Search for the Purpose!!!

The search was worthwhile till now and seeming to be fruitful ahead too. Tapovanji Maharaj gave a very simple rule to march ahead in life, to make the correct choice. Discard anything & everything that comes in the WAY of the PURPOSE OF LIFE. Accept only those which aids the PURSPOE OF LIFE (THE GOAL).
This soul has still not matured so as to not treat the PATH as a distance in TIME ( many thanx to the still immature modern scientific thinking). The soul is left with no choice but to believe in the Golden path to freedom. It still is very conscious of the present BMI and so of the variables like TIME, SPACE, RELATIONSHIPS. It ekes to transcend but is tied up with the vasanas with such sliding shipper-men knots which keep tightening on trying to pull away. The best way is to PLAN the journey. Don’t get Panicky or Paranoid about not being able to make the big LEAP, instead start preparing. Let the knots slide away to loosen yourself(unburden) by staying with the vasana. Let it flourish. Make herculean efforts to exhaust effectively so as to incur minimum new vasanas on the way. Exhaust in such a way that the side-effects or the new vasanas created are +ve in nature (+ve w.r.t. to you), which not only give an opportunity to expand the MIND but also, on exhaustion, create lesser and lesser vasanas but more and more of the positive type. The first step in breaking the cycle is to IDENTIFY it. And it’s always easy to identify your own conscious creation than the unconscious one.
Grihasta-ashrama in this KalaYuga gives a tremendous opportunity for millions of vasanas to exhibit their colors in a society friendly way. Staying constantly ALERT is the first KEY. Train the mind to keep at least one PHASE focused on the GOAL of LIFE, nothing short. All the other tiny GOALS IN LIFE can be accommodated in the other phases of the mind. For example, it takes a very little effort involving both intelligence and time to earn our basics like a descent living (healthy food, upright clothing and a comfortable shelter). Train the mind to break its shell. THINK BIG. Exert the BMI to its EDGE. Let it CRY for REST.  Force it to PLEAD Mercy for all the unwanted extravagances it hooked itself up to. Show NO MERCY.
To do all this, the second KEY is to Discipline the MIND. It starts with external disciplines. If a pure mind can exhibit pure actions through the Body, the vice-versa is also true. It seems that the reverse flow of the discipline might take a little longer. Efforts towards continuous repetition of these actions will aid in disciplining the MIND. Do it regularly, daily and always consciously. A simple exercise like PLANNING a day’s work and sticking to it, is one of the BIGGEST SADHANAS ever. No Pooja/Japa at that time can replace it’s power. Work out the day in the Yagna Spirit.

