Everyone can make an error of judgment and so one day or the other, everyone
is likely to make a mistake. But we should understand that we have freedom or
adhikara in karma alone and that whatever result comes, is in
accordance with the laws governing the action. It is Ishwara who is the author
of the creation and its laws. So there is no such thing as success or failure;
there is merely the action and its result. This attitude of taking the
result as it is, that is, maintaining equanimity of the mind both in success and
failure, is called yoga.
The Prasada
Buddhi
For a devotee, the entire life is based on the fact that
every result comes from God. The Lord is impartial and so only the right result
comes to everyone. This understanding brings about an attitude towards the
result as prasada. Prasada comes from Lord and it carries His
grace and therefore it will bless whoever partakes of it with reverence and
gratitude. Success is prasada and I don’t jump to the ceiling. Failure
is also prasada and so I don’t sink to the bottom. The result is
sanctified because it comes from the Lord and so there is a happy acceptance of
every result. The attitude of accepting result as prasada leads to the
elimination of all sorrow.
“And out of that tranquility (Prasad) shall
rise
The end and healing of his earthly pains,
Since the will governed
sets the soul at peace.” II-65
An action performed by an alert mind becomes beautiful. A tranquil, alert,
fresh, attentive mind is the mind that learns. When the result of the action
loses the capacity to create any reactions and agitations in the mind, all the
likes and dislikes are rendered ineffective like roasted seeds which cannot
sprout. One of the values that the Lord gives in the Gita is to always maintain
equanimity of the mind while meeting the desirable and the undesirable.
Action is recommended for everyone who entertains desires in the mind. We do
not know all the varieties of likes and dislikes hidden in the mind; action is
the only way for them to express themselves. They express as action every time
and get neutralized. In course of time the mind becomes relatively quiet, freed
from the hold of likes and dislikes. Such a mind discovers freedom.
When likes and dislikes are largely neutralized, the mind is no more troubled
by the desire of acquiring happiness and security because it is itself cheerful
and tranquil. At this stage one is ready to renounce action. Action should be
renounced only when it is no more necessary to perform them.
Sannyasa should not be taken by will, but should be a natural
outcome and an indication of a mature mind that is content with itself and is
not demanding or dependent upon other things or beings for its happiness.
Sannyasa of action indicates that the seeker is ready to
pursue the knowledge of the Self to the exclusion of all other involvements.
Author Susan Power ended her story ‘Snakes’ thus: ‘I prefer to watch the
present unravel moment by moment, than to look close behind me or far ahead.
Time extends for me, flowing in many directions, meeting the horizon and then
beyond to follow the curve of the earth. But I will not track this course with
my eyes. It is too painful. I can bear witness to only a single moment of loss
at a time. Still, hope flutters in my heart; a delicate pulse. I straddle the
world and to pray that somewhere ahead of me He has planted an instant of joy’.
If only she knew that all instants ahead of her were planted with joy – she just
has to connect with her Self!
Human beings are tied to the earth, but are not wholly of the earth. We are
each of us, for the time being, poised between the soil underneath our feet and
the never-ending ethereal spaces around us. The unease we occasionally feel in
our earthly bodies is merely a by-product of our innate understanding of our
dual natures. But the time we spend in our physical bodies will not last and
should thus be cherished. For one day, when our evolution is complete, we will
return to the source of life to become beings of light once more.
Even the smallest taste of success can awaken a fresh surge of desire within
us because it is via the triumphs of old that we learn to believe in our ability
to find fulfillment in the future. While we can cultivate feelings of capability
within ourselves without ever having felt truly triumphant, the projects we
tackle successfully provide us with proof that we are ready to embark upon a new
phase of personal or professional growth. When we stumble along the path leading
toward our larger goals, we can draw upon the satisfaction we felt in the past
upon accomplishing our aims to sustain our spirits in the present. Our chances
of realizing our dreams are likewise bolstered by our confidence, ensuring that
we never entertain failure as a possibility.
All motive and action affects the cosmos in some way. The principle
of cause and effect is the truth that allows us to change ourselves and the
world around us for the better. However, this same universal law is
also at work when change is not at the forefront of our minds. Our intentions
flow forever outward in the form of energy, affecting both the people closest to
us and billions of individuals we will likely never meet. For this reason, we
should strive always to speak, think, and behave with great thoughtfulness and
compassion. The virtues we choose to embody can inspire joy and integrity in the
lives of countless people, whether we touch their existence directly or not.
