One of the places worth visiting.... MOUNT KAILASH - TIBET

North Face - Mt Kailash

South Face - Mt Kailash

Great place see the the video....

Some nice, deep stuff from the heart......

1. One smile enough to blow away years of misery
One smile and I melt in your arms
One smile and my heart bursts with fullness
One smile and I feel so near to you
One smile and all I can do is thank you
One smile
and I know I am taken care of
One smile...

2. In search for Me, I discovered Truth.
In search for Truth, I discovered Love.
In search for Love, I discovered Everything.
And in Everything, I found Myself -:)


Love
A

Killing your Dreams - (Reproduced from Paulo Coelho’s blog)

Found this inspiring article on PC's blog......Enjoy!!!


"The first symptom of the process of our killing our dreams is the lack of time. The busiest people I have known in my life always have time enough to do everything. Those who do nothing are always tired and pay no attention to the little amount of work they are required to do. They complain constantly that the day is too short. The truth is, they are afraid to fight the Good Fight.

The second symptom of the death of our dreams lies in our certainties. Because we don’t want to see life as a grand adventure, we begin to think of ourselves as wise and fair and correct in asking so little of life. We look beyond the walls of our day-to-day existence, and we hear the sound of lances breaking, we smell the dust and the sweat, and we see the great defeats and the fire in the eyes of the warriors. But we never see the delight, the immense delight in the hearts of those who are engaged in the battle. For them, neither victory nor defeat is important; what’s important is only that they are fighting the Good Fight.

And, finally, the third symptom of the passing of our dreams is peace. Life becomes a Sunday afternoon; we ask for nothing grand, and we cease to demand anything more than we are willing to give. In that state, we think of ourselves as being mature; we put aside the fantasies of our youth, and we seek personal and professional achievement. We are surprised when people our age say that they still want this or that out of life. But really, deep in our hearts, we know that what has happened is that we have renounced the battle for our dreams – we have refused to fight the Good Fight.

When we renounce our dreams and find peace, we go through a short period of tranquility. But the dead dreams begin to rot within us and to infect our entire being.
We become cruel to those around us, and then we begin to direct this cruelty against ourselves. That’s when illnesses and psychoses arise. What we sought to avoid in combat – disappointment and defeat – come upon us because of our cowardice.

And one day, the dead, spoiled dreams make it difficult to breathe, and we actually seek death. It’s death that frees us from our certainties, from our work, and from that terrible peace of our Sunday afternoons ".

Life is Management !!!!

Just stumbled on this great person (Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev), a mystic from Tamil Nadu - South India. He runs the ISHA FOUNDATION. Below is a 4 min video where he has explained beautifully how life is nothing but just management. Enjoy!!!



I will like to end by one of the poems he wrote long ago 
"I was born like you, 
I eat like you,  sleep like you 
and will die like you. 
But the limited has not limited me, 
life's bondages have not bound me. 
As the dance of life progresses, 
this unboundedness has become unbearably sweet. 
Become love, reach out, become me"!!!!

I do not know what is so magnetic about these mystics.......

Ways to experiences Samadhi......

Here are some of the methods to get a glimpse of Samadhi. Each one has its own merits and de merits.
These are:
1. Drugs (Psychedelics)
2. Mantra ( a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of "creating      transformation").
3. Performing Austerities.


I will write about each of them someday. But as of now I will change gears and post some other stuff. This post I will complete later.


Anu

The Last/8th Limb - Samadhi -

When the subject disappears in the object, when the object disappears in the subject, when there is nothing to look at and there is no looker-on, when simply the duality is not there, that is SAMADHI. In other words, SAMADHI is made from the combination of 2 words – SAMA (Equanimity) and Buddhi (Intellect). Thus, when the intellect becomes equanimous i.e. when it looses the discriminatory dimension and just becomes perception; one experiences Samadhi.

Remember, this is the possibility for all of human beings. But the tricky part is when we experience the world we get smeared with the events so much that we forget about the ultimate human potential. In collecting pebbles and shells on the seashore one may miss the utterly blissful treasure of the ocean. This does not mean we do not enjoy the world!!! But the skill is not to get lost in it. Enjoy everything, but don't make it your very life then one will miss it. And remember, wherever we pay our attention that becomes the reality of life. If you pay your attention to pebbles, they become diamonds -- because wherever is your attention, there is your treasure. Sometimes the attention can be focused on the unreal and we start believing it to be real.

