When Breath becomes Prana

In  Yoga and various meditation practices that have evolved across the world,  one is often advised to focus on the incoming and outgoing breath through various types of breathing exercises or Pranayamas. Pranayam is the precursor to Dhyana or meditation. Various historical books & religious scriptures talk of enlightened personalities (right from Vedic sages to Buddha, Christ, or even Mohammad) having undertaken some form of meditation before their transformation to "realized" beings. This article is a small attempt to know the philosophy behind Pranayama, its role in meditation, and how it is different from normal breathing.

 What is Prana: Ayurveda

According to an ancient analogy, prana is the life force that strings body, mind and spirit together like beads on a strand of breath.  Prana is not air, though oxygen is one of its vehicles; prana is the force that causes the physical Yukti necessary to keep living being alive.

Ayurveda recognizes three doshas viz kapha, pitta and vata, which are present in the human body. When an organism functions at peak efficiency the three doshas are produced in quantities just sufficient to meet physical needs. In systemic imbalance, the doshas are overproduced or underproduced at the expense of the body's vitality, adaptability and immunity.

The flame of life called Tejas or agni is different from pitta, which is only its more reactive form. Likewise, vata is the unstable form of Prana, or vayu, and kapha the inert, "dead" form of ojas or soma. Prana,tejas and ojas are the essence of the air, fire and water elements as applied to the embodied life. Prana can be compared to electricity and vata to the light that electricity can produce when it is directed into a bulb.

What is Pranayama: Yoga Sutra

The word Pranayama consists of two components, prana  and ayama. Prana is energy or self-energizing force that embraces the body. Ayama means stretch, extension, expansion, length, breadth, regulation, prolongation, restraint and control. When this self-energizing force embraces the body with extension, expansion and control, it is pranayama. 

Pranayama is one of the 8 limbs of Yoga as per Patanjali Yoga Sutra.Through the practices of yama, niyama, asana and Pranayama, the body and its energy are mastered. The next stage, pratyahara, achieves the conquest of the senses and mind. When the mind becomes ripe for meditation, the senses rest quietly and stop imploring the mind for their gratification. Then the mind, which hitherto acted as a bridge between the senses and the soul, frees itself from the senses and turns towards the soul to enjoy its spiritual heights.Pratyahara, the result of the practice of yama, niyama, asana and Pranayama, forms the foundation for dharana, dhyana and samadhi.Through practice of these five stages of yoga, all the layers or sheaths of the self from the skin to the consciousness are penetrated, subjugated and sublimated to enable the soul to diffuse evenly throughout. This is true sadhana.

Pranayama as breath control is an ancient practice that can be found in the old Brahmana texts. It involves breath suspension viz rechaka- where breath is suspended after exhalation or prasvasa; puraka- where Breath is suspended after svasa or inhalation and kumbhaka, the simultaneous suspension of both. It is often stressed that concentration  on one's object of meditation  has to accompany Pranayama. One must clear the mind of vrittis in conjunction  with suspending  the breath. Yogic Pranayama helps to arrest the vrittis of the mind and makes it one-pointed.

In the Srimad Bhagavatam, the story is told of how 'the nectar of immortality' was produced through the churning of the ocean. This story, as will be understood from the interwoven explanation, symbolizes what takes place in the human body in the practice of pranayama. The strength of the asuras (demons) alarmed the devas (angels) , who, fearing that vice would dominate virtue, approached Lord Siva, Lord Brahma and Lord Indra, who in turn approached Lord Vishnu, the protector of the Universe, for help. Lord Vishnu suggested the churning of the ocean to bring out the nectar (Amrita) of immortality hidden in it. He advised the devas to discuss with the demons the effects of the nectar, and to persuade them to jointly churn the ocean. Lord Vishnu said that he would do the rest. The angels and demons decided to use Mount Meru as the churn-staff for the churning, and Lord Adisesha, the serpent, the couch of Lord Vishnu), as the rope for whirling the mountain.Plants, creepers, various grasses and herbs were gathered together and thrown into the ocean as raw materials so that they might be churned to produce the nectar of life. According to ayurveda, the body is made up of seven constituents (dhatus)and three permeating humours (doshas). The seven elements are so-called because they sustain the body. They are chyle (rasa), blood (rakta) , flesh (mamsa) , fat (meda) , bones (asthi) , marrow (majja), semen (sukra). They keep the body immune from infection and diseases. They are churned together in Pranayama for the production of the nectar of life. Mount Meru represents the spinal column, it acts as a whisk to churn the breath to produce energy. Lord Adisesha represents sushumna: it is the rope which dashes or controls the spine in respiration. The head and tail of Adisesha represent the pingala and ida nadis (energy channels) or the upward and downward course of the in- and outbreath. As Adisesha was used as a rope for churning, so inhalation and exhalation are the two ends of the central nervous system, the rod that churns to create the energy that is then stored in the seven chambers (chakras) of the spine. Together they churn the inbreath and outbreath to generate the vital energy known as Prana.

Observing Breath:- Buddha’s way

In Kashmiri Shaivite tradition "Vigyan Bhairava Tantra" is one of the rare but important texts.Vigyan (pronounced Vig-yaan) means knowledge or understanding. Bhairava means God. Vigyan Bhairava means either knowledge of God or God consciousness. Vigyan Bhairava gives 112 techniques through which one can unite with God. The text is a dialogue between Lord Shiva and his consort, Parvati - between God and the Goddess. The Goddess is, in reality, not separate from God. She has taken on the form of being separate here, to help mankind. She asks God those questions that we, as individuals seeking enlightenment, would ask. Many techniques mentioned at the beginning in Vigyan Bhairava Tantra deal with observing breath at various stages. For purpose of this discussion we will only discuss the first technique, the English translation of which is:

Sri Bhairava (Shiva) said: Paradevi (Parvati), whose nature is visarga, or creation, manifests as the upward prana and the downward apana. By fixing the mind at the two points of generation (of prana and apana), the state of fullness results. (BVT 24)

Another translation:  The Supreme Energy (breath) goes upwards with exhalation and downwards with inhalation. By concentrating on the two places of its origin, one acquires the state of fulfillment.

Osho has in his commentary on the Vigyan Bhairava Tantra described this sutra in following words:

“After breath comes in – that is, down – and just before turning out – that is, going up – THE BENEFICENCE. Be aware between these two points, and the happening. When your breath comes in, observe. For a single moment, or a thousandth part of a moment, there is no breathing – before it turns up, before it turns outward. One breath comes in; then there is a certain point and breathing stops. Then the breathing goes out. When the breath goes out, then again for a single moment, or a part of a moment, breathing stops. Then breathing comes in. Before the breath is turning in or turning out, there is a moment when you are not breathing. In that moment the happening is possible, because when you are not breathing you are not in the world. Understand this: when you are not breathing you are dead; you ARE still, but dead. But the moment is of such a short duration that you never observe it.

