Sleeping....

....Meditations

In half sleep
I was contemplating
That in sleep,
The waking consciousness
Is covered by the darkness of matter
And every cell of the body overpowers the collective thoughts
As they go to their individual memories
The 'I' looks through the Windows of the Eyes & other senses
And the windows have colourful screens
That hide the vision
But screens are required for a home.
They can nevertheless be drawn open
When fresh air and sunlight are needed
The rest of the time
The mind screen is an essential piece of clothing
For this body called home.

(It is 1.45 a.m. when I finish writing this. Not because I am waking so late and posting on my blog. But it was rather a sudden wake up call while sleeping and these thoughts came when I got up to have a sip of water. It's probably because I fell asleep reading Gary Zukav's 'The Seat of The Soul,' which speaks of human evolution in terms of development of the five senses and evolution of multi-sensory perception. Now I feel ever so fresh as I type this, the groggy eyes have gone!)

Walks...

.....in silence

Walking for over three weeks now, on roads paved on either sides with snow, cold wind beating my face - walking in meditation, breathing in deep and breathing out, has been my greatest recreation here. I might leave with reluctance, because leaving home means dressing adequately in thermals, shoes, socks, woolen cap, winter jacket and gloves...and that's quite a lot for me at least!

But just the moment I leave home and set out on the road, the laziness vanishes into the dense cold air. When I breathe in, it is the breath of Existence and when I breathe out, it is my little self that vanishes into the same ocean.

My view of Chicago, spanning the earth and sky and all that's in between.

My view

No words...

....Just Pictures

Thus spake Baha'ullah: "The unity of humankind was now to be established as the foundation of the great peace that would mark the highest stage in humanity's spiritual and social evolution. Revolutionary and world-shaking changes are therefore inevitable. It is the belief of the Baha's that the American nation will evolve through tests and trials to become a land of spiritual distinction and leadership, a champion of justice and unity among all peoples and nations and a powerful servant of the cause of everlasting peace.
Their prayer: May this American Democracy be the first nation to establish the foundation of international agreement. May it be the first nation to proclaim the unity of mankind. May it be the first to unfurl the standard of the Most Great Peace."



1. In the silence of the sky: Construction of this Baha'i Temple in Chicago, began in 1903 with design by French-Canadian Architect Louis Bourgeois. The Temple literature says that he started working on his design in 1909 and laboured for eight years to create a plan that satisfied him. In 1917, he began with "inspiration," to draw a bell-shaped temple. For three years, he lived in poverty, supporting his work by selling flowers grown in his own backyard. With a seating capacity of 1,191, the temple spans a height of 138 feet from floor of auditorium, with 36 feet down the base gallery, the temple has inscriptions of insignia from world religions.

2. A strategic picture at the base gallery, taken by Aravind, too good not to be published!

3. A view outside the Chicago Baha'i temple on a cold winter evening.

4. Intricate patterns mark the entrance of the stately Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. Dedicated in 1953, the nine-sided, domed structure took 40 years to complete is one of the 'Dawning Places of the praise of God.'

Some pictures....

....from Chicago

1. Rishab and myself before Rishab, Nandi, the vehicle of Lord Shiva. Nandi symbolises the dynamic mind that is turned to the divinity within, powerful, yet seated in silence and meditation.

2. With God Son, Rishab who drew me across oceans and mountains for the first time to United States, to spend time with him.

3. A house like any other in Western Springs, made of Tyvek wooden boards.

4. Fair Elms Avenue, now a snow-lined road of bare elms. In case of a snow fall, the snow trucks are promptly at work the next day to remove the snow on all the roads and spraying salt to prevent formation of ice.

5. Closing in on the snow which covers the ground for around four months a year.

Observations...

....as days go by

I've nearly completed half the number of days of my scheduled stay in the United States and as each day goes by, I have nothing else to offer except observations. After a long walk for an hour and a half, walking through snow in the Western Springs park, watching the orb of the orange sun set behind the elms at 4.30 p.m. the chillness of the air was trapped within my thermal clothes, settling directly on my skin. But I have befriended this cold weather and I know it will not harm me.
It was my day out on my own, three days ago when I took the Metra train from Hindsdale to the Union Station and walked my way up beside the Chicago River to a cab. I was off to the Field Museum of Chicago, where I walked and walked and walked for five hours non-stop, visiting country after country, the ancient world of dinosaurs, the remains of Pompeii, walking underground when the human shrinks and the worms and insects of the earth are larger, contemplating on the one landmass of pangea that contained the earth, meditating before the powerful statue of the Amida Buddha in the Japanese section and looking deep into the Mandala Yantra in the Tibetan wing. I filled myself with a California Grill vegetarian sandwich and tomato basil soup after I conveyed with quite a little bit of effort that I wanted totally vegetarian food at the Corner Bakery.
The next day passed by with a visit to the Lemonte Temple for Shri Ram and the day after to the Balaji Temple at Aurora. The more I travelled around the city and downtown, the more I felt at home with myself.
The identity crisis of my country and the other country, how great this or that is, how small this is or how clean that is....the screen of confusion about superiority or inferiority of developed and developing nationalities...has now lifted. The sky is clear. Each human is a speck of consciousness, no more no less. And whatever experience that tiny speck needs to gather or share in the course of evolution, it will drift like a cloud to that country, finish its job, and move on back or forth. This experience gathering happens not just in this lifetime, but has been happening and will continue to happen till this ice block of the body melts into water, evaporates into vapour and dissolves into the nothingness of the cosmos.

Smelling...

