Society is afraid of your transformation

Society is not at all interested in your transformation ; on the contrary , it is very much afraid of your transformation because if you become transformed society will not be so easily able to oppress, exploit you .It will not be so easy to enslave you .If you become transformed , if you become full of light , you will be rebellious .Light brings rebellion .

Osho

Discontent

A man who is complacent , a man who is satisfied with money , with position , with an idea, can never see truth .It is only the man who is discontented , who is investigating , who is asking , questioning , looking , that discovers truth , and such a person is a revolution in himself and there in his relationships .

J Krishnamurthy

Three difficulties in becoming aware

There are three difficulties in becoming aware .
The first difficulty is to become aware while the act is happening .The second difficulty is to catch hold when the thought is arising in you .The third difficulty is to catch hold before it becomes a thought .These are very essential for each seeker to understand .In fact everybody becomes aware , but only when the act is finished .You have been angry - you slapped your wife or you threw a pillow at your husband .Later on when the heat is cooled , the moment has passed , you become aware .But now it is pointless , now nothing can be done .What has been done cannot be undone ; it is too late .


Osho from "The Book of Wisdom" .

When the mind is not clear

When the mind is very clear , it needs no authority ; but when it is uncertain, confused , when it is in misery , in turmoil , then it looks to another for help .And can another help? Or is there fundamentally no help at all , because the misery , the turmoil , the confusion , is created by oneself, and therefore must be cleared away by oneself ? Surely , whatever another can do to help is but a temporary alleviation .

J Krishnamurthy

Action

When you question and analyze action , you put an end to action .But if you are aware , if you are intense in your action , if you give to it your whole mind and heart , then that action will reveal whether you are thereby seeking comfort , security , or that infinite understanding which is the eternal movement of life .

J Krishnamurthy

The "I" thought

That which arises as "I' in this body is the mind .If one inquires as to where in the body the thought "I" rises first , one would discover that it rises in the heart .That is the place of the mind's origin .Even if one thinks constantly "I-I", one will be led to that place .Of all the thoughts that arise in the mind , the "I" thought is the first .It is only after the rise of this , that the other thoughts arise .

Sri Ramana Maharishi

What is Awareness?

Swamiji, please give us simple definition for “awareness”? Also, if the mind is an object, what is the subject? What is it that is aware?

Swami Dayananda Saraswathi replies :
To define awareness, we can only use another word—Consciousness, for example. Awareness means you are aware of something; it is opposed to inertness or non awareness. What is opposed to inertness is that which is not inert—awareness. Awareness, therefore, can be defined as what is manifest in all forms of perception, in all forms of knowing. Awareness is qualified by different objects. When I say “I am aware of the pot,” for example, there is pot awareness. Similarly when I say “I am aware of the cloth,” there is cloth awareness. Whenever you are aware of something, that something becomes the qualifying for awareness. This awareness can be defined in terms of knowledge as such. What is basic in all forms of knowledge is pure existence (satyam). Therefore, knowledge is defined as existence, and existence is defined as knowledge. One helps to define other. The basis for all forms of knowledge is what we mean by awareness.When you are listening to me, you are aware of me and of these words. The fundamental principle in which these words are heard is awareness. The words, “I do not hear you,” are also said within the same principle. The not-hearing also takes place in the same awareness. What is common in all forms of perception is awareness: I hear that I don’t hear, I see that I don’t see, I think that I don’t think. All are nothing but awareness. If, as we say, the mind is an object, what is it that is aware? The word “mind”means “thought.” What is it that is the awarer? You are the awarer. You are aware of thought. Opposed to the thought, therefore, there is subject—you. In fact, both the subject and the object are awareness. But, in the beginning, to help you find out what are you are, I generally say that a thought is an object and you are the subject. Then, when you ask “what is this I that is the subject?” I reply, “You, the subject, are a witness.” And what is the nature of the witness? Awareness.
The witness, then, is awareness and the witnessed object cannot be away from awareness. Therefore, the witness and witnessed are both awareness. Even the witness is not there, awareness remains. Similarly, thought is awareness and the thinker, the knower of the thought, is also awareness. With reference to thought, however, awareness assume two statuses, corresponding to two types of thought in mind—subject thought and object thought. These two
types of thought can be seen in the dream, where you are both the subject and the object of the dream. You are the object in that you are the one who participates in the dream world. And you are the subject, the one whose dream it is. The subject and the object are therefore one and the same. Both types of thought—Subject thought and object thought exist—in awareness and are, in fact, nothing but awareness.