PLAN OUT THE WORK & WORK OUT THE PLAN – Swami Chinmayananda

Break routines to create new routines and when the mind gets used to its comfort, deliberately break them too. Take a break after the BMI cried for PEACE. Plan vacations to unknown places, where the MIND cannot connect with any Past Memory. Blank it out. Trick it. Let fresh pictures implant the raw memory being created. Fresh impressions on a purer mind are far better than the past memories implanted by the impure mind.
The third KEY is to EXPERIENCE every EXPERIENCE. Every bit of experience due to our Prarabdha has a POTENT SEED to flourish or give the next clue to the PATH taking to THE GOAL. Unleash the intellectual Power House to eek out that SEED from every experience (irrespective of it being GOOD, BAD OR just OK w.r.t. to your present Value system/society glasses)
The fourth KEY is to BELIEVE in yourself. Start with believing in your instincts, give it a chance. You will transcend to intuition(which is lighted by the FIRE of the ONE within you)  quickly.
The fifth KEY is to GO all OUT. Go all out to accomplish the GOALS IN LIFE. Think of the magnitude of empires built by the saintly kings like Janaka & Dasharatha. The splendid wealth and materials amassed/looted from around the universe by demons like Hiranyakashyapa & Ravana. Think deeply then on the Glorious rule of the invincible RAMA, his reverent, astonishing, flawless court of LAW, his all encompassing divine JUDGEMENT and the ZEAL to help all, in their own context to march for the GOAL OF LIFE. The GM, MS, GOOGLE, RELIANCE or the TATAs of today are not even Lilli puts compared to the massive kingdoms & surplus of everything in those mythical Golden eras of mankind, where humans from all walks were given platforms to flourish in their own unique way and direction. What all can be thought by the mind has a potential to materialize. All humanly possible arts/sciences/philosophies flourished under the distinguished administration. Here the rajasic forces took directions from the sattvik wisdom. Likewise in this economic world, the entrepreneurs need to take advice from the enlightened ones.
Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj gave a splendid example in the modern times. His purpose got cleared when his ego was crushed by his Guru Samartha Ramdasji (Remember ‘Mana Sajjana Bhakti…..’). After listening to Ramdasji, Shivaji offered his kingdom to him  which the Great Saint accepted and then asked Shivaji to rule it duty-bound. This way the Maharaj was doing his duty as an appointed King rather than thinking himself as the Lord of the Land. The work was the same for the Maharaja, just the attitude shifted tangentially. Higher Dharma ruled out the lower Dharmas. Unshakable history got created which is used and many a times mis-used even today. The Vivekananda once spoke of the Maharaj - “Shame on you, Doctor. You are a Mahratta and still that is all you know of the greatest king that India had produced within the last three hundred years; one who was the very incarnation of Siva....Is there a greater hero, a greater saint, a greater bhakta and a greater king than Sivaji?”
And so goes the roar of the Sahayadri Lion,
Jai Bhavani !!!   Jai Shivaji !!!   Har Har Mahadev !!!

My understanding of the Laws of Nature !!!

Newton’s third law and the Law of conservation of Energy & Mass are intertwined <google them to know for yourself>. One can’t exist without the other. Unfortunately two different scientists proposed the two sides of the same coin. The laws are universal and binding irrespective of your address in the Universe or your social status in one of the tiniest peck known as the planet Earth. Karma theory taught as part of Sanatana learning is a superset of all such laws proved in laboratory by so called modern scientist. The timing of the reaction from the Universe against any action is a matter of deep thought. It is quantified at such a precision so that the reaction is complete, i.e.

reaction = action

To give a crude example, if Sam stood up infront of the whole class and slapped Jemmy, Jemmy would have slapped back. But the insult bore by Jemmy is more since he was the first to be slapped, so :

(Jemmy’s reaction to Sam’s action) != (Sam’s action)

So the universe is going to react back on Sam but at an appropriate time, so that the insult/pain felt by Jemmy in the first place is equal to what Sam will incur.

If Jemmy is fully aware of the Universal Law, will he ever retaliate after getting the slap? The answer is ‘Can’t say’. If he is wise, he must have know that Sam’s action was actually his(Sam’s) reaction to some past action of Jemmy. If Jemmy feels Sam’s reaction was intense, then he may either wait for the Universe to settle the accounts or take upon ambassadorship of the Universe. A wise Jemmy who has read through Karma doctrines and Dharmashastras may act contextually. If needed he may slap harder or he may just walk away smiling in his mind for he knows the wild Dean of the School will react against Sam in a much harder tone than what the Universe has in store for him.

Applying the same analogy to Corporate Governance where Human Beings are too falsely considered as mere resources. You hear phrases like - ‘4 Java resources with 3 yrs experience each is equivalent to 3 Java resources with 6 yrs of rich experience’ or ‘Resource-Crashing with the assumption that the increase in resources will proportionately complete the work faster’. Feel the need to simplify the 2nd phrase with an example - ‘5 resources complete work-A in 10 days, so 10 resources would complete the same work-A in 5 days’. Any successful project manager will laugh at these assumptions. And anyone who has achieved this feat has added extra effort to compensate the learning/momentum curve. Also one can easily deduce that :

Every reaction in turn is a new action in itself

So conflicts are never ending in nature. A Hitler probably knew this and tried to overpower nature by trying to silence all the opposition across the world completely. He failed since he himself(his actions) created equal and opposite forces in the Universe. That’s why the likes of a Gandhi and a Mother Teresa say ‘Give’, since when you do an action which helps some one else, then the Universe will pay back in full at some other time. The pay-back (reaction) could be in terms of that one HELP which saved you from a huge Financial Crisis, that one call which paved way to your desired career. The reaction as expected will be contextual and in equal amounts. So the wise choose to do good, since good actions create good backlogs for the Universe to deliver while bad actions create bad backlogs for the Universe to deliver.

