Ramble On...

A heart that aches has no respite,
for the love it seeks is nowhere in sight.

uuuh...i am going to throw up now.

I told you so...

Hello there!

Although the terrorist wave has subsided for now, the ripples still manage to reach the shores.

We earlier talked about Sufi Saints helping out their fellow country men in search of peace and harmony.

Look whose been listening secretly!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7896943.stm

Off i go to sign my royalty contract ;)

cheers
anand

The Terrorist Within

Terrorism is probably the most common word flowing out of our tireless lips these days, closely followed by recession and job losses.

There is little doubt that acts like these need to be condemned and stopped. Most of us may agree that there is no justification in killing innocent, unarmed civilians in a country that is not in active war with any nation. It may be hard to believe, but some people actually disagree!

We have been exposed to mass terrorism in the last 15 odd years, though it has been there in one form or the other for much longer. Let us try and give it a realistic perspective by relating events that we remember or recollect.

Was 9/11 the first act of terrorism? or was it the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai? or was it the 1984 assassination of Indira Gandhi?

Can we term the insurgency by Pakistani militants into India since the early 1980s as the beginning of terrorism? or did it take root with the original Afghan Mujahideen during the soviet invasion of the late 1970s?

Did it start during the World War? Was Hitler a glorified terrorist? what about the native American wars and the reservation problem? what can we call the Holy war of the Crusades? what about the merciless armies of Chengiz Khan or Kublai Khan? What about the marauding armies of Attila the Hun?

The Spanish invasion of South America in quest for Aztec gold cost the lives of countless natives. What shall we call the genocide in Vietnam, Cambodia, Rwanda, Angola, Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and the countless other strife torn regions across the world?

What should we call that? War? Colonisation? Anarchy? Merciless killing? Terrorism? Tough luck?

Closer to home, millions of Hindus were massacred over many years on both sides of the Hindukush mountains (Afghanistan), in what was known as Hindustan during the 1st Millennium. Hungry armies have mounted countless raids across the Arabian desert and through the Khyber Pass, leading into Hindustan.

With a blood soaked history such as this, one cannot be blamed for thinking that terrorism was born and thrives in the golden triangle of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Today, the world's people have the liberty and capability to discuss heinous acts such as the one witnessed recently in Mumbai. Similar incidents have taken place the world over since the dawn of time. The only difference is that today we have dramatic effects like crumbling towers, exploding aeroplanes, heroic commandos and senseless newsmen clamouring for misplaced public attention.

Earlier, there was no 24-hour coverage about Alexander's conquest across Babylonia and his tryst with India. I doubt if Sri Rangachari Mudaliar sitting in his veranda sipping strong South Indian coffee in front of Srirangam Temple in Trichi got to hear of a certain Alexander wreaking havoc half way across the world.

Faster communication, technology and travails of the modern world have given violence a new name and dimension that we have now come to recognise as "global terrorism".

United States went about addressing its first "terrorist" attack by waging a "legal " war with a people whose land was already ravaged by consecutive wars. Whether the war on terror did appease the kith and kin of the victims is something that needs introspection, but there is no doubt that it depleted their stock of expired military arsenal and gave the armed forces a chance to flex its muscles against an enemy they haven't found in 7 long years of battle.

As people who tend to be less violent (when our husbands and wives aren't around), what we could do is to understand the root cause of actions that attract the name "terrorism", and try to address those issues.

In truth, we have always had individuals or a group of people willing to harm others for a variety of reasons like profit, hatred, conquest, greed, anger, power and quite dangerously, in the name of God. What makes incidents like these stand out is the unprovoked killing of civilians by armed gangs from a foreign land with no apparent demand or specific intent other than striking fear in the hearts of people.

Although the terrorists who stormed Mumbai on that fateful night could have been blackmailed, misled or brainwashed into committing the crime, they sacrificed their individual thinking for a school of thought that few people in the world can identify with.

Where is the problem?

The perpetrators of this crime harbour the same negative thoughts we know all too well. Their mind breeds anger, hatred and intolerance for others. Out of these three, i would single out intolerance as the key suspect. Be it LeT, JeM, Al-Qaeda, Taliban or Mujahideen, they are unable to accept the existence of people who may not agree with them. The same is true for many others across the world who spread hatred and violence.

They preach a system of intolerance and violent justice towards everyone who do not accept their beliefs. To add to their misery, misinterpreted religious doctrines and economic hardships have completely distorted their minds into following "laws" or "orders" that could not be any further from the absolute truth.

Where did this intolerance come from? my personal belief is that it comes from misguidance. "A" misguided "B" who misguided "C" and so on. It is another matter whether this was deliberate or a consequence of blind faith in whatever was dished out. I am not saying that the religion taught to them is wrong, but i do believe that its interpretation went horribly wrong somewhere. The right word would be, Lost in Translation.

Sounds like an Eskimo hired to decipher Tamil literature from the Sangam period and re-write them in Vedic Sanskrit.

