Ideal Family

Meaning: According the line of Athervaved 3/30/2 — in an ideal home, children are obedient to their parents. The parents are well-wishers of their children. The husband and wife's mutual relationship is sweet and happy. Only such families always thrive and are happy.

Message: On the basis of the Vedas, the rishis (sages) have divided the human-life into 4 'ashrams'. The four ashrams are - brahmacharya ashram, gruhastha ashram, vanprastha ashram, and sanyas ashram. Considering a life-spam of a hundred years, these ashrams have been specified. Only in the Vedic religion, these ashrams of 25 years each have been categorized and this is the specialty of the Vedic streams of thought. The word brahmacharya is made of two words i.e. 'Brahma' or God and 'aacharan' means conduct. Thus it implies the conduct as followed by God. The second meaning of brahmacharya is celibacy. Thus the combination of two meanings implies the attainment of physical, mental intellectual and spiritual strengths, through celibate living up to attainment of 25 year for a successful material and spiritual life. During gruhastha ashram which means the life of a householder, the above powers are used and the man employs his earnings in deeds connected to a householder's duties and to fulfill to his wife's and children's needs. Then he reinforces his powers in the 3rd phase i.e. vanaprastha ashram through 'brahmacharya' (i.e. celibacy), self-study, japa (i.e. recitations) and tapa (or(austerities). In the sanyas-ashram he distributes to the society his acquired knowledge, wisdom and experience. This organization of a man's life into four ashrams is a very great specialty of Vedic religion.

If brahmacharya ashram is the foundation of life, then gruhastha ashram is a beautiful building constructed on it. Gruhastha ashram has its own importance, usefulness and achievements. In gruhastha ashram, the sentiment of self denial gets strengthened. The family members with love and cooperation for each other are eager to bear hardships for the sake of other members of the family. And in what words to describe the great sacrifice of a woman? She is the very incarnation of self denial. As wife, sister, and daughter or as mother her self denial contributes to the divine joy in the family. A restrained life contributes to excellent health. The householder making a living through pure means maintains sweet relationship with his relatives, associates to get the facilities for making his life happy, peaceful prosperous, and so also the society.

A family is made up of more than one person living together. Thus besides the husband and wife, there are; son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle, grand-father, grand-mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law etc. The sweetness and purity of relationships between them creates an atmosphere of a special cheerfulness, happiness, joy and lively bustle. If there is a closeness of love and trust between the husband and wife, then the feelings of love, affection, faith and service for each other will be created. All will think of the interest of each other and will do beneficial work, and the situation of giving importance to money above everyone else, including family members, will not arise. With a sense of belonging, generosity and cooperation, all will serve each other and there will be joy and happiness in the family.

Only love and friendliness are the foundation of an ideal family.

Identity of a Man with Character

Meaning: As expressed in the line of Rigved 10/117/8 — "In this world all are not equal in status. All are in ascending order, someone wealthier than the other, someone more learned than the other, and so on. To compare one's own self with someone with more capacity is always painful, therefore whatever we have received should be considered as a favor from God and we should go on ddoing our duty."

Message: 'Gyanmay karma evam karmamay gyan' is a proclaimed truth of Nepalese philosophy which means our deeds should be backed with knowledge and our knowledge should be in action i.e. there is a need for harmony in knowledge and deeds. The goal of all our scriptures and learning is only this that the light of the ultimate knowledge within our hearts should continuously brighten up our path of life.

All are not alike in this world. Not only the birds, animals and insects, but even men differ in their worth and capacities. Each man in not capable of carrying out every task, nor is he capable of every attainment. Mostly men themselves run away from work and keep on carrying for not obtaining various achievements. Most men in this world are unhappy 'why should others be happy'? They themselves do nothing and expect that they should get all the happiness, comforts, money wealth and achievements in the martial world. Such ignorant people who keep building castles in the air create a hell like life for themselves and simultaneously create an anarchic atmosphere in the society. Such distorted thinking only blunts their knowledge. Only their difficulties are visible to them and they always keep on crying. They neither have the time nor the knowledge to understand the sorrow of the millions of people living in want.

When the proper knowledge of the reality enlightens the mind, then accordingly, man decides the actions to be taken. For this harmony, he requires constant practice. To cultivate this habit is at first difficult, even impossible, but gradually by practive it is achieved. The Hindi saying is, 'karat karat abhyaas ke jdmut hote sujaan' i.e. by constant practice even dull persons become knowledgeable. A person, who does not know swimming, becomes mortally afraid when taken into the water, but within the next few days he is able to swim like fish. Similarly, by constant practice the entire life can be made full of knowledge.

A knowledgeable person has a quiet and balanced attitude. He considers all his achievements as a favor from God and remains satisfied. He does not have any emotion of jealousy or malice. He does not have ill-feelings on seeing others' happiness, comforts and progress. Never does he cry or get irritated or angry. He knows the sanctity of deeds and with a broad outlook keeps a compassionate attitude for all animals. With the attitude that all animals possess a soul just like his own, he is not satisfied merely with personal progress, but understands that in the progress of all lies his own progress.

This is the identity of a man with character.

Ekpaadrbhooyo dwipado vi chakrame

dwipaatripaadamabhyeti pashchaat.

chatushpaadeti dwipadaambhisware,

sampashyanpaktirupatishthamaanah .. (Rigved 10/117/8)

Keeping Good Company

As we go through the biographies of great souls, we find that whenever the supremely benevolent have incarnated on earth, slanderers have left no stone unturned in maligning them.

The intellect becomes mean with the association of slanderers but remains stable in the association of equals and become superior with the association of those who are superior to us. You reap fruits according to the kind of company you keep. Therefore you should always be careful in selecting the company you keep.

Long ago, there lived a man named Chajju Bhakta in Lahore. One day he was down the lane shouted, "Acche san…..tare, acche san… tare… (Buy good oranges)". Chajju Bhakta asked his companions. "Do you hear what that man is saying?" They said: "He is selling santaras (oranges) Bhaktaji"!

Bhaktaji said, "You did not understand. Listen carefully, he is saying. "Acche sang…tare (good company redeems)". He is saying that those who associate themselves with good people are redeemed, while those who fall into bad company meet with destruction."

Bhaktaji told a story to illustrate this: A crow and swan had become friends. One day the crow took the swan to its house and made him sit on   dry and wilted Babool tree. Two places stank of dung, flesh and bones that were scattered all around.

The swan said, "Brother! I cannot stay in such a dirty place, even for a moment. If you know of any pious place, you take me there."

The crow then took him to the secret grooved of the king and made him sit on the tree, and then sat near him. Beneath the tree he was resting. As the swan looked down, he saw the king sitting under the tree with his head exposed to the sun.

A swan is kind by nature, and out of compassion it spread out its wings to provide shade to the king who felt some relief from the sun.

A crow, however, is uncaring by nature. So it dropped its excreta on the king's head. The king shot an arrow upwards which brought the swan does, while the crow flew! I am not the crow that dropped the excreta. I am the swan that lives in pure water, but due to the company of the mean crow, my life has been ruined."

In the Sundara Kandam, section 45.4 of the Sri Ramacharitamanasa, Ram says to Vibhishana, "may providence keep us from the company of the wicked! It would be better; O respected one, to live in hell." (Because the company of the evil leads to the cycle of birth and death and repeated relegation to hells.)

Evil company destroys good virtues and is feared by those who recognize this truth. All scriptures and great souls have taught the jiva with great emphasis on the importance of staying clear of bad company. Bad company leads one to degeneration very quickly.

For example, one has to make great efforts to climb a tree, but there is no effort required in falling down. Similarly, one has to make great effort to attain spiritual power and earn the wealth of sadhana; but all our efforts carried out for over a long period of time will come to naught in a moment by keeping the company slanderers.

Many Path to Bliss

Sanatana Dharma, which means 'eternal principles of wisdom' can be approached and accessed in three ways: Through the Vedas, through the Upanishads and through the Purans like Shrimad Bhagavatam and Devi Mahatmyam.

