Ask The Master: 31 Jan 2008

Can everybody learn meditation?

You don't have to learn meditation. You are already a meditator!

Just recall any moment in your life when you have experienced extreme beauty. The sun rising suddenly from behind a mountain, or the first time you hear a lovely piece of music.

At such a moment, suddenly, you become totally still, wordless.

Haven't we all experienced such moments?

At such a moment, in the presence of that beauty, you can't think any more. You are just silent, aware of that beauty that's all.

That moment is meditation.

After a few moments, your inner chatter starts again. Your mind says, That's a beautiful sunrise. Your mind starts comparing the music to other music that you have heard. That means, you have fallen out of meditation.

Meditation is nothing but remaining in that silent, blissful state. You cannot learn this state. You can only experience it.

Be clear: Meditation is not something you do.

You cannot 'do' meditation.

Meditation is the state that flowers when you drop all doing, all action.

Not just physical action. Even thinking is an action. Even contemplation is an action!

Meditation is what remains when you have stripped away all doing, all thinking, all working, all feeling.

Meditation is just being.

Meditation is experiencing the present moment without resistance.

In the same way, Ananda is not the result you achieve through hard work. You cannot attain Ananda! You can only relax into Ananda.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "Meditation is for You" -- an introduction to the science and art of meditation

Ask The Master: 30 Jan 2008

What exactly is meditation?

There are so many definitions for meditation.

Different masters have interpreted it according to their own experience, or according to the specific needs of the people they are speaking to.

Meditation is prayer.

Meditation is the process that helps us discover the treasure we have locked up inside ourselves.

Meditation is the technique that helps you connect to the energy of the cosmos.

All of them are right.

And I tell you -- Meditation is just being blissful in the moment! When you are at peace in the present moment, you are already in a state of meditation. You don't need to do anything else.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "Meditation is for You" -- an introduction to the science and art of meditation

Ask The Master: 29 Jan 2008

In our normal life, we have never experienced Ananda. We don't even know that 'causeless happiness' is possible! Then how come we all have this yearning for Ananda?

You have the yearning, because it is your true nature!

Let me explain:
In the Taittreya Upanishad there is a beautiful shloka (hymn) which says,

Ethas aatmanaha aakashasya sambhootah
Akaashaat vaayuhu, vayor agnihi
Agner aapaha, aapah prithvihi
Prithviyor oushadah...

This shloka talks about how the whole universe was created from the five major elements -- Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether or Space. Man was also created from these five elements. That is why he always has a deep longing to tune himself to these five elements, to return to his Source. In various ways, he tries to tune himself to these five major energies. Through idol worship, he tries to tune himself to Earth energy. By taking dips in holy rivers, he tries to tune himself to Water energy. He communicates with Fire energy through homas and yagas (fire rituals), and with Air energy through the chanting of mantras. In all these ways,with all these methods, he attunes himself to the elements. But all these are external methods for attunement. Only the subtle, highly refined energy of Aakasha cannot be accessed by external means, it has to be experienced internally. Dhyana or Meditation is the method by which we attune ourselves to Aakasha energy.

When we enter into meditation, we close the circuit. We discover the only missing link between ourselves and our Source. We return to our Source. We feel complete, we feel secure. That is why meditation takes you into the dimension of Ananda or Bliss.

So the longing for Ananda is nothing but the yearning to return to our natural state. And that is why, whether you are aware of it or not, each of us carries this longing for meditation inside ourselves.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "Meditation is for You" -- an introduction to the science and art of meditation

Upcoming Event: Pooja Acharya Training at Vedic Temple, LA - Weekends, Jan-Mar, 2008

Event: Pooja Acharya Training
Venue: 9720 Central Av, Montclair, CA 91763
Contact: Vedic Temple, LA, Ph: (909) 625-1400
Prerequisites: None. Open for anyone who is interested in learning rituals / poojas or maintaining a worship space.

Dates: Weekends (Sat-Sun) of Jan 19th, 26th, Feb 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, Mar 1st.
Time: 6:00am to 10:00pm - Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided.

A brief note on this training: This is a beautiful hands-on training in all dimensions of the temple.(Temple procedures, To perform guided temple tour, Shrine store Maintenance, Jewelery Maintenance, Deity decoration, To perform Sankalpa, Archana, etc).

Certificates issued by International Vedic Hindu University will be handed out at the completion of the course.

Ask The Master: 28 Jan 2008

What exactly do you mean by the state of Ananda? Can we experience it only through meditation?

There are hundreds of ways I can explain Ananda, but only one way you can understand it -- by experiencing it!

Anyways, I will try and give you an explanation.

In life, we have all experienced some moments of great happiness -- but it has always been for a reason. Isn't that true? You are happy because you got a promotion, you are happy because you were cured of some disease, you are happy because you bought a new car (or because your neighbor's new car is giving him trouble!)

At the time when you are happy, you feel that nothing can touch your happiness. But the same day, you have a fight with your spouse, and start feeling that your life is nothing but misery! In fact, all pleasure ultimately leads to pain. The state of pleasure cannot remain forever -- and when it changes or ceases, you feel pain. Only that happiness which you experience for no reason is permanent, because it doesn't depend on anything.

The word 'Ananda' itself means, 'that which cannot be reduced, which cannot be lost'. Ananda is not a word for happiness! You will be surprised to know, it simply means 'that which cannot be reduced or lost'.

Ananda (Bliss) is not pleasure. Ananda is that tranquil, silent state which you experience when you have gone beyond both pain and pleasure. It is the state in which both pain and pleasure have ceased to affect you. You could say, Ananda is the state of 'permanent and causeless tranquility'.

It is not that you can experience Ananda only through meditation -- but meditation is a sure path. Meditation takes you beyond the push and pull of daily living. When you meditate, you expand beyond the narrow limits of your body, of your ego. Once you experience the sense of oneness with All, you will naturally drop your attachment to these daily pleasures and pains. It is a difficult concept to understand intellectually. But with sincere meditation, you will have the experience, you will have a glimpse of Ananda. Then you will understand.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "Meditation is for You" -- an introduction to the science and art of meditation

Ask The Master: 27 Jan 2008

If we have been searching for Ananda all our lives, why haven't we still found it?

Because we have been searching unconsciously. 99% of us are not even aware that Ananda is our true goal! The majority of us are only aware that there is something lacking in our lives, some vacuum that we cannot fill with money or relationships or possessions.

Tell me, what have you collected so far in the outer world that is of any lasting value? Still, we continue to search. And because we are unaware, we search outside ourselves. We search everywhere in the world for something which is already there within us!

Believe it or not, Ananda is our birthright! Ananda is our true nature.

A small story:
One evening, Kunwar Kuljeet was searching hard for something in the courtyard before his house. When his wife questioned him, he replied that he had dropped a coin. His wife joined in the search. Soon others gathered, and practically the whole neighborhood was searching for the lost coin.

Suddenly one young man asked Kuljeet, Which is the exact place where you dropped the coin? How come we still haven't found it?

Oh, said Kuljeet, I lost the coin inside the house.

Then why are we searching here?, asked the man, amazed.

The problem is, replied Kuljeet, I have no lights inside my house. Out here at least there's the streetlamp. We can search by this light!

This is exactly what we do in our lives! We are all experts in searching for answers in the wrong places! We seek to find ourselves everywhere -- in money, power, relationships, ideologies -- but we don't move in the one obvious direction -- inwards.

The first stop towards awareness is realizing that the coin you have lost is inside your own house. Then you'll automatically stop searching for it in the streets!

Meditation is nothing but a preparation to rediscover the state of Ananda that is already inside you.

The moment you realize the futility of searching for Ananda in the streets, you are naturally ripe for meditation.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "Meditation is for You" -- an introduction to the science and art of meditation

Ask The Master: 26 Jan 2008

Why meditation?

The right question to start with!

Why meditation?

Is there really a need for meditation in our lives?

Let me ask, Why are you reading this book?

Of all the books you could be reading at this moment, you have chosen to read this book.

Your action itself shows that there is a deep-seated need for meditation inside you -- and inside everyone of us.

What is your ultimate aim in life?
To earn more? To stay forever young, healthy, beautiful? To have better, longer-lasting relationships? To improve your personality?

