How to control unnecessary thoughts?

Take responsibility and don’t blame mind for everything. If certain thoughts bother you then just take responsibility and say I am not going to be bothered about it and then see how mind settles. Because, if you say my mind is thinking, its like blaming mind for everything. It is You and not your mind. Understand it and let it go. The function of the mind is to think. So it is meant to be thinking. But the issue arises when you think on something unnecessary.

How thought arises? It begins as a small, tiny thought and then you get hold of it, keep on attending it and it becomes a big thought. And it is you who pays attention to it to make it bigger so its only YOU who has to stop it. We have to break this habit of paying attention to every little thought to make it big enough to create confusion in mind, like the jungle of thoughts. And to do so, we have to take more responsibility of being aware along with Yoga. 

Pranayama, Yoga, Exercise and things like that makes it more effortless. And one has to keep on practicing of being aware again and again to make it one’s nature.

As soon as thought comes, you be aware and the moment you are aware, it stops. So the action has to be taken “right now”. If garbage has been getting collected for ages, you don’t throw it one by one, you just throw the bulk away as soon as you realize that it is garbage. So get rid of unnecessary thoughts right now. 

Remember that it is PRACTICE (Abhyasa - again and again) which makes the process more effortless, more easy. Until you attain that state you have to keep on practising it again and again. 

The qualifications to walk on a Spiritual Path

The journey of the path of Self Exploration will require few qualifications. 

First qualification is the level of your intensity. If you are intense about it, you will find intense results, quick results, accelerated progress. If you are casual about it, divine says "tathastu" to that too.. so, do not take this casually. the intensity of your commitment will determine how quickly you will progress on the path. 

If you observe being sharp observant, you will see, there are so many different kind of souls walking on the same path. If you want to make a comparison, you can say if the path is a road, then you see there are KHATARAs (trucks) as well as Ferraris and Mercedes n Rolls Royce running on the same road. If you keep your attention on Khataras, you will get your result accordingly. So, determine where do you want to keep your attention, how much intensity of your commitment do you want to keep? that will determine your progress on the path.

Second qualification is your level of intelligence. When I say intelligence, what I mean is identifying the Klisht (harmful) Vrittis and Aklisht (non-harmful) Vrittis of mind. Any Vrittis that makes the quality of your life more blossoming in all spheres are beneficial ones and those which makes that quality of your life go downward is harmful ones. So, identify them and filter them accordingly. 

And the third thing, which can really help you on this path is your connection with the divine. if you are connected 24*7, your progress is 24*7. Connected means feeling the presence. If you feel that presence of divine in  your life 24*7, your life is taken care of 24*7, and your progress is continue 24*7. See, right now, I can feel that energy is engulfing the whole room. Can you feel the same? If you are connected, the downloading is faster, and if you have got broadband, you can keep on downloading, uploading, keep connecting.. 

Now, there is this technique, O-F-S, which is THE MASTER KEY. Observe-Filter -Surrender. 

You have to observe what is going on in your mind every moment, keep your attention there. During the day you pass through events, one after the other one, you face people, different situations, different things and your body n mind gives different kind of sensations, some pleasant, some unpleasant. you have to keep attention on your self, what is going on inside you every moment. that is the first step, Observe...

Filter -through your intelligence, filter the impressions, sensations that you do not want to keep in your  memory, in your system. This mind is the magic box. As easily it picks up impressions from the outer world, with the same speed it can drop those impressions too... just, filter the harmful stuff and then

Surrender..- take a deep breath in, hold the breath and connect to the divine and as you have filtered the harmful stuff that you dont want, just with the outgoing breath, surrender it to the divine in whom you believe in, with whom you feel connected. Your personal divine. 

God has been so kind to give us all that we need, it is up to us how to make the best use of it. so, experiment OFS in your life, n see what results it brings.. there is one thing we need to keep in mind while applying OFS, there must be a willingness to drop (to surrender) the unnecessary stuff, the stuff that we want to surrender. If the willingness is not there, regardless of the number of breaths, you will not see any results.. 