The fire rituals or havens that we perform today have come to us from the Vedic age. Despite this the pure austere lifestyle of that age is impossible for most of us to practice in this hectic, demanding modern world.

The Puranic approach is generally for those of us who are more religious in the traditional sense as it establishes a culture or sanskar of rites and ritualistic worship. Though primordial, pure, cosmic consciousness is beyond time and space, it is easier for the verge individual to relate to God through divine forms with specific attributes. So, with their own changed consciousness, they invoked this primordial energy to manifest through a form. Mantras came to be revealed in the process. Each mantra has the divine power to invoke a particular deity. It begin with 'Oam' the seed syllable, concluding with salutations to that particular deity like a bridge that connects us to our own soul at one end and  to Divinity at the other. So, whenever we chant that mantra with faith and devotion, we start vibrating to the frequency of that deity to receive Grace. The 19 major Puranas of Santana Dharma describe the qualities, origin, mystical symbolism and power of these deities through vibrations.

In the Upanishadic approach we understand how to recognize and realize divinity in us in relation to the cosmic power. Our sages experimented in subtle inner realms by following a set of principles with complete awareness for long periods until they reached a state of bliss which was automatic and ecstatic. In this enlightened state, they found that they were permanently free of thoughts, desires, negativity expectations and limitations of all kinds. So, they codified these principles in Upanishads and passed them on to their disciples. In Sanskrit 'Upa-ni-shad' means 'to sit close to the sadguru', i.e. to sit at the lotus feet of the guru as a disciple and imbibe wisdom.

The Sadguru triggers the notion of self-enquiry in the disciple, thus activating his inner most core. The disciple's life then follows a path of dynamic motion and evolution within. Satsangs are spiritual forums where inner exploration is done with fellow seekers and guidance of the sadguru. This is the true 'gurukul' where we are inspired to practice self enquiry. When the sadguru enters our lives and we imbibe His wisdom, it shatters our egoistic mindsets and attitudes, dissolving the karma which had prevented us from feeling the presence of our own soul. His energy ignites our awareness invoking divinity, inner faith and stability. So as we evolve spiritually, our worldly life also becomes free from troubles, problems and worries because we start burning our karmas away. Each day is stable, joyous and fulfilling. The soul's qualities of love, peace, patience, tolerance, compassion, care and share blossom in us, harmoniously integrating spiritual progress and material prosperity.

Sanatana Dharma gives us simple, effective and practical formula to reorient our lives within the framework of satya, dharma, ahimsa and prema or truth, noble principle, non-violence and unconditional love. By walking in the footsteps of realized sages, we learn how to shed our limitations and live constantly in the blissful core of self.

Purity of Thinking

Meaning: The man, who robs a woman of her virtue, commits a friend's murder and does not obtain knowledge despite becoming aged, achieves downfall.

Message: The Vedic religion lays great stress on good conduct and morality. Every act should be for all regions, supreme and applicable at all times. It should not be related to a particular region of time. Speaking the truth, serving others and obliging others are such deeds only. Sadachar (good moral conduct) means those deeds which satisfy man's conscience and which give him the feelings of cheer and enthusiasm. By doing such good deeds, a man will never feel ashamed and his soul will be satisfied. This virtuous and moral deeds itself is called "Sadachar" or good deeds or good conduct. The opposite of it, i.e. the deeds by which a man feels ashamed, sorry or grief-stricken is called 'doorachar' or bad deed or bad conduct.

The general broad meaning of 'doorachar' is bad conduct and wicked dealings, but one of its meanings is also adultery. Obscenity and bad conduct are very closely related and the possibility of a man who accepts obscenity going for 'doorachar' always exists. Our ancient sages have laid great stress on 'vaasanaatmak pavitrataa' (i.e. purity as far as the desires for sex are concerned). The means for this purity is freedom for addictions and staying away from addictions are imbibing of liquor and other intoxicants, eating meat, fish and other animals, obscenity, adultery, and gambling, which becomes the cause of man's downfall. Among these the addiction of sexual lust is the most dangerous and therefore keeping it under control is the most important 'sadaachar' (or good conduct). As long as the fire of man's sexual lust is not aflame, till then man's greatness, learning, gentlemanliness, status and discretion remain. This itself is the measure of Nepalese 'sadaachar' or good conduct.

The man who decides to keep his eyes, ears, speech and mind in a pure state and keeps them pure, i.e. uncorrupted, he surely will be saved from obscenity. To save oneself from bad thoughts, not only are these restrictions necessary, but also along with it one has to adopt devotion to God, reading of god books and the company of morality pure men. Obscene thoughts will be away from us in proportion to our devotion to God, and bad thoughts will be away from us in proportion to the reading of morally good books. The company of good men will inspire us to proceed on the path of 'sadaachar' (morally good conduct).

The objective of Vedic religion and culture is to reach God while making use of means provided by Nature. God is 'shuddha swarup', i.e. God is the embodiment of purity itself and nothing but purity. Therefore to reach this pure Form, man's soul will have to become cleansed and pure. For refinement and purity of the soul, good conduct must be adopted along with the rejection of all addictions and bad habits. Good moral thoughts are produced in the mind only when 'saatvikta' (a combination of morality and simplicity) is made the basis of our lives. With that, high clean and pure thoughts are produced, which inspire us to adopt moral conduct.

Purity of thinking is the principal basis of 'Sadaachar'.

Secret of Success in Life

Meaning: In the line of Rigved 10/12/2 and Yajurved 25/13 we can find the secret of success in life. Which states that — "O Lord of the soul, the mind and the body! We remain alive when we follow your laws and rules i.e. carry out god deeds. We are destroyed by bad deeds; therefore may we always walk on the good path".

Message: The Lord of this creation is God. After creating everything he has also fixed its limits. Every type of matter and animal fulfills God's aims by remaining within its fixed limits. It is only man who makes more bad use of his intelligence and nature and goes on the bad path. The entire structure of religion, its traditions, beliefs and faith are for the aim that man should spend his life within the limits prescribed for him.

The basis of religion is faith and trust in God. When man plans his deeds, under the rules of God by trust in God's omnipresence, (presence everywhere), then that belief is capable of preventing his bad activities. None of our conduct or emotion can be hidden from the eyes of the omnipresent God, and sooner or later that God, present in every particle, will punish us also for bad deeds. We can throw dust in the eyes of the society but one cannot hide anything from Him. This belief saves us from sinful deeds. Most of our bad activities go on because we are cleverly able to save ourselves form governmental or societal punishment. But such cleverness does not work before God. Only on that basis is man afraid of sins and forced to lead a gentlemanly life within the required limits, and his soul, mind and body, all three become clean and pure.

To-day perversities are a plenty in every direction. Faith has also been perverted. People falsely think that by a little sycophancy and by making presents of gifts, God can be bribed and taken on our side, big rewards can be obtained despite being unworthy and one can escape punishment for the sins also. Because of this wrong attitude only, people all around are busy in wrong deeds and destroying themselves. There is no solution except liberation from this false notion. Without following God's rules, it is not possible to achieve naturalness in life. God has given this human body to us for cooperation in the progressive of all in the society by doing good deeds. It is our pious duty to follow this directive of God.

For that every day man must take out some time and worship God. One should try to imagine Him within the soul by thinking of His qualities. One who remains under His beneficial shelter does not have any mental anguish in his life and for him even death is like sweet nectar. That 'Paramatma' or Supreme Soul within our soul makes us immortal on the basis of our excellent deeds.

This is the secret of a successful life.

Ya atmadaa baladaa yasya vishwa,

Oopaasate prashishum yasya devaahaa,

Yasya chhayaamrutum yasya mrutyuhu,

Kasmai devaaya havisha vidhem. (Rig 10/12/2 and Yaju 25/13)

Successful Life

Meaning: Rigved 3/16/5 alert us that - Let us be intelligent, brave and wealthy for making our life successful. Let us not be slanderers, deceitful, back-biters and disrespectful. Let us not be deprived of intelligence, so that we can remain happy throughout life and continue worshipping God.