The list is endless -- for each individual, there will be a specific goal. But every single goal -- without exception, every single goal -- points to the same thing: a yearning for the state of Ananda or Bliss.

Can anyone disagree with that? Can anyone say, I am not interested in Ananda? I don't care about being happy, being blissful?

Each of us is searching for nothing but Ananda. However intellectual, however sophisticated may be the terms in which we express it, we are all seeking Ananda. Only the ways in which we are searching is different. Through money, through power, through relationships -- through all the comic and tragic dramas of our daily lives, we are searching for Ananda. It is single motivating force of our lives.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "Meditation is for You" -- an introduction to the science and art of meditation

Ask The Master: 25 Jan 2008

Q. Beloved Swamiji, what is suffering? Why do we suffer?

To start with, it will help to realize that suffering is not an event in your life -- it is a response to an event. Whether you suffer or not in a particular situation depends entirely on your reaction to that situation.

When do you undergo suffering? When you fall ill? When you neighbor gets a new car? When your partner leaves you for someone else?

Well, suppose you decide to just accept the situations without anger or resentment. Just as they are, so be it. Would you still suffer as much? After all, there is nothing inherently painful about your neighbor getting a new car. Even if there is pain in the moment, as when a loved one leaves, you cannot wish it away. Try to accept the inevitability of the moment, without reaction. It is ONLY your negative response to an experience that allows it to hurt you. Don't you see, no one or nothing can make you suffer without your silent permission?

Make a habit of witnessing experiences minus your personal judgment. Learn to recognize with clarity the causes of your suffering -- the obvious and the subtle. The ability to do this will come, not in a day but certainly through practice.

Once of the most deeply hidden reasons for suffering is: you could be enjoying it! For example, falling ill can become a source of pleasure if it fetches you the attention and care you have been craving. Examine why it sometimes gives to pleasure to inflict pain on yourself, or on others. Is there a better channel through which you can receive the same pleasure -- without the suffering? Become Aware -- this is the first step.

The second is to Accept totally the Here and Now -- without questions and without reaction. Awareness with Acceptance -- this is the only way out of suffering.

The second part of the question -- is suffering essential?

Yes, in a way it is.

Because suffering can be a powerful catalyst to growth. Just like a seed first has to rupture before a plant can grow and blossom, intense suffering can break down the defenses of your ego, leaving you open and vulnerable to existence. With your usual thought patterns shattered, you being to see things as they actually are. You begin to recognize a subtle distance between you and the pain -- that it is not 'your' pain, something intrinsic to you. In fact, pain is simply the response you've chosen to that particular situation. And once you see that, how can you suffer anymore? In consciously accepting your pain, you truly let go of it.

Suffering is not necessarily the key to bliss. But if you learn your lesson well suffering can certainly open your eyes to the unreality of suffering. It can teach you how unnecessarily it is to suffer at all. This is what I call 'necessary suffering'!

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "? + Nithyananda = !" Swami Nithyananda Transforms your Questions into Wonder!

Joke Of The Day: 25 Jan 2008

A man was on his customary walk with a friend of his who was blind. He would describe to his friend the scenery and people that they passed. On that day, a very beautiful girl passed them and he described her physical attributes meticulously to his friend. As they passed her, his head turned to complete his description and in the event he bumped into a pole. The friend said, “You walked into a pole.” Embarrassed, the man replied, “You’re right.” The friend said, “You’d better hold my hand to prevent further accidents.”

Life is most often a story of ‘the blind leading the blind’. Just being eye-blind is no real handicap; having the intelligence blinded is the real handicap.

Ask The Master: 24 Jan 2008

Q. Dearest Swamiji, when a relationship is not working out, when should we persevere and when should we abandon it and get on with our lives?

I think what you are asking me is, just how much conflict should one be prepared to put up with in a relationship? Right?

Love is the most dangerous path there is! Only those with great courage dare tread this path. At any bend on this path you have to be prepared for great joy, great pain, great beauty, great struggle, great understanding.

Yes, there is bound to be conflict in every relationship, because every individual is unique, and no two personalities fit together so perfectly that no rough edges remain.

If there is conflict, don't sweep it under the carpet out of fear that it will destroy the relationship. On the contrary, ignoring it can do just that. Allow the conflict. Examine it. See what you can learn from it. Is it stemming from something in yourself that you are secretly unwilling to acknowledge?

It is only in an intimate relationship that you discover yourself. Your partner is like a foil reflecting your true nature. After all, who else dares point out your worst flaws with so much clarity!

So examine the nature of your conflict. Also remember, in every relationship, there is a time to stay together and a time to move on. What kind of love do you share? Are you really, truly, surely in love? Do you relate deeply with each other, being to being?

Don't look for reasons and arguments, don't intellectualize the process -- simply turn the question inwards with complete honesty and trust. The answer will arise on its own.

If your answer is Yes, the understand that the issues of conflict are mere ripples on the surface of your relationship. These are just situations created by the ego to counter the sense of 'no-self', of surrender, that comes with love. Work around these situations with love and care.

If the answer you are hearing is No, then maybe it is time to move on. To remain in a relationship where there is no true relationship of being to being is sacrilege, unfair to you both. Love, for you, may be elsewhere. Don't search for it; just be open to the possibility.

In the meantime, don't let the conflict destroy the relationship, destroy you both. Nobody deserves that. Accept that this is not the person for you, and move away without resentment or bitterness. Don't destroy your own capacity for loving. To become bitter will only cause you more suffering, and destroy your faith in Love itself. And that is the most dangerous thing that can happen to anyone.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "? + Nithyananda = !" Swami Nithyananda Transforms your Questions into Wonder!

Joke Of The Day: 24 Jan 2008

A man went with his family to watch a movie. Suddenly inside the cinema hall, he started groping about on the floor. His grand daughter got annoyed and asked him what he was doing. He replied, “Dear, my chewing gum has fallen down.” The grand daughter snapped, “So what? Just leave it Grandpa.” The man replied, “My teeth are in it.”

We all continue to search for material things thinking that they will bring us hoping to attain fulfillment; but what we are really searching for unknowingly is the Ananda or True Bliss that is the highest and only form of fulfillment.

Ask The Master: 23 Jan 2008

Q Dearest Swamiji, since the mind is only 'inner chatter', is it necessary to drop the intellect in order to approach the Divine?

Before I can answer that, you need to understand the working of the mind. The mind is a composite of 4 functions: manas (the part that receives information about the outer world from your senses), chitta (the memory or record of cosmic knowledge), buddhi (intellect) and ahankar (ego). Beyond all these is the atman (self). All information is tracked through these areas of the mind.

For instance, when you see a marigold flower, the nonverbal information, 'yellow flower' is absorbed by your manas from the eyes.

This information is sent to chitta, which matches it against all records of flowers previously seen, and determines whether this particular flower is a familiar one.

The file then passes to the buddhi, which concludes that the yellow flower is marigold, it is large, it is not a fragrant flower, and so on.

Then comes the turn of the ahamkaar, which is in charge of generating opinions based on self-interest, e.g. 'I like this flower', or 'I think the neighbors' garden has better marigolds' or whatever. Based on the information supplied by the ahankaar, the atman decids on the Plan of Action: 'Pick the flower!' or 'Water the flower!' or 'Throw it out!'

The unfortunate thing about this arrangement is that by the time the information reaches the atman, it has already been filtered by the ahankaar -- with the result that what you see and act upon is not reality, but only a subverted version of reality that the ego wants you to see. No wonder you remain in ignorance and confusion, and come to the conclusion that inner chatter is all that the mind is capable of!

When intelligence awakens, the ego dies a natural death. For the first time, the atman takes direct control of the situation. It's like President's Rule! Tremendous sources of energy open up and become available. The absorption of information no longer depends only on the five senses. Consequently, information processing and decision-making become infinitely swifter and more efficient -- with the result that it appears miraculous to ordinary eyes. This is the stat in which yogis fly or teleport objects and perform other such miracles. This is the magical state which is perceived as being in harmony with the Divine.

So you see, to approach the Divine, what you should be willing to drop is not the mind or the intellect, but only the ego. Don't make the mistake of throwing out the baby with the bathwater!

______________________
This excerpt has been taken from the book: "? + Nithyananda = !" Swami Nithyananda Transforms your Questions into Wonder!

