TO FEEL HAPPY, JUST REWIRE YOURSELF.

While life gives us both good and bad experiences, most of us tend to remember the bad experiences more frequently and intensely. When we recall an old failure, rejection or humiliation our calm and happiness goes for a toss in a moment. But when we are down, dwelling on a memory of achievement, being loved or appreciated does not seem to help much. In a study published in the 'Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience', researchers found that several areas of our brain show greater activity in response to stimuli that are more negative than positive. This could explain our collective preoccupation with the negative.

Although this negativity bias may seem strange at the outset, it does seem to have a strong evolutionary basis. From the earliest days, man's existence depended on his ability to detect and keep himself safe from unpleasant events and danger. Therefore, our brain evolved such that it could pay better and more attention to all unpleasant stimuli. This tendency then seems to have generalised to all stimuli that evoke negative feelings. So, whenever there is anything negative in our life we focus on it with all our attention and energy and in the process develop an obsession towards it. Bad feelings and negative thoughts then engulf our mind leading to sadness and depression.

However, does this imply that we make peace with our tendency to slip into negativity at the drop of a hat? Not really, because we are constantly in the process of an individual and collective evolution. If we have a burning desire and make sustained efforts then we can rewire our brain to be happier. Our brain needs to give up the tendency to focus intensely on the negative. Happiness already exists out there and we must train our brain to see and feel it more and more. The simplest way to do this is by cultivating gratitude.

The first step is to register and record all the positives in our life by keeping a gratitude journal. One carefully records all the good things, events and feelings whether big or small that have come one's way during the day. This also includes attending to and appreciating positive aspects of life in general. Over a period of time, we will realise that the world is quiet full of positivity. Once our brain learns to pay attention to the abundance of good things and rejoice, it will be able to ignore the frustrations that it often dwells upon. Happiness will then become a constant state of mind.

Secondly, one should make repeated attempts to visualise how one's life would be without whatever one has at any given moment. This makes us value things, relationships and aspects of life that are often taken for granted.

Thirdly, we should work on dissolving our ego. This can be done by repeatedly telling ourselves that individually we are too insignificant to be entitled to anything and whatever we have is through the grace of other sources. We must thank all those sources and make attempts to repay them. This attitude fills us with positive energy and makes our goals aligned towards the larger collective good. Although we are made in a certain way, the Divine has given us immense potential to rewire and transform ourselves.

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JAGANNATH, THE 'LORD OF THE UNIVERSE'.

Jagganath, the 'Lord of the Universe', is ready for his customary annual journey with his siblings. He takes along his brother and sister, rather than his consort, Goddess Mahalakshmi. Since he is going to his parents' place, it is appropriate for him to do so. The siblings would be able to bond together and relive happy memories of a childhood that was sweet and innocent. Despite his various incarnations, the Lord of the Universe does not forget who he really is. The Bhagwad Gita tells us that the Lord reveals himself as the Supreme Being, birth-less, immutable and imperishable. Krishna, an incarnation, says that among those who worship him, the wise are dearest to him. The three gunas of prakriti or nature - sattva, rajas and tamas - emanate from him and are under his control. He is creator, preserver and destroyer, as well as the past, present and future. 

He is the flavour in water, radiance of the Sun and the coolness of the Moon, the 'Aum' in the Vedas, sound of the sky and manliness of man. He is the holy fragrance of the Earth, Heat and Fire, life of all living beings and penance of yogis. He is the seed of all beings, intelligence of the intelligent and the lustre of radiant ones. He is the strength of the strong, bereft of desire, and energy of procreation that is not contrary to Dharma. Certainly nobody knows the Lord of the Universe. Four types of persons invoke him; the distressed, seeker of knowledge, desirer of wealth and the wise. Of these, the wise is dearest to him.

The Supreme Power pervades the entire universe in an imperceptible way. All beings are under his control, but he is not in their control. As the all-powerful wind is confined within a space, all beings are confined within Him. He creates and destroys all beings in a cyclic fashion, but he himself is beyond this process. He, in association with Nature, creates  the universe cyclically. Those who disregard the Lord of the Universe do so out of ignorance. However, the wise who offer sacrifices in knowledge, keep the unending faith in him and ultimately attain him.

The Supreme Power is believed to be karanam karananam or cause of all causes; bhasakam bhasakanam or illuminator of all that illuminate; and he is creator, preserver and destroyer. He is all energy and matter. He is all knowledge. Whatever is there, manifest and unmanifest, is all him for he is the master, witness and the controller of events.

Whatever it is that atrue person of faith offers - be it a leaf, flower, fruit or water - the Lord of the Universe accepts that. Whatever one does, if it is dedicated to him, he accepts that. He has neither friend nor foe. He is equally disposed towards everybody everybody. Anybody, who offers to him anything with devotion, is dear to him and ultimately attains him. 

Dualities of life, such as kindness and cruelty, happiness and misery, intelligence and foolishness, knowledge and ignorance, truthfulness and falsehood, fear and fearlessness, birth and death, violence and equanimity, fame and infamy - all of these are created by the Supreme to maintain balance. No wonder the faithful chant, "Jai Jagannath!"

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PUTANA'S LIBERATION.

At Kamsa's behest, Putana walks into Gokula assuming the form of a beautiful woman. The people are attracted by her charms, and allow her to fondle Krishna. She quickly offers her poisoned breast milk to Him not knowing that He is the Supreme Being incarnate who is to grant her salvation. Sage Suka describes how the Lord sucks out her very life energy even as she thought she would kill the infant. Her frantic appeal 'enough enough; release me release me' rents the air as she wishes to be let off from Krishna's extraordinary grip that outdid her evil intentions. She assumes her original form and falls dead while her terrible cries rock the earth and the mountains and reverberate across the heavens and the nether regions.

In her case, these words, uttered minutes before the Lord chooses to release her Samsara, are not appeal for Moksha, though her words reflect the spirit and essence of one seeking release from Samsara. She was ultimately liberated because she had fed Krishna though it is with murderous intent, says the Bhagavata Purana. When her huge body was consigned to flames, there arose fragrant fumes to indicate that she had been purified because of her contact with the Lord.

