The Search for Happiness

        It  has  been  long  time  since  the  last  blog  was  written.  After  five  parts  of  'Roots of  Life' , we  try  to  understand  the  search for  happiness.  This  story  may  help  us  understand  the  theme  better.  It  was  middle  of  the  night . A  man  wanted  to  smoke.  The  cigar  was  there.  He  went  to  the  neighbour's  house  and  knocked  at  the  door.  When  the  neighbour  opened  the  door , he  asked   him  for  a  light.  The  neighbour  said , ' what  is  the  matter  with  you , brother?  You  have  come  here  at  this  late  hour  and  ask  for a light , when  you  already  have  a  lantern  in  your  hands.'
         This  is  the  case  with  the  modern  people  like us. What  a  man  wants  is  already  within  him , with  him ; but  he  still  wanders  here  and  there  in  search  of  it.  Twenty  five  centuries  ago , son  of  a  great  emperor  in  Bharath [ India ]  told  the  same  thing  to  the  people  of  this  world.  When  a  student  asked  him  whether  he  was  the  first  and  most  peaceful  man  in  the  world , Gautama Siddhartha  replied  : 'Child , I  am  not  the  first  man  nor  the  last  man  to  be  peaceful. Since  times  immemorial  this  great  existence  has  been  raining  elixir [ a heavenly  liquid that  can  make  human beings  deathless -  we  call  it  'amrith ]  on to  the  earth  to  make  people  happy  and  peaceful. But  why  can't   people  drink  it ?  It  is  because  they  are  holding  their  bowls  upside  down.'
         No  matter  who  we  are  , and  where  we  are , no  matter  how  rich  we  are , no  matter  how  beautiful / handsome  we  are, and  how famous  we  are  , on  the  most  important  day  of  our  life , nothing  saves  us  except  our  kindness, our  love  for  the  creatures  of  the  Lord  and  above  all  the  time  we  spent  on  the  thoughts  about  God.   No  God , no  peace.  Know  God , know  peace.

Roots of Life - 5

   13.  ''All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts,'' says James Allen in one of his excellent books. So , I concentrate on what I  have to concentrate upon. The rest is not important. Life is so short, there is very little time to focus on what is important, then where is the time to think of the unimportant?

            Then ,  I  may come across  two  vital questions :  what is important ? what is not important?                
       
            Fortunately, the lives of great men and women offer us an answer. That  which  broadens  my  mind, expands  my  conscious , strengthens  my  faith  in  the  power  of  good , purifies  my  thoughts , kindles  my  spirit , guides  my  decision  towards  Truth  and  inspires  me  to serve  my  fellow  beings , innocent  , dumb  creatures , birds , trees  and  all  that is  part  and  parcel  of  this  great  existence  of  which  I  am  only  a  tiny  and  insignificant  particle ,   is  important .

            When  other  things  are  unimportant , why  discuss  them?     

Roots of Life - part 4.