The influence we wield is infinite. In an effort to internalize our conscious
understanding of the nature of cause and effect, we can never truly know how our
thoughts, emotions, words, or actions will manifest themselves on the larger
universal stage because it is likely that the furthest-reaching effects will
fall outside the range of our perception. We can only look to the guidance of
our conscience, which will help us determine whether each of our choices is
contributing to humanity’s illumination or setting the stage for unintended
troubles. When we are in doubt, we need only remember that the
cultivation of altruism inevitably leads to a harvest of goodwill and grace.
Motivated by a sincere desire to spread goodness, we will be naturally drawn to
those choices that will help us express our commitment to universal well-being.
Nothing you do, however minor or mundane, is ever exempt from the rules of
cause and effect. From the moment of your birth, you have served as an
agent of change, setting forces beyond your comprehension into motion across the
surface of the earth and beyond. You can exert conscious control over
this transformative energy simply by examining your intentions and endeavoring
always to promote peace, positive energy, and passion in your ideas and actions.
While you may never fully comprehend the extent of your purposefully
heartfelt influence, you can rest assured that it will be universally
felt.
Chanchalam
hi manah krsna
pramaathi balavaddrdham
tasyaaham nigraham
manye
vaayoriva sudushkaram.
The heart of men is unfixed, Krishna,
rash, tumultuous,willful and
strong.
It were all one, I think,
To hold the wayward wind, as tame man’s
heart. Verse 34 Ch VI
The obstacles
Three obstacles which deny me what I want
to be are ignorance, impurity and distraction. To remove ignorance I carry out
vichara, enquiry into the nature of the self, the world and the creator of the
world, with the help of scriptures. When one sees how deeply entrenched in
ignorance the modern day civilization is, one can easily conclude that it would
be impossible for the world to be saved from such deep, deep ignorance. But
possibility or impossibility is not an issue. A God-conscious devotee removes
his ignorance by hearing about the transcendental holy name of Lord Vishnu,
chanting the holy name, remembering Him, offering the Lord respectful worship,
offering prayers to the Lord, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and
surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body,
mind and words).
–Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.23
A devotee is detached from the results of his activities, but he still tries
his level best to bring about the enlightenment of the suffering souls of this
world and leaves the results up to Krishna. This is possible only when the mind
enjoys purity, for achieving which, the means is karma yoga. Now we
come to the third factor, distraction or lack of steadiness of the mind.
Mind is not a problem
The mind changes quickly and
completely, without leaving even a trace of the previous cognition. This allows
the perception of an object as it is. So, the fact that mind changes is a
blessing. Thinking is not a problem nor is inquiry nor discovery. Memory is not
a problem either – in fact poor memory is a problem. Thus, a changing
mind, perceptions, thoughts, memories - none of these is a problem for the human
being. What causes problem is the incapacity of the mind to abide in itself when
you want it to do so.
Mechanicalness is the problem
The problem arises when the
mind seems to have its own ways over which the individual has no mastery. In a
conversation with a friend topics change not because of your will but because
the wheel of conversation turned by itself – just as in driving you steer
unconsciously on different routes. This is true of all our activities in life –
we allow things to happen only by accident and not by deliberate control.
A distracted mind is not efficient. Even for worldly achievements such as
gaining wealth or fame or power, one needs a mind relatively free from
distractions, capable of consistently working toward the chosen goal. A
distracted mind is the biggest problem in meditation. Though one begins alright,
the mind moves to other topics in spite of one’s will. Man does not have
mastery over the ways of his mind.
The power of habit is supreme in the life of man. Most people go through life
mentally making good resolutions, but without ever succeeding in following what
is wholesome. We usually do not do what we wish to do but do only what
we are accustomed to do. That is why materially minded persons find it
difficult to be spiritually minded even when they try hard. Unwanted habits are
temporary misery making grafts on the soul. They must be thrown out. It is
wonderful to do what is right habitually, and thus multiply goodness and
happiness.
Silence is the Nature
Silence is the
innate nature of the mind which enjoys the capacity to think. You must do
something to be restless, to be sad; you must think of a topic or a thing or a
being that causes restlessness, and build upon it. Silence is a state of mind
when you have nothing to think about. Sorrow or sadness is something one has to
work upon. However agitated one is, one does become silent now and then because
silence is the nature of the mind. No matter how many cords are around
your feet, remember this: the minute you know in your heart that the happiness
which is found in the temple of silence is most tempting, then you will be
free. You must have that joy, and then you are already released. That
can come only through your determination.
Distraction
It is the indisciplined ways of
thinking, the mind going from one thing to another that is the problem.