The path to Moksha is accessible only to those who have renounced the fare of joy and sorrow that is the birthright of every Jivatma. The cause of repeated births is desire. If the aim is Moksha, one gradually learns to renounce the aspiration to accumulate the better and attractive options in material existence that claim one's attention. The bent of mind that accepts whatever is got as God's gift and the resolute desire to seek His grace are necessary. The moment of relaisation that there is not anything to be achieved in worldly gains shapes the attitude of the spiritual aspirant towards salvation.

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LOVE, HOLI, HOLA AND AYURVEDA.

Colours reflect the hermeneutics of life in its various phases and forms - both good and bad, sacred and profane, profound and shallow. The festival of Holi exemplifies the symbolic quality of colours. Known also as Dolayatra in Bengal, Kaman Pandikai in Tamil Nadu, Jhanda Utsav in Bundelkhand, and Shimga, Kamandi, Madana Mahotsava and Kama-dahana in other places, Holi coincides with the full-moon day in the month of Phalguna, February-March. It is an existential response to the arrival of spring, marked by the melodious notes of cuckoos and fragrance of flowers.

Classical Sanskrit dramatists, Bhasa and Kalidasa among others, describe Holi as Kamadeva-anutthana or Madana-utsava. Kamadeva or Madana, God of Love, has a special relationship with spring, which stirs up desire, dispels malignant moods and helps restore virility in the human body. Holi songs include the lamentations of Rati, wife of Kamadeva, who was burnt to ashes by Shiva's third eye for trying to distract him while he was meditating. Holi symbolises the element fire, which devours the gross. That is why it is also called Hutashini, or fire-consuming. The word, Holi, also refers to Holaka which means chickpeas or pulses. In Vedic times, peasants made a sacrificial offering of their chief crops in the sacred fire and rubbed the ashes on their forehead before scattering it in all directions. Hence, Holi is also called Dhulendi. Some tribals consider Holi an auspicious occasion for the performance of magical rites to safeguard their cattle and crops.

Puranas describe Holi as signifying the victory of virtue over vice. According to Narada Purana, the festival is celebrated to commemorate the death of Holika, sister of King Hiranyakashipu, who attempted to burn her nephew Prahalada. But it was she who died and Prahalada, protected eternally by devotion to Lord Vishnu, emerged from the fire unscathed. Bhavishya Purana links the festival to the annihilation of Dhundha, who had terrorised people during the reign of King Raghu. Holi is also associated with Lord Krishna. The most popular legend is that of Putana who sought to kill the child Krishna by suckling him with her poison-smeared breasts, but was herself killed in the process. An effigy of Putana is burnt in some parts to commemorate the incident.

Many Muslim kings celebrated Holi with fervor. Once when Moharram and Holi fell on the same day, Asif-ud-Daula, Nawab of Oudh ordered that the former should be observed upto 12 o'clock during the day and the remaining time be given to celebrations of Holi. In Punjab Holi acquires a masculine gender to become Hola Mohalla. The festival begins a few days before Holi at Anandpur Sahib, birthplace of the Khlsa, and is marked by akhand path or uninterrupted recitation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, kirtan, pahul or initiation, religious congregations, political conferences and guru-ka-langar
The first Hola Mohalla was observed in 1700, a year after the creation of the Khalsa by Guru Govind Singh, ti instil martial spirit in the Sikhs to fight against Mughal tyranny. The fun-filled revelry associated with Holi also has a health aspect to it. According to Ayurveda, the element of Kapha, phlegm, in the human body accumulates during Hemanta and Shishira seasons, and begins to melt in Vasanta. As a result, the gastric fire is weakened. This can be checked simply by shouting , laughing, singing and dancing, the routine activities which mark the festival.
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MACRO-COSMIC CONATION AND MICRO-COSMIC URGE.

There is nothing beyond the periphery of the Macrocosm. The natural want of everybody is to know one's surroundings; and each and everything in existence is surrounded by the Macrocosm. So the unit being, with limited knowledge and limited ability tries to know Him, although He is beyond the reach of his endeavours. The Macrocosm is guided by His own philosophy, logic and rationality beyond human intellect. Human existence, the human mind, is a very small fraction of that Supreme Entity. Hence it is not possible for a human being to know Him either intellectually or through any other type of human endeavour. And because He remains unknown, the human mind tries to move towards Him. And this movement towards that Supreme Unknown is the human urge, is the micro-cosmic urge.

There cannot be any repulsion. There is only attraction, whether negative or positive. In the phase of extroversion, crude matter is created because of negative attraction. But there cannot be any repulsion, for nothing can remain outside the Macrocosm. So in the phase of extroversion, there is negative attraction, that is, in the phase of introversion also, the urge is there. Who created this urge? That very Entity, that very supra-psychic Macro-cosmic Entity created that urge. And that urge has aspects: 

1. Vistara: An urge of expansion in unit beings. The unit wants to expand, and as a result of this longing for expansion, knowingly or unknowingly, it moves towards the Supreme.
2. Rasa: The unit entity moves in a rhythmic order, in a pulsative order, in a systaltic style, in the universal flow; maintaining symmetry, rather maintaining parallelism, with the Cosmic flow. As a result of this flow, the jiva moves towards the Supreme Hub, Being goaded unto the Supreme Nucleus.
3. Seva: The longing exists in the unit mind: "I must do something concrete for my Supreme Progenitor". The spiritual longing for the Supreme stance (tadshiti) also exists in the unit mind: "Let my mind, existence, everything, be one with the Supreme".

These are the phases of urge in the Microcosm created through the grace of the Macrocosm. From the side of the Macrocosm, there is Macro-cosmic attraction. From the side of the microcosm, there is the four-fold urge. The Macro-cosmic attraction is an emanation of the Macro-cosmic conation, and the micro-cosmic urge together keep the balance of this universe. They keep the equillibrium and maintain the equipoise of the Cosmos. This is the lila, divine sport of Parama Purusha.