20 Important Spiritual Instructions By Sri Swami Sivananda

Today i.e 14 July is the MahaSamadhi Day of Swami Sivananda and today was the day I stared by Yoga Journey 10 years back in 1997 .So as a tribute to my Master Swami Sivananda , I am putting his 20 important spiritual Instructions as my message for the day .

20 Important Spiritual Instructions By Sri Swami Sivananda

These twenty instructions contain the very essence of all Yoga Sadhana, Karma, Bhakti, Jnana and Yoga will all come to one who follows them whole-heartedly. They are the unfailing keys to quick and effective development and culture of the physical, mental, moral and spiritual self of man.

1. BRAHMAMUHURTA

Get up at 4 a.m. daily. This is Brahmamuhurta which is extremely favourable for Sadhana. Do all your morning spiritual Sadhana during this period from 4 a.m. to 6:30 or 7 a.m. Such Sadhana gives quick and maximum progress.

2. ASANA

Sit on Padmasana (lotus pose), Siddhasana (adept's pose) or Sukhasana (any pose you like) for your Japa and meditation for half an hour, facing east or north. Increase the period gradually to three hours. Practice Sirshasana (headstand) and Sarvangasana (shoulderstand) for maintenance of health and Brahmacharya. Take light physical exercises as walking, etc., regularly. Do twenty rounds of easy, comfortable Pranayama (breathing exercises). Do not strain yourself while doing Pranayama.

3. JAPA

You can repeat any Mantra (sacred syllable), such as pure Om or Om Namo Narayanaya, Sri Ram, Sita Ram, Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram, Om Namah Sivaya, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, Om Saravanabhavaya Namah, Hari Om, or Gayatri (a sacred Vedic Mantra), according to your taste or inclination, from 108 times to 21,600 times daily. Devotees of Christ may repeat the name Jesus or Hail Mary, Mother of Jesus. Parsis, Sikhs and Muslims may select a name or Mantra from the Zend Avesta, Granth Sahib or Koran respectively.

4. DIETETIC DISCIPLINE

Take Sattvic food. Give up chillies, tamarind, garlic, onion, sour articles, oil, mustard, asafoetida. Observe moderation in diet (Mitahara). Do not overload the stomach. Give up those things which the mind likes best for a fortnight once or twice in a year. Eat simple simple food. Milk and fruits help concentration. Take food as medicine to keep the life going. Eating for enjoyment is a sin. Give up salt and sugar for a week or a fortnight. You must be able to live on rice, dhal and bread without any pickle. Do not ask for extra salt for dhal, and sugar for tea, coffee and milk. People taking non-vegetaraian diet should try their best to gradually give up flesh-eating as completely as possible. They will be immensely benefited.

5. MEDITATION

Have a separate meditation room under lock and key. If this is not possible then a corner of the room should be set apart with a small cloth screen or curtain drawn across. Keep the room spotlessly clean.

6. SVADHYAYA

Study systematically the Gita, Ramayana, Bhagavatam, Vishnu-Sahasranama, Lalita-Sahasranama, Adityahridaya, Upanishads, Yoga Vasishta, Bible, Imitation of Christ, Zend Avesta, Quran, the Tripitakas, the Granth Sahib and other religious books from half an hour to one hour daily, and have Suddha Vichara (pure thoughts).

7. ELEVATE THE MIND

Get by heart some prayer - Slokas (prayer verses), Stotras (hymns) and repeat them as soon as you sit in the Asana before starting Japa or meditation. This will elevate the mind quickly.

8. BRAHMACHARYA

Preserve the vital force (Veerya (seminal energy)) very, very carefully. Veerya is God in motion or manifestation (Vibhuti). Veerya is all power. Veerya is all money. Veerya is the essence of life, thought and intelligence. This instruction is not for bachelors only. Householders also must follow it as far as possible. They must be extremely moderate in their marital connections with their spouse. This is very important.

9. CHARITY

Do charity regularly, every month, or even daily according to your means. Never fail in this item. If necessary forego some personal wants but keep up this charity regularly.

10. HAVE SATSANG

Give up bad company, smoking, meat and alcoholic liquors entirely. Have constant Satsang (association with holy people). Do not develop any evil habits. Deliberately exert to develop positive virtuous qualities.