I am applying this wonderful technique which my teacher Rishiji has told us, and I am sure the way I am being benefited, all of you would also do..Good luck. 

Jai Gurudev !!!

Technique of dropping impressions from the past

Twice or thrice a day, close your eyes, take your mind in the past as if you are watching a film. Past means anything that was before this very moment. As you remember past, people, situation, things will come in mind and may make you little bit upset,  may create specific sensations in any part of the body, just identify them. as you breath in, identify it, connect to the divine and with the outgoing breath just drop it, surrender it to the divine. 

                 And just before you release them, identify the tendency if it is there. What I mean is, if the same emotion is very frequently coming in mind, it is definitely a tendency, a habit of the mind. If some emotions come which are very rare, don’t bother much about it. But if it is a regular emotion that is coming up, that is because of the habit of the emotions of the mind. If you identify the habit, it helps because whenever it comes again,  you are much more ready to drop it. If you have not identified it, it comes, it runs your life for al little while and then you regret later. Simple process, where you are not able to do Observe-Filter-  Surrender all time, you can do this just twice or thrice a day and it becomes such a part of your  nature, part of your habits is while you are getting tight, you can drop it too..

            Till it becomes effortless, auto pilot takeover, little effort is necessary. Don’t give up. because this is  THE MASTER KEY. Observe- Filter and Surrender. If somebody is doing something that you are not liking, let’s say if they are doing something about you, that you are not liking, rather than resisting that, just release the tightness for you to be okay. Sometimes somebody is tight about you and you become tight about their tightness. You drop it. Let them be tight for a little while. You continue to be natural, free flow. Immediately the whole atmosphere will change. Practice it. Only practice will help. No big deal. Twice or thrice a day. Once in the morning, once before you have a lunch, once before you have your dinner. Release everything, be empty and then resume your day.

Viparyaya -the orientation in Unreality...

Each one of us should be very aware about this dangerous tendency of our mind of creating Viparyaya. Viparyaya is illusion, wrong knowledge, misunderstanding, mis-interpretation. Something that is not there, you believe it to be there. Something that is not true, because it sounds good, because it feels good, because it supports your likes or dislikes. Many times we are believing in something which is not there or not believing in something which is there, is what this Viparyaya is. 

One example is many times you feel, “O somebody is jealous about me that is why we are behaving like this, but if you actually wake up and see that emotion of jealousy may not be driving them to do whatever they are doing, it can just be an emotion of dislike about you, resentment about you.”  It need not be jealousy that is making somebody doing, of what they do. But our ego gives us that illusion that people are jealous about me, that tendency of the mind is called Viparyaya.

It is orientation in unreality – that is very simple understanding of Viparyaya and the only way of checking it, is Reality check, whatever is your belief, whatever is your truth pass it through a reality check. Feel it, whatever you are perceiving to be real, is it really REAL? Or very periodically, very regularly, check your beliefs with someone who would be able to tell you, who would be able to discriminate your own truth to untruth. 

Pancha Koshas...

You know there are five Koshas, the Panchakosha that we say. You know the outer world, people, situations, things is nothing but food for five senses. With eyes you watch, with ear you hear, with nose you smell, with tongue you taste and with skin you touch. Food for five senses, Annamaya Kosha – it’s called. Anna is the food. The second is the Pranamaya Kosha. The body doesn’t survive on the food what you eat. It survives on the Prana in the food that you eat. There are four sources of Prana. Sleep, food, breath and happy mind. Yes? These four energy sources give prana to the body it needs to survive. It is not the food; it is the prana in the food. Now, in this whole game of experiencing bliss, experiencing Anand, that is the whole driving force, the whole life is for that. In that, what you will get in the first Kosha, the Annamaya Kosha extremely limited. Beyond that is what you get from Prana. The pleasure that you get in the body is much much much much more than what you get in the world. Then the third Kosha is the Manomaya Kosha where all the thoughts and emotions and likes and dislikes all this comes, on the mind level, extremely mediocre.