               Readers   of  this  Blog - some of them - may  be in  disagreement  with  me  regarding  my  views  on  mobile  phones.  So  I  thought  of  explaining  the  point  a  bit  more.
               Some thing  tells  me  that  sooner  or  later  the  world  will  realize  how  harmful  the  mobile  phones  are. The  unexpected  is  going  to  happen , I  think. It  will result  from  the  way  most  people  are  using  them.  Mark  my  words. It  is  because  most  of  us  use   them  without  any  respect  towards  them.  Respecting  mobiles?  Crazy , you  may  think.  Please  read.  Science  is  looked  upon  something  separate  from  Nature. This  is  the  problem. Not  just  that ,  it  is  irresponsible  and  immature  also. If  you  do  any thing  without  any  reverence[respect]  to  it , it  is  bound  to  affect  you.  Nature  has  perfect  balance.  If  scientific  inventions  are  used  to  disturb  that  balance , Nature  has  no  other  alternative  but  to  react  in  its  own  way. Look  at  the  way  most  people  use  the  mobiles !  Most  people  carry  the  mobiles  to  those  places  even  where  they  are  absolutely  not  needed. We  carry  them  to  the  shops  that  are  just  three  or  four  houses  away  from  ours.  Some  others  go  on  talking  over  them - keeping  them  close  to  their  ears - while  they  walk  along  the  roads , which  are  already  polluted  beyond  limits  by  automobiles. Those  people  are not  at  all  concerned  with  what  is  happening  on  the  roads. They  have  become  indifferent  and  insensitive  to  the  sorrow  of  their  fellow  beings.                                        
                 It  has  to  be  remembered  here  that  the  biggest  problem  the  American  Society  is  facing  today - along  with  the  economic  slow-down  and  insomnia [sleeplessness] - is  indifferent  attitude  of  the  citizens  there.    Nobody  is  concerned  about  anybody !  People  have  become  slaves  of  mobile  phones.Were n't  we  happy  even  before  the  invention  was  made?  It  is  an  instrument  by  man  to  make  communication  easier  and  quicker. That is  all.  Why  attach  more  importance  to  it , when  their  excessive  use  leads  to  nervous  disorder  and  other  various  health-related  problems?  Observe  carefully ,  eighty  percent  of  what  we  talk  over  phone  was  trash  or  unnecessary.  How  many  of  us  know  that  the  world's  second  richest  man  does n't  use  a  mobile ,  doesn't  have  a  personal  computer  and  lives  in  a  very  very  ordinary  house  by  American  standards ?  Is  he  ignorant ?  If  Warren  Buffett  is  ignorant ,  who  else  is  wise?                                                                                                    { to  be  continued }                                                                                                 

Remembering Roots of Life - part 3

          12. I don't use a mobile. Appears wrong. But read.  I was with a yogi on 19 February , 2006. He doesn't know how to use a mobile phone. I am not imitating him, I am emulating him .[ 'imitate' is to copy a person's speech,action and behaviour blindly, 'emulate' is to learn some good quality in admiration of a person] Is he ignorant ? No. When he addressed an assembly of  famous scientists and  religious leaders of nearly 64 countries on the Values of Life , in Paris [French capital], they listened to him with awe and great reverence. I will know that a man's worth should be judged not on the basis of the number of things he/she possesses but on the basis of how peaceful he/she is without or inspite of them. But this doesn't mean that I am against modern technology. My view is man should be more interested in Spiritual Technology than in the one that destroys Mother Nature.Just remember, how many innocent and beautiful birds have been forced to leave their nests and fly endlessly towards forests [ if at all forests are there!] just because they [birds] couldn't breathe in the environment that is polluted beyond limits by the ugly,dangerous cell towers as they release very harmful cadmium. I understand that human beings are only guests to this planet , not owners. God is the one and the only Owner of this Universe. Guests have no right to destroy the host's home , have they?  
                                                                                                                               [ to be continued ]

Remembering Roots of Life - Part Two

                                    7. I will not  watch movies either at the theatre or at home . This applies to television also. I will not allow tv to decide what I need. The tv may try to tell me what I 'want', but I will tell it,'' Brother, I know what I ''need''. So do not waste your time and my time in telling what I 'want.'  '' I understand that a human being can be happy if he just meets his or her ''needs''. At the same time, he can never be happy if he runs after ''wants''.The movies,the serials and the commercials only create desires in viewers,multiply their wants and end up in squandering money in their pockets and peace in their minds. So,shut the Idiot box.                                    

                                    
                                     8.I will decide to read the news papers just for ten minutes a day ,  as they,unfortunately, are filled with crime,sex,violence and vulgarity. I will read only those items that can enlighten my heart and mind.I will read only those books which will guide me as a lamp in the darkness.I will read only those books which are written by realized souls like the great meditators and men and women of high wisdom. I will go hungry two days even to buy a book. I am more interested in having a good book in my book-shelf than in having pairs of expensive clothes,which my poor brothers and sisters all over the world can not afford to have. But, more than the knowledge in the books, I will set my eyes on the Supreme Source from where all knowledge comes out.

