Vol # 1 Issue # 5 May 2013

inner sights
A journal of meditation

A Production of TAOSHOBUDDHA MEDITATIONS

A journal of meditation Inner sights Mystical Insights into all Dimensions

A Journal of Inner Sights
All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the original publisher TAOSHOBUDDHA MEDITATIONS TM and TAOSHOBUDDHA. Printed and Published by: Cover design and graphics: CHIEF EDITOR: Phone: Skype.Com: Website: TAOSHOBUDDHA MEDITATIONS Anand Neelambar SWAMI ANAND NEELAMBAR, TRINIDAD 1-954-381-1227 Taoshobuddha1 http://dhyan-samadhi.webs.com/ www.https//youtube.com/taoshobuddha9 www.https//scribd.com/taoshobuddhacyberlibrary www.https//issuu.com/taoshobuddhalibrary Email for contributions and other matters: mailtaoshobuddha@gmail.com mailtaoshobuddha@yahoo.com avatar411@gmail.com A production of 1-868-683-8587

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Inner Sights A Journal of Meditation

Contents
Title Page

Love the fragrance of the being

Synchronicity and absorption

Change yourself first and then

In your deep passivity you will receive

10

Meditation and Obstructions

12

You come with specific destiny

23

Habit of enjoying pleasures

24

Sex and Death two basic desires

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Inner Sights April 2013

INNER SIGHT
Links: Taoshobuddha on Scribd www.scribd.com/TAOSHOBUDDHACYBERLIBRARY NAQSHBANDI SHEIKH TAOSHOBUDDHA - The Realm of Meditation dhyan-samadhi.webs.com/apps/profile/57594571 Meditation: The Way of Self-Realization - Taoshobuddha - Google ... books.google.com/books/about/Meditation.html?id...1AC Ek Onkar Satnam: The Heartbeat of Nanak - Taoshobuddha ... books.google.tt Religion TAOSHOBUDDHA HEALTH FOOD NETWORK: BOOKS OF ... taoshobuddhafoodnetwork.blogspot.com/.../books-o. 27:30 taoshobuddha talks on the diamond sutra - YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4_b4pVFUDk Taoshobuddha - Barnes & Noble www.barnesandnoble.com/c/taoshobuddha BARNES & NOBLE | Ek Onkar Satnam: The Heartbeat of Nanak by ... www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ek...taoshobuddha/1112616542 BARNES & NOBLE | MEDITATION: THE ULTIMATE IN HEALING by ... www.barnesandnoble.com/w/...taoshobuddha/1112616535

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Love the fragrance of the being

One whose voice is soaked in love and overflows its fragrance. Heart is melting to flow in

one direction alone. Tear continue to flow profusely. One who sometimes begins to laugh loudly like a mad person? And other times begins to sing loudly irrespective of others may think or say. Or sometimes begins to dance beloved Uddhava continues Krishna the solace of Radha that person is indeed my devotee. Certainly he not only sanctifies himself instead he sanctified anyone who comes in his association. Know this as the expression of love.

Love is a spiritual experience. It has nothing to do with sexes and nothing to do with bodies. Certainly it has something to do with the innermost being. But you have not even entered into your own temple to be this. And without being this you will not know the essence or its fragrance. The greatest fallacy is that without knowing at all who you are, you are trying to find out how to love better. Be thyself! Know thyself and then love will come as the fragrance of the being.

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Synchronicity and absorption

Synchronicities

are whispers into your soul as a hint for you to watch and wait. Entire existence is overflowing tremendous energy. But you are in conflict with all this both within and without. These energies can be your energies once you absorb. Certainly you can absorb these energies. This energy field that the existence is creating is psychic in nature. And the moment these energies come to you because of an unknown fear you resist and then try to control. Remember those psychic energies are your energies. If you control them you will have to fight with them. If you control them they will start rebelling against you. These energies will give a good fight to you. And by control you can never overcome them. They will always be there repressed, and whenever the opportunity arises, whenever you are not on guard, they will assert themselves.
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Control is not the right way to encounter ones energies. The right way is to watch them and give them freedom. Let the mind go wherever it wants; let the energies move wherever they move. You remain centered in your watching and you remain unconcerned as well. Just be a pure witness. Let be just like a mirror, reflecting. Remember whatsoever is happening is good. Then slowly slowly as the watcher becomes stronger. You are being in synchronicity with these psychic energies. And then miracle happens, it starts absorbing the energies. Then energies are not available for psychic wandering, and those wanderings start stopping on their own accord. When the watcher is totally into it, all wanderings simply disappear; and that is real control. Without controlling it is controlling, without repression you are the master. And then you need not be on guard; you can be absolutely relaxed because you have nothing to be afraid of. Through witnessing you absorb the energy then there is no need to control or fight. Fight is not right. Through fight you dissipates energy. Then it creates division, and makes you split. Therefore awareness is all that is neededl. You do not judge what is wrong and what is right. Also you do not judge whether the psychic wandering is good or bad. Let it be as it is. Simply remain in deep acceptance that whatsoever is, is good, and through that acceptance a transformation happens and a real mastery arises. Nobody is defeated and yet you are victorious. That is the real art. Controlling, repressing, fighting is simply stupid and undivine. It leads nowhere. It only leads into neurosis, and schizophrenia thus beware of it. The very idea has to be dropped. We are all connected to one another, very deeply connected. This inter connection leads to a different kind of harmony synergistic harmony. The entire existence pulsates such harmony. You can be it. We are only separate on the surface, at the centre we are one. On the periphery we are individuals, in the centre we are universal. And if sometimes you are at the center, you can have all those glimpses which happen to anybody who is at the center. At one time or the other everybody moves to the center; in spite of oneself sometimes one reaches. It can happen accidentally as well when something triggers a process, one is flowing very high. You may not be able to express it sometimes. Also your expression may not be adequate enough to express it, because the expression belongs to the periphery and the experience belongs to the center. When you are at the center you experience something. However you cannot express it through the center. To express all that is