Incorrect information, inculcating inaccurate, illogical and inane ideologies in a certain section of the society over an extended period of time has led us to this situation.

Deliberate or not, misguidance comes from a single source, Ignorance. If i deliberately hit my neighbour with a stick because i feel good, then i am showing my ignorance because the real "good feeling" does not come from hitting my neighbour, but by showing compassion, friendliness and tolerance.

By ignorance, we mean "Agyan" or lack of knowledge about the absolute truth. In this case, ignorance about many basic virtues of human life can be noticed.

If i have been threatened and misguided by someone to hit my neighbour, then it is again ignorance because i have surrendered to a thought that does no good to anyone.

The hapless terrorist and his mentors suffer from the same mental afflictions like anger, hatred, jealousy, intolerance, greed, lust, desire, etc. that we already know about. We ourselves are victims of these very same "terrorists" within our mind, although we could claim that the degree of our suffering is much lesser.

Other than these problems, they have been extremely unlucky to have been,

1) In a highly volatile environment that has a tradition of narrow minded and oppressed thinking.

2) In a region already torn apart with extreme religious and cultural beliefs, with stunted social development.

3) In countries suffering from acute economic and domiciliary challenges.

How to solve the problem?

The first Intifada or Jihad has to come from within. If more and more individuals take up arms against the ills that the mind suffers from, then the revolution from within will lead us to a source of knowledge that will douse the fire once and for all.

It is said that Islam teaches many good virtues and preaches non-violence. Pity that many of these killers are not taught to follow the very same good virtues mentioned in the Holy Quran. History has show us that there have been many saints and samaritans from the Islamic world. Sufi saints are very popular for their heart warming poems, all in the name of God.

They need not necessarily look outside their own society for answers. Following the lead from their own saints, they could accomplish a lot more than the western civilisation has, in terms of humanity and social cause.

Until each misguided person realises that he or she is doing wrong and needs to correct himself, there will be no end to the violence within, and outside.

If the people from these societies begin to shun violence and look at easier methods of finding inner and external peace, then their ignorance will begin to fade. Hopefully, a social structure and a system of education that teaches tolerance for other faiths and people can be established in these troubled countries.

Undoubtedly, they should be taught that violence is not the answer for a missing piece of bread from their plate.

Now comes the point of God and Grace. If these unfortunate souls had the great opportunity of having a peace loving saint explain to them about good, bad and eventually about the absolute truth, there is a good chance of them reforming.

With God's Grace and Will, such an event could definitely take place and a revolution of epic proportions could be in the making.

Imagine what could happen if their society at large is led by a strong, peace-loving Sufi saint? His easy flowing philosophy could be explained to them in a way that will dispel all their doubts and misconceptions about God and help develop tolerance for other religions.

Imagine how content they would be to find out that the answer to their own suffering lies in putting an end to the ignorance they have about people, societies and most importantly, the ignorance about the true path to eternal happiness.

A very ideal situation would be that they begin to find solace in the tenets of "Sanatan Dharm" or the Eternal, Universal Religion. But that is a far cry, since political and religious boundaries will ensure unbearable taxes on such an import across the border.

If i could mention another critical point as the cause of their woes, it is the case of a missing leader. The region has missed a strong and balanced people leader with the highest ideals.

It would definitely help if the society creates a calm, serene environment free of violence and hatred. They should be taught the basic virtues of friendliness, compassion and so on. God has to be introduced as a form of love and affection, not as the leader of marauding killers. This will bring about a change in their outlook and eventually a huge turnaround in overall behaviour.

This shift should happen at the grass root level, in the streets and by lanes of the very same cities that churn out killing machines by the dozen.

If they get it all right, they should be picking up a copy of Tom & Jerry instead of their beloved hand-held rocket launcher ;)

Readers might find that this article has a moderate and soft view of the situation amidst war cries from various quarters. War is not a solution all the time, especially in a dangerous region like ours, and in a delicate situation such as the one we are in today.

A fitting tribute to peace was paid by Led Zeppelin in their immortal song, "Battle of Evermore" that echoed,

The pain of war cannot exceed the woe of aftermath.

As usual, i must add that these are personal views and does not reflect that of any other individual or community :)

Khuda Hafiz

Anand

A Problem of Plenty

In an earlier post, we outlined some of the challenges facing modern man in his quest to embrace God and Spirituality. Let us recollect those points.

1) Which God?

Man, this is a tough one. This is worse than, "Should i study at Harvard or at Yale?" To me it all depends on the availability of,

a. Affordable education.
b. Quality idli vada.
c. The distance to the nearest cricket ground.

It appears they have none.

No...seriously, Which God? The one from the east or the one from the west? Since the north and the south are generally barren, we either march westwards where the sun never sets, or east across the Hindukush mountains, where the rising sun is a sight to behold.

A small lesson in history can help here i guess.

