Elderly people everywhere are under tension because they may be asked by their children to go to Old Age Home any time. The middle aged men are stressed as they are apprehensive about loss of their jobs and offer of Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). Their wives are under stress because of the high cost of living, managing the home within the limited budget, managing the husband, children and the in-laws. A very young girl was under tension because she stood first class first in Junior KG and now in Senior KG, her mother wanted her to repeat the same accomplishment. Thus tension is everywhere at all levels. There is no proper communication or relationship between husband/wife, parents/children, brother/sister and with in-laws and relatives. Because of mental disorders and high rates of suicides, psychiatrists are in great demand in the western countries and Japan. Japan overtook United States of America in economic development some years ago. But a study showed that forty-two percent of Japanese executives over forty-four years suffered from mental disorders. "To Have or To Be", a book by Erich Fromm says that man has himself become a commodity because of mass consumerism.
The popular notion is that 'H' is proportional to 'M', where 'H' is Happiness and 'M' is Money. But what is the Reality? The three countries with the highest per capita income are USA, Japan and Sweden. The same three countries have the highest rates of suicides and psychological patients, making the equation now as 'H' is inversely proportional to 'M'. In a Happiness survey carried out by London School of Economics a few years ago, it was discovered that the happiest country in the world was Bangladesh, having a very low per capita income. India was fifth. USA and other developed countries were far behind.
Some time back, Oxford Dictionary included a new word 'Affluenza', which means a tendency of acquiring more and more goods for comfort, creating more and more tension and lack of peace of mind. In USA, the parents have formed 'Affluenza Resistance Society' to protect their chidlren from falling prey to this syndrome. These parents take their children to villages to show the living conditions of the poor to create awareness amongst their children and cut down on their pocket expenses and wasteful spending. In India too, the dowry custom has resulted in the prospective bridegrooms getting literally auctioned. Money is no doubt important for happiness and to enjoy life, but money alone cannot buy peace of mind. The purpose of earning money is to enjoy the comforts that money can buy. But presently money enjoys us. We have become slaves of money.
There is a story of a fisherman who was sleeping in his boat at noon. A consultant came around, woke up the man and asked him why he was sleeping when he should be fishing. The man said that as he got a good catch in the morning, his quota of earning money for the day was over. The consultant advised him that he should go for fishing again, catch more fish, make more money to buy a bigger boat and then a trawler to catch more and more fish to make more and more money and then he would advise him to invest that money in very good schemes. The fisherman then asked him what he was supposed to do after earning all that big money. To this the consultant said that he could then rest and relax. The fisherman then retorted that he was already sleeping and relaxing and it was the consultant who had disturbed his sleep. The moral of the story is obvious - 'the aim of life is to have happiness and peace'.
Vedanta says that instead of searching for peace outside, we should look for infinite joy and peace which is already within us. Kabirdas also said that fools search for happiness and peace outside, instead of searching within. We should look for consciousness behind the consciousness. We are like fish out of water. The very nature of fish is to remain in water and it is restless outside water. Similarly, our very nature is 'sat-chit-ananda' - infinite truth or existence, infinite consciousness or knowledge and infinite bliss or enlightenment. If we have not realised that, we are restless like the fish out of water. External or Supreme reality is present within each one of us, irrespective of caste, creed, colour or religion. Everyone wants unlimited or infinite happiness and peace and that supreme reality is within each one of us. The external sense objects bring only temporary happiness which does not last long. For infinite and everlasting happiness, joy, peace and bliss, we have to search within. Most of us are like the Himalayan musk deer which kept searching for the source of the musk fragrance it was getting and it kept running round and round getting dog tired and dying, without realising that the musk smell originated from its own navel. In the same way, we are unaware od the hidden happiness within us.
Sri Ramkrishna said that our human birth is in vain if we do not realise God. God, divinity, reality, happiness, peace, joy or bliss resides in everybody's heart and we have to manifest the same. The veil or screen of ignorance keeps us unaware of the presence of God or divinity within us. For removing this veil of ignorance we have to practice four yogas in daily life. Each soul is potentially divine. The goal of human life is to manifest this divinity within, by controlling nature internally and externally. For this, one has to follow any one of the four yogas - Karma, Bhakti, Jnana or Raja. In Karma yoga, the path is through selfless action and service. In Bhakti yoga, love and devotion are the paths chosen. In Jnana yoga, reading of scriptures and good books with positive thoughts is the path whereas in Raja yoga, it is mental, mastery through Ashtanga yoga. The more we practice the four yogas, the more we will become divine. We can remain in this world and still carry out our worldly duties in a spirit of detachment.
Sri Ramakrishna very aptly put it by saying that we should live like a maid servant who was hired by a rich, fat lady in the city for looking after her son Hari. The maid kept looking after Hari with full sincerity and devotion, giving him bath and feeding him regularly, but she was not attached to the child. She knew that this Hari was not her own child, her own child lived in a remote village. She was seeing her own son through the rich lady's son. One day, when the maid was scolded by the rich lady for breaking a precious crockery item, the maid simply packed up her belongings and walked away without any bitterness, as she was never attached to the house, the lady or her son. She could easily pick up another job.