So make sure that real has to be sought. And the only way to reach it is, first, drop too many objects, let there be one object: second, drop all distractions. Let consciousness fall on that object in an uninterrupted. And the third (Samadhi) happens by itself. In that stillness, one can attain to the goal of life.

Bye

A

The 7th Limb - Dhyana - Contemplation

DHYAN, CONTEMPLATION, is the uninterrupted flow of the mind to the object. This will happen after dharana. So the 1^st step i.e. 6^th limb - concentration when we have dropped the crowd of objects and chose one object. Once this is done now a person can retain one object in consciousness. Now the second step uninterrupted flow of consciousness towards the object. As if light is falling from a bulb, uninterrupted.

Dhyan, contemplation, mean the consciousness falling on the object in continuity, with no break -- because each break means a distraction. If you can attain the first, the second is not difficult. Remember 1^st step is concentration, then comes contemplation so essentially if you cannot attain the first, the second is impossible. Once you drop objects, you choose one object, then you drop all loopholes in your consciousness, all distractions in your consciousness, you simply pour yourself on one object.

Both steps are essential to any work we do. But remember, this is not the end. There is one last step, which is SAMADHI.

The 6th Limb - Dharana - Concentration

Then comes dharana. After pratyahar, when a person has started coming back nearer home, coming nearer the innermost core. Pratyahar brings us near the gate; pranayam is the bridge from the out to the in. And then is the possibility of dharana, concentration. Now we can become capable of bringing the mind to one object. Note the logical flow of events here 1st, we gave direction to the body; then, direction to life energy -- now we give direction to our consciousness. Now the consciousness cannot be allowed to go anywhere and everywhere. Now it has to be brought to a goal. This goal is concentration, dharana: you fix your consciousness on one point it can be anything – your dream job, graduation, getting into medical school etc.

When consciousness is fixed on one point thoughts cease, because thoughts are possible only when your consciousness goes on wavering -- from here to there, from there to somewhere else. When the consciousness is continuously jumping like a monkey, then there are many thoughts and the whole mind is just filled with crowds -- a marketplace.

Dharana means the capacity to contain. Concentration is part of it. If you can remain with one idea for long, you become capable of the higher possibility of remaining one and the same for a long period -- because if you cannot remain one and the same for a long period, you will be distracted by the objects. A mind, which can remain in deep patience, can remain unmoving, only that mind can come to know one's own divinity. Plz note that it does not mean you become lazy…-:).

Bottom-line is – “ Successful people have one intention for a long period of time and people who are not successful have many intentions for short period of time”. Choose wisely…

A

The 5th Limb - Pratyahara - Withdrawal of Senses

After pranayam, breath regulation is pratyahar, abstraction. Pratyahar is returning back, coming back -- coming in, turning inwards, returning home. Pratyahar works as a bridge between the four, the yoga of the outside, and the last three, the yoga of the inside. The process of return is when the energy is no longer moving outwardly. It is turning inwards. Ordinarily, the energy is moving outward. We waste so much of precious energy in useless things like gossip, worry, random thoughts etc. Now in pratyahar the energy is to be conserved and build up as we will need it in the last 3 limbs. Energy is sapped because we have given the senses too much power over mind. Do not waste the precious energy in senseless situations at any cost,  as in the end you will regret it.

This has to be deeply understood: that senses by themselves are impotent -- unless you cooperate. That's the whole art of yoga. If you don't cooperate senses close. If you don't cooperate conversion starts. If you don't cooperate pratyahar comes in. That's what people who are sitting silently for hours, for years, are doing -- they are trying to drop the cooperation between themselves and their senses. When the energy is not obsessed to see, to hear, to touch; the energy starts moving inwards. That is pratyahar: movement towards the source, movement towards the place from where you have come, movement to the center. Now you are no longer moving to the periphery.

C ya

A

The 4th Limb - Pranayama - Regulated Breathing

Regulated breathing -- is pranayam. Breath is a very important tool all of us have but it is the most under utilized of all. Every rhythm of the breath has a corresponding emotion in the mind when we are angry there is a diff rhythm, when anxious the pattern is different etc. And the opposite is true too. That is, whenever the mind changes, the rhythm of the breath immediately changes. Therefore, if -- if you change that rhythm of the breath -- the mind has to change immediately.