To surrender oneself in this lila is the wisest thing. When the unit mind ideates on the Cosmic Mind and converts its finite objects of enjoyment into cosmic benevolence, then that finite unit being, who was a mere water bubble till then, expands and attains the identity of the ocean. That finite entity which initially thought of self-glorification, ultimately forgets itself and becomes totally absorbed in the thought of the Cosmic Entity. It no longer proclaims its own greatness, but heralds the Supreme Macro-cosmic Entity.

When they reach the pinnacle of devotion they see the Supreme Entity is everything. There remains only the singular urge to serve the Lord with utmost devotion. When the devotee surrenders his entire existential feeling at the altar of the Almighty, there remain no more difference, only an unbroken, sweet blissful ocean in which the Supreme Entity manifests Himself endlessly in His innumerable waves.

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WHY I DON'T FOLLOW VIVEKANANDA ANYMORE.

[Based on an article written by Anshul Chaturvedi, Editor of Delhi Times, published in The Times of India (The Speaking Tree column) dated 12th January, 2017 (Thursday)].

I first picked up the teachings of Swami Vivekananda when I was just out of Class X, some 27 years back. And I first wrote something in this column - on the man who I by then described as my philosophical guru - 2004, 12 years ago. Over the years, increasingly, I have thought about his works, spoken about them, written about them. But something's has been changing. The recurrent need to explain something entirely in his words has diminished. The frequency with which I have to flip open the pages of my old, well-worn and underlined books on and by Vivekananda has been quietly reducing. The sense of panic when they get briefly misplaced isn't as high. For something I wrote about Vivekananda recently, the learned gentleman reading the draft took a deep breath and said to me, "You know, don't get me wrong, but there's more of what you think here than of what he says".

That was when I got some sense of why that charge was coming my way. Once I understood and absorbed Vivekananda - absorbed till the point I didn't need to pick up the books to quote him, didn't see many of his thoughts just as thoughts but as experiments I had done with my life, things I had lived out - my reflexes imperceptibly changed. Contradictory as it may appear, the more I followed him, the more the idea of 'following' itself began to seem pedestrian.

Over time, by absorbing what he was saying, I learnt to not believe in indisputable truths but instead to believe in doubt; to consistently question, to ask, to wonder; to not be God-fearing but to fear the idea of being afraid; to realise that any entity that I fear is an entity that diminishes me. From the man who wore saffron I learnt not to leave the interpretation of my life's rights and wrongs to those who wear saffron - or any other shade of righteousness.

And so, I realised that the less I blindly hero-worshipped Vivekananda, the greater was his success as my hero, as my teacher. After all, the victory of a teacher at school lies not in our need to refer all questions back to him, but in our increasing need not to do that since he has enabled us to master the subject. Why then, should the victory of a philosophy lie in the need of the follower to keep following, instead of mastering the thought itself? The Little Leader needs that every word of his be unquestionably worshipped. The evolved mind of a Master looks to go beyond that, as Krishna did at the end of the Gita - it looks to talk to you as an equal and then leaves the final call to you.

I have for long been enthralled by this dramatic, flamboyant thing that Vivekananda said: "The older I grow, the more everything seems to me to lie in manliness. This is my new gospel. Do even evil like a man. Be wicked, if you must, on a grand scale!" The older I grow, the more everything about following Vivekananda seems to me to lie in understanding the core of his life, not in being a clerical follower of his writings. I have begun to think that to truly follow Vivekananda is to lose the reflex of 'following' itself.

This is my gospel.

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PARENTS' ATTACHMENT FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

Children are the most affected victims of attachment exhibited by their parents. Parents' love for their children has metamorphosed into dreadful attachment. This is happening universally because of the selfish trait in parents. Few can claim to be free from parents' compulsive attachment to their kids. However well-meaning they be, their attachment turns the parent-child  relationship sour, traumatising families with constant confrontation followed by the invariable separation. Blissfully unaware of the consequences, parents continue to dote on their beloved ones. Parents' attachment to their children manifests in two distinct ways:

1. Opulent parents pamper their children by showering upon them money and gadgets, amenities and facilities. The children are thus saturated with luxuries and lose their joy content.
2. Another class of parents manifest their attachment through possessiveness towards their children. They virtually pester them with constant instructions and directions. They turn into control freaks. And their directives invariably fall short of reason or judgment.

In the first manifestation, parents indiscriminately shower money and sensual objects upon the kids without restriction. The pampering starts with toys, tricycles and bicycles, later with Ferraris, Yachts, Jets - the works. Through indulgence in luxuries, kids lose direction and purpose in life. It corrodes and ruins their lives. Neither parents nor kids conceive the negative effects of such indulgence, that it could lead one to a state of neutralisation. A state where one loses any pleasure and joy derived from sense objects. One could even become so bored that one is driven to commit serious blunders, even suicide. Nevertheless, well-meaning parents continue to pamper their children with sensual luxuries not realising the possible impending damage to them.

With regard to the second manifestation, parents' attachment and possessiveness traps their kids in an iron casket. The kids are fettered, shackled by forceful directions and instructions. And when parents constantly dictate doctrines and dogmas to the kids to the extreme, the children reach a point where they cannot take it any more. Children buckle under the pressure. Then one of two dreadful consequences follows. Children become either vegetables or rebels!

Becoming a vegetable means that the kid turns inert, inactive. And would hardly react to the external world. The kid reaches this state if his nature is passive and submissive and succumbs to the continuous onslaughts of his parents' directions and dictations. If, however, the kid is vocal and aggressive, he becomes a rebel. He would argue, swear, counter the unsolicited advices showered upon him. Further protest, turn violent, even leave home.

In either case, it is a curse upon innocent children to turn them into a vegetable or needless rebel in the prime of their youth. It may sound ironic but the fact remains that this trauma emanates from well-wishing, well-meaning, caring parents!