11. FAST

Fast on Ekadasi (11th day of the Hindu lunar fortnight) or live on milk and fruits only. Christians must fast on alternate Sundays, Muslims on alternate Fridays, and Parsis on a suitable day every fortnight.

12. JAPA MALA

Have a Japa Mala (rosary) around your neck or in your pocket or underneath your pillow at night. This will remind you of God. Twirl the beads during your leisure. You should repeat the Name at all times, whatever task you may be engaged in.

13. OBSERVE MOUNA

Observe Mouna (vow of silence) for a couple of hours daily. Do not make gestures and inarticulate noises during the period of silence.

14. DISCIPLINE OF SPEECH

Speak the truth at all cost. Speak a little. Speak sweetly. Always utter encouraging words. Never condemn, criticize or discourage. Do not raise your voice and shout at little children or subordinates.

15. BE CONTENT

Reduce your wants. If you have four shirts, reduce the number to three or two. Lead a happy, contented life. Avoid unnecessary worry. Be mentally detached. Have plain living and high thinking. Think of those who do not possess even one-tenth of what you have. Share with others.

16. PRACTICE LOVE

Never hurt anybody. Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah (Non-injury is the highest virtue). Control anger by love, Kshama (forgiveness) and Daya (compassion). Serve the sick and the poor with love and affection. This is service of God.

17. BE SELF RELIANT

Do not depend upon servants. Self-reliance is the highest of all virtues.

18. HAVE SELF-ANALYSIS

Think of the mistakes you have committed during the course of the day, just before retiring to bed (self-analysis). Keep a daily spiritual diary and self-correction register as Benjamin Franklin did. Maintain a daily routine and resolve-form. Do not brood over past mistakes.

19. DO YOUR DUTY

Remember that death is awaiting you at every moment. Never fail to fulfil your duties. Have pure conduct (Sadachara).

20. REMEMBER GOD

Think of God as soon as you wake up and just before you go to sleep, and at all other times whether engaged in any work or not. Repeat His Name always. Surrender yourself completely to God (Saranagati).

This is the essence of all spiritual Sadhana. It will lead you to liberation. All these spiritual canons must be rigidly observed. You must not give any leniency to the mind.

Going Beyond Thought

The human condition : lost in thought .

Most people spend their entire life imprisoned within the confines of their own thoughts .They never go beyond a narrow , mind-made , personalized sense of self that is conditioned by the past .

In you , as in each human being , there is a dimension of consciousness far deeper than thought .It is the very essence of who you are .We may call it presence , awareness , the unconditioned consciousness .In the ancient teachings , it is the Christ within , or your Buddha nature .

Eckhart Tolle

Attack the knots of your mind

Silence is the warrior's art--and meditation is his sword. It is the central weapon you'll use to cut through your illusions. But understand this: the sword's usefulness depends upon the swordsman. You don't yet know how to use the weapon, so it can become a dangerous, deluding, or useless tool in your hands.

"'Meditation may initially help you to relax. You put your 'sword' on display; you proudly show it to friends. The gleam of this sword distracts many meditators into further illusion until they ultimately abandon it to seek yet another 'inner alternative'.

"The warrior, on the other hand, uses the sword with skill and deep understanding. With it, he cuts the mind to ribbons, slashing through thoughts to reveal their lack of substance. Listen and learn:

Alexander the Great, marching with his armies through the desert,
came upon two thick ropes tied in the massive, convoluted Gordian
knot. No one had been able to untie it until the challenge was given
to Alexander. Without a moment's hesitation he drew his sword
and in one powerful blow he cut the knot in two. He was a warrior!"


"That is how you must learn to attack the knots of your mind--with the sword of meditation. Until one day you transcend your need for any weapon at all."

Dialogue of the Master to his disciple from the book "Way of the Peaceful Warrior " By Dan Millman.

If you want to be Happy

If you want to be happy for a day, go on a picnic.
If you want to be happy for a week, go on a vacation
If you want to go happy for a month, get married
If you want to be happy for a year, inherit wealth
If you want to be happy for a lifetime, do the work that you love.


Quote from another blog .

Need for constant awareness

Desire for liberation interferes with the fullness of the Self;absence of such desire promotes bondage! Hence, constant awareness is to be preferred. The sole cause for bondage and liberation is the movement in consciousness. Awareness of this ends this movement. The ego-sense ceases the very moment one observes it, for it has no support any longer. Then who is bound by whom, or who is liberated by whom?