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realized at the center you have to reach to the periphery. You have to very versatile both at the center and at the periphery as well. When you come back to the periphery you may not be able to express it or may be able only to express it inadequately. Somebody else may be able to express in a better way. Listening to him, suddenly you will see, But this is what I was going to say, this is what I have been feeling. It has always been happening in the world. Now they call it synchronicity; parallel processes are going on. It was Carl Gustav Jung who introduced this term synchronicity. Scientists also think that if a certain discovery is made, for example, the theory of relativity. It is said that if Einstein had not discovered it, then within months somebody else would have discovered it because many people around the earth were feeling the same. Einstein was just the first to express it. When he expressed it, many people felt that this is what they had been vaguely feeling. It was ambiguous, not very clear and loud, but it was there. In some mysterious way it was felt by many people. Sometimes it has happened that a patent has been registered in one place on a certain day, another patent for the same thing has been registered in another place on the same day and another in somewhere else. All the three persons have come to discover the same thing almost at the same time. It becomes difficult: who is the discoverer? Einstein himself said later on that if he had not discovered the theory somebody else would have; the time for the idea had come. So you will feel this many times. And when you are in a kind of depth or height call it height or depth when you are not feeling ordinary, when you are feeling something extraordinary, then you will have glimpses. And others may have those glimpses in that state too. Those who permanently abide in that state can always feel whatsoever is being felt around the world. It happens. Life is more mysterious than we think it is, it is far more mysterious than fictions. It will happen again and again watch! Good! Synchronicity is, therefore, an interconnection with the Universe with an underlying web of linkages that brings people and events together in a way not based in a traditional comprehension of causality. During this first cycle of awareness you will experience chance coincidences, these are rather mileposts in your spiritual awakening. These synchronistic events will lead you to the path of your own spiritual truth. Be aware of things around you. Pay attention.

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Remember musician is very close to mysticism, far closer than the philosopher because music is meaningful without any words. Music conveys mysteriously even without words. Music is meaningful simply because it rings some bells in your heart and thus creates a synchronicity between you and itself, when your heart starts resonating in the same way, when you start pulsating in the same way. Synchronicity is indeed like events that happen when the universe is trying to tell you something, just as a signpost would give you information while traveling in a car. Amazing situations happen when your inner awareness changes. Your energetic thoughts and intents and direction of interests and desires will align with all the natural vibrations around you coalescing into a harmony of vibrational relationships. The Universe is always willing and waiting to show you something wonderful to you. Synchronicities bring to light information for your waking consciousness along with your sub and unconscious aspects of your selves gently guiding and directing you to what is in alignment with your own personal growth. Synchronicities are whispers into your soul as a hint for you to watch and wait. Expect the unexpected! This is a time to hear carefully when your soul whispers for the lessons are sometimes very subtle. As in this example the events are not so transparent, however, this too becomes a lesson in intuition and strengthening your internal hearing. There are also times when synchronicities happen that one cannot ignore. Books or articles may come to you simply out of the blue - that fit in with what you are learning at the moment. Someone may mention a topic unexpectedly and catch you off guard. You may receive insightful emails and friendly inspirations just at the right moment. You may notice a repeat of incidences, colors, numbers, letters, phrases or animals. The universe is telling you something! To take a closer look at what an event could mean you may need to ask yourself some questions and perhaps ponder in meditation. What are the commonalties or theme among the synchronistic events? Do the symbols and events have a particular meaning for you? Do the symbols, events, information have deeper meanings you are to explore? What does your intuition feel and say about the event? What are your feelings about what you have experienced? Sometimes we only recognize the synchronicity in hindsight. What do the string of clues say to you?

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Change yourself first and then

Change

yourself first and then everything around will begin to change. All that you do, eat or otherwise is directly related to your consciousness. It is the consciousness that asserts you to engage or do such things. Have you ever wondered why is so much sex needed? Because you are tense, sex becomes a release. Your tensions are released through it. And then you feel relaxed. Now you can go to sleep. But if you repress it, you remain tense. And if you repress sex and there is no release and also there is no possibility of release - what will happen? You will go mad. Where will you release your tensions then? You eat food every day. Food is needed by the body, and the body rejects only things which are not needed. Whatsoever you are eating is somehow needed by the body. If you are taking animal food, if you are taking non-vegetarian food, your mind, your body, your whole being is violent. And it is needed. Do not change it otherwise your violence will have to find another channel.

