Mysterious game of joys and sorrows in life

Twilight and sunshine ,joys and sorrows are all interlinked in life.This eternal game of God , seems to be very mysterious and confusing to a common man.He does not know the purpose of it.Among many realized souls, Tagore also realized the deeper meaning of this hide and seek game of our creator, and expressed it beautifully in his poem. He wrote, "O heartless one, you have done well,... this incense of mine unless burnt , does not yield any fragrance. This lamp of mine, unless kindled does not spread any light. When my mind lies insentient your cruel strike is your touch, is your gift." He said the purpose of this eternal game of life , is not to confuse us , but to awaken us from the slumber of ignorance.According to Dao philosophy, misfortunes come to motivate us  to achieve our best. They help us to build up moral character and many other virtues.
The natures law is, no pain no gain. The initiative quality generally blossoms  in the time of distress.All scientific inventions and spiritual findings are the result of such inner quest of human mind.Barriers and stress come , so that we can use them for our evolution. We make our body strong by hardship, sharpen our brain through complexities, and spirit grows with the experiences of hardship in life.Param Hansa Yogananda described this quality, as a creative faculty, and said, a spark of Infinite Creator is present in each of us.
This inner creative ability gives us courage to face challenges, inspires to explore new positive solutions, and also inspires to act with sincere effort  for well being of all.
Experiences of external circumstances , drive us to creat some thing out of nothing. Our unselfish actions
make us master of own destiny ,by attracting divine grace and blessings of others.Good action makes present beautiful, future bright and clears the effect of past wrong actions effectively.
Following the scriptural guidance, we should be careful about the influence of out side energy also, and should stay away from one horse power people who are lazy and negative by nature.Also we need little training to establish conscious contact with the infinite power through right kind of meditation.Param Hansa Yogananda beautifully summarized this point saying, "Life may be dark, difficulties may come , but by the quality of divine initiative within you, you can defeat every ininvasion of fate, created by your past wrong actions and march victorious into paradise" .

Magic of Maditation

Tagore beautifully expressed his desire to have divine bliss in one of his song. He wrote, "you lay buried in my heart, I failed to see you. I cast my eyes out ward, did not look within." Like him ,we also want to have a glimpse of perfect peace in life, but do not know how to get it. Paths shown by great souls,like  Buddha Krishna or Christ can surely help us to experience peace in life.
Today , medical science has proved that , uncontrolled mind , saturated with negative emotions is the root cause of our physical and mental sufferings.Paramhansa Yogananda said, "having lots of money, while not having inner peace is like dying of thirst, while bathing in the ocean. "
As all problems have some solution, the solution of this problem  was also found by rishis and yogis of ancient India.The capsule formula they gave was, " Atmanam Bodhi" , know thyself. Man can be stress free only by knowing his own divine soul nature.
Meditation is a scientific technique , when practiced in silence and seclusion, makes us soul conscious.Mind becomes calm, clear , and compassionate to all life.Dalai Lama said, calm mind brings inner strength, self confidence and good health. Meditation is benificial because , it makes us aware , of our negative emotions. And with increasing right discriminating power can correct them and can dump them for ever. Then with perfect self control, one can roam about in the world like a lion. No frogs of weakness can kick him down.
According to "yoga Sutra" ,meditation brings perfect concentration,good health and many other miraculous powers. We all know that, controlling mind is not an easy task. Mind tends to run here and there , and it becomes a constant struggle to have a momentary period of joy in meditation.
Even then, the little side effects , which come through regular practice of meditation, can transform practitioner,s personality in a very positive way.One becomes more humble, loving and compassionate to all. His positive vibration spreads all around, and improves relationships,  and interactions in every sphere of life. With inner strength one can transform adversities into opportunities, by taking support from the same platform , on which he falls.
This strength does not come from out side,it comes from inner convictions,patience and self effort. As Yoga nanda said, " change the attitude that, you are a mortal beggar, and a victim of circumstances. Never let your mind be controlled by your body,...you are separate from your mortal form. You are a spirit " ( The Divine Romance ) .