...the air of Chicago

Time and tide permitted me to travel downtown Chicago today and what a memorable journey it was! Forgive me if I can't remember names, one afternoon is too less a time to remember names of inter-states, bridges and roads. I just have the essence with me to share. When we entered a big bridge, I was told that part was North Chicago, the century-old part of the city and you wouldn't believe, I felt I was travelling through parts of Old Chennai and Mumbai in India. For the first time, I thanked the British for their two-century presence in India, giving the country an international character with its buildings, transport systems and the English language.
The roads in Chicago are indeed good, neat and clean. However, there is no kind of a paranoia or an obsessive compulsive disorder in straining every nerve to keep it smooth, polished and shining as is done in some developed countries. A little lack of attention with a pothole here and there is relaxing and gives a feeling of being at home, in tune with the jagged edges of Nature's surface.
During my evening walks in Western Springs village, all I would see is hardly one person on the road or most often not even that. But today I breathed people and people and people as I walked down Michigan, La Salle and other Avenues around the Sears Tower. I was impressed to see women on the job at heavy duty traffic policing on the intersections, nonchalantly organising chaotic traffic and issuing tickets for violations. A significant change in attitudes accosted me. The line defining the city and the village of Chicago is a complete dropping of all the "Hi's and bye's" while greeting strangers. People are focussed on their work and the fast paced lifestyle with a sandwich in one hand and a cup of coffee on the other is writ large.
Just as Buddha watched three incidents that drew him into a life of contemplation- a sick man, an old man and a funeral procession, I watched three incidents that made a significant impact in my understanding of the city life - an autistic man nervously crossing a main intersection back and forth, two beggars holding coffee cups for cents, dimes and quarters and a couple of minor accidents that led to a traffic hold-up.
The ambience of the tall buildings, wide pavements and trash bins on the road gave me a feeling of walking on Chennai's Second Line Beach Road or near the Taj at the Gateway of India Mumbai - both areas that were developed during the British period in India - the functional cleanliness was impressive. The signboards which said, " Caution Falling Ice,'" reminded me of the caution signs in the Himalayan trekking route about falling boulders.
My trip up the 103 floors of the world's tallest building was impressive, being well aware that visibility was zero. Introduced to the sights and scenes of Chicago through a film show at the entrance, I boarded the lift with a bunch of excited children sheperded by their parents, zipping to the top in just a minute. It was actually a top of the world feeling, only I couldn't see the world below - a possibility only when the sun shines bright. But a sharp observation through the glass walls showed the snow flurries moving about the clouds - almost like seeing snow at its origin.
Spending American currency for the first time, I bought stuff right at the top and below the Sears that will take the memory of my visit to all back home. And for myself, I carry a memorable experience...

Amazing sights...

...that I see

15 days gone by since I made my way from Chennai, India, to Chicago, USA. Across lands, across seas and oceans, across time zones, but not across space, not across God. I've come from a place which has a National motto of 'Satyameva Jayate,' (Truth Alone Triumphs) to a place where 'In God We Trust,' is a Constitutional statement printed in all official emblems.
In Chicago, and I'm sure the general principals must be the same in the rest of America, I see a beautiful order in civic life. Rich with space and resources, I love the self-reliance I see everywhere. And the public life here has worked it way around such self reliance. It amazes me to see senior citizens making their way around shopping malls with a triangular flag sticking out of their wheel chairs. The parking lots earmarked for the physically challenged, with a high penalty for violations - I love the care such signs show.
I love the traffic. I love the way cars, that travel at superfast speeds, are not in a hurry to start when the signal turns green. I love the silence on the roads where nobody honks. Only once recently, I heard a senior citizen honk to alert his wife to get into the car. The sound alerted more persons than just the lady it was intended for and I knew it was not so good to sound horn here from the number of abuses that happened around as a reaction.
I love the picture perfect residential quarters, with neat roads leading to each other in a grid. I love the way cars stop totally to let the pedestrian cross first.
The houses here, though apparently identical, have an individual character. Now covered with snow, icicles hanging from the ewes, present an idyllic picture of beauty, peace and silence. I like the houses merging with the road and with each other, without a separating compound wall.
I am amazed at the convenience of the credit card and the home computer has brought to lives here. Anything one wants can be done from home, through the phone, PC and credit card. In India, the forehead of cars have their religions written in bold letters - My Presence Shall Go Before Thee, Masha Allah or Om Namashivaya. Here it's all plain glass except for a small strip of card called here as the I-Pass, EZ-Pass, which registers the number as the car moves across a toll plaza and automatically deducts the amount from a credit card.
I love the neatness with which houses drop off their wastes in neatly tied covers on a particular day of the week, though houses here are yet to get an idea about segregating the bio-degradable and non-biodegradable wastes at source. I love the resilience with which the postal staff work, dropping packets and covers door to door unmindful of the snow.
I love the instant immediacy with which the police, traffic and fire departments respond in case of an accident or an emergency.
Most off all I like the way total strangers greet each other with a smile or a "Hi!" In just a few words, here I see Yoga (oneness of the individual and the cosmos) in the life of matter and organisation of resources.
******

Freezing...

...In the land of Sahasrara

I love Snow. I remember the thrill and excitement I had when I saw it glowing gold on the tip of the Himalayas, the abode of not just snow, but also Lord Shiva. The same snow that adorns the matted locks of the Lord of Yoga, the Lord of Tapas, (Burning fire of Meditation), is here abound and all around in Chicago.
I believed it when I was told not to venture out for a walk in this cold weather, -10 Degrees C and 25 Degrees F. I stayed indoors for nine days. My outings were inside warm cars and into warm stores and malls.
I know what it feels like to be cut off from nature - nature deficit disorder, they seem to call it here. When my mind was trapped in the belief that I can't make it, there was this cute child in the neighbourhood, who darted out of her house in colourful winter clothing. She ran straight to a heap of snow at the end of the road, made a tiny snowman and got back home.
"Now if a little child can make it, why can't I?" She provided enough reason for my adamency and that afternoon, inspired by her, I broke out of the confines of a warm home, to walk down into the freedom of the avenue road. Six inches of snow collected on either sides, dried elms standing bare, dark green spruce with blobs of snow smothering it, icy winds that wafted the powdery snow across the road, just like sand being pushed around in a dust storm and my dear old sun, shedding its warm grace. I was in meditation. In Yoga. One with nature, united in tune with my surroundings.
The wind was cold indeed, biting at my cheeks, the only exposed part of myself. The moisture in the pores of my face was freezing and I had to pat it to get warm. It didn't matter if I was the only one enjoying a walk down the road. I was told that people walk only in summer and not winter. They rather stay indoors and work out. But I couldn't just care. The cold wind, the downy snow beneath the feet, the smoking white flurries all around, the bright sunshine, the silent trees, a lone giant bushy-tailed squirrel minding its own business with a nut on a tree top - were all one whole of which I was part of.
When I got back home after my tiny expedition beneath the big blue sky, it told on my face, on the bouncing energy that I transformed into, on the radiance I saw in the mirror for myself...
Me and nature are one and I can't let walls of wood or concrete come in the way. I will not let my shelter become a prison. I will break loose. I will break free, no matter who or whatever it is that stops me. Nobody shall take my nature away from me, because what is free is just me, my soul, my being and essence.

Dancing...

...my way to freedom

(This article happened following a request from Be Now).


My experience of learning Bharatanatyam, was short. I was just sitting at home one day and chanted aloud the most famous verses of the Bhagavad Gita. Surrounded by nothing else but space and silence, my fingers automatically moved in mudras when I chanted the two verses:
Paritranaya Sadhunam Vinashaya Cha Dushkritam
Dharma Samsthapa Narthaya Sambhavami Yuge Yuge

Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya Glanir Bhavati Bharatha
Abhyuthanam Adharmasya Tadathmanam Srujamyaham.

