Whenever we do a good turn to someone, it is being a good Samaritan. Often, when we do a good turn, it is human nature to expect that person who was at the receiving end, to remember the good we did to him and be grateful to us. If he does not acknowledge his indebtedness to us by his manners whenever we come across him, we feel he is being ungrateful. I think, it is not quite how the universe works.
Whenever we do someone a good turn, this act of being good is registered in the Universal registry of the acts. There will be reinforcement of positive vibrations in the universe. The good act was done on behalf of the Universal consciousness, which may call as God, and it only flowed from the body, mind, intellect equipment of the doer. This ‘good samaritan’ was only instrument. But, why this particular person was chosen for this good act? May be his vibrations coincided with the requirement of the Universe at that time and the work was assigned to him and he got the idea in his mind. Sometime, we find some stranger, who was present in the scene helping us. Often, we could not thank him enough, before he departed from the scene. Obviously we cannot repay him. How to repay him is to do good turn to someone else whenever the need arises and forget about it. This act of kindness will be registered in the Universe. It may flow back to you when you are in real need.
So, next time when you help someone, think that you have done a good act which will be registered so in the Universe.
So, continuing along the lines, to pray for the universal good is the highest any human being can do. The positive vibrations of prayer in silence fill the universe and they will counter the negative vibrations that are emanated from many sources.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
MOTHER
MOTHER – Reflection on ‘mother’ gives the following thoughts:
At the outset, the word ‘mother’ almost sounds similarly in different languages, mother, ma, mama etc. indicating the common thread in the feelings the word invokes.
Not only that, the mothers all behave same where the protection of their offspring is concerned, whatever may be the country, color of the skin, language, whether educated/uneducated etc. If we observe closely, animal mothers also exhibit the same behavior as their human counterparts. This will make us conclude that the mother consciousness is the same in all mothers, whether animal or human. Which in turn makes the mother consciousness into God consciousness. In other words, God takes the form of mother for all of us. Therefore, all mothers automatically qualify for equal respect.
God programmed all the mothers with that part of His consciousness which shows the unconditional divine love. There can be a bad child, but there can never be a bad mother. Whatever may be the physical, mental qualities of a child, a mother never disowns her child. This quality of unconditional love is a quality of God. In fact, it is God who is acting as mother for each and every child. In this material world, all the relations except that of mother and child are tainted by commercialism, the profit orientation.
At the outset, the word ‘mother’ almost sounds similarly in different languages, mother, ma, mama etc. indicating the common thread in the feelings the word invokes.
Not only that, the mothers all behave same where the protection of their offspring is concerned, whatever may be the country, color of the skin, language, whether educated/uneducated etc. If we observe closely, animal mothers also exhibit the same behavior as their human counterparts. This will make us conclude that the mother consciousness is the same in all mothers, whether animal or human. Which in turn makes the mother consciousness into God consciousness. In other words, God takes the form of mother for all of us. Therefore, all mothers automatically qualify for equal respect.
God programmed all the mothers with that part of His consciousness which shows the unconditional divine love. There can be a bad child, but there can never be a bad mother. Whatever may be the physical, mental qualities of a child, a mother never disowns her child. This quality of unconditional love is a quality of God. In fact, it is God who is acting as mother for each and every child. In this material world, all the relations except that of mother and child are tainted by commercialism, the profit orientation.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
WHAT THE BHAGAVADGITA TEACH US
What the Bhagavadgita, the scripture of the Hindus teach us? There are many misconceptions among the Hindus regarding the message of the Githa. Particularly, mothers think that their children will leave studies and go the way of sadhus, leaving everything, which is not desirable in the present day world. Does the Githa teach us to leave our responsibilities and go to forest to do tapas?
If you observe the circumstances under which the Githa was taught, it was taught in battle field to a warrior, who was averse to fighting, (which was his duty at that moment) and who was ready to live begging there afterwards. He was putting forth arguments in several ways to justify his abandonment of the duty. You may remember that the entire Pandava side is heavily banking on Arjuna for their success. To such Arjuna, Lord Krishna taught the Githa. After the lecture is over, Arjuna clearly declared that his delusion was over and he was ready to fight. Thereafter, as we know, the war was won by the Pandavas. From this, we have to understand that Githa never teaches one to run away from his responsibilities, whatever they may be in his life and circumstances.
In fact, the figure of Krishna driving the chariot, in which Arjuna is seated in preparation to fight, indicates our situation in life’s battle field. Arjuna indicates the soul, Krishna Paramata, the chariot the body, and the horses the senses, the reins the mind. If we allow our intellect as represented by Krishna to dictate our actions in our life, our bodily chariot is utilized to fulfil the purpose of human life.