Attachment is the source of all pain, misery and suffering. Therefore, we must have as much power of attachment as that of detachment. Unselfishness is the test of religion. Even if a person has not gone to any place of worship, not read any scripture, not practiced any fast or other rituals, but he is so unselfish as to sacrifice even his life for service of others, he is the most religious person. Unselfish prayer such as 'Let all in the world be happy, let all be peaceful', done regularly, will result in our being happy and peaceful. Just as the law of gravity is supreme in the physical world, the law of Karma is supreme in the spiritual world. 'As you sow, so you reap'. These are the light house principles.
In the book 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People', Stephen Covey describes the light house principle. The captain of a ship sees approaching light in the darkness which is all around and someone says that a ship is approaching them. He then orders on the wireless set that the approaching ship should move by twenty degrees to the right. The reply comes on the wireless that the captain should move his ship be twenty degrees. The angry captain asks - 'Who are you?'. The reply comes - 'I am the humble light house operator'. So we will have to suffer if we do not follow these light house principles. Let us do good to others, good will come to us, not now, but later, just as when we sow a seed today and the fruit is borne many years later. Japa, prayer, worship, reading good books and meditation bring peace of mind. 'Brahma Muhurat', (which is about an hour before sunrise), is the most beneficial time for practicing these due to the spiritual ambience at that time. It has been scientifcally proved that meditation brings down blood pressure and is a stress buster. Most diseases are psychosomatic in origin and hence the relevance of yogic practices and meditation. We must read good books and contemplate on them.
Sri Mahendra Nath Gupta (Master M) was the head master of a school. Due to various family problems he was a broken man and was contemplating suicide. On the advise of a friend of his, he reluctantly visited the place nearby where Sri. Ramakrishna was speaking to his devotees. He immediately felt great tranquility of mind, gave up ideas of suicide and continued to visit. This totally transformed him. He had made notes in his diary of the conversations of Sri Ramakrishna with his devotees. The diary was seen by Swami Vivekananda who instantly realised the wealth of the nuggets contained in them. He and Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi persuaded 'M' to get the diary published. It appeared as Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita in Bengali. It got translated into English as 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' and further into many Indian and foreign languages and millions of copies were sold. In 1933, 'M' passed away.
"This life is short, the vanities of the world are transient. They alone live who live for others; the rest are more dead than alive" - Swami Vivekananda.
In the late nineteenth century, John D Rockefeller was the richest and the most famous oil magnate of U.S.A. He was very restless, contemplated suicide and was advised by a friend to visit an Indian monk, Swamy Vivekananda, who was staying in Chicago in 1894. Though skeptical, one day he went to Swamiji. He was told to wait as Swamiji was deeply immersed in his study. The impatient and arrogant Rockefeller forcibly went inside the study room and announced that he was Rockefeller. When questioned by Swamiji as to what he wanted, he replied that he did not want anything. Then Swamiji simply asked - 'Then why have you come here?' Swamiji then asked him to sit down and narrated many incidents of Rockefeller's life which were of a very private and personal nature that none other than he knew. Rockefeller then asked Swamiji as to how he came to know of these incidents. Swamiji said that he could see through the mind of Rockefeller as though it was a glass almirah. He advised Rockefeller thus - 'You are not the owner of all your wealth. You are only a custodian. If you do not want to be restless adn wish to get peace of mind, utilise this money for serving the poor and needy'. Rockefeller walked away in a huff. After a few days, he returned to Swamiji and handed over a paper which stated that a very huge amount was being donated by Rockefeller for public cause. He then wanted Swamiji to thank him for this generous act to which Swamiji said - "On the contrary, you must thank me for giving you this advice for getting peace of mind". Later on, Rockefeller went on to become a great philanthropist by establishing Rockefeller Foundation for research in Engineering, Medicine and Higher Science Subjects, immensely benefitting mankind all over the world. This is the Trusteeship Managment Principle. This principle is based on the assumption that the whole world is one and if somebody is suffering, we will also suffer directly or indirectly, as it is a holistic universe, as proved by the modern quantum mechanics. So, if we want to be happy, we should make others happy.
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Sri Ramkrishna said that our human birth is in vain if we do not realise God. God, divinity, reality, happiness, peace, joy or bliss resides in everybody's heart and we have to manifest the same. The veil or screen of ignorance keeps us unaware of the presence of God or divinity within us. For removing this veil of ignorance we have to practice four yogas in daily life. Each soul is potentially divine. The goal of human life is to manifest this divinity within, by controlling nature internally and externally. For this, one has to follow any one of the four yogas - Karma, Bhakti, Jnana or Raja. In Karma yoga, the path is through selfless action and service. In Bhakti yoga, love and devotion are the paths chosen. In Jnana yoga, reading of scriptures and good books with positive thoughts is the path whereas in Raja yoga, it is mental, mastery through Ashtanga yoga. The more we practice the four yogas, the more we will become divine. We can remain in this world and still carry out our worldly duties in a spirit of detachment.