It is said that there are 11 major faiths in this world. A look at the the most volatile flash point on earth reveals 3 major religions. Jerusalem is the melting pot of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Although Islam was not born in Jerusalem, its roots are inextricably linked with Jerusalem.

Another region close-by gave rise to Zoroastrianism, and believed to have arrived earlier than Christianity and Islam. In terms of age, it is presumably closer to Judaism, which is based on the old testament.

Going eastwards, we have Taoism (Daoism), Shinto, Confucianism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Sanatan Dharm (Hinduism).

Give or take a few, we have listed a majority of religions that around 6.5 Billion people follow or proclaim to follow in some form or the other.

Question hour...

1. Have these religions / faiths fully answered all our spiritual questions?
2. Have they been able to silence our minds and intellects with irrefutable logic, as our modern mind demands?
3. How successful have they been in describing the relationship between the Soul, God and the external world?
4. How well have they described the need for God and the path towards God-realisation?
5. Have they had Universal appeal and acceptance?

Other than these, we have many more complicated questions like, the birth of the universe, the truth about afterlife (rebirth) and so on. Scientists, Explorers, Stock brokers and the common man, all are looking for answers.

Is there a single person / source who can answer all of these questions satisfactorily?

When the explorers and scientists do not find much after digging deep down, the only place to look is up. Given the current market trend, the only way is up for our crestfallen financial whiz kids i suppose ;)

A religion that has universal appeal and acceptance is rare. It might be worth introducing an interesting fact that, ALL the seven major religions of the world are freely practised in one single country! Nowhere in the world do we find such tolerance for all religions and faiths.

India is the birth place of Sanatan Dharm. It has full tolerance and acceptance for all faiths. India is also the birth place of Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. St. Thomas travelled to India soon after Jesus Christ left earth. One of the very first tirades that the Islamic revolutionaries launched was against India, soon after Prophet Muhammad left. There goes a legend that when Alexander the Great was asked to name a gift, he asked for a wise man from the east (India).

No wonder, India has remained the epicentre and pinnacle of spiritual wisdom.

If there is a place where people have found eternal spiritual solace, it is in Hinduism. This might seem like a controversial or a blasphemous statement to make, especially when there are millions of people who have found peace and happiness in various faiths they follow sincerely, including the 11 mentioned above.

But, for the ones who are not satisfied with what they have, Sanatan Dharm has the answers. It has the capacity to answer all our questions and transport a true spiritual aspirant towards the ultimate goal of God realisation, provided the aspirant approaches with a humble heart and an open mind.

2) Authenticity of information

Ok, i am a very humble man, i polish my own shoes and clean my own plates. Get me the answers.

Well, i hope it were that easy. First, we need to find a trustworthy source. Where can we find a messiah who will deliver us?

Hang on, do we actually need a messiah or can it be done remotely, over a T3 internet pipe? why do we need some messiah to help us out? Is it not easy to just devour a book hidden deep inside some cave and become the master of the universe or something?

Point to ponder. Why do we need a messiah or a saint? Since time immemorial, people have been waiting for this messiah dude who will bash up all the bad guys. Who are the bad guys? well, according to A, B is bad. If you ask B, he will swear that A is bad. Call C, he will say both A and B are despicable.

Anyway, there is this messiah package from the heavens that FedEx has not yet delivered or maybe there is some book or sacred text hidden somewhere which will give us the answer. Whatever it is, The Saint or the holy man seems to be the common link, sacred scroll or no sacred scroll.

Saints and Soothsayers are spread the world over. India is the hotbed of spiritual trainees, who come in all shapes and sizes. Be it the path of Religious ritualism and Righteousness (Karm and Dharm), path of Knowledge (Gyanis and Yogis) or the path of pure Devotion (Bhakti), you will find them all here.

To add to the confusion, we have the Vedic scriptures, the Upanishads, the Puranas and so on. Which one is better, Mahabharat or Ramayan? Do those characters really exist?

I mean, give me break pal. 10-headed demon (Ravana) slain by a king on exile with an army of apes...tell it to the birds. Listen to this one, a kid (Shree Krishna) dancing on the a snake with many hoods? what do you take me for?

So, here we go again...

1) I cannot believe what is said in those books because it sounds absurd.
2) If at all they were to be believed, who is to be trusted with an accurate account of these events?
3) Whose interpretation is genuine?
4) Even if it did happen and the books are authentic, so what? how does it affect me?

Whom do we TRUST?

One says, do Yoga and Pranayam, thou shalt be liberated. Sure, many of us to do find mental relief and comfort, but liberation, no way! ever heard of the "peace pipe" mate ;)

On a serious note, Yoga and Pranayam are extremely effective techniques to keep your body in excellent physical shape and health. Many diseases and ailments (related to the physical body) can be cured. Yoga also helps build mental strength and concentration.

But, Yoga / Pranayam alone cannot treat the afflictions of a fickle mind or the fallacies of a flawed intellect. It is definitely true that they soothe your mind temporarily, but once you fold your Yoga mat, external stress re-enters your mind, slowly if not immediately.

