The secret behind marvellous miracles

 

 

The secret behind marvellous miracles

The time was 11 am when my personal assistant pressed the buzzer and mentioned that someone from Britannia Industries wanted to meet me. The gentleman was planning a trip to Tirupati and sought help for an emergency quota by train. During the course of our conversation, I mentioned that in 2005, I had worked on Guntakal Division of South Central Railway.

The town itself does not have much to offer, but the division houses several important religious, spiritual and historical spots. Tirupati, Pannipakam, Sri Kalahasti, Mantralayam are significant places which attract the faithful in large numbers.

Adjoining Guntakal Division is the Bangalore Division of South Western Railway. The division is home to Prashanti Nilayam, abode of Satya Sai Baba and the Art of Living International Centre of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Thus, there are a large number of places of spiritual importance located in the vicinity of Guntakal.

Broadly recalling the importance of these significant places, the visitor mentioned a famous Hanuman Temple at Guntakal, which had slipped my mind. Thereafter our conversation veered to Mantralayam. Mantralayam is where Shri Raghavendra Swami entered Tejaroopa (spirit) in 1671 AD.

This is where he was interned in a tomb upon attaining Samadhi. The faithful believe that Raghavendra Swami would be in the state of Tejaroopa for a period of 700 years. Raghavendra Swami succeeded his Guru, Sudheendra Teertha as the head of the Mutt and propounded the Dwaita philosophy. He is also believed to be an incarnation of Bhakta Prahalad.

Following this discussion, the gentleman left. No sooner had he left, than someone else came to my room, with the prasadam of Raghavendra Swami. This was inexplicable! A miracle is an extraordinary and a welcome event, inexplicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to divine legacy.

Osho said, ‘Be realistic. Plan for a miracle.’ Can we plan for a miracle? This happens through Positive Thinking, the Law of Attraction, the Law of Gratitude, the Law of Spiralling Effect and what Darren Hardy calls the ‘Compound Effect’.

For things to materialise, we need to develop a highly positive intent. This positive intent sends signals to the universe and in return the universe conspires to provide us with what we really need. However, for the cycle to continue, humans need to be extremely grateful.

This is no rocket science. It is not so distant from our inner self. This is an intuitive ability which we need to develop and harness. Our ancient Rishis realised this potential practice of yoga, meditation, pranayama and adopting a proper diet.

Several years ago, while still at Guntakal, I was a confirmed alcoholic. Along with my maternal aunts, I went to the Raghavendra Swami Mutt at Mantralayam. I smuggled a bottle of liquor in that state of arrogance. My mind was fixated on the bottle and was conspiring to circumnavigate the rules of Brindavan. This is the character of the monkey mind. Brindavan is the place where Raghavendra Swami is in a state of Samadhi.

There was an unbearable stench in my room. To my amazement, the bottle had cracked and liquor had leaked out; the seal was not broken. Everything was drenched with liquor except my puja material and the notes of Art of Living Part 1 course. Satan cannot affect what is pure and divine. This too was a miracle. ‘It is our faith that activates the power of God,’ said Joel Osteen.

However, the human mind ignores and rubbishes such claims. Years later, while travelling by a special train, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar smiled in his inimitable manner and gave me Mantralayam prasadam as we crossed Kurnool district, where Mantralayam is located. Yet another miracle had occurred, I realised.

Faith is an integral part of any miracle. Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. It is a strong belief in the doctrines of a religion based on spiritual conviction than proof. ‘Faithless is he that says farewell when road darkens,’ says J.R.R. Tolkien.

When the tunnel is really dark and our mind is plagued by fear, we deeply pray for a miracle to happen so that we do not get subsumed by the vortex of antipathetic thoughts.

While thinking negatively, we transmit negative signals to the universe. In return we get shrouded by unfortunate events. Thus prayer, faith and miracles are all intertwined. For this to happen, human intent needs to be extraordinary.

 

 

Power of healing through the mind

Winter was quite chilly in Delhi and to keep himself warm, a middle-aged obese man had a swig of Old Monk rum. He felt warmer and chewed a piece of chicken with great relish. Soon, however, he started perspiring and feeling nauseous. His facial muscles began twitching and he felt a real thud in his chest region.