Message: Every man wants to be happy. For that he makes various plans and develops the means for that with his intelligence and capacity. Along with that the undisputed fact remains that he is not liberated from sorrow. There are such a large number of reasons for causing sorrow that some kind of sorrow will overtake the man, howsoever much careful he may be. Even the highly knowledgeable and wealthy people cannot save themselves form it. In reality there re very many means of comfort in the world, but even men surrounded with such means too remain unhappy. In such a situation, when man is not able to save himself, he should desire that he be mentally prepared to welcome sorrow or unhappiness. In this way he will not be influenced by the intensity of sorrow.

The meaningfulness of our worth and insight is in our becoming calm, serious and brave and overcoming every type of trouble smilingly. We should always remember that when the days of happiness no longer exist, then these unhappy days will also be over quickly. A negative attitude towards life also makes a person unhappy. One must always try to save oneself from it. If a person always goes on thinking about a situation of shortages in life, then also he will be troubled by unhappiness. He should think that whatever he has received, or whatever he is receiving is because of the endless benevolence of God and for his happiness only.

Most of the sorrows are created by man himself through his ignorance, perverse nature, deceit and selfishness. He Himself has invited his own destruction. This itself is the reason for his pitiable condition. First the man creates such an atmosphere by his bad tendencies and vices that difficulties surround him from all sides. In such a situation his discretion and patience get destroyed and he is not able to find a way out of these troubles. He finds unbearable the advice given to him by others. This type of mental distortion does the work of increasing his sorrow even more.

To be liberated from sorrows, man has to help himself. The consolation from others does not give any particular benefit. All the sorrows of man get destroyed by remaining happy according to the direction given in the holy Gita. If the person can cultivate a habit of laughing and smiling then his mind becomes steady very quickly and in that way, he can definitely increase his happiness.

Sukh dukh ya sansar mein, sub kahu ko hoy,

gyani kaate gyan se, murkha kaate roy.

This Hindi saying means, everyone in this world gets troubles, but the wise person cuts them away with knowledge, but the foolish whiles away his time in crying.

This is the only measure of the meaningfulness of our knowledge.

The Light of the Sun

Who has time nowadays for reflection? But it is only by devoting a bit of time to this activity can we explore awareness of being, oneness with universal spirit and celebration of a healthy and happy life.

We need light to show us the way that can take us towards the higher Self. What could be a better path-shower than what is referred to as the 'Living God'? The sun? The sun is perceived as the co-creator and sustainer of life on earth.

The sun's rays blend with our aura to enrich receptiveness of cosmic energy and guidance. This universal light force can be used in the ongoing process of cleaning, balancing, healing and evolving. This can create conditions that can enable us to be more positive, aware and sensitive and take initiative while driving away negative emotions.

What needs our attention most, according to Sri Surya Jowel (sooryaji) is the effort to elevate our mind and transform our lifestyle. "For this we require a light and energy source that can reach the dark corners of our mind and reveals to us life in its true perspective. And what could be better than the living energy source of the entire solar system, the sun?

This cosmic energy imbibed through eyes at sunrise (sooryoyog) can heal, elevate and transform us, which in turn can bring about shift in perception for a better world. We create our own surroundings.

Sunlight is nature's gift to mankind. We need the sun to survive and to be healthy in body and mind. The rays of the sun contain seven different colors which correspond to our energy centers or chakras. Unique vibration of each color in the rays of the sun can be used as tools for healing physical, psychological and spiritual ills.

Each of these chakras is related to a basic element. The mooladhar (basic chakra), the earth element, is red. The swadesthan (sex) chakra is orange with water as its element, and fire is associated with the manipura, the solar plexus. The color of anahat or heart chakra relating to air element is blue, the visudhas or throat element is either. The color of the third eye or ajna chakra, the forehead, is indigo - the light element while sahasrar or crown chakra, violet, signifies pure awareness. Thus when we take in sunlight at down, these chakras or subtle energies help to balance and promote healing physical, emotional and spiritual.

The earth receives the highest degree of positive energy at sunrise. At that point of time the human organism is most receptive towards solar energies. In fact, an hour before sunrise, solar energies exert positive psychological influence on the cells of the body, as they refresh and invigorate them. The sun's rays improve digestion and enhance nutrition, quicken blood circulation, facilitate elimination of impurities through skin, and make bone structure stronger. Sunlight lifts one out of depression and thereby helps to elevate the mind.

Sun can bring about transformation in body, mind and spirit that well could be gradual but a fulfilling experience ultimately. "As within, so without" - sooryayog is all about discovering Sakha, your Atma Soorya or the inner sun that could be your best friend.

The Powerful Time

Meaning: The line of Athervaved 19/53/1 has defined that - the time that lapses today will never come back. The Time is very powerful - knowing this fact, the knowledgeable ones put is to good use

Message: Time is the most valuable wealth in human life. Every type of success can be achieved in the world by the good use of time, and all comforts and luxuries can be purchased. Day, nights, months, and years are passing and time is running on and on. Howsoever much you run after it, the time that has elapsed, can never return.

In the above mantra many qualities of time have been depicted. Just as the sun is bright with the seven colors of light, similarly time also shines. Just as the authority of the sun is the main one in the world. Similarly, the importance of time is also accepted. Time with its hundreds of eyes is continuously observing everyone. In the cycle of days and nights and seasons and years and eras of time, the world is constantly on the move. Time remains uniform throughout and is extremely powerful.

All the works of activities in this world are bond within the boundaries of geography and time. Except for God and the souls, everything else is bound by the shackles of time. Only the knowledgeable, wise and intelligent man controls time, which mans that a person who has a high aim in life, he only can make good use of time and defeat time.

Time is more valuable than money. In everything in this world, the importance of time is supreme, above all. Those who understand the value of time, never waste it. Those who waste it are themselves destroyed by it. Time is a treasure for good life and prosperity. Only by the good use of time man's life becomes good and pure. Just because life is perishable, it does not mean that time should be wasted. On the contrary, from it we should get the inspiration that we should not allow this wealth to go waste and we should achieve the maximum benefit by the good use of time. This secret of success in the life is also that prescribed work should be carried out at the prescribed time. But today, whomsoever you see merely goes on wasting his time. Every work is carried out with the only aim of passing the time. People spend their time in laziness, sleeping and gossiping and claim that they re very busy. Even now if we keep our eyes closed to reality, then time will destroy us.

The Hindi proverb is 'kal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab' which means 'whatever is to be done tomorrow, do it today and whatever is to be done today, do it right now'. We must adopt this view point. Tomorrow, never dawns. It is available every moment in the present time. Therefore only that person, who takes advantage of the present, creates his own future and wins over the time.

The best quality of man's character means making good use of time.

Wicked thinking

Meaning: According to the line of Rigved 8/2/12 — men with wicked thinking drink their favorite liquors and go on fighting within themselves and move naked here and there throughout the night. Therefore, good men should never drink liquor, even by mistake.

Message: One naturally doubts the intelligence of an intelligent man when he eats what should not be eaten and drinks what should not be drunk. Liquor, tobacco, and other poisonous materials when introduced in the body, always produce bad and painful side effects on the body and the person's nature. Based on the knowledge of the effect of these intoxicants, in all the countries, they are considered unnecessary and harmful. By imbibing them, the memory-power is adversely affected and laziness, neglect, impulsiveness, irritability, fear, excitement etc. increase. One, who drinks liquor or takes other intoxicants, will himself experience an increase in these faults within himself.

Intoxication produces a momentary excitement. Just as a horse gets excited with a whiplash, similarly drinking liquor initially excites the energy-reserves and therefore the drinker finds an initial surge of freshness, but in the end the result is fatal. By repeated whipping, the horse runs more than his capacity and gets quickly tired and dies. The same point applies to human body also. With the habit of taking liquor, tobacco etc the energy reserves of the body quickly get exhausted and premature ole age develops in youth itself. The body becomes hollow, lack luster, and becomes a museum of diseases. Because of his continuous bad breath, the people sitting nearby start hating such a person.

