....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!
*****
24 comments:
Hi Swahilya,
Ha Ha. Now you sound more like me, a person struggling to keep afloat in a Buckingham canal like mess created by worldly life.
But the difference between enlightened Swahilya and Hari is that she is able to meditate and see humour even in this mess but I am fail in that aspect. You are able to distance yourself from the mess and analyse it to its elements but I am not.
But you definitely give me a direction to move. Thanks.
Swahilya,
I think u are a true Karma yogi as well. I pray to the Great One to give me a state such as yours one day. Nice post.
Not trying to play devil's advocate, but who decides that its a trap and who faithfully follows the decision? Easier said than done in my case.
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 Don't we all...*sigh*
@Hari, Kasthuri, Anonymous and Agnibarathi: Today, I have completed my passport namechange work and going through the process I realised the importance of meditation. When we approach our work in a state of meditation, the mind is pushed to a higher plane of existence. Just as the feet do not need special attention to find its way on the ground, the tasks that have to be executed automatically happen in the most comfortable manner. Soon I will get the name changed in my passport as Swahilya Balasubramanian Krishnan - and what a good present on Gokulashtami to get Krishnan as my surname!
Swahilya
Happy Krishna Jayanthi
Thank You Ganesh. Today I celebrated Krishna Jayanthi in the most beautiful way. Didn't Krishna say, 'Patram Pushpam Phalam Thoyam Yo Me Bhaktya Prayachathi' A curd vendor who frequents my house sold a cup of curd and just as I thought, she said, make it as an offering to Krishna and take it as prasadam. I shared this prasadam sweetened with sugar with two of my neighbours and it really felt Divyam!
Hey Swahilya...Beautiful name :)
What does this name mean..first time in u r Blog..Welcome to US..
Kavya
whoami: Thanks for that revelation about your earlier condition of anonymity! Yes. In the beginning everything was meditation. We have now forgotten and going back to that state!
@Kavya: Thanks for being here. Guess you came from Padmasaniji's blog. Swahilya is from Swaha - the feminine Shakti of Agni. She is invoked during Ashwamedha Yagnyas and her nature is to absorb negativities and purify. It was given to me by my Guru - Swami Akshara. I have a post about my name(s) in the Archives April or May called 'It's all in a name'.
very true indeed, swahilya ..
"No matter what, One should always plead and pray god to let our lives to be directed in a way so that we get closer to him instead of anything else"..
If we sincerely do , i think , gradually we will see a change happening . it depends upon our efforts put in..as one of my friends said..if we put in 50% effort , we will eventually end up getting only 50% closer to him..So , let us all try to stay in connection with him whenver possible in the midst of all the worldly activities and also let us pray him for letting us to do good karma..
krishna (such a godly name) your idea of pleading and praying makes god look like a arrogant man. You are such a male chavunist that you describe god as masculine gender.
Your effort only will make you a stronger ego. Is there 'anything else' present in this world other than 'him' ? If anything exists then you have reduced 'him' to a defined and defiled size and thats the biggest bad karma you can ever think of. Krishna your ignorance
will amaze and amuze even God...
wow swahilya wonderful meaning.
So u into spirutuality.. I went through some of u r blogs and its quiet interesting and I learnt a lot...
I find it too much for myself...
Kavya
@Krishna: Karma is neither good nor bad. Silence is the Way.
@Saintly Sinner: God is neither there, nor is he arrogant, nor is he man, nor is she woman, nor is that It. It is not a thing, but it is present in everything and express through everything. That which does not express at all is also God.
@Kavya. Thanks. Do keep in touch.
@ swahilya
by good karma , i meant the karma that'll let us develop bhakthi or the karma that will let us get closer to the god..
all other things are bad karma ,karma that'll keep us conditioned..
simply put.."Once u start developing bhakthi towards god , u'll get all the
jnana and karma required to reach him "..
Without bhakthi u can never perform meditation for the intended purpose..The whole purpose of meditation is to reach god..
I shuould also mention here that A person who does a karma like killing animals/meat (bad karma) cannot develop the devotion for god till he stops and repents for his misdeeds
Again,One can find no distinction in karma only after reaching god..when we are conditioned , we do karma that'll take us closer to the Lotus Feet (good karma). Meditation and all other jnana is for the purpose of reaching god (transcendental bliss) and not just to see silence everywhere..
Even the greatest of the Maayavaadins (impersonalist) , sri Sankarachaarya, expounded all this in his most famous work "bhaja govindam"..
FINAL NOTE: If there are any mistakes in my understanding it is because of my fault and all the fruitful one are the LORDS..
@saintly sinner..
The differentiation of gender will dissapear when one sees the Sakthi as just another manifestation of the Parama Purusha..Please try 2 find unity in diversity..
"Is there 'anything else' present in this world other than 'him'"
if that is true in its fullest sense , y dont people worship the devils?? god is manifest everywhere but the karma makes devils out of gods..so , only the god (in his truest form with the best qualities,) can be worshipped so that an average person can get back to him..Even a slightest bit of conditioning will entrap the devotee..
Hmm... Krishna:
We are already in God, can't get closer! Just have to find out. Silence is the God one is searching and to find that God, I have to remain in Silence. There's no other way...
swahilya..
just curious.."can u define wat is silence"? Is it the same as the silence that we know.. how silent can we get by meditating?? and how often can we meditate???
of course , meditation does help..but wats more important is devotion ..without devotion the very meaning of meditation is lost..and as i said,,the benefits of the meditation depends upon the mind set of the person meditating..such person may as well die ( due to the shortness of age of the people in Kali yuga) failing in his attempt to reach that Silence..so, another rebirth..is this all necessary?? Mediattion is best done by people in the other Yugas like Tretha Yuga..Meditation , even though is likely to get one closer to that silence, it is not recommended in Kali yuga for all people
Acc to the Smruthis ,the simple way to reach the Silence is thru bhakthi..
Meditation can only be an helper process to that..
Also, The lives of many notable saints and philosophers emphasize this..
Adi Snakara, Sri Ramanuja, SRi Chaithanya , Sri Purandaradasa, Sri Bhadrachala Ramadasa, Sri Tyagarja et al reached the silence not by following strict meditation but thru bhakthi..
essentially, the point is ,
Devotion towards Suguna brahman is a much easier way to reach the brahmans abode than by meditating on Nirguna Brahman...
Krishna: Silence cannot be explained. Then it ceases to be silence. It becomes sound. It is like trying to explain light to a person who cannot see from birth or trying to explain the taste of sugar to one who has not tasted it. But when I say silence, it is that state of mind where thoughts come and go but do not cause any disturbance by anchoring like clouds drifting on a clear sky.
You are right about devotion. Meditation is not something to do, but it is the state of mind that is a result of karma, bhakti and gnana.
nice explanation 4 silence..:)
oh yeah..definitely and more importantly by becomming a true devotee thru bhakthi , one can easily avoid doing bad karma and as a result , he will automatically get the "jnana" about the true infinite "JNANA" and slowly his thoughts and actions are always directed towards the Supreme Lord (Brahman) and when he sees him everywhere and in all his actions , he is essentially meditating by focusing on the Lord ( Brahman). Hence , without much ado , he gets closer to the SILENCE or the infinite formless or attributeless Supreme Brahman (Narayana)..
SRI KRISHNAARPANAM
Krishna: Tatastu.
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