Passion vs Being Practical

We often here told to follow our passion to be successful and now we have people propagating this advice everywhere.

Let us try to understand some of major problems with this advice

·       How many people know what they are passionate about? Almost all of us are not aware of what we are interested in or have so many things that we like that, we do not have a clue about what we are passionate about reality.

·       Our mind is so fickle that we keep changing our interests every-day. If we do something efficiently on a particular day, the happiness derived from this makes us to think that this work that will define our future and think this is the solution for my success, without realizing that being good at something and repeating the same work everyday with passion is two different things altogether

·       We may be good at something but may not be our passion, as you may not like to do it at all

·       Suppose we can find out what we are passionate about at some point of time. Will this fetch financial security for us? We often find people who are passionate about something in life, but they are unable to make it as a career out of it. Most of the time either we face financial and material distress because we are unable to give up our interests or become bitter that we had to give up our passion as it could not be sustained

·       Lucky are those people who have found their passion and are good at it and can make a career out of it. The trifecta combination of the above factors leads to more fulfilled life, which we read about books. But this does not happen to all, in-fact this happens rarely to people, and these are the people whom we see as most successful and well-rounded people in-terms of career and life

So how do we navigate this problem? Below points may help

·       Instead of searching for passion through out our life and wasting precious time, try to do the work with full focus and honestly that is put to our plate. When we have no idea on what we should do.

·       We should not hate the work that we are doing, but rather should perform the same job efficiently and derive happiness from the same (also love the work that we do). This is especially important to people who have no idea what they are passionate/goal in life about.

·       This way of looking at life will not make us to question our life on daily basis. We do not feel miserable every-day, as we are stuck with a problem of hating what we are doing now vs having no clue of what else can be done otherwise

·       Secondly by having this mindset, we will be happy with what we are doing currently, and also this attitude will help us eventually in finding the right path for us, as mental clarity will ascend when one is happy with what life has offered and it is at this stage, we are open to new possibilities in life as we are open to new things that comes to our way (When happy with what we have and love whatever work is given to us, we are open to the idea of trying new things yet maintain stability).

·       For people who know what they are interested/passionate about but are unable make career out of it or have no idea on how to monetize this passion. It is better to have a stable career first and develop their passion parallelly. As this would avoid financial hardship or leading to unfortunate stage of giving up their passion entirely. (If the passion is more of social in nature like helping people etc, it is more important that we have a stable source of income, as we cannot help others with our stomach being empty)

·       If one is financially secure and knows his passion, they have the means to pursue their interests without the worry financial implications for basic needs

·       Finally, if we have the trifecta quality of knowing what we like and are good at the same work and can make a career/business out of the same. Then we should follow our passion without any doubt

In summary, moderation between passion and being practical plays an important role in having a fulfilling life

Actions and Gratitude – A Spiritual perspective

 Actions and Gratitude – A Spiritual perspective

This word is often used everywhere, that we should have gratitude towards our parents, friends, our partner, colleagues and others who have played some role in our life which has led to some positivity. But doing this in-reality is altogether a different question that needs lots of introspection.

We have become a creature of greed and selfishness who think of our own comfort disregarding the harm it may cause to others and there by have created a vicious cycle of self-centered actions across everywhere.

Let us understand the implication of such actions from spiritual perspective.

Willful action that is performed by us with an ego that I’m doing these actions, or the result is because of me. Creates an impression in the sub conscious mind, if repeated regularly these impressions will form into Karma (an impression which will manifest itself in the future and the person should undergo the effect of the same without escape).

Hence such actions eventually will come out of the subconscious mind to conscious mind at the right time to make sure the person experiences the effects his actions.

Now when a person does the same action without the sense of doer ship or submitting all actions to the to something bigger than himself or just do it with a no ego attached. Then impressions will not get created in the mind. To do this is very difficult and needs lots of practice

So a simpler solution to this is to have a sense of gratitude towards everything in life, if anyone does anything good to you, be thankful, if you had food today be thankful etc, this thankful feeling should be real and not faked, if it faked this gets recorded as an impression again in our mind, as everything that is repeated will get recorded as an impression in our subconscious mind and thereby eventually we need to bear the consequences of the same.

Right action and Gratitude help in purifying the mind of such bad habits is the simple gist of this article

Meditation on Sahasrara (Top of the Head)

Youtube video for this technique 

Meditation on Sahasrara (Top of the Head)

 

Let us understand how we can now do mediation of Sahasrara which is located at the top of the head. There are various ways one can bring their awareness to this point and finally meditate at this point. Below is the method which I find it easy and gives quick results by calming the mind

The method is as below

Sit is a comfortable position with your back and head straight, close your eyes and inhale deeply, while inhaling your abdomen should expand. After inhalation hold your breath for few seconds and then exhale, while exhaling your abdomen should contract. When following this process have your awareness on the breath and your exhalation should be twice the time of inhalation. Do it as per your capacity and do not overexert.