Parents ought to realise the blunder that their love and care lack the support of a strong intellect. And their rigid controls flow from their emotional attachment rather than a discerning intellect. They must visualise the damage done  and the dire necessity of developing the intellect in themselves and their children.

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A KING BECOMES GURU TO THE BRAHMIN-SAGE.

The Chandogya Upanishad lays down a unique template which maps out each activity in the universe through the prism of chants. The term 'Chandogya' is etymologically derived from Chhanda, poetic metre. Even as it presents a five-to-seven fold chant structure, through which all human and natural phenomena are seen, the Chandogya, at another level, goes deep into the metaphysical dimension of the empirical world. The Chandogya posits the Panchagni Vidya, the Theory of the Five Fires, central to the understanding of the laws of the universe.

The doctrine of Panchagni is presented through the story of Svetaketu, the highly learned and educated son of Sage Uddalaka, who, in the course of his travels, turns up at the court of King Pravahana Jaivali. Having welcomed the learned young man, the King poses some questions to Svetaketu to comprehend how much the young man has learned. His first question, "Do you know where mortals go after death?" perplexes Svetaketu, who is at a loss for words. The second question, "Do you know from where people come when they are reborn?" confuses Svetaketu. The third and fourth questions, "Are you aware of the two paths through which the soul ascends?" and "What is the reason this world is able to contain so many people, yet not overflow?" further stumps the young scholar.

The last question, "Are you aware of the five oblations that are offered, and how the fifth as water/liquid becomes a human?" leaves Svetaketu at his wit's end. He realises that there are fundamental principles of which he is unaware, despite his learning and scholarship. He turns back to his father, but Uddalaka too has no insight into such matters. Uddalaka turns to the King for answers. The King initiates Uddalaka into the principle of the Five Fires, in which the cosmos/sky is in itself metaphorically seen as a great altar, into which the fuel of the burning Sun is offered, from which rises the Moon. The Upanishad lays down this as the first Fire, stating that all existence follows this cycle of fire. The mext altar is of Clouds, where the fuel is the air from which arises rain.

The third altar is Earth, where the fuel is time, from which arises food. The fourth altar is man, where the fuel is food, from which arises semen, seed. The fifth and last altar is woman, to who the seed is offered as oblation, and from whence arises the foetus.

The Chandogya views Creation at all levels as a sort of yajna, sacrifice, where every activity is interconnected. The birth of a child is not just a simple outcome between man and woman. The Chandogya states that a child is conceived from every cell of the Universe. The notion of 'my child' and 'your child' is a misunderstanding of the basic laws of the Universe. The Upanishad states that the interconnection of the Universe and contemplation of this principle through the theory of the Five Fires, is true meditation into the essence of things. It prompts us to look beyond the obvious, to delve deep into the fundamentals of whatever we see, hear or touch.

Tat Tvam Asi is the grand chant of the Chandogya, the Mahakavya that each of us comes from, and are that Self, the Atman, nothing less.

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LIKE HANUMAN.

Sita is anguished at being separated from Rama, and the constant torment of the demonesses, who guard Her, only adds to Her sorrow. But things take a turn for the better when Hanuman arives. Hanuman holds out hope for Her. At first, She is skeptical about Hanuman. Hanuman then talks about Rama's qualities to Her, and this instills confidence in Her.

For mortals like us, our Acharyas play a role similar to Hanuman's. Extolling the greatness of Hanuman, Vedanta Desika said that there was no Guru like Hanuman. Acharyas dispel our doubts, and strengthen our faith. They tell the jivatma about the glories of the Supreme One and give the assurance that the jivatma need not despair for, the Lord is sure to save those who surrender to Him. As further proof that he is indeed Rama's messenger, Hanuman gives Rama's ring to Sita, and this rekindles Her memories of happier times. When She and Rama had a minor quarrel, the ring gave them a talking point and paved the way for an end to their quarrel. Sita recalls this incident. Hanuman handing over the ring to Sita, which led to Her reminisceces, is akin to Acharyas reminding disciples about the lineage of Sri Vaishnava preceptors. Just as Hanuman gave Sita the ring, so does an Acharya give his disciples the Tirumantra.

The demons led by Ravana were Sita's enemies, and every one of them was killed by the Lord and His army. For us prakriti sambandha - association with worldly life - is our enemy. And the Lord destroys this big enemy of ours, if we surrender to Him.

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GODLY GIVING.

Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get. This biblical line summarises the core of giving, which all religions endorse as spiritually energising. Christians begin a 40-day penitential period called 'Lent' marked by special prayers, fasting and alms-giving. In his "Persons are gifts" Lenten reflection, Pope Francis reflects upon Jesus' parable of the "Rich man and Lazarus". On dying, the rich man suffers in hell and poor Lazarus enjoys heaven. Lazarus - whose name in Aramaic means "whom God helps" - is a God-sent opportunity to the rich man to share his food and wealth. But in his greed and attachment to money, the rich man is totally oblivious that poor Lazarus is sick and survives merely from the crumbs that fall from his table. His wealth impedes his growth as a person and drives him to hell. 

Pope Francis writes: " Lazarus teaches us that other persons are gifts. A right relationship with people consists in gratefully recognising their value. The poor person at the door of the rich is not a nuisance, but a summon to conversion and to change. The parable first invites us to open the doors of our heart to others because each person is a gift, whether it be our neighbour or an anonymous pauper. Lent is a favourable season for opening the doors to all those in need and recognising in them the face of God".

The Indic daanam and the Latin donum stem from the same root daa signifying giftedness, the capacity of self-donation. God is the greatest donor from whom everything and everyone traces its own giftedness. When one gives, one radiates God. Indeed, as the Rig Veda says: "The giver makes the gifts shine". Isn't God our greatest giver and gift? Many elements vivify the process of giving: giver, receiver, gift, attitude and outcome. Jesus once praised the mite of a poor widow to the temple treasury because while others contributed out of their abundance, "she put in everything she had". The greatest gift one can give is not what one 'has' but what one is: one's time, talents and whole life. By giving with love and respect, both, giver and receiver are enriched. Such giving springs from true gratitude to God and not from obligation, it creates world family and destroys dependency.

