Diwali- As shared

It is Diwali and While we all light our houses today, do spend some time today to light a few lamps inside u and sit in silence with  your  eyes closed... Light the first lamp inside u and let it burn your anger and / or jealousy that you  may have for any one till date; see it melt away... Light the second lamp and let it burn away unwanted greed and desires... feel happy and contented with what you have been blessed with. Light the third lamp and let it fade away all insecurities that you may have in your mind related to anything or financials; just believe that God has provided you life and he will surely give you enough to survive. Light the 4th lamp and carry that lamp to each part of your  body; let it burn away all your diseased cells or any disease in making. Feel healthy as this lamp travels to each body part and illuminates each organ. The 5th lamp is a miniature of the Sun... nothing but the divine light... light it in the center of your body and let it fill the warmth and love inside your whole body...feel one with the Divine... let the love and warmth filled inside you ooze out of you through your smile...eyes..speech...and body....carry this love with you through out the day...u will find that everyone who meets you is happy and elated. This is the biggest blessing that whoever meets you becomes happier after meeting you... this will also make you happier in return. Light these 5 lamps each day morning and carry the positive vibes   wherever u go... Wish you a very happy Diwali.... God bless All..

*WHEN TO BE SILENT . . . And the Bible says*

*WHEN TO BE SILENT . . . And the Bible says* 1. Be silent In the heat of anger - (Prov 14:17) 2. Be silent When you don't have all the facts - (Prov 18:13) 3. Be silent When you haven't verified the story - (Deut 17:6) 4. Be silent If your words will offend a weaker person - (1 Cor 8:11) 5. Be silent When it is time to listen - (Prov 13:1) 6. Be silent When you are tempted to make light of holy things - (Eccl 5:2) 7. Be silent When you are tempted to joke about sin - (Prov 14:9) 8. Be silent If you would be ashamed of your words later - (Prov 8:8) 9. Be silent If your words would convey the wrong impression - (Prov 17:27) 10. Be silent If the issue is none of your business - (Prov 14:10) 11. Be silent When you are tempted to tell an outright lie - (Prov 4:24) 12. Be silent If your words will damage someone else's reputation - (Pro 16:27) 13. Be silent If your words will damage a friendship - (Prov 16:28) 14. Be silent When you are feeling critical - (James 3:9) 15. Be silent If you can't say it without screaming it - (Prov 25:28) 16. Be silent If your words will be a poor reflection of the Lord or your friends and family - (1 Pt 2:21-23) 17. Be silent If you may have to eat your words later - (Prov 18:21) 18. Be silent If you have already said it more than one time - (Prov 19:13) 19. Be silent When you are tempted to flatter a wicked person - (Prov 24:24) 20. Be silent When you are supposed to be working instead - (Prov 14:23) 21. Be silent When you know you would be misquoted. Silence is never ever misquoted. "WHOEVER GUARDS HIS MOUTH AND TONGUE KEEPS HIS SOUL FROM TROUBLES" - (Prov 21:23). "BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD" (Ps 46:10)

Quality Assurance- As shared

QA (quality assurance) is not only important in pharmaceutical industry. It is equally important in consumer electronics as well. Latest Example: Samsung galaxy note 7. Facts: 1. World record in prebooking for any phone ever. 2. Due to overwhelming response, immense pressure on production, QA checks compromised. 3. Seven incident of fire hazard reported, investigate, CAPA taken insufficiently. 4. Replaced and relaunched. Again same issue arises in replaced units. QA team blamed. Production halted. Sells stopped, all units recalled or replaced. 5. Total damage 17 Billion USD (1,13,75,47,350 Rupees) reputation of Samsung hurts badly. #moral of story: QA compromised, everything is on stake. Choice is yours.

Celebrate Diwali differently this time. - As shared

Celebrate Diwali differently this time. ●Instead of giving gifts to people who already have more than they need, give it to those have don't. ●Rather than buying crackers, feed the poor. ●Rather than buying chocolates of foreign companies Like Ferrero Rocher and Cadbury buy Indian sweets. ●You have have many expensive clothes so instead of buying a tee-shirt worth rupees 1500 buy 15 tee-shirts worth rupees 100 and gift it to those who can't afford new clothes for Diwali. ●The moment you learn to spend on others rather spending all on yourself, good watches your karma. You get 10 times of what you give. ●Instead of buying from the decorations from Big malls, buy it from street vendors who work day and night so hard for a product worth rupees 20, which the malls sell for 250. We can happily give the malls because our ego is satisfied, leave your ego this Diwali. Learn the feeling of selflessness and give it to those who need it. Teach your children to give instead of taking, they will learn the value of things they have. They'll be more happy than you live your life right now. Thank you.

