•T•r•i•b•e•s•M•a•n•

Experiencing Life and Expressing it

2009-07-18T16:46:00.006+01:00

HUMAN BIRTH IS PRECIOUS, they say.

Life is remarkable and superior (if at all) to other creatures only because humans get to experience life and can express it.

And that to me sums up all *purposes* associated with a life.

However, both these aspects of life - experience and expression - are powerful volatile forces.

Journey towards Nirvana then is to minimise on this volatility by expanding experiences and restricting expressions. And also restricting experience and expanding expressions.

Certain environments call for a balance between experience and expressions with no particular emphasis on either expansion or restriction. Whereas some conditions call for a suppression of both these aspects of life.

All major spiritual traditions, ancient or modern, subscribe to one or more of these tenets.

A Random Atom

2009-07-05T14:45:00.001+01:00

IF I WANT TO be a part of Anima Mundi, all I have to do is "to be".

For its everywhere, all the time.
In other words: Here and Now.

I am but a link in this multi dimensional chain.
Like a strand of grass standing in the wind, swaying with the wave one way or another.
Dancing at the ripples.
The chain is infinite.

I am but just one among many many – a random atom – among billions of galaxies with their infinitude of Stars and Solar systems.
In all directions and dimensions.

The wave originates from somewhere – here, there, perhaps at the centre of the Universe.
Or perhaps my this immediate mind role-playing Anima Mundi at that temporal point in time. Here at this micro moment, gone the very next.

The wave is the carrier of the "cause"; sometimes the wave is the "cause", to which the mind and body reacts.
As it passes through the complex maze of this chain, each of its links react to it.
As it comes, I either accept the wave or reject it – the dual states of being.

The "time" then is the "speed" at which the cause travels.

A choice is given to the link. To react in tandem or oppose the wave. The simplest decisions that fill our minutes, hours, days and life.

Liberation lies in choicelessness.

Singularity.

React, not relate. Neither oppose, not reject. Just be. Let it be.

The whole Universe becomes I. The chain is I.
The link is here, now.
The link before was this past second, or the last hour, or yesterday, my childhood, the birth before.
The link after is tomorrow, the next fall, the next relationship, the next Armageddon, the next Nirvana.

What matters is this very link – this instance – this precise tiny state of being: Not the one before; neither the one after.

At this very instance, I have arrived in the future as it were yesterday, and which would be past the very next instance. I be in all the three states thus.

The Random Atom faces duality. Yet again.

Liberation lies in choicelessness.

The centre of Anima Mundi is choiceless.
Formless. Flawless. Wordless.

The future is born there. I can see it. As I close my eyes. Flames. For the Link before and after are in my dreams. Imaginations. Perceptions. Expectations. Reflections.

And as I create it, the Random Atom reflects that centre.

That is I:
- A Random Atom.

That is you, too.

Meditation and its Physical Active Form

2008-07-27T09:10:00.006+01:00

PHYSICAL BODY COUPLES WITH PHYSICAL SHADOW,
The Spiritual Body (Sanskrit: Shookshma Kaya) has its own, innate, Spiritual Shadow (Shookshma Chaya).

The Four marks the manifestation of source-and-life in time-and-space.

Meditation is a state of consolidation of inward energies.
Yoga, then, provides the outwardly 'release' of this energy into time-and-space.

The release that empowers here-and-now.

Release is as much fundamental as consolidation.
A perfect balance of life is unattainable otherwise.

For some, a more aggressive form of such a manifestation and release is required than simple Yoga.

There are many renowned practices catering to various denominations of such aspirants.

Below is an example of Tai Chi which is but only one such method among many.

Tai Chi is a method of 'release and capture' wherein, the inert energies thus consolidated at meditation are brought forward, manifested, dispersed and consolidated again but in physical formate this time, augmenting the physical 'being' (body) to a higher plane.

A Tai Chi master shall never falls sick,
A 'perfect' Tai Chi master shall perfect all ways of life-affecting elements,
Having thus mastered life-altering energies, the master shall transcend the interplay and overlap of energies between their physical and spiritual formates,

A Tai Chi master may thus aim to attain immortality,
A Tai Chi master may thus claim to attain Nirvana.

The Simple is Divine, The Divine is Simple

2008-06-25T20:30:00.001+01:00

[Sir] Stephen Hawkins, in my opinion, is someone who came closest in defining divinity in our contemporary world. One might successfully argue that with his equations, hypothesis and theories Dr. Hawkins described blackholes to their most accurate dimensions in the field of astrophysics till date. And in doing so, Dr. Hawkins gives us a better insight and understanding of that brilliantly amazing concept of Singularity; and that is where his thesis comes the closest to defining divinity.

Indeed, Divinity and Singularity, when treated at a concept level, are very closely related. In a truly esoteric sense, however, they are one and the same.

Divinity is Singularity, and vice-versa.

At the centre is Singularity. The moment one steps outside of this “centre” is where the so called World begins, for that’s the realm of duality and duality is THE definition of the world.

Singularity, non-duality, no-thing-ness, are the terms which as esoteric as they are misused, misunderstood and misguided.

These terms are not “easy” to grasp by the contemporary mind since they stem away from the root “Simple”.

Singularity = Simple

And since the world is complex the contemporary mind is “trained” to see complexity of all dealings and hence miss the inherent Simplicity in the process. Simplicity that is pure, Simplicity that is the essence, of anything and everything.

Simplicity of nature
Simplicity of life
Simplicity of existence
Simplicity of being

Life is generally flittered away with details – noise, pollution, partitions and parasites – as they take the simple matter and details as such make things complex, its serpentine tentacles holding the simple life and its pure breath hostage.

Simplicity is common, un-special.

This un-specialness is the true celebration of life – cuts down the noise, clearing the mind, unification of the senses, and providing sustenance.

Specialness is but a modified accentuated ego of the misinformed.
Whereas the sages and masters, meditatingly, have proclaimed that knowledge begets humbleness.

Every “realisation”, every awakening has to lead to this ubiquitous commonness, this simplicity that is un-special. That's the true merit of the "experience". And as one traverses the passages it makes one less and less special.

Seeing It As It's Going To Be

2008-06-07T00:20:00.000+01:00

Increasingly, as I dive in and come out of the experiences, it gives me the sense of deja-vu (deja-vu is only of the ten possible psychological phenomena possible at such times. Here is more on the topic.).

And the wonderment continues; only this time it is a little different. Now it is meta-wonderment (that is, wonderment about wonderment).

Every time that I have the feeling that "I know this", or "I have already been into this situation", or "I have had a dream about such and such thing before it actually happened", it also gives me a potentially charged up feeling of being special.

And whilst feeling being special (and, better than the other), I give a push and a massage to my petty ego.

And the brighter side of me gives away a valiant smirk...

By the way of meta-wonderment, then, I wonder - I feel that I had wished such and such thing, and had 'seen' that before it actually happened. And I thus believe that I am special because I had the "power" to make things happen as per my wish and my "dream".

Now, it turns around and, with a look of a mother to its naive kid, suggests that it is never the surround and the system that aligns to you; it is always you align to the nature. And what you call your will, that which you desire, and dream of, and assume that that's what is making things happen, is rather a reflection of the things to come.