For tantra, each outgoing breath is a death and each new breath is a rebirth. Breath coming in is rebirth; breath going out is death. The outgoing breath is synonymous with death; the incoming breath is synonymous with life. So with each breath you are dying and being reborn. The gap between the two is of a very short duration, but keen, sincere observation and attention will make you feel the gap. If you can feel the gap, Shiva says, THE BENEFICENCE. Then nothing else is needed. You are blessed, you have known; the thing has happened. You are not to train the breath. Leave it just as it is. Why such a simple technique? It looks so simple. Such a simple technique to know the truth? To know the truth means to know that which is neither born nor dies, to know that eternal element which is always. You can know the breath going out, you can know the breath coming in, but you never know the gap between the two. Try it. Suddenly you will get the point – and you can get it; it is already there. Nothing is to be added to you or to your structure, it is already there. Everything is already there except a certain awareness. So how to do this? First, become aware of the breath coming in. Watch it. Forget everything, just watch breath coming in – the very passage. When the breath touches your nostrils, feel it there. Then let the breath move in. Move with the breath fully consciously. When you are going down, down, down with the breath, do not miss the breath. Do not go ahead and do not follow behind, just go with it. Remember this: do not go ahead,do not follow it like a shadow; be simultaneous with it.Breath and consciousness should become one. The breath goes in – you go in. Only then will it be possible to get the point which is between two breaths. It will not be easy. Move in with the breath, then move out with the breath: in-out, in-out. Buddha tried particularly to use this method, so this method has become a Buddhist method. In Buddhist terminology it is known as Anapanasati Yoga. And Buddha’s enlightenment was based on this technique – only this. All the religions of the world, all the seers of the world, have reached through some technique or other, and all those techniques will be in these one hundred and twelve techniques. This first one is a Buddhist technique. It has become known in the world as a Buddhist technique because Buddha attained his enlightenment through this technique. Buddha said, ”Be aware of your breath as it is coming in, going out – coming in, going out.” He never mentions the gap because there is no need. Buddha thought and felt that if you become concerned with the gap, the gap between two breaths, that concern may disturb your awareness. So he simply said, ”Be aware. When the breath is going in, move with it, and when the breath is going out, move with it. Do simply this: going in, going out, with the breath.” If you go on practicing breath consciousness, breath awareness, suddenly, one day, without knowing, you will come to the interval. Because your awareness will become keen and deep and intense, as your awareness will become bracketed – the whole world is bracketed out; only your breath coming in or going out is your world, the whole arena for your consciousness – suddenly you are bound to feel the gap in which there is no breath. When you are moving with breath minutely, when there is no breath, how can you remain unaware? You will suddenly become aware that there is no breath, and the moment will come when you will feel that the breath is neither going out nor coming in. The breath has stopped completely. In that stopping, THE BENEFICENCE. This one technique is enough for millions. The whole of Asia tried and lived with this technique for centuries. Tibet, China, Japan, Burma, Thailand, Ceylon – the whole of Asia except India has tried this technique. Only one technique and thousands and thousands have attained enlightenment through it. And this is only the first technique."

Mindfulness: The power of Now

In the "Power of now" Eckhart Tolle has written about living in the present or "now" which is basically the concept of "mindfulness", in vogue these days. "Ego" means false self created by unconscious identification with the mind. (Jiddu Krishnamurthi has explained the same by saying that the actual self is veiled by our thoughts which are a result of our conditioning since birth.) To the ego, the present moment hardly exists. Only the past and future are considered important. The present moment holds the key to liberation. But you cannot find the present moment as long as you are in your mind.

The moment you start " watching the thinker ", a higher level of consciousness becomes activated. When a thought subsides, you experience a discontinuity in the mental Stream _ a gap of "no mind". At first, the gaps will be short, a few seconds perhaps, but gradually they will become longer.

The essence of meditation is when you draw consciousness away from mind activity and create a gap of no-mind in which you are highly alert & aware but not thinking.You can measure your success in this practice by the degree of peace that you feel within.

Conclusion: Shrimad Bhagavad Gita

सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च ⁠।

मूर्ध्न्याधायात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम् ⁠।⁠।

ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् ⁠।

 यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स ।⁠।8.12/13।⁠। 

Having controlled all the passages, having confined the mind in the heart, and having fixed his own vital force in the head, (and then) continuing in the firmness in yoga. He who departs by leaving the body while uttering the single syllable, viz Om, which is Brahman, and thinking of Me, he attains the supreme Goal.

यत्रोपरमते चित्तं निरुद्धं योगसेवया ⁠।

यत्र चैवात्मनात्मानं पश्यन्नात्मनि तुष्यति ⁠।⁠।6.20⁠।⁠।

Where the mind, controlled by the practice of Yoga, rests and where seeing the self by the self one is delighted by the self only

The gates are the senses of knowledge. Closing the gates means control of all senses by the practice of Pratyahara or withdrawal of the consciousness from them. Even if the senses are controlled, the mind will be dwelling on the sensual objects. Therefore the mind is confined or fixed in the lotus of the heart and there all the thoughts or mental modifications are also controlled. The whole life breath (Prana) is now taken up and fixed at the crown of the head (Brahmarandhra or the hole of Brahman). Krishna describes the process and consequences of Yoga Marga at various places in Gita. In 6.19 he describes the mental state of a Yogi “As a lamp kept in a windless place does not flicker, such is the simile thought of for the yogi whose mind is under control, and who is engaged in concentration on the Self.” In Verses 6.20/21, Krishna proclaims “Where the mind, controlled by the practice of Yoga, rests and where seeing the self by the self one is delighted by the self only. Where one knows that infinite happiness which can be grasped by the intellect but is beyond the grasp of the senses, wherein established one swerves not from that condition”. 

What is that final stage where an accomplished Yogi ultimately reaches? The answer is given by Krishna in verse 8.15. “As a result of reaching Me, the exalted ones who have attained the highest perfection do not get rebirth which is an abode of sorrows and which is impermanent”. Thus, a true Yogi is able to reach the stage variously referred to as Kaivalya or Moksha or Nirvana or Brahmleen i.e. a stage where one escapes the cycle of birth & death and stays in eternal bliss. The stage where distinction between the Jivatma & Parmatma dissolves and is experienced as sat, chit and Anand i.e. the nature of Brahman or Ishwar.

Vipassana in the Bhagwad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita, the divine song of Bhagwan Krishna, is one of the most sacred texts of “Sanatan Dharma”, more commonly known as Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita consisting of 700 shlokas in eighteen chapters, is embedded in Bhishma Parva of Mahabharata, the epic authored by Sage Ved Vyas. The epic was probably written around 500 BCE, and since it makes no reference to Buddhism, most scholars consider it to have been composed before the advent of Buddha. The votaries of Advaita Vedanta, Bhagavata theism, Samkhya dualism, and Yogic meditation have all found their ideas in verses of Gita. Along with the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, the Brahma Sutra makes up the triad of the three foundational texts amongst a plethora of literature belonging to Sanatan Dharma or Hinduism. From great saints like Shankaracharya, Abhinavgupta, Sant Jnaneshwar, etc to modern scholars such as Lokmanya Tilak, Aurobindo, etc there have been several commentaries attempted on Gita.

Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills. This non-sectarian technique aims for the total eradication of mental impurities and the resultant highest happiness of full liberation. Since the time of Buddha, Vipassana has been handed down, to the present day, by an unbroken chain of teachers. With time, the technique disappeared from India. The credit for bringing the technique back to India, reviving and spreading the process throughout the world goes to the Late Shri S. N. Goenka, who taught the technique in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, his teacher in Myanmar.

The most common teaching method employed by centers run by S. N. Goenka is a 10-day Vipassana course. The students must follow “noble silence” for the major part of the course along with specific other Dos and Don'ts. The foundation of the practice is sīla — moral conduct. Sīla provides a basis for the development of samādhi — concentration of mind; and purification of the mind is achieved through paññā — the wisdom of insight. All who attend a Vipassana course must conscientiously undertake the following five precepts for the duration of the course:

1. to abstain from killing any being;
2. to abstain from stealing;
3. to abstain from all sexual activity;
4. to abstain from telling lies;
5. to abstain from all intoxicants.

The technique taught during the 10-day Vipassana course includes the initial practice of “Aanapan” to increase concentration aimed at making the mind sensitive enough to pick pleasant and unpleasant sensations in the body. Aanapan means observing the natural flow of incoming and outgoing breath. On the fourth day, the actual “Vipassana” starts which means observing the sensations in the whole body from head to toe in sequence to and fro continuously. The idea is to cultivate equanimity (Samata) by avoiding any kind of aversion to unpleasant sensations or avoiding craving in case the sensations felt are pleasant. Both during Anapana and Vipassana one has to act as an attentive neutral observer (Drashta) without getting involved as an experiencer and thereby generating craving or aversion. This practice gradually leads to the nongeneration of new Karma and the dissolving of past Karmas, thereby, resulting in the cessation of the suffering (Dukkha).

[Krishna and Arjun on the chariot, Mahabharata, 18th-19th century, India. Credit: Smithsonian freer sackler library] .