The two verses were said by Krishna to Arjuna in the battlefield. "To protect the good and destroy evil and to establish Dharma or the balance of creation, I manifest time after time."

"Wherever there is a threat to Dharma and Adharma is on the rise, my soul takes birth."

If felt the dance in me waiting to be expressed and immediately joined for dance classes with Kalaimamani Thanjavur Rajalakshmi, a teacher in her mid 70's. She asked me for what purpose I want to learn dance. And I told her that I know that dance is one way of offering yourself to God and so I just want to dance, no more reasons.

Just the day before joining the class, I had the opportunity to visit the famous temple of Lord Nataraja - a form of Shiva as the Lord of Dance and sit in meditation before that powerful presence for a while. Nataraja is a famous idol that is a great attraction for tourists as it represents the culture and philosophy of India - that the whole Universe is a dance of the Pancha Bhoothas - the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and space. The lifted feet of the Lord represents the spirit and the feet on the ground stands over a small creature called Muyalagan which represents the human ego which ought to be trampled and killed. One hand points upward to the sky and is called the Abhaya Hastha or the hand of protection. The other points toward the ground symbolising the need for surrender.

Bharatanatyam in a nutshell, is the traditional dance form of India, particularly Tamil Nadu, got its name because it was derived from Bharata Muni's (Sage) Natya Shastra. It expresses with Mudras, locking the fingers in innumerable gestures, Abhinaya or facial and bodily expressions and tapping of the feet to various rhythms.

Usually the lessons begin with fundamental movements and beats called Alarippu and Jathiswarams. But in my case, the teacher offered to take me straight to Abhinaya which happens only in the advanced levels. I began with doing Abhinaya (expressive gestures) to one shloka called 'Nada Brahma Vishwaswarupa, Nadahi Sakala Jiva Rupa, Nadahi Karma Nadahi Dharma, Nadahi Bandhana Nadahi Mukti, Nadahi Sankara Nadahi Shakti.' The essence of the verse is that Sound or Nada pervades everything in the Universe, sound is the form o everything manifest, sound is the form of life, sound is action, sound is sustenance, sound is bondage and sound is liberation, sound is Shiva - the Lord that gives peace and sound is his feminine energy - Shakti.

The other set of verses I learnt to express through dance was Nirvana Shatkam - six verses on the path to liberation by Adi Sankara. They contained the essence of all that I needed to know. I was dancing all the time, in my mind. When I just thought of a mudra of Sankara in the pose of Nataraja, my body and mind would just get filled up with energy shooting from within. When I returned to work from dance class, my colleagues could find out, seeing the radiance on my face and the joy with which my interactions of the day would be.

Bharatanatyam is an ocean. It is a path to liberating the mind from thoughts that bind one into loops and tangles. But I just picked up a pearl from its depths and I treasure it safely within....

Wholly...

....Indoors

A very cold day outta here (if someone is wondering about my sudden change in accent, well I'm jus' being Roman when in Rome - or rather being American when in America!). So a whole day was spent indoors with family and friends. Life is so comfortable in America and what would take out so much energy, cooking and cleaning, is just fun here. So I'm just being here, doing that. I am amazed about the connectivity this blog seems to be giving me. I have had quite long telephonic chats with bloggers who have visited my site and it's really fun to keep in touch this way.
Listening to music, meditation, helping out with work at home and being with my God Son was today so much a process of discovering myself as snow fills the roads, tree and roof tops outside.
The major thought for the day I wish to share. I was just wondering why the United Nations should not form a policy to give International Citizenship to people who wish to have them. The world is getting so close knit and global that it is really difficult to identify oneself to a small piece of land and say, I'm Indian, I'm Japanese, I'm a Filipino or an American. For those who wish to call themselves Citizens of the World - there should be a way out.
It is imminent and just around the corner. Countries have to just wake up to the reality, get together and work out a charter, frame rules for World Citizenship and issue it to those who comply with the rules and regulations after proper screening and scrutiny. After this will follow, world language, world culture and world money...and man we are well into the 21st Century and it jus has to happen! If the World is One, it has to be on paper all the same right? Way to make Truth work.

Chicago...

...on a snowy morning


Wonder of wonders, I have uploaded this painting I did this morning, on my blog. I love views out of the window and they have always given me the greatest scope for contemplation. This is Chicago that I saw and enjoyed when I first landed home. Trees bare and shrubs green, sharing the same snow covered ground with idyllic houses spaced out, just a big garden squirrel darting across and a host of black birds pecking for something in the grass, mostly covered with snow. My first view of Chicago continues to be the same blissful picture of silence.
*****

The Divine

....in Chicago

It was another beautiful birthday with so many wishes from loved ones from India over phone, e-mail, chat and on my blog, a special milk payasam (pudding) prepared for me here, quiet meditation and just the bliss of being.
There was a big birthday gift that Chicago could offer and that was a visit to the Aurora Venkatachalapathi Temple through beautiful inter-states, where the bright sun had no power to melt the snow on the grass and trees on either sides, a view of the beautiful houses and silent roads despite the traffic congestion at some points.
Standing before the mighty idol of Lord Balaji, all alone, is indeed a very rare experience for someone from India. It just felt like being in front of the idol in Tirupati or before a similar idol at the now famous Santhana Sreenivasa Perumal Temple in Chennai's Mogappair - the deity who got this name because he is believed to bless couples with the wealth of children - Santhanam.
I have now words to describe the silence and meditation that happened at the temple in front of Lord Venkateswara, Padmavathi Devi, Andal, Ganesha, Muruga, Dakshinamurthy, Shiva and Parvathy and Hanuman. It was a feeling of meeting all your loved ones beneath the same roof. The temple is a happy marriage of Indian spirituality and American organisation and cleanliness. The feeling inside was just indescribable.
Nothing more to say beyond this....
*****

The taste...

