Apr 01

Leaf in the Wind

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 direction feels happy and when it blows in an awkward direction, it begins to ponder and gets depressed. Looses interest in life.

So what does this have to do with spirituality?

Lets take another question? Why do things occur in three? Life events, is that I am referring to

Why do I see multiple patients with the same disease and a different disease the next day? It should be random.

Many of Yogananda disciples were depressed during world war 2. When they asked why? Yogananda said they are catching on to the vibrations of the cries of the people in anguish from Europe during world war 2

In the past I have talked about the yugas. Hinduism has recognized a pattern about different time spans in human history. Sat yuga where everyone has the tendency to be pios, Treta yuga where the desire for the world has increased but they maintain spirituality as much as possible, Dwapar yuga where people become crafty in achieving worldly desires and Kali yuga where they will do anything possible and being wicked is the norm

Guess where we are right now?

So what is happening?

The leaf is the individual. The cosmic influences is the wind here. And the leaf not being pure, not anchored to the tree of purity blows in every direction. The goal is to remain anchored to the tree of purity so you are not blown everywhere

For example, lets say there is a cosmic influence of hatred. What happens is that the wind of hatred spreads around everywhere. Immediately everyone has the thoughts of anger and hatred. Each one will respond differently though. Some will resort to gun violence and killing others. Others will just bear resentment and some will actively engage in speeches of hatred (politicians). The same cosmic wave goes around everywhere. Now the leaf anchored on the tree will not be influenced and be so strong that even the cosmic wave around him disappears and there is no hatred with him….or around him ! And that is the sign of reaching purity

So back to the question, is there free choice? And the answer is yes…but only some can see it. Like the leaf. What happens in life? There is an outside vibration in the cosmos. Aurobindo called it by different names. That outside vibration stimulates something in us. Depending on the level of purity and past experience, we immediately respond to it. And then act on it. If there is stability then you can reject the outside influence and remain anchored in the divine. So are we aware of the outside cosmos vibration? Yes but that initial stimulation occurs very deep within. We only realize it when it comes on the surface. Suddenly you get hungry…or need sex….or have a thought of an old friend. You only know it when it comes to the surface. Someone who is stable knows it before it comes to the surface and even sees it in the cosmos. And that is stability. That is known as Stith Pragna, meaning the innermost self is stable and cannot be unsettled by the outside cosomos

So these outside cosmic influences can also make us suddenly depressed. Often we can attribute it to a reason, but we dont know that it was an influence of the cosmos. In order to progress, we have to learn to reject the cosmic vibration first on the surface and then realize the deeper layers and then we realize the deeper layers were nothing but a puppet to the cosmos because it was not anchored in God.

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Mar 26

Mimetic desire

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 wall. I tried it…but my hand did not like it. The orthopedic surgeon loved it. In fact while I was in his office, he called his wife and said, remember that expensive trip to Paris we wanted, we can now afford it !

Just kidding. The idea is…often times we get very easily influenced by outside desires and we want to copy it. You go visit someone, see a beautiful fireplace and we desire it. You go and visit a family and find that they have good a china set…or furniture…or spouse….ok! I will stop there.

What does this have to do with spirituality? A lot. A man is known by the company he keeps. (It should read a person, not man). If you want to make spiritual progress, you want to be surrounded and immersed with spiritual people. Those who are truly interested in God and display all tendencies of the same. And they are nice, calm, collected, forgiving etc. In time your mind will want to be the same way and you will make progress

This is very true. Krishna Bhagwan, said, whatever you see or think at the time of your death, you will go there or become that. So if you see an animal, your pet, your next birth will be as a pet. If you see a human you will want a human body. If you lapse into unconscousness, whatever dream or nightmare you have you will become that.

So in yoga, it is said, a yogi generally passes away fully awake and conscious. He thinks of God and merges in God. Good deeds help us. An advanced yogi is always conscious. Lahiri Mahasay, Prahladbhai, Yukteshwar, Vivekananda, Yogananda, were all fully conscious, sitting in the proper posture. So, we know…whatever they said was true and we should follow them. If there are things you dont agree, that is because you are not developed in the Yoga way yet.

This is a deep secret, the mind has the unique property, getting attracted to whatever it sees. So why not see the divine within you? Thats where you will go. But it takes time. A lot of practice. Practice to behold the light of God at will, both within and outside. To that person, that great Yogi, God is never lost and he can leave the body anyway he chooses

These are statements from the Gita.

The Bhagwad Gita is a great book giving many subtle secrets. Every sentence is a description of Yoga

So, you have to train your mind, to remain immersed in God. Good deeds makes it easier to do it. Meditation, burns and destroys the negativity. Eventually the light of God becomes visible and it is easier to see the light of God – in a dark room, bright room, eyes open or eyes closed. Such divinity is rare.

Oh, in my passion for spirituality, I totally forgot the purpose of the article. The mimetic desire. Copied desire. Copied from seeing things on the outside or seeing other people.

This is what I found on the one of the whats app group. I found it interesting. Enjoy it. Your thoughts?

Have you ever seen children at a party playing with balloons. One child suddenly grabs a red balloon and yells: “This balloon is mine!” Inadvertently, all the children drop their balloons and fight over this red balloon. A very dumbed down example of what René Girard (a French historian and polymath) calls “mimetic desire.”

A lot of our desires don’t emerge from within, but from ‘outside’. We import our most powerful desires from imitating the desires of other people.

In fact, the entire advertising industry is founded on the exploitation of borrowed desire. Human desire is not a linear process, where a person autonomously desires an inherently desirable object. Rather, we desire according to the desire of others. If we are not aware, others influence us on what to desire. And this is amplified on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram which are excellent conduits of mimetic desire.

French thinker Montesquieu, explained it beautifully “If we only wanted to be happy it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, which is almost always difficult, since we think them happier than they are.”

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Mar 24

Yoga – in a nut shell. Once again

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 !

PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER

Yoga – is the art of being United with God / Atma ( pure consciousness)

Everyone consciousness once it is in body it is fixed around the genitals and coccyx. Hence those things are very difficult to overcome.

That fixation keeps us unaware of our true consciousness

Yoga is the art of waking up the sleeping consciousness, so obsessed with bodily pleasures to the sahastrar located in the top of the head When the consciousness is sleeping, we enjoy the body. And that’s all we know. Every action revolves around the body. Talking walking, eating, food, music, travel etc

In order to awaken or go within, one has to slowly reduce the external pull to the body by decreasing activities and thoughts that pull us to the body. Even the thought of talking is an external pull – because you think of someone in this world to talk / communicate. So all Spiritual discussions are an external pull. Hence my policy is never to discuss. If you feel you can benefit, just go and ask an enlightened person. They will not debate you though

When the consciousness is awakened through the grace of a Guru, that is called awakening of the shakti. Like it is said in Gyaneshwari Gita initially when the shakti is awakened it is so hungry, it devours everything internally ! Once it finishes devouring ( I have not mentioned what ) it then begins the internal journey via the royal path!

That royal path is called Sushumna Inside the sushumna are three more layers. Chittagong, Vajra and then brahmanadi. That awakened consciousness has to travel from the bottom to the top in all three layers !

Now this is where the imagination of chakra has to stop. That going up , through the chakra can only occur when Shushumna opens. That is not so easy. When Sushumna opens, breath spontaneously stops. And both nostrils open up equally or alternate In other words, you can’t go within or go to any chakra without the magic of breathing or nostril opening up. So if in doubt, just check – did breathing stop or are both nostrils equally open. Then the experience is closer to the truth

Many times I have used the word spirituality. This word, in Latin means breathing! Spirit means breathing. Hence all yoga involves the art of breathing and mastery of it

How long does it take ? Can be 3 seconds, to 3 minutes or 3 days. However such pure people are rare. Rest of the world will take 3 years or a number in multiple of 3 or 12. It will take many births to get to that beginning I just described though

Now if this comes as a surprise then one has not experienced it and true full awakening is still not there. Now there is a lot lot lot lot more that happens during true awakening. But I have just given a small step.

This true Yoga is rare. The path which I described, Chitra, vajra – is not in the body. No ct or mri can show it. Nor will any mri or even functional MRI show those centers. That’s why I don’t have any respect for all the stupid claims but the pseudo yogi who get to show benefits of mediation using scientific gadgets – eeg, radiation, kirlion lines, mri. Etc.

If you need those gadgets to show or prove that there is yoga – if you have more faith based on those tools, true yoga has fully eluded you. In that case my web page has no role for you. You should merrily continue what you do! I do not seek readers

Why did I write this blog? There are one or two readers who are sincere and this blog can help them assess their progress. But like I said there is much much more. You can read it in Gyanewshwari Gita. Just reminder, forget the word chakra for now, first learn to crawl. First open the doorway

In Devatma shakti Vishnutirthji Maharaj and in Mahayoga Vigyan , the signs that the doorway is open is described here. I will reproduce it here but please do not read it in isolation. Go read the full book

Some Characteristic Symptoms of Awakened Kundalini Some characteristic symptoms of the awakened kundalini are here given below from Mahay oga Vijnana, a treatise on the subject in Hindi by Shri 108 Yoganandji Maharaja, the author’ s revered guru. They are illustrative and by no means exhaustive : —

(a) When throbbing of mooladhar begins, the whole body shakes, involuntary kiimbhak (filling in of the lungs with air) starts beyond control, breath is forcibly exhaled out, without volition deep inhaling and exhaling of breath starts and the body gets uncontrollable, know then that Kundalini has awakened. You then should give up your assertion and sit witnessing what happens. Signs of an Awakened Kundalini

103 (b) When your body begins trembling, hair stand on roots, you laugh or begin to weep without your wishing, your tongue begins to utter deformed sounds, you are filled with fear or see frightening visions, semen passes out, think that the Kundalini Shakti has become active.

(c) When your posture becomes fixed, uddiyan, jalandhar, and moolbandhas comere vinvoluntarily, your tongue erts back or rises up towards the soft palate and the whole body becomes so active that you are unable to sit still, your hands and legs stretch out forcibly you ought to know that the Divine power of the goddess Kundalini has come into action.

(d) When your posture becomes fixed and sight is attracted towards the middle point of eyebrows, the eye balls begin to revolve, you get automatic kewal-kitmbhak, cessation of breath comes with no effort for inhaling or exhaling and the mind becomes vacant, void of all outward knowledge, understand that Mahamaya the first born Shakti, the goddess Kundalini has come into action. (e) When you feelcere bcurrents of Prana rising up your rum within you, automatic repetition of Aum starts and the mind experiences waves after waves of blissful beatitude, think the Universal Mother Kundalini has come into action.

(f) When different kinds of Nad become audible, in your spinal column you experience vibrations, feeling of bodily existence for the time being is lost, in other words you feel as if there is no body, everything looks vacant, your eyelids become closed and openelectric lnot in spite of your efforts, ike currents seem flowing up and down the nerves and you have convulsions, know that Mahamaya Kundalini has come into action.

(g) When with the closing of eyelids your body falls to the ground, or begins to rotate like a grinding stone and breath comes not out, the body squatted on floor crosslegged begins to jump from place to place like a frog, or moves from place to place, or lies down like one dead, hands may not be lifted even if so desired, you feel contraction of nerves, you feel as if your life is passing away, the body undergoes con- 104 vulsions like a dying fish, know that Yogamay a Kundalini has come into action.

D E V A TM A

S H A K TI

(h) When your mind gets influenced spiritually as if some spirit has taken possession of your body and under that influence different posturesper fofyogaareinvoluntarily ormed, without the leastincreas ipain or fatigue and you feel ngly buoyant, and simultaneously strange sort of breathing exercises start, think that the Divine power of Kundalini has come into action.

(i) When no sooner you have sat with eyes closed than in an instant the body begins to show activity of throwing out limbs forcibly, deformed sounds are loudly uttered, your speech begins to utter sounds like those of animals, birds and frogs or of a lion oi like those of jackals, dogs, tigers, fear inspiring and not pleasing to hear, understand that the Great Goddess Kundalini has come into action.

(j) When you feel vibiations of prana at different stations inside your body and feel itsatten tflow wherever you fix your ion and your nerves begin to show easy jerks like jerks of electricity as if passing through them, know that the Goddess Kundalini has come into action.

(k) When all day and night you feel within your body some activity of prana and whenever you concentrate your mind, your body at once begins to shake or begins tossing and your mind remains filled with joy and bliss at all times, even when at call of nature,cur revenduringsleepyoufeel ents of prana rising up in your sahasrar and even in dreams you experience Her presence, know that the joy-inspiring Kundalini has come into action.

(l) As soon as you sit for prayers your body begins to shake and in ecstasy of joy you begin to sing hymns in tones of music charming to hear and whose composition and poetry come out involuntarily, yourclap phandsgivingarhythmical ing, and you pronounce languages you know not, but the sound ecstasizes your mind, know that the Goddess of speech, Saraswati, has awakened into action.

