Category: Contemplation

[dropcap]B[/dropcap]hagavad-Gita – the most revered and  inspiring spiritual book of Hindu religion. The dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the battleground of Kurukshetra has contained the wisdom of highest standard.

For thousands of years, millions of souls have found solace in the pages of this immortal master-piece.

There have been many excellent commentaries on Gita by various men of talent and wisdom. In this article, instead of going into the verse by verse analysis of this book, some of the most important lessons, which this amazing book teaches us, have been explained.:-

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Cosmic Play of God   

[quote style=”boxed”]”No matter what conditions you encounter in life, your right is only to the works–not to the fruits thereof. You should not be impelled to act for selfish reasons, nor should you be attached to inaction.” Bhagavad Gita 2.47   [/quote]

The whole world is a cosmic play. It is a movie written, directed and acted upon by God alone. In our ignorance we consider ourselves as the doer of the deeds, but in reality it is God through which everything is being done. All that is happening, had happened or will happen, will be caused by God. Try to understand this fundamental truth by an anecdote. Often people tell this story as a joke. But I’ll show you it’s subtle meaning . :

Once a man aboard a train with a heavy luggage. The train was full of passengers & all seats were occupied. It was a mad rush. The man, even after boarding on the train, did not place his luggage on the train but keep hanging it on his shoulders. When other co-passengers saw this, they asked him to place the luggage aside and stand comfortably. The man replied strangely by saying that since the train is already overburdened with so many passenger and luggage, he didn’t want to increase its burden by putting his luggage too on it. On hearing this, all other passengers laughed and told him,” Dear friend ! even if you hang your luggage on your shoulder, the truth is that you and your luggage are very well on the train and thus the weight of both you and your luggage is contributing to it’s burden.

Well the above is a joke. But take a look at this anecdote from the following perspective.

The man who boarded on train was an enlightened soul. When co-passengers asked him to place his luggage on the train and relaxed, he replied in the same way by saying that he didn’t want to overburdened the train. All passenger start laughing and say that even if he kept the luggage on his shoulder ,the combine weight of both will be on the train and train will remain as overburdened as it would be if you put you luggage on it’s floor. When the man listened this advice from co-passengers, he started laughing and said,” I was thinking that you all were just common people. But it appears that you all are very knowledgeable fellows.

You are right when you say that even if I don’t place my luggage on train and keep hanging it on my shoulder, it is ultimately the train who will have to bear the weight of both. But don’t you think the same logic applies to life also ? You live in the illusion that your burden of responsibilities, difficulties and tensions is being dealt with by yourself. Whereas the stark reality is that even if you don’t leave your difficulties & sorrows on God, it is still God who will have to bear it. After saying this that man removed his luggage from the shoulder, placed it’s on the train and sat on it.

If we observe this world, if we see the life around us, we will find that almost 99% of things in the world are happening on their own. Human civilization with all its technical progress and with its power to think and create is definitely affecting the way this world works. However, all the changes that it has been able to make could have never been possible with out the active help of all those factors which are still beyond our control.

The earth is moving on its axis in a definite and precise manner without taking a pause. All type of weather – summer, winter, autumn & monsoon etc come at regular interval annually, the regular rain provides our farmer enough crops to feed the world, the ozone layer and other various life supporting gases such as oxygen are present in optimum quantity and supporting the life.

Sun, the provider of warmth and light is burning with a comfortable intensity. It is neither too hot nor too cold and thus is giving us with just right amount of warmth and light. There are continuous platonic shifts on our planet but none is  too fast or too violent to cause immense causalities ( if you see it from a broader perspective, even the tsunami disaster that came in 2004 does not come into the category of what we called a catastrophe of global proportion. Though there have been many unfortunate deaths, our planet as a whole is secure and at least for the time-being the earth is not in a danger of extinction ).