...of Chicago

It was probably the jet lag, for I woke up at 4 a.m. and it was still dark outside. The bare elms, stripped of all their belongings, except the branches, were standing alone against a purple dark sky and the conical spruce were almost getting spruced up to welcome Christmas just around the corner.
The spaced out houses along the avenue have begun to celebrate the cheer and joy of the festive season. In the warmth of the house, I saw a drizzle of snow, falling on leaves and grass as if they were flowers from heaven. Soon there was a carpet of white all over as the night sky turned into the brightness of dawn. It was the same Sun, brightening up another side of the Earth, where it is a vision of solitude, quietness, meditation and silence.
Finishing my Pranayama and Surya Namaskar, I drew the curtains within the warmth of an Indian home, which nestles within it the sounds, sights, flavours and aroma of India and looked out into a city of picture perfect beauty. A lone truck whizzed past, clearing the snow and spreading salt along the road.
Travelling to a hospital, the shopping mall, grocery and vegetable store, on the road, around houses, in a petrol bunk, at an ATM, there was something I saw - Everywhere.
My Indian spirituality taught me Space is Shiva. Silence is Shiva. And that element is very much here, out in this city of the United States - the same silence, the same space. A priceless commodity that has become rare in India. Utmost care has gone in to make life the best one can ask for in the outside. The scope for development is endless. Technology can be applied and everything becomes subtle and refined. The investment of awareness in improving quality of day-to-day life is splendid. It is exactly a divine world of matter where all the comforts one can dream of are available. But just a tap of the heart and one says, "I have been there done that. I've had enough. The illusion has worn out. With a good job, I'd love to get back to where I came."
Seeing the staff-less and automated stores and malls, I was reminded of the hustle and bustle of people crowding Chennai's Ranganathan and many other streets. A scene at the Mumbai Airport and the message it drove home gave me an insight into the importance of spiritual awareness, what it is and how it works. A woman with a child holding her arm tripped and fell from the escalator. Some rushed to the spot to help her get up. Everybody else gathered around and just watched what's happening. I've heard people saying that in India people crowd around and watch accidents. But that day my sensors of perception thought differently. All the eyes that watched the incident were energies directed on the victim. It was that focus which is just an act of nature that helped her to get up and come out of the fall.
The awareness in the civic body here is the same - more organised and applied well - watching out for abuse of children by parents or relatives, watching out for abuse of the wife by the husband, all rescue mechanisms available at an instant in the event of a fire or an accident. Just the same everywhere, but the source of it all is plain Awareness - the magic word that Buddha spoke of, that Ramana Maharishi said through his silence, that Swami Vivekananda thundered and that anyone who is aware is aware of.

Birthday...

...at home

Ever since I got a new apartment and named it after my Guru as Akshara Griha (Akshara's Home), I've been on the move. I used to love the vibrations of peace, calm and tranquility that surrounded the bright house which gave lots of room for a piece of the Universe inside it. My only job there was to do some cleaning and sitting quietly on a sofa in meditation. Everything else happened.
Now, going around the city of Chennai on my car, I discovered that it was Akshara Griha that was moving around. The atmosphere around me at office, relatives' homes where I have stayed, friends places or wherever I went had the same character to it - cleanliness, order, peace, tranquility, joy, fun, alertness and energy.
It continued in Mumbai where I stayed with a volunteer of the Akshara Foundation, Devika, in her 10th floor paradise at Kopar Khairane in new Mumbai. That felt like my home and not like someone else's.
I visited the homes of other volunteers to be pampered with hospitality and everywhere I was at home in the smiles and hugs. Sitting on a steamer going around the Arabian Sea near Gateway of India, I was at home in the placid waters and the chill winds beating against my face.
I continued to feel at home aboard Air India, listening to Hindustani Music and stories of Ganesha and Krishna being told by Karadi the Bear. Felt at home to see the smiling air hostesses, waiting to serve with a smile.
At the Frankfurt Airport, the woman staff who said, "All passengers to Chee-ca-goo come to the left," felt like a familiar voice. Practising exercises at the lounge to break the monotony of constricting seats on the flight felt no different.
Talking to a special child on board who told me to get some food for her as she was hungry and her guardians were sleeping, was a familiar scene of loving children whom I teach at the Aksharabhyas chanting classes in Chennai.
At the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, when a staff helped me with the luggage and accompanied me to the lobby to help me find out who has come to pick me up, was very much like what happened in Chennai and Mumbai when people helped me get my luggage on the trolley.
Meeting my brother-in-law and driving home to Western Springs, to meet new-born Rishabh, his mother and grandmother was just like getting back home away from home.
At the end of this all, keeping in tune with loved ones through Yahoo Messenger, e-mail and on my blog - I find that Akshara Griha is everywhere. I am now reminded of James A. Michener's autobiographical non-fiction the title and last line of the book are the same: The World Is My Home.
*****

Namaskar

Namaskar to All from Mumba Devi Ka Pradesh

My namaste to all blogger friends from the land of Lakshmi, Mumba Devi, India. I came here for a meditation programme. But with quite some rescheduling, I have all the time to just roam around this vast city and smell its air of freedom, watch its cheerful and fun-loving people.
I am all set to fly to the United States on Nov. 30 morning. I will reach the same day Nov. 30 at Chicago, but in the land I left, it would have become December 1. Will be celebrating Dec. 2, my birthday in a different country.
Though I'm having fun in Mumbai right now, there's lots of meditation happening too.
...contemplations will continue when I settle down in a couple of days.
Love to all from Swahilya....

Sangeetham...

...to Sannidhi

Music, oh what a lovely thing it does. It gathers and integrates the being of the singer and the attentive listener. Gathers the body, gathers the wavering mind, together like a flickering flame and noiselessly, quietly, without stress and strain, takes that flame into the expanseless light, which is also dark. The sound of music leads to the silence divine where God resides.
During one of my assignments I happened to listen to a concert by T.V. Sankaranarayanan. It was a state of Samadhi to drop all my wants, desires, worries or thoughts and just become immobile behind closed eyes and just be.
As he was singing, I realised music takes both the singer and the listener to the highest state of being. They realise God. He was singing a kriti called Surya Murte and in that moment's absorbtion and cheer of listening to the music at night time, this verse followed:
Enlightenment

When there is
Darkness
On the Earth
The Sun shines
Brightly as ever
In the skies
So far awat
The brilliant stars
Burn themselves
Bright as ever
And Ever
In a Universe
Where there is no
Darkness.
*****
I was just listening to a Raga Alapana and I wrote this piece on what or rather who is a Raga.
Raga

In the fields of
Silence
Ragas are the roads
That go smooth
sometimes
Become flowing water
Fall like rapids and cataracts
Or crash like waves
On the shore
Like climbing a mountain
Sun beating down
And sweat on the brow
Trickling
Drop by drop[
Opening out gently
Like a flower
Raga is the goddess
Who takes the one
Who sings
And the one who listens
To that unseen
Called and wondered about
As God.
*****

Organized Mess....

