Practices for Attunement...

The Goal of Infinite Happiness is so alluring, that even the thought of a state so elevated feels ecstatic. We all feel like the little child leaping to ring the temple bell hanging from the top! We leap and leap excitedly, and even if my fingers brush against the bottom rim of the bell, i feel overjoyed!!

Just a brush with Reality, and sorrow ends, suffering is eliminated, delusion removed. What a state!!!

But, how to get there?

Realisation is not the result of any specific action. It cannot be. That which is the result of actions, is limited. Infinite can't be a result. Infinity is not an action either. Infinity has nothing to do with doing. Infinity is unconditional being. Just being.

But, to experience that which is all-pervading, ever-present, non-dual Reality, i need to be available.
Enlightenment is to be there - in the now, in the here. We need to attune our minds to the Higher. All of human life and every pursuit is only aimed at this divine attunment. Beyond this, words don't work, actions don't matter, feelings don't fit. Through great intense silence of the within a great intense Silence of the within is known silently. It is like being in love. How can any lover say how much she loves her beloved? She is so much in love, it shows on her face, in her body, through her eyes. She is so much in love, her heart beats for it, her breath moves for it, her life lives for it. She is so much in love, she can't stop talking about it, she can't help smiling about it, she can't, just can't not express it. But, she can't express it either! What a peculiar situation it is!!

Such is the state of Enlightenment. Words and actions work in the realm of names, forms and experiences. Truth is beyond. Thus actions become meaningless in the pursuit of the Truth. Yet, there are actions suggested to seekers. Tried and tested means of tuning the mind to the Higher are prescribed again and again and again. Not so that by these we know the Truth. But, so that by these we just stop looking at the untruth. The moment the attention turns inward, Infinity is here, now.

So 3 beautiful techniques of tuning the mind are...
1) Study the Scriptures - Texts like Bhagawad Geeta alone have the capacity and authority to tell us to shut shop with the ephemeral meaninglessness of worldly interests and turn towards the Divine Goal of Life.
2) Have Faith in the Guru - The Guru is that Shiva who holds the onslaught of the gushing and powerful Vedic declarations in His head, amidst the peaceful meditative silence of the within, letting out a small streak of the Gyana-Ganga (The eternal flow of Knowledge) into the world - fulfilling millions of those who faithfully come to take a dip in its sacred waters. Without faith and surrender to the Guru, the dip also has no meaning. And when with faith, one listens to even one word, one statement, one single instruction, it changes everything forever. Faith in the Guru is the greatest game-changer in the world.
3) Worship the Lord - We may make efforts all our life. But without surrender to the Lord and his Grace, nothing can happen. The final leap in Meditation is only a matter of Grace. Every Realised man is a miracle. Every seeker of the Truth is a proof that God exists. Amidst this delusory tempting glamorous world of objects and beings, how otherwise could any of our minds turn to the Truth? It is an impossibility from the Einsteinian view of rational laws of cause-and-effect. It is inexplicable causeless Grace that has brought us so far. And it is that which will take us further....

Such a one, who has lived a life of complete spiritual activity, who has purified his mind through devoted study and determined worship, accompanied by unflinching faith in the Guru, for such a person even Death is one of the myriad incidental unrealities of life. There is no more the fear of death. In fact, death doesn't even remain significant enough to be discussed about!!

A seeker needs to reach such a pure and sacred state of fearless love. Then, and only then perhaps, we can dare call ourselves "spiritual"! What use is our spirituality otherwise if all it does is reduce our negativities in small degrees? Such passive spirituality, cannot define a Seeker. A seeker lives a life of utter fearlessness, thorough love.

Make yourself a seeker today!

Practice: 
1) Daily read one page of Swami Chinmayananda's Holy Gita. I am not suggesting this because He is my Guru. It is REALLY the BEST commentary on the Geeta available today in the entire world literature on this Divine Dialogue between man and God.
2) At least once a week, chant the Guru stotram in front of your Guru or his/her Padukas/Picture. Disciples of Gurudev MUST chant the 108 Names of Gurudev Daily / or at least every Thursday.
3) Light a lamp in front of the Lord every morning after bath. And say a prayer every night before going to bed.

These are small daily practices which will make a big difference to our lives if applied. TRY. Please.