This is distraction. There is no distraction without being mechanical. I want to
think of one thing and the mind engages in something else and I go along with
the latter. The mind goes away without my consent. It is as though the mind
hypnotizes me, puts me to sleep and walks away. It is only when, in the course
of its own meandering paths, the mind comes back by itself to the object of
meditation, that I become awake. I realize that I was lost.
When the mind goes away, I also go along with it. So a meditator is told to
bring back the mind. But it is easier said than done. When the mind wanders, I
am not there to catch it and bring it back. The meditation becomes a tiresome
thing. So we have to take some steps to see that slowly we gain mastery over the
mind.
Mechanicalness is a reaction
Any form of reaction is
mechanical, not deliberate. Action is deliberate; reaction is not. If you
deliberately hit someone for what the person did, it is an action, although it
may not be right. But if you hit that person without deliberation, you have no
control over that action and it amounts to a reaction. If you act deliberately,
you can have a choice and can change the course of action if necessary.
All the actions should be blessed by reasoning
or the faculty of choice. Your action can be unreasonable but then you can
learn. We do not change in spite of experiences in life because we
mostly react and fail to act. If I go on reacting in my life out of
jealousy or anger, I become automation, a robot that is set on certain
reactions. I become an unpredictable creature because there is no reason behind
my impulses.
Partiality to one’s own self
No matter what the facts
are, we tend to twist them to put ourselves in the right. Though we love to
forgive ourselves, we find it difficult to forgive others. It is customary for
most minds to magnify the fault of others, whereas they minimize or resolve to
nothingness their own errors. If your feelings are hurt easily, you should not
indulge in hurting the feelings of others. If you want to be justly treated,
learn to treat others right. The following story from Vishnupurana
illustrates that individual separateness is an illusion, and that all life is
one:
After a thousand years came Ribhu
To Nidagha’s city, to impart further
knowledge to him,
He saw him outside the city
Just as the king was about
to enter with a great train of servants,
Standing apart and holding himself
apart from the crowd
His neck wizened with fasting, returning from the wood
with fuel and grass.
When Ribhu saw him, he went to him and greeted him and
said:
“O Brahaman, why standest thou here alone?”
Nidagha said: “Behold the crowd pressing about the King,
Who is just
entering the city? That is why stand alone.”
Ribhu said: “which of these is
the King?
And who are the others?
Tell me that, for thou seemest
informed.”
Nidhaga said: “He who rides upon the fiery elephant, towering like
a mountain peak,
That is the King. The others are his attendants.”
Ribhu said: “These two, the King and the elephant, are pointed out by
you
Without being separated by mark of distinction;
Give me the mark of
distinction between them.
I would know which is the elephant and which the
King.”
Nidhaga said: “The elephant is below; the King is above him,
Who
does not the relationship of borne to the bearer?”
Ribhu said: “that I may
know, teach me.
What is that which is indicated by the word ‘below’ and what
is ‘above’?”
Straight Nidhaga sprang upon the Guru, and said to him:
“Here
now, I will tell thee what thou demandest of me:
I am above, like the King.
You are below, like the elephant.
For thy instruction I give thee this
example.”
Ribhu said: “If you are in the position of the King, and I in that of an
elephant,
So tell me this still: Which of us is you, and which is I?”
Then
swiftly Nidagha, falling down before him, clasped his feet and spake:
“Truly
thou art Ribhu, my Master………….
By this I know that thou, my Guru, art
come.”
Ribhu said: “Yes, to give thee teaching,
Because of thy former
willingness to serve me,
I Ribhu by name am come to thee.
And what I have
just taught thee in short –
Heart of highest truth – that is complete
non-duality.”
When he had thus spoken to Nidagha, the Guru Ribhu departed
thence.
But forthwith Nidagha, taught by this symbolic teaching, turned his
mind completely to non-duality.”
All beings from thenceforth he saw not
distinct from himself.
And so he saw Brahman. And thus he achieved the
highest salvation.
Auto-suggestion
So distraction is born out of one’s
incapacity to control the happenings of the mind. Generally we react and react
again over the reactions and thus create a chain of reactions. Suppose you take
a vow of not being angry today – it is an auto-suggestion – it can work if you
are convinced that anger is an enemy which should be avoided. Before anger shows
its ugly face, you can see it coming and you are ready to receive it. You can
receive anger with a smiling face. Use your creative thinking ability to gain
success in every worthwhile project you undertake. Help yourself, that you may
bring into proper use all your God-given powers. Make mental blueprints of
little things, and keep on making them materialize until you can make your big
dreams also come true. Try and remember that no matter what life places at your
feet, there is absolutely no situation that cannot be resolved with time, love,
and friendship.