Joke Of The Day: 23 Jan 2008

In a certain kingdom, the King came to know that everybody was depressed, because they found themselves burdened with more than their fair share of worries, while no one else seemed to have no major worries. The King announced a mega 'Worry Exchange Offer', where people could trade their worries. A giant Worry Pot was placed in the center of a vast space wherein people could happily dump their own worries and pick up the worries of anyone else. The entire kingdom gathered for the event. The event was declared open and strangers met and started talking to each other about their worries. Time passed on and not one worry was exchanged!

After all, who wants to drop their small familiar worries and take on unknown worries of another! Worry itself is a mere familiar dwelling pattern for the mind.

Ask The Master: 22 Jan 2008

Q. Beloved Swamiji, what is Karma?

Let me give you an idea about karma.

Whenever an action has been started, but not fulfilled, there exists a force that pulls you to fulfill it, to bring it to completion. This force is karma. Whatever you have tasted, desired but not experienced ultimately, will continuously draw you to repeat that very experience, till you feel fulfillment. You will keep repeating that action till you actually become that experience. Because you are fulfillment. You enter the body just to fulfill this action. In the course of fulfillment you meet all these things, these 'troubles'.

This is the explanation which I give for karma. All the other words -- it is because of my bad karma that I got this disease / it is because of my good karma that I met Swamiji -- all these are just things we say after the event has happened. Whatever has happened, we give it the name karma.

The word karma is much misunderstood. I am not giving you an explanation for karma as we understand it. I don't mean karma as fate or vidhi. According to my experience, there is no such thing as vidhi. The future is left completely open by existence. It is we who decide.

Ramakrishna tells a beautiful story which will give you intellectual clarity on the subject. Of course, no one can give you existential, experiential clarity on karma as it really is -- that clarity comes only with enlightenment. And when you are enlightened, you cannot express it!

Coming to the story on karma:
A cow is tied to a post with a 5-meter rope. Inside that perimeter it can sit, stand, feed, do whatever it pleases. Our life is just the same. We have a limited amount of freedom; the rest is in the hands of Existence. But Ramakrishna also adds, if we use our 5-meter freedom intelligently, it is possible that Existence will extend our rope, or even free us completely. That depends on both of us and the master, on Jiva and Shiva. You can choose whether to remain in bondage or work towards being set free.

Someone once asked me, what if the cow learns to bite and break the rope?
First of all, do you know where the rope is? To which limb it is tied? Where it begins and ends? Where to bite? How to bite? With an ordinary cow and rope, the cow can see these things. You people don't even know what or where your rope is! So whatever I can give you is only a glimpse, an inspiration to enter into me, to enter into the experience.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "? + Nithyananda = !" Swami Nithyananda Transforms your Questions into Wonder!

Joke Of The Day: 22 Jan 2008

One evening, a man was found searching for a lost gold coin in his courtyard. His wife and practically the entire neighborhood soon joined him in his search. One young man finally asked him, “Where exactly did you drop the coin?” to which he replied, “inside the house.” “Then why are you searching here?” cried the amazed young man. The man explained, “Well, there are no lights inside my house and hence I thought I would search here where there are the street lights.”

We are all experts at searching for the answers in the wrong places! We seek to find ourselves everywhere - in money, power and relationships, forgetting that all we need to do is to seek inwards in ourselves to find out.

Ask The Master: 21 Jan 2008

Q. Beloved Swamiji, in India we are brought up on rituals and idol worship. Are you for or against these?

First of all, I am neither for or against idol worship or rituals -- or anything, for that matter!

But there is a reason why idol worship is so common in India, and elsewhere in the East. For a beginner on the spiritual journey, it is difficult to even conceive of the Divine in the abstract. When given a form, it is crystallized into something he understands and can relate to. With an idol, he can commune with the Divine in the language that he is familiar with. Our thousands of deities are nothing but expressions of the Divine. And yet anyone can talk to them, pray to or play with them, seek solace or give thanks. The whole awesome, indefinable nature of the Divine is scaled down to comforting proportions in the form of the deity. It has to be this way; the Divine without form is simply too terrifying a concept for the ordinary mind.

At a deeper, subtler level there is one more message being reinforced -- the idol before you is cast in the same form as yours, and yet it is divine. What does that say about you? Think about it.

Even if you are an idol worshiper, there is no need to condemn yourself. As you grow spiritually you will find yourself able to commune with the Divine just as well without an idol. Just as children stop playing with dolls as they grow older, you will drop the idols of your own accord when the time comes. But right now if it gives you a sense of well-being to worship your favorite deity, do so by all means. Spirituality is a vast, shoreless ocean. When you are just learning to swim, it would certainly help your confidence to hold onto a lifebuoy, something you can be sure of, something that won't let you down. As you grow stronger and surer, you will naturally shake off its hold and enter the deep waters, freely and fearlessly.

As for rituals, it has been scientifically proved that certain colors, sounds and actions can deeply impact your state of mind, activate desired areas of the brain, and expand your consciousness. Rituals have lost their credibility today only because their true meaning has been lost upon the masses over time. Only the shell of the ritual remains; the spirit has departed. So even if they seem irrelevant to you today, never underestimate the true potential of rituals. Rituals are the distillation of centuries of wisdom and the tapas of innumerable enlightened masters. When performed in the proper way, rituals have tremendous power to bring about unimaginable levels of awareness and change.

In the ashram, you may often find me performing poojas and yagas. The fact is, these mean nothing to me, I don't need a channel to commune with the Divine. These are for my people. I do this to draw you all into a familiar territory, a space where you feel secure and tranquil. In an atmosphere that years of worship have sanctified, bowing before your beloved deities and listening to the chanting of well-known mantras, a silent, meditative state is naturally induced in you. At this time you are completely open and surrendered, receptive to my energy. This is the time when I can truly work upon you, without your knowledge and without your resistance. Can you understand me now?

(Of course, I have never given up being a child, and so I perfectly enjoy my play with these beautiful dolls -- but that is another matter!)

______________________
This excerpt has been taken from the book: "? + Nithyananda = !" Swami Nithyananda Transforms your Questions into Wonder!

Joke Of The Day: 21 Jan 2008

A man purchased a new car and went off on his first ride. On and on he went, mile after mile through the city. People watched in admiration. The car finally came to a stop after colliding with a tree. A stunned passerby enquired of him, “What's wrong with you? Don't you know how to drive properly?” “Of course I do!” cried the man, “I only don't know how to stop!”

So, would you say that the man was driving the car or being driven by it? Before you point a finger at him, remember that you are driving a vehicle which you don't know how to stop - your MIND!

Words From The Master: 20 Jan 2008

Transform your knowledge into Wisdom

Long time ago in China, a metal worker fashioned a mirror for the first time ever. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, this man said: Oh, my God! My father has descended from the heavens.

On seeing her husband talking to himself, his wife peeped into the mirror. She saw her own face and screamed: why are you talking to another woman?

The husband replied: I was not talking to a woman, I was talking to my father!

His wife was furious. She shouted: Not only are you talking with other women behind my back, but you are also lying about it. You must be having an affair!

A preacher, who was passing by, heard the noise, stopped and looked at the mirror which started the quarrel. On looking at the mirror he was shocked. He shouted with fury: I am the only preacher in this area. Where did this monk come from?

He flung the mirror on the ground and it broke into many pieces.

If he were a wise man, this would not have happened.

What is wisdom?

Wisdom is not Knowledge.

Knowledge is accumulated information. Wisdom is knowledge processed through experience and found to be true. Knowledge is mere fact; wisdom is truth.

Fireflies emit light so that the male and female fireflies can locate each other, mate and multiply. That is the truth and wisdom. If someone observes fireflies emitting light, and from that observation concludes that the purpose is to light the way in the night, it is useless and misleading knowledge, as most of our knowledge is.

It is easy to gather knowledge. We fill our mind with knowledge by reading, watching TV, and listening to people. It is so easy. Most of such knowledge and information is useless. They only add to your ego.

Experience is born out of real hard labor. We cannot change knowledge into experience, as there is no connection between worldly knowledge and life experience! Knowledge is merely the map; experience is the territory. You cannot reach your destination by reading a map!

