Let us reconnect to precious water

Water is life. Our bodies are made mostly of water and our survival depends on it. All life forms on planet earth are nurtured by water. Hence, ancient civilisations revered water, acknowledging its role as the driving force of nature. Scriptures of the two oldest religions of the world – Zoroastrianism and Hinduism – venerate water as a deity. While the Zend Avesta reveres Aredvi, the river goddess who nourishes people and lands and grants fertility, healing and wisdom, the Puranas worship Ganga, the river goddess who feeds, purifies and liberates humankind.

With time, the relationship between human beings and water seems to have undergone many changes. The idolisation turned into utilitarianism followed by consumerism and finally has given way to exploitation. Over the last 100 years or so, we have been exhausting water reserves faster than they can be replenished. A recent report by Niti Ayog claims that around 21 Indian cities will run out of groundwater and face severe water scarcity by 2020. When we all know how essential water is for survival of many life forms including ours, it is surprising that most of us are either silent spectators or willing participants in the massive wastage and contamination of this precious natural resource.

What could explain such a thoughtless and negligent attitude? Perhaps, the answers can be found in the prevailing psychological makeup in many of us, characterised by alienation, narcissism and greed. Nowadays, many people feel a deep disconnect with themselves, others and their environment. They feel alone, empty and vulnerable and in order to overcome their negative emotions they crave for intense pleasure. This gives rise to compulsive consumerism which makes them believe that once they satiate desires, they can be happy, indiscriminately consuming or wasting whatever they want. The yearning for instant gratification without any concern for the future all they want is to satisfy their greed without looking to its impact. Compulsive consumerism affects their relationship with water as well, and they have no qualms in mindlessly wasting, exploiting and contaminating water.

Despite this compulsive consumerism, most of them continue to feel hollow, meaningless and unhappy. They are ignorant of the fact that happiness can be found not in consuming recklessly but in giving back to nature. A study published in the International Journal of Environmental and Ecological Engineering found that those who care for the environment and who actively participate in conserving and restoring natural resources including water, experience a deep sense of inner peace and happiness. The need of the hour is to rise above greed, cultivate love for other forms of life, display environment-friendly behaviour, feel a connection with water and allow its mystical energy to fill us with joy.

Let us give water its due. Recall any moment when you were feeling hot and thirsty and your throat was parched. Try to recollect how blissful it felt as you finally got to drink some water. Imagine how it would have been if there was no water. Let us do everything possible to make sure that water continues to exist and nourish life on earth.

Find your self through quiet observation

It's began to shower gently and somehow i felt the heavens, along with God, were blessing this earth. More than pleasure, it is the happiness of innocence which is uplifting. The purity of innocence has its own freedom. In that freedom, there is no burden of the experience but the divine song of life. Are we listening to this song or are we lost in the demands of ego? Can the effort to listen to this divine song be our prayer? Prayer, not demanding, but to cultivate the ability to receive the blessings of existence.

Who one is, is an important question. The great saint, Ramana Maharshi, used to always ask, “Who am I?” To anyone coming to him, he used to use this question, “Who am I?” please inquire.

What we think we are, is not what we are. There are many aspects of our self. There is this body, which is the acting self, there is an emotional self, a thinking self, a functional self and also a fundamental self. Therefore, one has to observe one’s self. When one has the discipline to observe then an observing self emerges. This observing self, observes how we work, how we talk to others, how we talk to ourselves and how we feel. Are we harsh to ourselves and to others in feeling and dealing? There are all aspects of us to be under scrutiny without judgment but as a pure observation.

When the observing self is crystallised, then we observe anger and do not get carried away by anger, observe jealousy and not get carried away by jealousy. When one observes, then there is a non-verbal understanding.

You start seeing the anatomy of anger. The hot thought is anger. As you observe you will find, that the hot thought, is a trigger from a mechanical centre. As you observe you realise that anger is not only thought, it is mechanical and it carries some sadness of the past. That sadness is a result of not learning to be happy in the moment. One is not being happy because one is caught in the concept of having a ‘reason to be happy’ and not learnt to be ‘causelessly happy’.

In daily activities of your life, be it work or home or any relationship, ‘impersonally observe’ – then you will learn not to identify with what you observe. It is then that you get an insight and will observe your inner talking and the wrong inner tastes you have built. You will see how thought is addicted to ‘self-liking’ and thus you will see the anatomy of your psychology and how your psychic life creates inner darkness.

When you observe your children, their body language will convey something which needs your care and attention. If you are lost in your ‘inner identifications’ of your dreams and demands, then you will not observe your children and you may not give the required help. Increase the sharpness of your observation and this will help you in family and work. Don’t negate this as philosophical but see it as new light to dispel the inner darkness created by your psychology.

