Wake up!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wake up!!!!!!!!!!!

Many of us have grown up listening to Mohd Rafi songs. One of Goswami Tulsidas’ compositions, which was rendered into a melodious but melancholic number by Rafi has the following lyrics: -

उठ जाग मुसाफिर भोंर भई, अब रैन कहाँ जो सोवत है, जो जागत है सो पावत है, जो सोवत है वह खोवत है !

तुक नींद से अँखियाँ खोल ज़रा, ओह गाफिल रब से ध्यान लगा, यह प्रीत करण  की रीत नहीं, रब जागत है तू सोवत है!!

जो काल करें सो आज कर ले, जब चिड़िया खेत चुग डाली, फिर पछताए क्या होवत है, उठ जाग मुसाफिर भोर भइ!!!

The verses are poignant in that the poet is exhorting us to “wake up” from our present situation of “ignorance” and come into the “knowledge” of our Higher Self. Different languages and different religions have named “God” differently. Urdu invariably uses the word “Rab” to identify Him. Wonder really, what’s in the name, because He is the Real One. How does it matter, by what name we call HIM.

We are all “travelers” in this world, having come into this mortal plane for fulfilling certain “vasanas” and grow within ourselves before departing; only to return again for continuing this journey. This constant coming and going will continue till we have realized the true knowledge about our Inner Self, which when fully realized, there is no more any need to return for a fresh journey in this world. But so long as we are travelers here, we need to be ever awake to realize the True Knowledge of the Lord of our Hearts, Lord Jagadeeshwara.

As Tulsidasji says, “Hey traveler, wake up, it is already dawn, where is the time now available for sleeping. The one who is awake, gains and the one who sleeps, loses”. If we try to understand his true meaning; the journey that we have come into, is a short one. We assume that this life is very long, but really speaking this life is but a small dot in a long and constant coming and going process. And for such a short journey, if we don’t spare enough time for realizing His true nature, we are literally asleep to the reality of life.

Continuing, Tulsidasji says “You open your eyes from your sleep and devote your attention on the Lord; for this is no way of Love that the Lord is Awake and you are asleep”. If we introspect on this verse, the poet says, shift your attention from the day-to-day and mundane wants, likes, dislikes, passion, anger, fear and anxiety driven desires and transfer it towards the Lord, who is your Inner Being; who is your Consciousness and guiding you always. This Consciousness is always Awake (meaning it is nothing but the life spark in us) whereas, we in our ignorance, claiming to love Him, we are always asleep. Metaphorically, we always seem to spend a little time in prayer every day. But we need to introspect and answer to ourselves, are we Awake in Prayer. We always pray while desiring for something. How many of us can claim that when we pray, we offer all our desires, feelings, emotions, thoughts, possessions and everything else, at His Feet. We claim to be praying, but really, most of us are only begging; to give something, to get rid of something, to get some happiness, to protect someone whom we love etc etc. In each of these interactions with the Lord, we are “asking” Him to do something. But real prayer will happen only when we turn internally, within ourselves, and allow Him to dwell in our Hearts, where He really belongs!!

Lastly, Tulsi says, it is never too late. If we believe in His True Nature and want to shift our focus, we can begin NOW, no matter where we are and what our life situation is. It is better to start now than regret later. He asks us to act on the determination of our Hearts, for there is no use regretting tomorrow after the birds have ruined the crops. So wake up Oh Traveler, It is Dawn.

Let us invoke these sentiments in our Hearts and start in right earnest, before “Sunset”, i.e. before depart from this mortal plane.

Prem & Om

Suresh

Peace

Peace within is what we have

Peace within is what we’ve lost

Peace within is what we’ll find

If we look for it with Peace within

These were line that came to me while on a walk about 5-6 weeks ago.Lest I forget it, I put it down on facebook with a promise to elaborate on them later. Today, on Shivaratri day, He’s given me the inclination to do that.