To summarise, the practice of Vipassana can be explained through four basic principles:

1. Liberation only through personal experience and not borrowed knowledge
2. Restraining the mind
3. Law of impermanence
4. Cultivating equanimity

[https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/novice-monk-river-73272132.jpg]

With the above background, an attempt has been made to identify various Shlokas in the Bhagwad Gita which reflect the principles of Vipassana meditation.

1. Liberation only through personal experience and not by borrowed knowledge

Realization can be achieved only through personal experience and not by any borrowed experience. For your own liberation, you have to strive hard personally at your level through meditation. The knowledge one gathers through reading scriptures is the experience of others and can not bring realization for you. 

यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वतः संप्लुतोदके।

तावान्सर्वेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य विजानतः।।2.46।।

What use a thirsty person has for a water reservoir when all sides of it are flooded - that much alone is the use of all the Vedas for a Brahmana who knows.

2. Restraining the mind

The mind is difficult to control. Thus, firstly through the practice of Aanapan, the mind is calmed. Aanapan means observing and concentrating on the natural flow of incoming and outgoing breath. In case the mind deviates from the breath, the practitioner is required to bring the concentration back to breathing, without getting irritated. This ultimately leads to an increased capacity to concentrate and calmness of mind and cessation of pleasant or unpleasant thoughts.

In the Gita, Krishna affirms that the mind is very nimble, difficult to control, and thus a hindrance to spiritual progress. However, with proper practice and detachment control over the mind is achievable.

चञ्चलं हि मनः कृष्ण प्रमाथि बलवद्दृढम्।

तस्याहं निग्रहं मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम्।।6.34।।

(Arjuna asks)The mind verily is restless, turbulent, strong, and unyielding, O Krishna: I deem it as difficult to control it as to control the wind. 

असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् ⁠। 

अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ⁠।⁠।6.35

(Bhagwan Krishna says). O sun of Kunti (arjuna) Undoubtedly the mind is difficult to control and is restless. But, it is brought under control through practice and detachment.

असंयतात्मना योगो दुष्प्राप इति मे मतिः।

वश्यात्मना तु यतता शक्योऽवाप्तुमुपायतः।।6.36।।

In my opinion, Yoga is hard to attain by a person with an unrestrained mind. However, it can be attained through the right means by him, who strives for it and has a subdued mind.

यतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम्।

ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत्।।6.26।।

(The yogi) should bring (this mind) under the subjugation of the Self Itself, by restraining it from all those causes whatever due to which the restless, unsteady mind wanders away.

बन्धुरात्माऽऽत्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः।

अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत्।।6.6।।

The mind is the friend of him by whom the mind has been controlled. But for him whose mind is not controlled, the mind, like an enemy, remains hostile.

जितात्मनः प्रशान्तस्य परमात्मा समाहितः।

शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु तथा मानापमानयोः।।6.7।।

Of him whose mind is controlled and who is serene, the great self is well secured in heat and cold, in pleasure and pain, and in honor and dishonor.

यदा विनियतं चित्तमात्मन्येवावतिष्ठते।

निःस्पृहः सर्वकामेभ्यो युक्त इत्युच्यते तदा।।6.18।।

When the mind, completely controlled, is centered in the Self, and free from all earthly desires, then is the man truly spiritual.

यथा दीपो निवातस्थो नेङ्गते सोपमा स्मृता।

योगिनो यतचित्तस्य युञ्जतो योगमात्मनः।।6.19।।

The wise man who has conquered his mind and is absorbed in the Self is like a lamp that does not flicker since it stands sheltered from every wind.

The practice of Aanapaan is also recognized by Krishna as a tool to control the mind.

अपाने जुह्वति प्राण प्राणेऽपानं तथाऽपरे।

प्राणापानगती रुद्ध्वा प्राणायामपरायणाः।।4.29।।

Some practice control of the Vital Energy and govern the subtle forces of Prana and Apana, thereby sacrificing their Prana unto Apana or their Apana unto Prana.

3. Law of Impermanence (Anitta)

The desirable and undesirable sensations arising in the body are all ephemeral. Sensations arise due to a combination of the physical body and sensory perceptions owing to their respective nature, which ultimately is “to arise and fade away”. 

मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः।

आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत।।2.14।।

The contact of senses with their objects, O Arjuna, gives rise to feelings of cold and heat, pleasure and pain. They come and go, never lasting long. Endure them, O Arjuna.

ये हि संस्पर्शजा भोगा दुःखयोनय एव ते।

आद्यन्तवन्तः कौन्तेय न तेषु रमते बुधः।।5.22।।

Those pleasures that are born of contact are wombs or pain. They have a beginning and an end, O Arjuna. The wise do not rejoice in them.

उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते।

गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येव योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते।।14.23।।

He who, sitting like one indifferent, is not distracted by the three qualities(Gunas); he who, thinking that the qualities(Gunas) alone act, remains firm and surely does not move;

4. Equanimity: No Craving No Aversion (Samata)

The ultimate aim of Vipassana is to develop everlasting equanimity (Samata) by avoiding any kind of aversion to unpleasant sensations or avoiding craving in case the sensations felt are pleasant. One has to act as an attentive neutral observer (Drashta) without getting involved as an experiencer and thereby generating craving or aversion. Gita prescribes various means of “Yoga” i.e. union with God. Also, equanimity has been called “Yoga” in Gita. A large number of verses are dedicated to the concept of “Stitha-prajnasya”, which means one with steady intellect or one who is established in Samata and is thus equanimous.

यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ।

समदुःखसुखं धीरं सोऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते।।2.15।।

For, he whom these do not affect, O chief of men, and to whom pain and pleasure are the same - that steadfast man alone is worthy of immortality.

सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ।

ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि।।2.38।।

Holding pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat as alike, gird yourself up for the battle. Thus, you shall not incur any sin.

योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय।

सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते।।2.48।।

By being established in Yoga, O Dhananjaya (Arjuna), undertake actions, casting off attachment and remaining equipoised in success and failure. Equanimity is called Yoga.

बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते।

तस्माद्योगाय युज्यस्व योगः कर्मसु कौशलम्।।2.50।।

A man with evenness of mind discards here and now good and evil. Therefore endeavor for Yoga. Yoga is skill in action.

कर्मजं बुद्धियुक्ता हि फलं त्यक्त्वा मनीषिणः।

जन्मबन्धविनिर्मुक्ताः पदं गच्छन्त्यनामयम्।।2.51।।

The wise who possess evenness of mind, relinquishing the fruits born of action, are freed from the bondage of birth, and go to the region beyond all ills.

दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः।

वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते।।2.56।।

He whose mind is not shaken by adversity, who does not hanker after pleasures, and who is free from attachment, fear, and anger, is called a sage of steady wisdom.

यः सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य शुभाशुभम्।

नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता।।2.57।।

The wisdom of that person remains established who has no attachment for anything anywhere, who neither welcomes nor rejects anything, whatever good or bad when he comes across it.

The idea behind cultivating equanimity is explained as under:

ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते।

सङ्गात् संजायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते।।2.62।।

क्रोधाद्भवति संमोहः संमोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः।

स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति।।2.63।।

When a man dwells on the objects of sense, he creates an attraction for them; attraction develops into desire, and desire breeds anger. From anger there comes delusion; from delusion, the loss of memory; from the loss of memory, the destruction of discrimination; and with the destruction of discrimination, he is lost.

इन्द्रियस्येन्द्रियस्यार्थे रागद्वेषौ व्यवस्थितौ।

तयोर्न वशमागच्छेत्तौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ।।3.34।।

The love and hate which are aroused by the objects of sense arise from Nature; do not yield to them. They only obstruct the path.

यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन।

ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा।।4.37।।

Just as burning fire turns fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge turn all Karma to ashes.

ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति।

निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते।।5.3।।

He is a true ascetic who never desires or dislikes, who is uninfluenced by the opposites and is easily freed from bondage.

बाह्यस्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत्सुखम्।

स ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा सुखमक्षयमश्नुते।।5.21।।

He finds happiness in his own Self and enjoys eternal bliss, whose heart does not yearn for the contacts of earth and whose Self is one with the Everlasting.

शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात्।

कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्तः स सुखी नरः।।5.23।।

He who, before he leaves his body, learns to surmount the promptings of desire and anger is a saint and is happy.

इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत।

सर्वभूतानि संमोहं सर्गे यान्ति परन्तप।।7.27।।

By the delusion of the pairs of opposites springing from desire and hate, O Arjuna, all beings are deluded as soon as they are born.

अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च।

निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी।।12.13।।

सन्तुष्टः सततं योगी यतात्मा दृढनिश्चयः।

मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः।।12.14।।

He who hates no creature, who is friendly and compassionate to all, who is free from attachment and egoism, balanced in pleasure and pain, and forgiving. Ever content, steady in meditation, self-controlled, possessed of firm conviction, with the mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to Me.

नान्यं गुणेभ्यः कर्तारं यदा द्रष्टानुपश्यति।

गुणेभ्यश्च परं वेत्ति मद्भावं सोऽधिगच्छति।।14.19।।

When the seer beholds no agent of action other than the Gunas, and knows what transcends the Gunas, he attains to My state.

प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव।

न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति।।14.22।।

उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते।

गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येव योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते।।14.23।।

समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः।

तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस्तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः।।14.24।।

मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः।

सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीतः स उच्यते।।14.25।।

Lord Shri Krishna replied: O Prince! He who shuns not the Quality which is present, and longs not for that which is absent; He who maintains an attitude of indifference, who is not disturbed by the Qualities (Gunas), who realizes that it is only they who act, and remains calm; Who accepts pain and pleasure as it comes, is centered in his Self, to whom a piece of clay or stone or gold are the same, who neither likes nor dislikes, who is steadfast, indifferent alike to praise or censure; Who looks equally upon honor and dishonor, loves friends and foes alike, abandons all initiative, such is he who transcends the Qualities.

REFERENCES

https://www.dhamma.org/en/about/vipassana

www.gitasupersite.iitk.ac.in

Where Are We Going?

 Pranam!! with God's grace, many of us have a very settled and materialistically very good life with nice working wife with healthy and happy kids. Despite of having luxury of modern-day life, mind generally gets confused what next? Everything is ok and it appears all right to others who are looking from a distance. But as a human being who has slight bent of mind towards spirituality, life sometimes looks meaningless and need some insight to make it more happening, adventurous and interesting. Wait, there is contradiction here for some people. Those who chose government high class jobs for which they studied hard to crack tough examination, such confusion should not exist at all as they must have planned their life in a certain way where there is security and almost conformity of time bound promotions [specially in India] along with increase in pay and other perks. But then what is the reason behind increasing chasm between expected life and present life. It may be due to inherent and latent desire for spiritual growth. As an educated person, mind is fertile enough to think the relevance of life. At the end it appears that nothing matters actually. But if it is true that nothing matters eventually then what we are doing exactly right at this moment? It needs detailed examination of self. I believe that such confusion comes due to blessing of God and Guru only as very few have such confusion. For rest of the masses are busy enjoying what they have and strive for what they don't have. For the answer to this big question of life, we need Gurus like Om Swami who can guide each one of us about what to do now? or What are we doing right now? I am expecting and inviting comment from all the readers on the above confusion of life. Are there more people who are increasingly facing such dilemmas? 

Is My Kid Misguided? Courtsey Halloween

 Pranam!! I have two kids. Elder one is studying in Class-II and younger one is in preschool. Few days back, I was surprised to hear the word " Halloween" from the mouth of my younger kid. He candidly told me that there is party called " Halloween" in his school and he needs to dress up in the costume of some 'Ghost'. what????..Yes, you read it correctly...costume of Ghost...in the evening another bomb was exploded on my head when my elder Son informed me that all of the kids in Clas-II have decided to host Halloween party on Friday i.e. today 4th Nov 2022 and that too at my residence.

      I recently heard this new festival which is being increasingly popular among younger generations. I have absolutely no idea about this festival. Whether it is new marketing tactics of costume manufacturer or something else? I tried to google it and found response as follows:

        "Halloween, in the modern world, is celebrated by dressing up as fictional characters, performing cosplay and stuffing oneself with candies and pumpkin pies. However, this dates back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain which was regarded as a harvest festival. Some theories suggest that the festival of Samhain has its roots in paganism. It was believed that on the day of Halloween, the lines between the living world and that of the dead would get blurred. Hence, the spirits would visit their loved ones. While some people prefer to decorate their homes and cook delicious dishes to welcome the spirits of their ancestors, they also try to ward away evil spirits by lighting bonfire and dressing up as demons and witches to avoid being recognized."

      After reading this explanation, I feel that it may be a local tradition somewhere in the world but amused the way it is being spread like a wildfire across our country. What can be the possible reasons behind it? I feel that if at all we need to dress up to celebrate this festival, then why can our kids wear the costume of Hanuman ji who are being regarded as the greatest witch or ghost hunter. Our hanuman chalisa says " Bhoot pisach nikat nahi aaven, mahaveer jab naam sunavein". 

      I discussed about this festival with my kids along with related stories in our scriptures. I feel that I was able to convince my kids that it is not the part of great traditions of our country and in case they want to dress up, they should emulate our heroes like Shri Ram or Hanuman ji or Shree Krishna. I feel that it is the responsibility of our generation or the parents to tell the great moral stories of Ramayana and Mahabharat so that kids don't get influenced by these transnational things. We have sufficient folklore or great stories to tell. We need to take pride in it. The problem is that we have forgotten the age-old traditions of Ramayana Path or Bhagwat Geeta path every day in our houses. The Gen-X has no idea about these great assets of our traditions because they have not seen anything regarding this that their parents are reading or talking about.

My Journey with Black Lotus App

 Though I am following Swami ji since year 2015 when I stumbled upon his beautiful memoir on Amazon but so far, I have not met him nor able to visit the ashram. I am fortunate that this month, I will be visiting ashram and may get the opportunity to meet Swami ji in person and get his blessings. I am working with government of India at a bit higher bureaucratic level which needs multi-tasking skills and hence loss of focus frequently. Some time, I feel dragged and loose temperament without any valid reason. So, I thought to try Black Lotus app developed by Swami ji for meditation seekers. I have completed 21 days cycle of Goal ' Mindfulness'. I can tell the world that this is the best thing I did recently. The design of app and whole programme is very scientific and cater to the need of an ordinary person. It has apt time duration for meditation and provide ample scope for seekers to mediate further if they wish for. In my last 21 days, I am feeling very positive and better focused. I have gained the technique to live in the present. Earlier I used to think that those people who get the mastery over meditation must always be in thoughtless position. This makes me nervous and under confident, as I used to think that I would never get so much time in my life where I could achieve this stage. But, to my surprise, during discourses of Swami ji, I got the feeling that thoughtlessness or being mind-full is always 'work in progress'. Even Saints and Sanyasis also struggled to maintain that stage permanently. [my interpretation may be wrong]. I feel that this is very significant information for a common seeker. Black lotus provides this opportunity to re-engage with our ever-wandering mind. It provides the opportunity to tame our mind, to make it empty and to practice, practice and practice. This is the only mantra of success in meditation. At this juncture, I am recalling few lines read somewhere during my childhood:  

                                            " Mera man anant kanha sukh paawe, Jaise ud jahaaj ka panchi, phir ud jahaaj par aawe'

I am enjoying my daily meditation sessions and increasingly doing other meditation also provided in the app. One can trust on the above narration blindly. I am blessed that I came to know about Swami ji and about this app at least at this stage of my life, else I would have been lost somewhere and would have been wasting my time on sundry things. Thank you Om Swami ji for beautiful gift to this world in the form of your vast knowledge and app. I believe that all of you must be resonating with my experience, therefore I invite each one of you to spread the message across the globe to near and dear ones to use this beautiful app and enjoy the journey from 'mindfull to mind-full'. 

What is the Reason Behind the Uneasiness/restless Mind?