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Change yourself first and food will change, clothes will change, sex will change. Everything will change around you. But change should come from the innermost core, it should not come from the periphery. And all turmoil is on the periphery; deep down there is no turmoil. You are just like the sea - go and watch the sea. All the turmoil, all the waves clashing, is just on the surface; deep, the deeper you go, there is more and more calm. At the deepest part in the sea there is no turmoil, not a single wave. First go deeper into your sea so you achieve a calm crystallization, so you achieve the point where no disturbance ever reaches. Stand there. From there every change comes, every transformation comes. Once you are there you have become a master. Now whatsoever is unnecessary can be dropped, and can be dropped without any struggle and fight. Whenever you drop something by fight, it is never dropped. You can drop smoking by fighting, and then you will start doing something else which will become a substitute. You may start chewing gum, it is the same. You may start chewing pan, it is the same, and there is no difference. You need something to do with your mouth - smoking, chewing, anything. When your mouth goes on working, you feel at ease because through the mouth tensions are released. So whenever a man feels tense he starts smoking. Why is it that through smoking or chewing gum or tobacco tensions are released? Just look at a small child. Whenever he feels tense he will put his hand in his mouth, he will start sucking his own thumb. This is his substitute for smoking. And why does he feel good when his thumb is in his mouth? Why does the child feel good and go to sleep? This is the way of almost all children. Whenever they feel sleep is not coming they will put the thumb inside the mouth, feel at ease, and fall asleep. Why? The thumb becomes a substitute for the mothers breast, and food is relaxing. You cannot go to sleep on a empty stomach, it is difficult to get sleep. When the stomach is full you feel sleepy, the body needs rest. So whenever the child takes the breast in his mouth, food is flowing, warmth, love. He is relaxed, he need not worry; tensions are relaxed. The thumb is just a substitute for the breast; it is not giving milk, it is a false thing, but still it gives the feeling. When this child grows, if he takes his thumb in public you will think he is foolish, so he takes a cigarette. A cigarette is not foolish, it is accepted. It is just the thumb, and more harmful than the thumb. It is better if you smoke your thumb, go on smoking to your grave; it is not harmful, it is better. No harm is done but then people think you are childish, juvenile, then people think what you are doing is stupid. But there is a need so it has to be substituted. And in countries where breast-feeding has stopped, more smoking will automatically be there. That is why the West smokes more than the East - because no mother is

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ready to give her breast to the child because the shape is lost. So in the West smoking is increasing more and more; even small children are smoking. I have heard that one mother said to her child, I do not want neighbors to tell me that you have started smoking. Be truthful and whenever you start smoking, tell me. The child said, Do not bother Mom, I have already stopped. It is one year now that I have stopped smoking. It is one year now and there is no need for you to bother. Small children smoking, and the mother is not aware that it is because the breast has been taken away. In all primitive communities a seven-year-old child, or even an eight or nine-yearold child, will continue breast-feeding. Then there is a satisfaction and smoking will not be so necessary. That is why in primitive communities men are not so much interested in womens breasts. And there is no problem that somebody will attack them. Nobody looks at the breasts. If you had been given the breast for ten years continuously, you would get fed up and bored, you would say, Stop now! But every child has been taken away from the breast prematurely, and that remains a wound. So all civilized countries are obsessed with breasts. Even an old man, dying, is obsessed with breasts, goes on searching for breasts. This seems mad, and it is, but the basic cause is there - children should be given the breast otherwise they will become addicted to it, the whole life they will be in search of it. You cannot stop smoking directly because it has many related things, implications. You are tense, and if you stop smoking you will start something else and the other may be more harmful. Therefore never go on escaping problems instead face them. The problem is that you are tense, so the goal should be how to be non-tense, not, smoking or not smoking. Meditate. Relax your tensions without any object into the sky, allow catharsis to happen. When you are non-tense these things will become absurd, foolish, and they will drop. Food will change, your styles of living will change. But my insistence is on you. Character is secondary, behavior is secondary, the essential you is the primary thing. Don't pay too much attention to what you do, pay much attention to what you are; being should become the focus, and doing should be left to itself. When being changes, doing follows.

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In your deep passivity you will receive

Every time Lieh Tzu was not busy,

Yin Sheng took the opportunity to beg for secrets. Lieh Tzu kept turning him away and would not tell him until eventually one day he said: I used to think you intelligent are you really as vulgar as all that? Here, I will tell you what I learnt from my own master. Three years after I began to serve the master, my mind no longer dared to think of right or wrong, and my mouth no longer dared to speak of benefit and harm. It was only then that I got so much as a glance from the master.

