Bhavin Dave

Author's posts

Leaf in the Wind

Link to Original Document Most people live life like a leaf. A leaf in the wind. Blown in one direction to another. Hither and tither The debate some people have is there a free will or is it just all predetermined. Does the leaf have a free will? Now a leaf that blows towards favorable …

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Mimetic desire

Link to Original Document Mime means to copy. So mimetic desire, is a copied desire. Something that psychologists and scientists believe is that the desire for something is not within us but comes from outside influence and we copy it….or emulate it Well, I do like the superman show…and I would love to punch my …

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Yoga – in a nut shell. Once again

Link to Original Document I am not talking of the asana or exercise I am not talking about the pseudo meditation The pseudo meditation has its role but it pales compared to the true path of yoga I would suggest not to read any more beyond this. Very likely you will get depressed I was …

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Practical Philosophy

Link to Original Document There is a swami Muktananda which is giving lectures. I happened to see his video in my WhatsApp school friends group posting Now there are a million people who call themselves muktananda So it would be very difficult to find them by an online search The gist of his dialogue was …

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How difficult is yoga?

Link to Original Document Here I use the word Yoga as being United with God or pure consciousness. Yoga means United. So that Yoga is very difficult. And very easy. It depends on purity. What is purity? One simple definition that I have is the desire / love for God and God alone AND not …

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Change yourself

Link to Original Document Today in The Atlantic Arthur Brooks wrote a nice article about anxiety. Not really medical but he did a good job He pointed out to a research by Henry Murray in the late 1950’s. They challenged the beliefs of volunteers and although it was “civil” the results in some cases were …

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Maha Shiv ratri

Link to Original Document Thursday is Maha Shiv ratri. March 11 2020 It falls on the night before New moon in the month of Magha There are many stories on the story behind it. I have written it elsewhere and you can easily do a search on it on the web. In Sanskrit – maha …

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Selfless prayer for yourself!

Link to Original Document It seems like a paradox does it not? But when we pray to God, we pray with a hidden agenda. And because of our superior intelligence, we know the solution better than God and tell him exactly what we want! Before you shrug it off, let me explain. Let’s say you …

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Organizational (mis)leaders

Link to Original Document I know my blog is about Spirituality. However, nothing I say will ever lead me to being a Guru or having an organization or being part of a section, cult etc I am very much against most religious organizations. (There are a few organizations which are am exception )Why am I …

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Make your self happy!

Link to Original Document So, here is the secret! There is a big difference between perceived happiness and true happiness We came to earth. With a set of desires. Wants and all our life we chase it. Struggle for it ! Face disappoint and finally get victory. It lasts a while and then taken away! …

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When will I have true awakening?

Link to Original Document First finish your obligations! If you look at Lahiri Mahasaya or Syam Charan he was trying to go to higher levels but could not. He buried himself in sand and mediated as a child but could not go much further. He was forced to work at the railway and when that …

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Rumi

Link to Original Document The wine we really drink is our blood Our bodies ferment in these barrels. We give everything for a glass of this We give our minds for a sip. 🕉 🕉 When I am with you, we stay up all night. When you’re not here, I can’t go to sleep Praise …

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The problem with thoughts and food

Link to Original Document Hinduism talks about three Gunas. What are the Gunas? It can be quite complex but it is an analysis of our thoughts and actions. We can divide them into 3 types Sattwa – pure and pious Rajas – I call it the pleasure principle. Wanting to enjoy Tamas – destructive, evil. …

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Following a useless leader

Link to Original Document Many people are hero worshippers. They decide who they want to idolize and then continue to do so, until they find another idol. Most often they follow a hero ( swami, Guru, leader, actor, politician, actress, sports person , etc) and base it on achievement and popularity This is all they …

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Live a million lives in one life

Link to Original Document Life is about experiences. I believe that for liberation, one has to go through a million types of experiences. As you finish them off without regressing or getting fixed on any of them you get liberation. There is nothing more that you will desire – provided you are satisfied Now let’s …

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Does God have a shape?

