Learnings in 2011

This year had been one of great year of learnings for me, I'm really grateful to Almighty for this. Met the right souls living in various places on earth who happened to catalyze my observation skill.

Let me quote my gurudeva here: "observation is a quality of the soul, advanced souls are in a state of observation all the time"

The biggest learnings the year provided me is mainly due to internet and technology, so thanks to all the engineers for making this possible by their hard work, passion & willpower.

This year I owe my major learnings to Sri Ramakrishnananda whose teachings made me understand the aspects of my ego and of course this coupled with my gurudeva's and his gurudeva's (Yoga Swami) teachings helped me gain the perspective of "arise of wisdom by observation"

Last but not least my thanks to the great seers, yogis, swamis, munis, Sannyasins, gurus & spiritual leaders of Hinduism in both present and ancient India who discovered all this knowledge of the soul and its journey from their gurus, deep meditation, contemplative life and spiritual counterparts.

some of the biggest realizations this year:
+ we are whom we meet

+ ego has only two characteristics: seek pleasure, escape from pain, all activities of all people in all of the universe can be categorized in these two aspects. This is the game of the ego

+ whether you are loving God for  escaping from pain(hell / difficult life, death, disease) or expectation of pleasure (heaven), you are back to square one and playing the game of the ego

+ only if you can renounce this game of seek pleasure/escape pain and remain the watcher in all action (karma yoga), all emotion (bhakti yoga), all physical body movements (hatha yoga) can you be a free soul capable of going in any direction of infinite possibilities

+ ego is when the seer identifies himself with the instruments of seeing: the physical eye and third eye

+ all that we know today is an imitation

+ fear and desire arrive due to memory of past and their projection into future

+ everything external to you is a representing an aspect of your own ego

+ there is this vicious cycle of jnana (knowledge), icha(desire) and Kriya(action) that all our mental activities are composed, this is how we go about making decisions in life

+ once you begin observing your consciousness, you also end up observing where others are in consciousness when you interact with them, thus you are now looking at a person inside out

+ the conscious mind aspect of the ego: its ability to keep the awareness busy in some sort of ramification our the other examples: internet, songs, social networks, videos, movies, food choosing: breakfast and dinner, new clothes, accessories, shopping etc

+ the subconscious mind aspect of the ego: repressed desires, instinctive desires, animal nature, repression unleashed in dreams and their benefits and threats, alcohol and its effects on catalyzing the subconscious as well as superconscious mind

+ the sub of the subconscious mind: its ability to mix two separate subconscious experiences to provide a third experience which is totally new, surprising, unexpected and uncalled for.

+ the superconscious mind aspect of the ego: The one which observes and knows all the time, the eee and c sounds meeting at the top of the head to provide the inner light experience, breath and its connection with thoughts, benefits of hatha yoga to sustain the super conscious states of contemplation, intuition and inner guidance through help of Gods in temple, kundalini energy, chakras and the evolution of soul, knowledge of advancing the souls evolution by many lives by reciting the Vedic mantras (inner psychic sounds) in a proper way

All this and more just by attempting to be in the "now", Aum Namah Sivaya, Jai Ganapathi

Steve Jobs Sayings

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Dreams and its consequences

A repression is defined as a desire which is suppressed in us. now why would you suppress a desire? there could be many reasons - society may see it as bad, religion may have put thoughts in your head that its bad etc

Such repressions are buried in the subconscious - my guru says. Only on keen observation can one identify these within their minds.

There may be a situation where the desire you have suppressed may be right in front of you, and you will still choose to suppress it.

Such repressions sometimes show up in dreams, where there is absolute freedom for the mind to imagine/create any situation. In dreams the mind is free to do anything as it has a sense of absolute freedom and not being watched. Its easier to make mistakes in dreams.

The downside of it is, its possible to get attached to something in dreams as well. As a classic Example: There may be a good friend of you of the opposite sex who you like or admire, and one night you dream about this person and have a good time -- this friendship can become more attached and turn into love in the dream. This can later make the attachment real even in the waking states for an unobservant person.

Such attachments once formed have their own consequences which we are well aware in this real world which will inturn cause waterfall side effects.

The key is to be observant always - whether it be waking states or dreams. Observe the mistake, observe the resulting consequences of that. This will bring knowledge, This will bring wisdom to the soul.

Aum Namah Sivaya

 "It is the wise man who recognizes the importance of controlling the forces of his mind. His life is a struggle to make his philosophy real, to gain control of the cycles of experience which have tied him to the wheel of karma. "

-- Gurudeva

Pollution

There is pollution at all levels, what I mean by pollution? It's the ideas, concepts, thoughts, beliefs, good or bad that have been put into your head by parents, religion, society, movies, country, news, spiritual leaders , people who have influenced you in life etc

Was meditating today, trying to be the watcher, I see the following

+ I remember Ramana maharishi saying of I'm not this body, not this hand, legs, eyes, ears, thoughts
+ remember the thought "just be" by Jon kabat zinn
+ hear the sound of nada ~~~e and c sounds, above left and right ear, relate it to gurudeva sayings
+ see how ego tries to stick on to thoughts again and again, remember amma bhagavan sayings at this point on how thoughts use you for their survival, about how mind is like donkey, you should be riding the donkey not the other way around
+ remember patanjali sutras at this point about how ego appears when seer identifies himself with object of seeing and I try detaching myself from both physical eyes and the third eye ~ ajna chakra
+ then I say I'm not even the chakras and also not the one which says ~not this not this ~ from Ramana maharshi again
+

Timeless dimension

Love the Swami RamaKrishnananda discourse, it is sooooo sooooo sooooo deep. Changed the perspective I have on life.

•  all our life is not those 30 40 50 years of time that we think we live, that's just an illusion of future which has been put into your head by society, all my life is the now

•  all our desires if you observe deeply, either it's for more money, more happiness, more material goods, more love, better career -- in real is a seeking for lesser limitation, more expansion, all our desires are not for actual paper money, is for expansion, once this expansion is experienced in the now, what you desire is here and now, and the desire ceases to exist in the now. Desire is future, how many times have you desired eating an ice cream, and when the ice cream actually came to you, your mind saw a better car on the road and it forgot enjoying the ice cream and was again in future desire for the car?