Bad habits make a man engaged in sinful acts. The habit of drinking liquor is the cause of bad tendencies and sins. Intoxication perverts the intelligence and an intoxicated man can commit any sin. In the absence of the knowledge of what he should do and should not do, he quarrels with everyone and he does not have any discretion about maintaining respect where due, Neither is he conscious about his mind nor body, nor clothes. Wandering here and there, not only does because his own downfall, but also makes hell like, his own and neighbors' lives.

Every year there is personal and national ruin to the tune of billions of rupees connected with the production of liquor, tobacco etc and their advertisement and sales promotion. If all this wealth is put to good use, then the level of man's health and life will improve and the development of villages and towns also will take place. If this vast capital can be employed in constructive works such as good planning, housing, textile production, animal husbandry etc, there will be no limits to the progress of our country.

All the religious preachers and great men of the world have condemned intoxication in any form and called it a sin. It excites taamasik thinking and also wicked and criminal actions. Intoxicated person do not feel any sense of shame in doing bad acts, and they do not feel ashamed of behaving in the uncontrolled manner. An intoxicated person's spiritual sensitivity diminishes. With all this knowledge, mankind is still keen on indulging in unnatural actions and spreading all round destruction.

Work in the Peace Mood for the Welfare of the Society

Meaning: The line of Rigved 1/147/3 gives us the instruction about our work - "One must not be afraid of slander, sigma, ridicule etc in the works for others' welfare. God himself protects such people. Therefore, free from all worries, one must become involved in activity for people's welfare.

Message: The word 'paropakaar' means doing good to others or obliging others. The meaningfulness of human life lies in being useful to others. He, who does not help others despite having the power, is like an animal. Everyone lives for himself, but the excellence of a man's life can be guessed by how much he has lived for others. Man goes on working for maintaining his existence, but his divinity is revealed by how much he has worked for others.

Every man requires the cooperation of others. The biggest and the most capable man also need cooperation from others. The human life's grace and glory increases by works of welfare. A truly obliging person always remains cheerful and experiences inner joy and divine light. The extent to which a man obliges others, he comes that much closer to God. 'Satpurush' (good, saintly men) are those who do good to others without any type of selfishness. For doing good to others, it is necessary to give up narrow thinking.

What is 'paropakar' or obliging others? If we look carefully, it is in 3 stages - advice, help in achievement and financial help. We should advice the people on the basis of personal worth, capacity and experience. Beneficial advice at the proper time works like a beam of light in a man's life. Similarly, whenever possible, wherever possible one should help others in carrying out their work properly and one should also not hesitate in giving financial help.

It is not easy to do welfare-work. Many obstacles come in the way and they disturb the mind. The fact is that the sentiment for helping others is aroused in us as a result of the influence of innumerable virtuous deeds and when we are trying to help others, friends and companions ridicule us, and by various allegations drain away our enthusiasm. It is also a fact that people have turned social welfare work into a profession and under the cover of social work, they are busy making money. In such an incongruent situation, a true social welfare worker finds it difficult to protect his self-respect. He has to suffer all kinds of resistance. But he should remember that by obliging others, good tendencies leading towards purity fill his hearts which guide him to the good path. A man doing good deeds is neither destroyed nor suffers downfall. God protects him every moment in every way.

We shall do our duty without worrying about "what other will say".

Work is What You Make of It

Work and mentally renounce the fruits achieved thereafter. Don't let the shadow of personal prejudice affect how you perceive work. This is the essence of karma yoga. The wise work for common benefit whereas the ignorant work only for themselves or their near and dear ones. A farmer has control over how he works in his fields, but not over the harvest. Krishna tells Arjun: "Yoga is karmasu kausaalam doing work skillfully in the first attempt".

Work is external but our attitude to it is internal. A certain attitude may make us feel work is miserable while another kind of attitude makes it pleasant. By cultivating the right attitude, we will become spiritual. That is meditation.

Once in a village several people were engaged in construction of a temple. A wandering sage passing by wants to know what is happening there, so he asks a person cutting stone: "What are you doing"?

The labor replies with frustration: Don't you see that I am cutting stone? It's a hard stone. Look at my hands! They have become red. Work is hell. And to make matters worse, you ask me what I am doing. How I wish were not doing this! "The sage asks, "I see you are cutting stone, but let me know what is coming up here?" The stone cutter replies that he has no idea; it does not concern him. He is disinterested.

The sage next goes to another man and asks him the same question: "What are you doing? The man replied "I am cutting stone here; that's my job. For eight hours of work I get paid Rs 100. I have a wife and children to take care of. I am doing my duty."

The sage asks him: "Do you know what is coming up here?" He says: "Yes, they say they're making a temple. How does it matter to me, whether what is being constructed is a temple or a jail, as long as I get paid?"

Then the sage goes to a third worker who is also cutting stone and poses the same question. The man replies: "We are building a temple. There is no temple here; every year at festivals we have to trek to the temple in the next village. You know, every time I hit the stone I hear wonderful music. The temple work has put the sleepy village in a festive mood.

The sage asks: "How long do you have to work on this project?" The man says the timeline is not his concern for as soon as he wakes up in the morning, he gets ready for work and begins cutting stone. He tells the sage that he spends the entire day here, taking a break between mealtimes. "When I go home in the night and sleep, in my dream I think of this construction and feel grateful that I enjoy the work I do. I am truly blessed," he said.

Three men doing the same work have three different attitudes. The first person thinks its hell the second looks upon his work as his duty.

However, the third worker thinks what he is able to do is a blessing. If the work itself had the qualities inherently, good or bad, then these three men might have felt the same. But in reality, it's not the work that disturbs us but something that's subtler; it's the attitude we have towards work.

Devotion & Love

The path to the Un-manifest is very difficult for embodied souls to realize…. But quickly I come to those who offer me every action, who worship me only, their dearest delight, with undaunted devotion. Because they love me, these are my bondsmen, and I shall save them from mortal sorrow and all the waves of life's deathly ocean. (Bhagavad Gita 12.5-7)

He is the Living One; there is no god but He; call upon Him, giving Him sincere devotion. Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds! (Quuran 40:65)

If you desire to live in the world unattached you should first practice devotion in solitude for some time….. You should meditate constantly upon God and pray to Him for Divine Love. (Ramkrishna Paramhansa)

Mind intellect and Aham (Ego)

"Supreme beyond their objects are the senses; supreme over the senses is mind; supreme over the mind is the intelligent will; that which is supreme over the intelligent will, is He (the Purusha)"                      Gita-3/42

Ancient Nepalese spiritual texts regard mind and intellect as two separate entities. Modern western philosophers, on the other hand, consider the mind itself as the highest level of intelligence. We need not enter into a fruitless discussion on this subject. The difference between the two is so subtle, that apparently they appear to be one and the same. However, both streams of thought/experience recognize two distinct mental faculties, namely mind and intellect. Both regard intellect being subtler than the mind. For the convenience of reader, we shall regard intellect as a more refined state of mind and proceed with our practical exercises.

Thus far, we have identified the visible and invisible coverings of the human soul i.e. physical body and different faculties of the mind. Now we shall endeavor to find how Ahankar is differentiated from the real "I". It necessitates examination of minute details. It is not so easy to differentiate between the true Aham and the egoistic knot of the subtle body (Sookshma Shareer), as it is to identify the outer and inner coverings of the self. It would require a deeper level of perception and sensitivity. Even after having a perception that the subtle body exists independent of the physical matter composing the body, confusion persists about the nature of Aham because of its intimate relationship with the subtle body (Sookshma Shareer). Most people believe that mind and soul are one and the same. Instead of elaborating the attributes of the mind, the author would try to enlighten the reader about the methods with the help of which it would be possible to analyze the constituents of the physical body and the vague "I" threadbare and find out the nature of the true Aham (i.e. soul). This introspection you are going to do with the help of your own mind, teasing out of it the right answers to your queries.