Link to Original Document Strange question and it will offend many people Just think about it. Vast universe. I am sure there is life elsewhere. Do they all look like humans? Soon enough we will find life soon. It may not look like humans. So if they think there is a God, wont they draw …

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Physics – black hole

Link to Original Document From the RI – a great discussion by Sean Carroll and Jennifer Ouellette I absolutely love their intellectual clarity and ability to dumb it down for a gastroenterologist like me! Three principles have to be conserved No drama – Alice falling in the black hole, does not notice anything unusual Locality …

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Sankalpa

Link to Original Document Hindus use the word sankalpa. Before every religious ceremony, they do sankalpa I have asked many people what is the difference between sankalpa and desire. No one has answered the difference. So let me explain the difference. Desire is, well, desire. You something fun and want it. It really isn’t fun …

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Fear

Link to Original Document Do you think we have made progress – in dealing with fear? If you go back more than 100- 200 years and can imagine life at that time, the hardships they faced were quite daunting No electricity or water. People were at the mercy of forces of nature. Wind, fire, rain …

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Peace

Link to Original Document So what is peace? Depends on the level you are at. For very ordinary people, they experience peace in strains of the world. Such as? They go on a long trip. Come back home and oh this this finally peaceful. Or after hectic day or after an exam is over and …

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Our choices in life

Link to Original Document Humans have a funny attitude. About life. Their problems. Their hardship. And about other people and their success Let’s take a situation of getting married. We get married. Or live together. Except for the legal situation, it is the same. Now when you get married – either arranged marriage if you …

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How much money should a priest or Guru have?

Link to Original Document Let’s start with the current sad state of affairs. Our modern day So called Gurus They have millions upon millions of dollars. They collect money. The unwitting disciple spends a lot of money and it all goes to their personal pocket book – but you can’t label it as their personal …

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How much money should a priest or Guru have?

Link to Original Document Let’s start with the current sad state of affairs. Our modern day So called Gurus They have millions upon millions of dollars. They collect money. The unwitting disciple spends a lot of money and it all goes to their personal pocket book – but you can’t label it as their personal …

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An important point to remember in life!

Link to Original Document Mother ( Aurobindo ) reminds of the right attitude in life And circumstances. We all need to remember it. It is the basis of surrender Here it is He who wants to advance on the path of perfection must never complain about the difficulties on the way, for each is an …

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The flawless mirror

One of Yogananda disciple called Yogananda the flawless mirror. There is a book on it by her What did she mean by it? A Guru reflects our inner consciousness and immediately has the ability to reveal it. Things we do not understand ourselves and things we would not readily accept If we have a tendency …

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Shankaracharya and the initial sannyasis

Link to Original Document Shankaracharya is considered an incarnation of Shiv. His incredible abilities starting at 5 might be a display of it. By the age of 16, and he had reproduced all of the lost scriptures of Santana dharma Historians give us the time frame of Shankaracharya as around 8th century. However, my opinion …

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Shankaracharya and the initial sannyasis

Link to Original Document Shankaracharya is considered an incarnation of Shiv. His incredible abilities starting at 5 might be a display of it. By the age of 16, and he had reproduced all of the lost scriptures of Santana dharma Historians give us the time frame of Shankaracharya as around 8th century. However, my opinion …

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Larry King died yesterday

Link to Original Document You can read up about his life online. And get all the gory details that fancy your interest. I will only discuss life in general * Just the highlights born 1933
* Married 8 times, 5 kids
* 1987 had a acute coronary syndrome, needed 5 vessel bypass. He was a smoker
* Lung …

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An encouraging statement from Yogananda

Link to Original Document If you read God talks with Arjuna there is a statement made by Yogananda It made me sad but it is also an encouraging sign Yogananda taught jyoti mudra and aum technique and hangso methods Now of course it is not entirely explained by him. But a start. So what did …

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(No title)

Samadhi etc [Link to Original Document](craftdocs://open?blockId=919B8D2F-0969-449B-8C5D-D36B701D356B&spaceId=f95c3700-7c49-4242-ea14-6d12270e83e2) I must apologize for saying this all over again. I have written about it before. Just the fundamentals. I am giving the basics – based on what Vivekananda and Yogananda said Pratyahar – turn attention within Dharna- turn attention inside and able to find a spot to focus on …

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Samadhi etc

From My favorite blog writer https://www.craft.do/s/XOTNfHOkFMYsJK

I am not hungry anymore

I am not hungry anymore **I wish. It’s the farthest from the truth ** **We all love to eat. We may eat “sattvic “ food – food that is pure That has been described in Gita. ** **And in yoga texts. – essentially it includes vegetarian diet, milk, butter, but no fish meat eggs or …

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Dattatreya Jayanti

Here is another beauty layout on craft It really makes it appealing https://www.craft.do/s/6OxFqjfry32F6f

Painful life

https://www.craft.do/s/RCxY9L1FCeu4ek I simply love the formatting that can be done in craft app That elegance is missing in WordPress Here is a partially written blog