... i.e. OM


Links and linking on my blog have always provided scope for a lot of contemplation. Especially when all the links got wiped out once by chance, I spent two hours, putting them back. But this time around, I spent quite some time on each link, as I put them on the screen. Some old ones may have gone and some new ones have been added. If anything has gone, it is only because of its relevance or otherwise to this site and if there are some you may find irrelevant that are still here, they may probably be due to some personal sentiments I may have to those sites!
I have to speak about this first link called Organized Mess, which I successfully managed to link it now. It was a treasure of a blog which I unearthed when I went into a friend's blog called Smitebite.
But I was not able to link it for a long time properly, but let it stay, all the time wondering why. Today, when I checked the url, I found it was fullempty.blogspot.com and not fullyempty as I had wrongly typed it. It took me nearly a month to find that out - such is the power of Maya which can hide my vision with even a small letter such as this!
I have now stopped wondering who this Organized Mess is, 'cos, the abbreviation of the blogsite reads OM.
I am travelling to Mumbai for a meditation camp and from there I am going to the United States for 45 days. My contemplations here will sure continue....

Travel...

....meditations

There are a lot of things happening as I am getting ready to be in the United States at the best of times - when the snow-covered and other parts of the continent jubilantly celebrate Christmas and New Year.
But as work home also remains multi-pronged and hectic, I chose to take some time off amid a gathering of what I thought was a boring group of speakers lined up by the dozen.
On my worksheet, I let my thoughts flow out as verses, rather than complain at my predicament and here they are:

Liberation

On my car
Were many leaves
From the neem tree above
There were thousands of them
That fell on the soil
Back in bondage with the Earth
But those few leaves
On the windshield, beneath the wiper
Flew away one by one
As the car went rolling.
Liberation for the moment.

Boredom Wisdom

When I sat listening to
A gang of boring speakers
I was first irritated
But then I looked through
And saw the light within
Immediately I was back to myself
Any boring situation is, I thought
Filled with the presence divine
That pushes me to myself
Experiencing Me the Most.


Bouquet

When I see a bunch of flowers
Arranged on a bouquet
That lights up the dais
My mind becomes them
Blooms and ferns
For the thing that thinks, "I"
Is nothing but my mind
And my mind does take the
Form of all that I see
So what I see is Me.
Tat Twam Asi.

A real life drama

....and divine help

I have always spoken about the power of Mantras. Well, today there was a drama in real life that unveiled to me the power chanting, in the most threatening crises. This morning began with meditation before the energised crystal at the Akshara Foundations in Chennai. I offered to drop two volunteers Santosh and Priya from Nungambakkam to Chennai Central to take their train at 7 a.m. to Mumbai.
The scheduled time for departure from the Centre was 5.30 a.m., but we managed to load the heavy luggage into my Maruti 800 which I have bought second hand and began driving barely three weeks ago.
Santosh started with "Jai Swamiji!" And we needed all the meditation possible for Chennai roads were flooded following the incessant rains last night. As I began driving out with my usual mantra, "Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Aksharaya Swahaha," the vehicle came to a grinding halt barely a few feet away. And again, pulled the choke, put it on first gear, as the engine revved back to life. Nungambakkam High Road was like a river in spate. Myself on the wheels, with two more people and 140 kgs of luggage, without a next word of speech we began chanting the Gayatri Mantra together and aloud in the car, behind the closed windows and the AC switched off as it would draw more energy if on.
It continued - stop and start, sometimes with the facility to go on the third and fourth gear also. At a spot on Poonamalee High Road, the traffic came to a halt as cars ahead were half submerged and floating. 10 minutes to go for the train and the traffic cop wasn't bothered and asked us to divert. Gayatri Mantra was going on as I turned into another water-logged road and splashed my way near Central Station exactly on time for the train. But information over mobile phone told us that the train was delayed. As we wheeled in to the bus bay, Santosh suggested that I enter Wall Tax Road near the Central Station and even as I was protesting that it's impossible, we moved left into that road. The vehicle stopped and water was streaming in through the windows. It was a flood inside when Santosh opened the door. He got behind and pushed and revved it up to the first gear and we neatly wheeled on to the cement floor in front of the station.
It was a victory of sorts as we hugged each other in joy at having made it. It is a different story that they returned four hours later as the trains were cancelled.
It was after that the drama began. I was alone - probably the only woman on the road, driving a car through the floods. Stopped and started and moving along, chanting and in meditation. At Millers Road, an ambulance and a bus that moved close by sent waves of water into the car that almost covered the seat. Can the engine take it. It stopped. Totally. I could have gone further only if I had oars. Within the four closed windows, I cried out aloud and prayed to my Guru Swami Akshara to come for help. His pictures are stuck in on the glass before the two front seats. It was a total cry, surrender and sharanagathi. I was helpless.
And from nowhere, the car moved in the water on the first gear. I was trying to shake the steering wheel left and right to break the flow of water and got close to a petrol bunk as the fuel touched end. But the bunk was flooded, closed and cordoned off. I tried moving further into a parking lot of a shopping complex.
A lorry and bus that whizzed past, destabilised my car with waves of water. Twice I tried going up on the first gear and twice my car drew back - two right wheels down and the left two wheels up on the slope. A total prayer the third time and my car was up on the parking lot. A man who was watching this drama said, "Madam, this is not an ordinary car." Another said, "This must have a foreign engine, not Indian!" But I know it was chanting that did it.
The rest of the day was completed with a bus ride back home, a bike ride across 100-feet road at Koyambedu which looked like a piece of the Bay of Bengal to hand over the key to my mechanic who later drove the car to his shed.
Then I went for quiet hours of meditation at the Akshara Foundations as the storm raged all around.
Mananath Thrayate Iti Mantraha: I realised the truth of these words. When my mind could have been bogged down by fear and depression, chanting of the mantras helped my mind stay tuned to the divine and allowed the grace to flow and take me through.

Dharma....

...and Adharma

Morality, as the dictionary describes is a discrimination between the good and the bad. In our ancient parlance it is the difference between dharma and adharma. But even from the point of view of the words both in English and Sanskrit - Adharma contains Dharma and Immoral contains Moral.
But it is a very very thin line to draw. Killing may be immoral for some, but it is a profession for another. Extra-marital relationships can be considered immoral in some countries, but there are many societies and civilisations where it is considered good cultural practice and service.
In my deep contemplation of the Ramayana or the Mahabharatha, I discovered that the confluence of the good and the bad is a necessary process for evolution.
There is no Ramayana without Ravana abducting Sita. Rama's fight with Ravana to establish Dharma is one such example of such a confluence - when two mighty energies meet, a positive and a negative force, there is a big spark created which ushers in a change in the environment.
Similarly, in the Mahabharatha, there is no scope for the expression of the Pandavas, representing the good forces, without Duryodana and his group representing the evil forces.
But just as the Sun supports all, good or bad, the wind blows for all good or bad, the rain visits evenly the high and the low terrains, space is present everywhere and does not denies itself for the bad - so there is a zone within that is the same in the good and the bad, the moral and the immoral - transcending all polarities. Done with the support of that presence within, in tune with it, in a state of Yoga, an act may be considered good or bad, moral or immoral by the society - but for the doer of such an act and thinker of such a thought or speaker of a certain word, it is the best that can happen at that particular moment of infinity.