TODAY's REFLECTION IS BASED ON BHAJA GOVINDAM VERSE 20

Unconditional Happiness

To enjoy the enjoyments is normal. To be happy in the company of people is ordinary.
But the spiritual person is he/she who is happy "anyway"!

The one who has realised Oneness has complete understanding that the journey of life is a silent lonely stride from alone to Alone. Such a person knows that companionship is an illusion - a belief which can't ever be taken too seriously! So, the wise one depends on none for his joy. When there is company, he rejoices. When there is none, he rejoices.

Dependency on people is one of the greatest dependencies of our lives. Try thinking of a life without ANYBODY. Most people may get into a sort of depression by the thought of such a situation. What will happen if I live alone? If there is nobody to talk to and nobody to love? The wise person knows that there is nobody even now. Companionship is a myth.
Such a person doesn't need anyone to be happy. He dances to the tunes of life - irrespective of whether he is amidst the crowded millions or in a lonely forest. It makes no difference to him/her. He has no longing to be with someone nor the insecurity to lose anyone. He is not a stone. He is LOVE itself. Love by itself seeks nobody but fulfils everybody. He can give endlessly, serve tirelessly, love limitlessly, and yet want nothing, seek nobody, desire no reciprocation, keep no accounts. Does the ocean keep accounts of how much water anyone takes away from it? Does the ocean become less wealthy when the Sun sucks away water from it? No, it doesn't matter to the Ocean. It is ever complete. Waters of all kinds from all directions flow into the infinite Ocean, and waters are taken out of it all the time. But the Ocean has no need to keep a count. It never gets overfull nor ever turns empty. It is full and fulfilled irrespective of everything. Such is the existence of a spiritual person - so complete, so full, so fulfilled.
If we become thus independent of dependency on people, can you imagine how free, how happy, how empowered it can feel? THINK!

A spiritual person doesn't bother about enjoyment or discipline. Either ways, his life remains a celebration. He needs no break, he craves to recreation, he longs no satisfaction. He is at peace amidst utter spiritual discipline. He is at peace amidst hectic activities of the world. He is at peace amidst exhausting entertainments. He is ever-free, ever-complete, ever-at-bliss.

The expression of that unconditional joy is captured beautifully in the words: नन्दति नन्दति नन्दत्येव
Meaning, he is only happy and happy and happy and happy and happy and happy....and happy!!!

Happiness is in fact the gauge of spiritual progress. Often we want to know how far we have moved in the journey. Sometimes self-doubt clouds us as to whether we are even progressing. At all such times, the best speedometer is "Happiness". A spiritual person cannot be a sad, grumpy, irritable being. (S)He is Happiness. To choose to be happy always and in spite of everything, is being spiritual. How Happy are you?

Quote: 
"There is nobody i can't live with, and there is nobody i can't live without"

"Refuse to be Unhappy" - Swami Chinmayananda

Practice: 
1. Count and smile at least 108 times in a day.
2. Every day, spend at least 30 minutes all alone.
3. Stop Complaining & Worrying.

TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON BHAJA GOVINDAM VERSE 19. 

Life of Vairagya

In the world we find even emperors sorrowing, the rich worrying, the powerful anxious, the man of accomplishment jealous....all are unhappy.
And yet, we see that the true renunciate....who has no comfort, no possession, no attachment, no belonging, walks through life's journey with serenity in his heart, a smile on his face, and flaming dispassion in his life.
In fact, Sureshwaracharya asks a rhetorical question: How can a true relinquisher not be happy?
The one who is complete in himself needs nothing to be happy. Infinite unconditional happiness within is accessed by this spiritual giant. He can lie down under the shadow of a nameless tree by a wayside temple and yet sleep more luxuriously than those fighting sleeplessness in their AC rooms and soft foamy mattresses. He may barely have anything significant to clothe himself, and yet walk around with greater fearlessness than the best of supermodels draped in rich designer wear. His sense of security cannot be violated by possession of enjoyment. He wants nothing. In him, there is no need of even self-control, because he has no urge for anything outside.
This sense of utter dispassion is called Vairagya. This kind of blunt and burning Vairagya cannot be attained by running away from things and people. It is not a sickly disgust for those around us. It is not even a painful abstinence. It is a joyous sense of fulfilment in which all needs and wants become completely insignificant. It is an intense self-sufficiency attained when we taste the richness within. Without insight into the Reality within, it is impossible to gather the courage to ruthlessly drop the enchanting outer world.
But once one finds access to the infinite bliss within, where is any need for anything outside? The purity of a desireless heart is the greatest luxury a human being can experience. His mind is free, his lifestyle simple, his dispassion thorough, his peace non-dependent, his attention inward, his joy unspeakable...
It is important that as seekers of the Truth each of us makes at least an attempt to live such a life of dispassion - not by running away from objects and people, but by re-kindling one's love for the Truth. Even such a sincere try at Vairagya can be more peaceful, happy and free than the greatest of possessions and enjoyments in the world outside. Try!!