•  in Reality there is no fear as reality is in the now, in illusion there is fear,if an atom bomb explodes now, there will be death and no fear, only if the news of an atom bomb exploding comes a day in advance to a city there will be fear and panic, hence to fear we need time, the now is no time, is again a concept put into your head, in the now there is no fear, you are full of life and timeless, my guru says you have transcended even life and death in the now, the now is eternal

•  According to Buddha the biggest misery that the human being has is that he gives up the now, the present moment in search of less limitation and more expansion and forgets that he is already that expansion that he is searching for. Thus he spends life in endless pursuits. The empty space that you observe within you when you observe a thought, that is the expansion

• We see and remember something of the past, imagine it in future, and that's the moment when a desire / fear /anger /jealousy arises, and our actions are based on that - this is how all actions are traceable to past memories.

• True Meditation is a process of paying attention to the ego and being that attention ALWAYS

What is this mind

After many days of observation, here are some conclusions on the ego

While Seeing
+ the conscious mind triggers thoughts
+ thoughts can be instinctive
+ thoughts can be  memories related to past experiences
+ if instinctive it can lead to complete "take over" of body and mind (reflex)
+ this prevents it to see things as they are
+ this prevents it from staying in the present
+ Seen events are either favorable or unfavorable
+ is attached to events that are favorable, give pleasure and comfort

Unfavorable 
+ any perceived threat to comfort causes fear,
+ this fear triggers it to plan for escape from pain
+ this escaping makes it take an action - a short term and a long term
+ short term action could be avoiding a situation or person
+ long term action could be planning for a better escape
+ planning causes it to imagine a future
+ this imagination is based on memories of past

+ thinks about the loss of its attachments while doing such planning
+ if past hasn't been good, imagines a difficult future and feels helpless
+ when in need of making a decision, it relies heavily on past memories

+ all actions are based on past memories

Favorable

+ When no threat is perceived, those are treated as favorable

+ Starts thinking of where it should be (future) for more pleasure

+ Compares itself with people who are more successful and famous

+ Equates money to success

+ imagines a future where it can get that success

+ this imagination is based on memories of past

+ plans of partnering with people / working on those goals

+ all Actions are imitation of people / ideas who have influenced it

Living in Past

+ playback memories of people / events and their actions who have influenced

+ these influential memories could be from TV shows, Movies or Real people

While in Contemplation

+ observations leads to learning's
+ anger and fear lead consciousness to jealousy

Conclusion: All actions - physical / mental are triggered by memories (past)

Emptiness

The emptiness will bring you everything, it is not you. The emptiness is not the ego, the emptiness is the now.

Be the empty watcher and all shall be well. Love you gurudeva for making me understand the depth of these words.

Aum

Steve Jobs

I like this guy, he is free from this illusion of the way the world is around us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvEiSa6_EPA&sns=em

Wandering mind

The mind wanders along the same path many times every day in the conscious plane. Usually happens when we see something while walking on the road or seeing something at home.
It's so easy to predict what the thoughts would be in advance itself. I sometimes laugh at my own thoughts seeing how instinctive they are at times.
All these thoughts tell a story. It's the story of my ego not me. This ego is the result of countless lives of entering flesh animal or human in this world from time unknown. Can't criticize it can't accept it, can't allow it, can't repress it, it only seeks pleasure and averts from pain.
What to do under such circumstance? Only watch. That's what the great gurus say.
- Watching our action is karma yoga
- Watching our emotions is bhakti
- watching the effect of our thoughts and emotions on our body is hatha yoga.
- remaining the watcher of all these is remaining in the soul, is remaining in the now
Aum namah Sivaya

Instinctive decisions

Instinctive decisions can cost a lot, whether its suddenly buying something expensive, booking Movie tickets online just because you wanted to try out a new app, or an imaginative thought leading to some instinctive decision making.

I got to be watchful and mindful of these tendencies as I observe this tendency in me during the past week
downloaded bookmyshow app and ended up booking tickets to watch tintin 3d, it was'nt planned but happened in the spur of the moment.

The ego : ahamkara

The ego still has lot of issues with it. It just realized that it has no right whatsoever with whomsoever in future to criticize.

It has the tendency to behave instinctively if the opportunity presents itself.

Beware ! You may have very high regards about yourself and strong beliefs about yourself and what you stand for. This you is the ego or the Ahamkara in Sanskrit.

Given the opportunity the instinctive mind can "take over" your system. This taking over is what is termed as lack of self control in English. The soul inhabits the human body in this life time. After living through many many bodies of various species this body has been awarded to it governed by karma for further evolution. Due to this living in so many lives in animal bodies the basic instinctive tendencies which are : desire for food, attraction to opposite sex, shelter, fear of unknown or darkness is very much prevalent in it. It's these tendencies that are extremely hard to overcome not as a repression but through understanding.

Observing ones ego at all times reveals just how much the mind seeks pleasure and tries aversion from pain in day to day life

Detachment from the ego

As mentioned by Patanjali, ego is when seer identifies himself with the instrument of seeing.
The practice of observation and contemplating in the 'I am not this'  detaches oneself quite well. The first observation which I had when I tried this today is the ego ofcourse.

• I am not this which fears the unknown.
• I am not this which gets irritated if someone is not doing what they are supposed to do properly, whether its attending an important call or not attending it.
• I am not this which gets upset if people take things for granted.
• I am not this which fears loss of career advancement
• I am not this which resents someones attitude
• I am not this which likes to deliver the best.
• I am not this which thinks its doing good.
• I am not this which watches favorite TV shows.
• I am not this which relishes in blogging such thoughts.

Thanks Ramakrishnanada for the beautiful podcasts. Its so clear to me now the underlying human qualities are all the same. Aversion from pain and attachment to pleasure.