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After five years my mind was again thinking of right and wrong, and my mouth was again speaking of benefit and harm. For the first time the masters face relaxed into a smile. After seven years I thought of whatever came into my mind without any longer distinguishing between right and wrong, and I said whatever came into my mouth without any longer distinguishing between benefit and harm. And for the first time the master pulled me over to sit with him on the same mat. After nine years I thought without restraint of whatever came into my mind, and said without restraint whatever came into my mouth without knowing whether the right or wrong, benefit or harm, were mine or anothers, and without knowing whether that master was my teacher or not. Everything was the same. Now you come to be my disciple, and before even a year has gone round you are indignant and resentful time and time again! Remember the greatest art in the world is to be a disciple. It cannot be compared to anything else. It is unique and incomparable. Nothing like it exists in any other relationship, and also nothing like it can exist. To be a disciple and to be with a master, is to move into the unknown. You cannot be very aggressive there. If you are aggressive, the unknown will never be revealed to you. It cannot be revealed to an aggressive mind. The very nature of it is such that you have to be receptive, not aggressive. The search for truth is not an active search instead it is a deep passivity in your deep passivity you will receive. But if you become too active and concerned, you will miss. It is like being a womb, it is feminine, and you receive the truth as a woman receives a pregnancy. Remember this ever then many things will become easier for you to understand. To be near a master is to be just a passivity, absorbing whatsoever the master gives or whatsoever the master is not asking. The moment you start asking you have become aggressive, the receptivity is lost, and you have become active. The passive, the feminine, is no longer there. Nobody has ever reached the truth as a male aggressive, violent. That is not possible. You reach very silently. In fact, you wait and truth reaches you. The truth seeks you, like water seeks some hollow ground, moves downwards, finds a place, and becomes a lake. An active mind is too filled with itself; an active mind thinks that it knows what truth is. One has only to ask, at least the question is known; only for the answer does one have to seek and search.
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Meditation and Obstructions

What are the obstructions along the path of Dhyan Meditation?

There are four obstructions or hindrances along the path: 1. Sleep is the first obstruction. When you sit in meditation the body is at rest and as a result you fall into sleep. And this state of physical relaxation is erroneously called Dhyan. This is wrong. Remember there is no problem with sleep. Sleep is not meditation. Certainly it may become the path to meditation. And that is a different thing. When it comes to questions like this always listen to yourself. Always listen to your being, to your nature. That is your destiny; nothing else is important. Accept yourself in totality, and never condemn. What is wrong in it? But because we have ideas from others, we go on comparing ceaselessly.

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Somebody is working eight hours and earning money and a name and fame and his bank balance is growing and growing, and you are asleep. Always there is comparison everywhere. I enjoy sleep. In my university days I enjoyed it so much that my teachers were always afraid about whether I would make it to the examination or not. A couple of times I was expelled from the class because of my sleeping in the class. Once in my Post Graduate Economics class the lecturer expelled me from the class for a few days. Then I told him that one day he has to learn the same subject from me for which he is expelling me. It so happened later I was in research and he had to come to my assistance for his Ph.D. But if you enjoy sleep, it is far better than anything else. But then you have to be ready to accept the consequence of it, then there is no problem. Never hanker for things which only other people who are not lazy can get. If you worry then problems arise. You have to continue your journey alone. Remember you were born alone and your journey of life is alone. You want all that workaholics are getting but you are lazy and you are not getting them. Then you are worried, you are pulled apart. That tension will be very destructive. Relax. If you can work two hours, well; three hours, again very well. A man does not need much really in life. Accept and love it and you will not feel tired. You will be full of energy than anybody. You will be overflowing with energy. And one day the same energy will lead you into meditation. And meditation will change things. You have to learn the art of sleeping right. The person who cannot sleep rightly cannot live rightly. Sleep is not a waste of time. The eight hours of sleep is not to be wasted. Remember because of those eight hours, you are able to stay awake for sixteen hours. Otherwise you would not be able to stay awake all that time. During those eight hours life-energy is accumulated, your life gets revitalized, the centers of your brain and heart calm down and your life functions from your navel center. For those eight hours of sleep you have again become one with nature and with existence that is why you become revitalized. If you learn to utilize sleep correctly then one day the same state of relaxation will lead you into meditation. Therefore instead of being worried about sleep learn to utilize it in correct way so that it becomes the way to fruition in meditation.
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2. Vikshapa Distractions: This is the second obstruction that creates problem in meditation. Distractions are of many types. Let us analyze the word Marie. It is very beautiful. It has three meanings which define the entire process of meditation. In English the meaning of the name Marie is: Bitter. In French the meaning of the name Marie too is: Bitter. And in American the meaning of the name Marie is: Bitter as well. Therefore the first meaning is bitterness. Meditation starts in a very bitter state. The taste is bitter. In the beginning it is bitter, because temptation is sweet and you have always been a victim of temptation. It is an old habit. Buddha was tempted by Mara along the path. It is really bitter to keep yourself aloof, cool, and free from all temptations and distractions. It becomes very difficult to avoid the merry-go-round of the mind. You start playing with the beautiful toys and they are very colorful, very psychedelic, really alluring, intoxicating, infatuating. All these create distractions. A sexual desire arises and passes through the mind like a gentle breeze. Suddenly you think of a beautiful man or a woman and no man, no woman, is as beautiful as the colorful image of a man or woman can be inside the mind. It is so attractive. One is unconsciously pulled into the whirlpool of it. Suddenly he forgets all about meditation. One says to oneself, I can meditate later on but let us go a little more into this thought. This may come again, or may not come again, who knows? So you want to enjoy that stream of thoughts. Meditation you can do any time, it is up to you, but you do not want to miss this opportunity. One starts postponing meditation. And the strange thing is when you start meditating, very beautiful thoughts will come, great desires will arise because mind will try in every way to manipulate you. Remember mind is a master of you and you are a slave, and through meditation you will become the master and the mind will be the slave. And the mind has remained a master for so long therefore it does not want to become a slave. Who wants to lose ones mastery so easily? So it will give all kinds of temptations. There is no other devil except your own mind; hence the beginning is very bitter. The first meaning of Marie is bitterness. If you can pass through it the second stage comes.