(m) When you feel intoxicated without taking any drug, while walking your steps fall majestically or like one drunk Signs of an Awakened Kundalini

105

and you are unable to do any other work and you like to remain mute and dislike speaking to or hearing others and you feel like one drunk of Divinity, know that your Atma Shakti Kundalini, the power of Self, has come into action.

(n) While walking, when your mind is filled with an impulse to walk faster and your feet begin to move a running, you feel your body light like air and do not feel fatigued even having walked long enough, you feel buoyant and joyful, you are not unhappy even in dreams, you can keep the balance of your mind undisturbed in all ups and downs, and you acquire an inexhaustible energy for work, know that Brahma Shakti Kundalini has come into action.

(o) When you are in meditation you see visions divine and fall in a dreamy state of mind, have divine smells, see divine figures, feel divine tastes, hear divine sounds and experience divine touch and receive instructions from Gods, then understand that the divine power of Kundalini has come into action.

(p) When you are in meditation, future unfolds its secrets to you or the hidden meaning of scriptures, Vedas and Vedanta shine on your understanding, all doubts vanish, you acquire an insight into the abstruse meaning of the works on spiritual science even at their first glance, you acquire strange powers of oratory and feel not the need of approaching even Brahma, the creator himself, forself cknowledge and you acquire onfidence, understand then that Kundalini the bestower of siddhis (occult poyrers) has come into action.

(q) When seated for meditation your sight becomes fixed on the mid of eyebrows, your tongue rises up for Khechari, breath stops altogether and mind plunges into the ocean of bliss, shambhavi mudra operates and you experience the pleasure of savikalpa samadhi, know that subtle power of Kundalini is in action.

(r) When at morning and evening hours punctually and automatically your body becomes charged with such of the divine influences, and body,over pmind and prana become owered by Her, know that the Goddess Kundalini is rightly functioning.

Mar 23

Practical Philosophy

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 quite foolish. He said there was a man about to commit suicide. The sadhu stopped him. The person about to commit suicide said he had nothing. The sadhu said I can give you 2 million dollars ( 25 Lakh is what he said) but you have to give me your eyes. The man said no. Oh the sadhu said then your eyes are more than 2 million. Anyway at the end the sadhu said so you see you have a lot your body is worth a lot.

To me it seems a foolish argument. The emotional pain of someone trying to commit suicide is immense. How dare you give this foolish logic. Reach out to the persons heart. If muktananda thinks the body is worth a lot, he should go to the cemetery and pay that much money for the body

In the blog I wrote –

I would flip the argument. So if this body is worth 1 crore, give that money to my family and take my body after I die !

Not a practical argument for someone in a lot of emotional pain

All most everyone goes through periods in life where it seems overwhelmingly painful.

At that time they need support. Individual thinking and all the philosophy in the world does not help nor does it bring food to the table

This is where philosophy is not practical. Let’s say there is a person starving Would You go and give that person a lecture saying oh you are the soul. And God loves you ( you could put in Jesus or Allah or krishna etc) Nonsense. That is not the time for philosophy and love. Show your love by feeding the person. Reach out to his heart and needs

So a lot of people have not understood philosophy. It is not about lectures. It is not about discussions or debate. You work for it for yourself. That’s all. But when living in the world you must discharge your responsibility. Not in the form of discussions or giving lectures to make money. Your responsibility to help others. Take care of your family. To your responsibility of doing your best at work.

God does not permit anyone to reach the highest unless they take care of their responsibilities

Now you may argue that Yogananda or Vivekananda left their family But we are not in their class. Vivekananda left his home and made the world his responsibility. Whatever money that was given to him he gave it to the poor in India. He did not have a penny for himself. He did not eat for days and weeks and even though famished and felt he would die in a day ( full thirst and hunger) he was not affected. Such great people live for others

None of the Saints alive are of that caliber. They are all interested in money. And they claim to use it for helping others – only after their lavish life style is fulfilled

So back To the topic. Philosophy has to be practical. Use it for yourself. To get rid of the flaws in your own mind and thinking. Do not ever preach to others If someone needs help, help them with your money and emotionally. When you are enlightened you will learn how to truly help others. That true help, is something like Neem Karoli Baba did.

Be practical. Love others because everyone you meet is a reflection of your inner self. Purify yourself from the deepest corner of heart. If everyone did that, kaliyug would end and Satyug would start. The present day people are selfish and want others to be pure while they themselves remain living in Filth ( thoughts selfishness etc)

Mar 17

How difficult is yoga?

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 having any desire / love for things in this world So you might say, wait a minute God is everywhere – what is wrong with loving food, sex, spouse etc. ? The Answer is you are using flawed logic. If you truly saw And thought God is everywhere, then the love for everything in this world should be the same! This includes your love for poverty the same as being rich, love for your enemy should be the same as your love for spouse , children etc and and the love for food be non preferential

So if you have purity, yoga is very easy. But that kind of purity takes time. It is not easy. That purity is the inherent property of pure consciousness. Since we have not experienced it fully , we have to get our mind slowly to get there. And that becomes difficult

The mind constantly seeks things to enjoy. And it constantly has the behavior of preferring things to enjoy and rejecting things it does not like. So now you see three flaws of the mind. In yoga they are called – raag preferring fun things, dvesha – rejecting things it does not like and abhivinesh – blindly sticking to seeking pleasure, identifying itself as body and wanting body pleasures You can see this in your daily life – you prefer wine or soda, or unhealthy food, you display favoritism, you seek money, sex, travel etc. anything that will give the mind pleasure or fun In other words we do not see things equally. And seek pleasure for oneself. This pleasure for oneself is ego. Now do you remember we talked about God is everywhere? Well to exist as ego , like ego of body ( could be any of the body) is a Avidya. Ignorance. Not knowing pure consciousness.

Thus these are the 5 obstacles one has to remove. It all stems from avidya. But having this knowledge that you are pure consciousness is not enough. You must experience it. For that, you have to fight and challenge the mind constantly. Overcome the defects of the mind. Many times will you fail and you have to continue your pursuit

For example, you may have anger towards someone. You may get sad. Upset. Frustrated. Depressed. You may draw imaginary castles about having money and travel and be elated when someone praises you. These are nothing more than traps of the mind to remain bound in ignorance. You have to constantly remind yourself

I will not get upset or angry or frustrated. Or lust etc
I will endure the hardship of rejecting these waves of the mind
And then silently observe and attempt to go within.

Now for a very very long time, the mind has been accustomed to getting its own way And if it does not, it gets depressed or throws a tantrum. This will be a challenge. Anyone who has tried not to get angry or depressed or anxious knows it is very difficult. But slowly in very tiny steps we have to learn not to be upset in small things. Like being in a traffic jam. Or having to stand in a long line. And then you can move in to bigger things in life like losing money and then finally giving up food and sex. But it must go in small steps. You cannot expect to fight the final battle on day one.

These things take about 12 years to form a habit – the good habit of not getting upset. Relentlessly one most work hard and every few weeks it becomes easier and easier to not get upset.

Then you can move to the next level of battle. The higher level battle are related to the senses. In Sanskrit, the senses are called indriya. And the senses of the subtle body created the gross physical body. And the gross physical body has senses that we constantly want to enjoy. That is a higher level battle.

The story of Ramayana talks about his son Indrajit. He was one of the greatest warrior. He was given a boon that no one can be victorious over him. Unless, the warrior against him has not slept for 12 years and did not eat any grains for 12 years. Laxman had done that during his 12 years of exile in the Forrest. He never slept and guarded Ram and Sita and only ate minimal fruits

Here is a link to a story of Indrajit. You will see how powerful he is. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.storypick.com/indrajit-the-greatest-warrior/amp/

Indra or indriya means senses. Ajith means that which can’t be defeated. So the son of Ravana is Indrajit. A subtle force that makes it impossible to win over the senses. You will see many many people succumb to the forces of the senses! In order to win over it, conquering sleep ( meaning not succumbing to avidya,for 12 years is needed ) And not eating grains ( meaning not enjoying the senses for 12 years ) is needed.

Now you see that the battle of the senses is difficult and to be done also. After that the battle with Ravana and kumbhakaran starts

Never get discouraged in this battle. You will fail a million times. But who knows. The million and one blow was the one destined to give you full victory! It takes time. Lahirih Mahasaya said, Banat, banat, ban jaye. Meaning that almost almost there and oh suddenly it is done. Giving up this royal battle is the only failure. Constantly fight. The mind will fight back from past habits and tendencies. There is no reason to fight anyone else except your own mind

And that is Yoga in a nutshell. It is not really a magical awakening of shakti and being enlightened. It is a long battle. A battle of conquering the mind. Your mind. Your own unregulated mind is your enemy. But it can be your friend if you can follow these simple tricks

Mar 12

Change yourself

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 long lasting emotional trauma in some of them. Not only that Ted Kaczynski was one of the volunteer. Is it possible that he became the unabomber as a result?

So what happens is that we have some beliefs. And we cling to those beliefs vehemently. Even though if proven wrong we fail to admit that we are wrong. It is like the hermit King crab licking himself in ( as the author describes)

So what does it have to do with spirituality? Spirituality is mostly based on belief. Very free have faith or experience. The problem is in spirituality you can’t easily prove someone wrong or having faulty reasoning or beliefs

It is possible that my writing are erroneous. So I do not want anyone to follow me To me, I am a 100% Certain. That does not mean that I am correct! This has been my method. Always have a healthy bit of skepticism. Any experience has to be verified and validated a 100 times over. Then and only then do I believe it

The goal of spirituality should be simple. Improve yourself in every way so if there is a God he is forced to reveal himself in this physical world. To you. What we do is want god to appear and then make changes. That won’t work!

Now Guru does not require your faith it belief. He can simply do things. You may believe for a short while and then skepticism will creep in

My advise

Don’t lock yourself in your false beliefs
Correct yourself. Get rid of your flaws, Worries and anxiety
Be ready to admit you are wrong. Admit to yourself. No need for public humiliation and flogging! ( news media are the floggers- sadly they don’t know what they do)
Like Vivekananda said , we go from lesser truth to higher truths
Eventually my blogs will make sense. God is not far at all

Mar 09

Maha Shiv ratri

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 means great, shiv refers to Shankar bhagwan and ratri means night

So what are you supposed to do?

On that particular day, you eat light. Eating fruits and potatoes, yam. When night comes, you go to your meditation chamber and meditate. This is one of the days, by history, Shankar appeared in person, with minimal effort. Well, if it worked in the past, why would it not work now?

So, on a cosmic level, all Indian holidays are based on lunar months and those days are more favorable days for meditation. Does it really matter? Of course it does. We are constantly contending with outside forces and we battle go within – during meditation. We battle to silence our mind also. Those outside forces accounts for the 4 Yugas as described in Hinduism – Sat yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapar Yuga and Kali yuga. As it so happens besides those major cycles calculated in thousands of years, there is a smaller cycle based on 1 year and even a smaller cycle based on the day.

The Rishis of ancient India had perfect vision and gave all this information to the people. They saw the cycles in meditation. They did not look at the outside stars or use a telescope.

So based on their infinite vision, they came up with Maha Shivratri, one of the best days for getting the blessings of Shiv

So who is Shankar bhagwan? I have talked about it elsewhere. Both Ram and Krishna worshipped Shiv. All ancient Rishis worshipped Shiv. There is no exception. One of the signs of awakening of Shakti is a sudden love for Shiv.

As such Shankar is described as follows. He wears no clothes ( Digambar ). His wife is Parvati. Also known as Annapurna. He has a snake around his neck. He has a trident. His two sons are both God – Ganesh and Kartik (Skanda). His best friend is Kuber – the gatekeeper for money. He left Parvati and went straight to the Himalayas. In spite of all these great people around him, it is said in the rare occasion he wants to eat, he begs for food. He covers his body with ashes. When the world is getting destroyed he dances and that dance is called Tandav. Shakti also dances and that dance is Lapasya.

All Yoga and all meditation starts from him. In all there are 84,000 ways. All meditations are from him…and directly or indirectly, all meditations and results go back to him.

He is the easiest person to please. All you need is purity

A true Guru is the same as him. Such Gurus are very rare.

There is a story of Shankar. Once the Devs and Danavs ( demi Gods and demons ) had a joint project. It is called Samudra manthan. Sage Durvasa gave a very special garland to Indra, the king of the demi Gods. Indra, not knowing the worth of the Garland put it on his elephant named Airavat. Bees came about and started humming and harassing the elephant. Airavat threw the garland away. Sage Durvasa got angry and told Indra, he will be bereft of all strength from there on. After all the garland was a special power of Shakti (Shree). The danavs came and invaded the heavens. And under the guidance of Bali, the heavens collapsed to the danav. Indra went to VIshnu and asked for guidance. He said, pretend to be friends with the Danav and get the nectar of immortality from the oceans.