The Universe is never in a hurry. It’s on-time every-time.

The timing is always appropriate. Only we don’t realize the importance. A wise man is always happy to find himself in a worldly trouble, since he knows that the Universe’s backlog against his name is getting worked out for clearance. The sooner the better.

A wise man is never overwhelmed or over-excited on hearing good-news, since he knows that the Universe is just doing it’s part for his previous actions and he doesn’t want to be attached or always eager for such backlogs, for no one knows what’s the actual backlog piling looks like. Probably this one last Good backlog and damn the account is filled with loads of scary backlogs.

The way of Life? How to deal?

Tend to equanimity. Showing of an attitude doesn’t necessarily deny the inner equanimity. You may have to laugh at a joke of your 7 yr old kid, even if it hasn’t been so humorous for you. Force all the reactions from the Universe (good or bad according to your perspective) to help you achieve your GOAL of LIFE. So the first step is to question your life. Find your GOAL.

Who saved my Life?

One of the most beautiful adventures of the present life was yesterday’s accident. More happening than my trek to Tapovanam. I didn’t have a near death experience of sorts mentioned in Many Lives Many Masters. But I definitely had a wonderful spiritual experience which I will detail after I finish the reporting part.

Brahmacharini Shubha Amma was one of around ten brahmacharis around the globe who were given Swami/Swamini Diksha at the Hyderabad Chinmaya Mission Centre on the auspicious day of this Shiva Ratri.  Chinmaya Mission was founded by devotees of Swami Chinmayananda(Gurudev), the most dynamic disciple of Tapovanji Maharaj who was the most revered of the Spiritual Generals this land has been producing time and again. Gurudev traditionally comes from the Saraswati Order(there are several orders established by Jagadguru Shankaracharyaji). Chinmaya Mission conducts a 2 years resident, Gurukul sytle, Vedanta Course whose graduates get to choose to continue to work for the mission. The course aims to teach most of the Prastana Tria and also helps build up the true VISION for life. To give you a magnitude of the depth covered here, the upanishadic dictates and the various theories of creation studied are subtler than even the frontline researches in String Theory. The white robed brahmacharis(doesn’t necessarily mean unmarried) who choose to continue working for the mission are christened to new names like our dear Sattvika Chaitanya, Shubha Chaitanya and so on. They are then posted to centres across the world to work through the Mission to deliver the VISION of pujya Gurudev. The Mission work gives an opportunity for what can be vaguely termed as Self-Less Service. Primarily I feel all activities falling in line with HIS VISION are stepping stones which not only help you with a fulfilling life but also take you to the GOAL of LIFE in the shortest possible manner. I vaguely understand that these Brahmacharis dressed in YELLOW continue to do service till a point when their Guru Rin or the payback for the learnings is almost complete. Brahmacharini Shubha Amma was one among others of the order of Br. Govind Chaitanya, Br. Gagan Chaitanya who delivered to such an extent through their service, that they were set free from being duty bound. They were given Sanyasa Diksha (Highest Monk Order). So our dear Brahmacharini Shubha Amma is now known as Swamini Ananghananda Saraswati. The beautiful Mahalaxmi Temple at Kharghar is run under her guidance.

Note that Gurudev’s disciple names end with a post-fix ‘Ananda’ and the family order ‘Sarasawati’ explains the lineage till Shankaracharyaji.