Positive Affirmations - As shared

These are the Powerful Affirmations...Everyone Has to Affirm themselves I love and appreciate myself just as I am My life is blossoming in total perfection It's okay for me to have fun and enjoy myself, and I do All things are now working together for good in my life I am strong and healthy I rest when I am tired I am healing old wounds I love and care for my body I exercise regularly I am getting better every day I say "no" when I want to I can ask for help when I need it I handle conflict and tension with confidence I seek out people who love and nurture me I learn from my mistakes I put my worries in perspective I am worthwhile I am a friend to MY self I choose what I want and go after it I am open-minded I keep a positive attitude I live in the present moment I encourage myself I look for solutions I am centered and balanced I can change I am creative I forgive myself I let go of resentment I value myself I nurture my spirit I express my feelings respectfully I love myself I am gentle with myself I choose that which I enjoy I accept responsibility for my life I cope with stress well I take action when something is important to me I accomplish my goals

What happens in Advance Course?- Art of Living

What happens in Advance Course? 1. Body follows its own biological clock. This tunes its functions like circulation, respiration, digestion, excretion etc. Immunity system becomes strong to fight diseases. Heart gets strengthened. The endocrine glands perform at its best. Physical stress gets eliminated. 2. Eyes and hands are free from all electronic gadgets for 4 days, stress and strain get eliminated. 3. Silence is Golden & the mother of all skills, intuition. The ancient people knew the importance of silence – Sri Sri. 4. Silence avoids wasting energy through speech for 3-4 days. This energy helps to dive deep into the meditation. Meditation is poor without building up the spiritual energy. 5. In depth of meditation, deep rooted impressions and tendencies (vrittis) of mind pop up. Techniques of advance course support to wipe out these kishta tendencies, then only one experiences true calmness and peace of mind. True joy arises from within and this pleasure surpasses all other. 6. It is said that pleasure of few moments in deep Samadhi are 1000 times more than all material pleasures put together. 7. When mind becomes clear, grateful, happy and contented; it becomes eligible to receive the grace of Guru. Grace of Master brings forth both material and spiritual comforts. 8. The satsang is part of advance course; satsang burns all bad karmas of past. Authentic and true celebration comes only out of committed sadhana, devotional satsang and selfless service. 9. The living Master is more potent than all the scriptures of the world put together. Advance course is an opportunity to experience the grace of Master in true sense. Join the advance course from 10-13 Nov to experience this.

Parent Induced Wastefulness - As shared

*PIW* *Parent Induced Wastefulness* _*(Don't) take it easy!*_ When parents strive to give their children the best of everything at an early age, they are sowing seeds for materially insatiable monsters that are prone to sloth, apathy, avarice and fear. Don’t stand in self- defense as yet. I have proof. As I sit in my counselor’s chair day after day I encounter an altogether a new disorder that I have come to label as- *Parent Induced Wastefulness* (PIW). Here are a few examples: * 26-year-old Manas does not want to finish his Engineering degree because he does not ‘feel like’ studying. But he harasses his parents every day for money. He tells me that whenever he did not feel like doing any particular activity, his parents told him he can quit. They always said they did not want him to get ‘stressed’ like they were when growing up. * 34-year-old Raghav is a qualified Engineer and is married for 2 years but his wife is not ready to live with him hence the counseling. He is qualified alright but refuses to stick to any job as it makes him feel stressed! Every two months he runs back home from work and wants his parents to solve his problem like they did every time he refused to go to school. * 28 years old Anjali does not want to go back to her one-year-old marriage because it is too much for her to work in the office and then look after the household. She wants her mother to come and live with her and do the household work. There are many others... but all originating in overzealous parents wanting to protect their children from even the smallest discomfort in childhood. You love them alright, but when you shell them from the adversities of life, what you are doing is bringing them up in a sterile environment. The result: the moment they are exposed to the world their immunity buckles up and they stand threadbare wanting to run away from everything that is anything but comfortable. They have to live in this very world and away from you. Do you really love them? Or do you love yourself more? If it is them, then you would ensure to make them future ready- let them face, talk to them, provide support, but let them face housework, studies, bullying and adversities. Tell them money is limited and let them learn to hear a lot of ‘NO’. That’s what makes them 'FUTURE READY'. - *Dr. Sapna Sharma* Psychotherapist, Spiritual Counselor, LIfe Reinvention Coach & Motivational speaker.