Increasingly, I am made to 'see' and dream what it is going to be
Increasingly, it tells me that I am but an observer and no more
Increasingly, seeing and being is becoming

Meditation with a "Rational" personality

2008-02-05T12:30:00.000Z

RAMI WAS YOUNG, BEAUTIFUL, AND SMART. She had this uncanny ability to surprise yourself. She would first catch you off-guard and then her child-like innocent face, which might seem pretended at times owing to her intelligence, could leave you undecided for feeling embraced or otherwise. I have to say though that Rami have been genuine all the while. When she first came and met with us, she had to begin by giving her introduction to all as it was customary. To my reckoning that was the shortest possible introduction that I have ever heard anywhere. Under the scanner of so many curious and searching pairs of eyes, she just stood there, waiting for a few moments, unflinching and blushing at the same time, and finally saying, “I am a child-of-reason”. And that was that. That was all that she would offer as her introduction. In the days that followed, it surfaced that the one-liner was actually speaking volumes about her.

If Dino and I were partners-in-quest with ingenuity, Rami was all about brevity, and who taught me some also.

The more than longer pauses that she used to take between her short sentences were a nag to the patience of a few, though the majority used to utilise that time to expand in their minds what was just said by her. Throwing away all reasons was like throwing away the shield and getting exposed and defenceless. However, with the hood, the mask was also being removed...The kind of attention and engagement that her condensed, short and crisp monologue used to command was rather amazing, and at times surprising also. Perhaps it was her sincerity to the use of words, or may be it was her sweet-and-strong voice, or both!
• • •
There Is No Reason:
The predominance of rationalisation and thinking overshadowed almost all other faculties for Rami. Her outwardly pleasant, charming and open personality had a very polarised structure within, favouring thinking and reasoning over intuitions, feelings and similar personality traits. However, in the tiny corner somewhere deep in shadows, being nurtured by 'doubt', she had a struggling sprout of what one might call ‘faith’, and which contrasted with her otherwise reason-driven outlook, and thus created a lot of struggle of internal combustion.

Friction of Self rubbing against Self.

It became apparent in a few days that I was able to relate to her more easily and closely, perhaps because we shared the same occupational hazard, if you like, that goes with professional Analysts dealing with Computers and technology. She has had the kind of mind that could digest only reason and all things logical. At the same time, the state of her mind was like it was cut into two by doubt; and whilst the reason-driven fraction was trying to dominate the whole, the subdued part was not letting up protests either.

Fraction of Self protesting against Self.

It was indeed a difficult initiation into meditation for her to sit quietly and throw away reasons. For, the Master (deliberately) refused to give any reason for her to take that meditation sitting:

“sit here, close your eyes, and keep quiet…”
“okay, but why? What would it do?”
“nothing, just like that… now, do it for next one hour”
“what do you mean?”
“there is no meaning…”

And the master walked past her.

Throwing away reason was like throwing away the shield for Rami and getting exposed, vulnerable and defenceless. However, with the hood, the mask was also being removed. For a few days that followed, Rami found herself doing many “strange” things, strange by her definition of absence of any apparent reason whatsoever, and which made no "sense" to rational Rami. The master would not offer any explanations or comforts either, and as it appeared, was rather rough towards her which was very unlike of him.

Dear Rami; I could only imagine the amount of self-inflicted torture she had to undergo. Later, after the initial surge and its effects were, for want of a better word, stable, the master described it as a Samurai sword technique that would cut the mind from its roots in a single lightening blow. And 'you' are suddenly revealed unto yourself. Your inherent weaknesses, deep they may be, are thrown open in public. You stare into the eyes of your own dragons, with the fiery breath ragging into your lunges.

As it were, there were two possibilities: if one is not ready, one would crack up with schizophrenia, and go mad, destabilised, useless; But if one is ready, one has what it takes, she would take the blows, buckle over it, absorb it, and straighten up again as if wanting for more.

"Try me...", instead of "Why me..?"

Whilst this was a very accelerated approach, it was upon the discretion of the master to subject one to it, for not everyone was ready, and not everyone has had the endurance to face the Self unannounced. Rami, it appeared, was ready.

• • •
Headless Wanderings:
Rami came back strongly after every insult to her faculties, abuses to her senses, and rejections of her reasoning. She never cried. Sometimes, she wept, hard and long, from the depth of the concluding moments of her meditation sittings, for her world was so unilateral and “normal” thus far that she never felt the tenderness of the mind and logic of the heart. The release of such kind left her empty and silent, only to bounce back filled with as much love and warmth.

Transformation under magnification... Alchemy, in motion...

The more dangerous phase of her inward development began after a break of a few months. Rami was to let her descent in her self purely through the slippery surface of her own, juvenile, but unacquainted intuitions, and without the familiar support of reason and thinking. The intensity in the eyes of the master at these moments was but a supporting evidence suggesting the unpredictability and tenderness of the situation. For Rami was to start wandering headlessly into a foreign and at times hostile valley. There was no method, no practice, no set steps; there was only this premise that said,

"Do not fear; Have no desires; Just walk past those two; And I am, 'I am', right here, now, waiting".

The characteristics of her pursuit within her subconscious were largely marked by the mandala’s - her self-portraits - that she drew after her "dives" within, in the form of various lotuses in all shapes and sizes, in all colours and shades, capturing devotion, indulgence and love, though sensual in flavour that they were at times.

• • •
Moderation - The Key:
The most surprising was the third phase of development for Rami, a reversal, where she was to do all things logical and through reason. The bewilderment on Rami’s part was all too visible, and we were equality party to it. Her meditation practices now included Mathematical theorems, Chemistry equations and Hypothesis from Physics. She was asked by the master to play the role of an adviser to an investment banking firm (the role she was to assume after a few months in her real life) in her meditations and focus on how to 'make money'.

The response from the master to the queries with regards to that was rather short, and so well suited for Rami and her brevity:

"Moderation in everything, [including moderation.] -- Anacharsis."

Expansion:
A life led by intuition alone might make one a burden on the family and the society at large. A life led simply by thinking and reason only might make one a burden unto herself.

The "way" lies somewhere in the middle.

"Childish" Meditation and Nature

2008-01-28T06:55:00.000Z

ONLY A FEW, CERTAIN, AND SPECIFIC objects or events in the life of a grownup (adult) would reveal the inherent inner child, and I suppose the sense of wonder is one of those events having such a magical property. Magic it surely is for the “adult” mind to deviate from its “know-all-ness” and accept something with the simplest of virtues of bewilderment that a child is so naturally capable of, requires a lot of magnanimity on the part of that object or idea.

On the other hand, the given object, idea or event, however, may be as ingenious or insignificant or simple as getting trickled down on your windshield without rain whilst you wait for the lights to change at an intersection. It may be simply due to the car in the front of you having its sprinklers off-target and splashing the water jets from over its hood, down towards your car behind..! Those bemusing ten seconds (or less, or perhaps more?) that it takes you to finally figure out what is going on, is the time spent under the amazing realm of wonder and amazement that a child it so very well aware of; and which the adults “choose” to drop off in the process of growing up...

Meditation is the beginning of the journey of looking within, getting inside of one’s Self, and more often than not the first person (no pun intended) one encounters there, waiting, is that child 'avatar' of the self. It is this inner child that takes one’s hand and leads the person on the path of meditation, which is illuminated by amazement and wonder, and no less than a fairytale.

"Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens..." -- Carl Jung

Being in Africa, especially at the equator, was a very special experience. Climbing a hill nearby at dawn or dusk provided with the wonderful opportunity of watching the panoramic view, far and wide, wild and majestic. The horizon in any given direction had to have its own panache, in the backdrop of the blue sky, featuring fresco using a couple of random colours from the rainbow, that had to be different from the horizon of any other direction at that time. Standing still, marvelling the beauty looking in a given direction, and slowly turning on the heels, completing the circle with the patience and the absolute openness of non-expectation and non-anticipation, like a child completely captured by the kaleidoscopic view of a given turn of the cylinder, one had no escape but to get the sense of being spontaneously blown away by amazement. It was like putting oneself inside of a giant electric bulb, and letting a child run wild with paint and brush on the outer surface of the huge dome, creating a colourful chaos that has a certain mesmeric and divine beauty.

As the Master would have it:

"Posing and taking a moment to marvel the beauty of nature, and involuntarily letting out ‘Ahh..’ is but an instant participation in divinity…"

The view from that hilltop was perhaps the perfect example to relate to such a participation. And the experiences were nothing short of a divine prayers, spoken silently, lead by the Child within, and supported by the chorus of bird songs and leaves ruffling with the breeze without.

It is the sense of wonder, amazement and the innocence of non-reason of a child that creates the fairytale, and that is which the elders, especially from the psychology fraternity would want to call a dream… Whilst the child outlook is facing inwards, the dream outlook is facing outwards; and as Jung has put it so simply:

"Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens..."

Ingenuity and Meditation

2008-01-18T21:20:00.000Z

"... develop self-reliance and ingenuity [...] If I have to explain everything, you'll get used to having things handed to you on a platter. And then what will you do when problems come up in your meditation and you don't have any experience in figuring things out on your own? [...] "

DINO HAS BEEN A CLOSE FRIEND. Over the years we have been sharing and learning a lot together and from each other. It was sincerely heart-warming to meet with him again last week after a few years. Dino has been unique (like everybody else) in that there were many unusual things combined as a single package and collectively titled "Dino". For starters, Dino invented the (name for) game of cosmic tetris…

Ingenuity is celebrating the individual uniqueness using personal creativity - a cloak tailor made by self, for self, to fit self.

• • •

Bench-buddies:
A few years ago Dino and I were together in our initial, highly volatile and experimenting stages of meditative existence. We were given certain instructions by the master, and were asked to contemplate about it, and then try to meditate on it by focusing on self. We found an empty bench during the course of the early afternoon and thought it was perfect to try and do that homework. We sat on the bench in our own right, three or four feet apart, assumed lotus position, and went about our business. About five minutes into it, and I could not help but open at least one eye in an effort to see what Dino was up to, for it was almost futile for me to carry on that day. Dino was still, and so I waited for a couple of more minutes. When I tried to check again, I found Dino also checking on me, only he shut his eyes as soon as he found me looking.

After about ten minutes of such hide and seek, we turned the bench around to make it face the white wall, and gave it another try. It seemed to work. Over the years thereafter, facing eastward close to the wall for meditation became our standard practice. Later we also found that a corner worked even better for it would bounce the energies back on to me and I found myself lasting longer in my sittings.

• • •

Super-quick Mantra Chantings:
A certain mantra was prescribed to each of us one day, and it turned out to be unexpectedly difficult for me to practice with it - Like a wet soap bar it kept slipping away. Dino, it seemed, was doing fine a few feet away with his own practice. After Dino was done, I asked him how it went and he said he did not practice that day with the mantra either, he was rather doing the standard practice. It appeared he had had similar issues as I was having (Perhaps it was the language?). We decided to approach the master. The task of practicing the given technique was not complete, and so we were a little nervous for it was expected out of us to be diligent. Master listened to us separately and then addressed jointly:

"... mantra, chanting, sound, music, smell, incense, touch-and-gesture, posture, rhythm, body movement, breathing and control, picture-and-idols, are but only tools and techniques to hold your level of consciousness at a certain higher level, with a specific and purposeful channeling of thoughts and energies [feelings and experiences]…"

"... what I saw however made me drop my jaw. It was not a higher level experience for me, nor it was an earthquake; it was Dino!..."

Master further observed that if we supposed we could maintain our level of awareness without the suggested support of the given technique (mantra chanting, in this case), it was okay at that stage, but the technique was not to be underestimated, neither the adaptability of self to it… Both of us later practiced using the technique of mantra chanting and benefited a lot from it. In doing so, however, the element of originality was not so far behind: Dino and I came up with another kind of practice also. With chanting, pronunciations become especially important for without it the meaning and thus the channel is sometimes lost. Whilst we abided by these rules and practiced, we also practiced with a super quick recitations - a normal mantra that takes say ten seconds was pronounced in about three seconds, and such recitations were continuous and as quick as possible. Here the pronunciations might get garbled, yet the hyperventilating channel thus created used to take us to a different level all together. When conferred with Master over this, we were cautioned for maintaining the respect towards the techniques and avoid any playfulness with the sacredness of mantras (for which we were to take our vows); on the other hand however, we were not asked to discontinue the hyperventilating practice or such ingenuous explorations either.

There are certain special tantra, yantra, owl and vampire, et al practices very specific for such purposes. However, we never did anything other than 'Sātvik' (pure and white energy) practices under the aegis of the master. Whilst it was appreciated to have ingenuity and self-cultivated practices based on our own conditioning and requirements, moderation always remained the key, with the master watching over our shoulders.

• • •

It Was Dino!
Dino and I were practicing for a special purpose since a few weeks. We were approaching a certain stage after which we were to change to a different method. That could have happened only if we mastered this said stage and its techniques first (only to drop it subsequently!). Dino and I were sitting in lotus position on the bench facing the wall and were going about the standard practice. It appeared that it was a really good day for me for I was having a lot of positive flux in the surroundings.

I was going into my practice where gradually but surely I found myself having minor tremors. It was very curious. The tremors, in a continuous rhythmic fashion, were being perceived from the base - the pelvic area - rising upwards. I got pretty exited, and concerned also for not loosing it. I thought (honestly) it was the kind of experience that perhaps I was waiting for - all along. A moment to cherish perhaps... Something was happening after all!

After a moment or two though I realised that the sensation was somehow more external than I would have liked, and I came back rising up into "outerness". It seemed to be more related to the place we were sitting upon. That was when I first thought that perhaps it was an earthquake! It was alarming... I opened my eyes to see where Dino was so that we could react to the situation...

What I saw however made me drop my jaw. It was not a higher level experience for me, nor it was any earthquake. It was Dino! It was Dino who was shaking his leg so hard that the whole bench, me included, was rattling with him, and I was feeling like riding a horse... I was perplexed!

I had never seen Dino like this - doing anything like that during practices. When I tried to make Dino aware of it by first gently and than vigorously shaking him out of it, he came back very mad at me. Apparently I had dragged him out of, and thus prevented, a very high level of experience for him that day (and I felt really sorry about it). It was his shaking the leg that gave him that extra 'push' that day to top all of his previous experiences thus far.

When master asked exactly when did he start doing that motion with his leg during that sitting, Dino was not aware of it. Master smiled, for it was such spontaneous ingenuity, "letting go", that was found in the making of an ideal meditator.