Om Shantih...

....Shantih Shantihi

Robbie is back with his pleasant requests and I'm really happy about it. This time the topic is on Peace. Now at midnight, I'm going to churn the great ocean of Consciousness with the ladle of my mind and dive deep down to pick up some pearls that are contained in the three words Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi.

At the end of any excitement, at the end of any disturbance - all have to return to this state called peace. Peace after anger, peace after hatred, peace after war, peace after disturbance -peace is that space that happens between two events, a time to rest and gather oneself with sufficient quietitude, just like the neuter gear in the car to which we have to switch back to, between the four or five gears with fluctuating speeds.

Peace is the fundamental requirement for an individual or society to progress. Peace is the fundamental need for a mind to make its journey towards enlightenment. Peace is a necessity for meditation. It is not the ultimate goal and end result of meditation as people commonly thing. It is a by product, a side effect.

A person with peace of mind will be totally available to the work to be done at the moment. Otherwise he will be in pieces of mind with his thoughts shattered and scattered in the worries of the past and expectations and dreams of the future.

Total peace of mind happens to the one who lives in the present moment. Caught in a traffic jam. Be there totally instead of cribbing about the wastage of gas in an idling car. Sick and tired. Be there in that situation rather than worrying about the ones whom we think were the possible causes. Unable to sleep. Be there and watch the inability to sleep. In that silent watching of all situations, there is peace and when peace happens, progress happens as a result.

Moving to the next step is possible only if I am stably available in the previous step, quietly leave one foot to the next, holding the other in the previous step, grounding myself in the next and taking the other foot up. Peace is important for even an act as simple as walking. Just imagine walking with a mind lost in some disturbing event. Even a non-existent pit can make one fall! Peace is balance. Peace is living in Yoga, union with the cosmos.

Sounds have power to bring the mind to a state of peace when there is agitation. Mantras are the essence of powerful sounds. In the event of an agitation, disturbance or calamity when peace is the first casualty - chanting of the most powerful mantra Om Shantih Shanthih Shantihi will help immediate realignment and fine-tuning of the disturbing vibrations. If in doubt, try it out.

*****

Photo

By Santosh

Without being really computer savvy, I've managed to blog for seven months now, thanks to the help that has come on and off, in some way or the other, right from the word go.
It has always been my wish to upload my photo and this time, computer wizard, student, volunteer at Akshara Foundations and blogger, Santosh helped me to host this pic.

It couldn't be a better choice, than this picture taken recently at a coffee shop, with an instrument I do not know to play.

Dhyanam...

Meditation...Zen

Silence and solitude is what surrounds me, most often these days and I am not complaining about it. I am not searching for some company to be with, some people to talk and engage in conversation. I let the Silence be. Revelling in this silence, I find that the personal space around me is ever increasing - at home, in office, on the road or wherever I may go. It is a Grace that is present and makes its presence felt, the more I make myself open to it.
I am able to experience the whole Universe as an enormous presence, with myself as the fulcrum.When I say, "Myself," I mean the whole Earth, the planets and stars and the millions of galaxies in infinite space.
And in this Silence, there are neither enemies nor friends. Every individual, creature and thing are just like my own hands and feet, head and body - that help me in whatever I wish to do. In this silent mind, if I am interrupted by someone in the midst of a conversation, it is no longer an interruption, but a signal to me, coming from that person that this is not the right time to speak.
And this Silence is power, boundless. It is like a whirlpool which drags me in deeper and deeper into its eddy. Like the bog or quicksand that is just eager to keep me enveloped in its expansive fold.
And in this Silence, Dhyanam happens. My being is Meditation. I am Zen.

Yoga...

Yogakshemam Vahamyaham

Yoga - the magic word that is working wonders around the world. Sri Aurobindo said, "All Life is Yoga." Having practised Pranayama and Hatha Yoga Asanas on and off for five years now, I am really sinking into what Yoga actually does. Though learning it is usually done for health benefits, actually Pranayama and Hatha Yoga has helped me to unite with the cosmic life force that is within and without.
It is not even helping me to unite, but make me experience the Union that already exists the oneness. A little deep breathing continuously, my breath becomes less deep and I realise that there is no going in and coming out of the breath, the air outside and the air within are one and the same.
In Dhyanam - meditation, the experience is the same. When the mind quietly settles down, I experience that the thoughts outside and the thoughts within are the same. In fact, there is nothing outside or within. The bodies float like boats in a common ocean of the mind.
Hatha Yoga - While practising Surya Namaskar, I realised that it is not to some Sun outside of me - but a Namaskar to the presence of the light within. Even after completing the Asanas, I just have to think of an Asana at anytime throughout the day and I find that my mind attains that total cosmic unity. This is the balance that allow me to go through my day, as if I was absent and everything happens....

Sanskar...

Culture

It's controversy time in Chennai where I stay. I was not able to think of something to write. I asked my colleague Vani Doraisamy to tell me a topic to write about. After a moment's thought came the reply - write about the concept of culture which is changing in the light of moral policing and authoritative dictations. The Vice-Chancellor of the prestigious technical Anna University rules that women should not were sleeveless and short tops, no jeans and T-shirts as it will divert the attention of the boys! And we all come from the land of Gargis and Maitreyis who were in those days dressed like the men, in a waistcloth like a dhoti and an upper cloth over the shoulders like an Angavastram.
There is a reputed Tamil daily which sneaks into the bar of a star hotel and clicks pictures of women drinking and publishes it with a caption - Is this Liberation?
In the melee - all and sundry come up with advice on protecting our culture.
I really wish to speak about what true liberation is. In a world of changing realities, hemlines and sleevelines are bound to rise or fall or even disappear. True liberation lies in the mind where the individual is not bound by knots of thoughts tied around his tiny person either by himself, or his family or his society. A mind with neither fear nor favour. A mind that allows the light within to show the way, rather than wait for a torchlight. A mind without bounds, encompassing all. a mind that knows its real self! And I pray as did Rabindranath Tagore - Into that heaven of Freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
*****

A silent mind...