Mind is the bio-energy (Chetna) serving as the link between the body and soul. For the convenience of seekers let us make an endeavor to understand the working of mind by broadly trifurcating its functions.

 Three faculties of the mind

The Pravritta Manas: In spiritual parlance, one faculty of mind is called "pravritta Manas". This faculty of mind is undifferentiated between human beings and the less evolved species of the biological kingdom like birds and animals. It is also known as the  secret mind (Gupta Man) or sleeping mind (Supta Man) the Limbic brain or animal brain i.e. the autonomic nervous system in parlance of medical science. It controls the normal biological functions of the body and keeps it functioning. Though we are not conscious of it, the biological functions of our body keep going on involuntarily. Functions like digestion of food, blood circulation, extraction of juices at successive stages, formation of blood platelets, flesh, bones and bone-marrow, hormones; defecation-urination, inhalation-exhalation, movements of eyelids, etc. take place without any conscious effort. The Pravritta Manas is also responsible for formation of habits. It takes some time in learning something, but once learning something, but once it is learnt, the Pravritta Manas does not discard it easily. The experiences of our ancestors and those which we had had in course of our evolution in our earlier births up to the present human birth, are all stored in this subconscious layer of mind. Before assuming the human from, the soul has inhabited in innumerable life forms of lower order, lacking developed intellectual capacity. It had acquired in this process of slow evolution, many animal traits like jealousy, animosity, aggressiveness, selfishness and anxiety. All such crude animal-like traits, which have not been consciously eliminated by strong self-efforts in earlier births, are accumulated in this faculty of mind. It is a unique museum having an assortment of antiques. A few amongst these instinctive urges are good, worthwhile and invaluable (such as faithfulness of the dog), whereas many others are perverse and frightening. Seeds of all impulses such as greed, violence, cruelty, rage, impatience, etc, which are common amongst savages and animals, are stored in this part of mind. The basic impulses of the two lower modes of nature - Tamas (inertia) and Rajas (kinesis) such as ignorance, dullness, passivity - Tamasic and self-seeking, inflated senses of egoism, sensual indulgence, greed, anger, etc. - Rajasic - are all stored in seed form in Pravritta Manas  - the unconscious/sub-conscious layers of mind.

The Prabuddha Manas

Besides the Pravritta Manas, there is yet another more evolved faculty, which could be appropriately called as "Prabuddha Manas", the cortical brain or the intelligent mind. While attentively going through this exercise reader can use this faculty of the mind. The attributes of this layer of mind are deliberating analyzing, comparing, conceptualizing, logical thinking and decision-making. Quick-wittedness, sharp intellect, alertness, analysis of situations is all functions of this faculty of mind. However, it is to be remembered that neither the Pravritta Manas nor the Prabuddha Manas are Aham of man. With a little more consideration, it would be easy to differentiate these two from Aham. In this small tract, it is not possible to elucidate, in detail, the properties of the intellectual faculty of human mind. Those interested in this subject are advised to study the latest masterpieces on psychology. For the time being it is sufficient to know that the Prabuddha Manas too is only a covering and not the soul (Aham) proper.

The Adhyatm Manas

The third, most evolved faculty of mind is called Adhyatm Manas - a distinctive faculty of a spiritually awakened person.

In a majority of people it remains dormant and inactive. It is assumed that this faculty has started awakening in the reader; otherwise he would not have taken interest in the subject of this treatise. This faculty of mind (Adhyatm Manas) is regarded as the most evolved attribute of the mind. It is reflected as spiritual seeking, inspirations, receptivity to inner divine guidance, exceptional talents, etc. Noble urges and emotions originate in this very faculty of mind. Love, compassion, mercy empathy, sense of justice, sensitivity to sufferings of others, adherence to basic values, benevolence, commitment, integrity etc. are some of the attributes of this faculty of mind. In this faculty also germinate the seeds of unconditional Divine Love. The mysteries of nature too are revealed in this illumined layer of the mind. However, Remember! This faculty of mind, too, is only a resplendent garment of Aham. It is not Aham. Nevertheless, the experience of Aham, which we are endeavoring to point towards, can be had only through Adhyatm Manas.

Mantras - Subtle Dimensions of Sound

Mantras are pronounced in Yagya in accordance with the prescribed methods and rules. It benefits the persons concerned and stimulated useful vibrations and causes beneficial excitements in the environment. Besides, it makes possible th stimulation of causal energy of the materials used in Yagya to such an extent that the hidden potentialities underlying them are greatly enhanced. Articles made scared and pious with the help of Mantras, if offered by way of blessing act more effectively than even medicines. It is by involving the causal energy of material (Hvishya) before it is offered in the sacrificial fire, that exemplary successful results are produced to such an extent that even an ordinary substance possesses extraordinary specific powers. If the Havishya is simply dropped in the fire, it only created fragrant smell and proves useful to limited extent. Without chanting Mantras it will not be possible to derive benefits, which are expected by performing a Yagya.

When a Mantra is chanted collectively during a Yagya, its sonic power increases exponentially due to (a) the collision of the sound waves (generated by the Mantra chanting) with the thinnest 'flame screen' of the quivering fire of Yagya and the high frequency vibrations generated thereby; (b) the subtle interactions of the sound waves of the Mantras with the cosmic energy centre (Devta) associated with their specific configurations as carry Shabdas; (c) the fundamental thermodynamic effects associated with the fumigation of the sacrificed Havishys in the Yagya fire; (d) the compounded effects of the vital, mental and causal energies of the people, who are in performing the Yagya.

The sound-waves, of the Mantras, instead of proceeding in their natural circular motion, are carried upwards in a spiral form by the force of the electrons generated by fumigation of the Havishya after subletting in Yagya-fire.

The mutual collisions of these fast moving electrons along with the superimposition of the timely phased, collective sonic patterns of the Mantras results in the penetration in and out of the ionosphere. The collective chanting of Mantras in specific rhythm in from of the Yagya flames gives rise to unique sound-waves which have infinite radiant effects in the outer space.

The subtle effect of Mantras on the consciousness are accomplished only if the recites are authentic with respect to the proper and controlled use of their voice and tongue in conformity to the  integrity ad sanctity of their thoughts, emotions, character and deeds in every aspect of life. The subtle science of syllables described in the ancient Nepalese scriptures classifies four levels of voice (vani) namely, the Baikhari, Madhyama, Para and Pashyanti and highlights the importance of the spiritual practices (Sadhanas) of their realization through Gayatri and Yagya.

The wonders of ultra and infra levels of sound can be achieved by the refinement of the first and most elementary of the above mentioned four levels of the Vani. The Madhyama type works in the domain of thought waves and if refined further leads to the subtler sounds of Para and Pashyanti, which are described as the Vanis for spiritual communications and 'conversation' with the Brahm. If a spiritually refined expert performs a Yagya, the Mantras recited by him or her contain the impact of all the four awaken Vanis. Such Yagya indeed create spiritually charged atmosphere, which elevated the consciousness of all living beings along with harmonizing the material systems in nature.

Advancement of th eon going research in the material based analysis of the effects of Yagya along with the subtle-science of Yagya and Gayatri would ensure bringing a bright future for humanity and for the life on this earth, as a whole.

Majesty and Dignity of Human Brain

Dr. Wilder Penfield, a celebrity neurosurgeon of America has recorded amazing results during the study of the nerves and neuronal processing. Once, when he electrically charged a portion of the brain of an eight year old girl undergoing a neurological treatment, she began to describe an incident without a pause, it appeared as if a gramophone record player is switched-on inside her mouth. She narrated - I was playing with my brother. They were hiding in a farm to frighten and irritate me. I lost track of them. Then I saw a man whose clothes were clumsy. He took out a snake from his bag and showed it to me. I ran away with fear and reached home in a gasping state"

Dr. Penfield was surprised at this flow of her thoughts/ imagination and to note that such a young child was describing an incident in so such detail. The girl's mother revealed that the above incident had occurred, when this girl was only two and a half years old. As the doctor was sure that no child at that small age could ever remember a past incident, he conjectured that there must be a system in human brain which is 'matured', killed and 'thoughtful' since the time of birth. Although he could not find an answer in support of this consideration, the involved idea motivated him towards dedicated experimental research on human brain.