After this bring your awareness to the mid of the eyebrows (where two eyebrows meet) and stay there, focus that this point for 2 minutes and then slowly bring your awareness inside the head from the mid of the eyebrow to the mid of the head (pineal gland).

Best way to understand this is as follows, when we hit a nail on the board, the nail goes into the board slowly until it ends. Similarly move your awareness from mid of the eyebrow to the middle of the head (pineal gland to be exact) in this manner, once your awareness reaches the mid of the head stay there for few minutes (say 4 to 5 mins).

Once you can stay at the mid of the head, now slowly push your awareness from mid of the head to top of the head in the similar manner as advised above. As you reach the top of the head, you will feel some sensation and just stay on to it with your focus, if no sensation then just focus on the top of the head.

While doing these all external and internal disturbances should be ignored and your concentration should only be on the top of the head (Sahasrara). You may get thought and images, but just ignore them and bring your focus to the top of the head.

Caution point here is when we try to bring the awareness to the top of the head our eyeballs will sometime rolls up, if this happens do not roll up your eyes for long time, so rather use it as a tool to fix the point at the top of the head for couple of seconds and then relax your eyes to bring them to normal position, but your awareness should be at the top of the head.

This way the thoughts will reduce slowly, and we get into trance with repeated practice.

The objective of meditation is to control modifications of the mind, once this is achieved our emotions and thoughts are in our control (takes years of practice to achieve this)

Mindful awareness meditation

 Mindful awareness meditation

This system emphasizes on the mindful awareness on the object of concentration. This object can be anything from an image of God, object, void or even the form of the Guru.

The method is simple to understand yet the practice is nuanced as the practitioner subtly directs his awareness to the said object or void
 One can practice this meditation as follows (this is one of the versions of the above technique)

Sit in a comfortable position and make sure you sit straight but comfortably. Close your eyes and focus on your pineal gland (mid of the head). While focusing on this point visualize the void and just be an observer of this blankness

You may see images, memories popping up or get distracted with thoughts, at this stage slowly discard these thoughts and images and go back and observe the void

Gradually these thoughts and images will reduce and will no longer appear. The thoughts will reduce minute by minute and after some time there will not be any thoughts

It is at this stage that absorption (mind dissolving) will take place and we go into the state of trance. Eventually the reality is supposed to shine with regular practice

The same process can be followed at the heart center (Sternum) or top of the head to get the same effect

Tips for mantra Sadhana

 

Beneficial time for mantra Sadhana

Do mantra anustana (chanting mantra for a specific number of count and in a specific time), Solar and Lunar eclipse are the ideal time. This is regarded as the best time for practicing mantra

Sankramana time that comes twice a year for Makara and Karkataka is the second-best alternative, when Sun enters the sign Capricorn or Cancer, that day and time would be the ideal time. This is usually called sankranti

Finally Sunday and No moon (Amavasya) is preferred in this order

To energise mantra time to time

Anustana should be done on Krishna paksha Astami, Chaturdashi, Amavasya, Poornima, sankranti time that comes every month, Tuesdays/Saturdays (in night). This will help to energise the mantra from time to time, meaning the effect of the mantra will continue to remain potent

What needs to be added at the end of the mantra for fulfilling desires

Add namah for pacifying effect, swaha for attracting effect, vasat for paralysing effect, vausat or vaasat for creating fights between enemies, hum for throwing out the enemy from one’s life and phat for killing

 

Ashtavakra Gita - 2

 

Verse 2

The second verse talks about what needs to be done if you seek Liberation. We need to give up the attachment towards worldly objects, we should not indulge ourselves in acquiring material objects and say I own a this or that. Any attachment to external world takes us away from our true nature and Liberation. What is Liberation it is freedom from bondage and bondage arises when we get attached to objects. The person attached to objects will feel pain when he is not able to acquire it, this pain is totally avoidable. The cause of such attachment is the uncontrolled mind, moreover we should understand we are neither the body or mind but the true consciousness which is blissful by itself any happiness that the mind or body experiences is the happiness of the self and not from the objects acquired. So if one understands this then attachment towards objects will also go away. All these are possible when we control our urges of the mind and senses

We should seek for forgiveness, sincerity, kindness, contentment and truth which lays a strong foundation to aspire liberation.