Yoga Vasishta

Non Dual Masters - Papaji alias Poonja

H.W.L. Poonja was born on October 13, 1913 in the part of Punjab that now belongs to Pakistan. At the age of six he had his first direct experience of the Self. His mother, who was a devotee of God as Krishna, interpreted the blissful state her son was in, to be one of direct contact with her chosen deity. Thus, she encouraged him to also worship Krishna. Poonja followed this path for most of his life until 1944, when he met his master, Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Poonjaji was never fully satisfied with his mother's encouragement to worship Krishna, though out of earnestness, he did so. He eventually travelled all across India in search of a more satisfying explanation of the experience he had as a child. He was simply in search of God. Poonja was by now a second lieutenant in the Army. He would enter various ashrams wearing his army boots and directly address himself to the principal teacher, asking, "Have you seen God?" He never felt satisfied with the answer he generally received, which stated: "We have grown long grey beards in search for God, and you think you can just walk in here and see Him?"

When Poonja met Ramana Maharshi, and asked him, "Have you seen God?" Maharshi replied, "Anything that you see cannot be God. Whatever you see must be an object of your senses. God is not an object of your senses. God is the one through whom all things are seen, tasted, touched, heard and smelt, but He himself cannot be seen because He is the seer, not an object of sight." This meeting with Ramana Maharshi ultimately led him to the profound state of awakening, Self-realisation.

Ramana Maharshi explained to Poonja that worshipping of God as Krishna, through the repetition of his name 50,000 times a day was a path which brought you somewhere, like a train or car, and once you arrived at your destination you left it behind. The same applies to spiritual practices, which dissolve once they have brought the practitioner to his goal. Poonja listened with all his heart to his master's words. The silent gaze of Maharshi's cleansing presence pervaded his whole body and mind. It is then that he 'recognised' himself and understood that this was the experience he had at the age of six. His spiritual quest had ended.

When the Maharshi told him, "I am with you wherever you are," Poonjaji understood, "the deep significance of his remark. The 'I' which was my master's real nature was also my own inner reality. How could I ever be away from that 'I'? It was my own Self, and both my master and I knew that nothing else existed." Soon afterwards, Ramana sent Poonja back to his family, which he looked after right until his retirement, in 1966.

After retirement, he led a more recluse and simple life, sharing his experience and knowledge of the Self with those who found their way to him. Poonja would pour out his love on the seekers who met him, and answer all of their questions with great passion and earnestness. He would take them on long, tireless walks into the surrounding hills of Rishikesh and Haridwar, where he cooked rice and dhal [legumes] with them along the banks of the Ganges. Through simple actions and words he constantly reminded them of their own reality.

Speaking with a disciple named Kailas, Poonjaji said: "Human evolution has got nothing to do with Self-realisation. When you realize the Self you will know that there has never been any evolution, that there has never been any creation, that there are no Gods, no demons, no animals, and not even any people. All these things belong to the mind, to the ego. They are all ignorance. You think 'I am so and so, he is so and so.' This is just ignorance. It is a cycle that has no ending. But once you have true realisation, you know that you were never born. Some desire from the past has appeared in a physical form. It has manifested as this person called Kailas. But in reality, nothing has happened. This is the ultimate truth."

During the 1980s some of the Indian devotees gave him the name 'Papaji'. Many saw him as their spiritual father giving them boundless joy and love. At the request of devotees, he travelled to Europe, North America and South America until his health did not allow him further mobility. Since the early 1990s, he remained quite sedentary; first in Haridwar and then in Lucknow in Northern India. An informal community of devotees began to form itself around him in 1990. Unable to move about as easily as he had in the past, he invited people to spent time with him on a regular basis, in a house specially rented for this purpose. He called these meetings 'satsang', which literally means 'association with Reality'.

During his last two years, Poonja answered less questions and mostly read from texts such as Yoga Vasishta, Ribhu Gita, Bhagavad Gita and the Heart Sutra, to name a few. Even more recently, he had practically stopped speaking and left it to his more musically inclined disciples to express their artistic abilities during meetings.

Poonjaji passed away on September 6th, 1997 after complications resulting from bronchitis. He could not breathe and had to be put onto a respirator, which he at first refused. Shortly before he passed away, though his body was greatly weakened by illness and under heavy medication, he sat up in his bed and said very forcefully, "Where is Buddha, where is Buddha?" The disciples present did not know what to do. When they presented him with a photograph of Ramana Maharshi, he practically threw it on the floor and said, "Bring him in!" He then added, "You cannot know Buddha, bas [enough]!" He passed away not long after.