Mindful Meditation.

once Paramhansa Yogananda said, every soul is like a diomond , but we cover it up with the mud of ego, greed, anger, hatred and other negative emotions. Life's duty is to remove those  muds , then the original self will shine again with loving kindness, purity and devotion, through our every thought and action of life.
These inspiring sayings of Yogananda show us the path to bring peace and harmony in life.Our thoughts make our personality, and personality gets reflected through our actions, speech and attitudes. Life becomes stressful by negative thoughts created by our own mind. But if we know, how to transform our negativity into positivity , then surely we can make our home, our surroundings and this world a place of harmony and joy.
We get a scientific guidance in this matter , from ancient Indian yoga system. In "Yoga Sutra" a lot of importance is given on self introspection, and self analysis. Honest self introspection is possible , only by being established in higher consciousness, when one can observe his own worldly activities like a detached spectator , can evaluate its righteousness, and also can change it into right direction. Through mindful meditation , yoga system brings clarity in our understanding, discriminating abilities, and also strengthens our will power , so that the implementation of right ideas in right place at right time becomes possible.
By entering the laboratory of mind, we watch and understand the nature of the mind. Then with the help of higher consciousness, we can control over negative tendencies, and can be the master of our own mind.
Resident minister of Ramkrishna Vedanta Society of North Texas USA, wrote that , this mindful meditation practice has been successively used in experiments with patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, and this yoga practice is termed in psychotherapeutic language as "impartial spectator."
Yoga's mindful meditation technique also brings a tremendous positive result in our attitude. We become more humble and learn to perform all worldly duties as an instrument of God, to fulfill His wishes , and not to fulfill our narrow selfish desires. This noble attitude is described in Bhagavad Gita  as "Nishkam Karma" , which means action with out attachment . One can also remain completely stress free by working for well being of all, which includes his well being too.
The truth of universal connectivity and the joy of self less service , was realized by all great people and  they expressed it in many different ways. I end with a quotation from Tagore's poem ,where this sentiment was expressed beautifully."Help me submerge, all my vanity under modest tears. May I not project myself in my own activities. It is your intentions that I carry out in my life " 

Taming the mind

Judhisthir the most pious character of Indian epic Mahabharata, was once asked by Dharmaraj (king of righteousness) that, what goes faster than the wind?. Judhisthir replied, mind goes faster than the wind.It is true, mind can cross the boundaries of time and space in a fraction of a second. It also influences our daily lives very strongly. A chaotic mind finds chaos all around,where as a peaceful mind can make a soothing background, and can help us to act in a harmonious way through all challenges of life. Connections between mind and life's activities are very deep rooted.Our personalities are formed according to our positive and negative thoughts created by mind, and we also act accordingly.
As certain training is always needed for engaging in the art of war,so does our engagement in battling with active life.AsYogananda said,unless we know,how to persevere our inner peace, we can soon be down with bullets of worry and restlessness in active life. So all through the ages,many great souls thought and meditated on this problem very deeply. They found the solution and showed us the ways to be the master of our own mind.
One such powerful and scientific technique is Ashtanga Yoga. Rishi Patanjali showed the definite way,to be the master of our own mind,by controlling our senses,with systematic practice of moral discipline,exercise, proper breathing,concentration,meditation etc. Yoga means,union between individual soul and the supreme soul. With the help of yoga,when an individual soul realizes his inner potentialities,his divine source, and his connection with the divine energy,he gets empowered, and can easily overcome all worldly temptations of life .Being the controller of his mind, guides it rightly with his proper discrimination and will power. Describing the power of yoga,Paramhansa Yogananda beautifully said,"in any given situation,our actions can be correct and appropriate,only when we know how to remain mentally undisturbed. An undisturbed mind can see the world as a cosmic drama,while a confused mind takes it too seriously and suffer.
Buddha realized , the intensity of human suffering depends on the intensity of minds clinging attitudes. The isolated and insecured mind tries to cling to impermanent worldly things to have permanent peace and happiness, and soon gets disillusioned and unhappy. To create peace in our own mind,Buddha asked to work on mindful breathing constantly.Mind always wonders in past or in future thoughts. Mindful breathing can bring it back to the present and makes it calm.Buddha said, Buddhahood is present in every one, only we have to put right effort, and dive deep in meditation to find the precious pearl of peace in our own mind.