Childbirth is an amazing event starting life on this earth. Those who’ve witnessed it will know that for the first 10-15 seconds after being pulled out, the newborn is silent; and then comes the first full-throated cry. This cry is a manifestation of its sudden insecurity. During the 9 months and 9 days that the child was in the womb, its security, food, relaxation, comfort etc were attended by the mother. From the time the foetus developed life, about 24 weeks after conception, the baby was in total comfort and suddenly on delivery, it is now thrown into new unfamiliar surroundings.

This first cry is a manifestation of that discomfort; which is relieved by the mid-wife / nurses wrapping it up, providing it warmth and the mother feeding the baby. This is the first act of desire manifestation by any human being and its consequent gratification begins the entire cycle of desire fulfillment in this life. The peace that we entertained in the womb is now challenged and we are suddenly left disturbed, only to find comfort again in desire gratification. The peace that was within us is lost at every moment that we get disturbed by desire propelled action.

The kind of life we led in our earlier form and name, prior to coming into the present embodiment; coupled with the unfulfilled ‘vasanas’ of the previous embodiment (called our old bundle), propels us into the atmosphere, surroundings, people and experiences that we encounter in the present embodiment. Through education and learning, we realize the importance of discarding this old bundle gradually and re-discover the peace that was within us when we “landed” here.

For undertaking this journey, of re-discovering the peace within, knowledge alone does not provide the wisdom. Knowledge coupled with understanding on His Eternal Grace is necessary. Through our learning we understand that desires alone are not the cause of our unhappiness but it is our attachment towards their achievement as well as loss of equanimity at the absence of our desired results. Through courageous self-effort, offering all our successes and failures at His Feet, without the identification of the “I” or “Me” in the actions that we perform, we generate the serenity in ourselves and realize that the Peace within ourselves that we lost, was none other than the Lord of our Hearts, the Jagadeeshwara, who is always waiting for us to return to Him.

Once we are with Him, our actions will only be for Love, Selflessness and Duty, all of which lead us to our Inner Peace, that is for ours to keep till we leave this mortal plane.

Prem & Om

Suresh

Ephemeral Mind

The Ephemeral Mind

By its very nature the mind is transitory. Like a flowing river, it drives itself with the mood of the moment. Like a chain-link, it attracts one thought with a succeeding one; which itself is born from an idea in the earlier thought. If we take an example; of children building blocks, only to collapse at the whiff of the wind or imbalance caused by too many blocks; the moment the mind recognizes the weight of such succeeding thoughts, the chain collapses and all of a sudden the intellect recognizes the fanciful movement of the mind.


The beauty of concerted effort at meditation is that, the intellect becomes powerful at detecting this ephemeral, transient, passing, temporary and fleeting mood of the mind. Honey-bees, butterflies and many other insects are known to fly from one flower to another and suck a little bit juice from each of them. But the beauty of these insects is that they never stick to one flower. They move continuously. We are different; we return back to enjoy the pleasure of certain pleasant thoughts and also to brood over some unpleasant thoughts. This constant retreat and reaffirmation of the pair of opposites determines whether we remain happy or unhappy. Through meditation, we perfect the art of recognizing this jumping-jack nature of the mind at all times, and arresting the mind from carrying our prudence and rationale away. It also helps us to know who or what we are, in contrast with what we think we are.


Inspired performance can come when we have an ideal to follow. When there is something far higher than ourselves, or our limited knowledge about ourselves, which beckons us. I remember mentioning in my first post during the preparation for Kaliash Yatra, that a pilgrimage is a means to an end and not an end by itself. The 18 weeks that I spent in writing to my friends, whilst preparing for the pilgrimage, was a time when probably the mind & intellect, in perfect unison, encouraged me to write my innermost thoughts which resulted in publishing “Eighteen Steps to Kailash”. On my return, I wrote a thanksgiving, called “Shiva and Me” promising myself that I would put our memoirs of the visit into a new book. That was August 2012 and now we are in early 2013. How I have got swamped by my work and personal preoccupations; but not a moment has passed without my telling myself to muster the strength to start again. Has it been the case of a lack of inspiration or is it the mind taking over the intellect; I really wonder.