So they embarked on Samudra manthan. So they use a huge mountain called mandara and immerse it in the middle of the ocean of milk. Then they take the snake Vasuki, which is around Shankar and use it as a rope and they start churning the ocean. The first thing that came out was poison, a terrible poison called halahal. Now the rule was anything that came out, had to be used. No one was willing to drink it…and the poison started to infiltrate the world. Shankar appeared and gladly drank the poison. When he swallowed it, his throat immediately became blue in color. After that he was known as Neelkanth. Kanth means throat, and neel means blue.

Later from the Samudra Manthan – churning of the ocean of milk, they had the nectar of immortality came out. This was meant for the devas and of course the danav should not drink the immortality. So the danav were mislead by Vishnu. Vishnu took the form of Mohini and the danav blindly followed Mohini and at that time, the devas drank the nectar. One Asura or danav named svarbhanu did not follow Mohini and stood in the line of the Dev and drank the nectar. As soon as he was discovered, Mohini (VIshnu) cut his head off with his Sudarshan chakra. But since had already tasted the nectar, his head and body became immortal and are known as Rahu and Ketu. They are the eclipses that occur on earth (Sun and moon) and torment people even now

The other things that came from the Samudra manthan were divided in many ways

They say there were 14 such gems that came out.

Vishnu married lakshmi, the goddess of Wealth. She herself is wealth. He also got kaustubha and the divine bow called Sharanga. VIshnu Bhagwan also got the shankha or divine concha.

Kamdhenu – the divine cow was taken by Brahma and later Sage Vasistha.

Airavata the elephant and Parijata was taken by Indra.

The Uchaishrawavas is a 7 headed horse was taken by the Guru of the danav or asur, named Bali

The divine vaida named Dhanvantari became the dr for the devas.

Shiv got the half moon and that moon adorns his head.

The moral – when we meditate we will meditate with good thoughts and bad thoughts together. If you continue, the divine nectar will appear and that will strengthen the good thoughts and bad thoughts eventually perish. However at times, our good thoughts will get eclipsed by Rahu and Ketu.

Now there is a very detailed interpretation of all the jewels and moon etc that appears. However, it is beyond the scope for this public domain web page.

Mar 07

Selfless prayer for yourself!

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 have an outstanding bill and need money. So we ask for money. But instead if we say to God and mean it, and just tell God, this problem has come up, I don’t know how to solve it and I am not worried. I give you the problem, now you deal with it! Guess what God says this guy is going to bother me constantly. He will have the same bill next month and next month, let me just give a permanent solution and you suddenly get a promotion!

So there is an art to prayer and making spiritual progress

Here is the secret. This is from Mother ( Aurobindo)

If you truly decide in all your consciousness to offer your being to the Divine to mould it as He wills, then most of your personal difficulty will disappear — I mean that which still remains, and there will be only the lesser difficulties of the transformation of the ordinary into the Yogic consciousness, normal to all sadhana. Your mental difficulty has been all along that you wanted to mould the sadhana and the reception of experience and the response of the Divine according to your own preconceived mental ideas and left no freedom to the Divine to act or manifest according to His own truth and reality and the need not of your mind and vital but of your soul and spirit. It is as if your vital were to present a coloured glass to the Divine and tell Him, “Now pour yourself into that and I will shut you up there and look at you through the colours”, or, from the mental point of view, as if you were to offer a test-tube in a similar way and say, “Get in there and I will test you and see what you are.” But the Divine is shy about such processes and His objections are not altogether unintelligible.

Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga III, CWSA volume 30, page 15.

Mar 07

Organizational (mis)leaders

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 against them?

Someone asked me this question about Spirituality. This was my answer

To answer your question – spirituality in general is a scam job using human psychology and weaknesses

It can be an emotional crutch during tough times

Most people seek that the victim give money and they become emotionally crippled and turn to the spiritual leader for help

So in all so called spiritual organizations there are many problems or features

They seek money
They give you information but not Awakening
They will often clip your wings emotionally and you become dependant on them, hoping they solve your problems. They want you and enjoy you need them as a crutch
They seek fame ( which is more money) they want you to promote them, and invite others into their scam
Sadly they don’t know they are often scamming
Using some key words and phrases they impress people
In times of personal pain, we often need a ray of hope. An answer to why me? What is the mystery of karma? How or when will it end? People resort to Astrologer and gems and mantras, or temples and churches or to organizations or to drugs and medications

So if I am against it why do I talk about Spirituality?

I am against organizations that seek money

I am against any method that makes you emotionally crippled. You all are Divine. The same as Krishna and Jesus. I do not want anyone emotionally crippled but want them to be strong on their own

A Guru can guide you on the path to Divinity when you are stuck but he never wants you to be emotionally dependant

I am not a Guru. The qualities needed for that are so immense so high that it is not something I can reach even in a million years. I have no desire to mislead others. Neither do I went anyone to like me, like my blogs, or give me money or look to me for guidance. In other words, i do not want anything from this world.

I have said enough and said it enough times. Most people seek an organization and believe that an organization that is big is the best. I belong to the very very old school. It would be nice if there were ten people in this world who were worthy of a full Awakening. Those qualities of not wanting anything in this world, like St Francis said is rare. I repeat his prayer

Lord make Me an instrument of Your peace

Where there is hatred let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness joy.

O Divine master grant that I may

Not so much seek to be consoled as to console

To be understood, as to understand.

To be loved. as to love

For it’s in giving that we receive

And it’s in pardoning that we are pardoned

And it’s in dying that we are born…

To eternal life.

Mar 06

Make your self happy!

By Bhavin in spirituality

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!

Every best cricketer is slowly forgotten. No longer in lime light. Every tennis player is forgotten. Every football team victory is replaced by a new victor. Every Hollywood star, every famous singer or music album is replaced by another.

Are you prepared for being replaced ? Are you willing to struggle, be at peak and then forgotten?

I want you to see the hollow victory. Soon forgotten. Soon even the money fades away. A 100 years from now who will care about you? Even George Washington is now criticized because he had slaves.

So all these things are perceived happiness. Pastor Carl Lentz – fell off the grace of the church recently. He was popular in Hollywood. Such is life. On cloud 9 and then in dismay. In his mind being popular with Hollywood actors was an achievement. And in his mind but being popular is a failure

Finally we are reaching the idea. Our minds got buried in the concept of what is failure and success. In reality neither situation gives happiness

So all these things are perceived happiness. It is self hypnosis into believing these things as happiness

We created those things as happiness by our own desire. Desire for sex, money fame. Hence they are perceived happiness

Then what is true happiness? Getting rid of the burden of desire. Get rid of it and you will know joy. With out the turmoil of desire, you can see your true self. You will know your pure self. Joy. Then all the happiness in the world will look like cow dung. Dirt.

Who do you care for? I am the infinite Bliss! That is what Shankarachrya said We should aim for that bliss. Why care for famous people or presidents in this world. In general we think if someone famous or Rich meets us , we think we are lucky. A self realized person knows that the famous person or Rich was lucky to meet you! What kind of award or prestige can you give to Krishna or Jesus? What would it mean to them ?

So the best way to be happy is get rid of the self inflicted pain of desire! Seek true happiness from within

Mar 05

When will I have true awakening?

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 responsibility was over, he was called by Babaji
Same thing with Vishnutirthji Maharaj. He worked as an attorney till he was 50. Then when that karma was dissolved he got awakening
Narayantirthji Maharaj was told to go home and take care of his family and parents. Then after 20 years he had awakening. And all siddhi given in a few months

What is the moral of the story?

You are not Pandit Kalidas or Gyaneshwar that you get awakening at age of 5
Shakti is never happy with those who pursue spirituality without taking care of all obligations
Doing work that you hate the most will help you regain the lost control of mind Do it

Remember, even the great Goddess Lal ded, worked as a wife waiting for a sign from God before she left her house ! She is one of the immortals, even now somewhere in Kashmir, who has maintained her physical body 5 centuries later Vishnutirthji had many talks with her. Of course we are not privy to those talks

What happens is many people are averse to cleaning themselves or learning self restraint or working or taking care of responsibility. So why not become a Sannyasi? That is a sure way of not making progress

Shakti does not get deceived. Shakti does not get awakened fully without diminishing karma. Even with a Guru Grace, Yogananda got seriously sick and suffered for 3 months. Past karma had to be paid off in full. One way or other.

I have found many times that when some karma was paid off, after that my mediation got deeper. So never fear hardship. It is a step closer to God.

Mar 03

Rumi

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 God for these two insomnias!

And the difference between them.

🕉

The minute I heard my first love story

I started looking for you, not knowing

how blind that was.

Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.

They’re in each other all along.

Now I have made the mistake of publishing a few lines from Rumi. Sadly I am unable to provide a deeper meaning.

If you find an answer, enjoy it. But please don’t try to explain it to me! I am beyond hope in that regard!

Enjoy!

Mar 01

The problem with thoughts and food

By Bhavin in spirituality

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. Wanting to hurt others

Now of course many actions are a combination of above. Lets say you are a doctor and you help a sick patient. By itself you could say it is sattwa, after all you helped someone. But the moment you take money, that is something personal and it becomes more of Rajas and less of sattwa. Thus it can be quite complex

There are a few other principles.

Sattwa – gives pain initially and happiness is later

Rajas – gives happiness initially and then later unhappiness

Tamas – causes pain initially and pain later

For example : lets say someone is offensive to you. It hurts you and then you retaliate and then the other person retaliates…all across you had pain with being hurt and having anger and your actions from anger caused more pain.

Lets say you love food, and you eat something lovely, but later you gain…weight…Fun initially and painful later

Lets say you did good deeds all through our your life. You see no rewards, but after death, you go to heaven and in your next birth get good things coming to you all the time

So, now that you know the Gunas, how do we get affected by them and how do they control us.

One we are born with some tendencies based on our past habits and karma

Secondly the diet we eat influences us. It is not quick, but slowly changes us.

Third, the company we keep affects us. How does it affect us? By very subtle vibrations !. Those vibrations reach us by other people talking with us, (it is not just the content but the vibrations). And those vibrations reach us from the way the food was cooked too!

This is what Mother said, (Aurobindo)

I saw the realm that is under the influence of thought – the power of thought over the body – it is enormous! One cannot imagine how enormous it is. Even a subconscious or sometimes unconscious thought has an effect and produces incredible results! I’ve been studying this in detail for the last two years. It is incredible!

Even the tiniest mental or vital reactions – so infinitesimal that to our ordinary consciousness they don’t seem to have the least importance – have an effect on the cells of the body and can create disorders. When we watch very carefully, we may become aware of a slight uneasiness, and by tracking down its origin, we realize it stems from something that to our active consciousness is quite imperceptible and “insignificant” – yet it’s enough to create a disorder in the body.

One is under the impression that certain circumstances in the body are independent, not only of our will, but of our consciousness – but it isn’t true.

Then there is everything that comes from outside, and that’s the most dangerous. It’s constant – even when you eat, you catch something – oh, what a mishmash of vibrations! The vibrations of what you eat when it was alive (they always remain), the vibrations of the person who cooked the food, and so on. When you talk to another person or mix with people, of course you are a bit more conscious of what comes in; but even when you sit still, minding your own business, it comes in!

There is almost complete interdependence, and isolation is an illusion. By reinforcing your own atmosphere, you can hold things off to some extent, but the very effort to keep them at a distance creates disturbances.

Yet I know in an absolute way that once this whole mass of the physical mind is brought under control and the highest consciousness is brought into it in a continuous way, one _can_have control over one’s health.

This is why I tell people that this is not a matter of fate, not something that escapes our control altogether, not some “Law of Nature” over which we have no power. We are truly the masters of everything that has been brought together to create our transitory individuality; we have been given the power of control, provided we know how to use it.

It is a tremendous discipline.

But it’s worth remembering if only to escape this sense of fatality and subjugation that things are outside our control. “We’re born, we live, we die; Nature is bearing down on us and we are the playthings of something much bigger and stronger than we are.”

That is the Falsehood.

In my yoga, only after I knew that I am the Master of everything (provided I know how to be this Master and let myself be this Master, provided the outer stupidity accepts to stay in its place) did I know that one could gain control over Nature.

Whatever the effort involved, whatever the difficulty, whatever time it takes, you know you are the Master, that the Master and you are one and the same. All that’s necessary is to know it integrally with nothing denying it.

This is why I tell people that their health depends on their inner life.

The Mother, Notebook on Evolution, pages 57 – 58.