...is the divine's workshop

We have always heard this proverb, "An idle mind is a devil's workshop." I put a couple of other titles on this posts and erased them all to write about the Silent Mind where the divine settles down to do its work through our body and mind.
Though remaining idle and remaining silent seem apparently the same, there is a vast space of difference between the two states of being. An idling engine is switched on, neither taking off, nor switching off. It is noisily asserting its little self, to no avail.
In a silent mind, there are no thoughts fluttering here and there. There Saraswati will express as wisdom, technological and artistic capabilities. When she takes a break, Lakshmi will express as the eternal giver of wealth, love and happiness. Parvathi or Shakthi also sends forth her power to fulfill the desires.
But in the beginning it is Silence. Through the process it is Silence and at the end of it all too it is Silence. Silence is The Way.
Swahilya

I am

...the same

Some years ago,
They said I was born
The saying, began then
They said I was dark and thin
Some said I was cute
Some said I had eyes like a cow.

At school, they said I was in kindergarden
Then they said I was promoted
From Class to Class.

By then I began to say
I am studying in school
I am studying in college
I am working at office
I have a family and friends
I have ideas and emotions
I have pain
I feel

Since then I wished to get at
something or the other
Reach for some goal or the other
When I reached them
It did not make a difference

Now my latest desire
Is for liberation, enlightenment, moksha
To be one with God and become It
I have a feeling that even when I get that
There will be no difference.

Others will call it Enlightenment
But I know, it is all the same.

*****

Change...

...and permanence

If there is something that is permanent in this existence of names and forms, that is change. Moment to moment, this change happens. Cells are born, cells die, humans are born and are dead, the sky changes colours, the leaves spring and drop from trees, flowers bloom and wither, thoughts come and go, rivers flow...
There is no moment of stillness in the Universe, yet they are active in a vast screen of stillness like moving images on a white screen in a motion picture. And so you must have seen the change in the name of the blog too - from Aham to Aksharoham.
A day full of contemplation on the unity of the I that is Aham with the Indestructible and formless Guru within has brought about this symbolic change in the name. There is still a long way to go when the name and form disappears. Then there will be nothing to blog about! So, till then I'm happy blogging as Aksharoham.
**********

Inaction....

In Action

That was a long break for me. It began with a meditation camp by my Guru, Swami Akshara on the Sthitha Pragnya, described by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.
The days following the camp were spent in quiet contemplation and meditation. I gave expression to my new-found interest in painting and discovered the total silence of mind that painting a picture can take me to. When I paint Shiva, in those moments, I am Shiva. I am what I paint. I have also revived my Sanskrit sessions, beginning from grammar. One discovery I made was that during my dance, karate, Sanskrit classes or with music and painting is, my mind stops. It is like an experience of deep sleep. Only when the sessions are over, I remember who I am and all the other memories associated with me as an individual.
All this time, I was wondering what the sages used to mean when they said, "God descended into them." Yesterday, I had the experience, with the Grace of my Guru. I was at the meditation centre - suddenly withdrawn quietly in meditation. I felt the movement of energy through my being, till the region of my heart. They became moments of intense inexplicable prayer which made me sit erect and head that began to bend forward gently fell on the book of the story of Andal and the Divine Alwars on the table in front of me. I realised that something beyond my control was happening and let go. Soon the head that bent forward, raised slowly - just as a bamboo bends and straightens with the wind. This time, it was filled with some power and energy and the head that straightened up arched backward.
During this whole process which I later realised, lasted for over an hour - I was able to hear the people around me and was aware of the movements. But, there was no way I could act or respond. After a while, even when I opened my eyes, I could see people and things, but my eyes were non-functional in terms of looking around and responding.
Soon I was smoothly released from the grip of the inner silence and power. It was only then I could get up, look around, smile. Still, it took a while to be able to speak.
I have only my Silence to offer as Gratitude to that experience of Silence that the Divine bestowed on me.

*****

Breathe in...

and Breathe Out

It's six months since blogging began with my first post describing Aham, on a similar night shift as this. Just went on a flash back, scrolling what I had written. The initial posts, mainly poems, with zero comments. Then some poems and prose with one comment from some known person. More posts focussing on spirituality with some (almost one!) regulars like Hari telling me often to keep it up and not lose heart. Now the trickle has become a constant flow.
Now, I am all alone on a Sunday night. It is 1 p.m. here. In the long corridor of the Reporting Section, all the cubicles are empty. The only noise is coming from my computer's keyboard. When the keyboard stops, I can hear the clock tick. The silence outside pushes me to a deeper silence within. This reminds me of a saying outside the St. Mathias Church, I read on my way to office tonight - If you want to hear the voice of God, you have to reduce the volume of the world.
I am experiencing now that this Silence, is a being. It is a part of myself and has a boundless existence. The Hindu has been a Tapo Bhoomi for me. It is in this same computer through which I have typed my numerous assignments, special stories and interviews that have taught me Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Gnana Yoga or just to be in the divine silence.
When I began this post, I was wondering what to write. Now I have to stop the flow. It seems endless. I realise there is no limit to expression. No end to words, spoken or written. No end to the work to be done. Time to draw myself within and just breathe in and breathe out. All the doubts and questions on the board of the mind are wiped out by the self-absorbing eraser of consciousness just as the trail of white gas let out on the blue sky by the jet plane, thickens like a garland of jasmines and thins out and gets erased on its own.
*****

Gyan in action

Car Driving and some Wisdom

Ever since I knew what is meditation, a very beautiful phenomenon has been happening when I just take a break from the thick of some activity. It was two years ago at a swimming pool on an afternoon when I was the only person who had the luxury of the whole pool. After a few rounds of swimming, I stood still in the water. From nowhere, there was so much perspiration happening. This thought came that even in life, when I am engaged in some activity and always on the move, the mind is ever afresh, alive and active. But the moment, I settle down at some point, thinking, "This is it, and there's nothing more," stagnation sets in.
Once while sweeping the floor, I was chasing quite a few dust bunnies to collect them in the dust pan. I wondered that it is the same with the mind too. It is like a little house surrounding the immediate physical body which has to be constantly swept, mopped and kept clean with prayer, meditation and pure thoughts of love for others. Lest dust bunnies in the form of thoughts that disturb, halt or impair the progress of evolution will collect in large numbers and the cleaning at that point may get very difficult.
For the past few days, I am refreshing my car driving lessons and it was gyan time again (not while driving, but after it was over and I was back home!). Just as it would be so ridiculous for one to theoretically learn driving, turn the steering left, press the clutch, change the gear, press the accelerator....rather than practically learn by driving a car - meditation in theory, happening all in the mind within closed eyes, seated in a corner of the room is of no avail unless applied in the 24/7 schedule of interaction with ourself and the society around.
Just as one practises driving in a few roads and masters the art of driving on roads anywhere in the world, the art of withdrawing oneself into the depths of silence, if practised for a few hours in life, comes as a lifelong knowledge in applying it to all situations in life and be aware of success or failure.
*****

Disaster Management

What to do when Disaster Strikes?