It's good to give gifts to family and friends, but it's best to give to the unknown "Lazarus-es" who totally depend on God. If in these we recognise the face of God, we will realise that we are only repaying what we have undeservedly received.

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ULTIMATE ANSWER TO ALL YOUR QUESTIONS.

Science attempts to define the nature of reality. Reality, however, presents itself in a variety of names and forms: Physical, Mental and Psychological realities; linguistic and mathematical realities, and with the advent of computers and Internet, digital reality. But science is yet to define physical reality conclusively...hence the quest continues. If there are so many realities, what then is Absolute Reality? Spiritual science or Adhyatma is concerned with the understanding of this absolute reality which the Vedas call Brahman and which we refer to as God or Paramatma. Can God ever be defined, understood or realised?

The central focus in all the six Indian knowledge systems, namely, Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshikha, Purva Mimamsa and Uttar Mimamsa or Vedanta, is to answer this question and present the nature of man, universe and God, or the triad of Jeev-Jagat-Ishwar. Brhaman is defined in the Vedas as one that presents itself as absolute  truth - one without second; eternal, omniscient and self-illuminating, as absolute bliss or joy. Absolute Reality is described as Sat-Chit-Anand or pure Truth-Intelligence-Bliss, as all pervasive, omnipresent or vibhu; as the basis for all names and forms of objective reality or Nama-Rupa-Adhar; as one which is absolutely pure or shuddha; and as one that is infinite or apar. All religions expound on this very definition of God in different ways; there is no essential contradiction. 

If God can be defined, is God knowable? This is the next big question. According to Vedanta, our intellect cannot illumine or know God as an object of knowledge. But the same intellect can know Him when ignorance is dispelled, illumined by the knowledge of Vedic dictums such as Aham Brahmasmi or 'I myself am Brahman'. In this process, God or Absolute Reality presents itself as our own pure and infinite Self. As the lamp illumines the objects surrounding it, the cognitive power of intellect is unable to illumine the ultimate reality. But the knowledge that 'I myself am the Absolute Reality' lifts the veil of ignorance - nescience or maya - about God and this is the process of knowing God, or what is called enlightenment. In this process, we require a Guru who has known God as the Absolute Reality; we require a pure mind, and an abiding quest to know God. Ultimately, reality presents itself as our own pure and infinite Self.

The Vedic definition of God shows that God is not a privilege of any particular religion, community, or individual; neither is He limited to any specific installation, be it a temple, mosque, church, or any other holy place; nor is He hidden in skies, mountains, or oceans. God is omnipresent; He is in the smallest of particles, even is it is as yet unknown to science. By definition, God is infinite. Since God is the basis of all names and forms, He can be perceived or sought in any name or form dear to us. In the ultimate analysis, God is nothing but our own pure and infinite Self, and is what illumines our intellect and the whole universe, by knowing which nothing remains to be known or defined.

How do we find God? Simply by understanding this definition and by striving to be one with this definition. Being truthful in thought, speech and action and upholding the truth; by acquiring the highest knowledge through a Guru who has the experiential knowledge of the Absolute Reality; by perceiving pure joy everywhere through steadiness of mind; by expanding our 'I'ness spanning the entire universe; by seeing one-self in all names and forms of objective reality; and by believing in and discovering one's own and everyone else's infinite nature and infinite capabilities; being pure in body, mind and intellect. So to find God, we have to only find our own Self.

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SHREYAH: THE PATH TO RIGHT CHOICE.

In the Kathopanishad, the Lord of Death, Yama, instructs the young seeker, Nachiketa, on the right choice-making. Which is the right path to walk in the journey of life? One is good, Shreyah, and the other is pleasant, Preyah. They lead to different destinations. Both present themselves in front of everyone. The wise man, using his discrimination, chooses the good and reaches the goal of freedom. The ignorant one, due to avarice and attachment, prefers the pleasant and thus remains in bondage, explains the Lord. Right choice-making is indeed the key to fulfilment in this life and hereafter. The first step is where we fail, to make a choice in favour of the seemingly unpleasant and then stick to it. (Think of the simple example of an early morning walk!). Shreyah leads to enduring happiness whereas Preyah gives only momentary comfort. For the sake of a pleasant present, we compromise a blissful future.

Infinite are the choices we make, though often unconcsciously. Even when a single thought arises in the mind, a choice is made - a choice to ignore or to entertain that particular thought. Can we then guide ourselves on to the Shreyah path? Yes, if only we choose to be aware of our thoughts.

Thinking is actually everything. Thoughts lead to action and actions shape one's destiny. "As we think, so we are", goes the Upanishadic dictum. The subtle body (mind and intellect), using the software of vasanas (unmanifest, latent tendencies) and sensory inputs, incessantly issues out thoughts, except in deep sleep. Even much of our conscious thoughts turn out to be either idle or negative. A big chunk of our thought energy, which is the most potent of all known powers, thus gets dissipated. Conserving this wasted energy and redirecting it consciously to useful purposes, spiritual or secular, would mean controlling and directing our thoughts. The Vedantic seers recognised the extremely difficult nature of this thought-management task, three aspects of which were self-evident: 

--to be aware of one's thinking;

--the need to eliminate idle and negative thinking; and 

--to redeploy the potent mental power in the right direction.

The sages found that it was not possible to eliminate idle and negative thoughts, except by way of replacing them with positive ones. Attempts to stop thinking do not work because gaps in the unceasing march of the thought current tend to be filled by a sudden rush of thoughts from all sides, just as an atmospheric depression attracts fast air currents from surrounding areas. In both cases, the outcome is turbulence. The sages discovered that while thought is everything, there is also a 'super-thought', so to say, which is distinct from thought itself and because of which we become aware of our thoughts. This awareness or consciousness or sakshi (witness) is none other than our core, the inner self, the real 'I-ness' in us.