Alertness, a Sadhana
One should become alert or conscious
to avoid anger. Just as all of legs of a chair get pulled when we pull one leg,
many things get tackled when you tackle one thing, because all reactions are
born of mechanicalness. This process is called sadhana. Everyone is a
combination of materialistic, spiritual, business and family values. Every thing
is profound and in as much as every thing is mithya, unreal, it is all
profane. A spiritual person is one who tries to solve the problems deliberately
unlike a restless mind which does not know what is happening. If we take note of
the various reactions that happen in a day, the day-to-day life becomes
conscious.
It is alertness that is important and not merely observing a rule. Lord
Krishna says in verse 17 Chapter 6: yuktaahara vihaarasya, yuktacheshtasya
karmasu, yukta svapnaavabodhasya, yogah bhavati duhkhahaa. “The one
who is conscious in eating and recreation, the one who is moderate in activity
and in remaining awake, for that one the yoga removes pain.”
Sadhana becomes meaningful only when alertness is maintained in all
activities; neither overdoing nor not-doing would help.
Introduction
The Bhagavad-gita is
the highest knowledge, the highest, most direct and clear knowledge ever
revealed in the vast history of eternity. If you study it carefully and
seriously apply its principles, you will become one of the happiest, most
spiritually perfect beings that have ever existed. It doesn’t matter who you
are, where you live, what your gender or age is, or what your occupation is. If
you take it seriously, your success is guaranteed no matter how disqualified you
consider yourself to be.
The spirit-soul is present in the living body, while
it is absent in the dead body. So what is actually attractive and meaningful is
the spirit-soul, not the material body. Yet, inspite of this simple, easily
understood point, we invest practically our entire life’s energy in catering to
the demands of the material body, which is a mere covering of the actual self.
And we complete ignore the needs of the eternal soul.
Such a misspent life is utter foolishness. It leads to frustration and
ultimately devastation at the time of death when everything is ripped away from
us. The best thing is to mentally detach ourselves now by understanding and
realizing, “I am not this body.” Understanding means to grasp the philosophical
concept, and realization means to fully imbibe that understanding in our every
thought, word, and deed. In other words, to always think, speak and act on the
platform of being a spirit-soul, rather than a material body. One way of doing
it is through Meditation.
The Posture
Meditation becomes easier when the mind is
relatively free from likes and dislikes as a result of a life of Karma yoga and
free from distraction as a result of an alert life. The Gita indicates the seat
and posture for meditation in verses 11 to 13 of Chapter VI thus:
Sequestered
should he sit,
Steadfastly meditating, solitary,
His thoughts controlled,
his passions laid away,
Quit of belongings. In a fair, still spot
Having
his fixed abode, - not too much raised,
Not yet too low, - let him abide, his
goods
A cloth, a deerskin, and the Kusa-grass.
There, setting hard his
mind upon The One,
Restraining heart and senses, silent, calm,
Let him
accomplish Yoga, and achieve
Pureness of soul, holding immovable
Body and
neck and head, his gaze absorbed
Upon his nose-end rapt from all
around,
Tranquil in spirit, free of fear, intent
Upon his Brahmacharya
vow, Devout,
Musing on Me, lost in the thought of me.
Invoking the Lord and Mental Worship
After sitting for
meditation, place the hands in the lap, lock the fingers, relax the body, close
the eyes and turn the mind away from sense objects. The mind is withdrawn from
external engagements and is available for whatever you want to do. With the
quiet tranquil mind, invoke the Lord; appreciate the One from whom everything
has come, by Whom everything is sustained and unto Whom everything goes back.
Everything is an expression of the Lord because He is the efficient and material
cause of the whole creation.
Om is one of the most chanted sound symbols in India. It has a profound
effect on the body and mind of the one who chants, and also on the surroundings.
Most mantras and Vedic prayers start with Om. All auspicious actions begin with
Om. It is even used as a greeting – Om, Hari Om etc. It can be repeated as a
mantra or meditated upon. Its form is worshipped, contemplated upon or used as
an auspicious sign. The written form symbolizes Lord Ganesh. The upper curve is
the head; the lower larger one, the stomach; the side one, the trunk; and the
semi-circular mark with the dot, the Laddu in Lord Ganesh’s hand.