In short there are so many situations  like above which in conjunction with each other are helping human race to sustain and grow. All these activities are beyond our control but are extremely important for our survival. According to Bhagavad-Gita these actions comes under the class of ‘Vi-karmas’ (Vee’ Karmaa’s) or ‘ those actions which are caused by cosmic choreographer. There source in unknown but there preciseness and regularity left us in awe and amazement !

On a more personal level also, this truth of cosmic choreographer can help us immensely. Gita says that there are broadly 3 types of Karmas (action)

(a) Karma – Everything that we do, every action which we perform, can be termed as Karma if….

If…….

If we do it with the feeling of a doer. If you perform an action with the feeling that you ‘as a doer of that action’ are doing it then it is a Karma. Normal mundane tasks like supporting a family, doing a job, playing, watching TV, building a house, running a shop as well as the so called ascetic action of renouncing the world, taking Sanyas, breaking all relations with past life are also known as ‘Karma’ if done with the sense of a ‘doer’. They are all Karma.

(b) Akarma – What is A-karma. An action which is done without the feeling of a doer is akarma. When the feeling of a ‘doer’ is absent, every action is akarma.

(c) Vikarma – This is the third category of action. There are many things which happen on their own. Just like the huge natural phenomenon of revolution of earth, arrival of weather etc, if we observe from a physical human level – the beating of heart, the breathing of air, the circulation of blood in body etc are all actions which are happening on their own. Our heart does not ask us, “would you like to pump me? it just goes on. Our blood does not ask us for circulation, it just flow on its own. The same is true for breathing, we may regulate our inhalation and exhalation but certainly we can’t control it. It’ll continue on its own.

The message of Gita :

To put it simply – Observe your life carefully, contemplate over it,  evaluate your experiences and you’ll find that everything is in the hand of cosmic choreographer. Realize this truth and align yourself in this cosmic flow. Surrender yourself into this huge game.

After all who are you ? Nobody asked you – Would you like to born on earth? You just came in this world. Nobody asked you – “would you like to be born as an American, a European, Asian or African? You just received any of  these identities. Nobody asked,” Would you like to be a Christian, Muslim or Hindu ? You just born in a family which practise a particular religion.  Nobody ask you -“Would you like to remain a child? You have no control over your growth. You can’t stop your childhood turning into teenage, a teenage into youth and a youth into an old age. They’ll all happen without your control. And one day- nobody will ask you – Would you like to die? One day your eyes will close forever. You will go into the deepest of all sleeps – death.

It’s only a matter of perspective. Just be a little analytical in your observation. You’ll amazed to find that almost everything in your life is beyond your control .

So what is the lesson ?: When nothing is in your control, why become tense and stressful by trying to control things. Why not we all perform our task with the best of our capabilities and leave the rest on ‘Cosmic Choreographer’ to decide ?  Let the existence do what it wants. Just be in the flow.

Best actions are those which are done without feeling of a doer:

I know that there is nothing new in what you just read above. Many of you may feel a feeling of deja-vu.  However, the fact is that eternal truths are same everywhere. They don’t change. They are as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago.

Try to make all your actions  Akarmas : the actions which are done without a feeling of the doer. All these actions  will make us more free, more playful, and more calm.

Don’t do anything with the feeling that you are doing it yourself. Just be an instrument in the hand of existence. Let it do what it wants to accomplish through you. This cosmic play is going on. We may choose to be playful with it or we may choose to fight with it. Be a little meditative. Be still and know. We all are puppets in the hands of cosmic strings. So let us surrender ourselves to this existence. No matter who we are, where we are, what we are doing, let us do it in a non-attached manner. Only one thing is required – A firm faith in the cosmic play, A belief in existence.

Jumping into the unknown appears a risky and insecure step. but sometime an open insecurity becomes the safest place. Just for once – Stop fighting with your fate, with your circumstances. Accept the world as it is. Believe in existence, be still in meditation and stop doing anything by placing yourself in the center. Put aside yourself and let the existence do what it wants to do through you. You’ll amazed by the inner peace you’ll got from this.