This consciousness principle, which enlivens the living world of the Jeevatma is the same as the Paramatma, the Supreme. The God and the world, the Creator and His Creation have never been separate. In fact, we are always in union with the Eternal, though we do not know it due to incorrect identification. We think we are our senses, body, mind and intellect, and not the Infinite that we really are, which enlivens our inert body and illumines our inert thoughts. Hence the Masters teach us to shift our attention, our thoughts, from the lower aspects (body, mind and intellect) to the highest principle of our being, i.e., our Godhood and to keep focusing on it. By constant remembrance of Him alone we accomplish simultaneously all the three aspects of the thought-management task which we set out to do earlier. This is the basic principle behind all spiritual practices.

The young Nachiketa was no ordinary seeker. He had already mastered the thought-management technique before he went to meet the Lord of Death. He took no time in making his choice and stuck to the pursuit of Shreyah. From Yama he wanted only one thing. He wanted to know, "What happens to the soul after death?" Nachiketa's mind was not only highly discriminating, but also pure and focused, because of which the Lord was immensely pleased. He imparted to him the Supreme Knowledge.

For us, 'mindful' mortals, it is a different story. Almost every moment we are confronted with the Shreyah-Preyah paradigm. To be or not to be? Remember the wise and daring Nachiketa next time when such a choice presents itself, and discarding the pleasant go for the good.

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THE CHANGING MEANING OF RELIGIOUS 'TOLERANCE'.

Followers of every religion tend to believe that their religion is the exclusive repository of the ultimate truth, that the path shown by it is exclusive and definitive; and that the methods adopted by it to achieve salvation are unique and superior to those of others. This claim to superiority and finality leads to a conflict situation among followers of different religions and results in violence and hatred between them. Tolerance of the 'other' is the technique adopted by different societies in general and religions in particular to avoid open confrontation. The first ever usage of the term 'tolerance' is traced to the fifteenth century. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "the action or practice of enduring or sustaining pain or hardship; the power or capacity of enduring".

In the sixteenth century after Queen Elizabeth I permitted the Puritans to carry out their practices which she did not share or agree with, tolerance acquired a new political meaning - "the action of allowing; license, permission granted by authority". The underlying idea was that it was a permission granted by the sovereign authority to depart from the norm. One of the implications of the above usage is "tolerance is the prerogative of those with relative power over others. We do not tend to speak of the Puritans' tolerance of Queen Elizabeth, just as we do not think of a parasite tolerating its host organism". Tolerance according to Nietzsche, like the distinction between true and false, "is power based".

Tolerance therefore is the voluntary acceptance by the stronger of what otherwise one does not merely disprove but also abhors. From this it follows that tolerance is "an attitude that requires us to hold in check feelings of opposition and disapproval". Tolerance can be of two types - internal and external. By internal tolerance is meant the capacity to live with religious differences within one's own religion. External tolerance, on the other hand, means the capacity to live with the prevailing religious differences with other religions. It is related with the capacity "of enduring or sustaining pain or hardship; the power or capacity of enduring". The two kinds of tolerance can also be termed as inter and intra tolerance.

The seeds of intolerance in religions can be traced to exclusiveness. But Indic faiths believe in inclusivism or pluralism. Their attitude is characterised by the Rig Vedic saying: "Truth is one; the sages describe it differently". With the help of the parable of the blind men and the elephant Gautama Buddha advocates tolerance by saying, "These sectarians, brethren, are blind and unseeing. They know not the real, they know not the unreal; they know not the truth, they know not the untruth. In such a state of ignorance do they dispute and quarrel".

The Jainas propagate tolerance by their doctrines of syadavada and anekantavada. Syadavada and anekantavada are doctrines which admit many-sidedness of reality, and the multiplicity of perspectives from which it can be viewed. Therefore, there is no singular, conclusive, absolute and ultimate judgment of any kind. Once we relaise that all our knowledge is a contextual understanding of reality, we readily become tolerant of the others' viewpoint and our feeling of superiority and exclusiveness vanishes.

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ARE YOU AN EXTRAORDINARY PERSON?

[Based on a book written titled "Love is always right" written by Vinita Dawra Nangia. She can be contacted at vinitadawra.nangia@timesgroup.com].
I heard someone say this morning with humility and gratitude, "I am an ordinary man". This set me thinking because in that very ordinary sentence, I sensed a unique extraordinariness in the man. He was not just aware of the other person's good turn to him, he was willing to accept that he was probably unworthy of the gesture and so, was full of gratitude. Extraordinary traits in today's world, wouldn't you think? Do you consider yourself an ordinary human being or an extraordinary one? Most of the time the answer will emanate from your sense of self-worth or ego. "Oh yes, I am extraordinary of course!" Who wouldn't wish to be extraordinary? Sometimes however, the answer could be modest, or sometimes a pseudo, "I am a most ordinary person". Seldom will it be a realistic, "I am an ordinary person with some extraordinary person with some extraordinary traits".

I doubt if anyone really believes they are ordinary. One of the biggest reasons for this is the high sense of importance and exclusively that is instilled in us at birth. Look at how parents treat children, mooning over them as if they are the world's most perfect and exclusive gifts to human kind> each such fussed-over child grows up believing he dwells in a halo and is often surprised when others don't acknowledge it. The other reason is that none of us wishes to get lost in a crowd. And so you need to stand out. And the easiest way to do that is to cultivate some extraordinary traits that lift you above the others.

Ordinary people live and die. Extraordinary ones make a difference and live on through that difference. They set an example by the path they choose to tread, without even meaning to do so. You do not have to do extraordinary things to be extraordinary; it is enough that you do ordinary things differently. It is enough that you live life by a set of values, without following the herd. And you have to follow the same set of rules for yourself as you do for others. Extraordinary people live the same life and face the same challenges as ordinary person do. But their response and set of values are different.