Feb 25

Following a useless leader

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 can do and all they can see or think

Some may not idolize but will be aloof and take pride in that they don’t follow anyone blindly

This is a shloka from Gita

युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु |

युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दु:खहा

Verse 17 chapter 6

The Popular opinion is balanced diet balanced karma and sleeping will destroy your difficulties

You can look at countless Gita versions and that is what they will all say

Now Sanskrit is a tricky language And the Gods love it. They can convey a deeper meaning meant for the advanced yogi and the public can wrestle with the common meaning

This verse is an extra ordinary verse talking about Maya and tells us about what is living and non living

The last two words in the Sanskrit verse says destroys all sorrow.

Now the popular opinion of the translation is balanced diet, sleep and action / how can that destroy sorrow. It can prevent illness, consequences of bad action but destroy all sorrow?

This error will continue as long as idolize the wrong person or leader etc.

Do you not know yourself as the divine? Why do you need anyone to idolize? Find a true Guru and wake up

gita-trial-2.m4a

Feb 21

Live a million lives in one life

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 take money. We all desire money and want to enjoy life. And then when we see a successful movie star or politician, we want to change gears. Or become a Nobel prize winner

So in essence we have created a Cascade of unsatisfied pleasures. Our incomplete experiences which was a million types now became a hundred million. We moved further and further away

Do you see a common pattern? Our desires never included God? Even the desire to be a great priest? Or a great saints? It could very much be to look intelligent, popular and be idolized. Again God is missing

Now there is a Divine touch. The touch of Divine consciousness. Atman. It quickly satisfies all the millions of millions of desires. Now there are some very secret Yoga techniques that can help. It won’t help much though. Since even if anyone told you, you don’t have the power supply to go within ( power supply awakened Shakti) I am not the right person to ask either. So you could find some money and fame greedy internet Popular Idol

But there is a way where millions of births can be settled very quickly.

Is this world still very charming to you?

Feb 20

Does God have a shape?

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 God looking like their shape? Or course they would

As humans we would think of God looking like a human. Hinduism, went beyond and drew God looking like a tortoise, or a fish, or part lion – Narsinh avatar etc. Now, think of this. God is everywhere. So if there is something that is everywhere, what kind of shape would you give God?

So, in Bhagvad Gita and other hindu scriptures, a key question is asked – Is God Nirakar or Sakar. Does he have a shape or is he without a specific pattern?

Without giving the answer, in Gita, it is said, the path is easier for those who worship God as if he has a shape. If you go to a Church, they will have an idol of Jesus or Mary or both. In other places there is a stone. The stone can be shaped like a human or just a square. Yet that has a shape.

Do you see the problem, our logic will defeat us. No matter what we do, we can never depict God fully and we will end up with a shape. So that is a lot easier than visualizing God as everywhere.

Today, in my group there was a long discussion from some very wise people. They talked about Sakshi Bhav and extolled it. It refers to being a witness (Sakshi). It was funny how they discussed it as if they were masters. Ignorance is very skillful in leading everyone ashtray.

The other statement was from Patanjali Yoga Sutra, chapter 2, verse 21

This is the verse : tad-artha eva dëåyasyâtmâ. Meaning : the purpose of it is only making the atma visible.

I dont want to spoil everyones aha moment, when they realize the truth. But everything that I discussed boils to – Sakshi Bhav, is God with shape and the purpose. I am being vague intentionally. Such controversies will always end up in hurt feelings and a long protracted discussion where no one wants to give up their stand.

Anyone an expert in quantum physics want to teach it to toddlers?

Meaning, such complex statements are only understood when you experience it..and not from your logic. God is always beyond understanding and logic.

Feb 20

Physics – black hole

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 – pebble falling in the pond and there are waves
Information : conserved.

In my opinion all three are conserved in the black hole.

In the black hole – space and time are lost. Or once time is lost, space is lost. Going beyond the event horizon, time slows down further and further , but remain imperceptible to us but once you reach the singularity both time and space is lost. Locality only applies when there is space and time
The same thing applies to information. Information by default presupposes time – what was before and what was after. So you can only apply the need for information at event horizon but not once inside the black hole.
Drama – same issue, it is needed only with the concept of time and space

All the discussions then apply only to event horizon and not inside the black hole.

So what happens when you touch the singularity ? – Since time and space are outside the singularity – you merely look at the event horizon to know any aspect of time or space (events). It is immortality – you always exist beyond the clutches of time or space.

Now the final question, is it possible to go in the black hole and come out?

Yes and no. All atomic and subatomic particles are destroyed. So the material particles cannot go in and come out. But there is something – the awareness of atomic particles – which we call consciousness – can easily be retained.

This is the interpretation of a Yogi.

Feb 19

Sankalpa

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 but it looked like it. Very deceptive maya

So sankalpa is a strong determination. For example? Ready? Do you remember Autobiography of a Yogi? Babaji did sankalpa. And created a palace.

Now you may desire to create a palace but just can’t do it. Now very few people can create a palace just by their sheer determination

So, did Babaji have a desire? If course not!

So what is the hallmark of doing good meditation? You develop Sankalpa Shakti. We saw a lot of miracles done by Neem Karoli Baba. It was all a display of Sankalpa Shakti. Or a form of that.

Now go and check your depth of meditation

Feb 17

Fear

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 , etc. When they traveled there was fear of hazardous unpredictable climate and maybe some thieves on the way. Obviously this creates anxiety and stress and fear

Let’s fast forward to current situation. The weather Is more predictable. But our ability to deal with life with out electricity is significantly lower. But the biggest fear has changed from natural forces to …. yes fear of other humans! How sad! Men are fearful of their spouses ! Kidding. But yes there is spousal abuse. We live with fear from drunk drivers. We live in fear from scam artists, unscrupulous people and fear at job, fear of retaliation, etc.

So my question is do you think we have progressed? Is replacing fear of nature to fear of humans a sign of progress or a sign of failed of humanity?

This is an individual decision and I have no fair way of making a decision or comparison ! I can’t travel back in time and compare but Hollywood and something novel called reading gives us an impression.

Times may change but fear is most certainly a very difficult thing to remove ! You may not be afraid of heights but could be fearful of many other things. So why are we fearful? Is it because we don’t have faith in God?

We may intellectually use logic and say I won’t be afraid but reality is when things go bad we are always fearful !

And getting rid of that fear, is an essential part of faith!

Feb 14

Peace

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 you feel peace. I respect them for this viewpoint

From Yoga standpoint, it is not having any Desires. Not a single desire. Patanjali used the work chitta vritti nirodha. Abolishing the tendencies of the chitta ( this includes desires, emotions, etc)

The reason I used etc is because I have not defined chitta. The true meaning yet. It would be impossible to explain. Why? You only know the physical body. And you only know the emotions and desires generated by brain / tendencies. That is not chitta Foolishly, you think you can just say I won’t like sex or food and it will go away. You foolishly believe I won’t be jealous or angry and it will go away. Or taking medications or drugs. Yes – I know the psychologist tell you take deep breaths and keep saying to yourself it will be ok, but if it works, it works on the surface and very poorly. Long term change is challenging and that too occurs only on surface. That is not bad – but is there a quicker way?

I hope you are seeing why a Guru helps. He expedites the changes at a rate that seems impossible. The secrets of Yoga are no where to be seen on the web!

This is the basis of Yoga. Eliminating desires. And when there is no desire, you know the true self and then you know Peace. It is not merely absence of tumult but something that is very very positive

The great Saints abound with it ! You could go with immense anger for the world and in their presence it magically disappears It is very positive

The giver of this Peace is Shankar. Sham means peace. Kar giver. Parvati had to do intense penance for years to get Shankar attention – giving up food and water and enduring the intense cold

Feb 11

Our choices in life

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 are from India, semi arranged or you date and fall in love, you have decided to spend your life Together. Unless you are in it just for the money. But want to spend life together means, you are accepting to live with all the flaws of the other person ! After a while, the flaws of the other person will get on your nerves. You who get irritated and later it may cause anger and intolerability and you just can’t cope with it. But whose fault is it? Is it the other persons fault? It is your fault. You consciously accepted and thought that you are strong, incredible and can deal With the faults. Or conveniently blinded yourself to it! The whole problem occurred because you wanted to marry. Or you saw others getting married

Ultimately it was your karma

Or you marry and have kids. Accidentally or knowingly. And the kids are not respectful or loving to you. However, still that is the variable factor of life. You see the difficult family lives of some people. You just did not stop to think it could be you.

Ultimately it is your karma

Now yes there are some people who have good spouses and kids. But they have they own set of other things in life that did not go well

Or you chose not to marry. That is also a karma. And in your imagination you think it would be wonderful. But Uncle Sam will have you pay more taxes. You may not have someone to take you to drs and you will be very lonely at that time. And there are other things that may happen in subsequent lives

Ultimately it was your karma

You can think of many situations. You don’t study and have financial issues later You study but don’t do well. It could be your past karma haunting you.

Thus the end result is all from your karma. So why not do good karma? So what is good karma? Helping those in pain. Financial charity. Giving food Serving others. Meditation so you can destroy your ego. Not complaining when life goes wrong. Being tolerant to others.

What about the karma of talking? That is just as bad. It is said that entire war of Mahabharata occurred because Draipadi said, a son of a blind person will be blind and laughed! It happen when there was the inaugural of Indraprastha, the new Capitol of Pandavas and the palace was built by Mayajal. It was illusory palace where water looked like floor and floor looked like water

The other karma I did not talk about is karma of thoughts. If you keep things evil or bad thoughts of others – hoping or wishing bad on others, eventually the same bad thing will occur to you ! Many times the bad in our life comes from our own wrong thoughts

Thus there are 3 karmas. Karma from body, speech and thoughts. There is a great prayer of forgiveness

From Mukundamala:   कायेन वाचा मनसेन्द्रियैर्वा ।   बुद्ध्यात्मना वा प्रकृतिस्वभावात् ।   करोमि यद्यत्सकलं परस्मै ।   नारायणयेति समर्पयामि ॥

It means God forgive me for all my errors from the body, speech, mind, from my senses, intellect, or from habits. I surrender my self with all my above actions to you Narayana ( Vishnu )

And eventually you suddenly realize . I was there architect of this mess. You were the architect even of the devil. It was your mind that was the devil. It just close to blame others!

Feb 07

How much money should a priest or Guru have?

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 account. It gets siphoned into an organization and then in many cases they get a tax free status or …. you know the story

Some people consider their organization a success based on the amount of money they collect and the size of temples they make. Does it sound familiar? I being a very stupid and a naive person, I can only see success based on my personal experience of Samadhi and success of giving Samadhi. I am not main stream. And I only seek people who want God. The amount of wealth or size of temple does not grab my attention. In fact I run in opposite direction

Before you start thinking every Tom Dick and Harry can give Samadhi read up on Samadhi elsewhere. In my blog. A short recap. The body becomes lifeless. Heart and breathing is gone. There is an inner completeness and merger into God. It is indeed very very rare.

Let’s take Red Cross. They do Noble work. But more than 80 % of the money you donate goes to supporting the organization ! Only 20 cents of the money ( from a dollar ) goes to the intended cause. Life is complex. Or we have made it complex. And the Government is forced to increase the complexity because of many unsavory crooked people

So there are 2 types of Gurus. One is the Guru who is a sanyasi. I have described the life of a Sanyasi in detail elsewhere. But in the modern day there are sanyasi , they don’t travel, but live a very simple life. I have talked about the tirthji tradition. It goes back thousands of years. In the modern 200 years we can trace it as follows

Gangadhar tirthji ➡️ Narayan tirthji ➡️ Yogendra vigyani ➡️ Vishnutirthji ➡️ Shivohum tirthji ➡️. There are more than one subdivisions

Now after Shivohum tirthji there are a few other people in the lineage. One is Mangaltirthji Maharaj who lives between Gujarat and Virginia USA. And the other is Gajananda Maharaj who is in Andhra Pradesh

Now they have maintained the true tradition of Sanyasi. They don’t ask for money. They don’t amass wealth. They live a very very simple life. No exotic travel. They don’t own a car or a house. Nothing. But somehow survive. They may have a ashram. But there are no luxuries in their. They don’t even have beds for those who want to go meditate. Just a simple mattress. You cook your own food. You even bring your own flour etc.

The second type are the Guru who are householders. Lahiri mahasaya, Yukteshwar were all householders. They have a family. They work. Or have a pension etc. You would never know their high status. They may Or may not have modest wealth. Usually average wealth. Disciple may give them money – to help take care of modest needs (similar to modest funds given to sanyasi). They never ask for money. They do not have a set price.

Even when you go their house, they treat you you like a guest. But again the focus is meditation. If you want to progress you skip meals. Even if you are there for a week. Eating very little is very good for meditation.