Mark zuckerberg

One thing I have observed about Facebook, whether it's features or the way they provide help for common questions and the way they approach problem solving : one thing is evident : in everything he / Facebook does try never lose sight of the goal in mind and they carve a simple solution to complex problems. Be it a user list, like status, friend suggestions, simple messages, chat windows, wall subscriptions, notifications etc. They just know how to find an area of the screen to craft a solution to the users needs.

Whoever is working on these in Facebook whether its mark zuckerberg himself or his colleagues from Harvard, Stanford or Berkeley : they have a fine sense of attention to detail without getting bogged down by details. They probably are doing this by focussing on one problem at a time and crafting the solution for the same in the present. 

It's just a matter of ' Looking ' deeply into the problem, in such a way that the solution shows up by itself.

Nobody has been able to give a good user experience and user interface as classy as Facebook. Google+ interface didn't amaze me at all. Twitter is ok but addresses a different need altogether.

Much can be achieved in the external world with a good observation coupled by willpower.

The Mind and its Ramifications

I've been observing my mind over past 2 days. It does exactly what patanjali discovered & mentioned in his yoga sutras.

1. Seek pleasure
2. Aversion from pain

Either one of the above leads to the opposite feeling. Continuous seeking for pleasure makes the mind ramified. As the mind tries to seek satisfaction fails in every attempt, contentment is lost. Lack of contentment leads to pain.

Aversion from pain, if there is a job which the mind doesn't enjoy doing : it postpones the same. This is a temporary escape and aversion from pain. Temporary because eventually the more you try to escape from pain, the more it haunts you.

Patanjali says do not get attached to pleasure or avert from pain, but observe the mind on how it reacts on both situations. Observe, observe, observe.

My guru says when you begin to stop thinking and start knowing you are in a state of meditative contemplation. This knowing is what is carried forward life after life across reincarnations. This knowing is what makes the old souls different from the young.

Aum Namah Sivaya

Patanjali Yoga sutras

Yoga chitta vritti nirodah
-patanjali

This is a Sanskrit text by an enlightened being many many 1000 years back. It means "yoga means to control the mental patterns " and its relevant even today. I love patanjali sutras which were small short sentences but having deep meaning.

Some more of his :

2. Ego is when the observer identifies with the instruments of observing.

3. The only possible ways the ego functions is by attachment to pleasure or aversion from pain.

How is the ego different from the Self

My dear friend Mirko from Italy asked me this question. I did tell him what I knew theoritically but my knowledge is tainted and I have really not experienced it to say it to him properly.
Fortunately the timing of my master course study today was so right that I got just the answers that I and my friend needed. The answers are in sloka 27 and 28 from my guru.
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/dws/dws_mandala-06.html
From now on I learn that its best to point to my gurus words instead of me trying to explain in my own words.
Jai Ganapathi!


Update: Ego appears when the seer identifies himself with the instrument of seeing. This misidentification is maya.

Instinctive mind

I'm sometimes more scared of my instinctive mind than that of the people who are acting instinctively and try to intimidate me. According to my prarabdha karma I do have few people in life who bring out the lower instincts in me such as anger and fear at times. Luckily these occasions are rare but they do occur and I do vasana daha tantra whenever it happens to clear my subconscious and then mentally bring the person in front of me who caused this and i say I love u, you love me. This smoothes down the lower instincts and replaces them through the functions of the visuddha chakras which governs universal love. However I still am amazed that how well the lower chakras suddenly manifest in me in certain situations reminding me that I'm still a newbie in the art of mind control. Some days appear peaceful but that only means the situation to bring you to lower chakras hasn't shown up. When the situation arises how I handle it is the real test offered by this great university of life.

Jai Ganapathi

Problems

These are the problems which are with me. Something is wrong with me as I'm overindulging in these things which I must correct

1. Over spending time on flashing better ROM on my android phone ... i got to overcome this gadget addiction
2. Too much time being spent on Facebook, twitter, android market, apps, backing up data and ROM s
3. Not meditating regularly : wrongly directed desires are keeping me away from it.
4. Trilogy course continuity is lost after taking a break due to sons birth and travel to Pune.
6. Watching TV more than required.
7. Not performing hatha yoga for physical body
8. Not visiting temple regularly
9. Not doing basic chores on time.
10. Not getting up early.

I have all the tools that I need to hit my spiritual goals : audio podcasts from gurudeva, trilogy books, company of saivites on Facebook groups for solving any questions on Hinduism or methods of sadhana, media : audio and video from gurudeva, pranayama, vasana daha tantra for burning up the past and clearing the subconscious, ganga sadhana, hatha yoga asanas, plenty of undisturbed time at home on weekends, flexible office times etc. I need to make all this work for me and there is no better time to start them than "now" ..... Time to get back to focus on important things. Aum

Vishwadharma Podcasts

Loved the Sri Ramakrishnananda Podcasts. I love the way he speaks slowly, with clarity and cognition that is going to strike your heart directly.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/SwamiRamakrishnanandaPodcast

http://www.ramakrishnananda.com/

What's past and future?

The 'Past' is when awareness is flowing through memory patterns. Past is memory, past is thought, past is mind.

Future is when awareness is flowing through expectations. Expectations are again based on what has happened to us in the past.

Both past and future are therefore past only, and therefore memory only, and therefore thought only and therefore the mind only.

In the "now" there is no memory. Therefore no thought, only SEEING

AUM NAMAH SIVAYA

Past

Havent been able to meditate for this whole month now. Was blessed with a baby boy on 11th sept. Was on board to Pune that night. The happiness was great and unimaginable. Had a few more experiences and learnings after that. I'm looking eye to eye with my son with awe and respect. Who could he be ? He could be a soul who could have been an ancestor of mine, perhaps a very dear grandmother/grandfather, a cousin/friend who passed on when young or a great rishi who has come for the upliftment of mankind, perhaps my guru himself? Who could he be? I will never know unless my observation becomes very keen.