Prayer - As shared

Prayer* doesn't just happen when we kneel  or put our hands together and focus and expect things from God....

Thinking positive and wishing good for others - is a *Prayer*

When you hug a friend - That's also a *Prayer*

When you cook something to nourish family and friends - That's also a *Prayer*

When we send off our near and dear ones and say 'Drive Safely' or 'Be Safe' - That's also a *Prayer*

When you are helping someone in need by giving your time and energy  You are *Praying*

When you forgive some one by your heart ...that is a *Prayer*.

Prayer is a Vibration- A feeling  A good conscientious *Thought*.

Prayer is the voice of love, friendship, and reaching out for genuine relationships. 

I wish all the very best in life.

WOMAN- as shared

This is one of the best posts I've read about woman. Please read it completely, it's worth it! WOMAN. . . . When God created woman he was working late on the 6th day. An angel came by and asked." Why spend so much time on her?" The lord answered. "Have you seen all the specifications I have to meet to shape her?" She must function on all kinds of situations, She must be able to embrace several kids at the same time, Have a hug that can heal anything from a bruised knee to a broken heart, She must do all this with only two hands,"She cures herself when sick and can work 18 hours a day" THE ANGEL was impressed" Just two hands.....impossible! And this is the standard model?" The Angel came closer and touched the woman" "But you have made her so soft, Lord". "She is soft", said the Lord, "But I have made her strong. You can't imagine what she can endure and overcome" "Can she think?" The Angel asked... The Lord answered. "Not only can she think, she can reason and negotiate" The Angel touched her cheeks.... "Lord, it seems this creation is leaking! You have put too many burdens on her" "She is not leaking...it is a tear" The Lord corrected the Angel… "What's it for?" Asked the Angel..... . The Lord said. "Tears are her way of expressing her grief, her doubts, her love, her loneliness, her suffering and her pride."... This made a big impression on the Angel, "Lord, you are a genius. You thought of everything. A woman is indeed marvellous" Lord said."Indeed she is. She has strength that amazes a man. She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens. She holds happiness, love and opinions. She smiles when she feels like screaming. She sings when she feels like crying, cries when happy and laughs when afraid. She fights for what she believes in. Her love is unconditional. Her heart is broken when a next-of-kin or a friend dies but she finds strength to get on with life" The Angel asked: So she is a perfect being? The lord replied: No. She has just one drawback "She often forgets what she is worth". Send it to all the women u respect .... And to all men who respect woman  W O M A N: ● changes her name. ● changes her home. ● leaves her family. ● moves in with you. ● builds a home with you. ● gets pregnant for you. ● pregnancy changes her body. ● she gets fat. ● almost gives up in the labour room due to the unbearable pain of child birth.. ● even the kids she delivers bear your name.. Till the day she dies.. everything she does... cooking, cleaning your house, taking care of your parents, bringing up your children, earning, advising you, ensuring you can be relaxed, maintaining all family relations, everything that benefit you.. sometimes at the cost of her own health, hobbies and beauty. So who is really doing whom a favour? Dear men, appreciate the women in your lives always, because it is not easy to be a woman. *Being a woman is priceless* Happy women's week! Pass this to every woman in your contact to make her feel proud of herself. Rock the world ladies! A salute to ladies! WOMAN MEANS:- W - WONDERFUL MOTHER. O - OUTSTANDING FRIEND. M - MARVELLOUS DAUGHTER. A - ADORABLE SISTER. N - NICEST GIFT TO MEN FROM GOD. #BeingWoman is "Precious"

Meaning of color and your Birthday

Meaning of color and your Birthday Don't cheat, if you are honest, this tells the truth. It's pretty good. Write your answers on a piece of paper, and NO cheating!! The answers are at the bottom. 1. Which is your favorite color out of: red , black , blue , green , or yellow? 2.. Your first initial letter of name.? 3.. Your month of birth? 4.. Which color do you like more, black or white? 5.. Name of a person of the same gender as yours.. 6.. Your favorite number? 7... Do you like Flying or Driving more? 8.. Do you like a lake or the ocean more? 9.. Write down a wish (a real one). When you're done, scroll down. (Don't cheat!)