Kabhi khushi kabhi gam. Emotions come up, thoughts come up, mind gives you Vikalpaas, keeps on giving you alternatives that is the function of the mind. I should do this or I should not do this. I should do this or I should do that? Beyond that is the fourth level, is the Vigyanmaya Kosha, where the understanding is, how this consciousness functions. The understanding of the outer world, the understanding of the body level, the understanding of the mind, all these are happening in the Vigyanmaya Kosha. In O-F-S, the filtration, the Vivek, the intelligence, the discrimination about what is worth and what is not, what is beneficial and what is harmful? What will give me later joy but long term? What gives me immediate joy but short term? All that understanding is in the Vigyanmaya Kosha. Sensing consciousness is in the Vigyanmaya Kosha. That faculty of your intelligence, is sensing deeper realities of life, this is Vigyanmaya Kosha. Beyond that is Anandmaya Kosha.

Very simple understanding of this existence, is these 5 sheets, 5 layers, in which your attention, your energy, your time, your mind that we give from our side, going into any of these 5 sheets will determine the quality of your consciousness. Living in the outer world, giving so much into outer world, getting nothing from the outer world. Doing something for the body, much bigger return than the outer world. When I say return it is in the form of happiness again. 3^rd is mind, indulging into emotions, some pleasurable, some unpleasurable. Then the 4^th one is Vigyanmaya. If you notice as we are progressing, we are moving towards the Vigyanmaya and the Ananadmaya kosha, that appears to be spread most inside is actually most outside. From outer world we seem to be going into the inner world, but actually it is not. The Anandmaya Kosha is the most expanded one.

If you turn it around, you will see as soon as you close your eyes the outer world ceases to exist for you. It is just because your eyes are open and your ears are open and your nose is open when this outer world is available to you. So though it appears to be biggest and then the body, it’s actually much smaller than the body. Then comes the Manomaya Kosha which is more expanded. You can exist anywhere. The more responsibility you take, more you live and then the Vigyanmaya, which is sensing reality, understanding reality from Gross to Subtle, from In to Out, whatever, in all directions, in all dimensions. And 5^th is Anandmaya, all encompassing, when the ocean is what the wave experience...

Who gets onto the spiritual path?

When you experience something extraordinary in your life, you feel like bringing all your family n friends, all your near and dear ones on that path to get that amazing experience themselves. But, sometimes when they refuse, or they be bit resistive about it, you feel so sad. Do you know, why some people get so much attracted to the spiritual path and why others not? It is just because of the KARMAS. If you offer this knowledge to your friends and if they get attracted, it is simply because they are karmikally ready to be on the path. If they are yet getting ready then regardless of your offering it n number of times, they would not get attracted until they become totally ready. So, in such cases, just drop your concerns and have compassion for them, bless them so that they can get ready faster and experience the wonderful magic that you want to offer to them. You do not know who is ready and who is not, so your job is simply to keep on offering it to everyone and the divine will do the rest to bring them near Him...

Guruji's promise...

PROMISE

If I had to promise you something, what would it be?

I can’t promise that you would always be comfortable…

Because comfort brings boredom and discomfort.

I can’t promise that all your desires will be fulfilled…

Because desires whether fulfilled or unfulfilled bring frustration.

I can’t promise that there will always be good times…

Because it is the tough times that make us appreciate joy.

I can’t promise that we will be rich or famous or powerful…

Because they can all be pathways to misery.

I can’t promise that we will always be together…

Because it is separation that makes togetherness so wonderful.

Yet if you are willing to walk with me,

If you are willing to value love over everything else ~

I promise that this will be the most rich and fulfilling life possible.

I promise your life will be an eternal celebration,

I promise you I will cherish you more than a king cherishes his crown,

And I shall love you more than  a mother loves her newborn.

