Who am I?

Who am I?

This is a question which has puzzled, intrigued me since so many years. I used to see this ( me) and that ( others), behaving in so many strange ways , for so many years, and I used to wonder

Why? Why do I do the things I do ?

Why do others do the things they do?

 Why is the world the way it is?

 How to be happy and successful in this world?

  The answer as per ancient texts, and what I have understood in a limited way from what my Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji, has told me is below

To be happy , first I have to understand the basic question, who am I? For that, first we have to drop this intense and blind attachment about ourselves, the sort of positive or negative glow we have about ourselves and look at ourselves,  dispassionately and neutrally.  

 I have to look at what are the components of this entity called amarnath mallya. If I understand this, then it is easier to manage this and take it towards its goal of being happy.

if I break down the components of what constitutes Amarnath Mallya, I have a physical body, and a mind. The word mind, it is confusing because, I really don’t understand what a mind is, because I cant see it , touch it . Let us go deeper into what a mind is based on our own experiences with the mind.

The mind is an energy field in the physical body which has ,

·         thoughts

·         feelings and emotions

·         memories

·         logical thinking ( intellect)

·         a feeling of me and mine ( ego)

Instead of calling this field , the mind which is so confusing and doesn’t really convey anything, can I call it the mental body. The moment, I call it a body, things are so much clearer, because the mental body has certain attributes which are similar to the physical body

·         It has a limited space which it occupies

·         It has food which it consumes and which cause its growth in a specific way. If  I eat, nutritious food which is rich in protein , the muscles of my physical body might grow stronger.   Similarly, the sensual information is the main food for the mental body and causes its development in a specific way, either stronger or weaker.

·         It has limited mental capacity to perform tasks. As my physical body has limitations due to various factors like heredity, genetics, upbringing, habits (for example, I cannot lift a 100 kg weight) similarly my mental body cannot do certain tasks due to the same reasons. This realization automatically reduces the stress and load which we put on the mind. Because of our ambitions and desires , many times we put more load on the mind than it is currently capable of processing , which causes it to further break down and become weaker.

·         It can be trained and developed. As I can increase the strength of my physical body thru physical exercise, nutritious food, rest etc, similarly I can strengthen my mental body, thru various practices like Sudarshan kriya, meditation, giving it healthy sensual information, etc.

·          As I am not the physical body ( It is my body , but I am not the body) , similarly I am not the mental body. We have so much identified with the mind and its thoughts, it is very important to realize that, I am not the mental body...

 It is very easy to understand that gross objects are not me. Realizing, I am wearing a shirt, but I am not the  shirt. I have a hand, but I am not the hand, is easy… But I have a thought and I am not the thought, is not so easy. Because thoughts are subtle.

 Thoughts are the products of the mental body’s interaction with the outer world . The mental body due to various factors ( discussed earlier) is currently in a particular way and it inevitably will function /respond in a certain way while dealing with the outer world.

 This realization again will drop so much blame, guilt, anger, we have about ourselves and others. Many times, we get agitated when we see others behave in a particular way. If we just realize, that they are more or less compelled to act in this particular way due to the peculiar composition of their mental  bodies, our stress will come down.

Now since we have understood , that I am not the physical body, I am not the mental body? Now the real question comes, Who am I?

The highest truth as per Vedanta is Soham, which literally mean Sa – I , aham (am) That. I am that, I am that which I am searching for , I am the divine whom I am searching for, I am the bliss which I am searching for, I am the love which I am searching for.

This what the vedantic seers have been telling, and this is the highest message which the Guru gives the shishya, that tat tvam asi, you are that, you are the love, the bliss , divine which you are searching for.

Then the point comes, If I  am that , why don’t I realize, understand , feel that I am divine.

This is because of the  Mental body   which overshadows the third layer which we can call the Big mind or Divine.

The Mental body makes a lot of noise and cries, which fully overshadows the big mind which ( usually) is a silent witness. It will not say /do anything, it just is there, like a presence , like a mother looking fondly at the child playing with its toys.

There are 2 main approaches to be aware of the Big mind/Divine within us.

1 . Sanyasa - Leave the world which keeps on disturbing the mental body, go to secluded places and do some spiritual practices, be there and hope the mental body will become quiet. This has its own challenges because physically we can be away from the world but mentally the body will be connected , fantasizing about the world.