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And the second stage is relates to the second meaning of Marie. In Hebrew the meaning of the name Marie is: Wished-for child; rebellion; bitter. It is rebellion. If one can pass through bitterness. If you can start centering and settling into yourself, and the mind no longer has any power over you, a great radical change happens in your consciousness. Indeed a rebellion happens. You are no more the same person instead you are reborn. This rebirth is true rebellion. All other rebellions are just so-called. They are only reforms, not rebellions, because they only change the outer form, they never change the inner spirit. All the revolutions have failed in that sense. No revolution has yet succeeded. Only a few rebellious people have succeeded, but they have succeeded through meditation. The fight is not outside, instead the fight is inside, with your own mind. The mind is the real problem, and you have to rebel against the mind. Once this rebellion is possible you are for the first time beginning to live life with a new light, with new perceptiveness, with a new clarity, with new transparency. Your whole inner world is new, and because the inner is new the outer is bound to change for you. It will not change for anybody else, but for you the whole world will be different. Your entire vision will change. Now you will look at every situation and person in this light of inner oneness and harmony. And finally the third meaning of Marie arises. It is the fragrance. Once this rebirth happens you flower; your ultimate potential becomes actual. You are no more a seed instead you become a flower. You have become a grown-up, you have matured, and you have arrived home. And great fragrance is released. That fragrance is a celebration: the celebration of coming home, the celebration of the ultimate achievement. Buddha calls it nirvana, Jesus calls it kingdom of god, and Mahavira calls it moksha, ultimate freedom. Now you know what the meaning of life is, now you know what the beauty of life is, now you know what the music of life is, now you know what the poetry of life is. Each moment becomes a dance, a song. And it goes on growing it is a process that begins but never ends. 3. Vasnas Vasnas are impressions gathered in human mind as you interact in the outer world of objects and beings. It is the outcome of duality. Then these impressions give birth to myriad desires.

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The Sanskrit term vasana means, smell. There are two kinds of smell: suvasana (fragrance) and durvasana (odor). Our opinion of what is or is not fragrant is based on our conditionings, experiences, and nurtured thoughts. Vasanas are determined and developed as suvasanas and durvasanas according to our tastes, principles, upbringing, etc., all of which are our mental and intellectual conditionings. I have heard once, three fisherwomen went to the market in a neighboring village to sell fish. By the time they sold all the fish, it had become dark and started raining. Fortunately, one of the fisherwomen had a friend, who was in the flower business, and lived in that village. She proposed that they all go to her friends house, sleep there, and leave for home early the next day. The three fisherwomen spent the night in that friends home, tossing and turning. Though the room given to them was cool and comfortable, they just could not fall asleep. Finally, one woman got up and voiced what was in all three minds, I cannot sleep with all these flowers! The smell is just too disturbing! So she huffily went out, brought in her fish basket, put it beside her head, and was asleep in less than two minutes! Unraveling Patterns The layer of vasanas is the subtlest layer that is the basis of the false notion of separateness of the jiva and Brahman. It is a layer of ignorance that expresses as the sense of incompleteness, desire, agitation, and eventually, action. The smallest action we do in this world leaves its impression, its smell, on our subconscious mind. These collective imprints, or vasanas, propel us into a certain way of living. There is no point in getting trapped in the ultimate catch: Did the vasana (egg) come first, or did the action (chicken) that led to the vasana come first? We are about the here and now. We have to know where we stand and what our goal is here and now. We already have many kinds of vasanas that propel us to uniquely think and act in certain patterns. Each one of us has the same set of eyes and sees the same world, however each persons perception is different because of his unique impressions. We have so many instruments within the body, but none of them is under our full control. Our condition is like that of a student driver who has a learners permit, but barely any control over the steering. As we go through life with this invisible L on our front and back, we need to learn how to make thinking a productive endeavor, where we properly channel our thoughts and respect our own decisions.

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In Sanskrit, the world is referred to as prapancha or jagat. The world is called prapancha because it is comprised of the combinations and permutations of the five basic elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space. Swami Akhandananda describes jagat as that which shines. Through our interactions with the world, when our imprints are strengthened through habit, we feel an increased pressure to act in certain patterns. For example, we feel that our day does not start on the right note unless we have our morning cup of coffee. If we do not have coffee or tea one morning, we end up with a headache. The moment we get some coffee or tea, the headache is gone. It is important to note that this headache is not just the result of a chemical reaction to an addiction. As soon as we wake up and have our first thought of coffee, the mind is instantly eager for it, craving itthis dependency is a nurtured conditioning. Throughout our waiting time, the force of this coffee-thought keeps gathering momentum. And when we find out that there is no milk or coffee in the house, the increased pressure of the repeated thought of No coffee irritates us and causes a headache. Therefore it is not just because of the absence of caffeine in our system! All our emotions, negative or positive, are caused by the impressions hidden deep in our subconscious, and we react to situations accordingly. If ten people are given the same task, they will do it in eleven different ways, none of them being the same. Until and unless these patterns are expressed, their forceful outburst will continue. And if these patterns are not expressed, they would not just wash away on their own either. As they express, they create more impressions, which, in turn, thrust us into more patterns. This is called the karma chakra, and it is a vicious cycle. It is very difficult to come out of this. Awareness and meditation are the only ways for this. When you consciously act out these impressions it is like catharsis. We often ask why we keep coming back to square one. It is because our square is a circle that keeps us revolving in specific patterns. Wherever and whenever we search for physical, mental, or intellectual satisfaction by experiencing the changing multiplicity of objects, emotions, and thoughts, as a perceiver, feeler, thinker, our every endeavor ultimately results in a sense of incompleteness. This pain of incompleteness is called sin, or papa. Know that papa is not just a bad deed or the result of a bad deed. Instead it is much subtler than this. Many a time we use religious terms according to our convenience. We say that we will go to hell when we do something wrong. But where is hell? Any state of discomfort and disease experienced by the body, mind, and intellect is hell, and is the result of our unconscious actions and lack of awareness. So where and when does this running in circles and cycles end?