Understand that the accumulation of knowledge only increases the ego. Instead, internalize the knowledge of information and relate it to experiential wisdom. Let the breeze of joy blow in your life.

Meditation helps us to internalize our experience, and process that into wisdom. It is an alchemy that happens internally, an alchemy that can transform our lives.

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This article was earlier published in the Economic Times, an Indian newspaper.

Joke Of The Day: 20 Jan 2008

A man entered a restaurant and began ordering vast quantities of food. Platefuls of steaming idlis, dosas and jalebis made their way to his table. He ate with relish. After a heavy meal, he signaled to the waiter for the bill. The waiter duly returned with the lengthy bill. “What is this?” asked the man, looking baffled at the bill, “I hadn't ordered anything like this!”

We are all like this - inviting pain and disease upon ourselves with our excessive life styles - only to forget about it and complain later when they actually come!

Ask The Master: 19 Jan 2008

Q. Beloved Swamiji, you tell us to 'give our all' in love. But what if the love is not appreciated or returned?

If you are truly in love, you will 'give your all' naturally. Love is an unconditional outpouring. In love you don't stop to ask yourself whether the other person deserves your all. In fact, there is no question at all of the other person's worth. Love is a gift. If you were to measure the other person's worth and give an equal and exact measure of love in return, that would simply be a bargain. It would be Business, nor Love. In true love, this question of 'Should I give my all?' would not be raised at all!

Now the issue of the love being appreciated. Tell me, what is your reason for loving? Is love a performance for which you need to be applauded? It is enough that you love. What is the need to look for any further reward? To ask for a returning of love is to seek some kind of control over your beloved. You refuse the other person the freedom not to love you in return. This is a kind of possessiveness, where you cage the other in the prison of your expectations. And as I keep repeating, love can never, never blossom in captivity.

Listen carefully: there are two kinds of love -- love as a Quantity, and love as a Quality.

When love is seen as a quantity, it results in the kind of selfish little exchanges that most people make all their lives. You hold out a tightly wrapped parcel of love to your man or woman, and expect them to promptly return an equal-sized parcel to you. If your partner should choose to give her parcel to someone else, or even to just open it and spread the love around, you feel cheated and angry. You are both bound to each other by a pact of reciprocation. You have to be Made for Each Other. Sooner or later this kind of arrangement leaves you cramped and frustrated, and in anger you withdraw your parcel and go off to find someone else to exchange it with. Or else your partner does that. Sounds familiar?

Now the kind of love I would like you to grow towards is love experienced as a quality of your very being. This kind of love is simply an outpouring of one's joy and gratitude, just for being alive. It is a fragrance of joy, it spreads itself around unconditionally. It does not need an object, it does not need a return gift. This kind of love is like sunshine or rain; it gives of itself unconditionally, and whomsoever stands within its circle can experience the warmth or the freshness without question. This love always enriches; it is the only kind of love that can be enjoyed without fear or guilt.

For Love to become your quality, you must be willing to surrender yourself completely. Only in an egoless state can this love arise. This is not easy, but you can make a beginning. You will discover that simply through love and gratitude, you being to let go of the ego, just a little. And as you let go, more and more love enters into that space. Try practising this in your relationships. There's no need to make a fuss about loving; don't become serious in your love -- just be totally sincere.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "? + Nithyananda = !" Swami Nithyananda Transforms your Questions into Wonder!

Joke Of The Day: 19 Jan 2008

In a South Indian temple, the deity's idol was customarily brought out of the temple on the back of a donkey in a big procession around the town for people to see. On one such occasion, as the procession moved, the donkey was amazed to find people bowing low before it, performing arathi and offering sweetmeats. It was convinced that it had become a celebrity overnight. It started to swagger and looked contemptuously upon the other animals on the streets. It decided that it no more needs to carry the heavy burden on its back; it shook the idol off its back. You don’t need help to imagine what happened to it after that!

Every moment, be aware that you are an instrument of the Divine. Don’t let your ego get in the way. Surrender your ego and Existence will take care of you!

Ask The Master: 18 Jan 2008

Q. Dearest Swamiji, you say that skepticism is a big hindrance to learning. But you also urge us to voice our doubts. Why?

You can raise questions due to either skepticism or doubt. But there is a world of difference between the two.

Skepticism is a state where one refuses to believe in anything at all. Just like that! The skeptic will raise arguments just for the sake of raising them. In this sense, skepticism itself is an unconscious belief, it is a foregone negative conclusion against anything and everything. The skeptic has no opinions and no ideology of his own, he only has an argument against whatever idea you place before him. He will argue against an idea for hours, and if you present another idea that is just the opposite, he will argue against it equally emphatically! Actually, he has already settled into a permanent attitude of NO towards everything. In this sense, skepticism marks the end of the journey for the learner, because with this attitude it is impossible to get anywhere. The skeptic has closed himself to all possibility of change.

Doubt, on the other hand, is a state of openness and receptivity. Doubt is an acceptance of 'I don't know, but I can learn.' This marks the beginning of the learner's pilgrimage. Doubt is the path of the seeker, it simply seeks to eliminate all that is untrue in order to perceive the Truth. A man with a doubt listens with respect, not with defiance. He possesses the humility of the ignorant. His is the attitude of YES, he is only waiting to experience so that he can trust.

When a person of sharp intellect turns to skepticism, it is a dangerous sign -- because it can be very ego-fulfilling to put down all ideas in an effective manner. But ultimately, the skeptic is only burning his own bridges. Especially with a master, if you adopt the attitude of skepticism, there is just no way I can get through to you. There is no point in going to a doctor just to question the value of every pill in his prescription, is there?

So ask your questions, by all means. Just watch the attitude with which you ask them!

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "? + Nithyananda = !" Swami Nithyananda Transforms your Questions into Wonder!

Joke Of The Day: 18 Jan 2008

A man lived in the middle of a desert in a small hut. One day, a young boy came by his hut and requested to allow him one night’s sleep and food. He agreed and the boy stayed. The next day morning, he found out from the boy that he was a burglar by profession. He cried out loud for having given food and accommodation to a burglar after all. He suddenly heard an even louder cry from the heavens. God was saying, “You are crying for giving him all this for one day! Imagine me who has been giving him all this for his life time!”

We all need to understand that whether we accept it or not, whether we like it or not, it is the Cosmic Energy that is actually taking care of us every minute.

Ask The Master: 17 Jan 2008

Q. Dear Swamiji, you ask us not to suppress our natural passions. But is it right to indulge these passions?

This question points in the same direction as the earlier question on sansar vs. sannyas. On this path, you will time and again come across apparent dualities: good/bad, false/true, attachment/aversion, suppression/indulgence. In fact, raging inside your being is this constant conflict of opposites. Whenever a duality asserts itself, remember this thumb rule: Existence is nondual. Opposites do not exist. To cling to either suppression or indulgence is a sign of ignorance. After all, suppression is nothing but a reaction to indulgence. What is essential is the awareness of one's own tendencies. Recognize anger, recognize jealousy, recognize lust and greed. Neither give in to these emotions nor try to suppress them. Simply attempt to know them for what they are. Keep your distance, and view your emotions as if they were strangers. You will be surprised to find that without your support, they cannot exist, they simply drop away! This may not make much sense to you when it is just someone else's experience -- but through constant practice you will experience the truth for yourself.

It is only this awareness that can awaken self-knowledge, and free you of these concepts of indulgence/suppression, and of all dualities!

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "? + Nithyananda = !" Swami Nithyananda Transforms your Questions into Wonder!

Joke Of The Day: 17 Jan 2008

One day, a man was crying at his doorstep. His friend came up and asked why he was crying. The man replied, “My grandfather has died leaving behind a wealth of fortune for me.” His friend was puzzled and asked why he should cry so much for that. The man continued, “My uncle passed away a few weeks back leaving all his wealth to me. My paternal grandmother died a month back and she too left all her wealth for me.” The friend was very confused by now and asked, “Why are you crying if they all left their wealth to you and departed in their old age?” The man replied, “I have no more relatives who will die leaving their wealth to me!”

If you were to make a list of the things that you possess, the list would never end and it will take you unawares. But you keep asking, ‘What next..what next...’ All you need to do is count your blessings and feel gratitude.