Bhagavadgita contains 18(eighteen) chapters which when studied and understood, teaches us the art of living and; living even to a small extent according to these principles takes one a long way towards the fulfillment of life’s goal. As such Githa should be studied and understood, before one embarks on life’s journey and not afterwards when all his energies are expended in unnecessary pursuits in life. The best time to start study of Githa is in childhood itself.
So mothers, be ware of this and initiate your children into Githa study and practice immediately.
If you observe the circumstances under which the Githa was taught, it was taught in battle field to a warrior, who was averse to fighting, (which was his duty at that moment) and who was ready to live begging there afterwards. He was putting forth arguments in several ways to justify his abandonment of the duty. You may remember that the entire Pandava side is heavily banking on Arjuna for their success. To such Arjuna, Lord Krishna taught the Githa. After the lecture is over, Arjuna clearly declared that his delusion was over and he was ready to fight. Thereafter, as we know, the war was won by the Pandavas. From this, we have to understand that Githa never teaches one to run away from his responsibilities, whatever they may be in his life and circumstances.
In fact, the figure of Krishna driving the chariot, in which Arjuna is seated in preparation to fight, indicates our situation in life’s battle field. Arjuna indicates the soul, Krishna Paramata, the chariot the body, and the horses the senses, the reins the mind. If we allow our intellect as represented by Krishna to dictate our actions in our life, our bodily chariot is utilized to fulfil the purpose of human life.
Bhagavadgita contains 18(eighteen) chapters which when studied and understood, teaches us the art of living and; living even to a small extent according to these principles takes one a long way towards the fulfillment of life’s goal. As such Githa should be studied and understood, before one embarks on life’s journey and not afterwards when all his energies are expended in unnecessary pursuits in life. The best time to start study of Githa is in childhood itself.
So mothers, be ware of this and initiate your children into Githa study and practice immediately.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
SHOW ME GOD
Often, the intellectuals(people who go more by the head than heart) ask other believers to show them God. They throw a challenge to show God, as a proof of His existence.
I would like to ask them their concept of God. As per them, is He a person? Is He available somewhere in the space and come to them to give them their proof. There is one more point here: what is the qualification of this doubting Thomas that God should oblige him with His appearance. Is it not that when we visit a higher functionary in government, we show our credentials and go through a long channel of minnows to get that crazed-for appointment. If we think similarly of God as a higher up there above us, shall we not acquire these qualifications which are necessary for our pursuit?
On the other hand, do we need any qualifications or pre-conditions to visit our father, or mother whenever we feel the need? Our parents always welcome us with open hearts whenever we go to them, even if it is after a long time after we spurned them initially. Then, the point is: can we claim ourselves as His children? Then we do not need any pre-conditions or qualifications, but to walk up to Him, or He will come running when we cry in distress.
Is it not true that the mother runs up to the child leaving everything as it is, when the child cries for her, ignoring all the toys the mother gave the child keeping it busy so that the child forgets the mother for some time and let the mother get on with her chores? Now then, how do we claim to be His children and demand Him to show Himself to us? Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa used to say: You should cry for God with all your heart exceeding the sum total of longing of 1.a miser for money, 2. a lover’s cry for the beloved etc. Can we show such a devotion to Him? Then He will come running. Otherwise, there is a route traveled by people earlier successfully. The Guru can show the signposts on these paths but, we have to do the walking.
God is present in each of us in the core of our hearts and to experience Him; first, we have to cleanse our hearts of greed, lust, jealousy, anger etc. The cave of heart where the spark is present is now occupied with all these cobwebs, spiders etc. The moment we open the door and clean the space, God will shine with all His splendor. That is how we can see Him. In fact, He has been waiting for us to open the door of this cave and find Him there. He wants you more than you want Him. We are searching everywhere but in our hearts.
In fact, God is continuously reminding us of His presence everywhere, only we are too busy to notice. Can we not find His presence in the touch of breeze, in the colorful splendor of a flower, in the sweetness of a fruit, in the smile of a child, in the loving caress of the mother, in the sincere effort of a teacher, in the concentration of a sportsman, in the majestic walk of a tiger, in the humming of a bee, in the flowing river, or the majestic mountains? In the Bhagavadgita, God has told Arjuna about the things in which His presence can be meditated. In fact, there is nothing which is devoid of God’s presence, He is Sat Chit Ananda. He is present in a saint and sinner. Only that the saint has manifested Him more in his living.
So folks, please do not ask someone to show God. It is your birthright to demand His presence, by establishing yourself to be His child. Then He will dazzle you by His presence. There will not be a single moment, when you are without Him.
I would like to ask them their concept of God. As per them, is He a person? Is He available somewhere in the space and come to them to give them their proof. There is one more point here: what is the qualification of this doubting Thomas that God should oblige him with His appearance. Is it not that when we visit a higher functionary in government, we show our credentials and go through a long channel of minnows to get that crazed-for appointment. If we think similarly of God as a higher up there above us, shall we not acquire these qualifications which are necessary for our pursuit?
