During this contentious period in our world: SMILE !

 Namaste,

We are in the midst of an extremely challenging situation and environment, probably not seen in the history of this world. With pandemic ruling the roost almost everywhere in the planet and economy shut down, people are going through tough life situations.  To make it worse, there are the civil unrests and terrorism in some parts of the world and in the US, we are going through a tumultuous election period.  

All these may cause severe mental imbalance in people. The only option to escape from such mental agonies is to LEAVE IT ALL TO GOD. TRUST the GOD and SMILE.  

Sw. Chinmayananda captures these SMILING moods through these inspiring quotes:

Keep SMILING! Life is great!  Let nothing that happens around you unnecessarily affect you. Consider them all as Sri Krishna leela!

SMILE - even if you are not happy at first or in the end or in the middle!

Why should you fret about the world unless you too are a fool? SMILE !

Learn to SMILE when you feel insulted. Then anger can never arise.

A true devotee never despairs. Take whatever HE provides and keep on walking with a SMILE in your heart.

In the midst of life's dust and sweat, learn to take your stand with unbroken good temper. SMILE!

Tolerate the world and its endless foolishness. SMILE and keep on loving the people.

Life is a game of Hide and Seek. LAUGH on and play the game. When you 'discover', LAUGH; when you cannot, LAUGH. The one who laughs the most wins even when he loses.

Keep SMILING.  Everything will come around to help you - money, men and material. Surrender onto HIM and work. 

May the Almighty keep us SMILING and keep us safe in these trying time and all the time.  

Hari Om.

Fate (adrsta) and Self-effort (prayatna)

 Namaste.

I have been reading a wonderful article on fate (adrshta) and self-effort (prayatna or saadhana) written by Sw, Advayananda in one of the past issues of Tapovan Prasad magazine of Chinmaya Mission.  In it, the Swami clarifies the difference in these two word meanings, though people generally mix and match these two words.

Fate (adrshta) or otherwise also called destiny,  is the external situation and may be caused due to a person's (or group of people, country etc.) past activities.  They are like the result of the action (karmic phala), whether good or bad.  These results could be immediate or it could be many months/years later.  They are generated through the actions from the vasanas of the person  (or group/country etc.) .  If the vasanas are good, the actions and the results are good. Reverse is true as well.

Self effort (prayatna or saadhana) on the other hand, is the 'persistent'  (good) effort from the individual to continue doing his/her ethical and responsible (dharmic) responsibilities, irrespective of the external situations due to the fate (adrshta) or other results of past actions (karmic phala).  This comes out of the mind and intellect layers of the personality.  It is based on the basic belief in the divinity of life, goodness of the environment and overall evolution of the mankind towards a higher maturity and progress.

The important point on the above two is where and how it impacts our human personality layers.  As Swami Advayananda says in his article, the destiny only expresses in the realm of the external world as situations that are productive of pleasure (sukha) and pain (dukha). It impacts our gross body level activities only, and does not have access to the realm of emotions or control the intellect whereby it can overwhelm the individual's very capacity to feel, think, decide or function.  Self effort on the other hand is driven mainly from the mind and intellect layers of the individual.

Hence fate (or destiny) is definitely very different from that which individuals could claim is the power that forces them to do something (bad or good).   We may not be able to control our destiny or fate, as it is the result of the past actions, but we could definitely control and direct our self-effort to better, ethical and responsible (dharmic) activities and work.

Hari Om.

Have a blessed Navarathri 🙏

Namaste.  Today is the start of the festival of Navarathri or 9-nights. According to Hindu traditions these days are observed spiritually and religiously as a penance to bring in dedication, conscientiousness and ethics in every person's personality layers.  

The 9 days (or nights) are grouped into 3 days dedicated to each Hindu goddess as below:

• Durga (Gowri) representing unflinching dedication to destruction of Tamas thoughts and actions such as evil, laziness, ignorance etc. and to promote good characters like truth and honesty, 
• Lakshmi to provide the noble traits within us and ready us for the knowledge (both spiritual and materialistic) to be gained,  We pray to goddess Lakshmi to keep our mind and actions pure.
• Saraswati to provide the right avenues to gain the knowledge and resources to lead a happy, calm life.