The next level of redeemers are the ones who proclaim that meditation is the answer to relieve stress and lead a happy life. Mediate on what? nobody knows. Everyone seems to have attended a class on meditation or met a Guru who has been in meditation since the Himalayas formed, but i fail to see what was the subject of meditation. Common subjects people attempt are,

1) An imaginary point in front of you. Think of a small circle and concentrate on that.
2) Do not think anything. Just let thoughts come and go.
3) Empty your mind and feel the presence of God around you.

uuuh....eerie.

What if i meditate on the form of a 3 year old child? maybe that child is my son or daughter. What is the consequence of such a meditation? What will i attain or realise?

At this juncture, it is worth introducing the problem of the plenty.

3) Too many cooks in the kitchen

We have a mind-boggling array of saints and soothsayers in our country with astonishing techniques and skills, that it is virtually impossible to weigh them or at times even dispute them.

As mentioned earlier, we have saints of various sects and religions, saints with different ideologies, philosophies and dogmas, saints with mystical powers and then the harmless saints with no rhyme or reason.

We also have another class of godmen / godwomen who bring (mis)fortune and (de)fame to people.

For ex., we have all heard about this palmist / astrologist who told your neighbour that he / she will find a few precious gems hidden underneath the pillow one morning. Voila! it was indeed the case. What can you say to that?

Well, only one thing. This has nothing to do with Spirituality.

With the limited Spiritual knowledge that we all possess, our intellect tells us that we need to find a person and not a book. That person is called a Guru in Sanatan Dharm (Hinduism).

If we find a Guru whom we can TRUST, then we will find the answer to our questions. Spiritual or material, thou shalt be answered. The onus of finding a Guru lies with the question seeker. Though a true Guru is a spiritual doctor, recommending one like we do with a family doctor does not always help in this realm.

Finding a source of unparalleled, infallible and true Spiritual knowledge is not that easy. Some do have it easy but that is not a rule. It is a matter of personal interest and hunger for satisfactory answers. The level of Guru you will find is directly proportional to the amount of spiritual hunger in your heart. Throw in a generous amount of God's grace into the equation, you have the recipe to attain unlimited knowledge.

Ok, fine..lets get a Guru.

The question once again rises, WHICH Guru to trust?

That my friend, is a personal quest for the greatest treasure you will ever unearth.

Why God?

Mention the word God and a big chunk of your Rolodex vanishes, your friends shun you as a loser and family disowns you. This is more so the case in the modern world.

It is no secret that more people than ever are displeased, disenchanted, disappointed, disoriented or disgusted with anything remotely connected to God, Devotion and Spirituality.

At the same time, there are a few who do try to discover and follow a path they find suitable and appealing. But in the eyes of God, a majority of the population is still at large.

Lets examine a few of the reasons for this surprisingly united and vehement rejection.

One of the major problems that many generations across thousands of years have faced is the access to authentic information. A genuine and trustworthy source on which we can bestow our blind faith in.

Even if such a source or two existed, we lacked faith. Our intellect led us to believe that the source is not good enough or not that convincing. It is natural for our mind and intellect not to accept something that does not appeal to us. It is in our grain to fight, dispute and disagree with concepts that we cannot identify with.

Qualities like faith, sincerity, devotion and conviction in the word of saints or Divine literature (scriptures) are rare. In India, life in the olden days was simple and revolved around God. This is one of the reasons why the world always looked towards the east, particularly the sub-continent for Spiritual solace. This does not mean that other countries were bereft of Spiritual wealth. Each region had its share of saints and godmen or godwomen. Yet, the geographical region that is generally known as India has always been the seat of Spiritual learning for people across the world.

When life revolves around God, it is natural for people to develop Divine qualities like sincerity, devotion, honesty and so on. The association with Saints brings them closer to God and people are encouraged to keep their quest for God realisation alive.

Modern world developments have led the human mind away from God and towards Science. The Renaissance period was decisive in this paradigm shift in human adoption of science as the answer for human progress. This philosophy was thrust into all regions across the world and the consequences are being felt everywhere, over the last 500 odd years.

A quick note about the effect of foreign influence in our country. Spiritual life in India has stood the test of time and has continued to be largely unaffected by many of the critical events in history. Armies came, looted, destroyed, ruled and left. Missionaries came and established large centres. But the spiritual knowledge and greatness of Hindu philosophy never waned. A good majority of Hindu learning centres, pilgrimage sites and holy cities continued to be magnets for spiritual seekers.

Materialism has made life easier and luxurious but at the same time, it has conveniently allowed us to make that fatal choice of choosing a path away from the basic truths. People cite peer pressure, society and force of habit as the reason for chasing after material benefits but the truth is that every individual makes that choice by himself or herself deep within the heart.

Some people just say, "I do not give a hoot. I like it, so i do it". This attitude can be very costly because it is a very ego centric behaviour. Unless that person hears out the other side, the benefits of stepping down from the altar of false ego will never be known.