2. Grihastha - Be in the world, and keep experiencing whatever happens.

When good things happen, our goals are achieved, our desires are fulfilled, we experience happiness/ bliss. The happiness is not because of the goals being achieved , but the racing mind has stopped and we have connected to the big mind whose nature is happiness. Unfortunately this connection is only momentary as again the mental body starts racing towards one more goal and the cycle continues.

 When our goals are not achieved ,  the mental body gets disturbed  and one day the disturbance will be so much that we stop identifying with the mental body and surrender, that in contrast the big mind will be visible.

While both the above paths are effective,  they take a lot of time, maybe many lifetimes of practice.

This is where the guidance and grace of a realized Guru can be the greatest blessing.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has given a hybrid path in the form of  Art of Living, which is fast and effective. This is a combination of both being in the world and being detached from it.

Daily practices of Sadhana, Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation, where in we can detach from the world for at least a few minutes per day, Advance meditation course where in we are Silent and secluded from the world for a few days in a year.

Satsang where in we find joy in chanting, singing and knowledge and Seva, where in we are engaged in serving the world. The path of service brings its own challenges which serves the twin purposes of disturbing the mental body ( which helps us to identify with it less) and at the same time creating good karma.

 Through, the combination of both the approaches, the Mental body will become more silent and then the Big mind/Divine will come, more and more to our awareness.  Then the physical body and mental body will start healing and glowing positively by themselves spontaneously and  we will slowly start experiencing, a bliss and joy in our lives, which is not caused by outside circumstances but just Is.

Agnihotra a Miraculous Healing

 

I would like to share a sort of miraculous healing which happened due to the practice of Agnihotra.

Agnihotra is a traditional vaidic fire ceremony which takes 5-10 minutes to perform and was taught to me by the Binay ji of the  Vaidic Dharma Santhan wing of the Art of Living.

 During the session, Binay ji explained about the miraculous benefits which many people  had got by performing the Agnihotra regularly. Below I would like to share my own experience.

We had been on a trip to a foreign country and on the return day my daughter was feeling feverish and after our return she had fever which was coming on and off. During the day she would be ok and evening onwards  , it would suddenly spike up. After it didn’t show any sign of subsiding , we consulted her doctor, who prescribed we take antibiotics if it didn’t stop in next 2 days.  That evening she was feeling particularly weak and was lying on her bed.

I was starting to perform my evening agnihortra session and intuitively felt that if she came and sat by my side it might help her.   With great difficulty , slowly she came and sat next to me. During the agnihotra , the whole fire and homa smoke was swirling around us. At the end of it , I was surprised to see that the tiredness was gone from her face, and she was looking more energetic and comfortable. The fever had dropped dramatically and she was looking almost normal.

Next evening when I did agnihotra again , she sat by my side and after the session, I could see some visible changes. The fever dropped off and she returned to normal.  

 After having this experience, I did a little bit of research on Agnihotra and was amazed to know that this is an worldwide movement, there are literally organizations across the world who perform agnihotra regularly and have reported amazing results.

 

In these website, information is given on  how to perform Agnihotra, scientific studies and  many miraculous experiences are given. People suffering from Ashtama, Nervous disorders , even some tumors have been cured. Below are some of the links for the same.

Agnihotra Australia

Agnihotra Poland

You can also see this video published by the Art of Living at this link Agnihotra Video

 or enrol for this pre recorded master class taken by Binay ji at a nominal cost, Agnihotra Master Class with Binay Ji

I have been performing Agnihotra quite regularly from last few days and I personally experienced many of the benifits given above. I  recommend that all of us learn the agnihotra process and perform regularly. This has benefits for us personally as well as for overall environment.

Save Your mind at any cost

                                                Seeing intention in mistakes

In this world of opposites, things which are haphazard keep on happening, the key word is happening. If we think the things which cause us inconvenience , problems, irritation are being done by someone, that too intentionally we start getting irritated, start blaming the person, or organization and want to do something which will irritate, cause problems back for that person or organization, i.e. take revenge so to say.

 There is a famous saying that not even a blade of grass can move without the will of the divine. If we just see that all that is 'happening' in this world, is just that, a 'happening' due to divine will, not a doing we can keep our mind cool and calm.