Meditation Is a State

2008-01-13T13:17:00.000Z

FROM THE FEET OF MY MASTER:

meditation is neither an act, nor a practice

meditation is a state

being is a state of consciousness, so is meditation

being is a transitory state, so is meditation

you reach there, remain there, retreat from there, regress from there, egress from there

a perfect meditation merges with Being

you utilize it to serve a certain purpose, to go beyond the state of being and non-being; once achieved you drop it off

you make it bring to your feet the powers of here-and-now for you to submit to them

"in thy shoes"
following the foot-steps
one at a time
appreciating the difference
growing

Inside-out Black-whole and Meditation

2008-01-12T11:10:00.000Z

“The ideal people are those who, in the deepest silence and seclusion, are capable of the most intense activity, and in performing the most intense activity experience the stillness and solitariness of the desert. They have learned the secret of self-control […]”

FOCUSING ON SELF IS SIMPLE and easy, we do it all the time. Focusing on Self, however, is a different ballgame. Cultivating Self-awareness is tough. The correct mind-set within the given premise of an experienced and realised master, can surely enlightened the path, provided one is willing to make the journey.

By accepting one’s existence as it is, through self-awareness, one is becoming more and more self-focused. As a precursor to that in certain cases however, one becomes self-centric. That is to say, one is putting oneself in the centre of this “Samsara”, this storm, this madness that spins uncontrollably, incessantly, intensely. But by not being overwhelmed by the chaos around is the only way to realise and appreciate the condition of being in the centre of the storm, being in the eye-of-the-storm, where, (ask any weatherman) the wind is not that intense, the spin is moderate, the mayhem is neither visible nor heard; being in the eye of the storm is in fact (relatively) peaceful, such as experiencing “... the stillness and solitude of a desert whilst being in the most intense activity...”

Why there is peace at the centre of a storm?

Why the core of a black-hole is called singularity?

The Master replied:

“whilst there is this empirical explanation saying black-holes are very powerful transitory routes that make matter travel from one state and dimension to another; the spiritual metaphor on the other hand recognises [singularity] with Oneness of everything…”

Well, let’s call it black-whole. Black-whole: Black, for it is darkness that everything comes from, and into which everything goes back. Whole, for it is the Wholeness that is to be realised; wholeness that is the Salvation (Salvation comes from the Latin root 'salvare', which means 'to save', to make whole). That is to say, when you find your Self and the wholeness, you attain your own salvation, so to speak.

What is the appreciation of light if it is not for darkness? Rather, darkness is the mother of light - to be conceived as well as to be consumed. We celebrate darkness by yielding to the light, by holding it, by spreading it, by propagating it. By worshipping light we yield to the reality that darkness is vast, all-pervading and overwhelming. We have to resort to light, to un-darkness, in order to capture darkness and understand it. Celebration of stars in the night sky owe their beauty and realised existence to the landscape of the darkness; for the stars hold their positions even during the day, only to be undone by the “light” of the Sun rays. In its this universal format darkness IS reality.

All beings want to feel the fulfilment. All beings thrive for it day in and day out, in multiple, unique, small and big ways at every step of every walk of life; thriving it with mind, and with matter. However, in the realms of time and space, among the pairs of opposites, this contentment keeps eluding us, making us chase it in and with mind, body and spirit; filling our lifetimes. Some know of this chase, some call it by different names - peace, light, realisation, purpose, meaning, love, or any other beautiful or intriguing “word”. The essence of the journey however remains the same: the contentment, the wholeness, within us, as manifestation of divinity within our physical and spiritual beings. The Atman. [Leading to an-atman...]

The unmovable centre within our being: Black-whole. One's own black-whole with the singularity within; and by turning inwards, one initiates this inescapable fall - drawing one inside of the black-whole, towards the core, to merge with one’s Self.
By turning inwards, the transitory journey begins.
A journey of experiences.
A journey that, as master says, would turn you inside-out.
(once again, turn you inside-out: first, it would turn you inside [towards your Self], and then it would throw you out towards the manifestation-at-large)

The journey that began with self-awareness has an accelerated speed now, with which one reveals hidden treasures of the Self and marvels at the changing perspectives of the persona and worldy outlooks. The whole world starts spinning at a speed dictated by her.

The journey is initiated within Self (Challenge met, adventure begins), barriers are broken (self-belief energised, weapons drawn), fears are faced and conquered (dragons slayed), guidance put to practice (secret help), transformation achieved (returns victorious).

When one comes out of the woods on the other side at the end of this adventure, one invariably finds oneself in the realms of meditation. A sereneness of stillness that has the whole universe spinning - as if capable of the most intense activity...

Self-awareness and Meditation

2008-01-09T17:58:00.000Z

THE INWARD JOURNEY HAS TO BEGIN FROM SOMEWHERE, begin from the first step, such as Self-awareness. The simplest form of meditation that Vipassana prescribes is observation-of-breathing, which is, in other words, making one aware of one’s being. The process of being alive, the event of being alive, that which the aspirant has to experience firsthand. Perhaps the biggest reality of life that has been taken for granted. The fact that you are alive, that this body is not cold dead but is responsive, is being brought to focus and is being made the subject of contemplation.

And then there is this (one of my favorites) one of the simplest Zen meditation of one-to-ten. These are constructive practices that construct a mirror, if you will, inside the self, inside the psyche, using which you are being watched all the time, all the way, everywhere. You are being watched by your Self. This is Self-awareness. It is like putting a CCTV camera in every room of your mind. You can run, but you can’t hide. And that is a sort of an experience that many have had without any spiritual distillation or aid from meditative practices. “Someone” from inside makes you stand accountable, and demand answers for deeds that you have done (or have not done). A spiritual take on this situation means to suggest that if you are a “good” soul, that is, less or no amount of bad karma from your past lives have been wrapped around your soul and that you have carried forward into this life, your inner voice would be more pronounced.

"...it is like putting a CCTV camera in every room of your mind. You can run, but you can’t hide. “Someone” from inside makes you stand accountable..."In other words, being Self-aware is like producing a kind of an extremely thin membrane that, in initial stages observes your thoughts as they roam around your conscious mind. Later, the transparent membrane is transformed to start filtering your thoughts as they pass by. Then, it starts interfering with and influencing the thoughts as they come and go. In its advanced stages, the membrane manipulates the origin of thoughts such that you think only that is good for you.

As Rumi said - Every word of every thought is a prayer; begins with you; ends with you.

The membrane is sub consciousness.

In the process as the membrane is being “installed” and slowly put to use, it may produce a slight lag in reaction-time of the mind. This delay is very tiny, measurable only in say milliseconds. But by doing so it attains another purpose also, namely, to intentionally produce a lag in instant reaction process of the mind. And this is the very definition of Yoga as per the original Sanskrit doctrine. Based on this, one may argue also that both, Yoga and Self-awareness practices, aim for the same goal which is introducing a membrane within the conscious activities of the mind. That is to say, arousal of sub consciousness and introducing it within the conscious thoughts.

The journey of experiences is wonderful...

Is Meditation a practice?

2008-01-06T18:07:00.000Z

“…THE VERY ESSENCE OF THE MEDITATION - which has a very selfish motive at its core, though its outwardly reflections may perhaps be translating into selfless conducts and thoughts…
… Doing meditation is selfish for I do it for my own sake, for my own self-realization.
… One may argue that it is for my peace of mind, or for my better understanding of self, or for a proper meaning of my life, or for my joy and enlightenment, or for a divine experience for me, of for my Nirvana, or for my this or my that; each and every of it is for my own sake, that is in the main, and that’s that…”

The master was not present during this particular gathering, and that suited my motive for experimenting certain "wild thoughts", if you may, as above in a general forum for open discussions. To be honest, I had expected quite an acidic reaction from the audience since for many meditation usually become the "final resort before insanity" so to speak for justifying their existence and being alive in this world. And, by Jupiter, they would fight tooth and nail to uphold their ideal, striking a similarity with the fanatism stemming from the deserts of the East.