So, where have we arrived since we were born? Some of our lives are better than it was 10 years ago and definitely better than what it was when we were nestling in mother's arms. By better life, i am referring to monetary and luxurious gains.

But inside our hearts and minds, we have inculcated many diseases like Jealousy, Anger, Greed, Lust and so on. Mention this to anyone and they will immediately shun away as nobody wants to be called a greedy person or a cheat or a short-tempered person. We all like to think that we are very good individuals.

Good nature and behaviour is a small step towards God. Humility, Honesty, Compassion, Piety and other good qualities are associated with God. Due to the fickle mind that we have developed over the years, our attention is directed more towards things of our interest rather than something that demands the bending of our ego. The moment someone or something hurts our ego, our natural instincts take over and react adversely.

Our material outlook in life and extreme adoption of Science in many aspects of life has drawn us away from our Spiritual side.

In India, a pseudo spiritual attitude has crept into the lives of families across the board. God is summoned for every festival or only during a crisis. At all other times, he is kept at a safe distance to ensure a guilt free lifestyle.

People today demand that Spirituality should be 'packaged' in a way that it can be made attractive for the modern man. Lo! that is happening today. Organisations are scampering to attract people and their fat wallets with various types of 'packages' in Spirituality, Meditation, Yoga and Transcendence.

I find it surprising that none mention Devotion in their marketing material.

Modern man's packaging request seems a bit strange, as he does not demand that his favourite wine or cigarette be packaged in a such a way that it is made attractive to him. Put the same wine in a wooden container or wrap the same premium tobacco in paper, it would still make its way into his system. He is not necessarily bothered about the beautiful presentation.

A man who relishes meat will look for it even in the dirtiest of eateries. A smoker does not question the authenticity of the crop, he just starts hallucinating at the sight of weed. A drunk wants his daily hooch, crystal glass or not. He does not want an expensive looking bottle or a swanky bar. Booze is all he wants.

Packaging spirituality is akin to a kid not swallowing the pill. It needs to be laced in honey.

There is no doubt that obscure ideas and representations of God and Spirituality, combined with inaccurate interpretations of holy scriptures have driven people further away from God. This is one of the biggest drawbacks of modern times. More people are involved in mud slinging and defaming other faiths, causing intense disinterest and repulsion towards religion.

Then there is the question of authenticity within a faith or religion. Myriad claims are made in the name of God, but the veracity of such proclamations leaves much to be desired. Most faiths have extreme convictions in their own philosophy and preaching. Which one should we follow?

There seem to be so many saints and millions of followers. Who says religion is out, it is en vogue!

Despite the presence of so many spiritual heads and institutions across the country and around the world, little has changed inside our personal lives. They have not managed to grab our attention or captivate our hearts. The effectiveness of a saint can be measured in the amount of spiritual development that the saint brings about in a human being.

We can see that a lot of inter-related factors have discouraged us from embracing Spirituality and God. People look for the moderate, secular and "middle" line they can follow so that they can "accommodate" spirituality into their lives and not the other way around.

Digging a bit more into this indifference in our attitude towards Spirituality and God, let us examine what is that we are looking for in life.

What is our aim in life?

Every person could presumably come up different answers. Most of them are material. Somebody wants to be CEO, another wants to make a few hundred millions, another wants to marry the most beautiful girl or man, another wants to visit the best spots on earth and so on.

Some want to help others, some want to retire in the forest and live happily ever after. Some want to disappear into the mountains. All of these are material quests. They will make no difference to your life during its last breath and beyond.

We could safely declare that we are aimless and we do not know why we are running crazy all day. We work hard to eat a good meal at night, and eat a good meal to work hard the next day.

Aimless as it may seem, there is a hidden agenda. Every person is looking for happiness, peace, tranquillity and all other synonyms associated will bliss.

Happiness to me is staking out in the jungle, waiting to capture the elusive tiger on the much coveted Nikon D3 and a 600mm lens. Happiness to another is skinning the tiger for a quick buck. Happiness to another is buying the tiger skin for a fortune and making a garment out of it. Happiness to another is catching the poacher and the consumer. Happiness to another is protecting the tiger along with the environment.

This perceived happiness is not long lasting. If the tiger were to pounce on me, my happiness would turn into morbid fear. Similarly, if the tiger pelt had bullet holes driven into it, the consumer buying it would be fuming instead of being ecstatic.

The object (tiger) is the same. But it evokes different feelings in each of us. We see that the perception of happiness is different in each and every person's mind but nonetheless, happiness is what we all seek. It is a unanimous goal!

If we were to find out what is the nature of true happiness and where to find eternal happiness, then, we will begin to seek happiness in the right place, including the spiritual realm featuring God.

For the tiger's sake, do not abandon your quest for happiness :)

The Chariot to Eternity

I once heard a saint explain the most challenging of questions with such consummate ease, that it seemed rather unreal at first. The truth is astounding and yet so easy and crystal clear.

