayadashmi’. In some parts of India, it’s acceptable to believe that the Jews go back millennia. But ‘modern’ Hindus are even now caught expressing disbelief that it is an ancient, honourable tradition to read theDevi-Bhagavatam or theDevi Mahatmyaham (Durga Saptasati, ‘700 verses on Durga’) from the Markandeya Purana. During this period says the Devi Bhagavatam, Sri Rama meditated and fasted for nine days after Sita was kidnapped by Ravana. So is this ‘cool Hindu’ reluctance a case of residual mental slavery to our past conquerors? Or, quite understandably, “How can the God of the Bajrangis be MY GOD?” To which the answer is, how we work our religion depends on us, not them, because it’s still our religion.
Anyhow, Chapter One of the Durga Saptasati tells us how the ancients, through their poetic imagination, envisioned this formless energy: “ I resort to Mahakali, who has ten faces, ten legs and holds in her hands the sword, disc, mace, arrows, bow, club, spear, missile, human head and conch, who is three eyed, adorned with ornaments on all her limbs, and whom Brahma extolled in order to destroy Madhu and Kaitabha (demons, symbolizing negative forces).
For those who wonder, the multiple limbs symbolizes God the Multitasker; the ‘One Who Is Capable of All Things’. When a king in the purana’s mainframe asks,’Venerable Sir, who is that Devi whom you call Mahamaya?’ Rishi Markandeya replies: She is the universe. By Her is all this (creation) pervaded. When She manifests Herself in order to put things right on the side of God, She is said to be ‘born’ in the world, though She is Unborn and Eternal. She holds the world together and also breaks it apart, the Mahamaya.’

TEACHERS' DAY

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birth Anniversary September 5 is being celebrated as Teachers Day. September 5 is special day to pay respect to our teachers. Teachers Day is the only occasion when we remember the time spent with our teacher, what they taught and what we are today. The day is also significant for all of us as we remember a great teacher, philosopher and statesman, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, whose birth anniversary falls on this day.Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on Sept 5, 1888 into a middle class family in Tamil Nadu. He was the first Vice President of India.Dr. Radhakrishnan was regarded as great teacher. Country celebrates his birth anniversary to pay respect for the teachers.Well, Teachers Day is round the corner, so get ready to say thank you to your teachers for your achievements in life.The significance of celebrating Teachers' Day is need of the hour these days. The holly relationship between teacher and pupil has been maligned for the last few years.The rising numbers of corporal punishments have widened the holly relationship.Teacher has been placed above the God. Teacher guides us towards the success in every aspect of life. It is important for both to respect the relationship.
HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY

Your Inner and Outer Lives

This world is not the same to all people. Each one lives in his or her own little domain. Peace and harmony may reign in one person’s world, strife and war in another’s. But whatever be the circumstances of one’s environment, it consists of both an inner world and an outer world. The outside world is the one in which your life engages in action and interaction. The world inside of your determines your happiness or unhappiness.
To exist without peace of mind in this world is to dwell in a kind of hell. But the man of divine perceptions finds the earth a blissful abode.
Only those who partake of the harmony within their souls know the harmony that runs through nature. Whosoever lacks this inner harmony feels also a lack of it in the world. The mind in chaos finds chaos all around…. But he who has inner peace can abide in this state even in the midst of outer discord.
SO try to quite the outgoing mental restlessness and turn to the mind within. Harmonise your thoughts and desires with the all-fulfilling realities you already possess in your soul. Then you will see the underlying harmony in your life and in all nature. If you harmonies your own hopes and expectations with this inert harmony, you will float through life on buoyant wings of peace. The beauty and depth of yoga lies in its bestowal of this invariable tranquility.
Practice even-minded calmness all the time. Become a king, an absolute monarch, of your own mental realm of calmness…Let nothing disturb your peaceable kingdom of calmness. Night and day carry with you the joy of “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” By sacrifice yoga meditation, establish your palace of peace on the rock of the ages, the indestructible inner peace of God.