Surprisingly no opposition came save a couple of minor grunts and “ohhs” or “ahhs”; giving mixed fillings. On one hand, the fellow mates seem to see enough merit at least to contemplate on this wild thought before reacting wildly (excuse the pun :-). That was the good part. The bad part was that I had expected an argumentative and infuriating debate (also testing the personal vigil and stillness of mind that the fellows suppose to exercise when provoked). No debate happened, at least none started at that immediate moment, and that was a kind of a let down.

After a while though, the toast started sinking in and the soup seemed to simmer, letting out its first aroma and setting the stage. “Well, meditation - or whatever that I do right now in its current form - seems to be selfish.” came the first reply, continuing: “But at least I am reflecting on it myself and accepting it as it is. Not that I want it to be as such, but that’s what it is… and I bet many of us are in the same state, whether you want to admit it or not…”.
“Well, I see where you are coming from,” I put in encouragingly, “and first off, I must appreciate your not accepting the illusion of being in a state otherwise. As master puts forward in more ways than one: Leave your footwear, ego and illusions outside while entering this room…” I was also appreciating the personal courage that middle-aged man had shown in facing his own Self in this statement. “But, that’s not we wanted to, isn’t it?” came the next point immediately from my friend who had argued at length previously while discussing celibacy. As if in protest of being cheated for the product differing from its depiction and description on the box, she continued: “I thought being selfish is un-spiritual? Uh?” She was right for she was too new to appreciate the magnanimity and depth of both the words - Meditation, and Selfish.
I wished the master was around.

“Heck… Sometimes meditation can be un-spiritual also” someone interjected triggering a quick round of giggles. “I mean, look at Bill Gates… He is a perfect meditator, if you will, only that his subject of meditation is Dollars… Billions of Dollars… And he does it really well, by god!” some more giggles, but the point was not lost. Bill Gates indeed is an accepted Guru (of capitalism) by hundreds of thousands (if not more) of people around the world that some of the smaller established religions and cults would envy I suppose. (Money making cult, anyone?)

“Okay, so we are saying that selfishness is un-spiritual, and meditation can be un-spiritual also…” but before I could proceed further, someone else jumped in, “Not exactly… You see, meditation and selfishness both can and can not be un-spiritual. A context is required for both to ascertain their un-spiritual-ness, or the other way around. Being selfish while dealing among goons to profit from them and then donating it to a charity or say to a meditation spa is, in my opinion, a virtuous and spiritual act.” Robin Hood immediately came to mind, but it was not my intent to debate on Robin Hood’s spirituality at that moment; it was better to steer the discussion away from it: “interesting… but then, I suppose these are two different ‘things’ really… Unless you want to consider meditation as an ‘act’, and treat it in parity with selfishness…”

So, there we are - is Meditation an act? Is it a practice? Or a method or a discipline? Is it universal, or say, ubiquitous among spiritual paths - historical as well as contemporary, organized as well as unstructured, wealthy and also the poor?

The soup continues to simmer further...

Is Meditation Selfish?

2008-01-01T13:45:00.000Z

“WHAT WOULD BE THE SIMPLEST form of meditation?”
“uh… um… Good question actually… hmm… I don’t know…”
“Let me answer that… I think it is to sit-and-shut your eyes and focus on a still point… Like my guru said… As simple as that…”
“Nah… that one’s rather complicated… It works okay only in the beginning may be, but ends up as boring… I suppose the simplest one is the one that is not prescribed but self-cultivated…”
“I don’t think so… You need a guide to take you along, and for that to work for you, you need to take the path that is rather prescribed - to use your word…”
“Oh well, I was coming from the fact that a meditation does not require religion; rather it’s the other way around…”
“That’s absurd! Why would you meditate at all if not for a religion or a practice…?”
“That’s selfish, ain’t it?”
“Wait a minute, what I meant was to meditate for the sake of meditation rather than anything else, and that includes your religion part as well…”
“That doesn’t make sense… uh? You are drunk already!”
“Hey, listen everyone… before we get into that getting drunk thing and argue till we all start throwing up, Jim is right I suppose… Meditation should be for the sake of meditation, that is primary; using a certain religious technique is secondary perhaps - say its the means rather than the end…”

"the very essence of meditation has a very selfish motive at its core, though its outwardly reflections may perhaps be translating into selfless conducts and thoughts…"That was a recent discussion that I was having among a bunch of us guys over the New Year long weekend. And I think it is interesting enough to pick it up again, rub it a bit more and let it continue to become a more interesting one. I suppose Jim was right because apparently (as it is true for most beginners) he was pointing to the very essence of meditation - which has a very selfish motive at its core, though its outwardly reflections may perhaps be translating into selfless conducts and thoughts. As you begin, doing meditation is selfish for I do it for my own sake, for my own self-realization. One may argue that it is for my peace of mind, or for my better understanding of self, or for a proper meaning of my life, or for my joy and enlightenment, or for a divine experience for me, of for my Nirvana, or for my this or my that; each and every of it is for my own sake, that is in the main, and that’s that. And it appears to me that that is the ultimate selfish motive of all in the world. Having said that, I don’t think there is anything wrong in that either.

On the other hand, meditation - or say the premise of meditation - is making of losers. Yes, spare a moment to think about it. The more you go deeper into it, you got to give up this and that - materials and motives, desires and feelings, senses and pleasures - the very aspects that term you as human as per the biological definition accepted by the state. The more you focus on your meditation-life and more it takes you away from your role in the life and society as a “normal” member for you would be even dropping the most basic of the rules of society - buy, borrow or still; you would rather beg. Financially a disaster, socially a failure, personally a walking self-delusion, professionally an unprofessional. The bid of self-mastery would not help even the physical body of the person - how many of the so called christen leaders (Pope John XXIII), masters (Gungthang Rinpoche) and Gurus (Ramakrishna) of the world have died rather tragically due to cancer or similar pitiful terminal ailment.

That leads me to a very important and interesting turn of thoughts - so, what do I expect? What do I expect out of meditation…?

The classical answer is: Nothing.

I propose to elaborate further on the subject with more in-depth thinking, contemplation, and reviews during next few posts...

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T00:01:00.000Z

H A P P Y • N E W • Y E A R : 2 0 0 8

Mayan Sun-wheel Calender that would "reboot" itself in 2012.

Solstice and Merry Christmas

2007-12-23T20:37:00.000Z

"Through your mercies, Lord, may the months
be for us the source of joys, the years, of delight;
let them bequeath to us in peace, O Lord:
Nisan has its flowers, Iyyar its lilies too,
Haziran its sheaves, Tammuz its heaps of grain;
let Ab and Illul bring along grape-clusters on poles,
let the two Teshris give response to each other in the grape-pressing;
let the two Kanuns bring rest, Shebat and Adar, the Fast.
To you, Lord, be the praise."
King’s prayer to help God Marduk “renew“ everything, a 12-day yearly AKITU Festival at the beginning of new year, Babylon, from 4500 BCE (some 6,500 years ago)

THE PAGAN CELEBRATION OF Winter Solstice (also known as Yule) is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. Ancient people were hunter-gatherers and spent most of their time outdoors. The seasons and weather played a very important part in their lives. Because of this many ancient people had a great reverence for, and even worshipped the sun. (And along the same lines the zodiac system was developed.) The Norsemen of Northern Europe saw the sun as a wheel that changed the seasons. It was from the word for this wheel, houl, that the word yule is thought to have come. At mid-winter the Norsemen lit bonfires, told stories and drank sweet ale.