I wished to attend the welcome ceremony of the newly graduated Swamini. The process includes, what we call as the ‘Purna Kumbha’ with the chanting of ‘Rajadhi Rajaya Prasayya Sahini….’ (chanted as daily prayers at Tapovanji Maharaj’s Kutia, Uttarkasi). The eyes which were used to the Yellow Sari clad Amma were very enthusiastic to view the Ochre robes. The color is very vibrant and the new look gave a larger aura to Amma. She became more reverable. She narated her experience at Hyderabad centre. One of the procedures that she could disclose to those gathered at the Mahalaxmi Temple (CM, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai) was to do Pinda Dana to your own self i.e. do the exact procedure that one does for a person who died. This signifies that the person ‘I’ is now dead, the final leg of THE Journey has Begun.

Scooting on my second-sale Kinetic Honda I halted in between to check Google Maps to see if the Service Road I was taking was indeed correct. Unfortunately Google Maps failed OnTime to show me the ‘Show my location’ option. I struggled in-front of the gates of NCST (now CDAC), India’s Centre of excellence in Advanced Computing. Closed the app. Zoomed in calmly to reach the temple gates JIT. Chanted the Poorna Kumbha rituals along with all elders gathered. Took her blessings and sat down to listen to the whole process. She hoped each one of us either in this life or the immediate next would choose to the holy path of Sanyas(Plz note that Sanyas is not wearing the Ochre robes, but is very much Mind/Intellect attitude towards attaractions and aversions. There are many true Sanyasis around in the material world in plain cloths too). The word ‘Anagha’ in Sanskrit language means ‘Sinless’. One has to be Anagha to follow the Path. Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayanandji, the current head of Chinmaya Mission worldwide and a direct disciple of Gurudev directed the disksha ceremony which coincided with the Shanka – Aaradhana.

Taking the prasad (Gurudev’s photo and a sweet) and the dust of her feet, I started my journey back to my work-place. The Aunty had over-heard my conversation with my wife in my native Telugu. She picked up the mother tongue connection and we chatted from how we landed in Chinmaya Mission to how her ISKON follower son is placed decently in the US to how me and my bro were trying to procure home loan from SBI where her hubby is retiring this year. I enjoyed the conversation since speaking to people and getting to know their likes, dislikes and desires is one of my ardent passions. As I said to the CEO of my company the other day, that I enjoy working with people and missing them in my current assignment so far. Aunty asked me for this fateful lift till Belapur. Incidentally she resided in the same apartments where one of my close Namboodaripad friends used to stay for long.  I unconsciously wore my Helmet as is my habit by now. There is an interesting story about what made me build the Helmet habit (but that talks a lot Good about my dear friends Sups & Vinil Menon, about how they forced me to buy an Helmet. Let me avoid boosting them for now :-). The ISI mark saved my life. The scratches on the helmet are evident to this fact. My dhanno got a severe crush. I haven’t even cared to treat her till now.

I was driving at sub-20 km/hr, since I recently learned that beyond 30 km/hr the scooter may get tired. More over I was concerned for a safe lift for my aunty. After about 4-5 mins of smooth ride, it was time to take a right-turn at Belapur. I signalled, saw another mini-auto-type-tempo(the one used by LPG cylinder vendors)  moving on the right too. Saw that the road behind was all clear, turned to my right to enter Belapur and drop Aunty to her building campus. Suddenly a Indica sort of tourist car dashes us at a very high speed.  We were exactly perpendicular to the speeding car. The road just a few meters behind is elevated and one cannot see straight behind 20-30 meters of distance. I don’t remember the impact.  But I remember till the point I started turning and after I gained conciousness and saw myself on the side of the bike. Aunty lying a few meters away and a Indica sort of car whose front glass is impacted badly. The number plate of the car is hanging low towards the ground.