Why is that? Do you see the difference between scam artists and the life of a true Guru? Usually a Guru will help a few disciples at a time Not in a large group. Each one is individually awakened. Taken into samadhi or dharana. It is quite concrete. The experience. Even with that if you don’t have purity you may not understand what happened or what you received

A Guru. A true Guru has no interest in the joys of the world. He is only interested in awakening the disciple. They will cloak themselves so you can’t recognize them. It is only if they Grace you, will they show their greatness. Now the sanyasi type Guru do not make any effort to hide Themselves. They have an address But even so Shakti will not permit you to recognize them so easily.

Generally a householder or someone who is living in the world must find a householder Guru. And a sanyasi like disciple should find a sanyasi Guru. This distinction has been lost in recent times and a Sanyasi guru accepts a householder disciple

Let’s take SRF. They accept donations. No limit but they have a wonderful organization. Silent. But a giant. They have a place where people can go meditate. It is well preserved Even if you want to learn their techniques you only pay a few dollars for printing and shipping. Anyone can visit and there is no charge. They have many priceless books but they are not sold for making profit. Yogaynanda himself was a sanyasi but did not Amass wealth. He had an organization that barely survived

Vivekananda when he was there started Ramkrishna mission. Again they do substantial charity work. They don’t have drives to raise money. People just give.

Other organization that followed Neem Karoli Baba are very commercialized. That’s why Neem Karoli Baba did not leave a disciple. Siddhi Ma has departed. She was a Sanyasini They have a glorious temple in Taos The Neem Karoli Baba temples in India are very commercial All Other things including the chanting is a paid service. You decide if that is right for you. My view is very limited since I am not exposed to other things. My understanding of the world is limited

In a place that had a true Guru the real emphasis is on meditation. A simple life. They don’t have glitter. They won’t have much money. Just enough to support the cause. They may do charity. Charity work helps clean the soul. It is needed However true progress is established only in meditation.

Simplicity by itself is not a sign of spirituality. The emphasis is on going into meditation. Learning the secrets of yoga in your own meditation is needed. If you doubt your experience it may not be a true experience. But verify your experience with someone higher.

I have written a lot. Mostly it is directed for a specific need of people wandering to find a Guru. Help them find one.

Like I said repeatedly, true Guru are very rare. They are not in the media or in the news. They don’t have an organization although they will belong to a lineage Who is the luckiest person? It is not the person of wealth. It is not Bill Gates or Bezos or Steve Jobs or a prime minister or a king or Hollywood actor The luckiest person is he who has found a Guru and recognized the Guru without a doubt. He has found “home”.

I perhaps did not answer the question. How much money should a Guru have? Well , are you looking for an organization or experience of Samadhi? Do you seek God or fun ( where there are fun events, a Pseudo sense of peace because you left your job and possibly wife for a weekend on a retreat of meditation)

Feb 07

How much money should a priest or Guru have?

By Bhavin in spirituality

Link to Original Document

Some people consider their organization a success based on the amount of money they collect and the size of temples they make. Does it sound familiar? I being a very stupid and a naive person, I can only see success based on my personal experience of Samadhi and success of giving Samadhi. I am not main stream. And I only seek people who want God. The amount of wealth or size of temple does not grab my attention. In fact I run in opposite direction

Before you start thinking every Tom Dick and Harry can give Samadhi read up on Samadhi elsewhere. In my blog. A short recap. The body becomes lifeless. Heart and breathing is gone. There is an inner completeness and merger into God. It is indeed very very rare.

Let’s take Red CrossThey do Noble work. But more than 80 % of the money you donate goes to supporting the organization ! Only 20 cents of the money ( from a dollar ) goes to the intended cause. Life is complex. Or we have made it complex. And the Government is forced to increase the complexity because of many unsavory crooked people

Gangadhar tirthji ➡️ Narayan tirthji ➡️ Yogendra vigyani ➡️ Vishnutirthji ➡️ Shivohum tirthji ➡️. There are more than one subdivisions

The second type are the Guru who are householders. Lahiri mahasaya, Yukteshwarwere all householders. They have a family. They work. Or have a pension etc. You would never know their high status. They may Or may not have modest wealth. Usually average wealth. Disciple may give them money – to help take care of modest needs (similar to modest funds given to sanyasi). They never ask for money. They do not have a set price.

Let’s take SRF. They accept donations. No limit but they have a wonderful organization. Silent. But a giant. They have a place where people can go meditate. It is well preserved Even if you want to learn their techniques you only pay a few dollars for printing and shipping. Anyone can visit and there is no charge. They have many priceless books but they are not sold for making profit. Yogaynanda himself was a sanyasi but did not Amass wealth. He had an organization that barely survived

Vivekanandawhen he was there started Ramkrishna mission. Again they do substantial charity work. They don’t have drives to raise money. People just give.

Other organization that followed Neem Karoli Baba are very commercialized. That’s why Neem Karoli Baba did not leave a disciple. Siddhi Ma has departed. She was a Sanyasini They have a glorious temple in Taos The Neem Karoli Baba temples in India are very commercial All Other things including the chanting is a paid service. You decide if that is right for you. My view is very limited since I am not exposed to other things. My understanding of the world is limited

Simplicity by itself is not a sign of spirituality The emphasis is on going into meditation. Learning the secrets of yoga in your own meditation is needed. If you doubt your experience it may not be a true experience. But verify your experience with someone higher.

I have written a lot. Mostly it is directed for a specific need of people wandering to find a Guru. Help them find one.

Feb 03

An important point to remember in life!

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 opportunity for a new progress. To complain is a sign of weakness and insincerity.  Where the two extremes meet, to complain of anything at all, of oneself, of others or of circumstances, is a weakness and an insincerity towards one’s supreme Self.  The two extremes meet in their effect on the attitude towards the circumstances of life: the total surrender to the Divine Will manifested in all things; and the consciousness of the supreme power that organises all things according to its all-powerful conception. In either case there is no place for complaint: if one is completely surrendered to the Divine, how can one complain about His Will, whatever form it takes? And on the other hand, if one feels the power of organising the world according to the supreme truth of life, how can one complain about the state this life is in, since it depends only on oneself to change it?  Never grumble. All sorts of forces enter you when you grumble and they pull you down. Keep smiling. I seem always to be joking but it is not mere joking. It is a confidence born from the psychic. A smile expresses the faith that nothing can stand against the Divine and that everything will come out all right in the end.

What is my view?

But this Is my caution and it is important to have clarity. Let us say you made the conclusion that it means you gladly accept the circumstances of life – but that is not true either. For example, let us say that your spouse constantly complains about the fact that …..now I know that all couples in this world are happily married And never have anything to complain …… Hmmmm. On second thought let’s drop spouse complaining. But anyway, now if you are married you will understand why Buddha left his palace and became a monk and became enlightened!

Seriously, let’s say you that there is a colleague of yours who works with you and has become close friends to the boss. And somehow, he manages to take credit for the work you do and your boss has the wrong concept that you are Lazy. Of course this is wrong. You feel upset. Angry. Your mind runs at 1000 miles an hour ( half the speed your spouse talks ). And you have all sorts of thoughts. So what Mother says is

Do not let negative depressive thoughts enter your mind. Negative thoughts will bring in more negative forces and cause more calamity in the situation
Accept it as the divine will but …
- She did not say – do not make any efforts to rectify the situation.

And that is the subtle point to remember. What we do is get angry, depressed, gossip and go in an angry mood and fight with the colleague.

However, if you can cheerfully accept the situation. And laugh. And tell the divine mother, I see what you are doing! This is an amazing test to check my endurance. Mother, I will show you my determination to pass your test and be thy favorite child. I won’t get upset. Be a Lion! And you fight negative thoughts and emotions. This immediately brings the attention of divine mother! You don’t complain to divine mother. And mother will give you an opportunity to change the situation. You go to get coffee at the coffee shop. And your boss is there. Now she gave you an opportunity to talk with the boss. But you are calm. Collected. And very happy within to begin with. Your cheerfulness is infective. And you tell your boss, sir , I have done a few significant projects – but I want to excel even further. I am the shy quiet tutor and it is because I don’t like office politics. Do you have words of wisdom?

But such clarity in thoughts only occurs when you are calm and calmly surrendered to Shree Lalitha

So be practical in your surrender. Do not be a door mat. Use and see the circumstances as a step to climb rather than thinking you are being beat up by a bat

That is my summary of the long complex statement of Mother

Jan 31

The flawless mirror

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 to anger and resentment, we may read books and pretend to be tolerant and wonderful like Buddha but the Guru sees through it and can point it out !

There are many many things about ourselves we do not know but the Guru knows That’s why Kabir said if only you look into yourself, you will find that you are the greatest sinner. You will be appalled at how terrible you are. And that is the beginning of change. Dropping our personality. And evolving to purity. Why is it called personality? Persona means mask. ( Aurobindo). What we do is put out a mask Something that is not real Think about it. When you go to work, you say yes sir when you really want to use some colorful adjective. If you are in customer service, you want to scream at the person but can’t. Your family can be irritating but you have to test situations with tender love. You are dating and put up a fake appearance of kindness trying to impress

So what are you really ? Your inner self is quite rotten. Demanding. Intolerant. Breaking down on the inside very quickly. Manipulative. Egotistic. Controlling. Fearful. Looking for gains. Seeking pleasure at all times. Upset when you don’t something nice or fun. Wanting to be adored. Not caring. Selfish

Do you see the 100 Kauravas? Yogananda has described each of them very accurately. Now you may think you are none of those , but that is not true. For someone who is truly on the path you will immediately see your flaws. And wish you change. Those who have not started will only find maybe one or two flaws.

For purity all those flaws have to be worked in. Slowly. It is a Herculean task It takes time. But like the river Ganga does , it can be swept away fairly quickly. I often use puns to give detailed spiritual guidance

So the Guru has gone through those steps and knows your flaws. You can learn a lot from him and make corrections. An impure soul cannot see God. One impure thought and you instantly fall down

But now to the real reason why I wrote this. The flawless mirror reflects exactly what you think and imagine. Let us say there is a Guru right in front of you. He looks quite ordinary. They hide their halo. So he looks very ordinary. And you think that person is ordinary. Guess what , you did not hold on to something wonderful. You lost a great opportunity. The Guru will show something about his greatness But we judge him by human standards and miss an opportunity of lifetimes

There was a wonderful saint. Who always acted like a crazy person. Sometimes laughing. Someone crying. And if you came near him he would throw stones at you. Now that person was a Guru. Tell me would you even go near that person. Why not? Because we have standards which we think are the right way of acting and not the right way. So this Guru was showing, he is beyond society values and appearances. Once in a while someone would go to him and he would throw stones. If you were wise, You would pick up the stone and no behold it was not a stone but actually Gold !

He would laugh and cry showing your inner state of mind at that time. But who would understand that? He was displaying his knowledge of all ! Do you see why we miss opportunities?

Your scale is very primitive You do not know how to appreciate a Guru. You judge him by your social and cultural standards. Many times, pearls are given.

I was once a part of a group on what’s app. My tests are subtle I gave a few pearls. And then left the group when someone told me not to speak or comment on anything he said I was not in the group to Learn something. So after they gave me permission to leave ( they told me not to speak) I left. Those who were left, had a choice, to continue to stay the group or learn elsewhere. Thankfully no one approached me.

The point is spirituality is very subtle. You have to be at a very high level to understand the actions of Saints like the person throwing stones.

They are the flawless mirror. Sometimes you have to use ammonia to Clean it! Or you Will only see the dust and miss the mirror!

Jan 24

Shankaracharya and the initial sannyasis

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 is that , it is incorrect and off by a 1000 years. He was there around 2000 years ago, and was there prior to Christ. I cannot give anyone any proof and do not ask or expect anyone to believe me solely based on my word. Shankaracharya left 4 peetha (or ashram) and has had a Sannyasi preside over it since he left them. They have kept accurate records of the names of all of them and the list is longer than 4000 names. Based on that one can get a glimpse of the duration of the lineage

I have written about Shankaracharya elsewhere

Let me tell you more about the Sannyasis of those times. The tradition continued but not in the sense it was intended. Times have changed

So lets go back 2000 years ago when Shankaracharya was there (you could make it 1200 years). He was born near Kochi, Kerala. And he travelled around India by the time he took Samadhi at the age of 32. No trains, buses, planes. There were bullocks and carts, but he travelled by foot. All over India.

The first generation of Sannyasi were given rules to follow. Those Sannyasi were all enlightened. Experienced. Established in Advaita. After being enlightened, they were given instructions to travel. Why? Santana and the vedas, upanishad had to be told and explained. Rituals had taken over and the meditation aspect was lost

So what were their instructions ?