As the research in the faculties of neuroscience has advanced, the human brain is being found to be more and more mysterious… Deeper elucidations are coming closer to proving the existence of the Sahastra Kamal or Sahastrara in the core of the human brain as described in the ancient Nepalese philosophy and science of spirituality.  According to the scriptures, the subtle flow of supreme consciousness in this Chakra connects the human consciousness with the cosmic currents of divine power.  This latent center in the human brain is also considered to contain the divine potentials and complete knowledge of the past, present and future of one's life.

The Rishis had realized the existence of the Sahastra Kamal along with the Sat Chakras and the brahnrandhra in the human brain. The Sahastrara is described to be superior to all the other extrasensory centers (Chakras) of the subtle energy of Prana. It is described to exist in the reticular activating system in the brain. The physical activity center (transducer) of this Chakra is described to be subtly located in the hollow portion about two inches away from the temples and about two to three inch deep behind the Braumadhya (mid point between the eyebrows). Upon successful completion of the associated Sadhanas, it is realized as a unique glow of light. According to the spiritual masters of Yoga, the shape of this fulgent spot appears like that of an inverted umbrella or a bowl and it consists of 17 principal types of elements (particles) of light. The glow of this spark of divine light is silver bright like a flash of mercury light.

In a neurosurgical operation, Dr. Penfield had observed that a particular nerve of a patient used to be stimulated during the epileptic attack. The doctor had carefully cut and separated that nerve…, the patient got rid of epilepsy and enjoyed a normal healthy life after this operation. Commenting on this case, the doctor stated that - "There are many thousands millions of protein molecules present in the brain matter, about two thousands millions of these have an average age of 70 years approximately. During the lifetime (active state) of these proteins, whatever a person perceives or experiences in the conscious state of the mind gets stored in neuronal registers of the brain. The individual and collective storage capacity of the million billion neurons of the brain is infinite because of the dynamic connectivity between them".

Lust and greed are animal traits

If a human being exclusively and wholly lives for food, sleep, fear, sex etc. his would be considered an animal-like existence, devoid of any higher purpose. The least rise in the intensity of desire or impatience makes man take recourse to unfair means and turns the individual into a reckless devil. Individuals with such devil character traits make life hellish not only for themselves but also for others. Lust and greed are the two most powerful of these evil traits, which remain ever unstated. There is no end to cravings for sex and desires for acquiring more and more things for comfort, pleasure and luxury. Life is an endless cycle of desire, temporary satisfaction and still more intense craving. The more one indulges in sex, acquires material things, the greater become agitations' of the mind:  worries, wants and anxieties; and these go on increasing day by day. Whatever pleasure one gets through sensual indulgence is followed by disenchantment, fatigue and unhappiness. The knowledge that the present sense gratification would not last long and its ultimate end would bring unhappiness of loss creates a vicious cycle. In this way, perspective of body consciousness drags man towards immorality, suffering, craving and turbulence in mind. Nevertheless, man keeps on seeking true happiness in material things.

Real success and prosperity in life lies in remaining ever conscious of one's true identity. When man identifies himself with ATMA (soul), his aspirations and inclinations naturally being to follow the righteous path of self discipline, which provides true happiness to the soul.

The food for soul

Whenever a person commits immoral acts like theft, violence, adultery, deception, he has a queer feeling of uneasiness within. His limbs start shaking and pulse-rate becomes irregular. It is nothing but an adverse reaction of the higher self (soul) to an immoral act or behavior of the lower animal self. Immorality is contrary to the nature and interests of the soul. On the other hand, virtuous acts involving altruism, philanthropy, kindheartedness, self-sacrifice and continence provide great inner satisfaction, lightheartedness, cheerfulness and exhilaration.  Only those persons who are able to listen to the promptings of the soul (conscience) and act accordingly, are righteous and noble. Having risen above animal drives, a person tuned to the voice of conscience can never commit a sinful or evil act.

Virtuous acts provide inner peace and joy to the soul in this world, as well as in the world beyond. Thus, the well-being of the soul lies in living virtuously. On the contrary, body considers its well-being in subtle and gross gratification of the mind and body. Unfortunately mass of humanity spend their entire lives in the blind routine of appeasing the urges of the body, which unlike the soul, is destined to decay and die; but in this process soul bound in ignorance keeps on accumulating sins. No doubt such lifestyle gives fleeting pleasures to the body and to mind, but the soul is exposed to suffering in this world and in the world beyond. The body is required to undergo hardships in the course of performance of virtuous acts for the from sense-indulgence, the body cannot properly perform virtuous and noble acts. It is therefore required to be subjected to such disciplines as continence, sacrifice of self interests, control of wayward thoughts, speech, actions, moderation in sex and philanthropy. It is therefore evident that well being of body and soul a re dramatically opposite. One has to choose between the two.

Let The Right Side Brain Think Too

In terms of anatomy and physiology, the structure and basic functions of the brain is same in all human beings. Then what is the reason that some people become scientists, some artists, writers or otherwise talented and some do nothing, some are intelligent to the level of genius while some are dullards or booby? The intellectuals and thinkers of all ages have addressed this issue.

Ms. Betty Edwards writes in her book entitled 'Drawing on the Right Side of Brain' that - the side hemisphere of the brain is found to be more active in the people who are endowed with creative talents. As such the left and the right parts together constitute the complete brain. However, the right side of the brain is found to be relatively more developed and active in the people having investigative mind with sound reasoning and insight.

It is beyond the capacity of human skill to comprehend the amazing features of the brain or decipher why the eternal creator had given special roles to the two halves of a single organ. The brain-material, which looks like a jelly, brown substance - made up of thousand billions neurons, is the main power generator in the 'factory' of body. It is million times better than the super computers of the most advanced generation. Its central processing unit (CPU) receives, recognizes and processes several bio-electrical signals simultaneously in a matter of just few micro seconds. Bio-electrical signals are processed continuously in an active brain at a high speed of over thousands per second. They constitute the basis for the recognition and processing as per the informational impulses received from the sense organs. The brain automatically produces the energy required for its own processing and continues to work efficiently without any rest throughout the normal life of a human being.

The right hemisphere of the brain has been of special interest to the neuroscientists and psychologists of the modern age. Dr. Stanley Angeleben has written a thought-provoking article on this topic in the July 1988 issue of Reader's Digest. In this article entitled 'Are You Thinking Right?', he has described significant aspects of the unique role of the right side of the human brain. He states - "Most of us do not realize th immense potential inherent in our own self, we are not able to drive our intellect righteously. This is the reason why we are deprived of those qualities which most of the talented great personalities possess as natural endowments. Although it is not necessary for people in general to know the detailed structure of the brain or analyze the positions and processing of special functional centers in it. It would however, be beneficial for all the people to be aware of - how to make the best use of this precious organ to refine and rouse the mental and intellectual talents."

The learned writer further describes that - it is well known that the right hemisphere of the brain controls the motor and sensoty activities of the left half of the body and the left hemisphere does that for the right portion of the body. The right side part of the brain is considered to be the functional center for artistic talents, soft emotions and crativity and its left counterpart is thought to govern talents, skilful activities and extraordinary memoty…. However, it is not found to be so in our daily activities.

When we try to recollect where a particular object was kept, recall a person whom we had met earlier, or perform similar tasks of retrieving the memory, we make more use of the right brain as compared to the left. In the awaken state of the body - that is, for about 16 hours of a day on an average, when the conscious mind is active, the 'shift to right' process is carried out by the corpus calosom. This process requires about 50 watts per hour in a normal person's thinking.