The first thought after regaining consciousness was that my Guru saved my life and the second thought was the well being of my aunty. I tried to get up. Couldn’t do it on my own. Lied down for a few mins and then woke up to see a large crowd and traffic haulted. Some one helped me get up. One of my shoes was missing. I pushed the cars to move out and release the traffic first. A few by-standers initiated a rescue operation. They lifted aunty carefully and placed her on the back seat of a car whose driver intended to help. She was rushed to the MGM hospital of Belapur which was stone-throw away from the incident. On Mr. Ravi gave me a lift on his bike to the hospital. We rushed to the casualty ward. I saw her breathing, I could breath calmly only then. GOD BLESS. I asked the resident doctor treating her, if she is OK. He said a CT Scan is required to access if there is not internal injury. I went ahead and asked her health. She couldn’t remember me. I got a HUGE JOLT on my HEART. She asked me how did she land up there? I said she met with a small accident, can she help me with her Husband’s contact no. (I remembered my conversation, that he worked in the nearby branch of SBI in the IT dept and was a few months away from retirement). The previous social conversation helped ease a load of things for me. She spelled his name very clearly and also the mobile no. THANK GOD. Probably the immediate experience stored in a sort of volatile RAM like memory might have wiped out due to impact. I tried calling that no. but couldn’t get through.

Next, I called up one of the senior working member of CM, Navi Mumbai, Mr. Mallyaji who owes the distinct honor of conducting the famous Ratha Yatra of Goddess Mahalaxmi before her consecration at the desired space in the current Temple. All had left the temple premises just a few mins back. He was along with other members. He greeted me with delightedly and I explained him in a very brief and calm manner the state of affairs. He asked me to hold on and within mins about 4-5 elder uncles including Mr. Mallyaji who are stalwarts in their own field and are know for their efforts to vitalize the strength of the CM at Navi mumbai arrived. They included the flamboyant trustee Mr. Parindra Kadakia, recruiter Krishnanji and Mr. Bhat. They took stock of the situation. Asked me for my well-being. Assured me that everything will be ok(I was assured not by their saying, but by their mere presence by my side when I needed them utmost). By now I was already given first-aid on my bruises. Two injections, one was Tetanus for sure, the other was probably to relieve me of my pain. I hardly had much pain but still have a habit of obeying in matters where my education falls short. I saw bruises all over my right hand. I couldn’t walk properly since my right side hip joint had a hit. It may take some time before I can regain my swiftness. I reverently thanked to Gurudev for saving my life. His young photo was still in my pocket which was given in the form of prasad to everybody. I prayed for aunty’s well being. She lost her front two teeth and I could see a lump on her fore-head clearly. No one cared in the ward to treat me, probably because I was talking in a comfortable tone, till I barged in to be given treatment.

Next, I prayed that Sagar, my youngest bro, should be in Vashi. He indeed was in Vashi after his Rajasthan tour while attending a friend’s wedding. Sagar was still as-sleep. He greeted me vaguely and as soon as I learned that he was in Vashi I unfolded the story line by line. He stopped me on the second line and rushed out. I called him again to avoid him from visiting the MGM at Vashi, I was in the MGM at Belapur. He thanked for the info and rushed again. As was written for him, there was no Bus for a long time. He hopped on to an auto-rikshaw and reached after the Police had just arrived to note my verdict. Someone had placed the broken name-plate of the car which dashed us into my bag before I got on to the bike to the hospital. I gave my version of the whole episode and signed. Sagar has worked closely with Politicians and so with the Police dept too. He knew how to speak to them. He relaxed me which I already was with his arrival.

I saw the situation under control, the uncles calmed my anxiety completely to such an extent that I was delighted to see the power of Gurudev, how he created such helpful communities and support systems around his devotees. Next, I called my bro, Viki, who is an Italian chef with a 5-star deluxe hotel in the metro which was about 2.5 hrs away on road. He didn’t show any shock or alarm in his tone, instead listened to me very carefully and asked me details of the health conditions. This is the kind of presence of mind that is expected. He asked me how much money needs to be arranged for both our treatment. I said that’s unknown and not an issue currently. Hearing about Sagar being in the scene, he was relaxed. The hospital authorities took my details and I told them that her husband was on the way. One of the 4 elderlys who arrived rushed to the SBI branch to bring him personally.

To show myself that I am a Karma Yogi, I then called up my Boss, and explained him why I won’t be able to make it to the workplace. I planned to rest at home for a few days. Had asked my colleagues to gather my laptop and essentials to my place.