                                      9.I will stop eating non-vegetarian food for the simple reason that I am not carnivorous. Also, the animal food [including eggs] keeps alive in human beings the killing instinct.Dr.Paul Brunton said : ''Non vegetarian food has too much poisonous uric acid and toxic purine in it which makes it unhealthy food.'' I remember what the wise Thomas Jefferson has said : ''The reformation in man should start not in Churches but in kitchens.'' Just remember how much pain would the animal have experienced when it was caught and butchered by heart less people!

                                     10.I will stop taking coffee or tea too frequently. If it is a bit difficult to give up totally, I will  limit them to just one cup a day, and slowly be rid of them completely. But I make it a point to have Green tea or Herb tea, which are wonderful gifts of Nature. I will stand in morning sun and receive with gratitude its great  blessings. I will not sacrifice watching  the two marvels- the sun rise and the sunset for earning a few coins.
                                        11.I will respect Nature around me.I love land,cloud,plant and bird. I believe that he is not human who does not love these. I will not pluck flowers from a plant because I know the pain of children when they are separated from their mother. If I were forced to pluck flowers, I will keep in my mind a few words told by one of my masters.
                                                           [to be continued]  
                                    







                                         

                                     
 

                           .                   

Remembering the Roots of Life

     A  New  year  is  not  a  new  year  if  there  is  no  attempt  from  our  side  to  have  a  re look  at  our  own  life. Just  a  change  of  calender  is  not  a  wise  way  of  celebrating  a  new  year. Let  us  take  a  few  important  decisions  to  make  our  lives  really  meaningful. I  would  like  to  call  them  ROOTS  OF  LIFE.
It  is  time  to  remember  these  roots.
                                                        1.I  will  speak  Truth,  and  Truth  only. I  will not  escape  with  a  lie. I  may  face  a  few  troubles  if  I  speak  Truth , but  I  stick  to it. .                                                                                                                2.The  world  may  hurt  me  and  the  people  in  it  may  insult  me ,but  I  will  be  kind  with  everything  and  everybody. I  will  hate  none; dislike  none  and  hurt none.                         
                                                        3.As  much  as  possible , I  will  remain  silent  because  God  likes  silence. I  will  not  take  any  interest  in  useless  talk  and  idle  chat . But  this  does  not  mean  that  I  am not  concerned  with the  world. I  will  try  my  best  to  reduce  the  suffering  of  the  world  at  least  to  a  very  little  extent. For  that  I  pray  God  for  His  grace, without  which  nothing  is  possible.                        
                                                        4. I  will  treat  every  woman  as  another  form  of  my  Divine  Mother. If  I  find  any  woman  either  in a trouble  or  on  a  wrong  path , I  will  try  to  bring  a  good  change  in  her. If  they  misunderstand  my  intentions, I  will  come  out  of  their  path ,  without  any  hatred  towards  them. But  I  will not  forget  my  path. My  path  is  the  path  to  God.                                         
                                                        5.I  will  live  a  very  simple  life. As  much  simple  as  possible. I  will eat  only  to  live ,  will not  live  to  eat. As  much  as  possible,  I  will not  eat  out side, because  parties, functions  and  other  such  gatherings  have  become  artificial, expensive  and  rather  misleading.  if  I  were  to  attend  any  function, and  offered  some thing  to  eat, I  will  take  very  little  and  waste  nothing.  I  respect  food  as  God.  Annam  parabrahma  swaroopam.                                                                                                                                     6. I  will wear  very  simple, inexpensive  clothes  just  enough  to  protect  me  from  cold,  heat  and  rain. I  understand  that   a  man  in  poor  clothes  with  a  kind  and  honest  attitude  is  much  more  beautiful  than  a  millionaire  without  kindness. I  will  always  remember  what  Henry  David  Thoreau  has  said :''  I  had  been  rich  with out  any  damage   to   my  poverty.                                                                                                                                          [ to  be  continued]