So, what is that difficult question?

Explain the relationship between the body, the senses, the mind, the intellect and the soul.

Gulp...

Wise Man says,

"The body is like a chariot. It has arms, legs and a few organs thrown in for good measure, just like the strong body of a chariot has wheels and a weapons bay.

The 5 senses are like the horses. Wherever the horses run, the chariot goes that way. Similarly, whatever the senses perceive, the body reacts to it."

The horses can run amok if given a free hand. Disaster is imminent. In the same way, if the senses are gives total freedom, it will lead the body to no man's land. The horses are controlled by reigns. If they run wild, they are reigned in with the ropes.

Similarly, the senses are controlled by the mind. It is the mind that wishes to see, hear, feel, touch and taste. If the mind decides against looking at an object or eating that very sweet candy, the sense organs cannot do anything but obey the command of the mind.

For ex., if you are already full in your stomach and somebody puts your favourite meal in front of you. What will be your reaction? will you devour it? more likely not. Even if you do, regurgitation is imminent :)

What if the reigns are not held tight? the horses will still run wild. The charioteer is the one controls the reigns. If he is skilled and powerful, the reigns will be tight and he will lead the horses in the right direction. The chariot will automatically go on the right path.

In exactly the same way, a superior intellect controls the mind. Even if the mind runs astray, a well developed intellect will instruct the mind about the harmful effects of letting the senses go wild and prevent the mind from thinking in the wrong direction.

Hang on...we have the chariot, the horses, the reigns and a suave charioteer. Looks like we are missing something. Aah, the all important business class passenger on the chariot. He does not do a thing but enjoy the in-flight services and free champagne. He is at the mercy of the charioteer. Wherever the chariot goes, the passenger has to go.

So, we have a Body (Chariot), the 5 Senses (Horses), the Mind (Reigns) and the Intellect (Charioteer). What about the Soul?

The Soul is the business class passenger at the mercy of the charioteer (the intellect).

The Soul does not perform any action but is the actual benefactor of the thoughts and actions collectively performed by the intellect, mind and the senses.

The purpose of existence (human body) is to reach its final destination, God. If the chariot (body) goes the wrong way, the passenger (Soul) will reach the wrong destination and will have to suffer.

On the other hand, if a body driven by the senses is controlled by a strong mind, which in turn is governed by a superior intellect, then the Soul can reach its destiny.

The Wizard thus spake,

The Soul is but a silent passenger on the Chariot to Eternity.

For the Love of God

Everybody says God is love and love is God. But i love my partner, my children and all the expensive things i own.

Why should i love God and not some other person or thing?

The answer can be found by understanding who we are and what is our goal in life. Innumerable people have pondered over these three questions:

1) Who are we and where do we come?
2) Why are we here?
3) How do we find God and love him?

Even so that a modern Rock band with a progressive bend of mind, has a popular song by the name, "The Spirit Carries On", mulling over the same questions.

Since eternity, scores of sacred texts, manuscripts and religious books have been dedicated in an attempt to answer these questions. Renowned philosophers and theologists have propounded a variety of answers. Many are accepted and some not.

What you will read here is a concise version of what is a "generally" accepted truth. The source will be revealed as we read on.

There are many variants to these questions, but in general, they all hum around the same concept.

Who are We?

We are all Souls and an eternal part of God. We all seek happiness, in one form or the other. Our search for happiness has been on since time immemorial, even before WAIS, Altavista or Google came into being. Gee, that's a long time!

God is synonymous with happiness, peace and love. The Vedas and Upanishads repeatedly proclaim this fact. If we all like happiness, it is only natural for us to be attracted to God. It is a scientific rule that a tiny fraction of any large object moves towards that large entity.

For ex., a handful of mud or dust is a part of the earth. Release it from your hand and it goes back where it came from. Light a fire and it goes skyward, towards the Sun, its origin. The river is a part of the Ocean, all rivers race towards the Ocean.

Similarly, whether we like it or not, "WE" are eternal "fragments" of God and we can only love God. It is a different matter that we have forgotten who we are and generally, don't tend to "love" God. All of us assume ourselves to be this body or mind and associate with it.

We pursue happiness and luxury related to the body or the mind. Why? Because we firmly believe that we are a body. Hence, whatever pleasure the body or mind seeks, we pursue them till the ends of the earth.

If we begin to realise the truth that we are not this perishable body but an eternal part of God, then we would begin our search for happiness related to the Soul.

What is this "Soul" thing? can we touch it or feel it?

The Soul is an eternal entity. It is a part, a fraction of God's eternal energy. We cannot touch it or feel it (atleast not now!). It is a Divine being, since God is Divine. It is due to the Soul that a body feels conscious or sentient. Without the Soul livening it, a body is but a lump of rotting flesh.

As long as we think that we are a body, we will continue to perceive happiness in people and inanimate objects of this material realm. The true "I" is the Soul and the true happiness associated with the Soul is God.