On the other hand, do we need any qualifications or pre-conditions to visit our father, or mother whenever we feel the need? Our parents always welcome us with open hearts whenever we go to them, even if it is after a long time after we spurned them initially. Then, the point is: can we claim ourselves as His children? Then we do not need any pre-conditions or qualifications, but to walk up to Him, or He will come running when we cry in distress.
Is it not true that the mother runs up to the child leaving everything as it is, when the child cries for her, ignoring all the toys the mother gave the child keeping it busy so that the child forgets the mother for some time and let the mother get on with her chores? Now then, how do we claim to be His children and demand Him to show Himself to us? Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa used to say: You should cry for God with all your heart exceeding the sum total of longing of 1.a miser for money, 2. a lover’s cry for the beloved etc. Can we show such a devotion to Him? Then He will come running. Otherwise, there is a route traveled by people earlier successfully. The Guru can show the signposts on these paths but, we have to do the walking.
God is present in each of us in the core of our hearts and to experience Him; first, we have to cleanse our hearts of greed, lust, jealousy, anger etc. The cave of heart where the spark is present is now occupied with all these cobwebs, spiders etc. The moment we open the door and clean the space, God will shine with all His splendor. That is how we can see Him. In fact, He has been waiting for us to open the door of this cave and find Him there. He wants you more than you want Him. We are searching everywhere but in our hearts.
In fact, God is continuously reminding us of His presence everywhere, only we are too busy to notice. Can we not find His presence in the touch of breeze, in the colorful splendor of a flower, in the sweetness of a fruit, in the smile of a child, in the loving caress of the mother, in the sincere effort of a teacher, in the concentration of a sportsman, in the majestic walk of a tiger, in the humming of a bee, in the flowing river, or the majestic mountains? In the Bhagavadgita, God has told Arjuna about the things in which His presence can be meditated. In fact, there is nothing which is devoid of God’s presence, He is Sat Chit Ananda. He is present in a saint and sinner. Only that the saint has manifested Him more in his living.
So folks, please do not ask someone to show God. It is your birthright to demand His presence, by establishing yourself to be His child. Then He will dazzle you by His presence. There will not be a single moment, when you are without Him.
RENUNCIATION(SANNYAS)
What is renunciation(sannyas)? People equate renunciation with going to forest leaving everything, i.e. all worldly responsibilities towards one’s dependents, throwing them on the roads. The renunciate thereby avoids doing any work. This kind of understanding about the renunciation is reinforced by the sadhus roaming the streets in saffron robes. The sadhus live on alms and are a burden on society, obviously without contributing to the productivity of the society.
But, renunciation according to scriptures has different meaning. The renunciation, the scriptures insist is in the mental attitude and not in physical appearances. One may go to forest leaving everything, but he will not be peaceful there. His mind still keeps on dwelling on the comforts missed.
The true renunciant leaves everything mentally, he has no ego which gives rise to the feeling of doership. He may be in the world carrying out the tasks that may come to his lot, but he does not entertain idea of doership. As per him, God is utilizing his body, mind, intellect equipment to get His jobs done.
Also, a true renunciant does not have a family of his own, but he is related to everyone through the God consciousness in which he finds himself all the time. Normal people think that a renunciant is avoiding responsibility of his family. But it is to be looked into like this: when God is satisfied with the renunciant’s way of handling his domestic responsibilities in a detached manner, he graduates in God’s eyes and thereby becomes eligible to take on higher responsibilities, ie. the responsibility of the entire society on himself. Therefore, renunciation(sannyas) has to be seen as going to a higher stage of responsibility without entertaining any idea of return for the self or doership.
Therefore, one has to understand properly the concept of renunciation. It certainly has nothing to do with the sadhus whom we see on roads and they should not be the basis for forming wrong opinion about renunciation as such. Most of the mothers think that if the child is attracted towards the scriptures, he is going to be a sannyasi and leave everything. In fact, becoming a sannyasi in the true sense is the highest goal of the human life and every mother has to encourage her children in that direction. This is the art of living, one should cultivate from childhood onwards. It is not a pastime to be pursued at the end of one’s life, when one has absolutely no energy to do anything else. At that time, it will be very well impossible to pursue spirituality, since spiritual life requires a healthy mind in a healthy body and lots of courage.
…. K.V.RAO
But, renunciation according to scriptures has different meaning. The renunciation, the scriptures insist is in the mental attitude and not in physical appearances. One may go to forest leaving everything, but he will not be peaceful there. His mind still keeps on dwelling on the comforts missed.
