It is time of the season, but without awakening, there can be no cheer.

 

 

Wish you Happy, Happy ...,   Happy This, Happy That. 

Seasons greetings, are more common this time of the year. Yet in spite of the brave faces and the plastic smiles, hardly anyone feels particularly cheerful or happy.

Instead of Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, the tone is definitely Merry Crisis and a Happy New Fear. 

Fear is driving a wedge between us. We have grown distant from one another over the past year and even more from ourselves, because of genuine but more so due to imaginary fears.

In fact, 99% of the things and events we are fearful of never actually occur. Then why are we so fearful?

Fear of any kind is considered the most effective method to control and exploit a people.

If we look carefully at the origins of the fear, we will discover that the proponents of fearful belief are the very same people who stand to benefit from providing us solutions to our fears. The media of course is almost always complicit in the spread of these fears.

An unawakened mind finds it difficult to differentiate between rumour and fact. Most of us possess conscious but unawakened minds. That is the ability to see and sense but lack the ability to differentiate between fact and fiction. This is why we live in fear.

We do not need magic or therapy to awaken our minds, just to be one's own best friend and be honest with oneself. To take time to self examine our situation.

To speak with oneself for the answers to our own problems can best be found within our own being. Once the answer is found, the path to negotiate through the various  conundrums in life come forth almost by themselves.

I send you greetings and wishes, hoping that you become and remain your own best friend. The  easiest way to awakening the self.

The folly of seeking happiness in the 'Rat Race'

 

Ever wondered what is this 'Rat Race'? 

Well this video provides a good idea. Many of us can relate to this depiction for the answer.

We run in the race because of FOMO (fear of missing out).

How can we escape the Rat Race?

Simple. Don't run in the race. 

We can escape if we focus on our needs rather than wants, because our needs are limited, whereas our wants are infinite.

Our inner being speaks to us, telling us what really appeals to us, suits us and what does not. 

Most elements in society tell us how inadequate or incomplete we re because we are lacking this or that. So we pursue what we are told is appealing rather than what is genuinely appealing to us. 

If we follow our heart and take the mind with us, we can escape the 'Rat Race'.

The 'Rat Race' can only hold the promise of success. Success however is external to our being so we have to look for it outside. Happiness is inherent within us, it only has to be realised from within our being. 

Rich or poor, the 'Rat Race' cannot deliver happiness.  More money, power or success does not mean more health and happiness. They just help to buy a better quality of unhappiness. If we examine carefully we will notice that the rich are comfortably unhappy and the poor are uncomfortably unhappy. 

Live simply, eat moderately, love intensely, work and play passionately is a good mantra for living outside the 'Rat Race'.

Dreaming of Immortality

The lockdown, due to the Coronavirus pandemic has incinerated us in our own homes.

No matter how bleak, every situation presents opportunities. We now have time to ponder over many things, family, friends, work, love, relationships, viruses, etc. Our thoughts are dominated by questions about life and death, the meaning of our existence, or the lack of it. 

Modern medicine, diet and rule of law have increased the life span of most humans.Though the quality of life has degraded for many, we remain obsessed with longevity. The main purpose of our lives, has become to try and outrun death, either due to fear of death, or are we trying to be immortal.

Can we be immortal? 
Are we immortal?

The answer starts with another question, 'Am I a body with a soul, or a soul with a body?'
Most of us do not really know, and Man cannot live without knowing.

We can either, discover the answer for ourselves or we can ask others. Most of us, do not even question, we simply adopt a belief system.
In a belief system, some individuals or institution whom we consider as 'higher authorities', will give us readymade answers on everything. This we simply embrace because it makes life easy and uncomplicated.

There is a difference between the two. While all realisation is divine, all beliefs are human in origin.

Knowledge acquired by realisation is called wisdom and that wisdom is unique, it belongs to the one who has awoken to the one who has realised.

In belief, there is neither knowledge, nor wisdom, unawakened we just gather a lot of information, follow many rituals and rules. In belief, information is acquired merely by following or copying, hence it is not genuine and we use it as per our convenience.

Handed down to humanity through generations, beliefs are constantly being created and modified as is convenient to rulers and priests. After all, it is they, who draw their wealth and power from people who follow these belief systems.
 Since beliefs are created by humans they tend to be greatly flawed and completely misleading.

When we think of ourselves as intelligent beings, why do we blindly accept beliefs? 
Because by nature we humans tend to be spiritually lazy and mentally too clever.

So, what then is the answer?

All that is created will one day perish. This is the golden rule of existence.
When we die, what dies, is the body.  Since the body and the mind are created, they will one day surely perish.


Science, now proves what the Gurus and great Spiritual Masters have always said, 'Everything is mere energy'.  Pervading all existence and all things this life energy is called 'Prana'.

Our life emerges from 'Prana' and this our soul which is a minuscule manifested energy is  part of that universal energy which will never die. This is because energy can't be created nor destroyed, it can only change its form.

Though nowadays erroneously associated only with Hinduism, the mother of all Indian thought is Sanatana Dharma. (The eternal order). It is the philosophy espoused by seekers of the truth. Whatever was realised, has been formulated by sages and transmitted to humanity. Sanatana Dharma's beauty is it is open to all and welcomes being questioned and modified. It has been constantly challenged but always found unassailable, though it is often reinterpreted. 

This philosophy does not restrict the human to a body and a mind, therefore each one of us has infinite potential. This approach helps explain the remarkable achievements of ancient India in almost every field of art, culture, literature, philosophy, mathematics, science, technology, etc. I shall cover more about Sanatana Dharma in more detail in another article. 

In the Sanatana tradition of India, death is called 'Dehe Anth' meaning 'end of body'. We are immortal because our soul is manifest energy, housed within a mortal body. 
When we realise that, perishing of the body is not death, Fear of death disappears. 

Thus when my body perishes, my soul will soar away, only to return afresh in another body in another dimension at a different time, for I am immortal.

As the Guru said, "Nothing is mine. All I have is this breath, this moment." 
When we live each moment with awareness, we realise the limitations of the body and the mind and the immortality of the soul. 

It is all fine and rosy to speak or write in this manner, but how will we know that this realisation has taken place?

When we awaken we will see a transformation in our approach and manner. We will be open, fearless, friendly, compassionate, forgiving, respectful and possess forbearance. This is the natural outcome when we are at peace with ourselves and with all of Creation.

We do not have to adopt any 'ism, for they are mere mortal masks on the immortal soul.

As we survive each worldly crisis, realisation will dawn on us 'I am not the body nor the mind, I am an immortal soul. I am the Universe and the Universe is me'.