Travel with a danda, a kamandal and wear saffron color clothes  Bald headed but having a choti.              The danda had a triangle saffron color flag  They could not go to the same place twice  In a small village they could stay only one night  In a big city up to 15 days  Rest was 3, 5 days depending on size of place  They were only allowed to eat by begging for food  The were only allowed to beg for alms at 5 homes at the most in a day.  If they got alms from one house, they ate whatever little they got.  They do not go to the next house for more.   If they did not get food from the 5 places, they stayed hungry.  The could beg for alms from any house but if they had food from a shudra place, they would sprinkle water on it and eat it.  (There are spiritual reasons for sprinkling water)  *Brahmacharya* was the rule.  Brahmacharya - in physical terms.  This means no sex. It included in thoughts and deeds.  They only bow, prostrate themselves to their Guru.  They are not permitted to enter any temples  If they passby a shivling they would bend their danda and move on.  *This picture is from Somnath temple, Gujarat*

These were the general rules. As time passed by, the sannyasi with full experience and remaining in that exalted state disappeared and the rules were slowly changed and modified to suit the times.

The word sannyasi is not the same as monk or sadhu. In general we put them all in the same category but no one follows the rules placed by Shankaracharya. It would be impractical in this day and age to beg for alms. Sannyasi comes from a combination of 3 sanskrit words together. Sam : everything or all. Ni : means inside or down. Sam plus ni becomes Sanni – by the rules of sanskrit conjugation. Asi : means is and if used as asa exists. Sanni plus asi – becomes sannyasi. Thus the word means – everything exists within or put everything down as give up. Both have opposite meaninng but means the same ! The wonder of sanskrit words

The image above is the most famous photo of Shankaracharya. It shows Shankaracharya in the center with his 4 disciples, Padmapadacharya, Mandanmishra, Totakacharya, Hastamalak, Sureshwaracharya (one of them goes by two names, dont remember which one are the same)

In my other dialogues I have explained the appearance of Sannyasi and how it relates to meditation elsewhere. Those who have a full understanding of the appearance to meditation, were the only people who were considered enlightened. It was not a random appearance.

Jan 24

Shankaracharya and the initial sannyasis

By Bhavin in spirituality

Link to Original Document

I have written about Shankaracharya elsewhere

Let me tell you more about the Sannyasis of those times. The tradition continued but not in the sense it was intended. Times have changed

So what were their instructions ?

Travel with a danda, a kamandal and wear saffron color clothes  Bald headed but having a choti.              The danda had a triangle saffron color flag  They could not go to the same place twice  In a small village they could stay only one night  In a big city up to 15 days  Rest was 3, 5 days depending on size of place  They were only allowed to eat by begging for food  The were only allowed to beg for alms at 5 homes at the most in a day.  If they got alms from one house, they ate whatever little they got.  They do not go to the next house for more.   If they did not get food from the 5 places, they stayed hungry.  The could beg for alms from any house but if they had food from a shudra place, they would sprinkle water on it and eat it.  (There are spiritual reasons for sprinkling water)  *Brahmacharya* was the rule.  Brahmacharya - in physical terms.  This means no sex. It included in thoughts and deeds.  They only bow, prostrate themselves to their Guru.  They are not permitted to enter any temples  If they passby a shivling they would bend their danda and move on.  *This picture is from Somnath temple, Gujarat*

These were the general rules. As time passed by, the sannyasi with full experience and remaining in that exalted state disappeared and the rules were slowly changed and modified to suit the times.

Jan 23

Larry King died yesterday

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 cancer 2017 , stroke 2019 * Possibly died from Covid * Was a very popular talk show host from 1980, to 2010.  30,000 interviews * Was accused of larceny with business partner in 1972. Career at standard still till 1978 * *Money at time of death $ 50 million*

And this is what people perceive as a successful life!

What portion of the money helped him or anyone at the time of death

Now if you are an atheist you may not believe In after life but Buddhist, christians, Jains, Hindus, Islam all believe in Heaven and hell.

Well there has to be some sort of transportation to go from here or there! Hindus call the person or his representative who picks you up ( soul ) Yama. Terrifying looking chap. I try not to look at his picture. Especially when I have brand new clothes on. Hate those stains.

So if that is all true, ( I did say if ) what do you have to appease him. He takes out his secret book, looks at what you did ( sorry not the wealth or the money or number of people who praised you or the number of times you enjoyed body pleasures) (probably goes hmmm and in my case hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm) and Mets out what you deserve

Since almost all out lives were spent on selfish stuff , insecurity and not for God, the hmm turns into a frown and baam. You are In hell!

Anyway joking Apart. Success in life by human standards is quite foolish. For eternal success isn’t it more important we focus on something more tangible. Something that will show your love for God by being selfless?

Now you may or may not believe in God. Or Heaven or hell. I do believe in hell. I am married. And I do believe in the devil. I read news about politicians

death, soul
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Jan 22

An encouraging statement from Yogananda

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 he say?

This is what he said – the sound of aum is heard very early during meditation

I have asked many people. Do they hear aum. Most of them are honest and say no. Some who are skilful in the art of self deception say or think yes. But when I ask them in detail what they heard , it is obvious it was more imagination than reality

And before aum one generally hears beautiful music there are many types but 10 most common musical instruments

And those are early signs

Made me sad ! Where are we?

Or should I be happy? Once someone has it it is easy to go within. Samadhi is in reach !why carry airpods

Wake up. Go deeper within. Be genuine. Don’t be eager to think you have progressed. First you have to leave your town to go to himalayas, isn’t it? Get out of your ego generated illusion of progress

Jan 19

(No title)

By Bhavin in spirituality

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

Dhyana- to turn inside and keep attention on spot within

Samadhi turn attention within and being one with the spot

Dhyana in English is called mediation

Yoga means unite. That would be Samadhi

This is bare basics. But sufficient ready reference

Now the fun starts after Samadhi. The types

Sampragnat samadhi – means with knowledge. Sam is with. Pragna means inner wisdom

Asampragnat samadhi – Higher that sampragnat is asampragnat samadhi – Without knowledge. Asam means without. Pragna. Inner wisdom

Sampragnat samadhi – four types.

• Savitarka – with doubt sa with. Vitarka doubt
• Suvichar- with good thoughts absorbed within with thoughts of within. Su good. Vichar thoughts
• Sanand – with joy of being within sa with. ananda joy ( not happiness)
• Asmita – ego conscious Asmi i-ness

Then there are other samadhi

Savikalpa – with thoughts

Nirvikalpa – with out thoughts

Sahaja – spontaneous constant

I will not go into those things in detail

There is a lot of confusion about them because of A few reasons

Different yogi have given different interpretation

People understand things incorrectly and promote their wrong understanding

Samadhi is experience. There are no words or parallels to it. But elsewhere I have written ways to get there and an explanation how to differentiate samadhi, dream, dhayana and illusions of mind Since there are no words to describe it – it creates confusion. We mistake our paltry experience as samadhi. My friends , God is closer than you imagine but very far from those paltry experiences.

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Jan 17

Samadhi etc

By Bhavin in spirituality

From My favorite blog writer

https://www.craft.do/s/XOTNfHOkFMYsJK

Jan 15

I am not hungry anymore

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 alcohol **
**Yes it helps calm the mind. Helps in mediation. Other diets which include meat is more likely to cause gout, cancer etc Finally medical science has picked up. In Yoga they consider meat as Tamas – clouds the mind and prevents it from introspection **
So from the vegetarian items we prepare a hundred different items and if you are from india you make a million different items. All tasty and generally very good for the pockets of cardiologists
**So back to the story. We have a great meal. Love it. Have dinner. And then eat more We get stuffed. And then we say I don’t want to eat any more. I am not hungry anymore **
**And we mean it. But what happens the next day? We are hungry again ! And that is the problem. We constantly seek to satisfy the senses. They satiate us for a short time. And a little later we are back to it. **
**This is true for all senses. Alcohol. Food. Sex. Travel. Music. **
**And there the Hindu Guru discovered a great secret. You really can never stop looking outside. You will always say one more time There is no end to it. **
So we go through moods or settings. Eat. Satisfy senses and try to meditate. Go within. But we never find it alluring enough to stay within. A few minutes of going within and back to the pleasures of the world
**There is a trick to it. Go and ask your Guru. **
**So life goes on. For eons. Satisfy senses, take a break, think you are making progress and back you to the world **
However in all this maya has to about defeat. A soul can get tired of the senses. And it does. Even if only for a few minutes. But the joy in mediation can go on for thousands of years and you wake up and say that’s it? That was just a tease. I want more!
**How can maya fight that ? So remember this , the lure of the senses is fleeting. You will tire of it. And when you do quickly go within and find something great. **
I am not hungry anymore !

Dec 29

Dattatreya Jayanti

By Bhavin in spirituality

Here is another beauty layout on craft
It really makes it appealing

https://www.craft.do/s/6OxFqjfry32F6f

Dec 24

Painful life

By Bhavin in spirituality

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

Dec 20

Thoughts on thoughts

By Bhavin in spirituality

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

Dec 19

All about consciousness – Rumi

By Bhavin in spirituality

https://www.craft.do/s/GemENTe2Uky7bP

Click on it at your own risk !😂

A beautiful note pad. Craft – note

Dec 10

Half baked knowledge

By Bhavin in spirituality

**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 Both of them created their own interpretation and technique **
**They involve focusing on the sensation and mind body connection **

**Vipassana****means without seeing. Or looking inside. **
**For those Who have not experienced Samadhi it might seem wonderful and uplifting. The discussion and logic would seem unshakable. But for those who have gone within, and when I say gone within, with the body becoming lifeless, they are the only people who can attest to true understanding. **
Sakshi bhav in Sankhya talks about witnessing thoughts or mind
**Having said this – the true meaning of Sakshi bhav is not Correct in any of the definitions above. Sankhya yoga has it correct but – but – to grasp it you first need to know what the mind is. At our present level of mediation , even the meaning of thought and mind will be misunderstood **
Since the word thought and the word mind has been used so often , we have become comfortable with the word mind with our own incorrect understanding! Now that we are stuck with that definition, you will not be able to escape it – until you experience it. Then you will laugh. And wonder. How could I have been so stupid for all my life. And I would have to correct you and and say for many many lives!
**So what is the real meaning of mind and thought? I have talked about it elsewhere. I do not wish to repeat myself for an intelligent reader would remember what I wrote in the past. **
**Aurobindo talked about mind and vital. And he divided it into outer mind, inner mind and innermost mind! But I refer to a mind way beyond that. And when you get there – then you will know what Sankhya yoga was talking about. Then and only then will you understand Gita **
**Sankhya means to count / evaluate / decipher **
**Sankhya yoga enumerates 24 principles. 5 organs we use ( legs, hand, tongue, etc) 5 organs of sensation – taste, setting, hearing, touch and small, 5 main principles – earth, water, fire, air, space, 5 Prana – prana, Alana, Samani, udana, vyan and finally mind, interest, emotions and ego **
I have enumerated them. But the true meaning can’t be grasped by reading on the Internet nor by looking up definitions. What can I say? Hinduism is very cryptic. Intentionally designed that the average reader can go off in a tangent based on the wrong understanding or a smart reader will go to a Guru and ask him what it Really means !
**I find it amazing how your ego will insist that you have understood the meaning of mind perfectly. Your Ego will fight me every step of the way and you will protest the true meaning of mind. So the wise people decided, let’s not debate it. You go about your way and I will go about my way. I have no desire whatsoever. If it pleases you that I say you are correct , I will gladly say that. If you feel you are smart And I am an idiot, I agree with that too. If you persist in asking me what does mind mean, I have no answer – why ? who has seen the mind? I say this with a smile. For I just gave you the answer to the whole mystery **

Dec 10

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

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 ! I forgot to mention in our mediation we see a few sparkles of light. Surely this is the sign of progress!

*I am being very sarcastic of the human ego. These small little thoughts wholly fails to impress God. I do find it amazing that when not even one step has been taken yet people have so much ego. *

In autobiography of a yogi, Yogananda , in his teen years, left Yukteshwar to go to the Himalayas to find a Guru. It is hard to understand and realize a true Guru. Even though he met his Guru, his own mind was fixed on the concept a Guru has a certain garb and lives in the mountains! Even though , as far s as the lineage was concerned it is an extra ordinarily strong lineage – Babaji – Lahiri – Yukteshwar ! Yogananda left Yukteshwar and went to the mountains

Now on the way he thought he should talk with Ram Gopal who was another disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya. On the way, to meet Ram Gopal ( I hope I got the name right) Yogananda passes a temple but in his young wisdom knew that God is everywhere so there is no need to go inside the temple and jolly well goes on his merry way! He meets a villager who was weak in his sense of direction and directs Yogananda in the exact opposite direction of the village of Ram Gopal. Yogananda was walking since much of the modern day transportation was non existent in those days. Anyway , finally he makes it to Ram Gopal place. He places his head at the feet of Ram Gopal !