Ask The Master: 16 Jan 2008

Q. Dearest Swamiji, whenever I am in your presence all questions disappear and everything seems possible. But when I am away from you, all the familiar doubts creep in. Why does this happen and what can I do about it?

If a question disappears on its own in my presence, then it is time to realize that it was not a true question at all; it was merely a play of the mind.

When you are with me, the mind is no more in control -- you simply flow into meditation. You become a loving, serene silence. In this state, only a question that is truly your question, one that is completely relevant to you, will still remain with you.

In my presence, you become so intensely aware, so completely present that there is no space for questions to arise. When you leave my presence, the mind is free to impose the past and the future upon your present -- for what else are your questions but the play of the past and the future upon your present?

Just like the ego, there is no point in fighting with or condemning the mind. It is a pointless struggle which you will be sure to lose. Instead, it is enough to be aware that this is the very nature of the mind; it can be expected to behave in no other way. It is bound to bring in anxiety, confusion, doubt. Just to be conscious of this is enough. Do not pass judgment on the mind for its inane activities -- even to get angry with your mind is to lose your energy to it. As you witness the workings of the mind, you will slowly become aware that you are not the mind -- you are more than the mind, you are the watcher. Once deprived of your energy, the mind cannot go on! In the place of the chaos of thoughts that you call your mind, a clear, intense consciousness will arise. At that moment, all questions dissolve and the mind is no more.

This is the experience you find yourself having in my presence. And what I have just told you is the way to make it stay with you always -- even when you are not with me! It is a slow process -- give it time. It will happen.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "? + Nithyananda = !" Swami Nithyananda Transforms your Questions into Wonder!

Joke Of The Day: 16 Jan 2008

One night, 2 drunkards who were walking down a street past a halogen lamp. One of them exclaimed, “Look! the sun has come down for us!”, to which the other replied, “No, it is night time, it is the moon.” The first one continued, “It is yellow in color and therefore is the sun.” A third drunkard came by them. They asked him, “Sir, please tell us whether this is the sun or the moon.” The man replied, “I am new to this neighborhood; I do not know.”

When you ask someone who does not know, you will either not get an answer or get the wrong answer. The source of information is very critical to our growth - especially to our spiritual growth; that is why Masters appear on Planet Earth every now and then.

Ask The Master: 15 Jan 2008

Q. Beloved Swamiji, how can we surrender the ego, when this wanting to surrender is itself an expression of the ego?

A question to you: How are you going to surrender the ego, when it does not exist?

Suppose you are sitting in a dark room. You want the darkness to go out. But can you push it out? Can you fight darkness and force it to leave the room? NO! No matter how long you keep on trying, you are ultimately going to be defeated -- and that too by something which does not exist!

The ego is like darkness, it has no positive existence. Just like darkness is simply the absence of light, the ego is nothing but the absence of awareness. To struggle to kill the ego is like struggling to push the darkness out of the room. To really expel the darkness, what you need to do is to forget all about dealing with the darkness. Focus you energy on Light instead. Just bring a small lamp into the room, and you will find that the darkness has fled on its own! So, I tell you to forget all about the ego. Instead, focus on bringing a lamp of awareness into your being. When your entire consciousness has become a flame, you will find that the ego is no more.

The ego is an illusion. You cannot surrender it when you are unaware -- because you don't know how. Of course, you cannot surrender it when you become aware either -- because then you realize that there is nothing left to surrender!

What you have heard, read, been taught -- 'Surrender the ego in order to attain self-realization' -- this is an utterly nonsensical idea. It can happen only the other way round. Self-realization dawns, and suddenly you cannot find the ego anymore. The surrender has already happened, just like that.

However, I am glad that the question has arisen in your being. The ego is the root cause for all your anxieties, sorrows, tensions. It is your doorway to hell. To actively feel that you want to drop the ego, to feel the need to be rid of this burden is itself a step towards awareness. It shows that you are stirring from your sleep!

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "? + Nithyananda = !" Swami Nithyananda Transforms your Questions into Wonder!

Joke Of The Day: 15 Jan 2008

A man boarded a ferry boat that was going to the mainland. Inside the boat, he was pacing up and down. The ferryman told him to sit quietly. The man replied, “I have no time to sit, I have to reach quickly!”

If we Surrender to the Energy that is taking care of us and continue doing our work, we can unload a big burden off us. We don’t do this and end up taking on undue tensions and sorrows in life.

Ask The Master: 14 Jan 2008

Q. Dearest Swamiji, is it necessary to renounce the world to realize the self?

To realize the self, there is only one thing you must be willing to renounce: ignorance.

Self-realization has nothing to do with giving up the world. To run away from the world is just as bad as clinging to it; in both cases it is evident that the world is controlling your actions. Aversion to the world is as much a product of ignorance as attachment to it, they are just two sides of the same coin.

A person can live in a cave in the mountains and be obsessed with sansar (worldliness), while another can live in the world and yet be completely detached from its pushes and pulls (sannyas). To take sannyas is not to renounce the world, but simply to renounce both attachment and aversion to the world. The very same life, when seen through the mist of ignorance, is sansar -- and when seen in the clear light of self awareness, becomes sannyas.

It is true, sannyasins always lead a simple life, untouched by sansar. But for them, the renouncing of attachment and aversion is not an effort. When self-realization awakens, renouncement happens naturally.

The first step towards sannyas is to become aware of your inner conflict between attachment and aversion. As you witness it, you become aware that there is a core inside you that is beyond this conflict, a being that is completely unconcerned with the questions of Yes and No. This is your Self, eternal and immutable. In the blaze of this awakening, all that is superfluous simply drops away like dead leaves from a tree. What remains is the completely essential -- this is sannyas.

True sannyas is to live like a lotus in a lake, perfectly at ease in the muddy water, but untouched and unsullied by it.

A Zen story says that a master and his disciple were on their way from one village to the next. At the border of the villages flowed a shallow stream which they usually crossed by wading through it. This time, they discovered that due to heavy rains, the stream had swollen into a small river, too deep to wade across.

The disciple was alarmed, and enquired of the master, "Should we attempt to cross this river, Master?"

Replied the master with a twinkle in his eye, "Certainly you should cross the river, my child. Just remember not to get your feet wet!"

This is the true meaning of sannyas. When you can cross the river of sansar, but the sansar can no longer wet you, you have found sannyas.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "? + Nithyananda = !" Swami Nithyananda Transforms your Questions into Wonder!

Joke Of The Day: 14 Jan 2008

Once a man lived without any faith in God. Suddenly one day he fell from a hilltop and found himself dangling from just the grip of a tree’s root. He suddenly remembered people talking about God all the time and cried out, “Oh God! I have never had faith in you; are you really up there? Can you save me now?” God answered, “Sure son, just let go of the root that you are holding and I will hold you from beneath.” The man cried out again: “Is there anyone else out there who can help me!”

Our faith is never total Surrender. Surrender! and you will be guided in every step of your life by the Life Force that is guiding this entire Universe.

Words From The Master: 13 Jan 2008

Shift the doors of perception

All our thoughts are centered on our own ideas of life.

We only see what we wish to see. Most often we have already made up our minds about what we wish to see and we see things only how we want them to be.

When we meet a person, we form a judgment about the person and then we collect facts in support of our judgment; facts in support are retained, others are rejected. We modify facts of our observation to suit our perception.

Our preconceived notions of life distort our actual vision of what life is about. This leads to suffering.

Children on the other hand have no fixed ideas about life or how it ought to be. They are therefore full of joy. They never take things for granted; everything is new for them; each sunrise, each tree and each flower. They are spontaneous, living fully in the moment. They see life as it is.

A Zen master had to choose his successor. He called all his disciples together and drew a small black dot on a white board. He then asked his disciples to tell him what they saw. Almost all saw only the black dot. One disciple alone said: What I see is a huge expanse of white, in which there is a small black dot. He was chosen as the successor.

The disciple chosen as the successor saw the whole picture as it was. The rest saw just the black dot. They saw only the dot because of their preconception.

We need to drop all our prejudices of others and ourselves, of events, time and places and live and enjoy life as it is. As long as happiness is bound by time and space, it does not last.