 Namaste!!! Why mind is so restless? What is the reason behind the permanent status of sadness? I used to ponder on these questions frequently. It is difficult to find easy answers, I guess. I used to doubt on myself whether I am suffering from mild depression? Do I need consultation from some doctor? Though, apparently, everything seems good and there are no other symptoms of depressions at all. It indicates that it is not mild depression, it is something else. With God's grace, good health, good family, stable job with time bound promotions and increment, healthy Childrens etc etc. Then what is the reason behind the permanent feeling of sadness in the back of mind. I read somewhere that one should always be in same mode, in extreme happiness and in extreme sadness.  If one is able to maintain status quo, he/she is termed as awakened soul. My interpretation might be wrong, but I think such interpretation led me to dull lifestyle where I am unable to celebrate success openly or show emotions during rainy days in life. Someone can correct me on this. 

      Going through all such ups and downs, I reach to the conclusion that one should do something which makes one very happy internally and get the feeling of satisfaction. I zeroed on writing. Someone might find satisfaction in doing something else. I found joy in writing something on different topics. I think, there is joy in creating something. This is the basic fundamental of mother nature. Every creature around us is busy in creating something, be it animals, plants or human being. If we start creating something with mind fullness, then I think that will give us immense satisfaction. Seeding any idea, sowing it, working on it and seeing it grow give a different feeling altogether. I don't know whether I am able to convey my feelings clearly today, but I think it is important to know the source of restlessness as early as possible. It will happen only when We give time to ourselves, sit in solitude and ponder over the real issues. For me, creating something gives me pleasure. Since, I don't have much time to construct something physically, so I think creating something in the form of writing is one of the easy things to find inner peace. I may be wrong but at this juncture, I am trying to gain peace through writing. Suggestions are welcome.  

Meditation...Self Awareness.....Meditation

 Pranam!!I have written earlier on my journey with Black Lotus. It is going nicely. Before using this app, whenever I sat for Meditation, the sessions were not so productive, and minutes looks hours as it was completely unguided without having timer. Now, I am much better with daily morning sessions with Black Lotus. The energy level through out the day has also improved slightly though sometimes, I feel dull without any solid reason. I think the key for success in meditation is strict adherence to schedule which needs will power. Once, someone start enjoying the meditation in real sense, it gives boost to will power in a flow as the whole body starts needing meditation sessions automatically. Since, such routine improves self-awareness also which lead to the status of 'Live in present'. I am slowly realizing the power of silent mind. Consistent chattering of mind is a big energy loss. If we calculate in strict materialistic sense, then also it is loss of millions of man hours and corresponding loss in GDP [Gross domestic product]. There is a need to mandatorily introduce the meditation sessions at school level. It is not linked to a particular religion; it is universal technique and required by every human being almost.  

My Learning from Photograph of God Vishnu

 Pranam!!! In most of the houses which belongs to Hindus [It's my assumption] across the world have seen the above photograph somewhere...It may be placed in Puja room or at some prominent place. It belongs to Bhagwan Vishnu who is resting on the tail of ferocious snake [NAG], the Goddess of wealth Laxmi  Mata is seen at the feet. Bhagwan Vishnu is seen lying in vast ocean known as Ksheer Sagar [the ocean of milk]. The prominent feature of this photograph is the peace and calmness visible on the face of Bhagwan Vishnu. 

     In my childhood days, I used to see this photograph almost daily as it was kept at several places in my house. I used to visualize about the Bhagwan who is sitting in the lap of venomous snake who has several mouths. I wondered how Bhagwan Visnhu is able to maintain HIS calmness in such a dreadful situation. I used to think that since HE is a Bhagwan so HE can do such act, a normal human being can't relax in such awful situation.

    Time passed and I started reading the books of several Saints and listened Satsang of several knowledgeable persons. I came to know that our scriptures were written by great people and all these scriptures have very significant knowledge base. However, they were written with lot of indicative manner to make common people get some sense of it in an interesting manner. Since, when these scriptures must have been developed long ago, there may not be a proper script to write it down. Therefore, these scriptures were transferred through generations to generations vide telling stories. This makes it interesting. To make the future generations understand the deep meaning of spiritual things, stories were narrated in a very interesting manner sometimes in exacerbated way to make it easy to learn. But, sadly in the process, the real meaning got lost somewhere in between or may be there is shortage of genuine knowledgeable people to decode the real meaning behind such stories and inform to the common masses.

     I encountered a very beautiful decoding of the above photograph which I thought I should share with all of you. You probably may have different interpretation of the above photograph. I would request all of you to share your thoughts on it.

     As per my understanding and on the basis of discourses attended by me, the above photograph contains a very powerful message to the common people about 'How to live life'. We all agree that each one of us faces ups and downs in life and routinely faces problems of myriad nature. But no problem can be greater than a threat to life which a venomous and ferocious snake poses to Bhagwan Vishnu in the above referred image. One can have vast properties/ land or kingdom of huge size but not greater than an Ocean depicted in above image which Bhagwan Vishnu has. One can have huge wealth but not that much where Mata Laxmi herself is available on the feet of Bhagwan Vishnu in above image. Despite having continuous threat to life, vast kingdom of Ksheer Sagar size [ocean of Milk] and massive wealth like Bhagwan Vishnu, how should someone live his/her life?   One can take lesson from Bhagwan Vishnu from above image, that despite of having all odds against and massive wealth and kingdom, HE is seen relaxing and having no fear on HIS face. If all of us get this message and train our mind on daily basis, I believe that we will not be affected by any EGO or self-importance nor would be affected by small problems in our life. I think this is the powerful message from this image to all of us. We should see this image every day and practice it with devotion with message to our mind that ' it seems everything matters but at last nothing matters eventually'. This is the message Pujya Swami ji also gives in his discourses and same message is also contained in Shree Bhagwat Geeta. Therefore, be wise and relax..be mindful and enjoy every moment of life...

संत मिलन को जाइये,तज माया अभिमान। ज्यों ज्यों पग आगे धरे कोटि यज्ञ समान।।

                                     संत मिलन को जाइये,तज माया अभिमान। ज्यों ज्यों पग आगे धरे कोटि यज्ञ समान।।

   # भावार्थ - सन्तो की परख करने के बाद जब भी उन से मिलने के लिए जाइये ,अपनी माया और अभिमान दोनो को ही अपने घर पर छोड़ दीजिए। जब माया अभिमान को छोड़ कर घरसे आगे जाते हैं ,तब प्रत्येक पग पग पर आगे बढ़ने पर करोड़ों यज्ञ के समान पुण्य की प्राप्ति होती है।  [Saint Kabir Das ji]

                                 एक घड़ी आधी घड़ी ,आधी की पुनि आध , तुलसी संगत साधु की ,काटे कोटि अपराध।
  # भावार्थ -तुलसीदास जी ने सुसंगति के महत्त्व का बखान करते हुए कहा है कि साधू अर्थात् भले एवं सच्चे लोगों की अतिअल्प संगति भी हमारे जीवन से कई प्रकार के कल्मष एवम् पापों को हर लेती है।

Pranaam!! I am very excited to meet Pujya Swami ji in the coming week probably on 27th-28th Nov,2022. Yesterday, I received e-mail from Sri Badrika Ashram that I would be getting an opportunity to meet Pujya Swami ji on Nov 22. What??? I was perturbed as I had booked my tickets and accommodation from 26th Nov to 28th Nov,2022. For a minute, I became very sad that I will miss the opportunity to meet Swami ji as Ashram has given me different date for his Darshan. Then, suddenly thought popped up in my mind that probably some mistake happened in fixing the dates by Ashram as I have filled request form with details of my accommodation booking and intended dates of stay at Ashram. So, I immediately wrote an e-mail to Ashram with my request for rescheduling if possible. It was lunch time in office, but I became so restless for a moment, so I picked my mobile and dialed number given on website of Ashram. I put up the detailed story of my cause of concern. I am happy to inform everyone that I received reply form Ashram on e-mail citing the interpretation error from my side. In fact, e-mail says that my appointment is scheduled on Nov 22. So, I interpreted it with 22nd Nov, 2022 whereas Ashram management want to convey it that my appointment is fixed for the Swami ji schedule in the month of Nov 2022. Immediately, I became very happy and all cause of my sadness gone into wind. 