Please read my post in this blog on the significance of Navarathri that I wrote a few years ago (2014).  Click HERE to read the old post.

I happened to read another wonderful information (source: TOI, Nov 2017) on the representation of these 9 days in different colors which signifies the different incarnations of Goddess Durga.  I have reproduced it with some changes in my own wordings.

The nine nights (navaratris) of the festival commemorate the nine avatars of Goddess Durga with each day also standing for a particular colour. As Hindus celebrate the festival, they worship the particular deity which the day of the Navratri stands for and also makes it special by wearing the corresponding colour.

Day 1: Shailaputri / Red
Shailaputri is the incarnation of goddess Parvati and represents the collective power of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara. She symbolises the characteristics of nature and purity and the colour on day one of Navratri is red.

Day 2: Brahmacharini / Royal Blue
Brahmacharini stands for a figure that is blissful and calm. She is the one who practices austerity and should be worshipped if you want to attain moksha, or emancipation of your deeds. She is the one who endows grace and prosperity. The colour on day 2 is the subtle yet power-wielding royal blue.

Day 3: Chandraghanta / Yellow
Chandraghanta is the embodiment of beauty. Like the colour yellow, she stands for grace, concord and tranquillity. Besides being symbolic of beauty, she is also symbolic of bravery. Hence, the colour of the day 3 is yellow.

Day 4: Kushmunda / Green
Kushmunda is believed to the creative power behind the universe. She is the one who endowed the world with greenery and vegetation, the symbols of life, merely with a laughter. Hence, the colour of the day 4 is green.

Day 5: Skanamata / Grey
This day’s colour has a very beautiful significance as it reacts to a powerful vulnerability of the mother when it comes to her child. Just like the colour grey, she can turn into thunderstorm whenever any harm comes near her child. Skanda mata is the mother of Karthikeya, also known as Skanda.  The color of the day 5 is grey.

Day 6: Katyayani / Orange
Katayayani was very brave and courageous and hence, the colour of the day is orange. She was the daughter of the sage Kata and that’s why she was named Katyayani. It is believed that she was an avatar of goddess Durga.  The color representation for Day 6 is Orange.

Day 7: Kalratri / White
This is the most powerful of the avatars of the goddess Shakti, that is the avatar in the form of Goddess Kali. In the form of Kalratri, she is dark coloured, has a posture that bespeaks power and has three eyes.  This is the fiercest form of the Maa Durga. However, the colour of her clothes is white. White represents her fight for peace. Hence, the colour of the day is white.

Day 8: Maha Gauri / Pink
This incarnation of Goddess Durga represents intelligence and peace. The story goes that due to her austerities in the forests of the Himalayas, her complexion got very dark and she turned black. However, Shiva cleansed her body with the water of the Ganges and this is how her body restored its beauty and glow. The colour of the day is pink as pink denotes optimism and anticipation.

Day 9: Siddhidatri / Sky blue
It is the last day of the festivity and it stands for happiness, blessings and positivity. Siddhidatri is a representative of mother figure and is endowed with healing powers. She is known to have blessed all the gods, goddesses and worshippers with bliss as pure as the blue sky. That is why the colour of the day is sky blue.

May the blessings of all these Goddess be with you, families and friends during this Navarathri festival season.  

Happy Navarathri. 🙏.  

Hari Om.
 

left arro

Satvik Guna is the default in us

Namaste.  We have learnt all human beings are classified in three categories of Gunas (our nature)  - Satvik (Spiritual), Rajasic (materialistically active) and Tamasic (indolent and lazy).  By personality types, most people are a combination of these three gunas and it may even vary depending on the time and mood of the day.  

For instance,  the Satvik guna may be more visible in the early mornings when the mind is alert and sharp. This is the time of spiritual activities such as meditation, yoga etc.  or educational work such as reading, practicing etc.  That's why our ancient scriptures talk about 'Brahma muhurtham' which is the most ideal time for productive work and starts a couple of hours prior to sunrise.  The Rajasic and Tamasic gunas become predominant over the period of the day. Typically people are very active in their profession or business during the day when Rajas is active and they become tired and sleepy towards the end of the day when Tamas takes over our personality. 