7 Habits for Highly Dispassionate Living:
1) Satsang - Regular Satsang is a very powerful way to cultivate Vairagya
2) Simple Living - At least 10 days in a year, one must spend living in utter simplicity
3) Reflection on Texts Like Bhaja Govindam - Reflect on what you read. Without reflection, knowledge remains undigested and makes our personality stink without unnecessary ego of knowing!
4) Lives of Saints - Reading about the Lives of Saints & Sages is extremely catalytic in enhancing our Vairagya
5) Contemplate on the Truth - When we spend time in Meditation & Contemplation on a Daily basis, the mind becomes introvert
6) Moderation - Live a life of balance and discipline - not too much or too less of anything is good.
7) Live Away from Home  - At least once a year, live away from home, in an Ashram for 5-7 days. Home is a great source of attachment.

TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON BHAJA GOVINDAM VERSE 18. 

Value Knowledge

How to get to that so-called goal of life?...How to be enlightened?
Are spiritual practices like charities, religious vows, pilgrimages enough?
Then why doesn't everyone who is religiously ritualistic reach the Goal?
Why are even the greatest ritualists sometimes unhappy within??
Are rituals then meaningless? If not, why are they necessary even?

Pilgrimages are beautiful "journeys within". They are not spiritual holidays as understood today. The purpose is not to gather some sacred memories and freeze them in our click-click-clicks!! A pilgrimage is an opportunity to walk into the Palace of Divinity within, to unravel the mysterious planes of spiritual awakening in ourselves, to kindle in our hearts the courage to walk alone the Path that can only be walked alone. When a pilgrimage is undertaken with such an attitude, it uplifts the mind and accelerates one's climb upon the steep mountain of spirituality.

Religious vows consist of conscious decisions to withdraw from certain dependencies of the mind and/or the senses, so that one slowly gains enough self-control so as to be able to sit quietly and meditate. The greatest obstacle in meditation are our own attachments and aversions. Spiritual vows help in neutralising both of these. In fact, every seeker must attempt some sort spiritual vows at least twice a month or once a year for 30 days.

Charity is not to give away to the needy what we any way won't use. Charity is to offer something we are attached to. Charity must be hard and uneasy. When one overcomes that unsaid hesitation and gives oneself out completely to another, that is charity. Hence, we always offer $101 or $1001 in Dakshina. That extra 1 is to remind us to stretch a little more than what we are generally comfortable giving. Charity is an extremely powerful antidote of selfishness. Thus, one must perform acts of charity - not because others need the help, but because we need the cleansing.

Each of these practices is very powerful in making the mind introvert, unattached and selfless. Only such a mind can experience the Truth within. But, very often, many seekers fall into the false-notion that these practices alone are enough for liberation from sorrow, anxiety, suffering.

This cannot be. Break the myth that the darkness in the room can be removed with a broom. Break the myth that the ignorance within can be cured with any practice. It shall never happen. Ignorance has only one answer, and that is Knowledge. Knowledge of one's own Self, knowledge of the path, Knowledge of the goal - Knowledge that I am Infinite Happiness - that alone is the solution. Don't imagine getting free to be a result of religious rituals. Rituals can cleanse the mind and prepare it. But Knowledge alone will free us forever.

A seeker must never confuse the means with the goal. Practices are the means, Knowledge is the Goal. Value knowledge.

Practice: 1) Commit to Knowledge. Study & REFLECT on spiritual knowledge regularly. Consistent effort to Know Thyself is all we need.
2) Don't treat spiritual books like novels. They are not casual read or light reading material. They have hidden in them what it takes for us to experience our Highest. Take every word seriously, make copious notes, think over what is said, apply the instructions, live the Knowledge. This is not ordinary knowledge, it is Self-knowledge - that which can liberate me.

TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON BHAJA GOVINDAM VERSE 17. 

Take up Tapas….