It is always a nice idea to learn the technique properly as incorrect method may be harmful for the body. Pranayam is one of the greatest discoveries that has ever happened. Pranayam is an inner journey. And pranayam is the fourth step on the yogic path -- and there are only eight steps. Half the journey is completed on pranayam. Pranayam never means breath control. It simply means the expansion of the vital energy. Prana-ayam: prana means the vital energy hidden in breathe, and ayam means infinite expansion. 

The 3rd Limb - Asana/Posture

The third limb is posture. Asan/Posture means a relaxed posture i.e. so restful, that there is no need to move the body at all. Do not confuse with the extreme Yoga postures that people do.  True asana/posture is when one learns the grace of the body. The body is just like a guitar. It has to be rightly tuned; only then will the correct music arise out of it. If the very instrument is somehow not in right shape and order, then in no way can great harmony arise out of it? Patanjali says "STHIR SUKHAM ASANAM" -- the posture should be steady and should be very, very blissful, comfortable. So never try to distort the body, and never try to achieve postures that are uncomfortable. If you can be steady and comfortable in a chair, it is perfectly okay -- no need to try a lotus posture and force your body unnecessarily. A posture should be such that one can forget the body.

How to attain to this posture? How to attain this steadiness? Look at the comfort. If body is exactly in deep comfort, in deep rest, feeling good, that should be the criterion with which to judge.

Good Night

A

The 2nd Limb - Fixed Observance

Niyam, fixed observance: a life that has a discipline, a life that has regularity about it. Because unless there is regularity in life, a discipline, we will be a slave of our instincts. That is not freedom. Only a person who has regularity about him can become the master someday.

Now the various subcomponents of Niyam.

First is "purity," shauch. Means purity on 3 fronts - food, body and mind One has to watch one's food. Whatsoever you eat, it is no ordinary matter. You should be careful because your body is constituted of whatsoever you have eaten in the past. Be careful what you eat, be careful what you drink -- be careful how you keep and care for your body. Small things do matter. For an ordinary man they don't matter because he is not going anywhere. Once you start on the spiritual path, everything matters; even the slightest disturbance matters. It is like if you are driving a car to work vis a vis driving on an F-1 track. On the F- 1 track everything matters   -J. Food – vegetarian food that is light on the system and fresh.  Body can be purified by drinking lots of water, eating healthy and exercising regularly. And mind can be purified through meditation.

The second step of niyam is "contentment," santosh. Contentment means: whatsoever is, is beautiful, the feeling that whatsoever is, is the best that can be. A feeling of deep acceptance is santosh, contentment, a feeling of saying yes to the whole existence -- as it is.  Or in other words not being cynical of things, not being negative and stop complaining all the time. Remember that contentment is not consolation. When we console ourselves we are not contented. In fact, there is a very deep discontent inside -- but seeing that discontent creates worry, seeing that discontent creates anxiety, seeing that discontent leads nowhere, so logically, we persuade ourselves that "this is not the way."  Finding that you cannot reach, do not rationalize that the goal is not worth reaching. Contentment is a positive state of being; consolation is suppression.

After contentment, is "austerity," tapa. One can be austere before contentment but then the austerity will be through desire. When a person is content then austerity is not a means; it is just a simple, beautiful way of living. Then it is not a question of having a few things or more -- that is not the problem then. Austerity is simplicity: to live a simple life. What is a simple life? It is like that of a child -- enjoy everything, but don't cling. As LDV said “"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

And then comes "self-study," swadhyaya. A man who has attained to purity, contentment, austerity, only he can study self because now all the garbage is thrown. If there is too much garbage (judgments, prejudices, grudges etc) in the person self cannot be studied, as it will not be self-study, because first all that rubbish will have to be studied. These are very logical steps. After austerity, when you have become very simple, no rubbish accumulates, when you have become so contented, when you have become so innocent and pure, you have become like fragrance, weightless, on the wings, in the air, riding on the air -- then self-study. Now, you can study the self.

The last step in the second stage i.e. surrender to Divine." When you have studied the self, only then can you surrender. Because what will you surrender otherwise? The self is to be surrendered. If you know it well, only then you can surrender. Otherwise how will you surrender?

"Purity, contentment, austerity, self-study, and surrender are the laws to be observed." These are laws for growth. They do not prohibit; they help. They are not restrictive; they are creative.