A very important article on this theme has been written by ‘Peter Russell’ of www.peterrussell.com  . It tells us how to be a wizard. Though there is no mention of Bhagvad-Gita, but for somebody who wants to practically apply the lesson from Gita in his/her life- this article is worth reading,

click How to be a wizard

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Next :  [do action=”insert-hand”/] 3rd idea for contemplation

Isavasyopanishad -everything is God

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[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he whole cosmos is made up of three things: Time, energy and space.

The TES hypothesis is inherently obvious, fundamental, and in harmony with a state of mind that values both science and religion. It declares that the universe and all of its manifestations are created by time-energy-space , the TES. Even such ethereal phenomena as love, compassion, souls, and consciousness are all products of this singular and universal being.

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There are forms of energy and dimensions of space that have not yet been quantified by science (example – scientists break the light barrier). Those mysterious realities are also within the normal workings of TES and nothing in the universe is truly supernatural and beyond the laws of nature. Everything that exists is created through cycles of the TES, both on the large physical scale involving the formation of stars, galaxies, and planets, and on the subtler inner dimensions involving the evolution of souls and consciousness.

The Hindu word ‘Atman’ means the soul of life and the essence of being. The Atman is not just the individual soul but is defined as the universal soul that exists everywhere. For this discussion we will use the word Atman more strictly to designate that part of the TES that becomes conscious of itself on the grand and cosmic scale. We thus define Atman as the universal cosmic consciousness.

The vast majority of the TES exists unconsciously without feeling or life. This portion is made up of empty space, stars, and the bulk of planets. Primitive life forms that do exist on a minority of planets have a utilitarian consciousness which allows them to survive through interacting with their environment. The fundamental awareness of physical objects combined with the pleasure-pain mechanism creates the evolutionary pathway through which the unconscious TES slowly evolves into the fully conscious TES, the Atman.

When human beings become enlightened their consciousness becomes one with the Atman but they never achieve magical abilities outside of the natural laws and properties of the TES. Even telepathy and astral projection are all normal phenomena for the TES. Enlightened beings remain physically mortal but their consciousness becomes one with that which has always existed and that which will always exist in the future. The evolution of consciousness from the vast unconscious TES to the partially conscious TES, the world of plants and animals, to the fully conscious TES, the Atman, is the path to existential self-understanding.

No human being has ever known the unconscious TES directly. All that we know is within the world of consciousness. We are aware of the unconscious part of the TES only through inference. When you look at a tree you are not seeing the tree directly but rather a representation of that tree created by your own mind. Our experience of colors, smells, tastes, and sounds are all subjective creations of our mammalian neurological evolution. Thus the question: “If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there to hear it, is there a sound at all?”

On the path of evolution of consciousness one progresses beyond the mere physical and neurological to a consciousness involving subtler forms of energy and unnamed dimensions of space. Even this vast and oceanic consciousness, the Atman, is a normal product of the TES. The Atman is the ultimate living creation of the TES and is inherently immortal.

As long as we feel we exist as individuals we suffer because that perception is based on a temporary neurological illusion. This illusion of an individual ‘I’ is so vulnerable that even sleep destroys it. Every time you go into deep sleep your consciousness temporarily dies and your subjective individual identity dies with it. Get rid of the feeling ‘I exist’ and you get rid of attachments which create tension, suffering, and feelings of danger.

When you focus your consciousness on that which is limited you become small and vulnerable. When you open your consciousness to experience the whole universe you become vast, limitless, and without mental anguish. Thus the art of meditation is the art of inner astronomy.
Siddhartha Gautama, the historic Buddha, is reported to have said that no soul exists. He used the term ‘Anatman’ (no-soul) as a replacement for the Hindu term ‘Atman.’ Siddhartha may have said this to discourage his disciples from becoming attached to the concept of an individual soul which could lead to selfishness. You may be tempted to care for the welfare and spiritual progress of your own soul but not value the souls of others.

Siddhartha may have also said there is no soul because the ultimate experience of the TES is so vast that there is nothing to compare it to. With no comparison possible the experience of everything feels like nothingness. How can nothingness have a soul? How can infinity have a size or a shape when by definition it has no boundaries?