Necessity for self discipline

like all other species,human beings are also part of the nature.But in one point they differ from others.The task of fulfilling life's mission is done automatically in others life, but human beings can reach the goal of their lives only with lots of self effort and self discipline.Flowers blossom to spread fragrance, fruits ripe to satisfy hunger, and river flows to enrich life of others.At the end of its journey,lovingly it dissolves it's own identity by being one with the ocean.This noble task is done so gracefully, that it seems, that they come only to fulfill their life's mission joyfully.
Mission of human life is also the same. With a help of an analogy, Buddha explained it beautifully.He said,when we like a flower,we pluck it, when we love a flower, we water it daily.Selfless service for well being of all,can be performed, only when one realizes that the same life force is throbbing in every heart, and we are all connected.As Dalai Lama said,"In my limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well being."
But often our spiritual loving nature gets repressed by our uncontrolled senses.They react quickly to out side stimuli.As a result,instead of being guided by our spiritual consciousness,we get trapped by basic survival instincts, which make life self centered and stressful.
Awakened souls of ancient India realized,emotional stability and well being can be established,only by controlling the out going nature of our senses. So rishi Patanjali prescribed ten eternal and ethical values in his "Yoga Sutra " , which are supposed to be practiced from childhood.With sincere practice, they help to change our negative attitudes, clear up mental pollutions , and gives us power to control senses to lead them in right directions.
These disciplines are known as Yama and Niyama( self control and self discipline). Yama includes five basic ethical values. They are Ahimsa (non harming), Satya(truthfulness),Asteya (non stealing),Brahmacharya (celibacy) and Aparigraha (non greediness).All these values teach us to interact with life,s situations more harmoniously. By practicing non-hurting attitude,one learns to develop loving kindness towards all life.Following the path of truth,one never gets lost in life,because truth is the ultimate winner in every situation of life.By practicing the virtue of non-stealing one stays away from karmic bondage and is also respected by all.Celibacy teaches,not to waste personal energy by misuse of senses.Development of non greediness is very much needed in today's consumerist culture.It helps to keep life free from unnecessary accumulations.
Niyama includes,Sauch(cleanliness),Santosh(contentment), Tapas (spiritual practice), Svadhya(self study),and Ishwar Pranidhan,surrendering to God.To advance in the spiritual path,necessity to keep body and mind free from all pollutions is very necessary.Also one should safe guard against bad company, unhealthy food and polluted environment, they affect life negatively.Other three qualities, contentment,religious practices, and self study are also equally important in life.Finally Ishwar Pranidhan means to offer every moment of life in remembrance of God and to bring His glory through actions,speech and thoughts in life.All these ten values bring out our divine nature.As Swamy Vivekananda truly said, "each soul is potentially divine, and the goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature external and internal."

Destiny.

Destiny is a mysterious and controversial topic.Some believe that,life's events are predetermined by God, and we can not do anything about it.There is also another rational view, according to which ,neither stars nor God hold our destiny. We are the maker of our own fate.Destiny is nothing but the result of our own karma, which we choose to do with our own free will.
We always get influenced by old habits and attitudes, and tend to attract the same type of destiny again and again.It will best, if we can learn from our mistakes.But according to Bhagawat Gita, by letting the mind dwell too long on a selfish desire erases the lessons we should have learn from prior experiences.
We all want to start a new destiny and want to free from old karmic bondage. That path, by which we can be free from karma,was shown by many enlightened souls through the ages.
Buddha said," No one saves us, but ourselves, and we must walk the path." The path,which he asked to follow,was the path of awareness.Every moment we must be aware of our mind and attitude.If they are unselfish and wholesome,then the results of righteous actions will surely be beneficial to all.
There is a deep connection between karma and fate, and that law is based on the universal law of cause and effect.In simple language,what we sow we reap.What we give to life,life gives back in ten fold, and that is what we call destiny. Another factor which influences our destiny is the inter connectedness between all life.As human nature often over values short term gain and undervalues the long term,he tends to deprive others in many ways to fulfill his own selfish desires and cravings.In Bhagawad Gita,Shri Krishna warned and said,"you work against your best interests when you let unbridled cravings control you"( chapter 3/verse 37-41).
Often an ignorant mind,breaks that cosmic law, and does not hesitate to inflict pain to others,in obtaining his short term gain.But results of such actions in a long run can not be profitable,neither for us nor for our future generations.Then we may not remember,that the cause was created by us, but the cosmic law can not be broken by any body.The universe is like a mirror,it reflects exactly the same in life,what we show through actions.
The arrival of  results of action may vary, it may be immediate,it may take moderate time or a longer time.Like by putting finger in the fire, effect of burning will immediate.Or ill health,like obesity,heart disease etc may be caused after a moderate time of 15/20 years,due to wrong eating or lead a sedentary life.And some results of our karma germinate much later, in this life or in next life.We must know,that good or bad,whatever we find in our present life,is nothing but the results of our past karma.
Life is a golden opportunity for all of us to cultivate good destiny by doing good karma.ParamHansa Yogananda said "Real strength comes,when in silence and seclusion,we meditate on true source of origin.Then we realize,we are of divine consciousness, and are not limited in the fragile cage of this body made of flesh,bones and senses.
The famous philosopher Descartes also believed that,all individuals possess the natural light of reason, and has capacity to discover the truth.We all have divine potentiality in us, we are all capable in changing our destiny and roasting the seeds of bad karma by doing good karma, and by bringing light of wisdom with self effort and determination in life.Aristotle's quotation summarizes karma theory beautifully.He said, "excellence is never an accident.It is always the result of high intention,sincere effort, and intelligent execution,it represents the wise choice of many alternatives choice,not chance determines your destiny."