“Come come you must be tired. You had a long day” Yogananda got a resounding welcome. Ram Gopal asks, so where do you think God lives? Yogananda said , of course he is everywhere! Ram Gopal smiles with a twinkle in his eye and says, “ and yet you could spend a few seconds and go inside the temple? God is there too! “. There is a pause. And he continues “ “You got the wrong direction from the villager as a result of that transgression “

Yogananda was astounded. How could Ram Gopal know all this? They had dinner and soon go to bed! But Yogananda could not sleep. Ram Gopal asked what is wrong? Yogananda said “ how can I sleep when I see the blazing light of God here? Does not matter whether my eyes are closed or open “

The next day they talk more. Yogananda asks a little more about him. Ram Gopal says, he is still on his way! I have been meditating all day for only 40 years and has more to do! He then tells Yogananda that Yukteshwar is a true Guru. You will not find a Guru in the mountains but only at the feet of a true Guru. He then touched Yogananda back and his back pain for many years got healed. Yogananda returned back to Yukteshwar

So what are the points?

Ram Gopal had the insight of what Yogananda was thinking even when he was passing by the temple and when he got misled by the villager. He even knew of Yogay back problem
He healed Yogananda with a touch! In a fraction of a second
His place was so divine The light of God was seen effortlessly by anyone went there
He mediation was for 40 years, all day, and he said much more was yet to be done

I hope you are getting the picture. Give up the ego of progress. The fastest way is at the feet of a Guru. It takes effort of deep mediation. Many years. And the accomplishments of Ram Gopal was still minor! What about ordinary people like us? Be humble and seek the feet of such great people. They are in touch with the divine and can guide

If you want information go elsewhere.
If you want to debate and Brag go elsewhere
If you are not truly seeking God but want those miracles go elsewhere
If you can’t be humble and surrender to a true Guru go elsewhere.
If you like stories and want to give sermon after hearing them go elsewhere.
First seek ye the kingdom within ( from the Bible) then all riches will be added unto thee Matthew 6:33. seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

/How can the blind lead the blind ? /

Enjoy your imaginative progress and let me be!

Dec 09

Circumstances in life Or how to change life difficulties

By Bhavin in spirituality

**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 heartedly. But what I don’t tell them is it is exactly what was needed for them to progress! That unfair circumstances is is exactly what was needed to bring out the negative qualities the person has so he or she can progress. Another beautiful thing about is if they make that self correction in the personality the adverse circumstance disappears. **
This is true whether you have a guru or not. These things show that universal mother, Shree Lalitha has taken an interest in you and is leading you to a Guru. Isn’t that wonderful? If Lalitha had not taken an interest in you, you would not be reading this blog.

This is what Aurobindo – Mother said

**Now, if it so happens that you have decided to progress and if you enter the path of yoga, then a new factor intervenes. As soon as you want to progress, you immediately meet the resistance of everything that does not want to progress both in you and around you. And this resistance naturally expresses itself in all the thoughts that correspond to it. Suppose that you want to make a progress regarding attachment to food, for example; well, almost constantly there will come to you thoughts particularly interested in food, about what should be taken, what should not be taken, how it should be taken, how it should not be taken; and these ideas will come to you, they will seem quite natural to you. And the more you say within yourself, “Oh! how I would like to be free from all that, what a hindrance to my progress are all these preoccupations”, the more will they come, quietly, until the progress is truly made within and you have risen to a level of consciousness where you can see all these things from above and put them in their place―which is not a very big place in the universe! And so on, for all things. Therefore, your occupations and affinities are going to put you almost contradictorily into contact not only with ideas having an affinity and relation with your way of being, but with the opposite. And if you don’t take care from the beginning to keep an attitude of discernment, you will be turned into a mental battlefield.** **The Mother, Questions and Answers 1956, CWM volume 8, pages 208 - 209.**

Dec 06

Types of meditation

By Bhavin in spirituality

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. The enormous mind with all its worries, anxieties, desires, sadness, happiness, thoughts, logic, imagination of the world, all the intellectual debates, the ego in it….they all disappear. **
There is a direct method which is the quickest. That is hardly revealed and so what do people do? Imagine their technique is right and cling to it. Or Make up techniques. So as a result over the years different imaginary techniques appeared. Here is a short list of them

### Chinese techniques like tao and chi **Sufi methods - this is an offshoot of islam** **Hindu techniques ** **Transcendental meditation, Self inquiry method, focus on chakras, or chanting om, chanting mantras** **Buddhist techniques including zen,mindfullness, metta, vipassana.** **Christian technique which include prayers, etc**

Now, the original Buddha technique, what he really taught is lost. Thats my opinion. So as a result over the years, different people came out with their own opinion including vipassana, metta and the newest kid mindfullness. Vipassana for example is very similar to the sohum technique or hungso technique taught by Yogananda. It is a traditional hindu technique of focus on the breath. Similar in hinduism, the original method being lost, people imagine the chakras and use that imagination to focus on different parts of the body
In my opinion all those techniques have flaws. Just what I believe and I am unable to discuss or describe it. It would not be fair to the followers of those technique. So forgive me…and please continue your journey in the method you think will work
The original person who started Meditation, is Patanjali and he describes it in Yogadarshan. He merely said a few small sentences but there are plenty. Only those who have accomplished it can really understand what he meant. For example, he says, doing dharana, dhyan and samadhi simultaneously is Sayam. Generally when people read books on Yoga, they think that dharana , dhayana and samadhi are different intensities of meditation. So how can you do light attention, moderate attention and deep attention all 3 simultaneously? You cant. Then the only true conclusion is you did not understand – at all – what meditation is

These kind of statements generate debates and conflict. I apologize. I am not forcing my thoughts or ideas on anyone. In fact, I very strongly urge that no one should read what I write. Neither am I interested in a question, why do I write it or what the purpose is. Perhaps at some point, when someone, maybe someone is willing to give up all the wrong notions they have, the truth will dawn or can be revealed. However, human nature is such. We already have a preconceived notion, we are married to it, and we retaliate or violently fight anyone who has contrary opinions. This is the basis of multiple religions and methods. It is nothing more than ego generated opinions which we foolishly cling to
Thats why, my friends, the method of finding a perfect Guru, and having full faith in him or her and learning deeper secrets eventually is the fastest way. But you must be willing to give up every opinion you have. I did say eventually since a guru never reveals everything all at once. Why? No matter how hungry you are, you simply cannot eat the vast unlimited wisdom of God. Even a morsel can be hard to digest.

Dec 06

Antiques

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 they do in this life is jump from flower to flower collecting information. Then they die and do the same thing all over again. Every time they think they have made progress! Or every time they think idol worshiping is best and continue that. Or they think yoga is best and do their fake illusionary yoga. **
**I have seen people like that. Not that I am any advanced yogi. But they have telltale signs. Sadly there is not Much hope. Why? They have closed all avenues to learning more. God himself can go to their house and they will say I am going to worship my friend here / this fake Guru but not going to listen to you. This happened to Vivekananda and Yogananda. **

**The inner stubbornness of imagining you know and you understand will destroy you****The question comes, then who makes progress? Very very few. **

  **Those who are determined to find God and God alone. Not caring for fame or money **

  **Those who do good deeds. Bad deeds will darken the forces around you so much you can’t get out of it**

  **Those with a perfect Guru.  The level of Guru I talk about - there is no one there**

  **Those who read traditional yoga and refuse to follow anything else. No matter How amazing it seems **

**Seems easy but your past habits will prevent you. You will find logic not to believe me. And this is ok. After all you believe god is inferior than your superior logic **
My Guru would make an impossible statement and later 30-40 years later a lucky disciple would say oh! Now I get it!
Such is the tragedy of life – all because of ego and in faulty logic and blind faith in wrong books and Gurus

Dec 04

A smart disciple

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 are greedy for the world, want a long long list of disciples, thousands, tens of thousands, nay millions of disciples. Collect money from them, millions of people having their photo, worshipping them, donate to their causes etc.

And most people look at that as success. They will have TV shows, weekend “shibirs”, meditation gatherings, seminars, discussions, etc. I highly encourage people who think that is great,should immediately give up reading my blogs

This blog is not meant for you, and it can only completely harm your cause. Since those are the people who only seek material success and happiness.

Sadly, I am not for them.

So what does a true Guru want. Many many things. I cannot list them all here and they are meant to be kept that way
A short list is as follows

Genuine interest in self realization
Genuine interest in God
Genuine interest in knowing one own fault and correcting them
Following instructions from the true Guru completely
A disciple who has jumped around from Guru to Guru. Why? Because it shows fickle behavior, lack of faith in true Guru, it is like digging multiple holes to find water instead of digging deep in one well, lack of patience, lack of love to Guru, and they are disciples who are still evaluating what is right for them. A true Guru sees through it….and leaves them to continue their true Journey
Honesty.
The list is very long

What can I say? This is not for everyone. Find someone that matches you. But remember, if there is the sediment or impurity of fame, you will find a Guru that wants fame, if there is the sediment of greed, thats the kind of Guru you will find. Thats why, I emphasize on the disciple being fully ready

There are many stories where Yogananda had disciples but they could not stick to him. Why? Their own impurities

Once again, you need a true but living Guru. A guru who has taken Samadhi is no longer physically here is unlikely to help you. There are some spiritual restrictions which cannot be disclosed here

I leave the rest to the reader

I should clarify, I am not a Guru. I will not be a Guru and I am not going to guide anyone. There is no point in reading what I write or pursuing me.

I want nothing from anyone. No one can give me anything in this world.

With this kinds of ideas, how can anyone be worthy?

Dec 03

Meditation?

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 is not just duration but duration must be with depth.

Nothing is better or more important

So why is it that even with good intentions we cannot meditate that much?

It is simply because we have not caught the core of something precise within

Those who have it , ability to go within are rare ! Very rare!

Mansoor mastana was a Sufi Saint. He had a wonderful bhajan

ના જા મંદિર ના જા મસ્જિદ
And
કિતબે દલ પાણી મેં !
And
શરબે શોખ પિતાજા

Don’t go to temples or mosques
And
Throw your books in water
And
Indulge in alcohol with pleasure!

Of course he not talking about becoming a vagrant but he is describing his status of going within

Buddha said, if you books agree with me, that’s good for them

As far as I am concerned, I find them misleading.

Nov 29

A modern story of Ganesh – failure of the mind

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 fire. Not to be out done , many other temples had to tell the public, their Ganesh did the same. Many people in their house had the same thing too!

I hope you are getting the picture.

There really was no Ganesh drinking milk. Some capillary action, surface tension and physics had the answer for milk disappearing. In some cases.

Not in all, and not for the silver idols. Etc.

What happened there? Human weakness. Imaginatin. Ego with made up stories

Now if you repeat the lie to yourself or others a few times, very soon your mind will believe the lie.

And that is the failure of the human mind

The ego has to be satisfied. The mind is imaginative. The imagination is triggered by things you have read or heard. The person is trapped in his web of deceit

The same thing happens in most people who have Awakening of the Kundalini / Shakti / chakras.

They read or hear it observe or may have observed about Awakening. And very quickly the human mind and body starts demonstrating it. There is a sudden feeling, of peace or some power or body movement etc. God only knows how many of them are true

I have had many many people tell me about such things happening to them. I silently listen. They ask me about it. And I say it is good. They are good signs. What I don’t tell them is – are your are it is not your own mind playing tricks on you? Like the Ganesh example?

Since the mind can play many many tricks, the great Saints, scriptures, , Gita did not talk about Awakening. Most people have a weak mind and imagine things rather than having true experience. They get trapped their web – which starts from ego, strong desire to be known or tell others of progress, a depressive need to know that you are progressing, etc. Do you see how it is a failure of the Mind.

So the wise saints and Gods of India, often times omitted this. When you are ready , your Guru will tell you about it, after you have an experience. Not before. Since paths are different, there may be some uniqueness!

Why am I rambling about this? Just a caution – don’t get trapped into thinking you are progressing. My points are as follows

True Awakening of Shakti is extremely rare
Full Awakening is almost non existent
Don’t believe in miracles of others – be careful. Often intentionally or unintentionally made up
One sign of Awakening – a drastic change in personality. The person becomes calmer , better
The peace is tangible. Meaning you have adverse circumstances but remain calm
Your desires for things in the world suddenly disappear
You crave being alone
You have great faith in Shankar
You no longer read books or search things
You have experiences – something very specific to your lineage.
You suddenly realize you don’t want to tell anyone about these experiences. And you don’t. The moment you wake up from meditation and you want to tell the world about it , that very thought shows it was not a pure experience
If you tell the experience, you only tell it to someone very advanced so he may guide you.
Every experience, has subtle clues on how to jump forward. Your guru can guide you on it. If you tell the experience for showing off, you still get a compliment not guidance. That’s what you want right, a compliment?
The highest miracles as described by Patanjali in Yoga sutras – vibhuti pada are true. I was fortunate to witness them. But it is exceedingly rare, and even those who have it do not display there is no one would can do it at present – these things are always hidden. That is my biased opinion.
Read only books that are true and written by enlightened people. If you read any books and things on the net, your mind will absorb the wrong information and you will be struck with it to the end. You simply cannot get rid of it. I very strongly recommend against reading anything except a few handful of books. If you can become a become a successful engineer by reading one comprehensive book, why read volumes of worthless things? Do you want moksha or salvation? Do you want to experience that higher consciousness? Or go and waste your life seeking “information”. Reading about a million things will only take you away from the highest consciousness!