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Tuning In
As long as past impressions exist, we will keep taking birth again and again to exhaust them. Getting out of the birth, death, and rebirth cyclewhere these impressions create desires, and desires create actions, and actions performed create more impressions, and impressions create more actions will certainly require a thorough inner cleaning - catharsis. Unless all impressions are totally washed out, we cannot escape from the cycle of birth and death. If a cloth gets a stain, we look into different detergents and washing methods to remove it. To remove the vikara of the cloth, we perform the samskara of washing. Washing detergents for vasanas are not as easily available as Tide or Clorox. If it were that easy, Adi Shankara would not have written so many texts and commentaries. If it were that easy, all the sadhus and swamis would be unemployed! Overcoming our vasanas through our three instruments is a challenge that requires immense alertness, patience, and perseverance. The jiva is the infinite Self in essence, but the jivas instruments are finite, limited, and incapable of knowing the Self. If a radio emits only static, it is not the fault of the instrument itself; it has to be tuned properly to emit music. Similarly, because our instruments always need to be finely tuned, the rishis developed and prescribed karma yoga (for the body), bhakti yoga (for the mind), and jnana yoga (for the intellect). These three bring balance in life and harmonize our physical, emotional, and intellectual personalities. When we look at the lives of masters like Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Tejomayanada, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Osho, Lala Ji, Naqshbandi Sufi Brij Mohan Lal RA, Paramahamsa Yogananda and others, we see in them greatness, uniqueness, and the complete harmony of body, mind, and intellect. All of us have the same three instruments, but we hardly make good use of them. We are all blessed with a beautiful body, a potent mind, and a piercing intellect, but they need to be tuned. Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa would say, To remove a thorn, use another thorn, and when the work is done, throw away both the thorns. So we first use the three yogas as the means to tune our instruments, and then we eventually renounce boththe instruments and the methodologiesfor the goal of the Self.

Doing vs. Overdoing

Karma yoga is the art of performing actions in such a way so as to free ourselves from the shackles of all impressions accumulated. Our vasanas that pressure and propel us into action have been inherited in vast amounts from countless births. The slightest movement performed by us until this moment

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is recorded in our chitta (memory). To go beyond our vasanas, we have to use the body properly. Body here refers to our five sense organs of perception and our five sense organs of action. The entire process from perception to knowledge to action happens in a fraction of a second. Our recognition of something familiar is so instantaneous that we do not even realize the intrinsic process of perception to recognition. The mind goes out into the world through the organs of perception, recognizes objects, and then stores in its memory bank the knowledge of those objects. If, after perceiving an object through the organ of perception, we like it and want it, then the mind whips up the organs of action to get it. Karma yoga is the intelligent art of daily living. We all have duties to fulfill based on our position in life. It is important to remember that what we do is not important; how we do what we do is very, very important. To act based on this understanding is karma yoga.

Living awake
Our responsibilities and duties have to be fulfilled, and our daily chores have to get done, and living with total alertness is the first requirement, so much so, that we are aware of every breath. Have you noticed people sitting on grass who pluck blades of grass without even being aware of it? They are Natures answer to lawn mowers! Are we aware of our actions? How we talk, how we walk? Every minute detail reflects who we are. Most of the time we just do things to get them over with. It is very important to see to how we dress and what we address. We should pay complete attention to our thoughts and behavior. Most things we do in this world happen without any awareness, as if by force. We believe in freedom, in absolute independence, in having total control, but we are not even aware how much our actions are dependent on behavior patterns, on moods, and so many other factors. It is as if we are forced into action and reaction without our knowledge. Becoming aware of what we are doing is the first step in practicing karma yoga. When we act with awareness, when we are completely and totally in the present, we can never go wrong. It is not that we will not have failures in life. But it is not the experience, whether failure or success, that is important. What is important is the fullness and completeness of each and every experience and then to be one with every experience. Joy is in this oneness, and in this awareness. We mistakenly think joy is in the experience itself and are therefore always disappointed. Full awareness, in and through all actions, results in a guilt-free, fear-free, and agitation-free life. But as it stands, we are never aware.
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Un-expecting and Disinfecting