Yesterday morning during my walk, I met a friend who was strolling his dog. In the excitement of seeing my friend, I rushed towards him, only to realize that his dog, faithful as it was to its master, advanced menacingly towards me. My friend warned me against coming near and I retreated. This little event set me thinking about the animal nature of the human mind. Gurudev was fond of saying “Man is an Intelligent Animal”, indicating that the discriminating intellect that man possesses is what distinguishes him from an animal. But it is a matter of introspection for each one of us to know, what part of our behavior and actions are oriented as “man” and what part as “animal”.


Sufi teachings include a simile which suggests that our Inner Spirit is like a porcupine, the more you beat it with the sticks of sufferings, the fatter the porcupine of the Spirit will grow, ultimately leading to self-realization. How many of us really believe that the sufferings that come to us in this life are but His calls to us to travel towards our Inner Self? I wonder!


Prem & Om
Suresh

15 and 51

Sharing a message I wrote for my school friends today.

"Hi Friends

I bumped into a great number mystery about us. Most of us were born in 1962 and passed out of school in 1977. Today, in 2013, we are 51 whereas we were 15 when we passed out.

Numerology says that 15 is a number that asks you to keep your thoughts and actions focused upon your goals and aspirations in order to manifest your highest ideals and to use your initiative, personal tenacity, positive affirmations and visualizations and keep your outlook bright and receptive in your life path to achieve all that you strive for.  

On the other end of the spectrum, 51 contains a message that it is time to put your priorities in order and get to work serving your soul mission and life purpose.  It says that our thoughts bring about our life circumstances and we create our own realities and we should look forward to wonderful new beginnings.

I am not into numerology nor am I even faintly acquainted with this science. But the peculiar similarity in these numbers; has prompted me, on this occasion of a numeric transposition in our ages, to pen down a few stray thoughts, for us to mull over.

At 15, going to school meant hanging out with my friends;

  At 51, hanging out with my friends, means remembering my school.

At 15, I yearned to spend a few extra minutes with my friends at school;

  At 51, I still yearn for those 2 days or 2 hours with my school friends. 

At 15 I was all zest and mischief for all that life had in store for me;

At 51 there is zest and maturity to make a deeper meaning to my life. 

At 15 I had a hazy vision about what I’d do with my life ahead;

        At 51, I wonder the same for my child, who looks to his/her life ahead. 

At 15, I dreaded what the teacher would say, was I to err in my lessons;

  At 51, I dread being a teacher, for I know not, if I have learnt my lessons. 

At 15, “Satyaanaasthi” was meant to be a place for punishment;

  At 51, I’ve learnt that it means there is no Religion Higher than Truth 

At 15, I dreamt that I will become an important person in life;

  At 51, I realize it’s taking me a long time to become the person I should be. 

At 15, love meant infatuation, romance, togetherness;

      At 51, love means caring & acceptance for all that is, has been or will be. 

At 15, I felt I will succeed and become different from what I am;

  At 51, having succeeded, I wonder how much I am still no different."

Shiva and Me

Dear Friends

Yesterday I was at my village, where the ruling diety is Lord Chandrasekhara. I was fortunate to offer our Manasarovar Jal for Abhishekam to Him and then offer it for the villagers as “Theertham”. The few minutes I spent in solitude before Him transported me mentally to Ashtapad, where we saw the Lord in His full resplendence for the first time.

We returned from Heaven on Earth (no it is not Kashmir it’s Kailash) on 16th last month. To those of us who were present, there is no need to reiterate what we felt or experienced in His presence. To others, I can only say; so long as physically, mentally and financially there is a remote possibility of your undertaking this Holy Pilgrimage, please don’t overlook the opportunity when it confronts you. I am sure the impressions are fresh in each one who went there, but such is the nature of the human memory that, like brick-work on a wall, one after the other, fresh impressions built on top, one-by-one, tend to push the earlier ones to the bottom. Having said that, the experience in itself created reactions like “awesome” “fulfilling” “amazing” “peaceful” “blissful” etc etc.  The extent to which we bring into our hearts, the stillness and peace that we experienced whilst there, on an ongoing basis day-to-day, will determine our “inner success” with this Yatra.