Everybody is on the wrong train

On a coast-bound train, Mieczyslaw was slumped in his seat, and every few moments he sighed and cried, “Ah my! Ah my!” Forbes, sitting nearby, heard him cry but did not butt in, thinking the fellow was troubled by some great personal tragedy.

The next day it was the same cry of, “Ah my! Ah my!” And again the same, the day after.

Finally, Forbes leaned over and whispered, “Anything seriously wrong?”

“Ah my, yes!” said the Polack. “For three days now I have been on the wrong train!”

This is exactly the situation of humanity: everybody, almost everybody, is on the wrong train; hence there is so much misery. Misery simply indicates that you are not where you are supposed to be; that you are not moving towards your own destiny; that you are not flowering into your own potential; that you have been diverted, distracted by others.

Every adult distracts the child from his essential being. Nobody respects the individual. They have already decided what is right and what is wrong, and for all.
Each individual is a unique phenomenon. Hence no law, no morality can be applicable to all. Of course, we have to agree on a few minimums just to exist together, but those minimums have to be the nonessentials.

About the essentials, there should be no compromise at all, with no one, not even with God, because you don’t know anything about God. The priest goes on speaking on behalf of a God which nobody knows. It is the priest, who pretends that his voice is God’s voice.

Religion means one is trying to transcend the mundane; otherwise, religion loses all its meaning. … And this is not only the case with Hindus: this is the case with Buddhists, Jainas, Christians, Jews, with almost all organised religions. They have all gone off-track. I mean they have become entangled with the nonessential.

There cannot be myriad rules about the essential; it is about the very nonessential: while you are walking, how much you should see of the road? – only four feet, not more than that, not even four feet six inches. If you go beyond the limit of four feet, you fall from grace. Now what does it have to do with religion? You have to have only a certain number of clothing, not more, and you have to be very strict about it. You have to beg in a certain way, from certain people, not otherwise. You have to eat only at a certain time; if you are feeling hungry again you cannot eat, you have to remain hungry.

These rules have been propagated in the name of religion, and once something takes the colour of religion, it starts looking important to people.

Character has been very much emphasised; in fact, character is a peripheral phenomenon. The real thing is not character but consciousness, but consciousness happens inside and is not available for others to observe; others can only observe your character. And it is always the others who are deciding for you, hence they decide something that they can observe: they decide about your behaviour. And of course man is capable of conducting himself in a certain way; he can force himself to do all kinds of contortions, but that does not change his consciousness at all.

Everybody is on the wrong train

Each individual is a unique phenomenon. Hence no law, no morality can be applicable to all. Of course, we have to agree on a few minimums just to exist together, but those minimums have to be the nonessentials.

About the essentials, there should be no compromise at all, with no one, not even with God, because you don’t know anything about God. The priest goes on speaking on behalf of a God which nobody knows. It is the priest, who pretends that his voice is God’s voice.

Religion means one is trying to transcend the mundane; otherwise, religion loses all its meaning. … And this is not only the case with Hindus: this is the case with Buddhists, Jainas, Christians, Jews, with almost all organised religions. They have all gone off-track. I mean they have become entangled with the nonessential.

There cannot be myriad rules about the essential; it is about the very nonessential: while you are walking, how much you should see of the road? – only four feet, not more than that, not even four feet six inches. If you go beyond the limit of four feet, you fall from grace. Now what does it have to do with religion? You have to have only a certain number of clothing, not more, and you have to be very strict about it. You have to beg in a certain way, from certain people, not otherwise. You have to eat only at a certain time; if you are feeling hungry again you cannot eat, you have to remain hungry.

These rules have been propagated in the name of religion, and once something takes the colour of religion, it starts looking important to people.

Character has been very much emphasised; in fact, character is a peripheral phenomenon. The real thing is not character but consciousness, but consciousness happens inside and is not available for others to observe; others can only observe your character. And it is always the others who are deciding for you, hence they decide something that they can observe: they decide about your behaviour. And of course man is capable of conducting himself in a certain way; he can force himself to do all kinds of contortions, but that does not change his consciousness at all.

Forgiveness paves the way to stillness

When faced with painful events caused by others, we have a choice. Most give in to anger, hatred and revenge, and it causes further suffering. If we are to maintain a calm mind, we need to cultivate forgiveness. Forgiveness involves forgetting what the person has done to us so we can move on with our life with a clear mind and heart.

When we do not forgive someone, thoughts of anger, bitterness, and revenge rankle in our own minds and hearts, and we are the ones who suffer.