The second point to understand about karma yoga is that all of us are generally working for a specific result. From childhood on, we are conditioned to think that we can get things in life by doing something. True, we must act. But is ownership of every action required for the action to get done? No. Is the action important or the attitude behind each action? Is charity itself important or is the expansion and joy of the heart important? As we get into the habit of asking, What is in it for me? we develop the intellect of a trader. By nature we do not invest in anything unless we see its projected return. Even a small child does this before agreeing to do a simple task like getting a glass of water. And parents usually oblige with candy or some other reward. So this conditioning develops into a lifelong habit: do something and expect something in return. When we act, we do not do it for the action per se, but for something else. If only we realized that when we perform any action, the result is bound to come whether we have expectations or not. The result will come. And if the result is inevitable, why unnecessarily spoil the pleasantness of the present moment by racking our brains with anxiety and expectations? Each karma has its own result and it comes unasked. To live a truly free life, our motive to act should not be based on the expectation of a certain result. After all, whenever we make an appointment with the future (in the form of expectations), disappointment is inevitable. If we do not make any appointments, there are no disappointments.

Chillaxing
The third principle of karma yoga is to not let your work be a source of agony. Whatever we do has to be done in the present moment. Certainly it cannot be done in the past or the future. Therefore, do not let the weight of the dead past, or tension about the unborn future, spoil the joy of the present moment. We know very clearly that the past is gone and will not return. Yet, the past can leave strong imprints behindso much so that we start living under the weight of it. Many elderly people talk about and dwell in the past, though existing in the present but they go on missing the present this very moment. This is one of the reasons why growth has been slow in India. Once upon a time, there was Rama-rajya in India. Many say this about Indias glorious past, but do nothing to revive and maintain Indias glory in the present. Most of us are only anxious about what is going to happen in the future. But what is going to happen will

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happen. Why do you want to disturb your present moment? Be ready for whatever is going to happenequip yourself to face anything and everything. We are nostalgic about, and dwell in, past experiences that were pleasant, and we fear the repetition of past experiences that were painful. But to live in the past, whether pleasant or painful, is to lose the present. Emperor Akbar once held a competition in his kingdom to see who had the healthiest cat. Birbal also got a cat and served it very hot milk the first day. Thereafter, the cat would not even drink any cold buttermilk it was served, because it looked like the milk that had burnt his mouth. Based on its past experience, the cat looked at any white liquid as hot and painful. At the end of three months, it was the most unhealthy and sickly looking cat in the kingdom. Like the cat, we also fear that our unsuccessful past might repeat itself, and this keeps us worried in the present. Learn to look at every past mistake or difficulty as a teaching, not as a source of apprehension for the future. The present is also disturbed because of the future. We plan beautiful, grand plans, but most of us never execute them because we are only interested in living in a daydream world of imaginary plans and imaginary results. Plan your work and work out your plans. Plan for the future. It is must, but working out that plan in the present is also a must. Live in the present, fulfill your responsibilities, be aware every moment, and keep the mind free of impressions. When new impressions are not created with every action, eventually, the cycles of karma and reincarnation break. Isnt this worth all our efforts? If a desire can be got rid of by satisfying it, there will be no harm in satisfying such a desire. But desires generally are not eradicated by satisfaction. Trying to root them out that way is like trying to quench a fire by pouring inflammable spirits on it. At the same time, the proper remedy is not forcible suppression, since such repression is bound to react sooner or later into a forceful surging up of desires with undesirable consequences. The proper way to get rid of a desire is to find out `Who gets the desire? What is its source?' When this is found, the desire is rooted out and it will never again emerge or grow. Small desires such as the desire to eat, drink, sleep and attend to calls of nature, though these may also be classed among desires, you can safely satisfy. They will not implant unnecessary impressions in your mind, necessitating further birth. Those activities are just necessary to carry on life and are not likely to develop or leave behind vasanas or tendencies. As a general rule,
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therefore, there is no harm in satisfying a desire where the satisfaction will not lead to further desires by creating vasanas in the mind. Find their root and then it will be easy. (Later) What are the passions? Kama (lust), krodha (anger), etc. Why do these arise? Because of likes and dislikes towards the objects seen. How do the objects project themselves in your view? Because of your ignorance. Ignorance of what? Of the Self. And that alone is the only ignorance. Thus, if you find the Self - you have reached the center then abide therein there will be no trouble owing to the passions. (Later) Again, what is the cause of the passions? Desire to be happy or enjoy pleasure. Why does the desire for happiness arise? Because your nature is happiness itself and it is natural that you come into your own. This happiness is not found anywhere besides the Self. Do not look for it elsewhere. But seek the Self and abide therein. Still again, that happiness which is natural is simply re-discovered, so it cannot be lost. Whereas the happiness arising from other objects are external and thus liable to be lost. Therefore it cannot be permanent and so it is not worth seeking. Moreover craving for pleasures should not be encouraged. One cannot put out burning fire by pouring petrol over it. An attempt to satisfy your craving for the time being, so that the passion may later be suppressed, is simply foolish. There are, no doubt, other methods for the suppression of passion. They are (1) (2) (3) (4) Regulated food consciously, Fasting for cleansing, Yoga practice, and Medicines.

But their effects are transitory. The passions reappear with greater force as soon as the check is removed. The only way to overcome them is to eradicate them. That is done by finding their source as stated above.