 For example , yesterday there was Earthquake in Bangkok and many buildings collapsed and  many people died, did we become angry? we did not because we could clearly see that it was a happening due to divine will , but if a small house had collapsed due to fault of a builder , our mind would have been so disturbed and shaken.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar says ' Your mind is so precious, Save your mind at any cost'                                                                     More info at this link  Save your mind at any cost

One simple technique to save the mind is given below

There are 3 aspects to life one is the positive and second is negative and third is neutral

Love, peace, happiness, joy, sharing, caring , growth, development, learning , creativity all come in the positive department

Anger , sadness, fear, lust , greed, hatred, confusion, irritation, criticizing, fault finding , destructive tendencies,  all come in the negative department

Silence comes in the neutral aspect.

Now it is for me to decide daily on which aspect, I want my mind to focus on every day.

It inevitably has a tendency to go in the negative department, it has instinctive liking / affinity/attraction to the negative

Whole journey of life is a movement from the negative to the positive. This is a mental journey, because the outside world of people , situations, and events is not in my control. I cant control what others will say or do , but what I can control is, how I will respond using positive aspect or negative aspect or at best using the neutral aspect.

Just this awareness that my focus should be on my response to the situation, using the above framework can work wonders. Till now there was no framework , and many of the things  which are negative, I feel are good, because they are giving a strong stimulation or a thrill. It gives a thrill to shout at someone when I am irritated , because I ( subconsiously) feel I am in control, I am showing my strength, etc. It is much more difficult to be silent when this happens. 

you can watch a short video by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar on anger @   Gurudev on Anger 

I have indulged in them enough, now it is time to go on the journey from the negative to the positive consciously. The neutral aspect of silence can be my biggest help in this , as positive aspects are more difficult, but silence or no response when a situation would have previously triggered a negative aspect  is more easier.

In summary being Neutral/ Silent in a situation where I would hav been previously in the negative zone can really help.  Regular practice of meditation and Sudarshan kriya can really help /train our mind to be in the neutral zone .

you can meditate for free and easily downloading the sattva app Sattva app link

 More info on Sudarshan kriya in this link what-is-sudarshan-kriya

World is both simple and complex

 

                                                

The world is both infinitely simple and infinitely complex. This is why it is impossible to understand it with our finite mind.

Simplicity

It is all made up of one energy which is very simple/basic. Logically we know, and science tells us that this entire world is made up of atoms. and at a still deeper level quantum theory tells us that this world is made up of energy waves. Though it looks and feels different at the surface, at the  deepest core  it is all made up of one energy.

   The simplicity of this base energy makes it beyond the understanding of our mind and comprehension of the senses. The mind requires a bare minimum level of complexity in the subject to understand something and the senses also require minimum level of complexity to grasp something.

The simplicity of this base energy of creation is why the ancient Rishis called it Bholenath the simple/innocent one. We can infer that this base energy is Shiva.

Complexity

The world is like a lotus with infinite petals. If we think we have understood one level , one more dimension of complexity opens up. It is impossible to understand, grasp this infinite complexity as it is beyond the scope of our limited mind /senses with their limited power. 

The moment we think we understand someone, they behave suddenly in a manner which is totally contrary to what we thought they would.

Science almost daily makes announcements which seem totally contrary to what they said in the past.   For example, scientists said covid vaccine was good for our health and protect us and suddenly someone came up and said that is causing many health problems and the debate continues.

The complexity of the world is for our enjoyment and amazement. It is a playground which the divine mother has created for us to play in. In our puranic literature, she is called Shakti , the consort of Shiva.

However instead of just playing in the world, If we   try to  control it or its inhabitants, if we try to manage the world, we get tired and stressed out ( as we have all experienced in the past).  

The easiest thing to  do, is surrender to Divine Mother and pray for her love and blessing. 

Then we have to go to Shiva and seek his comforting simplicity which relaxes us and rejuvenates us. The journey of surrendering to Shakti and  going  to Shiva is spirituality, which different masters have given to us, in different forms.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar defines  Meditation, so beautifully as  ‘ I want nothing, I am doing nothing, I am nothing’.

This is as simple as it can be, in this material world and to me this is Shiva. When we are meditating regularly, we are in the Shiva tattva which relaxes and refreshes us and gives us the energy to play and enjoy in the complex world of Shakti.

When Shiva and Shakti go together in our life, life becomes a celebration.