After the tsunami struck Chennai and rocked the shores of many countries in the east, there have been many seminars and workshops organised by the Government, NGOs and Colleges and Universities.
Speakers will show with powerpoint presentations about what has to be done when a disaster strikes, how the public machinery should be geared, supply of relief measures and all post-disaster activity planning.
What hit me was none of the speakers have ever thought of what to do to manage themselves in the event of calamities. What has one got to do? You may ask. Meditation is the answer. It cannot happen at the moment of crisis. The training and practise has to begin now. We do not have control over a calamity - tsunami will strike when it pleases, mountains will slide when they wish, rains will pour according to their desire and droughts and floods may happen when nature wills. Anything can happen. The preparedness is not a question of physical preparation, but of the mind.
A silent mind, performs the best during a calamity. On several occasions, I have experienced being deep in meditation in the midst of a panicky crowd can calm down the total mind in the place and make everyone act with awareness. A positive frame of mind can turn a potential tragedy into one of happiness and joy.
So what does one do in the face of calamities. Silence, prayer, chanting, breathing in and out deeply and meditation. Whatever happens after that is the best.
*****

Mind full of...

....things to do

The last few days are a real challenge to applying my spirituality in practice. With a mind loaded with things to do and people to meet, work at office and commitment to my own silent hours at home, I am discovering the importance of living in this world with feet firmly on the ground when the mind pulls upward, ready to get lost in a world of meditation and contemplation.
Simple tasks like piled up telephone bills to be submitted for reimbursement at office, meeting people and coming up with stories (I mean journalistic articles!) for the newspaper, getting all my tax statements in order to be submitted to the Chartered Accountant for filing of Income Tax Returns, applying for relevant documents to get my name and address changed in my passport (planning a trip to the US, Chicago, in December), worrying about the last date to give my vehicle for servicing, thinking about how and where to pay my road tax, changing my gas connection from one agency to another and providing the right reasons and documents...
Where does spirituality come in all this? Well, I observe that these are jobs to be done, although the reason for birth on earth is to look within and realise the self. These are the intricate paths the divine has offered me - to meet the notary steno typist, to meet the staff at the passport enquiry counter, to meet the chartered accountant, to meet the cop on the road when he is agitated in the midst of a traffic hold-up, to meet the man who comes to take an electricity meter reading, to meet the man where I stop by to ask for directions...get my work done, remain in meditation all the while and hope for the best to happen, that there will come some day when I will be out of this trap of unending worldly demands and commitments!
*****

Cosmic Intelligence

Akasha Gnanam

We are not intelligent. But we live in intelligence. Just as fish lives in water and we live in air, the head that has moved from the horizontal position of the animal to the vertical position of the human has touched the zone of intelligence in the cosmos and that's where we tap it for our use in understanding ourself, surroundings and the Universe. It is a reservoir of knowledge and our mind acts as a transponder to receive the signals, process it and beam it back as thoughts, words and action.
The cosmic intelligence is constantly at work and we will be able to reflect that intelligence in our day to day life if we quiten down our individual movements by concentration, contemplation and meditation and make our body and mind a good transmitter. The sound signals are very much in the atmosphere. All that ought to be done is to fine tune the radio and there is an uninterrupted flow of music. The only difference between a radio station and cosmic station is that, in a radio station, there is a fixed time for beaming the programme, but in the cosmos, intelligence is at work always.
A simple example in my everyday life: The house I stay often over a period of time gets so messy when all the things that ought to be within shelves and cupboards lie without and neatness and order give way to chaos. There were times when I use to go into nerve racking experiences trying to clean up. But during the course of time, I realised that there is a natural phenomenon of upheavel and calmness that happens in the house. These days, I just sit quietly in meditation for a long period of time and from nowhere in a matter of an hour I become equipped to get my house back into shape. In the process of meditation, what has happened is that I have given up my worries about cleaning, the obstructing thought about will I be able to make it. My mind and body is just filled with the pure energy and that takes care of all the work to be done.
This is true for any work - in the lab, in the playground, in the classroom - meditation in quietitude and the best of the cosmic intelligence manifests through thought, speech and action or in silence.
*****

Free Will

....and Determinism

After speaking the Bhagavad Gita on the battlefield and outlining what are the do's and dont's of intelligent living, he says, 'Yathechasi Tatha Kuru,' meaning, 'I have told you everything. Now you can do what you like and act as you please.'

We have the freedom of will to think and rise high. The will is a gift of the intellect that can act as a monitor to guide us in the right path of life. It can take care of the human individual, protecting him or her from pitfalls and giving the wisdom to learn from mistakes.

Of course, the principle of determinism is also at work. Every humanbeing is born with a bank balance. Just as the seed contains the whole blueprint of the tree, what type of flowers, how tall it will grow, how long it will live, the human life and destiny is governed by Karma, Prarabhdha Karma, Sanchitha Karma and Agami Karma. Prarabha is the profit and loss statement that one inherits at birth. Sanchitha is all the actions performed from the time of birth and Agami is the collective of Prarabhdha and Sanchitha that will manifest in the future.

Let me first clear some misconceptions about the word Karma. It simply means Action. Anything done with the thought, words and physical action creates an impression on the mind. The impact can be beneficial if it is good - meaning if it helps to turn the senses inward. The impact can cause harm if it is bad - again, if the senses are thrown outward and lost in the world of action. Anything that helps the mind to become more focussed and stable is good karma and anything that rattles the mind, disturbs it and lose balance is bad Karma.

With the help of free will, we can change the course of our life from the boring, mundane or ordinary to achieve nobility and greatness. For instance, I can use my free will to practise Pranayama, Hatha Yoga and Meditation and regulate my diet - but I cannot say that I will not get any disease. We have the free will to determine our life, but are also bound to accept what life gives us. Depending on its energy, a river has the power to determine its course of flow. The more the energy, or rather the realisation of the presence of the power within, our capacity to determine situations increases. But ultimately, the joy of living lies not in determining, but surrendering to the flow and just remain a witness.

*****