Our perceptions limit us or liberate us based on whether we perceive things as they are or as we want them to be. All we need to do is to deal with things as they are. What we need is an internal cognitive shift: from seeing things as we want them to be seen to seeing things as they are, and enjoying life as it is. For this transformation to happen, we need to be in awareness all the time.

If we are conscious of our thoughts and actions every moment, we will never slip into forming judgments. Meditation can bring tremendous awareness into us causing the cognitive shift to happen.

Be blissful!

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This article was earlier published in the Economic Times, an Indian newspaper.

Joke Of The Day: 13 Jan 2008

A man wrote to his girlfriend: “I will bend the sky to make a bow and use the rivers as arrows using which I will pluck the moon and bring to you as a gift”. The postscript at the end said, “I will meet you this Friday if it doesn’t rain.”

Most often, we all say things that we don't really mean. This is where the problem starts in practical life.

Ask The Master: 12 Jan 2008

Q. I have just found a most wonderful partner, but I’m so worried that this relationship is too good to last!

Too good to last! This is really worry at its peak! To worry about not having anything to worry about is the most cunning game of the mind. The mind will never let you relax into the present - it has to keep imposing the past and future upon you. But to love is to forget both past and future - to surrender totally to the delights of the present.

Examine the true reason for your fear. Something that is simply too beautiful is happening to you. It is so beautiful that you feel you’ve done nothing to deserve it! So you start fearing the moment when it will be over. When is he going to find someone more beautiful, more talented, more rich? How am I going to prevent it? What will happen if he leaves?

But no matter how much you worry, is there any way you can prevent anything from happening? You don’t possess your partner. You don’t know when he might change his mind - you don’t even understand your own mind! To imagine that you can control the situation is sheer foolishness. Trying too hard to hold onto a relationship is the most certain way to destroy it. Ultimately, all insecurities arise from a lack of trust in oneself. In love, you simply have to trust yourself. Only then can you trust your partner, and trust in your relationship. There is no other way.

Of course, no one can promise you that your relationship will last. Why do you want it to? Change is the nature of life. Accept that the relationship is here today, and it is beautiful. Yes, it may not be the same tomorrow. Isn’t that all the more reason to enjoy it completely today? There will be enough time to feel the pain when it is over!

And the truth is, if you have loved completely, with your entire being, there will be no suffering in letting go of a relationship if it no longer works. To be afraid to love simply because it may not last, is as foolish as refusing to live because you are certain to die someday!

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions

Joke Of The Day: 12 Jan 2008

An old man used to sit every day in the beach from morning to evening watching the people in the beach. Another man who noticed this, went to him and asked what he was actually doing. The old man replied that he was searching for a woman to be his wife. The man was shocked at this reply and asked him why he had never searched in his youth. The old man replied that he has been searching from when he was 30 years of age. The man was astonished and asked him what sort of a woman he was searching for and he replied, “I am searching for a perfect woman. I found one woman who matched what I had in mind but it didn’t work out well with her.” The man asked why, for which the old man replied, “Well, she was searching for a perfect man!”

We all collect images from media and watch 'reality' continuously hoping to find a match with these images some time. It would be a good idea to drop these images and welcome reality instead!

Ask The Master: 11 Jan 2008

Q. How can I stop comparing myself to others and being miserable?

At least you have realized that comparison only brings misery - that is a good beginning! Buddha makes a statement of tremendous significance. He says, ‘Nothing exists except in relationship. Everything is relative, and draws its meaning only from its relationship with something else.’

What are the words you use to compare yourself to others?
Beautiful. Rich. Clever. Unlucky. Young. Weak and so on.

Now, imagine yourself on some new planet, where nobody lived but you. Would you then be beautiful or ugly? Tall or short? Rich or poor? Without anyone to compare with, these words lose their very meaning, because they are only concepts formulated by the mind; they have no real existence.

Try this. Close your eyes for a few moments. Imagine yourself all alone in the world. Do you feel ugly or beautiful inside? Foolish or wise? Where are all these concepts then? Only the fact that you exist remains - because that is the only truth.

To compare yourself with someone else is foolishness, because you can never be anyone else - and no one else can be you! Look around you. Do you know anyone else who is exactly the same as you? Don’t you see how special you are?

It is said that the disciple of a Zen master once asked him, ‘Tell me master, when will I become like Buddha?’
In answer, the master slapped him furiously across the face.

Why? Was it because the disciple was hoping for too much? No. The master simply had to jolt the disciple into the awareness that he was already a Buddha! How can you want to become something that you already are? You are so out of touch with your inner being that you have forgotten how extraordinary you really are. Once you realize this, the need to compare dies naturally. Even if you wanted to, each person is so different; where is a common point of reference?

So drop the attitude of comparison. Remember, you are truly unique - just like everyone else!

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions

Joke Of The Day: 11 Jan 2008

Three men came together to start a business. They decided to include God as a partner. They fixed a small percentage of the expected profit as God’s share. The business grew and yielded unexpectedly high profit. God’s share suddenly seemed too high to be given away. One of them suggested that they would place a small vessel and throw up all the money. Whatever fell inside the vessel would be God’s and the rest would be theirs. The second man suggested that they place a big vessel and throw up all the coins and whatever fell inside would be theirs and the rest God’s. The third one finally said, “No, lets do it this way. Anyway God is sitting above us. We will throw up all the money. Whatever he wishes to take let him take; whatever falls down is ours!”

Our attitude towards God or the Cosmos needs to be one of gratitude and nothing else and most definitely not a business deal!

Ask The Master: 10 Jan 2008

Q. How to conquer worry?

To even understand worry, we need to possess a deep insight into the nature of our own minds. The way into worry is through the mind, and only through the mind can we find a way out. Instead, we insist on searching for answers in all the wrong places - in external circumstances. We tell ourselves, ‘If only I had enough money there would be nothing to worry about; if only I was better-looking; if only, if only...’ This is a truly futile exercise.

A small story:

One evening Nitti Mudaliar was found searching earnestly for something in the courtyard before his house.

When his wife asked him about it, he replied that he had dropped a coin. His wife joined in the search.

Soon others gathered and practically the whole neighborhood was searching for the lost coin, to no avail.

Suddenly one young man asked Nitti, ‘Which is the exact spot where you dropped the coin? Even half an hour’s search has yielded no results!’

‘Oh’, said Nitti, ‘I lost the coin inside the house.’
‘Then why are we searching here?’ cried an amazed neighbour.
‘The problem is’, said Nitti, ‘I have no lights inside my house. Out here at least there’s the streetlamp. We can search by its light.’

It is an amusing story, is it not? But you must know that your behavior too is equally amusing. You too go about your search for freedom from worry in much the same manner without a clue as to its true causes and nature.

Once you understand how the mind works, this becomes simple. Just as a key can be used both to lock and unlock a door, you can use the words playing in your mind to sink into depression or rise into ecstasy.

The mantra to combat worry is simple: continuous positive thinking. Be alert. Whenever you become aware of a negative thought surfacing, begin to feed your mind positive thoughts instead. It is not an easy task, of course. In the beginning, when you utter positive words, your mind (which has been so well-trained to respond negatively) is not going to learn these words easily. A small corner of your mind will continue to protest, ‘Do you think I’m a fool to be taken in by a few positive words?’

But by and by, you can alter the quality of the mind. It is perfectly possible to change your mental programming. After all, it is you have programmed it! You know how to do it. Now just redo it in a different way, that’s all. The moment you see how easily worry can be created and destroyed by mere words, you will realize how unreal it is. To go beyond inner chatter for even a few moments is to become aware, to become alive.

The very understanding of how unnecessary worry is, naturally unlocks the treasures of the manipuraka chakra. Suffering dissolves of its own accord. And in its place arises that state which neither pleasure nor pain can disturb - the state of ananda, bliss. With gnana - knowledge and dhyana - meditation, awareness and practice, suffering itself can be the door that leads you to Nithyananda, eternal bliss.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions

Joke Of The Day: 10 Jan 2008

A man’s friend got married and he presented him with a puppy dog as a gift for the wedding. Two months later, this man visited the friend and asked him how different life was after two months of marriage. The friend replied, “Just a small difference - when I got married, the pup used to bark and my wife used to fetch the newspaper, but now my wife barks and the pup fetches the newspaper!”