Also observed how quickly the subconscious mind builds up in the absence of daily sadhana. Im observing that since the past few days, the past and future appearing more real to me than ever before. Mind often goes to past off late, going back to experiences which were pleasant or unpleasant. I need to engage my willpower again in controlling the built up odic forces. i pray lord ganesha again as usual, to get back on track. Aum

Observing Odic energies

Once you start looking at the world as odic energy and identify yourself as actinic energy - many misconceptions, attachments that have bothered the mind for many many years - begin to lose their hold on us. Experienced this very recently when I was observing the various mandals during Ganesha Chaturthi day in Pune.

 Though the crowd was so huge with various people with different motives praying the lord, I sensed a calm within me. A calm which nothing can take away from me even amidst a noisy crowd. My energy levels that night after walking for so long was still high though I'm technically supposed to be tired.


The more you are aware of the actinic energy and odic energy, the more consciously you know how to maintain the same within yourself. Awareness is Power. Energy flows where awareness goes.

Helplessness

The moment you give up that there is nothing that can be done about the way the mind moves - all you can do at the max is silently watch it - that's when you are perceiving. The mind despite any sort of spiritual training has its own instinctive desires, intellectual desire and desires of various sorts including occult powers. The mind is a lie and a lie cannot give you truth - my gurudeva said soon after he realized the self.

One of the other gurus sri amma bhagavan says - only when the mind/ego completely gives up in surrender - that there is nothing you can do about it - that's when grace starts flowing - that's the moment it happens. Stillness itself is knowledge and bliss. As i type this i realize how the mind keeps taking us in circles on and on leading us nowhere. Regulation of breath and a keen observation (mindfulness) can only give you glimpses of the volatility pf the mind.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2011

Ganesh Chaturthi 2011

Where is the self?

One who is striving for the realization of the self is the ego. How can this ego which is just another thought in the mind lead to that which is beyond the mind? From this perspective it appears like all effort is in the wrong direction because the one who is putting effort (ego) hasn't and wont cease to exist as long as there is effort being put. Does it not appear that once the effort ceases, ego appears to be temporarily absent. And there is only observation. But that is again another aspect of the ego. (Forms and sound)

Complacency

There are times when I just don't feel like meditating and I wonder why. Mostly I love doing it and sometimes the external world and its distractions end up taking more preference.
I observe that this happens mostly when there is lot of time for disposal and there is not anything much to do. In other words this happens mostly when one becomes complacent of working hard, of temporary achievements.
There is a saying if you are not striving, you're not living. The greatest sages constantly keep striving to again and again realize the self despite having realized the self. If they get complacent of their achievement and stop the necessary discipline it would take many months or years to again attain nirvikalpa samadhi : it is said.
I'm still observing why this thought of complacency is dominating me and what I need to do to get rid of it. Learning continues.


Here is what a spiritual aspirant mentioned about the topic: Gurudeva encouraged his monks to “be engaged. Even on retreats, you should be focused. If that means making a decision to take a nap, then take a nap. If you want to go wandering like a sadhu, then wander. But don’t just let your mind be aimlessly idle.”

Meanwhile here are the 7 habits of highly effective people - and how its already explained in Hinduism

7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
Habit 1 Be Proactive
Habit 2 Begin With The End In Mind
Habit 3 Put First Things First
Habit 4 Think Win/Win
Habit 5 Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
Habit 6 Synergize
Habit 7 Sharpen the Saw

Bodhinatha Veylanswami's explanation from Himalayan Academy

Superconscious Experience

Had a nice super-conscious experience last Sunday night. Was in deep sleep and didn't meditate that night due to pre-occupation. I went to the shrine room, conveyed my inability to meditate in front of the gods and went off to sleep. soon I'm fast asleep. at some point i could hear a high frequency sound in my head becoming louder. The loudness did wake me from my sleep but eyes were still closed and i was in the semi sleep state. The loudness suddenly burst into a audio visual experience within the mind. Suddenly there was a beautiful orangish-white light emanating from the top of my head. This was accompanied by a sound ... as if a thousand temple bells were ringing. The experience must have been brief may not more than 20 seconds.But it was a lucid super-conscious experience. Changed my perspective about myself and the mind as i know it. However this experience is also of the mind and not beyond the mind. And its that which I'm seeking.

More observations

Its important to keep in touch with close friends, relatives. Good to know where they are in consciousness when you speak to them.

The intent behind any act is what is important to know whether you are following dharma and not creating  kukarma.

Be Appreciative of others and their qualities. That makes them perfom better.

Know that you are an actinic being of the higher chakras and you alone can control the odic forces. Don't get skeptical about your actinic abilities

My Aphorisms

 

• You and you alone give permanence to a thought and protect it by thinking about it.

• Neither are you the body, the mind, the breath , the ears or the eyes, these are different manifestations of the mind.

• The motivation thought strata is the first thought to sub-consciously arrive when you want to do or say anything to anybody. The same can be observed when others are doing something or talking

• When you have stopped thinking and started "knowing" - Intuition works best and you are perceiving. It is also one way to realize that you are in a meditative state and functioning in higher chakras. Life and its experiences then become a study.

• The "I" thought itself is another thought isnt it ? It was programmed since childhood, is there something called "I" ? Whats the "I", its not my hand, legs, heart, brain, or mind? Its just another thought created in the mind dammit :-)

• Am I one or two ? There is an Observer and then a Thinker/Talker within me. The observer uses physical eyes to see the world and the mental eye (third eye) to observe thoughts.

• The underlying reason for anger is fear.

• The underlying reason for fear is attachment

• When in an argument in a conversation realize that you have gone down to the Svadhistana chakras which are of the odic nature. Self doubt, limitations about ones capability comes only when one hits the lower three chakras - Svadhistana, Muladhara and manipura.

• Know that you are an actinic being with infinite willpower and live in contemplation in the upper chakras namely - anahat, visuddha and ajna

• When you "know" you need to do something soon and don’t do it because you "think" of various reasons why you cant do it - you are repeating mistakes and progress will be decelerated.

The ego isn't you

" Being grateful for God's gifts is a sign of spirituality. A sage tells two seekers they will live as many lives as there are leaves on the banyan tree. One rushes away in dismay, while the other dances, knowing that liberation is assured, and at that moment experiences freedom from samsara."