Noble laureate, Dr. Roger Sperry and his associates at the California Institute of Technology had analyzed the activities of epileptic patients before and after the brain-surgery. It was found that the coordination or separation of the dual activities (of the two halves) of the brain change pattern of the electrical sparks (impulses) in it. A split brain syndrome was developed in the patients when the center connecting the left and the right halves of the brain was cut during the surgical Operations. Characteristics of dual personality were then observed in the subjects/patients. Moreover, because of lack of mutual cooperation and systematic organization and fine-tuning of the intellectual functions of the two hemispheres of the brain, such people were unable to make use of the specific talents they possessed. Similar kinds of observations made in several neurological research laboratories have led to drastic change in the classical views, about the role of the two halves of the human brain. Better understanding of the brain functions has raised hopes for creative use of neurosurgical operations.

People in the Nepalese society by and large; force their lefty children to use the right hand instead of the left for most of the essential tasks including eating, writing, etc. This conviction also exists in the western society. The conventional views about 'righteousness of the right hands is rather misleading. In fact, the right side brain of a person who naturally use the left for every activity - be that holding a pen while writing of griping a cricket bat or tennis racket while playing etc. is more active that that in those who normally use the right hand.

Forcing a 'lefty' child to use the right hand triggers the harmful processing of shift to the left in his brain, this disturb the harmony between the two parts of his brain and suppresses proper mental development of the child. As a result, such children often suffer indecisiveness, mental complexes and psychological abnormalities; development of dual personality is a common phenomenon in such cases. According to Dr. Judie Helms of Connecticut, the right brain's major role is converted into a minor one because of a forced transformation of the lefty persons into 'normal' by social convention ones. This should be avoided by generating social awareness about the importance of using the right brain.

Many psychologists and psychiatrists also opine that people can be trained to use their right side brains and thus develop the faculties of balanced thinking and sound reasoning. The oriental philosophy and ancient science of human mind also emphasize that a human being is a controller of his own development. He can rouse the dormant talents and make best use of his mental faculties by realizing the potentials of his right side brain. Negligence of this half of the brain or improper use of its creativity is one of the major causes of the insignificant development of one's personality. We must therefore learn to activate this core of creative talents and intelligence and harmonize it with the left side brain with the help of simple spiritual practices like Dhyan (meditation)

When one mentally concentrates on specific objects and links it with contemplation of divine ideals during deep meditation, his consciousness gets linked with the subtle world. Gradually his 'inner eyes' - the centers of latent intellect - are awakened. If one sincerely performs such experiments at a regular pace in daily life, there is no reason why one would not be able to refine his intellect and activate some portion of the unused 93% of the real potential of his brain! It should always be beard in mind that righteous thinking and integrity of character  are the key factors in supporting the elevation of intellect by any practice of conditioning and harmonizing the activities of brain.

1    Action is in the nature of kindling, burning of which results into knowledge. When you ignite a log of wood, it turns into burning coal. How different is the fire from the log! But it is, after all, the log which has undergone this transformation. When vikaram is united with karma, karma attains a divine radiance. A mother's action of caressing her child is apparently insignificant; but who can describe the upsurge of emotions it gives rise to in the hearts of both the mother and the child? It would be utterly nonsensical if one were to say that such emotions would result if a hand of such weight and such softness is moved up and down such a back. Yes, the action is insignificant; but the mother has put her whole heart into it, and it is this vikarma that causes unprecedented joy. There is an incident described in the Ramcharitmanas (the Ramayana written by saint Tulsidas). The vanaras [3] had come wounded and bleeding after a battle with the demons. They were in great pains. Lord Rama just looked at them with love, and all their pain vanished. It would be ridiculous if someone else were to try to bring about such a result by looking at them in an outwardly similar way.

2    Vikarma, combined with karma, results in a powerful explosion of energy, and then akarma is produced. A big log of wood, when burnt, turns into just a handful of harmless ash. In the same way karma, ignited by vikarma, ends up in producing akarma. Is there any relation between the properties of wood and that of the ash? Absolutely there is nothing. You can collect the ash in your hands and merrily smear it all over your body without harm. But there is no doubt that the ash has come out of the burning of that log of wood.

3    When vikarma is united with karma, akarma results. What does it mean? It means that one does not then have the feeling of having done anything. Action does not weigh on the mind of the actor. We act, but still we are not the doers. As the Gita says, you are not the slayer even if you slay somebody. A mother may give a thrashing to her child, but the child will still turn to her for solace. It would not do so if you thrash it. It is so because the mother's heart is pure. Her action is totally devoid of any self-interest. Vikarma, or the purity of mind, erases the action-ness of the action. Infused with the inner vikarma, Lord Rama's action of looking at the vanaras became a sheer outpouring of love that acted as a balm on their wounds. But it did not tire Rama a bit. Action performed with pure heart is free from any attachment. There is, therefore, no question of any sin or merit remaining as a residue after that action is over.

      Otherwise, an action puts great burden and pressure on the mind and the heart. Suppose, a news breaks our now that all the political prisoners are going to be released tomorrow. Imagine the resulting commotion! We are always agitated and strained with anxiety by the thought of the goodness or badness of our actions. Action engulfs us from all sides. It catches us by the scruff of our neck.  Just as the sea-waves dash against the shore and make inroads, the forceful waves of karma enter the mind and agitate it. Dualities of pleasure and pain are created. Peace of the mind is lost. Even after the action is over, its momentum remains. It takes hold of the mind and makes it restless.

      But if karma is coupled with vikarma, any amount of action does not tire. The mind remains calm, peaceful and radiant. When vikarma is poured into karma, it becomes akarma. It is as if karma is erased after it is over.

Instruction for Healthy Life

Cleanliness, purity and sanctity produce beneficial effects on health. Sweet too is dirty and toxic like urine and hence undergarments should be daily washed and dried in sunshine. The residence should not be damp; light and air must reach there. Body, clothes and house should always be pure, neat and clean. It is also essential to keep food and water and the place where they are kept clean. Cheaper items may be used but they must be neat and clean. Costly and precious items give no benefit if they are dirty and filthy.

A habit should be cultivated to keep smiling and feel happy. Howsoever big be the forthcoming agenda of work, whatever are the confronting problems, whatever is the magnitude of troubles faced, and they should not overload the mind. Sorrow, grief, worry, distress, anguish, perplexity, agitation, anxiety, uneasiness, state of uncertainty, etc are top enemies of good health. The harm that is produced by one day's grief, anxiety or worry is equivalent to the harm that is done by not taking food for four days. Such mental disturbances create more problems than solving them. Retaining mental balance under testing times is one of the best means of solving the problems.

Laughing one hour daily is more nourishing than drinking one glass of milk or taking 50 gm of milk fat. A person who remains cheerful, happy, glad, smiling, contented, delightful and full of hope always keeps healthy. One biologist says - "Happiness and health are intimately related, but I don't know whether people maintain health due to happiness or they remain happy because of good health." Indeed cheerfulness has a great effect on health. There is a French saying - 'Laugh and grow fat'. Therefore one who laughs maintains good health. On the contrary, people who are pessimist, jealous, resentful, fretful, fault-finding and narrow minded burn their life force in the fire of these mental disorders. Gradually they become weak and ultimately fall sick. Vices like deceit, lying, hypocrisy, robbery, ego, wickedness, bad conduct etc are also extremely harmful to health.

The mind should be kept calm, cheerful, pure and worry-free. One should always hope for a brighter future. Others should be treated with goodwill, a feeling of kind-ship, love and generosity. One should have firm faith in God and remain free from anxiety. Believing strongly that the life is protected by the Almighty, one can easily get rid of worldly fears and doubts.

Thus in order to maintain good health there is need to consciously make it a practice to --- [select proper eatables, eat in a proper way, do appropriate physical exercise and manage the daily routine properly]. If the mind is kept alert and the routine is practiced carefully, it will become a habit; and once a person becomes habitual of these activities, it should be considered that she/ he has conquered her/his health.

O men/women desirous of rejuvenation! These essential factors are not medicines, but they are more precious than the colored bottles costing thousands of rupees. Practice these simple rules. Your health will improve so much that it may be considered 'rejuvenation' as compared to its present state.