One of the foremost austologers of Saurashtra once took a cursory look at my stars. He could do so just by knowing my name, date and time of birth. Without even a need for a personal visit, he mentioned that my toughest journey ends somewhere in Feb-2010. The impact probably signaled the end of the effect of the stars and beginning of a new era in life. Sort of moving from the downward part of the SINE WAVE of LIFE to the upward side.

I am very unhappy that I couldn’t remember the 30 seconds of impact & post-impact duration. What happened to me? Why did I regain consciousness?

Who saved my life? My stars, or the ISI mark on my Helmet (so it was Sups & Vinil Menon)?

Wasn’t it my Guru HIMSELF. I am now desperate to search for the purpose for the rest of my life. Thank you Lord for your courtesy which you showered without I having earned it.

Om Shri Chinmaya Sadguruve Namah!!!

After rest, I first asked my wife and parents to visit the aunty still at the hospital, then listened to a few bhajans from the Swaranjali group which is closely looked over by Guruji himself. Family members returned with good news. She has bruises all over the body. CT Scan report was good and Aunty was enquiring about me. She said to my parents that she didn’t even know if their son was married or not. My mom immediately got her daughter-in-law in the angle of her sight. She was glad to see her. Also she commented that she could ride the Kinetic better than me :) The physician has recommended another day’s stay, so she becomes our in-patient and I was a classic example of an out-patient :)

I hunted for Ishwar Darshan to read atleast the first chapter which starts with the line - “Man proposes and God disposes”. It was missing from my library. Settled with the Wanderings In Himalayas by Tapovanji Maharaj.

Awarizen, an aware Citizen

 

There is an active need for awareness among human society, specially in this economic age. Awareness not just about the benefits, powers, duties but also responsibilities. Awareness about the surroundings, country, planet and why not the universe itself. Awareness of the vast diversity. Awareness about the uniform harmony which baselines the various conflicts arising. Awareness about the badness w.r.t. the goodness around. Awareness of the positron in comparison to the negitron. Awareness of the subtle powers within and without. Awareness about the knowledge super houses flowing freely around. Awareness of the technique of collecting this knowledge. Awareness of the economic society driven by knowledge. Awareness of the past and the path that the present is taking. Awareness about the SELF.

Awarizen is such aware citizen.

A little boy once thought that sky is... - JV

A little boy once thought that sky is being eaten away by horizon.

He was worried that if the beautiful sky goes away, there will be nothing that will protect him.

As a loyal soldier, he took upon himself to save the sky that he adored so much.

He thought if he can reach the horizon, he can fight all the evils that are trying to harm his only roof above.

He was prepared to lay down even his life and ready to take as well.

Determined in his effort he moves on. On the way, he meets many who encourages him and tells him that they believe in his ability.

Totally convinced, he is now determined to win the battle no matter what. Creates havoc on the way in the lives of people who do not believe. There are few who take his advantage and he too manipulates few so as to be able to reach his goal. To reach the goal he is even prepared to give up his honor.

Then one day tired of everything, he looks at the sky and says I am worried that I might be too late to save you. However, I will try till the last breath.

Out of the blue, up in the atmosphere a gigantic formation starts. A huge eagle, half human carrying a blue handsome man appears. The shape is so huge that it covers the sun completely. standing on the ground the boy totally dazzled and frightened, looks up with his chin totally parallel to ground.

With a thunder, ear shattering voice is heard saying "You Little, Arrogant, Egoistic child! You thought you can save me? I was here before you were born and I will be here after you are gone. you thought saving me was your vision. Kid! I am the vision that will always be... Never was I born nor will I be ever be destroyed. So stop worrying about me and get on with your life. Your job is to discover the vision that is in you and me. So go back and start this inner journey right away".

-Jignesh Vasani

Exerts from gtalk with the author :

KG: got your "little boy"; have put some comments on the "Reach out doc", reading "little boy" till Monster opens up

JV: great

KG: superb! I am posting this on my blogs to market it better :) Silence means OK for me, thank you

JV: Go ahead. Please paste this. There are no copyrights

:) free for all