Edited by Prodeep Bose.

Power of compassion

It was a pleasant surprise for me to visit a beautiful Buddist meditation center in a small town in the Hamptons. My son Prodeep, his wife Louisa and two dogs drove me there, and left me to attend two hours meditation session on a Sunday morning. A small group of people were attending the session. One kind looking American lady gave a brief guided meditation course , to make our mind still and receptive. After that she spoke about Buddha's teachings on compassion. We all know that, compassion is a great virtue,which wipes away tears of many suffering souls, and also helps to open our hearts, and broaden it with love, compassion and forgiveness toward others.But in today's hectic life,we want everything instant,we have no time to stop and reflect.So the tender flower of compassion which blossoms with love, torlerance and forgiveness is drying up in life.But now the time has come,to be inspired and learn to deal with life,more meaningfully,by being compassionate and kind to others; to our family,society and the whole world.Enlightened souls like Buddha,Christ,Gandhi,Mother Teressa,they showed the power of compassion through their self less service.They felt others sufferings as their own and dedicated their life for wellbeing of others. Young prince Siddhath,left his kingdom and family,went through austerities as a renunciate,just to know, how to end sufferings of life.He found his answer in giving unselfish love and compassion. Our love and compassions are generally tinged with our selfish desires,they are not unconditional.So when our expectations are not met,we feel frustrated and angry.Then leaving the path tolerance and forgiveness,we take the path of violence and aggressiveness.Our myopic vision,can not see life through a larger frame.The problem starts,when we ignore our kinship with others.The moment we train our mind to see our interconnectedness,our hearts open up, and then we can no more hurt others.We realize that,all life trembles at violence,and if we put ourselves in another's plannce,we can not be violent to others. Compassion and love cannot grow on the soil of anger,hatred or selfishness.Unless we nurture loving tolerance,we can neither be happy,nor can make others happy.We are all playing our different roles,in the temporary drama called "life".So it is important to learn from life,and try to give back to life,as much as we can, through our good will and good deeds.Sowing the seeds of compassion and love,we can all leave a permanent mark in this impermanent life. Actually when we encounter difficult people or situations in life,we should thank them from our hearts to give us a great opportunity to develop our patience,loving tolerance and to do good karma.Bhagawad Gita says,only brave can forgive, and return love for hatered.It says ,who is detached,remains undisturbed in pleasure and pain,same with friend and foe, is dear to God. When unexpected stormy moments appear in life, we get rattled, loose our cool,and react aggressively to others. But we can get a lesson from Buddha's story.Once when Buddha was sitting in his usual meditative mood, one of his jealous cousins came and started berating Buddha, for no reason. But as Buddha stayed unruffled, he left after some time.Buddha's disciple Ananda asked, "Lord, why did you allow him to speak such lies, you did not not even protest".Buddha answered , when some body wants to give a gift, and it is not accepted, it goes back to the giver.Buddha's compassion extended even to those, who were abusive to him. But even if we can not oblige undue demand, we should not shout back or insult a person.We may reject undue demand being calm and dignified. Bhagawad Gita says, by controlling our anger and impulsiveness we can make our own self our friend. I will end with another beautiful story called "Bishop's candle stand ", which I read in my school days. The story goes like this...,on a stormy night a much respected Bishop was all alone at home, when an exconvict came by seeking shelter. The kind Bishop called him friend, and offered him food and shelter. After some time, when the Bishop went to bed , the convict stole his silver candle stands, and ran away.But soon he was caught and brought back to Bishop by local police. The compassionate Bishop pardoned the convict, and asked the police to go back, and told them, that they were not stolen, they were gifted by him to his friend . Kind compassion of Bishop touched the heart of the convict, and gave him a new life.His path of sin was washed away for ever by his tears of repentance, and he became a new man to travel in a new path, again in life.