By invoking the Lord, the proud ego surrenders. What remains is a humble ego
which is worshipping, prayerful, devoted. And what is an ego that is not
asserting? So the pride is taken care of.
The next step is to offer mental worship. Set the mind to the chosen deity or
the altar. Offer the mental worship. Create an altar of the Lord in the mind.
Conduct Arti and do obeisance.
Japa, repetition of a Mantra
Now we come to Japa or
repetition of a mantra. Due to distraction, the mind moves from one
object to another by association. But there is a stage between any two
thoughts when there is no tangible thought. Now I am thought, now silence.
In order to avoid this mechanicalness, I do something special:
repetition of the name of the Lord. In Japa one repeats the same mantra again
and again, not mechanically but consciously. Thus you avoid the possibility of a
build-up, association and development of thought patterns. By being
aware of the silence between two successive chants, you avoid being mechanical
and you will find that the mind abides naturally in the silence. If you own up
the silence between two chants constantly, in course of time you will find that
the chants become sandwiched between the silence which is the first and the
last. And there is silence when I do not think. This is the natural silence and
the silence continues. If a thought arises you can bring back the mantra. Japa
itself becomes meditation.
Swami Shivanand used to say that Japa is the sovereign remedy for all worldly
ills and the best means of God-Realization. The story of Valmiki, the author of
the Ramayana, reflects this. Before he became a saint he was a thief. One day he
held up some holy men and demanded everything they owned. They calmly told him,
‘Our greatest wealth is the name of Rama. Please steal it from us’. Valmiki was
so perplexed that he could not remember the sacred name correctly and instead
repeated the name backwards and recited ‘mara.’ Still he attained and spread his
realization through the amazing epic of Lord Rama.
Be Mahadev
Objectify the body. See it as a stone statue.
Let us become the “Mahadev” wherever we are - always prepared to quietly and
peacefully hold the poison in our throats (neither letting it harm us nor harm
anyone else) for the benefit of humanity.
If one wants to advance in
spiritual knowledge, he must develop the quality of forgiveness because without
this quality one’s mind can never become sufficiently peaceful to be fully
absorbed in chanting the holy names of the Lord. Therefore, one should excuse
the offenses of others; he should not hold grudges against others within his
heart.
Let the mind abide in the truth that you have discovered. You know that you
are all joy,
There is no need for you to think. Simply appreciated yourself
as formless, shapeless, peaceful awareness that is all silence. Immediately
there is a release. When you think of silence, you cannot but be silence. This
is the meditation that Krishna teaches Arjuna.
And due to the name of the Lord and the attitude of devotion and surrender
associated with it, the ego is destroyed.
Some rules for Meditation
Through repeated
meditation practiced regularly, the practitioner no longer feels his self and
the world at large as separate from God. When Knower, Knowledge and
Object of Knowledge become the same as Brahman, he becomes thoroughly
accomplished. The meditator then retains that state of bliss for all times.
Whether moving or seated, or engaged in performance of his duties, there is not
the slightest deviation from his spiritual state. As the lord said in Verse 31
of Chapter VI
And who thus discerneth Me in all, and all in Me,
I will
never let him go, nor loosen his
Hold upon Me; but dwell where he
may,
Whate’er his life, in Me he dwells and lives,
Because he knows and
worships Me, Who dwell
In all which lives, and cleaves to Me in all.
Awakening of this knowledge to the total exclusion of all
unsteadiness of the mind means ‘absorbing of the mind in the
intellect’. And when there remains consciousness of the Form of only
one God, the Supreme Brahman, who is knowledge itself, the state is known as the
‘absorption of the intellect in cosmic intellect.’ And finally when one reaches
the state when God alone, who is consciousness, embodiment of Existence,
Knowledge and Bliss, remains – one has absorbed the cosmic intellect in God.
This is Samadhi, the last state of realization.
Reflecting at God’s omnipresence, the mind should be fixed on the ascertained
Divine Form. Thereafter, wherever the mind goes it sees only God. This practice
quickly removes the unsteadiness of the mind.
Conclusion
By karma yoga I destroy the impurities and by
worship and japa, I destroy the distraction and restlessness of the mind. My
enquiry continues with the study of scriptures and so the ignorance also gets
eliminated. Through continued meditation on God, the embodiment of Existence,
Knowledge, and Bliss, my heart grows purer and spotless. Realizing for all time
the true and infinite happiness, I become satisfied and content. All my sorrows
cease. The attainment of this state is the ultimate goal of human existence.
In 1998, Dr. James Austin, a neurologist, wrote the book, Zen and the Brain:
towards an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness. Several mindful
researchers cite his book as a reason they became interested in the field.