1. #Liberation is assured. We come from Siva and on our way heading back to him. It's a circular path.
2. All that's needed is being watchful of the mind and it's old habit patterns which defines " you "

Two ways to find the Self

 

Gurudeva explains beautifully the two ways of realizing the Self God within us.

I like the second method and find it particularly effective. Realizing all the time that im not this body, the hands that grasp and type these letters on keyboard – I am NOT, the legs that take me to office, home sit, stand and meditate – I AM NOT, the eyes which see – I AM NOT, the ears which hear – I AM NOT, the tongue which tastes – I AM NOT, nose which smells – I AM NOT. I AM NOT – the five vital breaths which comprises of inhale, exhale etc, Neither am I the reproductive or the excretory organs, I am not even the mind which thinks “I AM NOT”, I am not even the states of mind which are comprised of past impressions or super-consciousness, I am not even the spine which is the seat of awareness. If i’m none of this who am I ?

Aphorisms

Mind is like a river. It flows through well known channels. These well known channels define our behavior as to how we interact with people. This is what we normally call attutude.

If these paths of the river are wrongly programmed, they need to be reprogrammed appropriately keeping the final goal in mind.

For that to happen there has to be a sub-superconscious cognition of the mind as an object. a this can happen by using the method used by Ramana Maharshi - I am not this, i am not that - disidentifying oneself from all self created illusions until im able to see sub-superconsciously the mind as an object.

Renewed Goals

These three directives will have the Highest Priority in my life going fwd

TODO
-------
1. Trilogy Study and Meditation
2. Stay contemplative by observing the "I". knowing that you are not the mind and observing the motivation thought strata during conversations.
3. Posture and execution of work with full energy and clarity of cognition.

NOT TODO
--------------
1. Avoid dissipation of mental and bodily energies by over indulging in TV and Internet.
2. Clever Avoidance of Mental arguments / debates
3. Not going back to sleep immediately if half awake.

Quotes from those who have seen the Truth

"The biggest challenge for most spiritual seekers is to surrender their self importance, and see the emptiness of their own personal story.
It is your personal story that you need to awaken from in order to be free. " - Adyashanti

"Everything is evaluated from that reference point.
And because it is closely associated with that pure intelligence, it has come to believe also that it is the intelligence." - Sailor Bob Adamson

"Without your memory, without your experiences, the `you' is not." - Jiddu Krishnamurthi

Conduct of a husband

Beautiful excerpt from my gurus book. MWS LESSON 280. (modified to understand in my own words)

The man should not bring his business problems home or discuss them at home. If he does forces at home become congested. A contemplative home where the family can meditate must have the temple like uplifting vibration. The man seeks understanding through observation. The woman seeks harmony through devotion. He must observe what is going on within the home, not talk too much about it, other than to make small suggestions, with much praise and virtually no criticism. He must remember that his wife is making a home for him, and he should appreciate the vibration she creates. He controls his emotional nature and he doesn't scold her if she has a hard time controlling her emotional nature, because he realizes that she lives more in the Ida force & goes through emotional cycles.

The "I" thought

I was really amazed by this discovery that the sense of "I" which is the root cause of all duality is itself a thought which we acquire when we are around 2.5 years old. Before that babies do not know individuality. With Individuality : all other things arise. Thoughts such as i came, I went, I love so and so, i hate so and so .... and so on. This "I" thought is the root cause of all misery and lack of fulfillment : as whatever we do is for its satisfaction. But upon keen observation it is observed that it is just another thought : in fact one of the first thoughts to arise when awareness flows in the world of the mind and the last thought to disappear. The next thought is probably the motivation thought: Behind every thought there is a motive: that motive is happiness to oneself (the "I"). Thus mindlessly all our thoughts and acts are tainted with selfishness.


Even when we say we love God: its only because he has promised you something in the so called future or there is a belief in the mind that he will protect you and take care of your needs. If he were not doing it or something bad happens: we start justifying.

Even when we love "only our family" there is a sense of "my family" (mine). The instinctive animal behavior : the nest has to be protected by all means creeps in. So in the truest sense this is not love but only attachment. True love is Universal love, which is causeless and which is not based on the principle of give and take.

True love is Universal love and is of the Visuddha chakra which is located in the throat astrally. When the kundalini energy rises to this chakra due to evolution: a person generally either works for a non-profit organization which is mainly aimed to serve others selflessly, or becomes a great philanthropist if he/she has lot of money. This universal love is an expression of the higher nature of the soul and works even if the individual does not get any benefit by the work he is doing. This is a true example of karma yoga : work without any expectation of fruits.

Generally the love and attachment in family life is not so. Its generally on the anava marga that most families exist and tread. If you are useful to me - I love you. If tomorrow you become a burden to me in finance, motivation, lack of love etc : i don't need you anymore. In simple terms this form of love is just business (give and take). a wife loves husband only if he provides her needs and vice-versa. Kids love parents only if they are taken care of and spoken nice words and toys and vice-versa. the goal is to transcend from the limited form of give and take love to universal love which is of the higher chakras.

Contemplation Technique

- Stay in a completely Mindful State
- Look at the problem/question mindfully to understand
- Intuit an answer
- Evaluate answer if its kind, helpful & makes someone/oneself happy
- Detach yourself from Mind itself to observe the answer again
- Use proper words and deliver it to oneself or world

Path of perfection

Gurudeva says the we should strive to be perfect if we need to attain the self which is often called the path of perfection in the east.

What should one do to attain the self?

1. Gain Clarity of cognition
2. Better your contemplative lifestyle everyday.
3. Develop a Bursting actinic love for fellow men.
4. Mastering yoga disciplines set by your guru.
5. Hold responsibility and yet have the mobile quality of doing something different without losing continuity of already performing karma yoga and responsibility.
6. Be ready to serve and fit in any capacity.

The illusion

Why does the mind go in search of happiness and pleasure? Because everyone wants to be happy. That's the inherent nature of every soul. The mind therefore seeks various avenues for happiness depending on how it is trained by culture and religion.