The true renunciant leaves everything mentally, he has no ego which gives rise to the feeling of doership. He may be in the world carrying out the tasks that may come to his lot, but he does not entertain idea of doership. As per him, God is utilizing his body, mind, intellect equipment to get His jobs done.
Also, a true renunciant does not have a family of his own, but he is related to everyone through the God consciousness in which he finds himself all the time. Normal people think that a renunciant is avoiding responsibility of his family. But it is to be looked into like this: when God is satisfied with the renunciant’s way of handling his domestic responsibilities in a detached manner, he graduates in God’s eyes and thereby becomes eligible to take on higher responsibilities, ie. the responsibility of the entire society on himself. Therefore, renunciation(sannyas) has to be seen as going to a higher stage of responsibility without entertaining any idea of return for the self or doership.
Therefore, one has to understand properly the concept of renunciation. It certainly has nothing to do with the sadhus whom we see on roads and they should not be the basis for forming wrong opinion about renunciation as such. Most of the mothers think that if the child is attracted towards the scriptures, he is going to be a sannyasi and leave everything. In fact, becoming a sannyasi in the true sense is the highest goal of the human life and every mother has to encourage her children in that direction. This is the art of living, one should cultivate from childhood onwards. It is not a pastime to be pursued at the end of one’s life, when one has absolutely no energy to do anything else. At that time, it will be very well impossible to pursue spirituality, since spiritual life requires a healthy mind in a healthy body and lots of courage.
…. K.V.RAO
Sunday, April 15, 2007
THE WORLD IS A BIG JAIL
The above statement may come as a surprise to many people. What is our concept of jail? Criminals go to jail as a punishment/for correction. They are confined inside the four walls and are not free to go outside, till their term is complete.
If we extend our thinking, we can perceive other invisible jails, in which are imprisoned. We are apparently free, but are in prisons without being aware of it.
First of the prisons is physical --- We are bound by the body. We have to carry the bones, muscles and flesh, which we call our body, all through our life. We are always in the body till the time of death. Ordinary human being is extremely body conscious. He thinks, he is the body and takes extensive care of it all the time and thinks the body’s attributes like skin, color, height, weight etc are his attributes. Any injury/sickness to the body makes him worry continuously, till it is cured. If we take the case of children, particularly below the age of one year, they are not at all body conscious. If they are injured, they cry momentarily, but forget it very soon. They do not bother whether they are naked/clothed, what type of clothes they are wearing.
Further to this, we are imprisoned by our possessions in the material plane. We think that we are masters/owners of the material possessions, but a moment of reflection will show that we are prisoners of our possessions and they are our masters.
The second type of prison is mental/emotional. We react to certain situations in much the same way throughout our life. Praise, and ridicule/criticism bring the same kind of reaction again and again and there is no respite throughout our life. We are imprisoned by our likes/dislikes and go to any extent to cultivate the pleasant and avoid the unpleasant.
The third prison is intellectual type. We have our own views on everything under the Sun and we don’t like persons with opposite views. This goes with our views on religion also. We do not try to understand other religions and many of the ills dogging the society today are because of this.
But, when we touch the spiritual plane, we understand gradually about these prisons and make an effort to break them and be free.
THAT IS REAL FREEDOM, FOR WHICH HUMAN LIFE IS MEANT.
------- K.V.RAO
If we extend our thinking, we can perceive other invisible jails, in which are imprisoned. We are apparently free, but are in prisons without being aware of it.
First of the prisons is physical --- We are bound by the body. We have to carry the bones, muscles and flesh, which we call our body, all through our life. We are always in the body till the time of death. Ordinary human being is extremely body conscious. He thinks, he is the body and takes extensive care of it all the time and thinks the body’s attributes like skin, color, height, weight etc are his attributes. Any injury/sickness to the body makes him worry continuously, till it is cured. If we take the case of children, particularly below the age of one year, they are not at all body conscious. If they are injured, they cry momentarily, but forget it very soon. They do not bother whether they are naked/clothed, what type of clothes they are wearing.
Further to this, we are imprisoned by our possessions in the material plane. We think that we are masters/owners of the material possessions, but a moment of reflection will show that we are prisoners of our possessions and they are our masters.
The second type of prison is mental/emotional. We react to certain situations in much the same way throughout our life. Praise, and ridicule/criticism bring the same kind of reaction again and again and there is no respite throughout our life. We are imprisoned by our likes/dislikes and go to any extent to cultivate the pleasant and avoid the unpleasant.
The third prison is intellectual type. We have our own views on everything under the Sun and we don’t like persons with opposite views. This goes with our views on religion also. We do not try to understand other religions and many of the ills dogging the society today are because of this.
But, when we touch the spiritual plane, we understand gradually about these prisons and make an effort to break them and be free.
THAT IS REAL FREEDOM, FOR WHICH HUMAN LIFE IS MEANT.
------- K.V.RAO
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