BELLY BUTTON AS SHARED

DID YOU KNOW? Our belly button is an amazing gift given to us by God. A 62 year old man had poor vision in his left eye. He could hardly see especially at night and was told by eye specialists that his eyes were in a good condition but the only problem was that the veins supplying blood to his eyes were dried up and he would never be able to see again. Homeopathy has a cure for this condition. Infact it not only has a cure for this condition but for veins which have dried up to any part of the body such as the ears, the brain, legs, arms, pancreas, lips, jaw etc. According to Science, in all of God's creation, the first part created after the clot is formed is the belly button. After it’s created, it joins to the mother’s belly button through the umbilical chord. Through this incredible gift that God has given to us, which we may seem it to be insignificant, a new life is formed. Our belly button is surely an amazing thing! According to science, after a person has passed away, the belly button is still warm for 3 hours the reason being when a woman conceives a child, her belly button supplies nourishment to the child through the child’s belly button. And a fully grown child is formed in 270 days = 9 months. This is the reason all our veins are connected to our belly button which makes it the focal point of our body. Belly button is life itself! The “PECHOTI” is situated behind the belly button which has 72,000 plus veins over it. The total amount of blood vessels we have in our body are equal to twice the circumference of the earth. CURES: For dryness of eyes, poor eyesight, pancreas over or under working, cracked heels and lips, for glowing face, shiny hair, knee pain, shivering, lethargy, joint pains, dry skin. REMEDY: For dryness of eyes, poor eyesight, fungus in nails, glowing skin, shiny hair. At night before bed time, put 3 drops of pure ghee or coconut oil in your belly button and spread it 1 and half inches around your belly button For knee pain At night before bed time, put 3 drops of castor oil in your belly button and spread it 1 and half inches around your belly button. For shivering and lethargy, relief from joint pain, dry skin at night before bed time, put 3 drops of mustard oil in your belly button and spread it 1 and half inches around your belly button. WHY PUT OIL IN YOUR BELLY BUTTON? You belly button can detect which veins have dried up and pass this oil to it hence open them up. When a baby has a stomach ache, we normally mix asafoetida (hing) and water or oil and apply around the naval. Within minutes the ache is cured. Oil works the same way.

Parent Induced Wastefulness as shared

*PIW* *Parent Induced Wastefulness* _*(Don't) take it easy!*_ When parents strive to give their children the best of everything at an early age, they are sowing seeds for materially insatiable monsters that are prone to sloth, apathy, avarice and fear. Don’t stand in self- defense as yet. I have proof. As I sit in my counselor’s chair day after day I encounter an altogether a new disorder that I have come to label as- *Parent Induced Wastefulness* (PIW). Here are a few examples: * 26-year-old Manas does not want to finish his Engineering degree because he does not ‘feel like’ studying. But he harasses his parents every day for money. He tells me that whenever he did not feel like doing any particular activity, his parents told him he can quit. They always said they did not want him to get ‘stressed’ like they were when growing up. * 34-year-old Raghav is a qualified Engineer and is married for 2 years but his wife is not ready to live with him hence the counseling. He is qualified alright but refuses to stick to any job as it makes him feel stressed! Every two months he runs back home from work and wants his parents to solve his problem like they did every time he refused to go to school. * 28 years old Anjali does not want to go back to her one-year-old marriage because it is too much for her to work in the office and then look after the household. She wants her mother to come and live with her and do the household work. There are many others... but all originating in overzealous parents wanting to protect their children from even the smallest discomfort in childhood. You love them alright, but when you shell them from the adversities of life, what you are doing is bringing them up in a sterile environment. The result: the moment they are exposed to the world their immunity buckles up and they stand threadbare wanting to run away from everything that is anything but comfortable. They have to live in this very world and away from you. Do you really love them? Or do you love yourself more? If it is them, then you would ensure to make them future ready- let them face, talk to them, provide support, but let them face housework, studies, bullying and adversities. Tell them money is limited and let them learn to hear a lot of ‘NO’. That’s what makes them 'FUTURE READY'. - *Dr. Sapna Sharma* Psychotherapist, Spiritual Counselor, LIfe Reinvention Coach & Motivational speaker.

d from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat - As shared

 

 

Here is a perspective by Dr. Peter Hammond.