    From this small incidence, I realized that how 'the feeling of happiness or sadness' are always a temporary phenomenon. If we can control our mind and be mindful at that particular juncture, we would be at peace. This is the message of Swami ji also in almost all his discourses. 

   I am fortunate for everything God has given to me in my life. Now, getting opportunity for the first time to visit Sri Badrika Ashram with family and that too with a possibility of personal audience by Pujya Swami ji, what else I need for a blessed life I am living presently. At this juncture, I am recalling beautiful lines written by Saint Kabir Ji and Tulsi Das ji which say that going to have darshan of Saint is equivalence to the millions of doing Yagya and time spent even fraction of seconds with Saint can remove the millions of bad Karmas...Praying for blessing of Swami ji for every living creature on this planet.   

The Status of Mind...Compounding Effect

 Pranam!!! hope everyone specially living in northern part of India are enjoying the advent of winter. The morning walk with mild cold breeze gives immense happiness and peace of mind. While walking/running, I have the habit of listening spiritual discourses. This way, I am able to listen hundred's of videos available on you tube. It has enlightened me vastly. One fellow seeker sent me link of a very beautiful Satsang on 'mind & divine'. I found it very useful. A very small practice of coming to 'Center yourself' is very unique and helpful. In this technique, you need to breathe out with self message of doing away with cluttering of mind and focus on thoughtless status [though achieved for fraction of a second]. One should repeat it often throughout the day. It can be done anywhere even without informing the other person sitting Infront. It looks very small and less significant, but I think it has huge 'compounding effect' on overall status of our mind if we can practice it continuously. Infact, it is very powerful tool in the hands of everyone from child to young to old. It is a continuous gentle reminder to oneself to be mindful....'Center yourself'.....There is no shortcuts in the journey of meditation...One should direct mind again and again to be mindful...To make this happen, the practice of 'Center yourself' is very useful. It can be performed in seconds without much effort...It is like 'Aha moment' for me. You can also try it. After listening Pujya Om Swami ji's many discourses and going through the books available, I feel that it is always great to learn vertically as well as horizontally. I mean from Gurus as well as from fellow seekers. Sometimes, fellow seeker can have great weapon to shoot your problem in an easy way. For sharing this wonderful video link, I am grateful to my fellow seeker meeraom ji....I am ready to learn as much as possible from every seeker. Kindly share such useful and beautiful You-tube links to me. I shall be grateful for ever.... 'Center yourself'....  

Are the Shoes/ Slippers responsible for Partial Unmindful Status?

 Pranam!! I read that Bhagwan Mahaveer was very compassionate. He stopped eating after Sun set, stopped eating vegetables grown underground and walking barefoot...Come in to Center...A thought suddenly came to my mind that Shoes/ Slippers have contributed a lot in making human being un- mindfull....What???? At the outset, I plead for the forgiveness from the inventors of this beautiful and very helpful product. It is true that Shoes/Slippers have enabled human being to conquer the rough terrain of mother earth but at the same time, these products have also kept the human being away from the mother nature. Due to these products, human being forgets to feel the texture and temperature of mother earth. Since, human feet is the only direct contact point with Mother Earth for most of the time until you are lying on the ground or sitting on the surface of Mother Earth. These products in fact have deprived the human being to get the free acupressure therapy on daily basis....Come in to Center....Few days back, I was sitting with a group of doctors [My wife is also a doctor (Ophthalmologist)] who suggested that one should walk barefoot on the grass specially in the morning for better health...Come in to Center... It is good for diabetic patient as well, I heard. Therefore, unknowingly, these products are contributing in being un-mindful while walking. I want to clarify that there is no denial of the usefulness of shoes/slippers in everyday life, however, I want to give an alternative dimension for the usage of modern gazettes and its impact on being mind-full. The example of Shoes/slippers are only for illustrative purpose. 

      It is said that during the rule of Prabhu Ram, everybody was happy. There was no sadness in the air. It was known as Ram Rajya and today, we all aspire for Ram Rajya type situation in our country. I strongly believe that such situation of Ram Rajya must be present at that point of time. There are reasons behind such strong belief. During that time there was hardly any electronic interference in the atmosphere. People were very simple and easy going. They respected the environment and took great care of it as a part of their family...Come in to Center....They were breathing in extremely fresh air and drinking pollution free water. As a result, there may not be many diseases around. People must be stress free and happy in general. Now, we can compare the present situation where our life has become slave of modern equipment such as Tv, fridge, mobile, AC, etc etc. Only God knows, how much continuous silent radiation we are exposed to and how it is affecting our body and mind. We are breathing a very polluted air and drinking polluted water (specially in Delhi). Forget about milk....Come in to Center....Therefore, whatever government do by framing new laws, having constitutional arrangements to ensure Ram Rajya, it is not possible till the time whole chunk of population starts taking care of its environment and reduce the dependency on electronic devices which are making our life unmindful and away from nature.

    At recently concluded meeting on environment, COP at Egypt, world leaders were struggling to stop the rise in temperature at pre-industrialization level. So far all of us are responsible for 1.5 degree rise in global temperature which is in fact a very serious situation. Anyway, I believe that better sense will prevail over the time and We, as human being will once again start protecting our beautiful mother earth. For a beginning, let us pledge to walk barefoot for few minutes on daily basis. This exercise will sensitize about the significance of clean environment and enable us to feel the mother earth and definitely enhance the bond between us and mother earth...Come in to Center...Further suggestions are welcome.

                                                                                                             *****

'Come in to Center' is a beautiful technique where one should breathe out with self-message to de-clutter the mind and be mindful. It hardly takes few seconds and can be performed anywhere. I have inserted it in my writing to compel the reader of this post to practice it and be mindful.

Who is Successful???

 Pranam!!Few days back, I was talking to my elder Son who is attending school. The topic of discussion was developing good habits to be successful. Though, he did not raise the counter question eg 'What do you mean by Success?' but at hindsight I was thinking what is the real meaning of success. What are the parameters on which one can judge you whether you are a successful person or not?...wait..wait...is the opinion of others or judgement of others make you successful or otherwise? In general, we tend to measure our success from the eyes of another person. But I think this is not correct. The parameter of success varies from person to person, from background to background, from country to country. It means the success is a geo-temporal variable. In India, if couple is living in a married life for long time [though without any love and care], for few such couple may be successful. For a poor person, having a good house to live in is a success. For rich person, setting up a new factory or may be purchase of an aero plane is a success. So, what is the success? It is very difficult to answer in black and white. For those living in developed nations, the meaning of success might be different. Person working at NASA may termed success once somebody safely lands on moon. It means, the real meaning of success is highly individualistic and contextualize. Then why many of us are wasting time to judge our own life from the eyes of others. Let's focus on ourselves and within. I think, if one is happy in whatever he is doing or not doing should be one of the parameters of success. If we can remain in peaceful status, we are successful. For that to happen, we should practice meditation, practicing the technique of centering yourself and doing good karma. Further comments are welcome. 

Sweet Outcome of Being Mindful...Magic of Black Lotus App

 Pranaam!!! Today a very wonderful thing I observed. I usually take breakfast sitting in lawn under the Sun during winter. It serves multipurpose. I do some breathing exercise in morning fresh air and get some Vitamin D as well. Though it is routine so nothing new to this daily regime. But something brilliant I observed today. Due to my routine sitting, the birds from nearby areas knew it so they join me to taste my breakfast every morning. Today, few Crows and two house-sparrows joined me first. I was watching them curiously. I gave some food to them. First one sparrow came and took some part of the food. Then second sparrow came, and they start fighting each other to grab most of the food. In fighting, they reached a little far from location of food lying on the grass. Seeing the opportunity, two crows watching from nearby areas jumped on the food and took it fully. Both sparrows watched the crows taking away food helplessly. I was amused to see it. Again, I threw some more food. Both sparrows jumped on it and start fighting again to grab the food fully. They fought so much that they drifted away from location of food and opportunity was once again grabbed by those two crows who came again for second serving. Poor sparrows saw them with helpless eyes again. It was very interesting sight, and I was engrossed so much that I forgot everything else going on in this planet. Wish, I could have video recorded this whole episode.  This beautiful incidence looks very small, but I feel that it shows the general mental situation of human being as well. It has the affirmative message of survival of fittest theory where Crows are stronger than sparrows who are able to grab whole food. It indicates the greed of sparrows who are fighting with each other to grab the whole meal. They are not ready to share the food among each other and seems all right when third creature is grabbing it. They seem satisfied that none among them [Sparrows] are able to get food. This is exactly the mentality among millions of fellow human beings. We are ok if somebody who is stranger and live in peace and earn well. We tend to have problem/ jealousy with our close siblings or Neighbour if they are doing good. So, what is the difference between these birds and human beings? 