The barking starts when you realize that reality is different from the images collected and kept inside yourself. Drop your images and watch how beautiful the whole world becomes!

IN THE NEWS: 09 Jan 2008

Paramahamsa Nithyananda's Message for 2008: Celebrate the Existence of Jeeva (Self), Eshwara (God), and Jagat (World).
Source: News Asia [link]
MONTCLAIR, CA.

My message this year is to celebrate the existence of Jeeva, Eshwara, and Jagat - Self, God and the World. When you celebrate their existence all three will reveal their mysteries to you. Please understand that this is not a moral advice. It is a spiritual technique.

You will never be able to realize your self, understand yourself, until you accept yourself and celebrate what you are. As long as you are fighting with what you are, you will never be able to realize yourself. Usually we carry two identities, one is ahamkar the other is mamakar. Ahamkar means the identity which we present to the world, project to the world. How we want the world to see us. The next is mamakar. The identity you believe is you.

Jayanti Celebrations.

Our whole life is nothing but the fight between this ahamkar and mamakar. The struggle between you and you eats the whole life. Stop. Just accept and celebrate whatever you are. You will see that you are realizing the self. The self-realization is postponed again and again and again just because of the fight between you and you. The moment you stop the fighting suddenly you see both the identities disappear into the realization that ahamkar and mamakar exist just because of the tension between them. Whatever you are accept and say a deep Yes to you as you are. Suddenly you will see that ahamkar and mamakar just disappear. Accept and celebrate the existence of your self as it is. Neither you need to develop the self in the outer world, nor do you need to develop in the inner world. Accept and celebrate, suddenly you will see the self will be realized.

Next let us look at Jagat - the world. Understand all the difficulties, problems between you and the world is just because you do not look at the world as a mystery. Continuously you are trying to overrule the world with your logic. You are trying to understand the jagat with your intellect; instead of celebrating, instead of accepting, instead of enjoying. You are just analyzing, segregating and trying to bring it under your control. If you are continuously using your logic, analyzing and judging - trying to bring things under your control you will miss it. Just accept and celebrate the existence, nature, the world with all its different dimensions and paradoxes.

Do not judge. Continuously we judge something is right, something is wrong. Something is supposed to happen. Something is not supposed to happen. Whatever happens is auspicious. In Sanskrit, the word Shiva means causeless auspiciousness. For no reason, the mangalatwa, the auspiciousness is overflowing. Everything that is happening in your life is increasing your frequency, raising your intelligence. Causeless expansion is happening.

In the whole world there are only two kinds of people living. One, the person who feels whatever is happening in the world is against his will and has to be changed by constantly trying to alter, trying to judge, trying to criticize things happening in the world. There is another group, a rare group, who feels whatever is happening, is causeless auspiciousness, Mangalatwa, Shiva. Whoever feels whatever is happening is auspicious inside and outside, lives like Shiva. They live in Shiva consciousness. They live in eternal bliss. They live in celebration.

Understand every happening including disease and death has a message for us. They have something to teach us. Even they raise our intelligence, raise the frequency of consciousness. In the whole drama of the cosmos, everything that happens in your life brings auspiciousness to you. Brings mangalatwa to you, adds to you. Look at the world as a mystery, as an intelligent mystery. When you understand it is an independent intelligence, a mystery; everything happening in your life will open itself and tell you the lesson it has brought. When a suffering comes to you, if you approach it with a non-acceptance, a resistance, it'll create only pain in you. It will only add suffering to you. If you approach the same incident, same suffering with a deep respect and acceptance, suddenly you will see the same suffering reveals its mysteries to you. It'll show you the cause, why it happened in your life and the lesson it brought to your life. Everything happening in the world is auspiciousness including what you call natural calamities. There's no such thing as inauspicious. One group lives like Shiva. The other lives like Shava – dead body. Whether you want to live like Shiva or Shava you decide. Understand the cosmos is causeless auspiciousness. The Prapanja is the reasonless, causeless Shiva . Accept and celebrate the very existence of the world – the Jagat.

The third, Eshwara is the source for Jeeva and Jagat – the self and the world. As long as you carry doubt or faith about the existence of God, you don't experience God. Understand, just like doubt, faith is also an obstruction. I have seen people who believe but never try to experience. They continue to believe, believe, and believe but do not do anything to experience. So now, drop both your doubt and your faith. The moment you see an object in front of you, you know the Creator exists. If the creation exists the Creator also exists. The very presence of the creation in front of you proves the existence of the Creator.
He is just creativity overflowing for no reason. He is just constant creativity which is expanding, expanding, and expanding, a constant Big Bang. Creation, created, and Creator all three expresses as creativity. Celebrate the existence of creativity. The very existence of creation is the solid proof that the Creator or the creativity exists. Just celebrate the existence of the independent intelligence. Celebrate the existence of God as creativity.

When you celebrate the existence of these three- Jeeva, Eshwara, and Jagat; Self, God and the World, suddenly you will see these three barriers are created by your unconscious mind. There is no barrier, it is just pure existence, pure consciousness, pure celebration what we call as Sat, Chit and Ananda. Understanding that Jeeva, Jagat and Eshwara are not three different entities and then celebrating the existence of this ONE core is what I call Living Enlightenment. Understand and celebrate the existence of all three.

Suddenly you will see only celebration will exist, all three will disappear into the celebration. When that happens; that is what I call Nithyananda, the Eternal Bliss. Live Enlightenment, Live Eternal Bliss, Live Nithyananda.

Let you all achieve, radiate, celebrate the eternal bliss,
Nithyananda.

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Video of 2008 Jayanthi Celebrations is available on youtube.

Ask The Master: 09 Jan 2008

Q. Master, I usually have upset stomach when I worry a lot. Is that common?

On the physical level, worry quickly manifests itself as ailments of the stomach (just check how often you need to visit the bathroom on the day of an exam or a job interview!). This is significant, because worry is closely connected to the manipuraka chakra, the vital energy center that is located in the navel region. The energy of this chakra, which controls the functions of digestion and elimination, gets locked by constant worrying.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions

Joke Of The Day: 09 Jan 2008

A man wanted to get rid of his wife. His wife had a cat and the he thought he would get rid of both. Thinking that he would start with the cat, he caught the cat, took it ten miles away, dropped it in an unfamiliar place and came back. When he reached his house, the cat was standing there waiting for him. The next day he took the cat to the other side of the town, 20 miles away. He dropped it, came back and within one hour
he saw the cat standing there in front of the house. The third day, he took the cat, put it in a gunny bag, tied it, drove for a couple of hours going all directions and reached a forest-like place. He dropped the gunny bag and started driving back A couple of hours later, he rang up his wife, “Dear, is the cat in the house?” She replied, “The cat is here. Where are you?” The man said, “Can you please somehow find out the way back from him? I have lost my way.”

Man is the only animal who has lost the connection with nature, with Existence altogether.

Ask The Master: 08 Jan 2008

Q. When does worry become depression?

Depression is nothing but the clinical name for chronic worry.

What is chronic worrying?
The mind is an excellent recording system. It stores your negative thought patterns, your complexes, your worries. Whatever you teach the mind, it learns and repeats faithfully. So watch what you tell your mind!

For instance, suppose you experience a failure in business. To make it worse, your marriage breaks up around the same period. Chances are that you’ll begin to believe that something is wrong with you, that whatever you touch is bound to be a failure. By continuously repeating this negative idea to yourself, you help it get even more deeply rooted in your memory. And as time passes, the mind begins to automatically play back whatever you have taught it, even in other situations, disturbing you without your knowledge or permission. This becomes a habit for your mind, resulting in a serious inferiority complex.

Watch what you tell your mind!

Just as poor eating habits ultimately cause fat deposits to accumulate in your body, or cholesterol to accumulate in your arteries, constant worrying can actually cause worries to solidify in your being. And just as cholesterol creates blockages in your arteries, depression creates energy blockages in your being. Depression is felt as a total low, a state past all hope. It is a state where we have handed over our controls to a monster we have created ourselves.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions

Joke Of The Day: 08 Jan 2008

A doctor was treating a chronic gambler. After a year of treatment he was convinced that the man had dropped the habit. He told him, “I think you have dropped the habit. We will stop the treatment here.” The man replied, “Good news doctor. Shall we go out for a treat?” The doctor asked jovially, “Are you going to treat me or should I treat you?” Pat came the reply, “Get a deck of cards and we will cut for it!”