The TES is so full of space that it feels like oblivion and thus many enlightened teachers have called it the Void. This feeling of the ultimate extinction of all things is cosmically erotic, and in a strange contradiction of terms, is a rich and positively charged experience. Scientifically speaking even this ultimate experience is also a subjective illusion because matter-energy and time-space do exist even if Buddhas do not perceive them in the ordinary gross physical way.

Philosophical problems arise when fundamentalist Buddhists take Siddhartha’s words so rigidly and literally that their real esoteric meanings are lost. There is no existential difference between enlightened humans born to Hindu families and enlightened humans born to Buddhist families.

Hinduism and Buddhism are different manifestations of the very same religion. Most importantly, all religions and all things are the creations of the singular being that exists, the TES, the Brahman, the God, the Tao, whichever name you prefer to call it.

The Hindu and Buddhist concept of an ultimate personal liberation, nirvana, is ridiculous if you take the idea too literally. There is some truth to this concept but it also contains a lie. Ask yourself a fundamental question. Who is going to become liberated?

What being is behind the eyes of a Buddha? The answer is time-energy-space,… the TES. Now ask yourself what being was behind the eyes of Adolf Hitler? The answer is still time-energy-space. Souls are a fact but they are just products of the TES which is our only fundamental identity.

The TES is always creating new life and new souls out of its own being. Unless the whole TES is destroyed liberation from the cycle of birth and death is impossible. The TES creates a soul and that soul experiences both joy and suffering but it is the TES having these experiences in a dream drama the TES itself creates. Therefore the goal of religion should not be liberation from life but rather how to make our life, which is an inevitable and unstoppable fact, more honest and more ecstatic.

Traditional Buddhism has failed because it has made suffering the centerpiece of our attention and escape from life our ultimate goal. When you focus your attention on something you amplify its effects. Therefore the focus of religion should be the joy of higher consciousness, not misery and suffering.

Of all the Buddhists in the history of the world how many have reached liberation? A few dozen? And who was liberated? The TES is still here creating new souls and new life. How can the TES be liberated from itself? Wouldn’t it be more psychologically healthy to define enlightenment as a way to achieve the ultimate life rather than an escape from a hopelessly miserable life?

We can honestly define nirvana as a way to make our life so big, so powerful, and so full of consciousness that no physical body can contain it. Your soul lives on without a body but life does not end and the TES continues forever.

Ask yourself if we should take this game of religion so seriously. We are the TES dreaming, asleep, awake, enlightened, unenlightened,…we are still the TES dreaming. If we make the dream as wonderful as we can that positive effort is a worthwhile religion.

Why should we be a miser with our emotions and why deny the intrinsic value of the TES? To deny our own cosmic identity is to diminish ourselves and this can only do us harm. Buddhists say “Take refuge in the Buddha,” but I say seek refuge and joy in the TES. To me the term ‘TES’ is more accurate, honest, and scientifically valid.

The word ‘TES’ is a temporary creation, as are all the holy words of ancient scripture. These are names used to designate that which is beyond any language. These are sentences designed to express that which cannot be expressed by a mountain of scholarly scriptures. No name can stick, and no philosophy can ring perfectly true, because you cannot paste a bumper sticker on a tidal wave. You cannot condense a supernova into a library.

In time all evidence that human animals existed on this earth will be washed away and new civilizations will be born on other worlds to take our place. Those new conscious beings will discover the unity of the TES, which they will call by another name in a language never spoken by any human being. The meaning, however, will be exactly the same.

A 21st Century non-religion?

Just for fun, here are ten basic precepts for a Tesian non-religion.
1) Basically agree with The TES Hypothesis, which is a soft, lovingly atheistic and science respecting form of pantheism, a minimalist path of open-mindedness and tolerance.

2) A belief in maximum meditation with minimum philosophy. When it comes to philosophy, less is more. When it comes to meditation, more is even better.