      I am sure such beautiful episodes were happening on daily basis in my Lawn but today only I observed it closely and enjoyed it. It happened due to increase in awareness and being more mindful. This is the positive outcome of using Black lotus app and following it regularly without any break. I feel blessed and grateful to Pujya Om Swami ji for developing this beautiful app which is responsible for enhancing my awareness. After this beautiful episode, I was sitting quietly and looking towards a Neem tree standing in my Neighbour house whose branches spread in my lawn area. I saw few beautiful, cute sparrows, some squirrels hanging and few more birds living peacefully on this tree and chatting continuously. The sight was so beautiful that I want to see it for some more time. I need to cut it short to attend my other routine. The point which I am trying to make here is that 'Life is everywhere and it is flowing like river, We need to be in mindful state to see it, enjoy it and feel blessed about it'..The God's creation is so beautiful. ...so beautiful...HE has given us eyes and ears to enjoy it but due to our own inadequacies we are unable to appreciate it. It would be better to increase our self-awareness to be more mindful and see the beauty spread everywhere, in each nook and corner of this beautiful planet. Try to adopt a very small and beautiful technique of 'Centering Yourself'...It can be performed anywhere and very effective to make you self-aware and make you live in present moment...Comments are welcome...     

My First Visit to Sri Badrika Ashram

 Pranaam!! due to God's grace, I got calling to visit Sri Badrika Ashram from 26th Nov to 29th Nov, 2022. So, I visited the Ashram with family. I can say with full conviction that this place is heaven on earth. Its location, beautiful and green mountains, river, ambience, the people in Ashram...Everything was so good and well maintained. Initially during planning for journey, I had doubts regarding comfortable stay in Ashram as I was going with small kids. Had it not been comfortable for kids, it would have been a bit different experience as a whole. The room was so good with excellent heating provisions. All in the family had mild cough when We started journey from Delhi. After reaching ashram, in one day, cough miraculously disappeared. It must be due to fresh air and zero pollution there. We are fortunate to see clear blue sky and shining stars in the sky in night. Generally, I am shy to interact Suo moto to strangers, but I interacted freely with fellow devotees came from across the world. We exchanged numbers with some of them. We chatted sitting near to book shop around bonfire every night almost till 11:45 PM. Before that I did meditation in day and in night after discourse and Aarati. The impact within is huge. The guided meditation sessions in the morning were so nice that I am overwhelmed and felt very blessed. I was lucky to get personal audience from Pujya Swami ji. I was in pain to see very hectic schedule of Swami ji to meet so many people in the evening but still he was so kind to provide patient hearing to every seeker who has applied for it. Discourses were excellent and contained deep meaning to ponder. I am fortunate to receive few books signed by Pujya Swami ji. I met Sri Rajiv ji who is so humble and kind. He was taking care of almost all the logistics effortlessly. It appears that Ashram is running in auto-pilot mode with clockwork precision. Everything is timed and is being followed professionally. My kids enjoyed volunteering for garbage collection drive on the bank of river. I saw Diya Om ji and Sadhvi Vrinda Om along with other disciples too. They were very busy so did not feel appropriate to disturb them without any valid reasons.

      I left ashram yesterday with heavy heart and lot of sweet memories with a deep desire to return to this place as soon as possible. When there is positivity around with presence of Sri Hari, it creates effect of a huge magnet. Though, with physical body, I am sitting in my office in Delhi, but heart and soul is still in Badrika Ashram thinking about what must be going on there. Life is very short so it should be enjoyed and celebrated thoroughly. If we can enjoy it as per our Sanskar and Sanatan traditions, nothing can be as beautiful. I think we as a family returned from Ashram as bit wiser and full of compassion. The biggest take away from this trip is 'Work Hard...Do things as if no tomorrow at our disposal'...Today, there must be grand celebration of birthday of Pujya Swami ji. I wish him a very happy birthday. May Sri Hari bless him with long life.

A small act of kindness brought Infinite happiness

 Pranaam!!I met one beautiful couple few days ago who came from one European country [to maintain privacy name, place and country is not mentioned]. They were enjoying woods and solitude, fresh air, fresh water and complete freedom given by Indian constitution [which is denied in their country as told by them]. They were overwhelmed and very satisfied soul. During interaction, I found that they belong to some country where government of the day is highly intolerant, so they have migrated to other country and working in some company where salary is not very good. They said that despite of not many resources, they are able to travel the world and have explored different places. I thought how lucky they are. I felt pity on myself who has millions of excuses to not to travel abroad. We exchanged numbers on departure and wishes best time with a promise to meet again in near future. During adieu, they said that they are going to visit some historically significant place before leaving India. 

      After few days, in early morning I have received one disturbing message on my WhatsApp from this couple. I immediately called them to inquire. I was stunned to know their ordeal in that particular historical town. They were badly cheated by few miscreants in the name of shopping artifacts and other things. I was deeply pained from inside and felt very bad that due to few foolish people, our whole country gets very bad name. Indian government want to promote tourism but such bad behavior by some brings very bad name. I tried to pacify them and suggested some ways to recover their stolen amount. I also promised to put words to local police through my contacts there if issue is not resolved. After few hours, I checked with them, and they said that partial amount looted from them has been recovered. I was relieved slightly. The couple thanked me profusely for listening their ordeal. Sometimes, even listening patiently somebody's' difficult issue have soothing impact on the victims.

           I further inquire about their plans. They said that they are moving to another historical town for only one day and afterwards they will depart to their country. So, as a precaution, I advised few things keeping in mind the possible scenario of repetition of cheating episode. They want to buy some local products from this new place. So, I enquired from my local contacts there and send the address and location so that they can get quality products at reasonable price. Further I asked them if any other assistance is required from my side. During discussion, I got the feeling that they are finding trouble in getting good transport back to Delhi at reasonable price. So, I offered from my side that I will arrange transport for which they need not worry as they have already lost good amount of money so as a guest of my country, I will arrange the transport as a departing gift. My idea was to make them feel welcomed, valued and cared so that They can leave this country with a positive note and forget about their ordeal in one historical town. So, I arranged one SUV for them. I transferred some advance booking amount to the vehicle owner and gave him clear instruction to not to disclose the actual fare to the guests. The driver reached at their hotel before reporting time. They felt overwhelmed by seeing nicely dressed driver with clean big vehicle. The couple continued asking me the amount to be paid to the vehicle. I requested them to forget about it. But they were insisting too much. I thought that they might feel otherwise so I sent message to the driver to disclose only half of the fare amount to them as actual fare as I have already transferred half of it. They landed Delhi safely. The couple would never come to know about my partial transfer of amount to taxi guy.

      Though this is a very small gesture from my side, and I don't have any intention to glorify myself by sharing this story but the point I want to make here is the amount of happiness I got within to help them at a time when they need it. One can imagine an ordeal in foreign unknown land and how one must be feeling in such pathetic and sad situations. I think this small gesture of help immensely impacted me. I felt that doing a kind act without expecting anything in return gives you true happiness. That is exactly the message being given by Pujya Swami ji in his discourses that one should always be kind and compassionate. 

