Paths are many, goal is one

Dilemma of human life is beautifully expressed in these few lines of Tagore,s poem. "The sun, moon, the Stars hurry  across the sky.Restless river runs towards the ocean, why don't you compel my life run regularly in search of the ocean of nectar?"(gitanjali).This is the urge of every human heart. In life, we all want to touch the shore of peace and happiness, but do not know  how to reach that shore.
In nature, plants, animals all are blessed with a programmed goal in  life, except human beings.Even endowed with superior intelligence, and will power, human beings are most miserable creatures on to this earth. Like hungry souls, remain ever dissatisfied.
We all are searching paths to be happy, peaceful and liberated. Paths  shown by enlightened souls are many and varied in nature, but they all aim at the same goal. And that goal is to have liberation , through self realization. They say, our worldly sufferings and joys are projections of our own mind. And as soon as we purify our mind from all delusions( attachments, aversions, body consciousness etc.)  and ignorance , our inner divine soul  shines with joy and peace , and reflects inner peace all around.

Bhagawat Gita refers about three main paths, they are  Gyan yoga, Bhakti yoga and Karma yoga.( path of knowledge, devotion, and selfless actions.) Teachings of Gyanyoga yoga  is found in the early Upanishad. This path aims at the realization of the individual self ,s oneness with the Supreme self, Brahman.Advaita philosopher Adi Shankara, gave primary importance on the path of knowledge. Here the devotee realizes, that he is not his body, senses or mind, he is only a divine soul, one with Brahman, who is beyond name and form, who is impersonal and every where.Shri Ramakrishna  described it through a story of a salt doll. When the salt doll went to measure the ocean, it melted and losing its identity became one with the ocean. Same thing happens to a Gyan yogi, he loses his identity and becomes one with Brahman in samadhi. But to worship God as unlimited, unmanifested 

consciousness is very difficult to follow.Unless body consciousness is totally given up, one can not reach the point of samadhi.  

The path of devotion or  Bhakti marg, is a sweet and simple way to worship God. Here God is worshiped with a form and a name. Devotee turns his body consciousness towards divine, and what ever he does , he does it to please God, with whom he establishes a loving human relationship. He may worship God as his friend, beloved , child or as a servant.By loving surrender, the devotee  brings God  very near to his heart. An important part of Bhakti marg is chanting and dancing with God,s name. It started with Maha prabhu  Sri Chaitanya, who was born in 16th century in Bengal, and later got much prominence  byKrishna bhakta swami Prabhupada, who was the founder of International society for Krishna consciousness.Chanting purifies mind, brings great joy and attracts others to the Divine.This path is said to be very suitable in present time (Kali yug) , when people are more attached to worldly things.
About the path of action (karma yoga) ,Bhagawad Gita says, "your work is your responsibility, not its result. Never let the fruits of your action be your motive, nor give into inaction. Set firmly in yourself, do your work, not attached to any thing. Remain even minded in success and in failure.Even mindedness is true yoga".( chapter 2, verse, 47-49). In this path,  a karma yogi, does selfless service  for wellbeing of others, and action becomes the mode of his prayer.
The great karma yogi, Swami Vivekananda asked us to take the position of a giver in life. What ever is needed, love, help,service or encouragement, we must be ready to give our service unconditionally.

By giving , one becomes richer.Every thing comes in life, when following a spiritual path, we awaken our sleeping soul, and fill up life with self conscious activities.Buddha also said, Nirvana can be achieved by giving unconditional love, compassion and forgiveness to all.

Spiritual paths  never propagate to renounce worldly duties, or to deny life,s gifts. They teach us ,to perform all duties with perfection, with right discrimination  and to  be the master over our body, mind and senses, so that we do not harm or pull down others by our actions.
 To balance life , with efficiency and detachment, with good will and with purity of mind, is the teaching of spiritual paths.One may chose his path ,which suits his nature and tendencies, and should follow it with utmost sincerity and dedication.
Life is uncertain, every moment is precious. Keeping those inspiring words of Swami Vivekananda, in mind, "Arise! Awake! Stop not till the goal is reached," we all can proceed towards the goal of life, and also can help others to evolve.