To try to change man’s chronic habits, his mental setup needs to be changed. Meditation is the key to this.

Ask The Master: 07 Jan 2008

Q. What happens inside us when we worry?

Just watch your mind when you are worrying about something. What is taking place? You’ll find that a continuous stream of thoughts is flowing through your mind - mostly negative, totally disconnected.

In fact, we all indulge in two kinds of speech – ‘speaking out’ and ‘speaking in’. Speaking to others is what we normally call speech. But what about the soundless inner conversations that we constantly carry on with ourselves? This continuous, uncontrolled inner chatter that takes possession of your being without your permission, is the gift of the mind - the source of all worry. This inner chatter is your true master.

With inner chatter, there is no cessation of speech, never a moment’s respite. It is a kind of madness. Often, speaking to others is just a way of escaping from one’s own being, from one’s inner chatter. That is why so much talking is going on in the world!

It is not easy to understand what is meant by inner chatter. Try this experiment. Sit down with your eyes closed. Don’t focus on any issue. In just a few moments, you’ll find that there is a continuous stream of thoughts flowing through your mind. Write down, honestly, whatever thoughts come into your mind. Do this for five minutes.

Now, sit down and read what’s written on that paper. You will be shocked by what you read! This is the record of your inner chatter. How disconnected your thoughts are! How irrelevant, contradictory and defying they are. Now do you see what a full-fledged lunatic asylum you are running inside your head? This is the true nature of your mind – this completely uncontrolled flow of thoughts, this expression of insanity. This is the mind you have entrusted your life to! This is the mind that has invented all your worries. It is this mind that is living your life for you. Simply understand this much, and you have already taken a quantum leap towards freedom from worry.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions

Joke Of The Day: 07 Jan 2008

A man was tried in court for a crime. He gave one look at the jury and declared, “Sir, I admit I am guilty.” The judge exclaimed, “But the case hasn’t even started!” The man replied, “Well, I am in front of an all-woman jury. I can’t even win my wife, where am I going to win 12 women!”

Getting defeated is alright. A defeatist attitude is what is not alright.

Life Bliss Galleria: 06 Jan 2008

NEW CD RELEASE: "Meditation IS For You (Part 2): Five Minute Refreshers"

Available at Life Bliss Galleria.

Price: $15 "Blissmas" sale! $10

1. Extreme exhalation: When you exhale deeply, you also throw out the toxins from your body.
   
2. Limb Relaxation: This technique relaxes both body and mind, and refreshes you in just two minutes.
   
3. Palming: This is the fastest technique for instant relaxation.

This CD is part of the 18-CD set: "Meditation Is For You" [LINK].

Website Life Bliss Galleria

Phone (909)625-1400

Email shop@lifebliss.org

Words From The Master: 06 Jan 2008

Laughter, the spiritual medicine!

When was the last time you had a really good laugh?

Most of us have forgotten how to laugh. Our laughter is only an extended smile, a social necessity. We are usually laughing at someone, or simply fulfilling a duty. And laughter has been replaced by giggles and sniggers.

In an office, the boss tells a joke. The whole team starts roaring with laughter, except one lady who sits looking bored.

The boss asks: What’s the matter? Why aren’t you laughing?

She replies: I don’t have to. I am quitting next week!

Laughter has tremendous potential that we have forgotten how to use. It is an excellent way of connecting with people.

In fact, the most radical ideas, when presented in a humorous manner, can easily be got across to people.

Most of us are afraid to laugh, especially when we are with strangers, because laughter exposes us. Laughter exposes the innocent, vulnerable You hidden inside you.

Those who find it difficult to laugh have no idea what a gift they’ve lost. Believe me, there is no business more serious than the business of laughter. It is seriously important to be able to laugh!

Learn to laugh at your problems. At least you’ll have something to laugh about!

People who can laugh at themselves are truly blessed, because they have found a way to go beyond the ego.

Laughter is simply an overflowing of health, of abundant energy. It blossoms as a natural result of being at ease with our self and surroundings. That’s why happy, smiling people are usually the most spontaneous.

Laughter has great therapeutic value. Today, the healing effects of laughter are being acknowledged by doctors and psychiatrists worldwide. And that is why so many laughter clubs have mushroomed worldwide; to teach us how to laugh!

The deep, chaotic breathing induced by laughter produces positive vibrations in our body, relaxes the belly and improves digestion. Laughing also cleanses the manipuraka chakra, the subtle energy center in our navel area, which is the seat of worry and depression. The simple act of laughing has the power to unlock deep-rooted psychological suppressions. Laughter is a natural healing power that nature has gifted to us.

Laughter is the highest spiritual path. It is the royal route to enlightenment. It is the easiest and most powerful way of connecting with the boundless energy of Existence.

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This article was earlier published in the Economic Times, an Indian newspaper.

Joke Of The Day: 06 Jan 2008

The husband and wife were fast asleep when the door bell rang. Contrary to routine, the husband woke up and answered it. He came back laughing loudly into the room. His wife asked him what the matter was. He explained, “I wore your night suit to save time and went to open the door. I got the milk from the milkman and also a kiss with it! His wife must be having a night suit just like yours!”

Sometimes, we completely miss the truth in what is being presented to us; like how people catch the priest but miss God!

Life Bliss Galleria: 05 Jan 2008

NEW CD RELEASE: "Meditation IS For You (Part 2): Mouna Bindu (Epicenter of Silence)"

Available at Life Bliss Galleria.

Price: $15 "Blissmas" sale! $10

The sound of silence from inside. Notice the sound from outside and the sound of silence from inside. All outer sound stops at the center. Seek the source of the inner silent sound. Listen to both the outer noise and the inner silence. The perception becomes sharper. And realize.

This CD is part of the 18-CD set: "Meditation Is For You" [LINK].

Website Life Bliss Galleria

Phone (909)625-1400

Email shop@lifebliss.org

Ask The Master: 05 Jan 2008

Q. Why do we have this need to get approval all the time from others?

The sad truth is, we all stopped trusting ourselves a long time ago.

As children, each of us is strongly centered in our own being. Have you ever seen a little child worry about what people will think of him? But as we grow, society plays this idea constantly into our minds. Society teaches us to evaluate ourselves by the ideas and opinions of others - parents, teachers, friends, even strangers. As a result, we begin to believe less and less in ourselves. Without external support, without social ‘certificates’ for all our convictions and actions, we fear that our ego will collapse in no time.

When you worry about something, you feel as if you have a definite point of reference against which to measure yourself. That is why worrying seems to give a centre to your being, a direction to your life. Without worry, you feel as if your being has no axis about which to move! For this very reason, many of us are actually in love with our worries.

People come to me and say, ‘My business is going from bad to worse. I suffered heavy losses last month, and I know that next month is going to be even worse.’ So I ask them, ‘If you can foresee that, why don’t you close down your business right away?’ And they protest in horror, ‘What? What will I do then?’

What they actually mean is, ‘What will I worry about then?’ Without a reason to worry, your ego loses its moorings; it loses its reason for existence. That is why you choose to remain in the dimension of dukkha (worry). You cannot relate to the opposite dimension, ananda (bliss) – for in that dimension, you are nobody. To enjoy bliss, you need to first drop your ego. Are you ready to do that? No! You are ready to take on all worries, but you can’t let go of your ego! So you keep on finding excuses to worry. Most of all, you worry about the fact that everyone around you is happy, while only you are not. But the funny thing is that every single person feels the same way. How is this possible?

A small story:

In a certain kingdom, it came to the king’s notice that everybody was depressed, because they found themselves burdened with more than their fair share of worries, while no one else seemed to have any worries at all.

So the king announced a mega ‘worry exchange offer’, where people could trade their big worries for others’ minor ones.

A vast space was made ready, in the center of which stood a giant ‘worry pot’. Here each person could happily dump his own worries and pick up the worries of anyone else they chose.

The entire kingdom gathered for the event.
Strangers met and starting talking to each other.
In due course, the event was declared open. Not surprisingly, not a single person came forward – for who wants to drop his small, familiar worries, and take on the unknown worries of another instead!

The mind is the master of worry.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions