A New Year’s Resolution

A New Year’s Resolution

As moments roll into minutes, and minutes into hours and days, gradually, our years pass away, punctuated by annual resolutions. The focus of our resolutions align to our natural inclinations and needs from childhood, adolescence, and youth, and finally, when old age peeps through our gray hairs, we wonder; what did I gather, what did I resolve to do, and what did I achieve and contribute through this lifetime? 

Every stage of life has its own desires. They may be a colorful toys in childhood, a speedy motorbike in adolescence, or a beautiful wealthy partner in our youth. But unfortunately after achieving anything we set out to, we soon we get bored, and need another target in life to keep us engaged. So the real question is – are our resolutions driven by the attainment of our desires or a desire to evolve as a human being? The marathon of life goes on, one leg at a time. And many believe that it doesn’t even come to a halt with our death, because to fulfill our unfulfilled desires, we reappear in physical form in this world, till we taste the freedom of     desireless-ness.

So for a change, we may experiment with a new resolution in this upcoming New Year. And that resolution should be, not to run after anything.  Just to be relaxed, but attentive, not to be angry, not to worry, and not to get agitated at all by any situation, however provocative it may be. 

Though such a resolution could be rejected by many as not a resolution, it is perhaps the most difficult resolution of all. To achieve a state in which the experience of being alive as a conscious human being is not punctuated by objective achievement, is one that can be very interesting and adventurous. It is a way to know ourselves and this world as we are. 

Every moment creeps in our life silently to give a new message, to sing a new song. But mostly not being relaxed and attentive, we miss to hear that tune. The tune which emerges from the eternal flow of life sings the song of life’s impermanence. That song inspires and teaches us to be dispassionate, to loosen our attachment, and tells us that, we own nothing in this world. On the other hand each and every blow of life gives us signal to be alert and attentive in each moment, to treat every relationship, every soul with sincere love and dignity, who ever touches our life. We can really respect and value each life, only when we are aware of life’s impermanence. But mostly being unaware of life’s truth, we take life for granted, and for personal gratification of our desires, we use our relationship with human beings, animals and plants in not a very dignified way. As a result, life becomes stressful for us and for our dear ones also. 

Life is an ongoing process of learning. If we train our mind to be relaxed, attentive, and observant, then from each and every moment, and from every life event, we get an opportunity to learn something about ourselves. Just through the observation of our reaction towards outside stimuli, we can gain insight into ourselves and lead to self-empowerment. 

When we are self-empowered, our mind becomes unprejudiced and devoid of any preconceived notions. We are able to see things as they really are, and think and act calmly to any situation without a pre-defined tendency to act in accustomed ways. To be cheerful, happy, and connected to experiences that the present moment brings, is our natural state. It doesn’t require an accomplishment or a difficult task to achieve it but a vigilance mindset against falling into prejudice so we don’t allow any situation to pull us down and rob us of a state of engaged joyfulness that is our birthright. 

Only through the constant practice of mediation, can we learn to stay cheerful and above conflict – with the external world as well as ourselves. And to remain, attentive and aware is a task of utmost importance. Through mindfulness, we can turn each moment into an insight. The cosmic energy drawn through our silent meditation, when applied to daily action transforms the mundane into something holy and beautiful. And that leads to selfless service, which in turn makes us free from karmic bondage.

So in this New Year, our resolution could be to draw upon our inner strength and nurture it through the active practice of silence. Silence unfolds the full value of each moment, and in doing so, we find compassion and the desire to be helpful to each other. Such a resolution has the power to make life joyful not just for us but for all sentient beings. In this way, we may leave our permanent footprint in this impermanent world.

Edited by Prodeep Bose

Action without Expectation

The famous verse (sloka) of Bagavad Gita says “your right is to work only; but never to the fruits there of. May you not be motivated by the fruits of actions; nor let your attachment be towards inaction.” (Chapter II/verse 47).

This is a very profound statement, which can be justified and explained from many different angles. 

In our ancient scriptures, and especially in Bhagavad Gita, it is again and again mentioned that, the goal of human life is to evolve from lower to a higher state, from material level to a spiritual level, and finally through the realization of our immortal self within, we should be free from all bondages. This process of evolution continues through our birth and rebirth. From child hood to our old age, we are all ways busy in doing different types of actions. It is said that, in life when we meet all challenges and perform all our worldly duties, with honest sincerity, for well being for all, and without any expectation for its fruits, we gradually progress towards our goal. Work may vary from individual to individual, according to our previous karmic account, but how we perform our prescribed duties in this life, and with what attitude, that is very important. 

Our universal prayer for perfect action in life is beautifully expressed in these few lines of Tagore 

“Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows

Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service

Give me the strength to raise my mind high above daily trifles

And give me the strength to surrender my strength to thy will with love” 

To make life meaningful, we must be attentive and must know the “Law of karma”; which means, how I want to feel tomorrow, it much depends, on how I use my life today. 

When we act with expectations, with hope and with fear, our mind gets disturbed and restless. If something gets uneasy or hurts, we immediately change the track, and look for alternatives. 

Feeling of expectations, hope and fear comes from mental poverty, that we lack something. With the feeling of constant want, we cannot be relaxed. It also ties us down to karmic bondage, for which we have to come back again and again to fulfill our endless desires.  

Life is a mystery. With our limited vision and understanding, we do not know what will be the outcome from our life’s events. After a big disappointment we may think, that is the end of the story. But we never know, it may be just the opposite. It may open up a new positive chapter in life. Temporary loss may turn out to be a greater gain in future. In this world, even in our life also, nothing happens by chance. Every event has a cause behind it. Everything is governed by the “Law of cause and effect” theory. And we must know that, ultimately whatever happens with divine will, it happens for good. 

In our temporary life, while we keep our selves busy with many activities, it is essential for us to remember a few things. Whatever we do, we should do with full concentration, and with a calm and cheerful mind. When mind is calm, composed, and stable, it can focus much better on any given problem; and can find out the right way to deal with it. With agitated and unstable mind, confusion grows further. 

It is also a wise policy to be always aware of karmic law, which means whatever we give, it comes back in many fold in our life. Awareness of this universal law (cause and effect theory) may stop us from doing many wrong things. With strong ego and with selfish attitude when we act, actually we invite more troubles for our own life. An ego rider’s temporary joyride sooner or later surely gets crushed under the wheel of divine law. 

Generally for all our misfortunes, we blame others, and make life more complicated for us and for others too. 

Life can be stress free, if we learn to deal with each challenge of life with unselfish sincere effort, and with whole hearted, intelligent attention. 

After that, whatever may be the outcome of our action, pleasant or unpleasant; we can accept it gracefully as God’s gift.

Communication for extending good will, not setting expectations

Communication is perhaps the most skillful act within human relationships. It is supported by the pillars of mutual love, respect, and healthy compassion for each other. It also strengthens our understanding of interdependence and teaches us to take care of ourselves and others around us. 

Before we start communicating with others, it is essential that we first communicate with our own heart to find out what feelings are being nurtured there, and with what intensity.  We may find out that our heart is open with unselfish love, joy and respect for all.Or we may find it is drying up with bitterness of hatred, anger or feelings of revenge. It is very important to observe our internal moods. Our behavior, actions and speech all are born out of the internal chemistry of our mind, and our communications are but a reflection of their color and quality.

So, if we really want to channel our communication skills towards extending good will, we must first clear up all the negative thoughts and feelings from our inner self. Otherwise our personal frustrations will spill over others, and the personality we project through communications will not be a pleasant one at all. Swami Yogananda said, the human mind is the most powerful broadcasting machine. So with full awareness if we always keep our mind positive, kind and respectful, then only successful communication of the heart is possible. Today with the help of most advanced communications devices like computers, mobile phones, TV, and radio, we can receive and send our ideas to any part of the world within a few seconds. But while we can improve our business communications by being ‘always on’ for conference calls and with other modern technology, we find that meaningful interactions between individuals in family, society, among friends and neighbors hood has gone down sharply. Relationships between husband and wife, parents and children are falling apart because we are too busy using communications technology that connects our words to the wired world but we have no time or patience to connect our words to our own heart and hear and share each other’s feelings in meaningful ways beyond the superficial – a like on facebook is not the same as a hug and a chat in the real world. It is an escape from a meaningful expression of our heart.

The modes of communications today make us more self-centered, more rigid, not so much on principals, but driven by the projection of our ego – perhaps because we constantly feel the need to have to re-establish ourselves through social media. This degradation and commercialization of human communications is one of the causes of our deterioration of relationships in present day. With all these modern means of communications, there is nothing left of us to communicate. The capacity to understand and express loving adjustment, and a quiet interplay within human relationships led by our hearts is being hijacked by a multitude of shallow transactional communications driven by a desire for self-   aggrandizement.  And in this state of affairs, relationships can only be a painful experience for us, leaving little scope for evolving the greatest role of communications between individuals – to be a mirror for our hearts. 

An alert and responsible person knows how not to be trapped by the constant meddling of modern communications technologies with the evolution of one’s heart. Happiness stands on the ground of understanding, sincerity and kind words. And that does not mean that we always have to agree with each other. But a stable minded and truthful person knows when to speak, how to speak and when to stay actively silent. 

Famous Zen master ThichNhatHanh says, to restore communication, the practice of compassionate listening and practice of loving speech are necessary. With calm and unprejudiced mind we should listen to our dear ones, without judging or criticizing them, and just let them speak out to lessen their sufferings. After that, if we want to point out some mistake or misunderstanding, we can do it with a calm voice, and with loving and kind words. 

Life is not permanent; it is like a passing shadow. We are all like moving stars, ready to move away from each other to some unknown destination at any moment. If this is the truth of life, then why not try to make each moment beautiful and wholesome with love, forgiveness and compassion? 

So whatever we can give, a loving encouraging word, a smile, a helping hand, we should give it right now. If we cannot catch this moment now, then life will only be full with repentance later. Tibetan Buddhist master Sogyal Rinpoche said, mind full of compassion purifies our past negative karma. So while helping others to communicate, we also help ourselves to clear out our past karma. Great formula on communication was given by an unknown Tibetan saint, and says,

“Give all profit and gain to other

Take all loss and defeat on yourself”.

Edited by 

Prodeep Bose

Speed, Mobility and Stability

Speed, Mobility and Stability

There is a Zen story about a man riding a horse which is galloping very quickly. Another man standing alongside the road yells at him, “where are you going?”, and the man yells back, “I do not know, ask the horse.

Our situation is something like that today. Our five senses are like five untrained, wild horses, which are pulling and pushing us in tremendous speed to self-perpetuate our endless desires, but ending in a state of disarray.

Desires spring from our natural energy which is constantly in flux, so they should not be suppressed. But how and with what direction we channel that energy into is a skillful task that each of us must endeavor to learn. And it is critically important, because our happiness and happiness of those around us much depends on our accomplishment of this task.  

Life is short and uncertain, and the speed, level of skill, and directional awareness we develop in our lives is one of the truly consequential choices we make – with or without the awareness of it. When we hurry up to do something, with good intentions, and for a good cause such as social welfare, education, or feeding the needy, then the speed and direction of this transforms the energy arising out of our natural state of desire (pravritti) into a constructive force expanding outwards. 

But when the same energy is fixed on self gratification and accumulation, without any concern for others, then it shapes itself into a cancerous force of self-destruction. Our unchecked cravings and desires are behind today’s culture of consumerism. The effect of that can be seen in destruction of nature, violence in society, and in the explosion of mental illness, it also continues to lead our individual and collective self-destruction. 

Before speeding up indiscriminately to get something, it will be wise just to stop for a moment, and ponder with a calm mind that what is it that we’re really seeking in life, and how does this moment drive towards that larger goal. When the goal gets clear, then we can put our speedy efforts to find out the best way to achieve it. 

If we become little more inward looking and indulge a little less in short term thinking, and try to understand our true nature, we will see that we are all spiritual beings passing through material expressions of our intentions and desires.  Our goal should be to realize our inherent divine nature, while playing our respective roles with dignity, sincerity and honesty. Body, mind and senses all are our instruments, those that help us perform our duties towards the greater whole and the endless continuum of life and an understanding of that is the first step in reaching the goal of self realization.But often when ignorance covers up our vision, we think we are alone and separate in this one body, we behave like slaves to our senses and desires. We speed up, and waste our life running after mirages created by our desires, whose promise of excitement is but a fleeting vision that leaves in its wake permanent damage to our material, psychological and spiritual life. Only with proper understanding and with the power to discern subtly, our own life experience can bring balance between mobility expressed through the natural flux of our energy (pravritti) and stability (nivritti). Our skill must match our speed in order to keep control of the direction of our lives. If it doesn’t, it is better to be still and gain that skill before moving further. In being awakened to the wisdom of our true nature, we can still be materially productive and prosperous while being spiritually enlightened. In order to make our brief worldly journey meaningful and peaceful for us and for others whose lives we touch, it is imperative that we stop the world before moving any further. And in that moment, see exactly where we stand and where we’re headed.

We need speed, mobility and stability all in our lives but in the right proportion and for right cause. When that is not maintained, our orientation is skewed and unbalanced and destroys the harmonious balance of life and with it ourselves. And the evidence of this we can find in much of today’s consumerist culture, which is largely fed by endless desire, and causing terminal harm to the individual life force as well as stunting the development of a just, civic society. 

A well-known American Buddhist scholar Mr. Jack Kornfield says; “ Ours has been called the Addicted society, with over twenty million alcoholics, ten million drug addicts, and millions addicted to gambling, food, sexuality, unhealthy relationships, or the speed and business of work …with great fanfare our society encourages these addictions”. (A Path with Heart, page 24).

Life full with endless expectations and desires, do not allow us to stay connected with our own selves, then how can we expect to be connected with others with love and respect?  So we find, with all material comforts, modern man lives in deep loneliness and inner poverty. 

Tragedies come in life to teach us that which we have not taught ourselves. We ‘own’ nothing in this impermanent world, not our car, house or our dear ones, not even our own bodies. So to bring about a stable state of happiness, we have to work on our lives, and with a proper understanding of our true loving and peaceful nature. With will and with discernment, we may channel our energies of desire for welfare of others. By surrendering our big ego, and attitude of “I” and “Mine” at the feet of our creator, we can remain free. We do not have to be ascetics. We can still enjoy the fullness of life and complete our duties and business obligations efficiently without losing sight of what comprises the means to the end and what is the end goal of our sentient lives. Losing ourselves to be the top runner in a rat race, or counting the value of our life in terms of material significance associated with things that we cannot take with us is a manic state, not one that is borne of a clear understanding of the fact that the only resource we have is time, and the only power we have is the power to make choices. This brief transit of life is too valuable to be wasted. As T. S. Eliot said in his poem 

“Those who have crossed 

With direct eyes, to deaths other kingdom 

Remember us – if at all – not as lost 

Violent souls, but only 

As hollow men 

The stuffed men”.  (The Hollow Men)

Edited by Prodeep Bose

Joys and sorrows are source of strength and wisdom

“There is sorrow, there is death, 

There burns the fire of separation

Yet there is peace, yet there is bliss

Yet flows unending life.” (Tagore, Achhedukkho, ache mrityu)

Life flows with opportunities and disappointments, and we pray only for it to be blessed. 

But sometimes blessings come disguised as hardship and we do not realize then, but may be years later we realize that God’s generosity in not fulfilling our heart desire, and saving us from ourselves.The joys and sorrows that come to our doorstep are there to teach us something. We have no power to stop them. We can only welcome life as it comes, do the needful, learn the lesson, and then let it go. But sometimes they do not go. And when misfortunes hang over us for a long time we feel depressed, discouraged and hopeless, and then we are left with no energy to lift ourselves out of it. 

Such a situation can be explained only by law of karma and reincarnation. Nature’s law is that what we give comes back to us in many folds – or has often been said across many religious texts – what we do to others, we actually do to ourselves. In taking another’s life, we imprint the horror of killing on our own soul. This karmic knowledgeabout the connection between personal energy and action should make us very careful, not to use our thought, action or speech in a way that would cause damage to others, and thereby ourselves. This knowledge also can give us inner strength to face the many challenges of life. When we realize that through our suffering, we are cleansing our multi-lifetime karmic debt, we feel much lighter, and can view suffering not as bondage but as a path to freedom.

On the whole, life can never be monotonous, because joys and sorrows; success and failures, all these opposite currents ebb and flow through our lives.

This changing pattern of life’s events can be a great source of wisdom and strength, if only we have an open mind, and a positive attitude to learn the lessons within. Material life and its energetic flow is eternal and like ebb and flow of waves, our lives also appear and disappear in the eternity of the ocean of consciousness. But when we view it from a narrow perspective of an individual, all the joys and sorrows are as big and real as a wave at any one moment. As a result, either we get overwhelmed with joy, or are drowned in sorrow. 

Often we see people in power and with possessions - and the fear of the loss of those tumbles them into the loss of their emotional balance. They often become arrogant or insensitive to others, or fearing uncertainty, they wrap up their lives in seclusion, which is devoid of joy and freedom, and can only generate fear, anger and hatred. The attachment to power or possessions is the act that denies us the joy and freedom they were meant to bring.

On the other hand, when unending suffering continues, we lose hope and confidence and feel suffocated under the pressure of life’s misfortune.  But if we introspect deeply, we will understand that our experience of the reality of our lives – both in material and in emotional terms, is our choice. And no matter the circumstance – be it hardship or luxury, the experience is what makes it so and that is, or certainly could be, in our own command. An orientation towards attachment, greed, jealousy, hatred, etc., is the real cause of our suffering. Adverse situations may aggravate and may provoke our negativity, but in essence, we are responsible for our own life experience, regardless of its material composition. When wealth, wisdom, happiness is shared, it is amplifies our own experience of it, and when we support others in their misfortune by giving of ourselves, we do not become less but in fact, generate more of what we gave. That is the law that governs the human experience. We are comprised of what we consume, and what we give. We are finite beings surrounded by infinity in every direction – and there is such great abundance of energy in this universe that to protect what is ours is like building sand castles on a beach. It is more meaningful to channel the blessings of the countless unseen souls of the past, the joy shared by all sentient beings in the present and the energy that will shape the unborn – to add a drop to that infinite ocean of energy and give form to the blessings that fill up this human planet with more joy. We are all interconnected in this world, so it is our obligation to give back something to society, and for the betterment of all conscious beings using our evanescent human form. This attitude will enrich our personality with great human qualities like compassion, cooperation and creativity. 

Suffering is a great teacher. Pain makes us tender, and ready to be cooked in the cauldron of the greater collective consciousness, and to achieve a state that our cognitive mind, by itself, cannot. The pain of losing our dear ones, or our much valued possessions directly teach us about the impermanent nature of this world. It inspires us to be kind to others, to have self-control, to have the power to discern the subtleties of our physical and emotional experiences. These lessons are the seeds of spiritual awakening. Suffering makes us humble and understanding. Difficulties soften our heart, make us more empathetic. It also motivates us to find out some new ways, through which problems can be solved. Bhagavad Gita refers about it as, different kinds of endeavor (vividha cha prthakchesta), chapter 18, verse 14.

Through different endeavors, our consciousness get energized to a higher order.According to our karma, whatever comes in our life is urging us to learn something for our souls to evolve.

Life is ever new, with new hope and with new possibilities. Though life’s events are not in our control, surely we can transform the experience of each moment to a higher order than simply pain or pleasure.  Gloriousness and wretchedness are complementary to each other, when one inspires us, cheers us up, and make us happy, the other softens us, teaches us to be steady and courageous. But in the end, they are but attributes that are our own.

Bhagavad Gita teaches us, neither to be overwhelmed with joy, nor to be heart broken in sorrow. While facing challenges of life we should learn to keep our mind as calm as possible. In happiness in misery, in profit and in loss, in victory or in defeat we should keep our mind as calm and steady as possible, because all good works are done only through a calm mind and silent steady disposition. “Heaving made pain and pleasure, gain and loss, conquest and defeat, the same, engage yourself then in battle. So shall incur no sin”.  (Sukhadukhe same krtva, labhalabhaujayajayau)” Chapter II, Verse 38.

Edited by Prodeep Bose

Approach Life as an Experiment

Life’s journey can be exciting, and adventurous, if only we can keep our mind and attitude little flexible.

When we approach life as an experiment, we try in many different ways. If something does not work out, there is no point to be stressed out about it. May be the time was not ripe for that particular thing to happen. May be the time was more suitable for some other thing to happen.

Whatever we do, we should put our whole heart into it. But it is a wise policy, not to freeze our mind with hope, desire and fear. Whatever happens happens for good. This is the message of Bhagavad Gita also. When work is done with total sincerity and we surrender it to God’s will we neither get stressed out nor get tied up with karmic account.

When work is done from narrow self-centeredness, it is sure to create stress and tension for us.

The best trick is, while working, we must keep few points in mind. Our work and intension should not be harmful to others. Better it will be, if it is done for well being of all. Secondly we should put our 100 percent sincere effort in each of our work. Finally we should surrender all our work to God’s will. Then whatever may be the outcome, we can remain unruffled. 

Life is a great school, especially we may learn a lot from our adversities and disappointments. If we lose our material possessions or our loved ones, that pain teaches us the world’s temporal nature. Whatever may come in our life, prosperity, good relationship or fame, we may enjoy it, without being attached to them with expectations. Mental freedom and joy is our birth right. We must protect that, and learn to live every moment with joy and happiness.

Life is an experiment with right and wrong approach, and we learn many lessons from life.

If our sincere effort brings satisfactory result it is “Fine”, if it is not “No big deal”.

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Spiritual Knowledge

Spiritual Knowledge is the need of the day
“Spiritual knowledge is the only thing that can destroy our miseries for ever; any other knowledge satisfies wants only for a time”. (Swami Vivekananda, The Secret of the work).

Today we need a philosophy that can address the dissonance that echoes across so many cultures, peoples and societies. The only solution to solve the many miseries of our world today is to make ourselves pure in intent, strong in spirit strong and educated in a deeper understanding of our shared existence. Misery derived from the conflict of men will continue to exist until the essential human character evolves. And it is through the evolution of our individual nature, that we can effect change in the collective – change that begins deep within the self then impacts one’s family, then our own society, and then even distant cultures and peoples  - even those in direct conflict with us. Spiritual knowledge purifies our thoughts and attitudes and teaches us how to negotiate our life with the fundamental acceptance of the fact that uncertainty is the only certainty, thereby maintaining a sense of equilibrium and connection with the deepest core of one’s being even in the face of great difficulties.

The root cause of our misery is that we forget we are spiritual beings first. We forget that life is impermanent and our material existence and attachments are but a collection fleeting moments. The sole purpose of human life is for our soul to learn the lessons from life, and evolve through purification or our inner self, to be free from the cycle of birth and death. According to Sankhya philosophy, “the whole of nature is for the soul, not the soul for the nature”. But being only body conscious, we take impermanent life as permanent, and waste our life and the lessons it brings, and chase endless desires to catch up to a fleeting mirage of what we think our life should be instead of what it is pointing our soul towards. And that mistake leads to a path that leads to narrow and selfish attachments, which in turn breed lust, anger, intolerance, and robs us from the divine qualities of compassion and understanding that lead to peace. Understanding the perspective of another is extremely necessary in order to see life in its totality, not just a projection of our personal mirage which itself is born with the notion of a fixed identity – often defined by birth, race, nationality, or by societal prejudices. 

The result is clearly seen in today’s world. This beautiful earth is full of violence, fanaticism, and intolerance. It could have progressed much more, if only we could care to gain spiritual knowledge from our true nature, and tried to apply it through our life’s activities. Human life is too short and valuable to be wasted on prejudice and hatred.

Ramprasad the saint poet of Bengal sang, “such rich field of human life is lying fallow which, if cultivated would have given the harvest of gold”. To make every moment precious and useful, we need to be inspired by a lasting knowledge that can guide us in right direction. 

Uplifting Vedanta’s theory Swami Vivekananda says, “Each soul is potentially divine”. Buddha said, Buddhahood is present in everybody; we just have to uncover it. We are all Atman, spiritual beings. The Atman or shared consciousness, which is creating and sustaining all life, is manifesting itself in every life, in every different form, and that is eternal. When body perishes, consciousness does not die, it dissolves in its source again, to re-appear in a different form. “No weapons can cut this Atman, no fire can burn it, no water can wet it, no air can dry it”, (Bhagawad Gita, Chapter II, verse 23). Know thyself, (atmanam bodhi). According to Veda, if we know truly who we are, then we know everything.

The knowledge of our spiritual identity, which is in me and in all, can empower us with fearlessness and compassion. Once we understand that our shared spirit is immortal and eternal, we understand that what we do to anyone or anything, we do to ourselves. This realization makes us compassionate to each other and makes us fearless in our observance of this compassion. 

We have achieved much in the field of technical and material understanding, but very little in terms of the development of our core human qualities. Long back Tagore visualized this problem and said “the world should not be broken up into fragments of narrow domestic walls”. What he feared long ago has become our reality. Though our life is saturated with all the physical comforts, our heart remain empty and unable to respond with unconditional love and compassion for all; it is always conditioned with narrow self-interest and personal gain. This is the sign of mental and spiritual poverty. Until we move forward on the path to our spiritual and mental evolution, we can never hope to have a happy society, regardless of the state of our material wealth and comfort.

Our body and mind are the perfect instruments to help us evolve spiritually, if only we know how to handle them in a correct way.

To bring unity in diversity, to bring good will for all, to have a balanced development of body, mind and soul, “Yoga” is a universally recognized system, about which Paramhansa Yogananda said, “India developed the yoga system, the science of oneness – oneness with the soul with God, oneness with the principles of eternal righteousness; with the universe; and with all mankind”. (The Divine Romance, page 351). Yoga gives us power to have control over our impulsive behavior; (yoga chittavritti nirodha). Through yoga when we are empowered with power of concentration, will power, ability to discriminate between right and wrong, only then we can be master of our own fate, and architect of our own life. By accepting yoga as a part of our life, we can get rid of our narrow and selfish attitude, and can express our inherent divine qualities more in life. By union with divine soul, we can embrace each soul with love, tolerance and compassion. And in that process our shared human existence can be transformed from a battlefield into heaven.  

This great knowledge, which has been highlighted by all realized souls, is for the happiness and well-being of all. There is nothing limited or communal in it. When we are enriched with spiritual knowledge, then life becomes worth living. We transcend the narrow boundary of “I” and “Mine”. Our every thought, action and speech may be motivated with the spirit of love and cooperation. Only then with a feeling of universal brotherhood, we can make this world a loving nest for all. 

Edited by Prodeep Bose
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