Cheers

A

The 1st Limb - Self Restraint

Yam means self-restraint. -- In English self-restraint looks like suppressing, repressing. Self-restraint is not repression. Here self-restraint does not mean to repress oneself. It simply means to direct one's life -- not to repress the energies, but to direct, to give them a direction. These energies can be used in such a way that they can become the door for the unlimited.  Because you can live such a life, which goes on moving in opposite directions, in many directions -- then you will never reach anywhere. It is just like a car: the driver goes a few miles to the north, then changes the mind; goes a few miles to the south, then changes the mind; then goes a few miles to the west, then changes the mind; and goes on this way. He will never reach anywhere. He will never have the feeling of fulfillment. You can go on moving in many ways, but unless you have a direction you are moving uselessly. You will feel more and more frustrated and nothing else.

So self-restraint simply means: to give a direction to life and be a little more centered. Direction creates the center; then the center gives direction. And they are mutually fulfilling.

Nonviolence simply means loving life in all its manifestations. Love life so much that you would not like to hurt anybody, that's all. Remember only one thing not to hurt anyone willfully. To be nonviolent means to be beneficial, to be helpful to everybody -- to yourself and to others also.

Truthfulness means authenticity, to be true -- not to use masks: to be natural and at ease anywhere be truthful to yourself. How to remain true? By not being a football of other peoples opinions, what they say for you to be: always listen to your inner voice, what you would like to be. Don't allow others to manipulate and control you.

The third is asteya nonstealing, honesty. Knowledge, things -- nothing should be stolen.

Brahmacharya. It has been translated as "sexual continence," celibacy. But sexual celibacy is a very narrow thing; it is one part of it, but not the whole of it. Brahmacharya is not against sex. It means transmutation of the energy: it is not being against sex, rather it is changing the whole energy from the sex center to the higher centers. This means: trying to understand sex energy, trying to understand how it moves in the body, trying to understand why it gives pleasure, from where pleasure really comes. When the same energy moves upwards you become a dam of energy. That is brahmacharya. You go on accumulating energy. The more you accumulate, the higher it rises.

Nonpossessiveness. For example, if you love a person: if you try to possess the person, then you don't love. And you are not certain about his love also; that's why you create all safety measures, surround him by every trick, cunningness, cleverness, so that he cannot leave you. If you really love, there is no need to possess. Sharing is the meaning of nonpossessiveness.

Limbs/Steps of YOGA

Steps and limbs both, they are both. Steps they are because one has to be followed by another and they are in a deep relationship. The second cannot come before the first -- the first has to be first and the second has to be second.

And limbs because they have an internal unity. For example, an automobile, it has various parts and all of them have to function together for a successful trip. Everything is joined together. And has to function with organic unity, otherwise things won't happen how we want them to happen; internally.

1.     Yam – Self Restraint

Ø Ahimsa – Non Violence

Ø Satya - Truthfulness

Ø Asteya - Honesty

Ø Brahmacharya – Sexual Continence

Ø Aparigraha – Non Possesiveness

2.     Niyam – Fixed Observance

Ø Shaucha - Purity

Ø Santosha -Contentment

Ø Tapas - Austerity

Ø Swadhyaya – Self Study

Ø Ishvarapranidhana – Surrender to the divine

3.     Asana - Posture

4.     Pranayama – Breath Regulation

5.    Pratyahaar – Withdrawl of senses

6.    Dharana – Maintaining Mental Focus

7.    Dhyana - Meditation

8.    Samadhi – Deep state of equanimity

Each of them has to be interpreted properly as if you go by the English translation it is very easy to distort the actual meaning. Next posts we will dissect the 8 limbs one at a time.

Love

Am

What is Yoga - 1

Yoga is a technology to bring the mind to the moment. Yoga means now you are ready not to move into the future. Yoga means you are ready now not to hope and encounter the reality as it is. Unless this moment comes..... we can go on doing asanas, postures; that is not yoga. The postures are just one part. Yoga is an inward turning, you start moving within – because your being is here and now, it is not in the future and you have all possible resources now to live to the fullest. 

Yoga is very scientific as it has nothing as far as belief is concerned; yoga doesn’t say to believe in anything. Yoga says experience. Just like science says experiment, yoga says experience. Experience is an inside experiment. No belief is required, no faith is needed –You will come to the truth, but not through belief, but through your own experience, through your own realization. 

Because right now as we are, it is nothing but - Chaos. Yoga is a discipline, means yoga wants to create a crystallized center in us. As we are, we are a mob within us. I have been observing  for the last few weeks.