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You come with specific destiny

Each one of you comes into this world with a specific destiny. It is undefined and

unwritten. You have something to fulfill, some message has to be delivered, and some work has to be completed. You are not here accidentally. Your very presence here is meaningful. There is a purpose behind you. The whole intends to do something through you. Therefore one thing is certain: you have to walk, and create the way by your walking. Certainly you will not find a ready-made path. It is not so cheap, to reach to the ultimate realization of truth. You will have to create the path by walking yourself. The path is lying there and waiting for you. But there are no footprints for you to follow. Many have traversed along the path to inner one ness and harmony. But their footprints have vanished as too the next step along the path. It is just like the sky. The birds fly, but they do not leave any footprints. You cannot follow them. As you walk the path is created and this alone is your destiny and no other for someone to predict
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Habit of enjoying pleasures

The habit of enjoying pleasures is inborn in man. It has been formed since you were born. Now you want to know how to get rid of that? As an interaction between the organs of sense perception and the objects and beings desire arises because of the false identity ego. The desire prompts you to enjoy that particular sense object. This happens because of the lact of awareness. As a result when your inward journey begins it is essential that you get rid of this habit of enjoying pleasures. For this two things need to change aim (intent) and ego. This human body is not for enjoying pleasures in the least. It would be better to say enjoying the pleasure

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unconsciously. When there is lack of awareness sense enjoyment need to be abandoned. Tulsi Das in Ram Charit Manas sings

@ih tn kr )l iv;y n a$
(, /) Ehin Tan Kar Phal Vishay Na Bhai (Manas 7/44/1). Verily the aim of human life is not enjoyment of pleasures and hoarding, instead it is to only realize ones innerness. This is what is meant by changing of aim from outward to inward. I am not a pleasure-seeker, rather I am a seeker this is the change of ego. One who does not change ones aim, or ego cannot begin inward journey. It is due to this habit of sense enjoyment he cannot attain to inner harmony and oneness. Without improving his habit, even if he preaches, or studies the scriptures, or writes books, or becomes a great soul in the eyes of people, then too he will still not attain inner fruition. I have heard once some men of Mathura, came to Vishraamghat at night after dinner and after having some bhaang - kind of intoxicant, entered a boat that was anchored on the bank. They thought that Yamuna River flows towards Prayaagraaj and we also have to go to Prayaagraaj; so just by sitting in boat we will reach Prayaagraaj. Thinking this they said Hail Mother Yamuna and started rowing the boat. Night long they were rowing the boat. In the morning they found themselves in a city. They asked a stranger what city is this. He said It is Mathura. Further they enquired about the shore. He said Vishraamghat. They said- Oh! We left from Vishraamshat and we again reached Vishraamghat. How come? When they examined, they found that they had not untied the rope and all night long they were vigorously rowing the boat. Not making a firm resolve and not changing the ego is like not untying the rope.

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Sex and Death two basic desires

Sigmund Freud is reported to have said, there are two basic human desires: sexual
desire and the desire for death. Indeed this is a rare insight. One is sexual desire that keeps pushing a person on. And Freud says that somewhere, far deeper, a hope remains that because life is utterly useless, death will come if not today then tomorrow and everything will be all right. Have you ever looked at it? Is there anything else in your life except waiting for death? What would matter if this dried and withered tree fell down?

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I look at it from the other side. I ask: If this is life, what does it matter if you lose it? Getting up every day, going to the office, returning home, going to sleep, quarreling again, fighting again and doing the same thing over and again in a stereo typed manner where will it lead to. If this is life, then what does it matter if you lose it? The greatest thinkers of the world have asked the same question. One of the great Western thinkers, Jean-Paul Sartre enquires: If this is all there is to life, what is the harm in committing suicide? This is not at all a foolish suggestion. Suicide is the greatest question ever, because if this is what you call life and then someone wants to commit suicide, why should that surprise you? You will do exactly the same things again tomorrow and thus the life continues. You get up in the morning, drink tea, fight with your spouse, read the newspaper, and go to your office. It is just like a broken gramophone record. The needle is stuck and it keeps on repeating the same music again and again. Your life is like an old broken gramophone record. And you ask, What loss is there if one does not attain to the divine? So far what is there in your life anyway? The whole purpose of attaining to the divine is to bring meaning into your life. There is no other purpose. Life as such is purposeless. It is not a problem for which you have to seek solution. Instead life is a mystery you have to live and rejoice each finite moment. The purpose of attaining to godliness is to have a fragrance into your life, a perfume, and musical rhythm. A celebration, an elation can come, so that your life does not remain stale, borrowed instead it becomes fresh as fresh as the morning, as fresh as the morning dewdrops virgin and innocent. The whole purpose of attaining to the divine is let your life shine like the moon and the stars. It should have, because man is the most unique creature in the whole of the existence. He has the seeds of consciousness. You have been given such a precious treasure, but what have you attained just a few pebbles running around. Your salary may go up a little, you may accumulate some more money in your bank account, you may get a bigger car in place of a smaller one, a bigger house in place of a smaller one, and you may accumulate more comfort. But having been given this supreme consciousness, what are you really doing with it? What are you really attaining through this supreme consciousness? The bliss of the entire universe can be contained in it. Finding the divine means only one thing: that your doors can become open to bliss, that the whole festival of life can penetrate you and you can rise up dancing. Otherwise it will be like this circling in a merry-go-round.

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