 

His doctorate is in theology. He was born in Capetown in 1960, grew up in Rhodesia and converted to Christianity in 1977.       
       
Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat:

 

 

 

Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In its fullest form, it is a complete, total, 100% way of life, and its adherents intend to subjugate ALL others to its teachings and laws. 100%. No exceptions.         
       
                 Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military components. The religious component is a beard for all of the other components.
                 Islamization begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their religious privileges. When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agree to Muslim demands for their religious privileges, some of the other components tend to creep in as well.       
       
                 Here's how it works:
                 As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 3% in any given country, they will be for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving Minority, and not as a threat to other citizens. This is the case in:     
       
                 United States -- Muslim 2%
                 Australia -- Muslim 2.5%
                 Canada -- Muslim 2.8%
                 Norway -- Muslim 2.8%
                 China -- Muslim 2.9%
                 Italy -- Muslim 2.5%       
       
                 At 3% to 8%, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups, often with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs.
               
                 This is happening in:
               
                 Denmark -- Muslim 5%
                 Germany -- Muslim 6.7%
                 United Kingdom -- Muslim 7.7%
                 Spain -- Muslim 8%
                 Thailand -- Muslim 7.6%
       
       
                 From 8% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. For example, they will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply.      
    
                This is occurring in:      
       
                 France -- Muslim 12%
                 Philippines -- 9%
                 Sweden -- Muslim 8%
                 Switzerland -- Muslim 8.3%
                 The Netherlands -- Muslim 8.5%
                 Trinidad& Tobago -- Muslim 10.8%       
       
                 At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the entire world.       
       
                 When Muslims approach 15% of the population, they tend to increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions.
        In Paris, we are already seeing car-burnings. Any non Muslim action offends Islam, and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam, with opposition to Mohammed cartoons and films about Islam.
        Such tensions are seen daily, particularly in Muslim sections, in:        
                         Guyana -- Muslim 15%
                 India -- Muslim 19.4%
                 Israel -- Muslim 16%
                 Kenya -- Muslim 18%
                 Russia -- Muslim 21%       
       
                 After reaching 25%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, such as in:        
       
                 Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%        
                         At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks, and ongoing militia warfare, such as in:       
        
                 Bosnia -- Muslim 40%
                 Chad -- Muslim 53.1%
                 Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7%       
       
                 From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non- believers of all other religions (including non-conforming Muslims), sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon, and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels, such as in:        
       
                 Albania -- Muslim 70%
                 Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4%
                 Qatar -- Muslim 77.5%
                 Sudan -- Muslim 70%       
       
                 After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some State-run ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out the infidels, and move toward 100% Muslim, such as has been experienced and in some ways is on-going in:        
       
                 Bangladesh -- Muslim 83%
                 Egypt -- Muslim 90%
                 Gaza -- Muslim 98.7%
                 Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1%
                 Iran -- Muslim 98%
                 Iraq -- Muslim 97%
                 Jordan -- Muslim 92%
                 Morocco -- Muslim 98.7%
                 Pakistan -- Muslim 97%
                 Syria -- Muslim 90%
                 Tajikistan -- Muslim 90%
                 Turkey -- Muslim 99.8%
                 United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96%        
       
                 100% will usher in the peace of 'Dar-es-Salaam' -- the Islamic House of Peace.. Here there's supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim, the Madrasses are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word, such as in:       
       
                 Afghanistan -- Muslim 100%
                 Saudi Arabia -- Muslim 100%
                 Somalia -- Muslim 100%
                 Yemen -- Muslim 100%       
       
                 Unfortunately, peace is never achieved, as in these 100% states the most radical Muslims intimidate and spew hatred, and satisfy their blood lust by killing less radical Muslims, for a variety of reasons.        
       
                 'Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; the tribe against the world, and all of us against the infidel. -- Leon Uris, 'The Haj'        
       
                 It is important to understand that in some countries, with well under 100% Muslim populations, such as France, the minority Muslim populations live in ghettos, within which they are 100% Muslim, and within which they live by Sharia Law. The national police do not even enter these ghettos. There are no national courts, nor schools, nor non-Muslim religious facilities. In such situations, Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. The children attend madrasses. They learn only the Koran. To even associate with an infidel is a crime punishable with death.        
       