The main reason the mind keeps trying different aspects to improve itself in different areas of life whether it be in a relationship or career or entertainment is due to the illusion of happiness.

My guru beautifully explains this with a perfect analogy. The donkey and the carrot. All our motives for any thought or action is for happiness to oneself. A donkey keeps moving further to grab a carrot which is being held by its owner who is sitting on top of it and tempting it with a carrot held on a stick.

The donkey moves expecting that it will be happy once it gets the carrot. But since its owner is sitting on top of it holding the carrot the carrot also moves further when the donkey moves. Thus the donkey keeps moving thinking it will get the carrot and the carrot ( symbolic of permanent  happiness) keeps moving away from it. This is exactly how we go about living our lives.

It takes a lot of failures and successes and keen observations which can be summed up in one word "EXPERIENCE " to finally understand the mind and its approach towards objects of pleasure. Once the object is attained the mind is after something else. If the object is not attained there is craving for it.

All sense of ownership of any attained object or goods is over within 3-4 days of attaining it. Slightly longer in some cases.

Thinking to knowing

"How does one know if he is really meditating or not?" That's a question that a lot of people who meditate ask themselves.

When you begin to know, having left the process of thinking, you are meditating at that point.

Of course, when we are aware in the thought area, we are not meditating. We're in the intellectual area of the mind. We have to breathe more deeply, control the breath more and move awareness out of the thought area of the mind, into that next inner area, where we begin to know. Such an experience supersedes thinking, and that is when meditation starts. I'm sure that you have experienced that many, many times.

Voice of Inner Self

Some instructions received over past few days to most common problems from the Inner Self to the outer self. These voices are one way traffic and comes unexpectedly in flashes while in deep meditation. These instructions have helped me always in the past as well.

1. The mind (world) is what you make it.

2. No computer or internet after 10 pm.

3. Let go of the tendency to make yourself look good in the eyes of others. Live with Noble intentions.

4. You are happy with your current work and career. Work harder and strengthen willpower

5. Let go of all the peak experiences of the past. They have come and taught you lessons. Other than that they don't have any value. Thank those experiences. Keep a flower, forgive,  and say I love you to those who caused those experiences irrespective of whether they were good or bad experiences. Let go of the past and future. Live in the eternal now.

6. Feel the energy heat of the body and bring back awareness to superconscious mode by breathing rhythmically

Conscious mind Aphorism

There is but one mind. The consciousness or the ego functions in its various phases - Instinctive, intellectual or intuitive phases. The one-tenth of the mind is of the conscious plane. It is carried on by itself in ramification. The objective is to control the conscious mind and be consciously conscious.

To achieve this I currently need to pay attention to these aspects
1: Since the objective is to control the conscious mind : locate the source of the energies that are flowing through the senses & mind.
2: Regulate the breath and don't allow the intellect & instincts to run their own course

The Conscious Mind

Also known as Jagara Chittam in Sanskrit.

Feelings such as Love, Devotion, Selfless attitude, Concern for others, Desire to Enjoy and Be happy, Provide for others, Enhance Relationships - all these things are natural thoughts for people living in the conscious and subconscious mind.

all this is fine - but from my observation - the ego eventually hardens if a person lives too long in the conscious and subconscious mind. The way god has created the world (or mind which perceives the world) is on the principle of duality. There have to be opposites to even understand and appreciate anything. For example: There has to be sad feelings in the world in order to appreciate the good feelings. Otherwise who will care of good feelings? There has to be bad and good, darkness and light, happiness and misery - to even appreciate and understand the good aspects. 

Coming back to the point - i have been observing that the more time i spend in the conscious mind circles - whether it be friends, relationships, relatives - sooner or later it has some kind of unfulfillment. The reason for this lack of fulfillment is not because of anybody else - its just because of the ego (an aspect of the mind. This aspect hardens everday and every hour the more time we spend on the conscious mind and subscious mind and take it for real. 

To balance this out and get the right perspective is the beautiful practice of meditation where we relinquish the conscious mind and delve into other more refined aspects of the mind which are more real such as the superconscious and sub superconscious circles. Of course there is ramification in those state of mind too, the best practice is to meditate on awareness aware of itself and be there. Then one wont get attached to any particular state of mind and start finding it real.

Shum words to enter and exit meditation

Li.shum.nambi : ideal (straight) posture.

Kalibasa : rhythmic breathing (9 counts)

Alikaiishum : maintaining kalibasa feeling the warmth of the physical body

Liunasi : maintain kalibasa and sense the nerve currents of the subtle astral body.

Nikashum : the art of withdrawal of energies from limbs into the spine.

Simshumbisi : feeling all spine. Kundalini energy. Once all the energies have been withdrawn. Visualize yellowish white light in the spine (kundalini)

Kaiif : awareness aware of itself. No thoughts in this state. The witness and witnessed merge into a singular non dual experience.

Once reaching this state maintenance is more difficult but not impossible. Once accomplished for the planned amount of time coming out of meditation will follow the reverse order. (Kaiif, simshumbisi, nikashum etc)

Learnings from Ramana Maharshi's Books

Wonderful learnings from Sri Ramana Maharshi's discourses. 

1. Duality arises with the "I" thought
2. "I" is the sense of ego - the witness'er
3. Only when there is a witness there is a witnessed. Thus arises duality.
4. "I" is the first thought to arise - and the last thought to go.
5. Constant inquiry into the nature of "I" leads to its destruction leading to the realization of the self.
6. Whenever a thought comes, or even when experience the "No thought" state - if one inquires - to whom is this thought -- it is clearly observe that the "I" thought is the root cause of different states of mind - including calm states.
7. "I am he" or 'soham' in sanskrit is another way to bring the mind to its source.
8. Combined with observance and control of breath - this makes inquiry even more effective
9. To accomplish something - you only need to believe it. We see only what we believe. 

--
Impossible is Nothing

Reflections on KungFu Panda Quotes

Two things i learn from Kung fu panda - Part 1 quotes.