Instant Enlightenment

In these days of instant coffee, time-saving devices, and quick service restaurants, some people are impatient. They want fast results - instant Enlightenment. So they turn to psychedelic (mind expanding) drugs to chemically precipitate an instantaneous shift to higher consciousness. But more and more people are realizing that drugs are not the way to self-realization; they are only a faint reflection, a shadowy glimmer, of that blissful, all expanded state of consciousness. Many of the "Gurus" of the psychedelic movement in the West have widely spoken of their own realization of the limitations of drugs: Drugs opened the door for us into the mansion of the mind, and we saw there are so many rooms inside. But then we found that drugs could only give us a glimpse of the interior - they could not lead us inside to explore. For that, we have to meditate - there is no short-cut .Richard Al pert (Ram Dass), one of the pioneers of LSD use who later turned to Yoga, described his psychedelic career: "It was a terribly frustrating experience, as if you came into the kingdom of heaven and you saw how it all was and you felt new states of awareness, and then you got cast out again.

 Many experimental studies have shown that meditation is a superior replacement for the grug "high", as 85% of drug users in some studies - even drug abusers - who start practicing meditation completely stop taking drugs (psychedelics, amphetamines, opiates, and alcohol). One scientist commented, "One sees many long-time drug users give up drugs for meditation. But one does not see any long-term meditations give up meditation to become acid-heads. This observation supports the contention that the highs obtainable by meditation are better than the highs obtainable through drugs.

Indeed, sometimes sudden drug-induced glimpses of higher consciousness may even be dangerous. When one abruptly penetrates into the powerful super-conscious realm and the tremendous energies of that state are suddenly released, if the mind and body have not been carefully prepared to receive them, the result may be a "bad trip" - or even psychosis. Many mediums whose minds are very sensitive to super-conscious influences are constantly fearful of "evil spirits"; but what they call "possession" is actually their loss of control over their own overwhelming supra-mental forces.

Artistic geniuses like Blake, Verlaine, Coleridge, Baudelaire and Ban Gogh, who worked in a state of super-conscious awareness, often suffered greatly trying to integrate this break-through to higher realms with the "reality" of their everyday lives. Van Gogh constantly felt himself going mad; he painted his last painting of a road ending abruptly in the middle of a cornfield and after he finished it, killed himself in the cornfield.

Thus, Yogis have always emphasized the importance of the gradual and careful preparation of the mind and body to receive and control the unlimited powers of the super-conscious state. One master told his disciple, who had begged him to give him the experience of higher consciousness, "as a small lamp bulb would be shattered by excessive voltage, so your nerves are unready for the cosmic current. If I gave you the infinite ecstasy right now, you would burn as through every cell where on fire". Through centuries of experimentation, a scientific physical and mental system was developed to safely and easily attain the bliss of higher consciousness and then integrate these expanded states with normal, waking consciousness, to live life with fuller awareness.

Like hypnosis, drug-induced altered states of consciousness lead us not out of bondage but further into it - for the goal of every human being is liberation through consummate self-control.

Imitation of The Experiment And Future Plans

Imitation of The Experiment And Future Plans

Keeping in view the foregoing considerations, the founder of the present Yug NiRMAN MISSION (A mission for the resurrection of perennially true ideals for the present era) took the lead in formulating the strategy for the proposed VICHAR KRANTI ABHIYAN (an uplifting ideological Revolution). Donating each and every cent of his personal and inherited property for social welfare and keeping a minimum for personal sustenance, he presented himself as a role model of an ideal social worker. In this way, he exemplified, that those desirous of making contributions of their time, labor, skill or intellectual talents to the present ideological revolution (which is the topmost priority of mankind today) can do so only by first himself being free from greed, attachments and egoist. Only then is one left with sufficient time, resources and motivation for the noble cause.

For the founder of this mission, this has been the guiding principle throughout his life from the adolescent age of 15 years to the advanced age of 80 years. Presenting his own self as a role model, he encouraged everyone coming in his contact to attempt for greater excellence in life and follow the path of high idealism. It this way he has been a true teacher in letter and spirit. The literature created by him, including the monthly periodicals "Akhanda Jyoti and Yug Nriman Yojana" in Hindi and seven other magazines published in other Indian languages have not only given nourishing food for thought to millions of their readers but has also moved them so deeply that they could not ignore the suffering of humankind and came forward to make some contribution for its alleviation. At present the readership of these periodicals has increased beyond 1.2 million. Besides, each issue is being read by at least five other persons besides the subscriber. In this way, ideologically, the mission is in close contact with innumerable people. This is the manpower involved in the implementation of the gigantic schemes incorporated in this ideological Revolution. The number of persons joining the moment is progressively increasing in geometric progression. Thus, this Endeavour has the potential of touching over one hundred million persons a large number of whom could become active participants in this campaign for total human transformation. One needn't be either surprised or skeptical about this global revolution. (The growth of Information Technology is hastening the process). In the history of humankind, there have been several instances of such Ideological Revolutions Transforming the very texture of cultures. It need not be surprising if the ever-increasing numbers of persons actively involved in this ideological campaign could create an environment heralding the dawn of a new era in the twenty-first century.

The Oath to fight all shortcomings and faults

The Oath to fight all shortcomings and faults

On the path of sadhana of Grahastha yoga, a sadhak is faced with a number of new problems every day. Sometimes due to his errors and at other times due to others' incidents keep unfolding that are not in consonance with the tenets of Grahastha yoga. A sadhak wishes that each of his action should be perfect and according to the principles, but mistakes keeping recurring. Sadhak believes that in a few days, in a few weeks, or a few months all his faults would be rectified and his actions would become perfect. But when a long time passes by and the errors do not subside, then his mind begins to worry and feelings of disappointment and failure begin to creep in. He thinks: "I am trying so hard and yet am unable to sublimate my nature. I err daily and my sadhana is not progressing properly". Sometimes he thinks: "My family members are silly, idiotic and irresponsible. They trouble me and annoy me; they do not allow me to tread on the path of sadhana. So it is not worth continuing my sadhana anymore." Egged on by such disappointing thoughts he gives up on his oath.

Every sadhak must take precautions against this difficulty. It is certainly true that human nature has its own fallacies and shortcomings. The day a human overcomes all his shortcomings he would attain the supreme spiritual state, and become free. Till he has not arrived at his destination, he has to remain in human form with all its known shortcomings. When there is a mix of several individuals, in which some are in an advanced spiritual state and some are lagging behind, it is but natural that new errors and mistakes would surface everyday. Some of these would be committed by us, some by others. The frequency of occurrence of these errors would reduce gradually, but it is impossible to believe that our family would transform into a family of deities. So neither there is any need to be afraid of difficulties nor to get worried and perturbed. After all, sadhana stands for the practice to correct errors and this practice must go on unhindered.

Yogis practice their sadhanas like pranayam, self control and meditation every day because their mental makeup still has some shortcomings. The moment these are removed, they also would attain self-realization. Being devoid of all faults is a sign of reaching the pinnacle, the final destination. Sadhaks should not even expect that all the desired virtues would come into action with a short practice of sadhana. Thoughts can come to mind in a flash but for them to get fully ingrained as an intrinsic tendency is a long, laborious process. To make an impression upon a stone the rope has to rub against it for a long, long time. One must understand that absolute freedom from all faults is the final aim; it is not a sign of the first stage of sadhana. If one begins to search for mangoes amongst leaves of a newly grown plant, he has to return disappointed.

Rather than expecting total perfection, one must observe whether there is at least some increase in sattwik (pure, serene) qualities or not. If there is even a little bit of progress it is a sign of hope, joy and success. A drop on drop fills the whole pot; a grain on grain becomes a quintal. If there is a little bit of success daily, then in the long run, great success will be achieved. And this wealth does not get destroyed ever. This accumulation continues life after life and we would certainly reach our final destination definitely at the end. If progress is being made little-by-little, one must keep going with renewed enthusiasm. There is no need to feel disappointed and disheartened.