                 Therefore, in some areas of certain nations, Muslim Imams and extremists exercise more power than the national average would indicate.       
       
                 Today's 2 billion Muslims make up 28% of the world's population.But their birth rates dwarf the birth rates of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and all other believers. Muslims will exceed 50% of the world's population by the end of this century.         
        
                 Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat    

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR Posted: 28 Aug 1996

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR Posted: 28 Aug 1996 SPECIAL? ORDINARY? Are you special or ordinary? What makes you special on the path? (Everyone is silent) Your perception, observation, and expression have advanced. What makes you ordinary on the path is that you are special! (Laughter) . . . . Because everybody thinks they are very special in some way or another! Your perception has improved. You see the cause behind every cause, the Divine, and you see the great plan behind every small plan. You don't see the intentions behind others's mistakes and you are not a doubting Thomas. Kiran: Who was doubting Thomas? Shirley: Thomas doubted Jesus. Bhanu: But I think he also got enlightened! Stefano: Yes, but he was not sure! (Laughter) Before getting onto the path you never observed your emotions. Now you observe your emotions, positive or negative, love or hatred, anger or compassion, pain or pleasure. Your observation has improved. Your expression has improved. In the center-core of everyone there are all the good qualities. In the unfortunate and stressed ones it has not found an expression, but you have given an expression to these great qualities. And soooo . . . . . you are extra . . . ordinary! Jai Guru Dev