To ma an extraordinary person is one who has a strong sense of what is right or wrong, and who chooses to stand by the right, no matter what the compulsions not to do so. The moment people compromise with morality, they become very, very ordinary for me. Ordinary people will witness an accident or a victim of violence and carry on, allowing themselves a myriad excuses about why they cannot get involved. It is the extraordinary person who will step and offer help or call up the cops or a helpline and ensure help reaches.

While ordinary people sit back and count the reasons for not doing all they could have done, extraordinary people act upon their ideas. They are not afraid of losing; the only thing that matters to them is realising their dreams. They are not afraid of being wrong either, or of accepting mistakes and stepping back. You cannot hope to be more than ordinary if you do not believe in yourself and your own strengths.

Look at those around you. How are you, in any manner, different from the rest? Do you have any unique trait that others lean on you for? Have you cultivated a skill that benefits others? Or are you just part of the crowd - laughing, crying, criticising, berating, eulogising with the rest?

Think about it. When you think 'extraordinary' what kind of a person do you visualise? It is the one with the halo of a quiet confidence and calm; a person who knows where he is headed and is confident and helpful too. Someone you can rely upon and who will not take you for a ride. Someone who embraces his ordinariness in an extraordinary manner. 

An extraordinary person lives his life fully. The trick to leading an extraordinary life is to lead your simple, ordinary life and be open to experiencing the extraordinary you find within it. Striving  too hard to be different is not the way to stand out; rather it is the way to becoming an object of ridicule. Just live your life fully and by your rules; do not make compromises you do not believe in. Stand up for what is right and work with focus and sincerity.

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INDICATIVE OF SUPREMACY.

Krishna avatar is a unique incarnation that reveals to devotees with ease the Lord's Supreme State. In many instances, Krishna allows people a glimpse of His greatness but also casts the veil of Maya to bring them back to this world. It is a marvellous experience for the simple folk of Vraja to feel the impact of His Paratva and Saulabhya that are inseparable in Him. The sages Garga and Narada tell Nandagopa that Krishna is no ordinary child. How else could each of the killers sent by Kamsa to kill Krishna get killed? Yasodha is overawaed by the Viswarupa form child Krishna reveals to her within His mouth; but she is soon made to revert to her role as a mother.

Brahma and Indra realise Krishna's Paratva after being deluded to believe Him to be a mere cowherd boy. It so happens that once Nandagopa is kidnapped by an asura for bathing in the waters of the Yamuna in the dead of night which is the time allotted for asuras. He is taken to Varuna Loka and Krishna rescues him from there. Nandagopa returns and tells the people about how Krishna is revered and worshipped by Varuna in the most humble manner. The people wonder at the supreme greatness of the small boy who leads a simple life with them and pray for His grace. 

Krishna then reveals to them a vision of Vaikunta, His heavenly abode. They see Krishna there in all His transcendental glory, and for a brief period, are immersed in the ocean of Sat-chit-ananda, a state of release from all bondage. They are then brought back to their material world from this state of spiritual existence. Individual souls feel a similar impact when subject to occasional brushes with Truth.

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THE INAUGURATION OF A GRAND SHIVA TEMPLE.

It happened...Sage Poosalar was stteped in poverty, but determined to build a magnificent temple for his beloved Shiva. Every day he built this temple, brick by brick, entirely within himself. This inner exercise took him years. The King was also planning to inaugurate a big Shiva temple that he had commissioned. The night before the grand opening, Shiva appeared in the King's dream and told him that he could not attend his temple inauguration because his staunchest devotee, Poosalar, had invited him to the opening of his temple. The King was nonplussed. He wondered who could have built a temple grander than his own. He set out in search of Poosalar and finally him in a dilapidated hut in the poorest district in town. "Where is your temple?" demanded the King. "only temple I have", replied Poosalar, "is in my heart".

This well-known legend of southern India reminds us of a profound truth: if devotion overflows, divinity will follow and serve you. Humanity and divinity are not mutually exclusive. And hence the poet Basavanna's memorable line that 'the moving' temples are those 'that ever shall stay'. The distinctive hallmark of Indian culture is that we do not aspire to worship God. Instead we seek to embody the sacred ourselves. We do not seek to adore the divine. We aspire to instead become one within divinity. This is the only spiritual culture that is not God-oriented - an invaluable contribution to a world ravaged by wildly conflicting definitions of God.

Someone once told me, "I believe there is no God". I replied, "Really? I don't believe even that". This culture offers you the licence to believe in the God of your choice, or not to believe at all. And if you don't find a God to your taste, it always you the freedom to create one. That is how we ended up with 33 million Gods at last count! To see God in a tree, rock or elephant is not considered absurd because every speck of creation is seen as a portal to the divine.

These Gods were not mere imaginary toys. Instead we evolved a science of consecration, an entire science of God-making. Our deities are referred to as yantras - literally, machines to enhance life in all its manifestations. Devotees are sometimes disconcerted when I speak of the divine as a tool. But this is the audacious insight of this tradition: it dares to see not merely devotion as a technology but even God as a device! And so, God becomes a stepping stone to your ultimate liberation. How you reach your liberation, whether with or without God, is entirely up to you. But your destination is always mukti or freedom - which ultimately means freedom from all concepts and beliefs.

Thousands of years ago, the world's first yogi, Adiyogi, turned his attention on seven thirsty aspirants and proclaimed a radical truth: that the spiritual process is a science and the supreme goal is liberation. That historic day is celebrated to this day as Guru Purnima. The vibrant plurality of paths in India today owe their origins to the incredibly composite science of yoga that he propounded in which every dimension of the human being - body, mind, emotion and energy - is seen as a doorway to the divine. This is the only spiritual culture based on a bedrock of science, not faith. For all problems of human well-being , in is the only way out.

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HUMANITY: NATURE'S SOLE INTER-THINKING SPECIES.

Man is described by modern biology not only as an inter-breeding species, the only such species in nature, but also, what is more significant, an inter-thinking species, again the only such species in nature. Man thinks, and thinks together and, through such inter-penetration of minds, achieves great heights of culture and civilisation. Our own ancient culture is a product of such profound thinking and inter-thinking. Modern Western culture, similarly, is the product of the same process.