Thank God, We got birth in India... Long live India

 Pranaam!! During my stay in Sri Badrika Ashram, I met one devotee Mehreen who is living in Netherland at present and originally hails from Iran. [To maintain privacy name is changed]. We interacted only once in Ashram and somehow felt connected and therefore exchange contact details. Yesterday, I was very happy to receive them at my residence for dinner before their departure to Netherland. Mehreen is very fun loving and carry very beautiful smile always on her face. She was accompanied by her husband who hails from Norway. He is very silent type guy and appears to be in continuous meditative state. Due to Delhi's chilling weather, they preferred to sit in drawing hall. She complimented me for a beautiful and big house in the heart of New Delhi. It is government house, so I told her that all credit to government. During discussion, I found a chain of awful episodes and brave stories of Mehreen's life back in Iran. She was a social activist which was not acceptable to the regime there. She was arrested once and sent to prison for one day for violating social norms which was very disturbing to me. She said that moral policing is a very big and problematic issue there.

               Suddenly, one night, she got wind of some massive crackdown by Iranian authority against social activists. She was frightened and she ran from her home alone without even carrying her purse or pair of clothes. She was hardly of 15 yr old that time. She crossed Iraq that night. She searched manual job in Iraq and started working there. Since, she was living near Iran-Iraq border area, so it was difficult for Iraqi authority to distinguish her as physical features and language were almost same. Since, she did not have any document with her, it was getting difficult to move to any other country. During her stay in Iraq, Mehreen told me that her mother used to send lot of things secretly through tourist bus driver. Bus driver used to charge money for this service and transport eatables to Mehreen in Iraq.  In between, war broke out in Iraq, and she was forced to take refuge in nearby country Turkey. She lived in refugee camp for some time and then she escaped to one European country and stayed for long in refugee camp there. She was alone and facing all this alone only. She was unable to contact her parents as authority was watching every conversation in Iran. After some time, she came to know that her father died. Now, only her mother and brother live in Iran.

       She finally landed in Norway and want to join nursing. For that, for one year she learnt local language for six months and then took admission in nursing course. In between for survival, she did baby sitting and other manual work. Authority took very long time to give her citizenship in absence of any document to prove her identity. Once, authority established that she would be prosecuted in Iran on her return, they bestowed her the citizenship. After few years, she met the guy and decided to marry him. They don't have any plan to extend their family. They are living happily in Amsterdam now. The thing which pained me very much that from last so many years, she was unable to talk to her mother in fear of reprisal from authority. Later, she came to know that all her friends were prosecuted.

     It was very heavy discussion in drawing room, so we moved in dining area for Indian vegetarian dinner. Hope, they liked our preparation. After the dinner, I took them to Bengali market near mandi house. She ate kulfi, Gol-guppas and Rasmalai. Almost everything both of them liked very much. Finally, I brought them to Pan Shop and requested them to taste it. They were ready to experiment with this unique Indian thing and felt very nice after chewing the Pan...It was almost 10:30PM and they need to catch flight today morning, so I dropped them at their hotel in Connaught place. We bid tearful farewell with very sweet memories of time spent together and promised to meet again in near future may be in Amsterdam during our visit or in Sri badrika Ashram .

   I returned to me residence after dropping them with deep thought that how much lucky we all of us are who are living a comfortable life with complete freedom. We are not encountering any moral police in the street, and we are not forced to run in midnight to save our life. We are lucky to not to encounter any situation where we are forced to live in refugee camp. I profusely thank God/Sri Hari for a beautiful life. This is the regular message of Pujya Om Swami ji to be full of gratitude all the time. We should focus more on what we have and not what we don't have. That is the way to be happy. The remarkable thing which I noticed about Mehreen is that she is always smiling and laughing while narrating her difficult times. I have learnt a lot from Mehreen. She is a very brave lady. They have plans to roam around the world and visit different places. She has already visited numerous countries. She also has plans to learn a new language. Right now, she knows five languages which is very impressive feat. I wish her a very beautiful life ahead. 

Singing about Guru brings immense happiness

 Pranaam!! I got the opportunity to visit Sri Badrika ashram on 26th Nov,2022. I liked everything there and every moment spent there is vividly imprinted in my memory. I miss the divinity existing there and time spent in meditation Infront of Sri Hari...Though, I am following Swami ji through his blog, videos and books since 2015, but got the calling in 2022 only. On return, I bought several books to gift to my friends, relatives and known whoever has any inclination towards spirituality and wellbeing. My special focus is on 'If truth be told' book written by Puja Swami ji as for a beginner it gives huge mental impact and generate curiosity to search more and more about Pujya Swami ji. Though, I am still not initiated but mentally I think I have reached the stage beyond that in terms of belief and surrender to Pujya Swami ji. Yesterday, I invited to one of my friends whom I met very recently in one social gathering and gifted him the book 'If truth be told'...During our brief sitting yesterday evening, I was telling him about the divine powers and grace and all about Swami ji. I felt so good which I can't express in words. The 20 minutes meeting with my friend brought me huge happiness inside. I was pondering that how truthful are the words of Swami ji that each and every advice given by Swami ji brings so much happiness if followed properly. Surprisingly or may be a coincidence, after finishing my today's meditation on black lotus, I clicked on act of kindness menu, and it throws me the 'act of gifting book' option which I already did yesterday. I found one more thing that it is always pleasant to sing about the Swami ji Infront of a third person. It brings huge joy inside. I think this is the crux of Bhakti movement also where devotees sang praise about their deity. This seems a short cut to attain happiness. Gifting something pious without expecting anything in return is a nice thing to do.    

Ocean of wisdom...meditation...self purification

 Pranaam!! Recently, I subscribed to the virtual sessions on ' Art of meditation' and engrossed in it so much that I completed the full course in a very short span of time. I got to know the finer nuances of meditation and its pre-requisites. I am amazed the lucid way Swami ji explained the whole subject. I also realized the importance of correct posture for good meditation sessions. In the same course, I also realized the importance of compassion, empathy, love and virtuous life for real growth in spiritual world. Therefore, I subscribed to another beautiful course on ' Self purification'. It is 15 days long course dealing with ten major aspects of life such as Desire, krodh, lobh etc. Swamiji beautifully explained the difference between Trishna and simple desire. I believe that after this course, I will be a better person who is more kind, gentle and compassionate. Infact, these courses are ocean of wisdom. I also go the clarity that there is no shortcuts to self-purification and good meditation. I need to work hard and practice it every day. It will be 'work in progress' for long time but I can be successful if I do it diligently and regularly with determination and motivation. I got the glimpse of Sadhvi Virnida ji in this course who is co-piloting this purification course. I am immensely grateful to God and Sri Hari for giving me opportunity and necessary resources to explore these beautiful teaching sessions. Foremost is the desire to change myself and desire to grow spiritually. Necessary resources may be available with many but a genuine desire to make mid-way corrections under the guidance of self-realized Saint is rarest of rare thing and which may be the outcome of some previous good karma. I read somewhere that the evolution of desire to go for even darshan of any Saint comes as an outcome of good karma. I don't know what the good karma I did in the past for which I am reaping the benefits right now. 

        I urge all the reader of this post to explore the virtual retreat section of os.me blog and get the glimpse of these beautiful teaching sessions. It has the power to transform the life. We need to find our own truth. It will come only under the guidance of experts on the subject. Who else can I find better than Swami ji? Every day, I am getting the vibes of peace and tranquility as I am continuously using black lotus. I can imagine how Swamiji must be experiencing the bliss in his day-to-day life and why he is working so hard to offer this bliss to the world. Now it is our turn to make use of it and get the benefits. 

A Prayer That Never Fails

 Pranaam!! I have just finished this wonderful book  " A prayer that never fails' written by Sadhvi Vrinda Om ji. I have not read any book written with so much honesty. I can relate with many incidences mentioned here. It needs tons of courage to write so truthfully. I congratulate Sadhvi ji for showing such courage to the world. I think it can be great guide for a common man like me to start a journey of self-purification and achieve great height in spiritual world. As mentioned in the book, it is a hard and arduous journey one needs to travel. Without continuous and hard work, nothing will happen in reality. The techniques given in the book on self-purification and taming our mind are beautiful. It is a very interesting and though provoking book. I strongly recommend all the reader of this post to immediately grab this book and read it if not done so far. I am in deep contemplation right now and have very few words to write further. May Sri Hari give her strength and wisdom to write many more wonderful books in time to come.