Newgrange is a beautiful megalithic site in Ireland. This huge circular stone structure is estimated to be 5,000 years old (older than the Egyptian pyramids)! It was built specifically to receive a shaft of sunlight deep into its central chamber at dawn on winter solstice.

An utterly astounding array of ancient cultures built their greatest architectures - tombs, temples, cairns and sacred observatories - so that they aligned with the solstices and equinoxes. Stonehenge in the Salisbury plains of England was designed some 4,000 years ago to be perfect for both Summer and Winter Solstices.

The ancient Romans also held a festival to celebrate the rebirth of the year. Saturnalia ran for seven days from the 17th of December. It was a time when the ordinary rules were turned upside down. Men dressed as women and masters dressed as servants. The festival also involved decorating houses with greenery, lighting candles, holding processions and giving presents.

After the birth of Christianity, Christmas was transplanted onto Winter Solstice some 1,600 years ago (around the beginning of the end of the Roman empire near 400 CE).Carrying it into the 21th century, the festival has been transformed, commercialised, and have become soft of a “Holiday season” rather than “Christmas festivities”. While there may not be any literary objective objection to the changes for the sake of having a "progressive religion", the following dialogue may highlight the need to have a culture-centric festivity for the sake of peace and harmony in the society and her values.

Bill Moyers: The society has provided [the young people of today] no rituals by which they can become members…
Joseph Campbell: There has been reduction… Reduction… Reduction of rituals even in Roman Catholic Church, by God… They have translated the mass out of a ritual-language into one that has a lot of domestic associations… Every time now that I read the Latin of the Mass, I get the picture that it supposed to give you… A language that throws you out of the field of domesticity, you know… The alter is turned so that the priest is with his back to you, and with him you address yourself outward like that… Now they have turned the alter around, judging you like a child, giving you demonstrations, and it is all homely and cosy… Hey listen, they have forgotten what the function of a ritual is! It is to pitch you out, not to wrap you back in where you have been all the time…
BM: So rituals that once conveyed an inward reality are merely a form…
JC: … Well, with respect to rituals, it must be kept alive… and so much of our ritual is dead… it is extremely interesting to read primitive, elementary cultures, how the folk-tales, the myths, that are transforming all the time as per the circumstances of those people…

With that best spirit ever... Merry Christmas!

Shrek as Soul Mate (2 of 2)

2007-12-22T10:03:00.000Z

[Part - II of II; Get to Part I here.]

ONE MAY ENCOUNTER one’s Soul Mate in a seemingly accidental manner perhaps at the least expected place at a seemingly odd time. But then, that “accident” may be perceived as such simply because, like all accidents, one was not expecting it. However, in all probability it was designed to be revealed in this way (God moves in mysterious ways, remember?), only that one perhaps couldn’t appreciate the moment, and thus lost it.

As my master would invariably inquire with me or pose a counter-question: have you recognised the moment? Have you appreciated (and honoured) the guide-signs? And I suppose that’s what it might finally boil down to: recognising the moment, the event, the potentialities, the true perspective and relevance, and also recognising our Soul Mates…

Whatever our justifications may be, in any case, we are talking about a certain “divine intervention” where all that matters is the paring of our souls bounded by love irrespective of race, creed or standing (because a soul does not have a race or a creed or any socio-political standing! A soul is, after all, *cough-cough*, a Soul!).

And that’s where Sherk-the-Ogre enters the scene. IMHO, Shrek is the perfect example of a soul mate - perhaps a really ugly looking outcast one might argue (Ogre, anyone?), but a true (platonic?) lover nonetheless, and a humble mate divinely created for the deserving soul provided you are blessed enough to recognise it..! Also a practical person who's primary motive was to save his habitat - the swamp - though he lands up falling in love with someone in spite of heart-break after heart-break and blows after blows.

That leads us to my question to you, dear friend:

Would you consider Shrek as your, *hold-thy-breath*, soul mate, if s/he really loves you?
If there is a certain “divine intervention” as in the movie Shrek, which also happens in the real life more often than the statisticians care to count?
Are you willing to consider the potentiality that s/he indeed is your soul mate, perhaps in disguise?
Don’t you think that, like Princess Fiona, all of us too are “Shrek-alike” in certain aspects of our individual personal lives; such as, say after dark when we too become an ogre-of-sorts like Fiona, albeit only we know about this secret thus far? (And though we never wanted to admit it, we always live in the fear of being revealed someday?)

Unfortunately, it has become rather common for a certain Princess Fiona’s to judge (in stead of recognising) Soul Mates for her…! (Wonder any more why true love is so much in demand?) And as it almost always tend to happen, one becomes the soul mate of her dreams and destiny until, *sigh*, one takes off one’s helmet (like Shrek did, after rescuing her from the dragon-castle). The helmet, by the way, was not for deception or disguise in the first place but was there for protection from the fire-breathing dragons. His expectations of being ogled at notwithstanding after slaying all those dragons which must have given him some sort of a halo of angle's; turns out, the colour of his skin must be, err, Green - like Shrek's, and that did (or say, didn't) the trick…

The ideal of a soul mate gets upheld and defeated in the same sequence of scenes…

The (lady) dragon, on the other hand, perhaps sets a better example by accepting a, umm, donkey!

Long live Soul Mates!

God Bless…

[I think I again saw that guy later on ridding the same tube. He was alone this time; and also the next...]

Shrek as Soul Mate (1 of 2)

2007-12-21T10:42:00.000Z

[Part - I of II]

COULD AN OGRE BE the hero of our lives? Could someone that didn’t appeal much at the first glance turn out to be that special someone? Yes if you have followed the fantastic fantasy of Shrek (movie); but highly unlikely in this selfish, mean, big, bad, ugly, “practical” world. Wink twice with me for an agreement and luck… Obtw, this is coming from a recent experience, trust me…

Though they were trying to maintain decency in a public place like a commuter train, it was I suppose hard for them to stay apart. Their hands were entangled between them, with their breath almost merging.
In her seemingly immature ways, she suddenly asked, “Do you believe in an ‘Ideal’ Soul Mate?”

I think the guy somehow managed to save the moment one way or another, the question however got me thinking…

Well, let‘s see what do you think about - ideal soul mate? To me it suggests that by excepting it we are also considering the possibility of an “un-ideal” soul mate (what?). On the other hand however, it seems the term “soul mate” itself is supposed to be self-explanatory and suggestive enough that we are referring to an ideal sort of match for you and me in terms of physic and psych that is supposed to be possibly out there waiting (just as you were), divinely created in the given space and time as a soul by that unseen-but-all-pervading force to partner (or mate) with us for our this lifespan. (I just spent last seven minutes pondering over and editing the previous line, and it doesn’t seem to me as a mere pile of words any more. Think about it...).

And thus I am happy to conclude that whenever we talk about “Soul Mate”, it by itself means an “Ideal Soul Mate”.

Now, don’t you think there is something spiritual about this term - soul mate? First, it recognizes the possibility of soul as a “reality“, as a manifestation of your self (alter ego paired with your pronounced ego, like physical body and its visible shadow) in the time and space of the present, here and now. And second, since we accepted the preceding notion, we are positively looking for our “pair” in the realm of duality; where our soul’s pair, or counterpart, or consort, or mate, is our so-called soul mate.