When we talk about forgiveness, we should be able to forgive others and ourselves, we should also be ready to ask for forgiveness when required. When one is unable to pardon these feels starts forming impressions in the mind which is rear its head out eventually putting us in difficult situation. Without forgiveness the self is still identified with mind and body as pain is felt only by these and not by the atman. Our true self is indifferent to all these emotions and looks at everything as a witness, but if we identify ourselves with mind and body then pain is inevitable.

Being sincere is an important quality as this will avoid the hassles of ever vigilant, an honest person does not have to worry about his actions as he knows that he has genuinely put in his efforts or he does not have to remember everything does  or says as against a dishonest person who would expect repercussions of his actions. Being true to thought, speech and action helps in creating a worry-free mind which is very helpful for progression in spiritual life

Being happy with what we have is one level of contentment, other way of looking at is when are doing something that we are not happy with it creates hundreds of problems in our mind and there by makes us miserable. If we develop the attitude of contentment, we can see divinity that activity or with what we have. Contentment does not make us inert but rather helps us to overcome the sadness that is derived out of unattainable goals. If we have an attitude of being happy irrespective the success or failure or be indifferent to the outcomes, it will make us not to get attached to objects. We can keep trying to achieve the goal again and again till we succeed but failures will not affect us we are contented with what we have with us. We can keep progressing in life without irrespective of obstacles or failure when contented.

Finally we should seek truth and be truthful in our life, this is an important quality as if one is not truthful then it denoted attached towards body and mind, by being truthful we can transcend the same

Ashtavakra Gita - 1

 

Ashtavakra Gita 

 

Verse 1

The Verse starts with a question by Janaka to Ashtavakra, on how one can acquire knowledge? How do I get liberated? and What leads to renunciation?

The verse has three question which needs to be discussed in detail. The first question is to know how to acquire knowledge. But first, what is this Knowledge that is being discussed here?

Knowing about Who am I? What am I? How am I related to the universe around me? Who is God and How am I related to God? Knowing about this is the knowledge that is being discussed here.

The above point comes with two broad categories being Who am I and Who is God? and how these two are interlinked?

Coming to the first part of the question i.e. Who am I? we usually tend associate ourselves to the body mind complex. But we are neither the body nor the mind, but the silent witness of these two. This is what is called as Atma and Paramatma (God) is all pervasive existence, consciousness and Bliss.

The true knowledge here is to know that Atma and Paramatama is one and the same. Realization of this is true knowledge. To acquire this knowledge, we can read various scriptures, like Bhagvat Gita, Upanishads etc.

Atma is our true self which witnesses everything that is happening. When something stings us, the body feels the pain and we say My body is paining. When I say my body is paining, it means that I’m different from my body and it is the body that is in pain and this is observed by me, hence I’m not the body.

Then we think that the I’m the mind, mind and thought go hand in hand and they are the same, mind does not exist if there is no thought and hence when the body gets sting it feels sad and the thoughts comes up that it is suffering. But again here we say that my mind is disturbed due to pain and therefore I’m not the mind, as it is my mind that is disturbed and I’m witnessing it, in-turn I’m the true witness of mind and body or the one who illuminates the this event is the true self or Atma (Consciousness).

This true self is neither afflicted by the pains and pleasures of the body mind complex and remains the same irrespective of the situation that its body and mind undergoes, for this Self the body/mind is just like an illusion that appears in-front of it. Meaning for the Atma the pains of the body and mind appears in it and hence it’s an appearance, pain is either an appearance.

The existence of body and mind is dependent on Atma and Atman is independent of the these two. Atma can exist without these two but mind and body can’t (Imagine existence of anything without consciousness, it is not possible, without consciousness nothing cannot exist, how can one quantify of existence of something without existence itself without consciousness). By this way we can understand the Atman has the quality of Existence, consciousness and Bliss (bliss because there is nothing other than atman when everything is in atman, then it means that everything is perfect, you don’t need anything, as source of pleasure for everything everything is atman, hence it’s bliss, as atman is independent and body mind is an appearance to itself, it is perfect and hence blissful by itself)

God is traditionally described as Existence, consciousness and bliss and by above interpretation of Atman, both are one and the same

The second point touched upon in the verse after Knowledge is Liberation, the logical conclusion of the right knowledge leads to liberation, which freedom from bondage, misery, Liberation completely eradicates misery. A Jeevanmuktha (Liberated while living) does not experience any misery irrespective of any situation that he experience, it is important to note that realization does not take away the Karma that needs to be experienced but rather removes the pain (mind level/ no mind state) associated to it.

Finally, the third point which is spoken here is about renunciation, this is an important quality that one needs to develop for acquiring knowledge about Brahman (God) and obtain Liberation. A person who is attached to world or otherwise enjoyment will never be able to go beyond it as Brahman is beyond all these things, if one wants to attain liberation (beyond all bondages and limitations) can happen only with renunciation and associated qualities