Austin examines consciousness by intertwining his personal experiences with Zen
meditation and explanations backed up by hard science. When he describes how
meditation can “sculpt” the brain, he means it literally and figuratively.
People who meditate say it induces emotional balance and overall well being.
In recent years, a group of neuroscientists have begun investigating the
practice, dubbed “mindfulness”. In United States, they are exploring the
hypothesis that meditation can actually change the way the brain works. Dr.
Stephen Lindsey, head of rheumatology at Ochsner Health Systems in Baton Rouge,
La. says, “When you’re meditating, you’re trying to relax your body and get rid
of the tension.”
But that apart, we should cultivate the firm conviction that the supreme duty
of a man’s life is only to realize God, the embodiment of Existence, Knowledge
and Bliss. Renouncing wholly the transient, perishable and artificial enjoyments
of the world, we should speedily devote ourselves, with energy and
determination, to the practice leading to the state of realization of true
happiness.
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Hard it is
To pierce that veil divine of
various shows
Which hideth Me; yet they who worship Me
Pierce it and pass
beyond.
Verse 14 Ch VII
Maya and Illusion
The word Maya is generally used to
denote the divine veil. But the theory of Maya forms one of the pillars of the
Gita. It means it has no absolute existence. It exists only in relation to my
mind, to your mind and to the mind of everyone else. With every breath, every
impulse of our heart asks us to be selfish. At the same time, there is some
power beyond us which says that it is unselfishness alone which is good.
Then there is the tremendous fact of death. All our
progress, our vanities, our reforms, our luxuries, our wealth, our knowledge,
has that one end – death. Cities come and go, empires rise and fall, and planets
break into pieces and crumble into dust. Thus it has been going on from time
without beginning. Saints die and sinners die. They are all going to death, and
yet this tenacious clinging on to life exists. Somehow, we do not know why, we
cling to life; we cannot give it up. No wonder when a voice had asked
Yudhishtir: ‘Of the entire world’s wonders, which is the most wonderful?’ the
celebrated reply was: ‘that no man, though he sees others dying all
around him, believes that he himself will die’. This is Maya.
Since the actual self, the soul, is indestructible, why have we built an
entire civilization around the temporary material body? This is called
ignorance. And because we have ignorantly constructed an entire world
civilization, therefore no one is happy here. Everyone is in anxiety. The rich
are in anxiety. The poor are in anxiety. The middle class is in anxiety.
Everyone is bewildered because they are basing their happiness on the
satisfaction of the perishable material body. This is Maya.
Animals live upon plants, men upon animals and worst of all, upon one
another, the strong upon weak. This is going on everywhere. This is Maya.
We who are progressing know that the more we progress, the more avenues are
opened to pain as well pleasure. And this is Maya which is everywhere. It is
terrible. Yet, we have to work through it.
Those who devote themselves to God alone shall cross over their subjective
delusion, which has created for man the objective worlds of sorrow and
imperfections. With single-pointed mind, to contemplate upon the Self is the
direct path; and in order to walk this narrow-way, the mind is to be made steady
and concentrated, through Karma Yoga.
Maya as shown by Krishna
A legend tells how once Narada
said to Krishna, “Lord show me Maya.” After a few days Krishna asked Narada to
make a trip with him towards a desert. After walking several miles Krishna asked
Narada to fetch some drinking water. Narada entered a nearby village and knocked
at a door which was opened by an extremely beautiful young girl. At the sight of
her Narada forgot everything and began talking with the girl. That talk ripened
into love; he asked the girl’s father for the daughter; they were married, lived
there and had three children. After twelve years his father-in-law died and
Narada inherited his property. He lived, as he seemed to think, a very happy
life with his wife and children, his fields and his cattle, and so forth.
Then came a flood. One night the river
In the last two issue of Tattva, we began a
series on The Bhagavad Gita. This article is a continuation of the
series.
We get upset with a situation when our likes
and dislikes are pronounced. We also know of things we like but which we
do not bother about if they are not fulfilled. In such cases the likes and
dislikes have no sting and we are able to take things without being upset about
them. The mind is quiet. Samatwam, equipoise, equanimity, to be with
myself, is called Yoga. To take desirable and undesirable things as
they come, with poise is Samtwam and that alone is called yoga
as described in verse 48 of Chapter II.
August 3rd, 2009 06:49
i am currently enrolled in a Yoga class. the health benefits of Yoga on myself is great. I am more relaxed and i can sleep well at night.