If you are willing to walk into my arms,

If you are willing to live in my heart,

You will find the one you have waited forever….

You will meet yourself in my arms…

I promise.

Poem written by H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

What to do to get enlightened?

When people come on a spiritual path, one of the biggest thing in their minds is "I WANT TO GET ENLIGHTENED". When you start living like the enlightened person, then you start becoming enlightened. Look at His qualities and start bringing those into your self and then see, you are on a way to be free. Krishna says to Arjuna, "Advaista Sarva Bhutanam" means get rid of dvaista (anger, jealousy) and change that dwesh or anger into compassion. that's called developing Maitri Bhav (the nature of friendliness) and then you can be friend with all.

Look at the quality of the enlightened being. e.g. Guruji, the way he has made EVERYTHING BELONGS TO HIM. because for Guruji, either everything belongs to Him or nothing belongs to Him. There is no mediocare way. "Nirmoham Nirvikaram" - He is not attached to anything. Nirahankaram - No Ego, when the whole world belongs to you there is no place for Ego. Ego only comes in from those things which don't belong to you. The more you live in a small circle the more BIG you feel because of Ego. So, come out of it. So, living life of a person who is Nirmoham, Nirvikaram, Nirahankaram is the simplest way of getting enlightened.

It doesn't happen overnight, though. It develops slowly and gradually. You think when I ll be enlightened, I ll start loving everyone. But, no, it is the other way. Start loving everyone unconditionally and you ll attain freedom. Don't pretend to love people, be natural and when you say something don't say it on a superficial level, mean it. Live that quality and let the enlightenment dawn into you.

Again and again remind yourself that the simplest way of getting enlightenment is to live like an Enlightened being.....

Karma - Merit (punya) n Sin (papa)

This soul is eternal, it has been travelling through thousands of life times. Finally it has reached to the stage it is now, with this human body. The consciousness has evolved up to the level where it got this life time of being a human. Now, this soul, while going through it's journey collects many impressions about other souls. Similarly, other souls also collects impressions about this soul. These two types of collection of impressions collectively is called KARMAS.

This life is a part of process of evolution for the soul. During this process of evolution, the karmas that help you uplifting your soul, helps you making this process of evolution faster, are your merits (Sanskrit terminology is punyas). However, the karmas that becomes hindrance on the way to evolutions, makes the process slower, are sins (Demerits - Sanskrit terminology is papas). When you hurt any one (knowingly or even unknowingly), they carry an impression about you where whenever they remember you, the emotions, the sensations of hatred, hurt triggers in them, which not only harms them but also being your karmas harm you as well, since they become hindrance in your process of evolution. n that's why in any religion in the world, the prime importance is given to NOT TO HURT ANYONE.

Seer and Scenery

Yoga teaches one the skilful way of living life, keeping balance between the scenery and seer. Scenery is the outer world, Maya. That is Shakti, honour the world, the creation. The Yogi knows that he does not have to get attracted to the creation but honour it. He has to get attracted to the CREATOR. The inner world is Shiva, consciousness. He has to honour that as well. Simple and easiest way to walk on the path is to keep balance between Shiva and Shakti and honour both of them. Skill in action, skilful way of handling any situation in the outer world is honouring Shakti. and resting deep within one's self, reposing in the inner self is honouring Shiva. Shiva and Shakti go together and a TRUE YOGI knows how to balance them both.

mystery

The purpose of the word is to create silence, the same way the purpose of the knowledge is to lead you to the state of mind where you say, Oh, I do not know...

In the beginning also you say, I do not know, but that I do not know is out of ignorance. then you pass through knowledge and again you reach to a point where you feel, the more you know, the more this life n this creation becomes mystery, so you say I do not know. But this I do not Know is now out of wonder. that is the difference knowledge makes in your life. 

Mysteries in life is not there to be understood. The more you try to understand it, regardless of how much efforts you put in to understand it, it becomes more mystery. Because mystery is not there to be understood, it is there to be lived.