3) No Popes, no hierarchy, no theocracy, no institutions, and no fat-cat gurus riding in Rolls Royces. For Tesians even those who become enlightened remain ordinary human beings in all other respects.

4) No drugs, alcohol, mantras, chanting, or so-called “visualization meditations.” A Tesian must do nothing to cloud the consciousness.

5) A belief that we should help others physically in the real world and not just talk about compassion. Tesians understand that one can only help others from strength and wealth. Asceticism helps no one.

6) A normal, healthy sex life is encouraged. Creating traditional families with one mother and one father is appreciated as essential for the survival of the human race. The natural family unit is the best way to provide a loving atmosphere for children so they may develop a full and complete heart. Tesians do not fall for destructive societal fads and trendy but blind political correctness.

7) The cardinal sin of the Tesian way is to turn meditation into a business. No spiritual prostitutes are allowed in this non-religion because the profit motive kills the soft and sensuous living heart of meditation.

8) A Tesian does not steal, cheat, lie, or use violence except in self-defense. All the obvious traditional principles of good behavior are respected by Tesians and no pseudo-spiritual excuses are ever used to cover up bad behavior. A lie is not “Tantra,” it is just a lie. A theft is not “a device,” it is just stealing. A Tesian must do unto others as he would have others do unto him.

9) A Tesian does not judge life by branding it either a suffering or a blessing. Judgment comes from thought and memory, both of which are highly limited and cannot contain the entire universe. If you say that life is a suffering, then you are only remembering the painful moments. If you say that life is a blessing, then you are only remembering the wonderful times. The aim of the Tesian is to become a silent witness to the vastness of life, without the limiting distortions of thought, memory, and judgment.

10) The Tesian non-religion is disposable. These ten precepts are designed to be read once and then forgotten. Words are no substitute for meditation.

A concise Tesian prayer

All the stars are inside me, because I am the space.
There is no history. There is no biography.
I only exist here and now.

(Originally written by Christopher Calder)

Next: 5th idea for contemplation

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[do action=”insert-hand”/]   Everything is energy

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[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he scientific world is beginning to discuss what meta-physical & spiritual teaches have known for centuries that our physical universe is not really composed of any “matter at all”. Its basic component is a kind of force or essence that we call energy.

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This things appear to be solid, liquid or gas and separate from one another on the level at which our physical senses normally perceive them. On finer levels, however, atomic and subatomic levels seemingly solid (or liquid/gaseous) matter is seen as smaller and smaller particles within particles which eventually turn out to be just pure energy.

Physical we are all just energy and everything within and around us is made up of energy . We are all part of our great energy field. Things that we perceive to be solid and separate are in reality just various forms  of our essential energy which  is all. We are all one, even in a literal physical senses.

The energy is vibrating at different is vibrating at different rate and thus has different qualities from finer to denser Thought is a relatively fine, light, form of energy and therefore work very quick and easy to change. Matter is relatively denser, compact energy any thought slower to move and charge within matter there is a great variation as well. Living  flesh is relatively fine, changes quickly and is easily affected by many things.

A rock is much denser form, slower to change and more difficult to affects. Yet even rock is eventually changed and affected by external sources of energy such as fire, light, air o water. In fact all forms of energy are interrelated and can affect one another.

As you are reading this, pause for a moment and look around yourself. Everything around you is just energy in its manifested forms of solid , liquid or gas. You, yourself, are nothing but energy. Feel it . Close your eyes and imagine the pool of energy in and around you. Merge yourself in this field of energy.

After this unique section where you were given a number of ideas to contemplate upon, let us start a series on meditation techniques as contained in the ancient Sanskrit text ‘The Vigyan Bhairava Tantra’. This is a series containing 112 meditation techniques of all times.

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Read [do action=”insert-hand”/] Vigyan Bhairav Tantra

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Here is how you can apply the lessons of Bhagavad Gita in life.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] wizard knows the laws of creation, and how to work with them.

A wizard allows synchronicity to manifest.

A wizard follows three basic principles.