For more details about Poonja alias Papaji refer the site : www.poonja.com

Courage Comes First

You cannot be truthful if you are not courageous.
You cannot be loving if you are not courageous.
You cannot be trusting if you are not courageous.
You cannot enter into reality if you are not courageous.
Hence courage comes first... and everything else follows.

Osho

A RESERVOIR OF POWER

When you try to possess, your power becomes invested in meaningless things. When you desire, your power becomes desire and desires are infinite. Each desire becomes a leakage of your power.
When all possessiveness and all desires have been understood as futile, and dropped, you become a reservoir of power. And to be a reservoir of power is the only experience that gives you the feeling that God is - because God is power. When you also experience power within yourself, overflowing, abundant power, you know God is.
If you are empty, with no power, tired, wasted in your desires, no proof that God exists can help you. All these proofs are for impotent people.
The real person needs no proof for God. He comes to know God from the experience of inner power, from his inner glow.

Osho

India my Love

India is not a piece of land or some political entity or a part of some historical facts. It is not a mad race for money, power, position and prestige. India is a longing, a thirst to attain truth - the truth that resides in every heartbeat of ours, the truth that is lying asleep under the layer of our consciousness, the truth that is ours but yet forgotten. Its remembrance, its reclamation, is India.

The days of the Upanishads in this land were the most glorious. The only search, the only seeking, the only longing, was to know oneself - no other ambition ruled mankind. Riches, success, power, everything was absolutely mundane. Those who were ambitious, those who were running after riches, those who wanted to be powerful were considered to be psychologically sick. And those who were really healthy psychologically, spiritually healthy, their only search was to know oneself and to be oneself and to declare to the whole universe the innermost secret. That secret is contained in this statement, ''Aham Brahmasmi''.

The lotus flower has been very symbolic to the East, because the East says you should live in the world but remain untouched by it. You should remain in the world, but the world should not remain in you. You should pass through the world without carrying any impression, any impact, any scratch. If by the time of death you can say that your consciousness is as pure, as innocent as you have brought with you at birth, you have lived a religious life, a spiritual life.

The lotus flower grows from the mud in the water, and yet remains untouched. And it is a symbol of transformation.

The East has so many secret keys, but even a single key is enough because a single key can open thousands and thousands of locks. The relationship between master and disciple is one such key.

Osho

In relationship with people, with ideas, and with things

The man who wants to improve himself can never be aware, because improvement implies condemnation and the achievement of a result; whereas in awareness there is observation without condemnation, without denial or acceptance. That awareness begins with outward things, being aware, being in contact with objects, with nature. First, there is awareness of things about one, being sensitive to objects, to nature, then to people, which means relationship; then there is awareness of ideas. This awareness—being sensitive to things, to nature, to people, to ideas—is not made up of separate processes, but is one unitary process. It is a constant observation of everything, of every thought and feeling and action as they arise within oneself. As awareness is not condemnatory, there is no accumulation. You condemn only when you have a standard, which means there is accumulation and therefore improvement of the self. Awareness is to understand the activities of the self, the ‘I’, in its relationship with people, with ideas, and with things. That awareness is from moment to moment, and therefore it cannot be practised. When you practise a thing, it becomes a habit, and awareness is not habit. A mind that is habitual is insensitive, a mind that is functioning within the groove of a particular action is dull, unpliable; whereas awareness demands constant pliability, alertness. This is not difficult. It is what you actually do when you are interested in something, when you are interested in watching your child, your wife, your plants, the trees, the birds. You observe without condemnation, without identification; therefore in that observation there is complete communion: the observer and the observed are completely in communion. This actually takes place when you are deeply, profoundly interested in something.

J Krishnamurthy

Awareness takes place when one observes…

You know, concentration is effort: focusing upon a particular page, an idea, image, symbol, and so on and so on. Concentration is a process of exclusion. You tell a student, ‘Don’t look out of the window; pay attention to the book.’ He wants to look out, but he forces himself to look, look at the page; so there is a conflict. This constant effort to concentrate is a process of exclusion, which has nothing to do with awareness. Awareness takes place when one observes—you can do it; everybody can do it—observes not only what is the outer, the tree, what people say, what one thinks, and so on, outwardly, but also inwardly to be aware without choice, just to observe without choosing. For when you choose, when choice takes place, only then is there confusion, not when there is clarity.

J Krishnamurthy