Cultivating Spiritual Awareness- As shared

Cultivating Spiritual Awareness Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati How can we live in the presence of guru and God in our daily lives? There are no guidelines on how to practise and live spiritual life. The basic framework has been given in the yogic, tantric and vedic traditions, but ultimately we have to manage our own thoughts, ideas, beliefs and convictions. Until we do that, there is no spiritual development. Spiritual development is not mechanical. It does not mean that if we do a certain practice, we will get a definite result. As long as we are doing something physical or mental, that is fine, because we know what the end result of asana and pranayama, or mantra practice, or meditation practice will be. However, it must be emphasized that the practices can only lead us to a certain point. Beyond that we have to adjust, modify and alter our mental expressions and develop a new perspective. Developing a new vision marks the awakening of the spiritual faculty within us. Hatha yoga or raja yoga do not indicate the awakening of spiritual faculties. Understanding, modifying and changing the mental vrittis indicates the beginning of spiritual awareness. How do we modify or fine-tune our ideas, thoughts, convictions and beliefs, which are the basic building blocks of our nature? The answer has been given in the Yoga Sutras. The yamas and niyamas have to be lived. It is not necessary to practise all five yamas or all five niyamas, but it is important to master one yama or one niyama. The highest practice one can do to cultivate spiritual awareness is ishwara pranidhana, which is the final niyama. Ishwara pranidhana means ‘let thy will be done’. Allowing oneself to be the recipient of the divine will is the highest virtue that can be cultivated. It is the highest state of mind that can be developed and experienced. It is the culmination of jnana, the culmination of bhakti and the culmination of karma. When jnana, knowledge, bhakti, faith or devotion, and karma, behaviour or performance, fuse into one and are directed to fulfilment of the divine will, ishwara pranidhana, then that would be the highest state we can aspire for as spiritual aspirants. Ishwara pranidhana indicates letting go of the personal hang-ups, the personal attachments and the holding onto things that we consider dear. Remember that contentment, santosha, comes before ishwara pranidhana. Ishwara pranidhana is the last of the niyamas. If you follow the sequence of the yamas and niyamas, it is number ten. Beyond that there is no other yama or niyama. Being number ten, ishwara pranidhana indicates that a certain amount of preparation has taken place already and you are experiencing the divine will. Through the generation of faith and innocence, letting go of the self-oriented, self-centred awareness, one is able to finally tune oneself to God’s energy or guru’s energy. Ishwara pranidhana also indicates a level of surrender where we are not subject to our mental whims and desires. In normal life we find it difficult to surrender to something that is different from us. It is even difficult to surrender to God or to guru. If we try, certain thoughts come, certain influences affect our belief, doubt creeps in, questioning begins and we again fall prey to the mental influences. Christ’s disciples had to face doubts. Spiritual aspirants who are trying to follow a spiritual lifestyle have to face those confusions and doubts, because surrender is never complete in our lives. Surrender simply means not being a slave to the mental whims, fantasies and desires. Right now we have surrendered ourselves to our mind. The mind says, “Do this” – we do it. The mind says, “Say this” – we say it. The mind says, “Desire this” – we desire it. The mind says, “Reject that” – we reject it. We have become slaves of our mind. The real meaning of surrender is coming out of this situation and surrendering to the cosmic divine nature, becoming master of the mind and tuning oneself with the higher Self. This surrender is the first step of ishwara pranidhana – ‘let thy will be done’. It is also a philosophy, a concept, an idea, that we try to develop. One who can develop this philosophy and live accordingly, who can cultivate that spiritual strength and energy within, is recognized as a disciple and eventually, in the course of time, as an enlightened being. The highest spiritual value to be cultivated in life is ishwara pranidhana. The moment you live that, your yoga also reaches its point of culmination. Ishwara pranidhana is identifying with the inner pure nature. Once you have identified with your inner nature, you have attained ishwara pranidhana, and you don’t remain you. That is the turning point in the aspirant’s life. Everything is guided by our ego. Our thoughts are guided by the ego, our expectations are motivated by the ego, our efforts are energized by the ego, our responses and reactions and identifications are associated with the ego. If you have a confrontation with your enemy, do you react to the person or to the ideology that person conveys to you? There is a clash of egos, you both have different viewpoints, and the person and the ideology become separate. So most of the time you will react to the person because there is no acknowledgement of the ideology. If there was recognition of the ideology, then the person would be redundant, and become the follower of the ideology. But we always watch the person and we respond accordingly. However, we don’t respond to the person, but to the reaction that we feel within us for that person – anger or hatred. So we are responding to our own emotion. We are reacting to our own anger. These are the traits that a psychologist or psychoanalyst tries to discover about the cause of a disturbance or imbalance. Again it is so coloured by the ego that it becomes impossible to know where we are reacting, with what we are identifying. We are identifying with ourselves and definitely not with the other person or with the situation. The practice of ishwara pranidhana is identifying with your inner nature. If you experience ishwara pranidhana, then you have let go of the identification with jealousy and anger, with desires and passions, with all the so-called ‘normal’ responses. Once this identification is gone, one’s responses change and are no longer self-oriented. Instead of being focused on oneself, one is now focused outwards like the beam of a torch. Ishwara pranidhana is not only a mental sadhana. Outer changes also help to attain ishwara pranidhana. What made St Francis of Assisi a saint? It was not his realization of God or Christ, or religion, or his compassion and love. It was the vow he had taken of poverty and chastity. To move from a life of luxury to a life of poverty and to maintain the discipline is very difficult. Do we have the capacity to make external changes in our life, to take a vow and live it, or are we too weak and infirm? A vow, or vrat, reflects a change in lifestyle. Test yourself. Undergo a little physical hardship. One night a week sleep on a mattress on the floor. One day a week miss one meal and have something light to eat for the next. In this manner by adjusting certain situations and conditions and disciplining yourself little by little, you will find that your lifestyle will influence your mind and your mental receptivity. The yamas and niyamas are not a mental process only. They are a process by which you become aware of yourself. As you become aware of yourself, you have to fine-tune your channels. But at the same time, the outer external change and discipline is equally important. Without it the yamas and niyamas cannot be lived. What are the components of meditation? First of all, meditation is a process of removing stress from our personality. Meditation becomes a technique of stress management, through which the psychological and emotional frustrations are cleared. After that, meditation becomes a way of providing the mind with a focus – concentration. This is the second component. The state of concentration is so fine that there are no distractions and dissipations from the senses affecting it. Concentration is not internalization. It is just taking control of the four wild runaway horses, holding the reins of manas, buddhi, chitta and ahamkara, and directing them to move on the path that you have decided. Then the third component is the process of internalization, diving deep into the inner nature, and discovering what the building blocks of our personality are – the samskaras, the karmas, the influences, the impressions, the foundations of our mental, and psychological, emotional nature. The fourth component is then connecting with the positive self, connecting with the creative strength. When we connect with this positive energy and cultivate positive qualities in our life, then meditation takes us from the conditioned nature to sattwa, the luminous nature of the self. And then meditation helps us to overcome our ego connections. The individual self is transcended. After transcending the individuality, samadhi is experienced: absolute harmony and balance. In the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks Krishna, “Can you describe how a person who is realized lives, acts, walks, talks, sleeps, eats and moves?” Krishna replies, “That person’s actions are no different to ours. He moves like you and me, he eats like you and me, he sleeps like you and me, he thinks like you and me. The only difference is that he has overcome the duality of life. Whereas initially we do everything for ourselves and are the centre of the universe, now love and compassion have become the centre of the universe, and everything else revolves around that.” This statement indicates the progression of meditation from the management of anger, frustration, stress and phobias to the development of self-awareness, to connecting with the positive nature and discovering peace and harmony, to living a complete life by not connecting with ourselves but with the world around us. That is the relevance of meditation today. Self-realization is attainable, but not necessarily needed. What is needed is the ability to manage ourselves in a better way. Let us start with that. If we can learn how to handle ourselves in a better way, maybe we will discover that we don’t need to be realized, that we are in that state of realization all the time.