Let me slow down a bit; let’s take a moment to reflect on what we just talked about:

We are talking about duality. Duality as in, this temporal world here and now - this carbon-composite world where our physical senses prevail; where we see, touch, and feel, and consume all that is consumable and physical. And in such a world where we have our experiences, everything is dual, everything comes in a pair such as: Likes/Dislikes, Sin/Atonement, Noble/Evil, Day/Night, Right/Wrong, True/False, Is/Isn’t, etc.
Further, we are talking about a “pair” in a similar context, meaning we and our respective other “being” (mate), co-joined with the bond of love.
Finally, we are talking about pairing of our soul, and that means our soul in a perfect unison with the soul of that other “being”. A unison of love blessed by the divine… Perhaps as a complementary to one-another , or may be (as it happens so often on the screens of Hollywood) as “made-for-each-other” (or, “maid-for-each-other“?)…

[to be concluded in Part II]

Spontaneity sublimated

2007-12-20T09:28:00.000Z

In the Far-east a) since the beginning of writing a certain kind of rice-paper is being used for all sorts of (traditional) art and calligraphy. The paper is very thin, could be easily abused, and has to be carefully handled especially while using ink. b) the Chinese and Japanese character-set (alphabets at al) goes to a couple of thousands - a wide array of choices, one might argue.

Given this premise, when one deals with rice-paper using ink, a moment’s worth of hesitation can blot the paper, spelling ruins and messing up the whole of “creation” thus far.

This is thus becomes the premise of Spontaneity.

Spontaneity, as exhaled in the Shinto texts saying, “… every natural impulse is [not to be rejected, but] to be sublimated…”

This wonderful little Zen story below brings the point home well:

The apprentice was watching over.
The Zen master was at the drawing board, painting.
The apprentice was nervous. He had never seen his master err.
The master was worried. He had never let his disciples down.

This was a different day, it appeared, for the master and his disciples. On this day, things started taking a turn, one after another, for the worst.
The master was conscious, trying to watch over each and every of his own moves, adding to his worries with every step.
A moment’s hesitation on the master’s part started messing up things. Trying to control things that were taking birth at that moment started blotting the paper.
The apprentice, perspiring from nervousness, shook his head every time he was looked upon by the master (for approval).
The rice-paper was not easy to deceive. The rice-paper was ruthless.
Every attempt to impose control and to dictate the flow from the subconscious added to the mess.
What was taking shape on the paper was not a Zen painting, not at all!

The master tried. And then tried some more.
Until the ink ran out. The Zen painting was, however, nowhere in sight.
The master asked his apprentice to go out and make some more ink for him.
The apprentice promptly obliged. He stepped out, making more ink for the painting that was to be.
A few minutes later he entered the room, and what he saw spelled bound him.

“But this is perfect! This is a painting like none before!”
“What happened?”

The Zen master, stepping back from the board, admiring the new painting that he had just created in those few moments, laughed.
“I became aware of your presence…”
“Became aware of the very idea that someone is there, next to me, judging.”
“The possibility of this judgment disturbed my inner still-point, putting me off-centred.”
“To be judged favourably I was ‘trying’ to make it ‘perfect’. But now, I will not be judged by anyone else but me. I will not be disturbed.“
“I will not attempt to make it perfect; It would be.”

“I was yielding to complexities than simplicity in my such attempts.”
“I was yielding to hesitation than spontaneity in my such attempts.”

Behind Closed Eyes

2007-12-18T11:30:00.000Z

Only recently a loving friend directed me to an interesting discussion thread where I read responses on the question “[What do you see] when you close your eyes”. I didn’t reply there as I didn’t belong to the group, it was irresistible however not to response to such a call anyhow!

I suppose it really depends on the context, environment and motivation (it was very tempting to say, "purpose") of “closing the eyes”. When I close my eyes simply for the sake of closing them, the immediate experience comes from the suspended particles in the air stuck onto the retina. I see them as irregular chain of sausages descending down on an unpredictable path. A (senior) friend calls it "cosmic tetris" only that the blocs are no longer in your control...

When I am lying down at bed time with eyes closed, about to doze off, images start taking shape from “garbage thoughts” arising from the semi-conscious mind. This however doesn’t happen too often (and I am sure there is a proper technical term other than the one in context of depression for what I called "garbage thoughts"). Essentially I'm trying to refer to - incomplete or half-backed thoughts / ideas; or ideas that my conscious mind has “rejected” due to certain “reasons”; or thoughts that were utterly nonsense yet remained as residual of something within the scope of the mind. At times it become easy to capture and decipher them when you suddenly come back waking up from your dozing. And I wistfully intend to consider them as “waste-disposal” from the conscious mind after a certain hectic activity that it has performed. I further tend to believe them "spent" because they hardly ever repeat themselves or those acts.

Whilst concentrating with my eyes closed, I might see images of entities related to the “thought” that I am concentrating about. The thought itself should be fixated, for that is the purpose of the concentration, and my consciousness ensure that for me. (The word, thought, is important here I suppose for our consciousness cannot hold onto a physical object but only chit-subjects - an idea or a thought.) Here the attempt would be to consciously channelise information related to the thought under focus - a train of thoughts (illustrations) linked together with "logic".

Its only when I tend to drift from conscious concentration to the beginning stages of meditation that the real circus begins. A few years ago under the strict scrutiny of my hon. master when I learned practicing meditation, it always began with concentration on a certain prescribed “thought”. The thought is then glorified so to speak, say, by being plunged into complete chaos and randomness such as raising it a few miles in the sky and then suspending it in mid air. And there she goes… As an example the thought sometimes becomes a comet as it were charting its own course and highlighting the cosmic realm that is absolutely dynamic and constantly in motion. All you have to do is to follow the comet and enjoy the ride ;-) On other times you sit on the wave of the musical water-bowl rising at the centre and spreading with the music outwards (do try sometime to capture the marvelous experience of mediation with musical water-bowls). And on yet another day, it would...

The Alchemist - a masterpiece

2007-12-14T14:33:00.000Z

While I was looking for simple works of Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz, I ran into The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari (MWSHF). Quite a lowering of the aim, one might be nasty enough to argue, but it was a nice easy-going tale with messages sprinkled along the way. Honestly, I began well but couldn’t complete those 200 odd pages without interruptions from loosing interest in the topic, and yet again coming back to the book.

On a different day, during a different pursuit, I ran into The Alchemist (by Paulo Coelho). It proved to be utterly difficult to resist picking up this book that day. Perhaps also because this time the book was on display on a stack in the middle of the path rather than on the "self-help" stand - sometimes a heaven for popcorn-nirvana material. This one I started while I was still somewhere during the middle stages of MWSHF (Julian is explaining the rose-meditation to Jon). And it spelt the end of my journey with MWSHF, and beginning of the thought for this blog.

It perhaps is a repetition arising from micro-vanity that The Alchemist is a masterpiece. Micro-vanity, as in, most of us likes to play Archimedes in our own rights, reinventing the wheel per our own sights, yet expecting the same credits from the world comparable with those cavemen who in reality invented the wheel and fire for humanity a few millennia ago. Well, that however doesn’t prevent The Alchemist from being a masterpiece.

It appears that the book has successfully justified its projection of three avtars:

The first one is for my Mom while she would read it during one of her intra-city travels as a nice little desert fairly-tale. And that’s it - she wouldn’t care much to think about it barring a couple of residual thoughts or ideas. But above all she would feel entertained.
The second avtar of the book is for my teen-aged niece who always has a million questions in her armory, ready to go at war any time, and my forehead being her favorite target practice (Gosh, one more explanation for my suddenly receding hairline!). She would read the book, but more than that she would try reading between the lines of every plot, thought and poem (adding more questions to her armory!). She would feel motivated.
In its third avtar, the book would make certain compelling calls to the dreaming mind and would appear speaking with the inherent voice - creating an echo that resonates the song of the universe. One would feel spoken to.