1. Give up the illusion of control

2. Be firmly rooted in the present - like Master Ooogway :)

3. You just need to "believe" in order to get something done.

 

Oogway: My friend, the panda will never fulfill his destiny, nor you yours until you let go of the illusion of control. 
Shifu: Illusion? 
Oogway: Yes. 
[points at peach tree] 
Oogway: Look at this tree, Shifu: I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time. 
Shifu: But there are things we *can* control: I can control when the fruit will fall, I can control where to plant the seed: that is no illusion, Master! 
Oogway: Ah, yes. But no matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach. 
Shifu: But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung! 
Oogway: Maybe it can, if you are willing to guide, to nurture it, to believe in it. 
Shifu: But how? How? I need your help, master. 
Oogway: No, you just need to believe. Promise me, Shifu, promise me you will believe. 

Shifu: Master! I have... it's very bad news! 
Oogway: Ah, Shifu. There is just news. There is no good or bad. 

 

Po: Maybe I should just quit and go back to making noodles. 
Oogway: Quit, don't quit? Noodles, don't noodles? You are too concerned about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present." 

Outbreath

Listened to a wonderful speech called " living in the moment". The speaker talks about releasing and letting go of thoughts with every out-breath.

"Everytime you let go of a thought with the outgoing breath .... you observe that its a little more easier to let go of many more thoughts that may be associated " - the speaker says.

I practiced this last week and found it to be very very true. It helped to be in the moment. The speaker asks to focus on breath especially the outgoing. Each breath is unique and has never been taken before nor will be taken in future.

7 latent tendencies

According to ancient Buddhist texts there are 7 latent tendencies in all humans. These can stay dormant life after life until the conditions to trigger them sprout. In other words they lie dormant in the subconscious and ready to come to the surface at an opportune moment when they are in contact with the corresponding sense objects.

1. Kama.raga.anusaya : lust for sense pleasure
2. Bhava.raga.anusaya : disposition to cling to existence a.k.a egoistic impulses
3. Patigha.anusaya : hatred ( painful feelings will rouse latent anger and hatred)
4. Mana.anusaya : pride - the latent tendency of conceit ( in the long run the practitioner is fettered by egoistic feeling or self importance )
5. Dittha.anusaya : false views of body and mind
6. Vicikichcha.anusaya : tendency to have skeptical doubt and uncertainty
7. Avijja.anusaya : tendency to be in ignorance

Letting go

Some thoughts from the past are playing back in the conscious and subconscious mind off late. These are results of unresolved karma - the beautiful law of cause and effect.

But this is helping me practice meditation again. I have started doing it for past 2 days, and expect this to get consistent.

Whenever a thought comes - its either an attachment of the past or a worry/plan/fear of future. So both are equally unreal. What is real - is the feel of the keyboard as i type this in the present moment. I am practicing a sadhana where I let go of all thoughts of past bothering me with every outward breath - imagining letting it go. When I do this - its easy to let go of many more associated thoughts.

Breathing change

I read in a book on kundalini few days back that breath is directly related to which chakra we are currently functioning.

A person functioning in the visuddha chakra for example - the book says the out breath moves no longer than an inch approximately in a natural way and a yoga practitioner who has reached this stage experiences immense clarity of mind and calmness. Breath is extremely rhythmic at this stage.

I might have been in state briefly during my meditations in the past but this state must become of second nature (natural) that's my goal.

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

Steve Jobs tells 3 stories from his life

1. How the dots get connected

2. Love what you do, don't settle if you haven't found it yet.

3. About death: if you are about to die tomorrow - will you be doing what you are about to do today? - if the answer is no - then you need to change something in your life

Journey from the External to Internal

Have become too externalized, too superficial off late. Need to re-design my attitudes and re-invent myself.

 

1.       First is I do VDT and get rid of all the subconscious build up.

2.       Complete all pending Master Course Readings

3.       Setup day to day goals and consequences if those goals weren’t met on a particular day.

 

Enough is enough and its time for me to change !

Time to get back

Its been a while and I havent been able to blog or learn much. I have been very busy at work and sometimes feel going far from myself. This must change - i need to find myself again.

Working it out faster inside

Need to live 2/3rd within and 1/3rd in outside world in order to have a very clear goal and work out solutions for the same. Things happen faster in the mental or astral world because this world is at a vibration of a higher frequency. Once you get a feel of how to consciously use this aspect of the mind which has very clear observation, its possible to command the mind to take care of certain things which you need to work on later. The mind thus programmed obeys like a obedient servant and gets you the required data in a flash of intuitive insights. I love when this happens. For now my goal is to get more consistent on the meditative state. And remain 2/3rd within.

Aum sivaya

Conquering anger

A devotee at kauai adheenam master course suggested beautiful technique for conquering hatred that one might have with ppl close to us when they behave instinctively.

I tried it on someone who was really irritable and it really worked. The tantra is simple, place a flower against a smiling photograph of the person irritating you and mentally say "I love you". The irritation goes away like a miracle and in its place love born out of understanding appears. It works like magic - try it out.

Thanks to padmaja patel for sharing this beautiful technique of quelling the instinctive mind. One should note that anger is of the lower chakras (vitala) and love and understanding is of the higher chakras of anahat and visuddha and by practice of this simple and elegant technique we are in effect achieving the goals of our existence on earth - living and loving fellow men by staying in touch with oneself and functioning in the higher chakras.

--Sent from my HTC HD2

The way of the realized ones

It's amazing the way realized souls live and speak ... Just read this from Himalayan Academy website

Chellappar never spoke in the third person. He spoke always to himself and in the present. He never did or said anything to benefit or reform others. Everyone who was present before him learnt to take in whatever suited him. It was only after many days that the truth would become apparent. There was no third person or second person that he saw in his life, for him to speak to a third party or to address another. He dwelt in himSelf and spoke to HimSelf and that Self was the Universal Self. He never played any drama, or enacted miracles.