Sahaj Samadhi Meditation of the Art of Living

It was sometime in the late 80s and Bawa and Rajesh were my first students for sahaj. They were young college boys at that time. Once they received the mantra, they sat for meditation and both were in deep samadhi in just moments. Minutes rolled by and they continued in that same profound state which they had attained so easily! The mantra is like the key to the lock. Often we say “self-realisation”, but we are at a loss as to what it really is. How to be in the Self? To know about the Self is not in the purview of the mind or the intellect. They cannot fathom the space or dimension of the mantras. Mantras take you to the dimesnion of the unknown, unseen. Words are limited to the seen and the seer. Mantras go beyond. Words limit the consciousness and the Self is unlimited. The mantras are charged sound vibrations which are like the seed with infinite possibilities and potential. Mantras are the subtlest field and at this level we resonate with the vibrations in creation. Mantras unlock this precious dimension which will reveal several secrets to you about life, about existence, about creation and about the Self. Every individual on the planet knows and feels that they are beautiful somewhere within. This is the truth because beauty is a quality of the consciousness, of the Self. But we have to bring it out and that is why the guru mantra is so important. Only a lit candle can light another. In the same way, only when the mantra is received from a living Master, it works for you, it gives you an experience. In the olden days, a person without a guru was called “Anatha” – one without a Lord. The Guru is the Lord of our soul, our atma. The guru, mantra, ishta and the Self are all the same energy. We are so lucky to even have the thought to learn meditation. When you internalise, you realise your power, that you are power. Mantras fulfill the mystical aspect of our consciousness. *SHARED BY OUR DEAREST BHANU DIDI TODAY

IDEAS, INTELLIGENCE AND WISDOM

Daniel J Schwarzhoff‎Recovered Alcoholics- To help recovering alkys

Discipline:

 1. Strict and regular mental or moral training

2. development of character through trouble, adversity, or anxiety

~ The Winston Simplified Dictionary Encyclopedic Edition (1938)
Mental, moral training and character development should not come from human ‘teaching’. 

It can come from a loving God and it does, but only while we are God-conscious.

Without God-consciousness, we will lack the blessings of discipline. 

We will be lacking in regular mental or moral training. 

Difficulties encountered in the Stream of Life do not make an undisciplined person stronger,

 but in time more feeble as his moral character reverses 

and he experiences an annulment of whatever virtue he once held.

With God-consciousness, we are placed in a position to allow God’s discipline flow into us, 

where self–discipline has failed. Instead of being beaten down 

by the cruelties and harsh realities of the world, we are actually strengthened by them.

We become more virtuous, more moral, having more example of good character

 to pass onto our children and to the people around us to whom we may set an example.

Without conscious contact with God, the opposite is true.

 We will only pass on examples of poor moral character, 

even as we continue to deteriorate and succumb to the harsh pressures 

exerted on all of us in the inescapable torrent of events that life’s stream presents.

Our children will hate what we are becoming as they become us –

 making the exact same errors lacking the discipline

 we too have lacked and were unable to show them. 

They become promiscuous, dishonest and they will abuse substances

 and manipulate people for personal gain. 

And we watch thinking, “What could have gone wrong?”

The problem is not what has gone wrong but more what has failed to go right. 

The answer is us. 

We are what has failed to go right through unconscious, 

Godless existence that guaranteed a progressive inability 

to know what God swill is or receive the power to carry it out.

Daniel J Schwarzhoff‎Recovered Alcoholics