Efforts important

Trying sincerely seems more crucial to achieveing our legitimate goals than ritual worship or blind faith in God's Greatness. Ofcourse, there's no discounting the importance of action or "gati" or movement in the fulfilment of life's objectives. Think,plan,act,accomplish-this is the route. But while gati is movement, without which there is no life, gati is also salvation.

Nevertheless, to be conditione to move on the right path we have to be endowed with a certain element of divine inspiration and grace. Whether this comes from past karma or present punya, we cannot say for sure! Yet there are hundreds of hapless souls who remain frozen in inertia because somewhere, the inspiration-producing factory is on lockout.

There are times when we do all that we can and yet results elude us. The hyperlink between karma and phala appears wobbly. The devout would attribute it poetically to God's writ since we have no way of deciphering all those Great Inexplicables. Moreover, we are conditioned to be self-depriciating and not say,"I did it". We are mentally conditioned to present our own achievements to God as an offering, and say, 'It is all due to You,God!' This does not detract from the accomplishment, it embellishes the feat with the most beautiful ornament of all: humility.

Here's when the role of past karma, acts of piety and sincere prayer kick in to make us receptive. It's not just that God's bounty is constantly being showered on humnakind. It's also about our ability to receive it! This receiving is called paatra, used in many Indian languages from the Sanskrit original, for 'vessel'.It means both 'kitchen utensil' and one who is eligible or qualified. (If you loved someone who loved someone who couldnot appreciate you, for instance, it was 'apaatra-daanam', giving to the wrong vessel. 'Ku-paatra' means 'bad vessel' and 'su-paatra' means 'good vessel').

“Benaras is forever Spring”

The discovery of Chiragh-e-Dair(The Temple Lamp) a long Persian poem by Delhi’s poet Mirza Ghalib, has left me amazed at the range of hi vision and in the integrity of his intellect. Ghalib’s modern Indian biographer, Pavan Verma, has produce a competent English translation:

May Heaven keep the grandeur of Benaras
Arbour of this meadow of joy;
For oft-returning souls-their journey’s end.
In this weary Temple land of world,
Safe from the whirlwind of Time,
Benaras is forever Spring.

This poem was written when Ghalib broke his journey to Calcutta at Benaras and resided in Benaras for a month or so, imbibing the temporal and spiritual beauties of this ancient city.

This 19th century masnavi symbolically cites Kashi as Kaaba-e-Hindustan, sometimes that clerics in India and Pakistan would not tolerate in the 21st century.

The Kaaba of Hind;
This conch blowers’ dell;
Its icons and idols are made of Light,
That once flashed on Mount Sinai
These radiant naiads,
Set the pious Brahmins afire, when their face glow
Like moving lamps…on the Ganges banks.

It is incredible that a Muslim poet who prided himself on his Turkic ancestry and invoked the “warrior” past in his day-to-day conversation (through his letters) could compare the divine light at Mount Sinai to the lamps at Benaras.

Morning and Moonrise,
My lady Kashi,
Picks up the Ganga mirror
To see her gracious beauty,
Glimmer and shine.

For a Muslim poet to compose this was phenomenal. I wonder if today such lyricism and cultural inclusiveness is even remotely achievable by any (Urdu/Persian) poet of the subcontinent. Admittedly Ghalib’s unconventional views were not fully shared by many Muslims. However, if there were lack of tolerance, it would have been impossible for Ghalib to loudly proclaim his views and retain his immense following. Such times can only be imagined like the long-lost tales from a Never-never-land. This age fractures what was created by a millennium of cultural accords and understanding.

Perfection

A tourist once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God.Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised,he asked the sculptor,"Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up,"We need only one,but the first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage."Where is the damage?", he asked. "There is a scrtach on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor,still busy with his work.
Asked the visitor : "Where are you going to install the idol?"
The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a 20 feet high pillar. "Then who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work,looked up at the gentleman and said :
"I will know it."