However,  Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita says that Satvik guna is our inherent default nature.  Humans are born with Satvik nature and as they grow, the other gunas get attached due to vasanas (both existing and new) and work nature.  That's probably why it is said babies are godly in nature as they do not exhibit other tendencies and gunas.   However, the advantage of this condition is that reverting back to Satvik should be easier for all of us as it is our default nature.  We do not need to acquire Satvikata, as it is in us already, but covered by other gunas over and above it. We only need to remove those Rajasic and Tamasic nature from us.  

The famous Italian sculptor Michelangelo is quoted as saying "Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. "   He said he just removed the un-necessary parts (Rajasic & Tamasic ?) from the stone block to create those wonderful work!  

So let us all work to restrict and reduce the Rajasic and Tamasic gunas in us.  As long as we are in human form, we may not be able to eliminate those - but we need to use them only as needed. Rest of the time, we should strive to be in Satvik guna all the time.  Sw. Chinmayananda says that is indicated by the statement 'Om Tat Sat' which means that Supreme (Brahman) is the only truth (default) in all.  Rest are artificial additions!

Hari Om.

Devas, Asuras and Rakshas of the world!

In the 15th chapter of BG, Sw. Chinmayananda describes the 5 types of people based on their 'Gunas' as below:

• Devas: People who are nobler in their thoughts, behaviour and actions.  They are mostly of Sattvic nature and look for goodness in all including themselves. Hopefully most of the humans in the world are 'supposed' to be of this type - that's probably why our scriptures talk of 33 koti (crore) types of Devas, the population of the world at that time (it has increased multifold now - so not sure if all are 'devas' now! 😊)
• Asuras: Those who are 'diabolically fallen' and think of working and gaining materialistic comforts and returns all the time.  They are mostly of Rajasic guna (rajoguna).  I think many people in business and politics in the in the world currently are of this type or Yakshas (given below) or combination of both.
  
• Rakshasas: Incorrigibly indifferent.  They are Tamasic guna and considered to be pleasure seeking and lazy.    Many  are well educated and know the facts and truths of life, but do not care or believe in it. They look for quick and easy wins and comforts of life.  Ravana is said to be of this type who was a knowledgeable man and a Shiva bhakta, but used his knowledge for unethical purposes.  Sakshara (sa-akshara) in Samskritam means "educated and well behaved". If sounded reverse, it becomes Rakshasa! 
• Yakshas: Yakshas are said to be family of Kubera who is considered as the richest person in our mythology. They are the group who are sought after by those who are highly materialistic and look for name and fame.
• Pretas: Supposed to be our ancestors who are at the lowest level of the ladder in terms of their passage to other worlds as per Hindu mythology. THey have just left the human form but their human vasanas still remain with them in the bhouthika levels (Sthula sarira).

Hari Om.

20 Virtues enumerated in Bhagavad Gita

 The 20 virtues explained in Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna:

1. Amanitvam: vanity-less-ness

2. Aadambitvam - un pretentiousness

3. Ahimsa: Non-violence

4. Santhi:  Peace, Calmness

5. Arjavam - straight forwardness

6. Acharya Upasana : Dedication and respect to Guru

7. Soucham - cleanliness

8. Sthairyam - consistency of purpose

9. Atma vinigraha - self control

10. Indriyartheshu vairagya:  Dispassion and detachment to sense organs generated activities.

11. Anahankara - no ego

12. Janma, Mrityu, Jara, Vyadi, Dukha, Dosha nu darshanam - recognizing life is all these sorrows

13. Asaktir anabhi svangaha: without attachments/identificatio to beings and things

14. Nityam cha Samachitvam - equilibrium at all times

15. Ishta- anishta upapashtitu - learn to live with both likes and dislikes

16. Mayi Cha ananya yogena - yoking your mind to me

17. Vivikta desa sevitvam: expose a few mins to be all alone

18. Arathir Jana samsadi: avoid crowds of people

19. Adyatma Jnana nityatvam - read scriptuures every day

20. Tatva  jananrtha darshanam: meditate on those value from the scriptures

Hari Om.