The highest consciousness or experience is something that cannot be described in words. Someone has to give it to you.

Your choice ! Pick

[ ] imaginative mind
[ ] Collect information
[ ] Imaginative experience and brag
[ ] Experience higher consciousness

Life is short. You don’t have much time. It takes a lot of effort to change the mind , become calmer, get rid of desires

Gita, Self Help, shakti
Leave comment

Nov 28

Stupidity

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 get angry, do your enemies disappear? Evil doers still exist!

But the surprising thing is – people applaud. And they spread it!

Hinduism has many profound statements! Many of incredible parables.

But who has the patience or desire!

Remember Arjuna – he was of same age as Krishna. He had no clue of the wealth with Krishna till he turned 65!

So those who have an awakened Shakti don’t display it. It is kept very well hidden. They await a sincere disciple.

If they don’t find one, it is not revealed! There were many such great Saints who no one ever new!

Nov 26

Karma – Shaivism way

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 eat, read, enjoy life, talking, work etc. fall in the category of akarma

Why? Shocked ?
The answwr is simple.! Compared to the reality of self , this entire existence of ours is a dream. Once you wake up, I mean truly truly wake up, go in Samadhi, destroy your seeds of ignorance and Maya, the seeds that make you forget you are pure consciousness – then you will laugh. Truly laugh ! This whole existence was a dream. What difference did it make if I enjoyed food or starved! If I became famous or was unknown! If I was rich or poor! It was all a dream. I am pure consciousness. This is what advaita starting point is. This is a simple starting point to understand Nirvana shatakam. Chidananda roopa shivohun shivohum. This is Shaivism ! Shankaracharya brought this back to us!

So all efforts in a dream have no bearing on reality. Worthless! But the effort to wake up are very meaningful. and that is true karma !

The Problem is everyone has a different concept of how to wake up! In the dream they want to chant, dance, recite shloka , pray to an idol and think they will wake up! My concept is someone who is awake can just gently shake you, your Consciousness starts you leave the dream, and you open your eyes ! That is fastest and safest! An see wake Guru, you leave the dream and it’s done! Isn’t that the best? What was the use of chanting or dancing or idol worship. That effort of yours to leave the dream and go to reality is best!

There is a lot more to the analogy but some other time

The choice in life is simple, continue the dream or wake up

1.) Those who are not devoted to a single Guru cannot wake up. Why ? It is like trying to bake a cookie following 100 recipes. Many people are lost, using false logic that you can freely read from many liberated people. You cannot ! Each liberated person had a different representation! If you want to follow Ramana maharishi, you need him. His books are not awake! If you want to follow Yogananda, you need him, his books cannot give you the power to open his eyes! And so on. Moreover the statements they make , sometimes it is too specific for a person or occasion. Plus you need an awakened Shakti to leave the dream!

Sone people are extremely foolish. They ask me if I have experienced it or know about Samadhi etc. That question cannot be answered! If the person says yes, he could be lying. How can that information help you achieve God? I have no desire that anyone read my blogs or talk with me or respect me or learn from me. That is your decision entirely. If your questions are limited to knowing who had Samadhi, go find another beggar in this world who wants money, riches, fame, respect. Or find another charlatan with a list of miracles
Awakened people do not fall for flattery. Nor do they want a disciple. Not even one. That burden of wanting to be awake is on the disciple. The moment a disciple shows signs of clinging to the dream, the Guru cannot give Shakti. If he does Shakti frowns on the initiate and leaves instantly. I have seen a handful of people who lost their Shakti! So first be prepared perfectly
One of my favorite bhajan is by Anwar. He sang , gulam unka kahata have – ગુલામ ઊંકા kahaata જા Be a slave to that enlightened person. The human ego will refuse that attitude. But Miralepa – became free in one life, by becoming a slave to an enlightened Guru with an extremely vicious attitude. His tests were as bad as the tests Harischandra, Gora Kumbhar etc ref https://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism-for-kids/335.html
The point is you will not know who is enlightened and the enlightened will not tell you If you are very fortunate, very sincere in waking up, then you will instinctively know this person is enlightened. What he says is true. And then the Guru will test you for a few years or a few decades. If you pass the test, then you get liberated almost instantly ( a few years) Otherwise Shakti is not interested in a billions of people who want to stay in the dreams of the world, enjoying the pleasures, the riches the fame. Like Vivekananda said, let the brutes of the world enjoy the world! He called them brutes and Bharthruhari called such sensual pleasures animalistic – મનુષ્ય રૂપેણ મૃગા ચરાંતી. Sorry. Could not type it properly. How can advaita be there for those who love pleasures of the world! Go enjoy reading your books, your internet, your WhatsApp, movies and restaurants I want to be left alone!

Nov 23

Klesha

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 are seeking information but not God, and they read multiple sources, I suggest they look elsewhere

This is not the perfect fit or match for then. Why hasten and depart this world early. Go and enjoy.
I prefer to enjoy from within.

Anyway , I called Patanjali as God. He gave the world the super fast way. There are many blogs on his aphorism. May I suggest the reader use their intelligence and the intellect of others ? My path is that of direct perception. You can try to describe a table like we do in dumb charades etc. or you can just show it. Intelligence is like describing it. Perception is just seeing it

Patanjali Bhagwan wrote yoga sutras. In chapter 2 he described kleshas

Sutra 2.3: avidyā-asmitā-rāga-dveṣa-abhiniveśā kleśa

Yogannda gave a detailed explanation of it in God talks with Arjuna

Avidya – the veil of ignorance of not knowing self as divine self. As a result you suffer and seek knowledge / information from many. There are 7 steps to its removal

Asmita – the false ego and fight you give when someone tells you, you are already free and the divine. The fight and debate when Jesus said my father and I are one.

Raga – attachment. This is to objects , people and your information , to ego and vanity etc

Dvesha – aversion like Yogananda said. We don’t like adverse circumstances. We dislike people who are adversarial. We avoid them. Shun them. How many times have you groaned when you see a phone call from xyz?

Abhinivesha – clinging. We cling to our body, false concepts, we are afraid to let go of money, our desire for food, sex etc. If God came and gave you liberation and said , you will now never desire sex or food or want to see nature , talk with people etc – you will never want it or get it – but continue to live would you accept? Your mind would hesitate ! That is the point. We are unwilling to let go

Maya or delusion has created a perfect trap !

Those are the 5 traps or klesha. Are they abstract concepts – the intellectual call them abstract. A yogi sees those forces and gets liberated. Anyone want to open their eyes?

The answer is no. Let me prove it to you. Look at the foolishness people have. And this will explain why Neem Karoli baba had no disciples. We sing Hanuman chalisa. Before singing the actual chalisa there is a shloka that says

Harhu klesh Vikar

Harhu destroy
Klesh – as described above
Vikas – fault / flaw

It does not matter whether you know Hindi, Gujarati or this ancient dialect. The problem was no one prayed to Neem Karoli to get rid of klesha. If only, if only we had, while he was in physical body – :). You get the picture

The entire Hanuman Chalisa is full of yoga secrets. One has to learn them slowly. I can’t teach anyone. You can only take the horse to the water
No one wants to drink. They want information
Go elsewhere

Gita, Neem Karoli Baba, saints, Self Help, Yoga, Yogananda
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Nov 21

Disciple

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 harder the trials imposed on the disciple, the more the awakening he or she is likely to retain and progress

Sadly, the modern day disciples are extremely weak. Beyond imagination weak. I have seen many such examples of weakness

The disciple gets angry or upset with the Guru
The disciple has expectations the Guru must conform to the wishes and norms imposed on the Guru by the disciples imagination
The disciple ceases to stay in communication
The disciple fails to understand the greatness of the Guru and can only see the flaws (the flaws are not real…they merely pretend)

Of course the list is quite long and you can read about them in Mahayoga vigyan. After you read the list, you will say, you are not ready for a Guru and wont be ready for a Guru for a very long time

It is very difficult to recognize a guru….The only hallmark of a Guru that he will show, is an explanation of the scriptures with amazing clarity and can talk about things not written in any books ever

Yes some Gurus freely display powers, but they do that…because they know there are no disciples ready to progress, so they will surround themselves with people who can slowly reconnect with God. Neem Karoli Baba, did not really have any disciples. Just Bhaktas. The people left behind now, are not ready for the higher experiences. This of course could be my interpretation and could be totally wrong. My apologies, in advance, for offending anyone, since it may reflect my weakness and not theirs. I am very biased by the experiences that I have seen with Yogananda lineage, Vishnutirthji Maharaj, My lineage etc

Some Gurus have remained hidden all throughout their life. They know ahead of time that the disciple will not pass beyond the first grade so they make no attempt to enroll them.

Gangadhartirthji Maharaj, waited all his life for 1 disciple. He found one, at the age of 90. He realized that the disciple was married and sent him home. He prevented awakening till the disciple discharged his responsibility for 20 years. His name was Kali Kishore and he spent 20 years in poverty and difficulties. His Guru had already departed

At the end of 20 years, – what a long trial and testing period – with poverty to the extreme – his shakti finally awakened and finished his journey in a few months. His name was Narayantirthji Maharaj. He usually meditated in the open skies, often sitting on a stone for hours, hardly spoke but was very compassionate. One of his foremost disciple was Yogendra Vigyanai, a wonderful character, always smiling and had all the powers you can imagine. He still appears every so often in this world.

Vivekananda often met Pav ahari baba. He would ask Pav ahari baba a question and Pav Ahari baba would laugh it off. But Vivkenanda would continue to remain in his presence, from love and respect and
Enough said. The testing of a Guru or any saint is often difficult.

Nov 18

What a tragedy

By Bhavin in spirituality

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
Their samadhi way
Insult or praise
They hide right away
Your ways were wrong
Oh what a tragedy

Oh what a tragedy
My blogs say a lot
Yet you learned not
The tests are many
The failures plenty
No Patrice you have
Oh what a tragedy

Oh what great luck
I was so stuck
In mud and dirt
My Guru’s grace
I saw God’s face
Now all is bright
Oh what great luck

Nov 14

Learn to go within

By Bhavin in spirituality

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 off connection to external world. We do it automatically
Yoga – step wise technique is going within
Kriya yoga – the power of within

Anyway this is a slow process.

How do you hasten it?

Staying in the company of those who can go within. Talking with them. This is the most powerful way
Purity of thought. Not having anger or despair. No desires for external world. No thoughts of revenge. Endure all circumstances of life. No thoughts of why me. The list can be either long
Having love for God. Now this is very powerful. But it cannot be reached until you have met God. Not in thought. Or imagination. Or fantasy. Real. As real as the table in front of you. Then you will want God strongly. It is a catch 22 in ways
Reading books or blogs that reinforce these values.
Staying away from those who teach contrary to traditional yoga. This is the bulk of Guru and blogs out there. So I never look at other people’s blogs or what they say or teach. It is difficult to weed out fake from real. So just read things written by perfected people.
Daily practice. Yogananda suggested about 8 hours of meditation should be enough. My Gurudev would have us do it a few days at a time. If you were lucky he would let you sit for a week at a time
Having a Guru. Life will not be easier. Guru will test you to see if you are ready ( see point 2). But the reward is incredible.

I am not interested in the flashy stuff or in the masses. I cringe within by such people. Neither do I want anyone following me. It would be great if there are 5 people like that ( with above attribute) in this world. Sadly the world is not that fortunate.

PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER

Many times I have used the word spirituality. This word, in Latin means breathing! Spirit means breathing. Hence all yoga involves the art of breathing and mastery of it

In Devatma shakti Vishnutirthji Maharaj and in Mahayoga Vigyan , the signs that the doorway is open is described here. I will reproduce it here but please do not read it in isolation. Go read the full book

God does not permit anyone to reach the highest unless they take care of their responsibilities

There is a big difference between perceived happiness and true happiness

So the best way to be happy is get rid of the self inflicted pain of desire! Seek true happiness from within

First finish your obligations!

What is the moral of the story?

Ego check – a story from Autobiography of a yogi – Ram Gopal

This is what Aurobindo – Mother said

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