During the Yatra, I undertook a pledge to write our impressions and experiences into a new book. The few weeks since our return have been a constant mental catching up!! In the 18 weeks before our Yatra, the opportunity that I had to share my thoughts was in itself, as fulfilling spiritually, as the Yatra. My first writing experience, compiled into “Eighteen Steps to Kailash” was the result of His blessings only. I find a sense of incompleteness, now, after our return. Although the responses to my earlier posts were very few, the writing kept me steadfast, remembering Gurudev’s words; “Spirituality is a One Way Street-Only Entry! Book writing, by its very nature, has a tendency to take time in completion; and I am engaged now in two of them. So obviously the process is going to be long-drawn.

Many of our friends, who couldn’t make it to Kailash, have been waiting with bated breath for my weekly posts and the photos of the Yatra. Somehow, I felt that pictures by themselves wouldn’t give the complete story. So I have created a compilation of the photos and videos of the Yatra into a movie. The first trial with the voice-over failed, and I am in the process of completing the corrected version. Personal priorities have taken far too much time for me to complete the task that I took upon myself. I did make a DVD with only music instead of voice-over, which I have shared with a few “seekers” but the real-one is yet to be finished. I have now successfully uploaded the video on Picasa. I request your patience in giving me this week to upload the revised one with voice-over.

I will be blogging our daily experiences with pictures and videos on http://sureshsub.blogspot.in. The first of these should be up by 15th August evening. Please start visiting my blog periodically and revert with your comments. In case anyone can share any inputs, anecdotes, experiences that they feel I could add in my blog or my book, please feel free to do so.

As I concludel, I find there are unduly too many instances of “I” in this message, as compared to “We” that I have consciously chosen in my earlier blogs. I wonder if it is a case of “ego” or is it simply the need for communication. Maybe He can answer!!

Prem & Om / Suresh

Kailash-18

Dear Friends

In the course of the last week, we have received information about Rudrabhishekam to be performed by us each day from 3^rd July to 16^th July. A pertinent question that arises in the mind is “What is Rudraabhishekam?” One of the names of Lord Shiva is Rudra. The typically understood meaning of this word is anger or destruction caused by anger. Such a constricted meaning would be incorrect. In one of my earlier posts, I had mentioned that the Lord, as the destroyer, helps us in destroying our ego, false tendencies and vain passions. So Lord Rudra enters our hearts, destroys wrongful notions about ourselves, creates an attitude of peace and calmness within us and assists us in climbing the pinnacles of happiness, which is nothing other than the Mount Kailash which is inside our hearts.

Sri Rudram is a sacred text appearing in the Yajurveda, which salutes different names of Paramashiva, extolls different virtues of Mahadeva and seeks blessings from Sadashiva, who is residing in Mount Kailash. Divided into 11 sections, the Sri Rudram is followed by the Chamakam which seeks gains on the material plane through the Lord’s blessings. Collectively, it is the single-most auspicious chanting for Jagadeeshwara. At the end of the first section there is one verse that offers salutations to different names of the Lord, which I am reproducing here

Namaste Astu Bhagavan,Vishveshvaraaya, Mahadevaaya, Trayambakaaya, Tripuraantakaaya, Trikaagnikaalaya, Kalaagnirudraaya, Neelakantaaya, Mrutyunjayaaya, Sarveshvaraaya, Sadashivaaya, Shriman Mahadevaaya Namah

Abhishekam as we all know is offering of different substances like fruits, milk, honey, butter, water, flowers, etc to the image-form of the Lord, called shivalinga. So as we chant His holy names, we will be offering different material possessions to his image-form, in utter surrender and prayer unto his qualities and grace. The material substances that we offer, symbolically would represent our wrong tendencies, ungainly passions, our anger, greed, jealousy, pride, fear, and all other negative thoughts.