The anxious homemaker rushed to the neighbours seeking help. The neighbours called for an ambulance and rang up the doctor. It was a state of emergency. Visiting the neighbours was an Art of Living teacher, who immediately rushed to the aid of the patient. He advised the patient to adopt a posture called the ‘Sanjivini Mudra’ and take deep breaths. The ‘mudra’ entails fixing the index finger on the base of the thumb and middle and ring finger touch the tip of the thumb, while the little finger is spread apart. While adopting the ‘mudra’ the individual needs to take deep ‘Ujjayi’ (victory) breaths. While inhaling ‘Ujjayi’ breaths, an individual feels the stimulation in the throat region. The duration of each breath increases and becomes finer, too.

The patient afflicted with the heart attack surrendered to his saviour and continued with this breathing technique, till he was hospitalised.

The ECG did not reveal any great damage to the heart and the medical team grudgingly accepted the intrinsic and therapeutic values of the ‘Sanjivini Mudra’. Along with the breath, the mind was relaxed during those tense moments as the patient was wheeled into the ICU.

On recovering completely, the gentleman undertook courses of the Art of Living, which detoxified his system and cured him of the craving for alcohol. This helped him stage both a physical and mental recovery. ‘Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes a matter of great opportunity,’ said Hippocrates. This window of opportunity is provided by the opening in the human mind. If we feel that we are sick and chronically ill, then the healing process gets thwarted and impaired.

The mind plays a pivotal role in the healing process of an individual. When we get up every morning, we should take a few deep breaths and feel grateful and blessed about whatever has been provided by nature and our Universe. This augurs well for the body and the mind. It would be a worthwhile exercise to scan the body and check our levels of freshness; are we suffering from any stiffness or soreness, headache, etc. to maximise the vitality of our system.

The mind remains an enigma, with a reservoir of potential which we fail to tap. If exploited to optimum level, it can help in destroying carcinogenic cells, eliminating toxins, combating infections, fighting foreign bodies and enhancing self-repair mechanisms. The placebo effect also plays a major role in recovery.

The mind has also been called an ‘amygdala’ which may harbour negative thoughts and wrong beliefs such as financial woes, relationship problems, work stress, general pessimism and feelings of threat. These attributes act as a roadblock to attaining good health.

Stress at the workplace often results in various illnesses. A woman suffered from what is called Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia (PAT). In such a condition, the heart beats with great rapidity and the patient suffers from excessive sweating and perforce needs to be hospitalised till the condition normalises. The lady surrendered to the will of Lord, while reciting a deep and sincere prayer.

Later in life, when her son turned an alcoholic, she once again developed a similar heart condition. She had to steel herself and became mentally adept and strong enough to undertake courses in Vipassana, the Art of Living, Siddha and Pranic healing. These courses had an immense therapeutic impact on the mind and body which enabled her to recover both physically and mentally. An Art of Living teacher taught her ‘Mudra Pranayams’, which have helped to fortify her system.

The breath and the mind have a deep relationship. By simply observing the breath, toxins are expelled from the system and there is great mental clarity to view life in its totality. These processes clear the mind of several cobwebs and the thought process becomes positive.

A power of discrimination dawns on the individual and he/she can focus on what the body really needs, the quantum of exercise to performed, exact intake of food required, the amount of medication needed, whether the job or living conditions are irksome and if any changes are required to be made and take necessary steps in that direction. An architect imagines a building, conceives a blue print and designs a beautiful home. Similarly, a dancer or a painter through mental imagery visualises a piece of art which is appealing and becomes the cynosure of all eyes. Soulful singers conjure melody and symphony which strike right notes and chords in our hearts and we are transported to an ethereal world. All this creation is the magic of the mind. Similarly, the middle aged man (who suffered the heart attack), the woman who was a long time sufferer of PAT, and the alcoholic son, surrendered their physical and mental unwelcome situations to a superior power and adopted various techniques and strategies of self-healing.

However, the success of the therapies lies in the orientation of the mind. The mind has to be necessarily a YES MIND, believing that success is guaranteed, and their lives would be transformed with the power of mind injecting positive affirmations such as ‘I am transformed’, ‘I am healed’ and ‘I am feeling wonderful’.