Many of us have been lucky to obtain some objects of material pleasure like house, car, money, etc. Some of us may also have partners like a husband or a wife. Some may also have children. Have we found perfect and ever lasting happiness in any of them?

It is definitely true that we feel happy and sometimes elated with these objects and the people we are closely related to. There are moments when external objects give you a sense of euphoria. But, we also know that they are all momentary and fleeting. We only live with the memory of a certain incident gone by. There are many instances in our lives where we says, "Remember, we went there? we did that. Those were such good times". We always long for one of those great times that is the past.

A good example of this revealing truth is about a mother who has lost her child in the market. She searches frantically in all directions for any trace of her dear little one. People bring her all sorts of luxurious things, but all she wants is her child. They show her the most beautiful kid in town but she still seeks her kid. Each second of separation seems like an eon.

Finally, her kid is found. What a relief!

She holds the child in her arms and hugs it, pouring all her love and affection. You can actually get a barrel and capture all the overflow. She is filled with euphoric joy and continues to hug the child. The mother repeats the same act of love for a while and hugs the kid closer to her chest. The kid almost suffocates as result of these teddy-bear hugs!

But the mother is overcome by emotion. At the moment, she is not worried about the child's happiness or comfort and is seeking her own happiness by hugging the child. After a few of these hugs, she lets the child down and says, "Little one, now go play with your friends". The child still clings on to the mother, but she reluctantly lets go.

Whoa! what happened? Why did she let the child out of her arms? just moments ago, the child was the dearest thing in this cosmos! Now, after 10 minutes, she lets the child go as she has work to do in the kitchen.

What happened to that euphoric and ecstatic feeling just 10 minutes back? Its gone. If she really loves the child, then she must have hugged it for ever. But, that is not practical nor feasible.

This is the real face of love and affection in our real world but we have trouble accepting it.

There are some stark realities that present themselves in front us during the course of our daily lives. We cannot answer them. We do not look these questions in the eye and face them.

What happens after we die? Is there something called re-incarnation? Why is that some people are deformed whilst some are physically very fit and healthy?

We are well aware of all the suffering across the world. This has been an ongoing process since eternity. No amount of peace talks, ceasefires, arms control, etc. has stopped people harming each other.

In our immediate lives, we see suffering at home and close by. What if your wife or husband malfunctions? would you love him or her irrespective of that for ever? Does every mother or father love their mentally sick child?

We know all too well that material pleasure is also momentary. Do we really adore and love our $10,000 Home Theater system as much as we did 3 years ago? Does it really matter to us today as much as it did so many years ago? After a few days or months, it becomes a part of the furniture and feels ignored. How will our material possession(s) help us when we are growing old and inching towards a certain undesirable end called death?

In this way, there are many examples of how our love for people or things dear to us has no lasting consequence. Our love for a person lasts as long as there is reciprocation. If they stop loving us, love dies down and we forget that person over time. There are some exceptions of "everlasting" love and endearing stories, but they remain exactly that. An exception and an endearing story.

Discontentment and dissatisfaction takes over our mind when we realise the futility and limitations of loving people or material objects. The key aspect is "realisation". If we continue to believe that the next level of material object or person will give us what we are looking for, then we will again fall into the same quagmire.

For ex., if we think that a Ferrari is better than a Mazda MX-5 or that an Aston Martin is better than an MG Rover, it is only a matter of time before we start to think that a Rolls Royce is the ultimate answer.

What after a Rolls Royce? A Jet Fighter? What after that? A Spacecraft?

There is no end to this fire called Desire. There goes a story that God was once asked who or what is bigger than him. The Lord said that man's desire is bigger than anything else in this Universe!

Desires will never end. If a wish or a desire is fulfilled, a new one arises and if a desire is not satisfied, discontentment and/or anger takes over our mind. So, what happened to that happiness we were looking for? Desires fool our mind into thinking that happiness, peace or satisfaction lies in "this or that". Once we attain "this or that", we lose interest and start thinking of next object of desire.

So, the secret lies in "realising" the fact that true and long lasting happiness does not exist in people or material objects. We have to "realise" that we are eternal Souls and a part of God. Due to this fact, we can only love him. We have forgotten this simple truth and have been searching for happiness (love) in this material world.

No person in this world can proclaim that he or she does not want happiness. Everyone including an atheist, a communist, a sadist, a rich man, a common man or a religious person, seeks happiness.

Earlier, we mentioned that God is synonymous with happiness, peace and love. Then it is only logical to say that if we love happiness, we actually love God, although indirectly. It is akin to saying that, I do accept my father but do not accept my mother's husband. Both are one and same person but with different duties!

It is not difficult to deduce that, if people and material objects cannot satisfy our hunger for peace, happiness and true love, then God can. Where else can we look?

Is there is a realm other than the material world (Maya) and God? Many of us already know that there are only three eternal "truths":

1) God
2) Maya - God's eternal and lifeless cosmic energy. The world (earth) is only a small part of this energy.
3) Individual Soul

If a Soul does not find everlasting peace and happiness in this world (Maya), then there is only one other place to look. God.