When we are filled with anger and hatred, we cannot concentrate at work. Our productivity and efficiency may drop because we are unable to keep our mind on our work. Instead of paying attention to our job, we are thinking about who has hurt us, how they have hurt us, why they have hurt us, and how we can hurt them back.

Next dedication...This cycle of angry thoughts festers in our mind, and we cannot focus on our work. Thus, we may make mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes can cost others their lives. We know that drivers, pilots, train conductors, or bus drivers can be in such a rage that they cause an accident in which others are hurt or killed. A doctor or pharmacist whose mind is not on their work can cause harm to patients.

To avoid disastrous consequences, it is much better to forgive. Medical researchers are finding another benefit to forgiveness. It has a positive effect on our brain. There is increasing scientific evidence of how anger causes stress-related ailments. Brain scans and medical tests show that exposure to the body’s own cortisol and stress hormones can cause a build-up in the brain’s blood vessels and nervous system that may cause a stroke, damage to parts of the brain.

If we know that anger can cause irreparable damage to our brain, then we may want to consider learning the art of forgiveness. Additionally, if we hurt others mentally or emotionally, they may react, causing a negative atmosphere. Before we know it, we have a toxic, poisonous environment in our homes, offices, in communities and the world. We can put a stop to the pollutants of hatred and anger with the balm of forgiveness.

If we do not react to other people’s negativity and instead forgive them, they have no one against whom to react. It puts a stop to the chain reaction. If we remain loving to others, how long will they be negative to us? They will ultimately give up.

Love and forgiveness inspire others to love and to make the world peaceful. Because forgiveness against those who hurt us is the greatest example of godly love in this world. If each of us were forgiving, it would not be long before the world would become more loving and peaceful. If we do so, we will find that our minds are calmer and we are able to still our minds more easily when we sit to meditate, which will bring forth faster results in our spiritual development.

When it comes to meditation, success depends on how easily we can still the mind to focus within. Anger and hatred, are impediments to stilling the mind. The more activity going on in our mind, the longer it takes to become concentrated in our meditations.

Namaste.

Aspiring to live a life of purpose

Ever since human beings started to think rationally, we have been curious about things. This is true at both the relative level, such as wanting to know how organisms have evolved, and the absolute level, like wondering about God and the nature of the universe.

There must be more to life than just growing up, getting a job, taking a few vacations, retiring and dying. Without a clearly defined purpose, we just meander through space and time. A purpose is a master plan for our life. Knowing our purpose helps define our goals. It makes life more enjoyable and effortless. Purpose is not something that others choose for us. We must choose it for ourselves.

Most people just pursue wealth. Their sole mission in life is to earn money. Some go beyond and have a powerful emotional motivator. A few are driven by intellectual goals. Others are in search of happiness. The rare one sets aside worldly concerns and is consumed with matters of the Spirit.

Ultimately you want to live a meaningful life. You want more zest, more fullness, greater happiness. You want to wake up in the morning excited and enthusiastic, jumping out of bed with a thirst for life that you haven’t felt since you were a child. Your purpose is your connection to something larger, something that will allow you to make your mark in the world, to truly make a difference.

To begin with, you need to expand your mind. Read inspiring stories of others who achieved greatness. Read the scriptures. In 2016 a study in England found that among teenagers, those who had a spiritual background had a stronger sense of purpose. Invest your time in helping others. Another’s pain can lead you to awareness of all that you are blessed with. Cultivate a sense of awe and gratitude. When you connect with the divine Power, you are driven to make a positive impact on the world. Fix a higher ideal and work with like- minded people.

Identify your svadharma, your talent, inner calling. The Mozarts of the world have pursued their passion from a young age. Uncover your passion like a sculptor, chipping away the stone to reveal the masterpiece underneath. Your life’s purpose is this masterpiece, lurking beneath the surface, waiting to be released.

Understand your inner personality. Strengthen your intellect. You may be inspired with a larger purpose but a well-fortified intellect is necessary to organise your activities and pursue the goal with consistency. Are your actions selfish and self-centred or are you truly dedicated to a higher ideal? The higher the goal the greater is your energy, creativity and power.

Feel one with a larger circle of people. Then you will feel less insecure and competitive. You will no longer fight imaginary enemies! Finally, understand that the world and all it has to offer is impermanent, passing, and ephemeral. Its inherent value is zero. The Spirit, the only permanent factor in life, adds value to the world. Seek Spirit. The world will come to you unsought. You will achieve effortless success and happiness in the world while you gain Enlightenment.

Don’t waste any more time stumbling through life. Identify your purpose and strive to express it in your work, your play, and your relationships. Living life on purpose will translate to better well-being for you, your family, and your world.

Thank you so much for reading me.