 

 

Why you must enhance Sattva and how to do it

Sattva, the balancing force is associated with purity, intelligence, awareness, alertness, harmony, balance and equipoise. The quality is to remain extremely light in the mind, writes RAVI VALLURI

Mahanama despaired at his spiritual anguish and the distraught state of his mind. Buddha analysed the pangs of his cousin and devotee’s problem and attributed it to the latter’s unfulfilled sexual desires and his struggle with sensuality. Lust and obsession, attachments and entanglements play havoc with the mental state of many a human and correspondingly the levels of ‘Sattva’ drop several notches. These act as a roadblock in the path of a layman or a seeker in search of bliss or the truth.

Let us imagine or visualise an individual with a resplendent, radiant face, a bright pair of eyes, sporting a beatific smile, thick black mane, and in absolute harmony and sync with his self and nature. The visualisation is probably akin to observing a rainbow in the sky, snow-capped mountain peaks or perhaps a tranquil river or lake. Such evocative images impact the human mind or chitta, enveloping it with robust positivity. This adumbration conjures a positive disposition and increases the aura. Individuals possessing these unblemished qualities act as magnets to attract people.

Usually we associate such dynamic qualities with only elevated souls perhaps dressed in saffron or whites, who exude enormous serenity and calm. It is not essential that only sages or spiritual masters possess these quintessential pristine qualities. Any individual has the potential to enhance these characteristics.

‘All actions of “Sattva”, a modification of Prakriti, characterised by light and happiness, is for the soul. When ‘Sattva’ is free from egoism and illuminated with pure intelligence of Purusha, it is called the self-centred one because in that state it becomes independent of all relations’, said Swami Vivekananda.

As per the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy, there are three gunas or traits present in humans and the creation -‘Sattva’, ‘Rajas’ and ‘Tamas’. ‘Sattva’ is associated with purity, intelligence, awareness, alertness, harmony, balance and equipoise. The quality is to remain extremely light in the mind. This is the hallmark of the awakening of the soul, a springboard of spiritual awakening. ‘Rajas’ denotes that energy which invariably causes imbalances. It represents change, constant activity, restlessness, passion, disequilibrium resulting in the fragmentation in the thought process of an individual.

‘Tamas’ is the attribute which reflects dullness, darkness, despondency, inertia, lack of awareness, decay, disintegration and long periods of sleep in the individual. The colour white, associated with purity and harmony, represents ‘Sattva’, while red is symbolic of excessive action and passion which is a metaphor for ‘Rajas’. ‘Tamas’ is delineated by black which also exemplifies darkness accompanied with disintegration.

A ‘Sattvik’ individual is unwavering in his dealings and does not engage in mental chatter. Such individuals are vigilant, adept in quick decision making and are circumspect by nature. But they are truly joyous and radiant. For them life is a celebration.

Persons with predominant ‘Rajasik’ qualities are lustful, full of passion, constantly attached to activity and get intertwined with various attachments and entanglements. ‘Tamasik’ individuals exhibit emotions and actions of anger, disruption, pride, putrefaction and ruination.

But it is well-nigh impossible for everyone in the universe to be of ‘Sattvik’ disposition as the Gods like variety. They do not eat only Okra. If there is a Buddha, Mara would also be lurking in the corner. It would be discernment on part of individuals to constantly grow in ‘Sattva’, than to begin in the winters of their lives. Humans can then harness their true potential and develop the qualities of equilibrium, equanimity and equipoise. The Swadishtan Chakra entails and exhibits the qualities of both lust and creativity. We will gain by expanding our consciousness and focussing on the attributes of creativity than be merely lustful in nature.

The human mind is immensely impacted by the food we consume, the company we keep, events which take place in our lives, places we visit among others. We have to live with some ‘Karma’ but can obliterate malefic effects of certain actions by practising holistic techniques.

To begin with, humans should concentrate on the food consumed. Occasional indulges apart; it is sagacious to partake of ‘Sattvik’ vegetarian food which is easily digestible and reduces craving and avarice in our minds. Breathing practices like Vipassana and Sudarshan Kriya expatriate toxins from the body make it vibrant and oozing energy. Further it is always profitable to practice yoga, pranayama and meditation.

The human mind is cannonaded by innumerable thoughts. We make it even more miserable by clinging on to gizmos, becoming prisoners of technology. Our sacred space has been destroyed and occupied. This space has to be reclaimed. Man is always known by the company he keeps. To increase and buttress our ‘Sattva’ we should attend satsangs and undertake selfless ‘seva’. By actively working on these areas humans can mitigate negative influences, ebb the ‘Karmic’ bondage and uplift the level of ‘Sattva’.