"He was floating in this lighted world of Oneness-Sivosarvam --and everyone called him mad. He had no followers and kept no account of his activites--no money, no possessions, no conventional behavior. He was a spark of divine radiance. He lived and moved as an ordinary humble man with eyes, ears, hands and legs like any other passerby, and thus did he pass away into Supreme Silence.

(Tamil Script)

--Natchintanai. 227.

Source: 
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/yogaswami/testament/Chapter10.html

Bliss :)

Simshumbisi 


Thoughts are blobs, small bubbles which pop up before they either remain and vanish there in the mind or are converted into words or actions. We are often not conscious of the thoughts which we are about to say. Generally we do not wait to see if the thought that appears - which is about to channel out into a sound from the throat is going to be beneficial for oneself and for people around or not.

Just went through a situation where I was able to focus on the things that mattered most to me though there were many thoughts and reactions trying to appear in the Strata of the mind, subconscious mind. That brings an interesting possibility - the power to choose which thoughts are important and which aren't. Which needs to be delivered, which needs to be dissolved, and which needs to go out on paper with a pen - and then get into fire during the Maha Vasana Daha Tantra.

If the mind can concentrate and choose and focus on what really needs to be done - it leads to a situation where the mind is calm and at bliss even if the surroundings are in chaos. For this to function effectively in the long term - and anytime on demand - its important to practice regular meditation so that - at will the sadhaka can enter the Simshumbisi State - described in the Shum language. One feels all spine in this state, seen from the third eye - it looks like a column of light litting up the spine and branching out at the top and the bottom.

Being in Simshumbisi it is very easy to recognize thought blobs - and decide whether they are important - whether they need to be acted upon - or not. Jai Ganapathi.

Karmic Energy


Off late im able to observe the flow of karmic energies between myself and the people I interact with, it can give me a signal in advance whether the flow is going to be harmonious or not and based on that take action. I dont know since when but this perception of the flow of energies has just appeared and has been helping me to keep the pranic flow harmoniously in many meetings with people.

Aum Namah Sivaya !

Blessings in disguise

Thanks to my toothache I'm now able to get up early everyday and work on my master course lessons. I had trouble getting up every morning early despite the alarm on my HTC. Used to snooze it every time.

A wisdom teeth has started giving me problems every day early morning. Severe pain when I'm asleep but goes away once I wake up and brush my teeth. Will take it as a symbolic blessing from lord Siva to make me consistent.

Time to beat inconsistency

Was watering the plants in the garden at my home, remembered a relative of mine venky mama who has hired a Mali (gardener) to maintain the garden at his place. His garden is beautiful when compared to mine. In mine the plants are almost struggling to stay alive everyday as my watering them has become irregular :) thx to my inconsistency :(

The thing I still need to learn from ppl like v. Mama is that consistency is the key. One of the biggest reasons which differentiate a mediocre from a top talent is simple - the latter has very clear goals imprinted well in his subconscious mind and works consistently to get there whereas the former is irregular in pursuing goals sometimes working hard sometimes losing focus on the goal gaining the same on something else etc.

In the past few weeks I am not living life the way I want to live. I have violated some yamas and niyamas. My master course studies have not been regular to my satisfaction, my habits are not falling in line with the principles of Hinduism, I'm facing failure. Though I am doing well in my job, I know I'm more than what I am currently. It's time I fall in line with the yamas and niyamas now, set clear goals, prioritize the same, set consequences if I fall out of line and beat inconsistency .... and beat karma itself......

--Sent from my H TC HD2

The Xenon Arc Lamp

While watching a movie in the theatre - we go through emotions - emotions of happiness, agony, laughter, fun, feelings of love, hate, pity etc - what has happened here ? - the combination of various colors of light and sound has produced the emotions in people watching the movie.

The xenon arc lamp at the back used by the theatre operator, is animating all these various colors on the screen which combined with sound are producing images on screen.

This is very similar to how we go about our life as well. The mind produces images and thoughts of various colors and the voices of the mind produce various sounds, the combination of them causes various emotions to occur in the individual.

In a movie the film is the one which adds colors to the emanating white light from the xenon arc lamp, in the mind its the subconscious impressions of the past which is also called karma that add various colors to the emanating clear white light of the superconscious mind.

If you now ask from where is the white light of the superconscious mind emanating from .... i mean the source of it?  Now that .... that is a story yet to be told.

I had this beautiful experience one morning last week of many thoughts both good and bad appearing in the screen of the mind. attention then went to the high pitched 'eee' sound which i always hear - that is when i got the intuition of the clear white light in a flash. the same light which was animating all the colors of the thoughts previously held. this light is the same in everyone - in all living beings - just the film is different - the subconscious burdens are different - whichis totally dependent on karma and the volution of the soul. So there is oneness and diversity at the same time in every individual.

As per gurudeva - continued holding attention to the eee sound will take the yogin to the realization of the self one day - the source of the xenon arc lamp as well as the superconscious mind !

The first bubble

Often when watching the mind, there is an interesting observation. The latent tendencies are always there in seed or unmanifest states. These latencies which are waiting for the right conditions to manifest could be anything - tendency to hurt someone to gain relief from a hurt, tendency to lash the tongue and settle score, tendency to correct a person doing wrong, tendency to avoid a situation or even escape from it, tendency of getting frustrated, etc.

The observing of the seeds will not allow them to get manifest and I end up not knowing what the seed had to offer. which of my own karmic energy was it returning to me?

These seeds are like bubbles at the bottom of a pond or an aquarium. Just about to come to the surface to air which can be likened to the conscious mind and the words that come out of it.

The takeaway: a lot of unseemly karma can be avoided by looking at these bubbles before they erupt.

The second takeaway: you learn more about the real you in a dream at night. There nobody is watching you, you are free to do anything, your real integrity & values are known by what you do or not do in your dreams.

Third takeaway: we spend 24 hrs of time in the astral body and 16 hrs in physical-astral body. When in astral body we would use the astral brain, and more often the svadhishtana and manipura chakras than the muladhara (which is used more by physical body)

Happy 2011 to all .... yet another year with new set of learnings & experiences.

--Sent from my HTC HD2