But since we became independent, we seem to have gradually deprived ourselves of this great discipline of thought and its great energy resources. We became complacent, with its offshoot of stagnation and national vision, descended upon us within a few brief years of our becoming politically free.

Yet, in spite of this, our nation has registered some progress in various fields during the past twenty-two years of our post-independence existence. There has always been, and there is still, a small minority of thinking people in India, at the centre and in the states - in politics, administration, and public life - who are imbued with the spirit of patriotism and national dedication; and through their devoted endeavours, the country did achieve some progress.

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WHEN MIRACLES HAPPEN OUT OF THE BLUE.

[Based on an article written by Marguerite Theophil, published in 'The Times of India' dated 08th July, 2016 (Friday)].

A poster I recently read got me thinking. It said: "The grass is always greener where you water it". I thought of what some people speak of as miracles, and some call luck; both groups refer to something desired but kind-of-unexpected. In both instances, one feels a bit surprised. What is often ignored in the 'background' to the actual lucky event or miracle. Of course miracles sometimes do hit us seemingly out of the blue - that's why we call them miracles. If we believe or have some faith, then we tend to notice these small or big miracles. If we don't, or even are pessimistic, it is all too easy to overlook them when they do happen. But there is an element of what in modern books we read as: "Believe it and you will see it", or "Just act as if".

A Taoist master was approached by members of a village, during a time of great drought. They confessed trying many other approaches before reaching out to him, but with no success, so they now asked if he could help bring rain to their dry fields. The master agreed, and asked for a small hut with a garden that he could tend. For three days, he tended the garden. Much to the surprise of the villagers, he performed no special rituals, chanted no particular prayers, or needed anything more from them. All he did was to plant seeds and carefully work on his garden.

On the fourth day, rain began to fall on the parched earth. When asked how he had achieved such a miracle, the master simply smiled. It was left to the villagers to later recall and recount how, even in that dry spell, he had lovingly cared for the garden as if he expected the rain water to come and complete his task. Many people consider themselves to be either lucky or unlucky. But, these words, attributed to Roman philosopher Seneca are worth a second thought: "Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity". 

Good luck like good faith works much in the same way as bad luck or lack of faith. During a terrible flood, a pious man trapped on a rooftop prayed fervently and expressed strong conviction that God himself would rescue him. He refused offers of help, telling a neighbour, then a boatman and finally a helicopter rescue team that a bigger power - God himself - had promised to save him. In the end, the waters rose above him and he drowned. Meeting God in the afterlife he expressed his deep disappointment that despite his unshakable faith, God seemed to have let him down, and God tenderly reminded him that He had sent not one but three of his representatives to rescue the poor, foolish man.

So-called lucky people generate their own good fortune or miracles mainly by being attentive to subtler signs and opportunities. They listen to their intuition as well as logically analyse things when making decisions. They create self-fulfilling prophecies through fostering positive expectations. They don't allow disappointment or slowness in getting results to make them give up - and they generously become conduits of miracles that benefit others. 

Choose to live with wise faith in things not seen, not proven, and not guaranteed - we replace the limited and predictable and tap into the unlimited power of the possible.

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DEVAVRATA'S OATH.

King Shantanu had a son through Ganga. When Ganag handed him over to Shantanu's care, she told Shantanu that Devavrata had been trained by Sukracharya, Parasurama and Brihaspathi and would be an even greater warrior than Shantanu himself. Devavrata, however, was to prove his greatness in other ways as well. One day, Shantanu was out hunting when he saw a beautiful woman called Satayavathi and fell in love with her. But her family insisted that Shantanu would have to make the sons born to Satyavathi the heirs to the throne. But how could Shantanu do that, when he already had a grown up son, Devavrata? So Shantanu went back without marrying Satyavathi.

When Devavrata came to know what had happened, he promised Satyavathi that he would never ascend the throne. But her family wanted to know what would happen if Devavrata was to marry and beget children. Devavrata then promised that he would never marry or seek the company of women. When he made this promise, the celestials shook with fear and he came to be known as Bhishma, because of his terrible oath. When Shantanu came to know of his son's oath, he gave him a boon. Bhishma could die at will. That was why during the Kurukshetra war, Bhishma lay on a bed of arrows, waiting for the right time to depart. He never once wavered from his oath, not even when Satyavathi, upon the death of her sons, asked him to marry to keep the lineage alive, Bhishma knew the sanctity of a promise.

When Yudhistra was agitated after the war, unhappy about all the destruction, Krishna told him to seek the advice of Bhishma.

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TOPMOST IN HIS AGENDA.

Valmiki is explicit about the purpose of Rama avatar. "Rama upholds the Kshatriya dharma conferred by His birth; yet as the Supreme Lord He also upholds the Saranagathi dharma, and promises to protect those who seek refuge in Him; He is the sole protector of every created being in the universe and He is the very embodiment of dharma". This makes Him compassionate to a fault when dealing with erring jivatmas in general and with Ravana in particular. Ravana had wronged Him in a personal way by abducting Sita. Yet Rama gives Ravana many chances to rectify his sin and hand over Sita and be saved from destruction and death. He sends his message of compassion through Hanuman and Angada. He is willing to pardon all other atrocities if only he repents. Could there be any match to such Rama's benevolence in the battlefield when Ravana stands weaponless before Him?

What a struggle it had been for Him along with Lakshmana and the vanara heroes to fight against the magic tricks of warfare practiced by the rakshasas? Here was a chance to finish him off and put an end to all the evil he stood for. Yer Rama gives him a chance to retire and resume the fight with renewed strength the next day. Rama is capable of eliminating Ravana by His mere Sankalpa. So too is Sita's power. But the divine couple undergoes the stress and strain of human birth to show the world that the law of dharma cannot be transgressed. To the Lord, true victory is in the inner transformation of the human soul when there is repentance for one's sinful tendencies and a genuine desire to reform. The promise of redemption for even the worst of sinners is topmost in the Lord's agenda.

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