The first two avtars helped make the book a NYT bestseller, and the third avtar helped it move from the “self-help” stand to the middle of the path. All the three put together made it a masterpiece. For me, personally, I think MWSHF was perhaps the fourth contributor.

Celibacy and yoga

2007-12-10T11:21:00.000Z

SANSKRIT FOR CELIBACY IS "BRAHMACHARYA". According to one of the popular etymological understanding of this Sanskrit word, Brahmacharya = Brahman (force) + Aacharan (behaviour). That is, to behave like Brahman (paramatman), where Brahman is neither male nor female, and hence has no genital property, and thus has no sexual inclination of any sorts. In simple words, then, celibacy is to act like God where the God is sex-less and sex-drive-less.

It may not be surprising that this Sanskrit word comes from a civilization that has created various disciplines of Yoga and Meditation. And in doing so, have instilled celibacy at the root of these disciplines, making it a sort of prerequisite for any aspirant. It may be worth noting here though that the "real" rational/philosophy behind doing this a few centuries ago has become somewhat fuzzy today, with the message not coming out clearly and reaching us, and the so called Gurus differing among themselves on the subject.

It is also widely considered that people in India are supposed to be more religious (or say, god-fearing) than their Western counterparts.

From a sociopolitical perspective, I suppose it is really interesting to see the paradox above where on one hand people are practicing a religion where celibacy is fundamental, and yet the country gains the second largest population in the world! United Nations says that it is only a matter of time – say 10 more years – and Indians would top the chart... God bless the world...

"... the sex force is sacred; sex is sacred. It is one of the most sacred of all things. But sacred sexuality is a misnomer ..."One could only wonder if the people of the said practice have decided to let off celibacy considering it nothing more than an inherited burden. Or is there a deeper meaning to the concept which got masked off by layers and layers of metaphors over the centuries? Or is it simply that good old one-forbidden-thing motif?

I believe this should prompt an inquiry as to where the paradox arises from for a system known for its harmony.

After going through many websites and write-ups, and googling for a few hours, I did find a variety. Among them I preferred to quote some of the thoughts below. (The rest is for you to contemplate, I suppose, during your next practice session.)

... Brahmacharya or celibacy is a rational process of preserving and conserving precious energy so that it can be utilised in other very essential and indispensable functions... (Sure, sex takes its toll on the body [though it sometimes helps in reducing that ugly LDF called bad cholesterol]. Makes more sense especially when you are on a highly restricted diet as well. From purely nutrition perspective [that is to say without getting it confused with the so called non-attachment] No meat, no wine, only veggies should give you only as much for survival of a normal human body in “normal” mode.)
... To understand the inner implications of a guru’s instructions requires a special type of intelligence... If the guru is speaking of an abstruse subject not within the normal range of your ordinary human experience, you require a special subtle type of understanding. And that understanding develops through brahmacharya... (My simple take on this – let there be a level playing field. Point taken!)
... “Brahmacharya is the basis of immortality.” (??)
... from a purely scientific and technical point of view, one of the yogas where celibacy is absolutely essential and indispensable is kundalini yoga. There is no compromise with that. Right from the beginning it is absolutely essential and indispensable. Otherwise it is dangerous to go into kundalini yoga... (I suppose this is but for the “high-end” version of kundalini yoga primarily.)
... bhakti path (path of devotion) — does not make any distinction between a celibate brahmachari, a married householder, and a retired couple living a spiritually oriented life after they have finished their duties as householders... (This I believe is a more “normal” form.)
... a sort of celibacy in the form of self-control and fidelity in your sexual relationship with your recognised legal partner can also be regarded as brahmacharya... So here the sex life does not in any way go contrary to spiritual life... (Now, this explains a few things.)
... the sex force is sacred; sex is sacred. It is one of the most sacred of all things. But sacred sexuality is a misnomer ... (Well, that's the thing!)

Here is an interesting dialog on the subject with Swami Sivananda.

Whole is not always sum of its parts

2007-12-10T07:40:00.000Z

Not at all times do you need to get up-close-and-personal to comprehend things. On the contrary, many a times, things make proper sense only from thousands feet hight.

In other words, you got it! This picture makes sense only as an icon!

Zodiac symbols explained

2007-12-10T06:28:00.000Z

Aries (Ram): Mar 21 – Apr 20
Mid-March to April is the time of the year for the sheep (Ram) to produce their young.

Taurus (Bull): Apr 21 – May 20
For the agriculture dominated civilizations this was the time of the year to employ bulls for tilling the land.

Gemini (Twins): May 21 – Jun 21
Domestic goats usually produced two young ones (twins) around this time of the year.

Cancer (Crab): Jun 22 – Jul 22
Like a crab crawling backwards the Sun begins to turn back towards the equator.

Leo (Lion): Jul 23 – Aug 23
Sun being at its zenith becomes as powerful and dominating as a lion.

Virgo (Virgin): Aug 24 – Sep 23
This is the time of the year when girls in the household (virgins) used to glean the ears of the corn harvest.

Libra (Scales): Sep 24 – Oct 23
Like the scales having equal weights, day and night becomes of equal strength (duration) during this period.

Scorpio (Scorpion): Oct 24 – Nov 22
The Sun starts to retreat, giving rise to diseases with apparently (scorpion's) "poisonous" effects.

Sagittarius (Archer): Nov 23 – Dec 22
(in the planes of northern hemisphere) Beginning of the hunting season!

Capricorn (Goat – or sometimes crocodile): Dec 23 – Jan 20
The Sun (moving towards North) begins to rise higher under the sign of wild goat (ibex, or Capricorneus)

Aquarius (Water carrier): Jan 21 – Feb 19
First hint of the rain (rainy season) appears on the horizon at this time of the year.

Pisces (Fish): Feb 20 – Mar 20
The Fish begin their journey downstream towards seas – making it fishing time!

Dynamic blog entries

2007-12-01T16:37:00.002Z

Welcome! A word or two about these blog entries:

"The best things cannot be told; the second best things are misunderstood; and the third best are everyday conversation." -- Heinrich Zimmer

Thinking is a continuous process, or so I believe. It is also a resource-hungry activity, which, when not controlled by proper means, could lead to a lot of waste of time. Changing times means changing thoughts. Writing based on thinking also has to be dynamic as such. Further, I would rather avoid pretending that I create the perfect write-up at the first draft. These posts are rather thought through and improvised articles then simple musings (admittedly thought, musings are important in their own rights. Anyway...)

I like to revisit words over time. When a thought or an idea originates, it remains stuck in your "mind" while you mull over it over time - the digestion process! If it is a book or some material, I try and revisit the idea there at different times (and get a different flavour and perspective of the stuff over visits). If it were of my own making, such as this blog entries, I try and revise them in a bid to marshal the connection between the original 'thought' and its evolved representative 'word'. (Poems, being a subject and product of spontaneity, are to be exempt.)

What this also means is that these posts are changing most of the times after you have read it at the first ping (for example, this one had eleven revisions). Content is revised and added to the entries - some times I get a better way of expression, and at other occassions I react on the constructive feedback and comments that I keep getting.

Thank you for your visits, thoughts, feedbacks, and participation! I appreciate the support and love that you have shown :-)