Thoughts on thoughts

I just love this note writer crafts at craft.do http://www.craft.do https://www.craft.do/s/byeh7SUhEsoWYg Again this is an outside link

All about consciousness – Rumi

https://www.craft.do/s/GemENTe2Uky7bP Click on it at your own risk !😂 A beautiful note pad. Craft – note

Half baked knowledge

**The new age is “****Saakshi bhaav”orwitness attitude.What is it? Just silently observe. Observe your thoughts and emotions! Aurobindo talks about it and there is mention of it in Sankhya yoga ** **In case you were not aware Gita is based on Sankhya yogaThe newer Buddhists technique interpreted the witness attitude in either mindfulness or vipassana …

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Ego check – a story from Autobiography of a Yogi -Ram Gopal

Ego check – a story from Autobiography of a yogi – Ram Gopal We are all very confident and ecstatic about our spiritual Growth. We read a lot and learn a lot. And we know so much about chakras. And we can impress so many people with the information we have gained And oh ! …

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Circumstances in life Or how to change life difficulties

**We often find that those who are pure and want to make spiritual progress face adverse circumstances repeatedly. They are very troublesome. And those who are very materially inclined have a smooth peaceful life. The conclusion we draw is life is very unfair. ** **I see this quite often. And I Agree with them whole …

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Types of meditation

In reality, there is only one meditation. Merging into pure consciousness is the only meditation. It is Samadhi but there is much more to it. Very few reach there. Why? Because they get stuck in all the other types of illusionary meditation or misunderstood meditation **So what happens in true meditation. The mind is dissolved. …

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Antiques

Yogananda Maharaj****talked about antiques. In great detail. He used the word antiquated furniture What did he mean by it? He was referring to souls who have been thinking the same way for thousands of years! Same habit. Same style. With no change whatsoever! **For example – if they were stuck in collecting information , all …

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A smart disciple

One common misconception people have is I am interested in making spiritual progress and hence every Guru will accept me and my work is done. There is nothing further from the truth A true Guru is not interested in disciples. None whatsoever. He only wants a few genuine disciples. Rest of the world, those who …

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Meditation?

In the last a few days, a thought has passed by. Without giving details, how often should one meditate? Yogananda said if you read one hour meditate for 10 hours He also said meditate twice day 8 hours a day Vivekananda and Ramkrishna talked about 24 hours of mediation Yoga sutras imply something similar It …

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A modern story of Ganesh – failure of the mind

In 1995 there was a huge story circulating through out India. Ganesh and his idol is alive and drinks milk https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.thewire.in/article/religion/ganesh-milk-miracle-1995-sangh-parivar/amp Here is one of the link What happened was some devote had milk too the idol. ( Left it on a container near Ganesh idol). And the milk disappeared! The news spread like wild …

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Stupidity

Let us all applaud on the stupidity on the net. What’s app So many profound foolish statements abound Look at this statement No anger means no enemy outside! But there are many times, enemies on outside just create fear, anguish, despair. Enemies – outside? Where is outside when you are in mediation! If you don’t …

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Karma – Shaivism way

Everyone has their own definition. And they use their own logic and add prepositions etc According to Babaji and Yogananda, true karma or satkarma ( pure or good karma ) is ONLY THE KARMA THAT LEADS TO SELF REALISATION! ( refGod talks with Arjuna) Everything else is akarma ( wrong karma ) Your efforts to …

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Klesha

God Patanjali wrote about yoga. He gave the world the fastest way to liberation. It can be as fast as 3 years. However , for that you need to understand and implement exactly what he said Having said that, those ego can explain it – there is maybe one person right now. Since most readers …

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Disciple

We read these great biographies and autobiographies. And we see how wonderful the Guru and the amazing gifts that the disciple got. What we dont see or understand, the tests the Guru had with his disciples. A guru simply will not accept a disciple without appropriate tests. The tests can be vicious and unforgiving. The …

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What a tragedy

Oh what a tragedy! Bound by ego Intellect wayward You see the glitter Run after fake gold A life wasted Oh what a tragedy! Oh what a tragedy! The enlightened hide All in pain sight! Serve them Don’t demand But your ways wrong Oh what a tragedy! Oh what a tragedy! The enlightened won’t say …

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Learn to go within

At the end of the day, all religions talk about going within Meditation – go within Singing hymns , bhajan – it is you be done only after you feel God within you Mantra – a method to focus within and invoke presence of God Prayers – we close eyes , a sign of shutting …

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