Mind, misery and mindfulness

"There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart,s desire, and the other is to get it."This famous saying of George Bernard Shaw is so relevant today. All through life, we are all running to get our heart,s desire.That can be a Andy car, an attractive partner, a beautiful house, a high position or something else, and the list goes on. If we do not get it , we feel angry, frustrated and blame others.  If we get it, we do not want to lose it, and that probability makes us anxious and fearful.Buddhist scholar Atisha advised, "you will have to depart leaving every thing behind. So do not get attached to any thing." Buddha realized , the root cause of human sufferings originate in our own disillusioned mind.Out side situations may trigger our delusions more, which are already present in mind. So the only remedy is to make mind free from all delusions.
Buddha said, ignorance, desirous attachments and anger, from these three main delusions, all other delusions , like pride, jealousy etc.come up.Ignorance is not to know the truth. Life is impermanent.But an ignorant mind  does not want  to believe in that truth , and wants to cling to life with desirous attachments. Or seeing the difference in outer manifestation, often we forget our inter connectedness. The life energy , which flows through all living beings, manifests it self in many forms.But ignorant mind  ignores that truth, becomes self centered, and selfish and brings much sufferings in his and in other,s live,s too. How delusions bring gradual down fall in life, is clearly described in Bhagawat Gita."Attachments breeds desires, from desires anger is born. Anger leads to delusions, from delusions memory gets clouded, which destroys intellect.When intellect goes, one is ruined, (chapter 2/ verse 62'63). Buddha said, happiness and sorrows are state of mind. By over coming mind ,s delusions one can be ever peacefull.
But deluded mind thinks, inner peace comes from out side, through favorable situations or from people. So without correcting his or her own deluded mind , he tries to fix outer situations or tries to change others,which is not possible. So problems never get solved. It reminds the story of a foolish King, who wanted to cover the earth , to be free from dirt. The problem was solved by an old, wise man .He advised  the king , just to cover up his own feet with a pair of shoes. This advise is applicable in our life too. To find peace and happiness , we must change our own mind, and not to waste our valuable time and energy in trying to transform others.
Buddha,s instructions are simple, powerful and scientific. He said, always to watch one,s own mind very carefully. When ever an unpleasant feeling comes up, one must know, that is the beginning of some delusion anger, attachment, aversion or some thing else. Before that feeling gets strong, one should take a few deep breaths, to calm down his or her mind. Then recalling the fault and danger of being angry, one should try to change the direction of that destructive energy, in a more constructive way.Many unpleasant situations can be avoided by one,s skillful and timely intervention.By practicing values like patience, forgiveness, and compassion , one can open up his or her heart to others, and can accept situations more peacefully.
But that does not mean that, one should not take practical steps to improve the situations. But to expect that, ever thing should happen according to my will, is also not a very practical and wise expectation. We are not in control, of what happens to us , or we can not stop unwanted things to happen in life. But just by taking care of our own mind, and by controlling our thoughts, action and speech, we can elevate life and also can help others to evolve.
Our patient acceptance also help those, with whom we are being patient.Not being judged and being accepted , they may relax and come up to our expectation , with their good qualities.
Actually we should be thankful to our problem makers,  because for them we try to develop our inner strength and stability. Challenges inspire us to develop our  inner potentialities. With inner stability, one becomes calm, composed, and dutiful, never gets over whelmed in gain and victory, nor does he break down in loss and defeat.
Buddha,s mindful meditation helps to calm down mind effectively.Sitting straight, concentrating on inhalation and exhalation one can be still in body and mind, and also can be thought free and peaceful.Slowly the thought of "I" and "Mine" disappears, mind expands and embraces all with loving kindness. Thoughts may come like passing clouds. But as the sky remains unaffected by passing clouds,so is the meditative mind remains undisturbed by thoughts and remains ever peaceful. Simple and beautiful advise from Buddist scholar Atisha is for every body. He said, "All ways keep a smiling face, a loving mind , and speak truthfully with out malice."