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The first principle is that of wholeness. The more rested I am, the more relaxed my mind and body, the more in touch I am with my self, the more free I feel, the easier my soul, the more whole I am. And the more whole I am, the more synchronicity seems to occur. Conversely, when I am out of balance, tired, stressed, frazzled, wrapped up in concern or in some other way off center, synchronicity does not manifest nearly so abundantly.

We cannot make synchronicities happen. It is in their very nature to occur “by coincidence”. We cannot control or manipulate the world in order to create synchronicities — their source is not of this world. Yet we can encourage their appearance; we can open ourselves to them. This we do by opening to ourselves, to our inner wholeness.

A wizard allows inner wholeness to be a priority. A wizard keeps rested, relaxed, centered and clear.

A second characteristic of synchronicities is that they tend to support our needs. They seem to bring us just what we need, at just the right time. It is as if the Universe has my best interests at heart, and arranges for their fulfillment in ways which I could never have dreamt of. It is, to quote a renowned Indian teacher, “the support of nature”. We support nature by centering ourselves, and nature supports us back, providing the opportunities to fulfill our needs. This is what makes them so magical and remarkable — such a coincidence.

To allow the support of nature into our lives we need to follow the second principle of wizardry — intuition. This can be hard, because it is often difficult to know what is true intuition and what is just “stuff” seeping up from our unconscious. For me, following my intuition means following my feelings, not my thoughts.

A good example occurred one afternoon, in May 1995. I was busy writing when suddenly I had the inclination to get up and go for a walk. At first I resisted — I told myself I was meant to working. Then, when the feeling persisted, I got up and went for what I term a “random walk” — I don’t decide in advance where I am going; at each point where I have a choice, I make my choice there and then.

As I walked I noticed signs for an artist’s open day. The third time I saw the sign I decided to follow it. Wandering around the studio, looking at some wonderful sculptures, I happened to notice a guy in another room, working away on a Macintosh. I wandered in and found he was developing a web server, and wanted to do very much the same things as myself. We found we had many other interests in common, and instantly became very good friends. He offered me a place for my own web site, and a few weeks later I had my first pages up and running.

That is an example of following my intuition. If I had got on with what I thought I should be doing, we might never have met. Many things would have turned out differently, and you might not be reading this now.

It is as if cosmic choreography has already set up the coincidences. They are there waiting for us to discover them. We pick up the possibilities through some subtle mental antenna, and notice them as some vague tickling of our attention — an intuition.

And there is one more principle I have discovered. I can sit alone in my cottage in the middle of a forest, at peace in myself, centered and whole, and in touch with my intuition, yet here few coincidences occur. Significant coincidences nearly always seem to involve other people in some way. It is as if our interplay with others gives cosmic choreography greater opportunities to reach through to us.

Although we may not be able to make synchronicities happen, we can create environments that foster their occurrence. We can create an inner environment of wholeness and an openness to intention; and in our outer lives we can go and engage ourselves fully in the world, mix with the social field, go out and play. Play whatever game and role best fits our intuitions. Play it with our soul, fully. Play it in whatever way brings us inner wholeness, enjoyment and fulfillment — there is, after all, no point in suffering while we play.

This is the third principle of wizardry — a principle I call “zipping and zooming”. Playing our part in the world, and allowing cosmic choreography to play its part.

These are the three principles of wizardry: Wholeness, Intuition, and Zipping and Zooming.

And if you need a mnemonic to remember them by, simply take their initial letters, W I Z — a wizard wizzes.

By the way : Another little coincidence. The word “wizard” is one of only six words in the English language that when put in reverse alphabet code (a becomes z, b becomes y, etc) is coded as the original word in reverse, i.e. as “draziw”. It is also the longest such word — the other five being “by”, “bevy”, “grit”, “trig”, and “wold”. Interesting?

(Written by Peter Russell, www.peterussell.com , published with permission)

Next : 3rd idea for contemplation

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  [do action=”insert-hand”/]  Isavasyopanishad -everything is God