Why are we here?

We, the Souls, have taken birth as humans with immense cognitive powers and a few other unique characteristics like,

1) Speech
2) The ability to think AND act

No scientist has been able to provide a plausible answer as to why we have these powers. Man has to turn to Spirituality for an answer to these questions.

An interesting observation we can make is that, it is only humans who seem to categorise actions as good and bad. No other living organism has this power of discretion.

Another startling fact about all living organisms, especially humans and animals is that we can love without being taught. Love is so innate to us. Nobody taught us that we need to "love" this or "love" that. We just loved. But every other aspect of our life has been taught.

In the animal kingdom, some animals have other innate properties. Snakes are born with venom in their fangs and can deliver a deadly dose even as they break through their egg shell. Frogs and Crocodiles can swim as soon as they are born.

Yet, all these organisms know to love. How is that possible?

In this way, there are many subtle aspects associated with the human form of life too.

The answer to our existence is that, by being born in the human form, we have been given a chance to "realise" God and find eternal happiness, truth or love. As mentioned earlier, we have forgotten our original or true form (that we are a Soul), and tend to pursue happiness in the wrong direction.

Where is God? How do we find him? How to love him?

We have all been taught at some stage in our lives that God is everywhere. We don't believe it. If we begin to trust in this simple truth, it will change us.

Now, that is only the beginning. God has many aspects attached to him and is full of opposing contradictions. For ex., he is smaller than the smallest and at the same time, bigger than the biggest. How is that possible?!?

God is very easy to attain and at the same time, he does not audition so easily. If he is everywhere, then where is question of finding God?

Coming back to love, We have ended up loving our father, mother, child, our spanking new McLaren or a Fender Stratocaster. Why didn't we love God from the beginning itself?

It is universally accepted that we are able to love a person whom we can see or touch. We haven't seen God and how can we love an invisible entity? Sounds spooky!

Hence, to understand various aspects of God, his true identity and virtues, our identity and how to love him, we need a guide. We need a source of knowledge who can clear the path for us and show us the way. We need someone to hold the light and dispel the darkness surrounding us.

Who is this person?

That person who will hold your hands all the way till the end and beyond, is a Guru or a Spiritual Master. We can even go to the extent of saying that God cannot directly help someone who wants to meet him, but only a Guru can help!

In modern terms, we can describe that, if we have to meet God, then only a qualified Guru can give you the appointments. You cannot get a direct meeting with God, unless you are a Guru or a Mahatma yourself ;-)

These are intrinsic aspects or truths about devotion that we will learn from a Guru of our choice and selection.

Hence, to comprehend the answers to the three questions we put forward in the beginning, we have to find a Guru who can dispel all the myths surrounding the mind and lead us on the practical path of spirituality and devotion.

It is only a Guru who can bestow you with the rock solid foundation of Divine knowledge required to hold your devotion together. It is only a Guru who will explain and show you what is true love and how to attain it.

How to find a Guru?

The easiest thing to do is approach Google with a magic keyword. But, "Find my Guru" is one term Google is not equipped to handle :-)

It is a search that each individual has to perform by his or her own self. If a Soul is hungry enough to meet God, then God himself will ensure a meeting with a qualified Guru. The rest is left to the aspirant as to what he or she does after meeting the Guru.

It has been my greatest fortune, luck and destiny that i have been gifted a Guru, who has thrown open the path of Divine Love for me and many other countless aspirants to follow and reach our final destination.

Whatever has been written here is a 'nano-scopic' fraction of a droplet from that unfathomable ocean of Divine Knowledge. In fact, i am having trouble viewing this fraction on my brand new electron microscope.

All mistakes introduced are purely mine and i assume complete responsibility for the errors.

As a reader, i hope you will appreciate that condensing a topic as vast as Spirituality and Divine Love is an improbable task. These are only excerpts of what i have heard from him and an attempt to simplify the message for easy reading.

In the future, we might attempt to expand various aspects and facts described here. Comments are most welcome.

This blog is dedicated to my revered Guru, Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj

Early bird gets the worm

Its always dangerous to mix politics and religion, but this one is pretty neat i thought...

An ingenious example of speech and politics occurred recently in the United Nations Assembly that made the world community smile.

A representative from India began: 'Before beginning my talk I want to tell you something about Rishi Kashyap of Kashmir, after whom Kashmir is named.

When Rishi Kashyap struck a rock and it brought forth water, he thought, 'What a good opportunity to have a bath.'

He removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water.

When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had vanished. A Pakistani had stolen them.

The Pakistani representative jumped up furiously and in support the Pakistan, he shouted, 'What are you talking about? The Pakistanis weren't there then.'

The Indian representative smiled and said, 'And now that we have made that clear, I will begin my speech.'

The entire room was smiling over Pakistan's claim on Kashmir.