Sri Ramakrishna very aptly put it by saying that we should live like a maid servant who was hired by a rich, fat lady in the city for looking after her son Hari. The maid kept looking after Hari with full sincerity and devotion, giving him bath and feeding him regularly, but she was not attached to the child. She knew that this Hari was not her own child, her own child lived in a remote village. She was seeing her own son through the rich lady's son. One day, when the maid was scolded by the rich lady for breaking a precious crockery item, the maid simply packed up her belongings and walked away without any bitterness, as she was never attached to the house, the lady or her son. She could easily pick up another job.
Attachment is the source of all pain, misery and suffering. Therefore, we must have as much power of attachment as that of detachment. Unselfishness is the test of religion. Even if a person has not gone to any place of worship, not read any scripture, not practiced any fast or other rituals, but he is so unselfish as to sacrifice even his life for service of others, he is the most religious person. Unselfish prayer such as 'Let all in the world be happy, let all be peaceful', done regularly, will result in our being happy and peaceful. Just as the law of gravity is supreme in the physical world, the law of Karma is supreme in the spiritual world. 'As you sow, so you reap'. These are the light house principles.
In the book 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People', Stephen Covey describes the light house principle. The captain of a ship sees approaching light in the darkness which is all around and someone says that a ship is approaching them. He then orders on the wireless set that the approaching ship should move by twenty degrees to the right. The reply comes on the wireless that the captain should move his ship be twenty degrees. The angry captain asks - 'Who are you?'. The reply comes - 'I am the humble light house operator'. So we will have to suffer if we do not follow these light house principles. Let us do good to others, good will come to us, not now, but later, just as when we sow a seed today and the fruit is borne many years later. Japa, prayer, worship, reading good books and meditation bring peace of mind. 'Brahma Muhurat', (which is about an hour before sunrise), is the most beneficial time for practicing these due to the spiritual ambience at that time. It has been scientifcally proved that meditation brings down blood pressure and is a stress buster. Most diseases are psychosomatic in origin and hence the relevance of yogic practices and meditation. We must read good books and contemplate on them.
Sri Mahendra Nath Gupta (Master M) was the head master of a school. Due to various family problems he was a broken man and was contemplating suicide. On the advise of a friend of his, he reluctantly visited the place nearby where Sri. Ramakrishna was speaking to his devotees. He immediately felt great tranquility of mind, gave up ideas of suicide and continued to visit. This totally transformed him. He had made notes in his diary of the conversations of Sri Ramakrishna with his devotees. The diary was seen by Swami Vivekananda who instantly realised the wealth of the nuggets contained in them. He and Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi persuaded 'M' to get the diary published. It appeared as Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita in Bengali. It got translated into English as 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' and further into many Indian and foreign languages and millions of copies were sold. In 1933, 'M' passed away.
"This life is short, the vanities of the world are transient. They alone live who live for others; the rest are more dead than alive" - Swami Vivekananda.
In the late nineteenth century, John D Rockefeller was the richest and the most famous oil magnate of U.S.A. He was very restless, contemplated suicide and was advised by a friend to visit an Indian monk, Swamy Vivekananda, who was staying in Chicago in 1894. Though skeptical, one day he went to Swamiji. He was told to wait as Swamiji was deeply immersed in his study. The impatient and arrogant Rockefeller forcibly went inside the study room and announced that he was Rockefeller. When questioned by Swamiji as to what he wanted, he replied that he did not want anything. Then Swamiji simply asked - 'Then why have you come here?' Swamiji then asked him to sit down and narrated many incidents of Rockefeller's life which were of a very private and personal nature that none other than he knew. Rockefeller then asked Swamiji as to how he came to know of these incidents. Swamiji said that he could see through the mind of Rockefeller as though it was a glass almirah. He advised Rockefeller thus - 'You are not the owner of all your wealth. You are only a custodian. If you do not want to be restless adn wish to get peace of mind, utilise this money for serving the poor and needy'. Rockefeller walked away in a huff. After a few days, he returned to Swamiji and handed over a paper which stated that a very huge amount was being donated by Rockefeller for public cause. He then wanted Swamiji to thank him for this generous act to which Swamiji said - "On the contrary, you must thank me for giving you this advice for getting peace of mind". Later on, Rockefeller went on to become a great philanthropist by establishing Rockefeller Foundation for research in Engineering, Medicine and Higher Science Subjects, immensely benefitting mankind all over the world. This is the Trusteeship Managment Principle. This principle is based on the assumption that the whole world is one and if somebody is suffering, we will also suffer directly or indirectly, as it is a holistic universe, as proved by the modern quantum mechanics. So, if we want to be happy, we should make others happy.
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