I decide to get up early in the morning. And when the alarm sounds somebody in me says, ”Don’t bother. It is cold outside, it is overcast, it is early. And why are you in such a hurry? Lets do it tomorrow.” And I fall asleep again. When I get up I feel bad. And I think, ”This is not good. I should have done it.” I decide again that ”Tomorrow I will do;” and the same thing happens tomorrow because early morning the one who promised is no more there, somebody else is there.

This is a live example of living life as chaos, a crowd. Yoga means now you will have to be a harmony,

you will have to become one. A crystallization is needed; a centering is needed. Everybody wants it, but you cannot ask. You have to earn it! That is why to achieve it a certain discipline is needed. A disciple is a great achievement. All discipline of yoga is an effort to make a person a master of him/herself. As we are slave of many, many desires. Many, many masters are there, and we are just a slave – and pulled in many directions.

Yoga is discipline, a discipline to change oneself.

What are the various components of Yoga, I will discuss in the next post. And I will wake up early tomorrow (6 am - DONE DEAL...-:)
Good Day
Anurag

A commentary, as I understand it.....

So after thinking a lot on what should the next posts be like, I came to a conclusion on why not write a terse commentary on Yoga. Mainly about what exactly it is, what are the different stages on the path of Yoga etc. The time is suitable for such posts as from tomorrow start the NAVARATRIS (9 auspicious nights). You can read about them here.

Here is the deal every day I will put a post about Yoga for the coming 9 days, starting tomorrow. But even before I start let me 1st share a wonderful analogy between Yoga/Spirituality and Sexuality. One of my friends talked about this and he made a lot of sense. Here is a gist of the discussion we had.

In a way the sexual path and spiritual path and are very similar. Remember when we hit teen age, the usual things do not interest us anymore. The toys, dolls, teddy bears are no longer exciting and we want to explore more. Here the game is played by the chemicals in body. Certain hormones are released and they  change our perception and the way of looking at the world in toto. 

Similarly on the spiritual/yogic path when all that other stuff that you thought will make you happy looses its charm we can start -:). You got into relationships, marriage, got the dream job, house, car, etc but still there is some emptiness. When you realize that one can derive transitory happiness from these means then begins the spiritual journey. A journey to put your happiness on self start not the one that will need crutches...-:). THis should not come from a state of denial but rather from a state of abundance and dispassion. As it is very easy to say I do not want that thing, a true seeker is the one who has everything but still does not get caught up in the charm.


Unbelievable, right!!! Not quiet though. The reason is, I stumbled upon the oldest text on Yoga (Patanjali Yogsutras) and the 1st line is - "AND NOW BEGINS THE DISCIPLINE OF YOGA". Just think on this, Patanjali such a great Yogi, started his commentary with the words - AND NOW. The only rational here is that you have tried all the other means and come to a conclusion experientially that none of them are making you happy. So now you can start with YOGA...-:). Smart Guy right.


Only difference is on this path instead of hormones it will be your awareness that will come into use. More the level of awareness more is the progress.


With this I will end the post and start the next one tomorrow.


Happy Navratri....
Anurag

Jokes....

Just to lighten the day...

1. Husband: "Everytime I hit you, you never fight back. How do you manage your anger?"

Wife: "I clean the toilet seat!"

Husband: "How does it help?"

Wife: "I use your toothbrush!" -:).

2. An old man visits his doctor and after thorough examination the doctor tells him: "I have good news and bad news, what would you like to hear first?"

Patient: "Well, give me the bad news first."

Doctor: "You have cancer, I estimate that you have about two years left."

Patient: "Ooh No! That's awefull! In two years my life will be over! What kind of good news could you probably tell me, after this?"

Doctor: "You also have Alzheimer's. In about three months you are going to forget everything I told you."

3. John hoisted his beer and said: "Here's to spending the rest of my life, between the legs of my wife!"

That won him the top prize at the pub for the best toast of the night! He went home and told his wife, Mary, "I won the prize for the best toast of the night."

She said, "What was your toast?"

John said: "Here's to spending the rest of my life, sitting in church beside my wife."

"Oh, that is very nice indeed, John!" Mary said.

The next day, Mary ran into one of John's drinking buddies on the street corner. The man chuckled leeringly and said, "John won the prize the other night at the pub with a toast about you, Mary."

She said, "He told me, and I was a bit surprised myself. You know, he's only been there twice in the last four years. Once he fell asleep, and the other time I had to pull him by the ears to make him come!"

Bye

A