And finally today, we move on to the next topic in Bhaja Govindam - Austerity or Tapas.
When we walk the path of serious spirituality, it becomes essential that the mind is calm, the intellect clear and the personality free from desires, anger, delusion, false-pride, jealousy, greed or any other pollutant. How does one do it? The answer is: Tapas.
Tapas is a self-inflicted discipline where a seeker forces himself to break out of one's own comfort zones and prepares the mind for independent living.
It is not a pointless attention-seeking self-torture. It is a choice to push one's own limits, raise one's own standards and lift one's own mind.
When we put ourselves through difficult situations, we choose to be strong. When we challenge our own dependencies, we choose to be free. When we decide to go against our comforts, we choose to step ahead… That is Tapas.
Tapas thus is a conscious choice to expand beyond what one is. Tapas is not necessarily to starve oneself of food, or wear a certain type of clothes, or quit non-vegetarian food, or live a particular lifestyle. One may do all this. But if one remains dependent on desires from within, no amount of these external austerities can help. They may still rank better than blind indulgence in pleasures. Yet, they won't be of much avail to the seeker's needs.
On the other hand, one cannot really give up Tapas in its entirety, because without it, it is impossible to rise on the spiritual path or even in the world. If someone has to become a super-model, she has do the tapas of eating right at all times, working out daily, training one's body. Similarly, if someone has to become a spiritually sound person, one has to do the tapas of living in sense-control, doing satsang daily, training one's mind!
So, one cannot give up Tapas. But we see many of us, who live as though amidst great Tapas, but deep within have so much of desires, weaknesses, temptations, bitterness. How is it that Tapas is failing such people? Well, tapas can't fail if done as Tapas. Tapas loses its efficacy when done without understanding.
Tapas has to be conscious and consistent. Here the word consistent is also extremely important. People who climb mountains, don't reach the peak one fine moment. No. In fact, they climb up step by step moment by moment. Every day, challenge your own comfort zone. Yes, every single day - in some way or other, make yourself do things that will raise the bar for you, break your thresholds of tolerance and discover the infinite power hidden within.
Tapas means "that which scorches like fire". Tapas can't be comfortable. Tapas MUST be painful and difficult. Only then it can be called Tapas.  It must scorch us and burn down our dependencies. Such should be the fire of our tapas. And remember: fire makes pure gold.
Many people feel that life itself has enough discomforts by default, and so that is already Tapas and thus more Tapas is not needed. But that cannot count as Tapas because it is choiceless. Tapas is a choice. When I have AC at home, but decide to sleep without turning it on in spite of the summer heat, it is Tapas. But if there is no electricity, and I put up with it, it is endurance, nor austerity. If I am alone all day and do not talk, it is endurance. But when I have people around me, but choose to still stay in silence, it is Tapas. When there is salt at home, but I choose to have food without adding any salt, it is Tapas. When I hate reading, but I choose to read for 20 minutes every day, it is Tapas.
Thus, at this point, Totakacharya is hinting on us to do tapas and do it meaningfully. Tapas is an opportunity to rise. Don't do it mechanically. Do it because it matters, and it may just change your life forever. Tapas will tone up the mental muscles, build the intellectual strength and add to our spiritual stamina. Saints like Swami Tapovanji Maharaj lived all their lives in tremendous Tapas. He would sit bare-chested in the cold windy Himalayas. He would often tie up all the food cooked for him in a cloth, dip the cloth in the Ganga waters till all the salt and spices were washed out and the food had become soggy and tasteless, and then He would eat it!
Gurudev too lived in Tapas amidst everything available to Him. Every single morning, for 40 years, without a single holiday, He woke up at 4am to write letters of love, knowledge and joy. It was Tapas. With 16% heart functioning, He gave talks on Geeta every day. It was Tapas.
Those are the standards our Masters have set for us. They are the very epitomes of Tapas. Let us walk along their footsteps and reach those silent peaks of Meditation were conscious and consistent Tapas has eliminated even the trace of desires.  Try!

Practice: Try Tapas. Do something totally uncomfortable. Push your own limits. Regularly choose to not access a certain comfort and watch the mind become stronger.

Quotes: 
Don't let the passion of comfort kill the hunger of your soul - Rumi
Comfort comes as a guest, stays as a host and then completely enslaves us. - Swami Chinmayananda


TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON BHAJA GOVINDAM VERSE 16.