In the course of our parikrama, if we remember the Lord, His names and His benign grace and thereby surrender our bundle of ego and wrong vasanaas, He is sure to grant us His blessings and provide all the benefits that we seek on this material plane. We are going to be moving very slowly during our parikarama. As we take every step forward, let us pause and think of Mount Kailash as the shivalinga and at every step, let us remember His name and His grace, surrendering our ego unto Him bit-by-bit for each step. That will be the best Rudrabhishekam that we can perform for the Lord who is none other than our Inner Self. Let not the physical challenge of ascending or descending the mountains deter us from remembering Him at all times. Because finally He is the One Supreme Being who is going to be our companion in the yatra and who will enable us to complete this Holy Pilgrimage, for which we had taken a sankalpa about 4 months ago.

This is my 18^th and the last message in the course of this Kailash Yatra. I thank the Lord for inspiring me to share my thoughts with you. I thank each one you as the Shiva-Amsham (part of the Lord) for tolerantly reading my posts and at times responding to them as well. I must confess that it has been a selfish act on my part, because as I have shared, I have grown within myself. So to that extent each one of you is a contributor to my growth in this journey. May the King of Kailash Bless one and all! OM NAMAHA SHIVAYA

With Prem & Om

Kailash-17

Dear Friends

Jains worship Kailash as “Ashtapad’. It is a spot on Mt Kailash; where it is believed that, Saint Rishabdev, their first Tirthankara, attained ‘nirvana’/’salvation’. The saint is called Adinath, who initiated the process of renunciation of material possessions and encouraged following the path towards liberation after fulfilling our duties on the material plane. A brief sketch of the saint’s life-story is as follows: -

He was born as Rishabkumar, prince to a royal family, ruling over what is today called Ayodhya. It is said that he had a bundle of punya karmas from previous lives, which prompted his birth as a very pious and humble prince. During his rule, he was renowned as righteous, fair-minded and was instrumental for the development of civilization in his kingdom. After many years of just rule, he gave up the kingdom; to pursue a Higher Calling of Life; the pursuit of happiness, which is not determined by material well-being alone. His teachings thereafter encouraged charity, chastity, silence, purity and freedom from bondages of the mind. As he was the precursor to subsequent followers, he is called Lord Adinath. His name, Rishabdev, symbolizes the Bull, which we all know is the vehicle of Shiva. There is also an inner parikrama of a hill facing at Kailash which is called Nandi Parikrama. So the connect between the first Tirthankara of Jains and Shiva at Kailash, is right there; at the Summit.

The story provides a significant message to humankind. Our bundle of past deeds and actions, if they are good and pure, they will result in our reincarnating amidst noble and progressive surroundings. If we continue the journey likewise in the present embodiment, we are sure to reap the harvest of fulfillment, satisfaction and bliss; which will provide a path to liberation from future cycle of births and deaths. We can also attain to the status of a Tirthankara!! While prakriti (nature) will bestow its riches upon us, let us not forget the qualities of Saint Rishabdev in every station and action of life.

Bhaktamar Stotra is a composition by one of the Jain Munis extolling the virtues of Lord Adinath. Among the various recitations, there is one pertaining to knowledge, which means that ‘Maybe I am ignorant and the wise scorn me, but my devotion to you is like the cuckoo who sings as the mango fruit comes out during spring-time; my devotion to you and singing praises for you is never-ending’. The emphasis on devotion to the Lord and singing in his praise is all too poignant. Devotion to the Lord generates the state of mind within ourselves to appreciate and love all things and beings around us. In that state, the inner image of the Lord that we see is full of peace, compassion and happiness. Obviously we experience these qualities within ourselves at those fleeting moments. Our songs / chanting at those times reflect our own state of mind.

As we near the day of our departure for Kailash, obviously there will be anxiety pangs and goose-bumps. The one all-pervading remedy for this mental condition is utter surrender to the Lord, seeking His umbrella and singing / chanting His praises. The resultant calm and peace will allow us to enjoy this Holy Pilgrimage to the fullest.

Prem & Om