Justice Undone

         The style of an ideal media reporter is different, his eyes might always be scanning the premises around, perhaps like Sherlock Homes. He knows the art of converting an irrelevant development into a hit news. The sports reporter I speak of was in a hurry to leave the bar floor of a Bangalore Hotel, after a few sips. Suddenly his eyes flashed, one of the faces he saw aside a corner table seemed to be quite familiar for him. A thought that he himself has covered this young man flashed through again and again. ‘Oh! Its’ Vishy!’ He murmured. ‘Yeah…it is the same Sadanand Viswanath, India’s one time poster boy. But, why does he look quite lost? The reporter had many more questions to get answered.

It was Vishy, the 23 year old fire bowler who flew many bails off to the midfield and who was mostly instrumental in snatching the Cricket World Cup for India in 1985. The enthusiasm that always filled  his eyes was unique and uptight. The journalist wondered why he disappeared from the scene just after three tests and twenty two one days. He walked towards the guy, looked at his face sharp and asked, “Aren’t you Vishy?” Vishy looked at his strange face for a while. They sat there looking face to face for a while. Vishy looked as if finding a space to land all his miseries. He slowly spoke to him about his painful boyhood, early loss of parents, lost love and finally how he tunneled himself into the Indian Team.

He said that he later worked in a Dubai firm but could not settle there; then came back and worked in a hotel for a while. Vishy finished his touching story. It seemed as if he was justifying the random careless life he led. The journalist slowly stood up and asked him, “Did you do justice to yourself?” He walked out, once again leaving Vishy back in his private world of disappointments.

Years passed by. This reporter was walking into Chinnaswami Stadium Bangalore, busy with a Test Match going on. To his surprise, the journalist saw the same Vishy walking into the stadium. It was not the same desperate man whom he saw in the bar, some years back. Vishy looked quite charged and he could trace the same old enthusiasm in his eyes. Vishy said that he is currently a first class umpire and a powerful coach. He continued, “I admit that I cannot still say that I have done justice to me. However, I have stopped drinking and have begun living as best as I can.”  As this live story of the rise, fall and rise of a genius flashed through, what I thought about was finding an appropriate answer to the question of the journalist, if it was asked to me. There could not be many  who might daringly say “Yes, I have.” 

Joseph Mattappally

Celebrate Life

‘Life is not about waiting for  the  storms to  pass

It is about learning how to  dance  in the rain’

Life is a precious gift from God which is to  be  celebrated. To celebrate  life is to  live your life being mindful of every moment. It means to accept yourself as you are and embrace joyfully all that life offers you. It means to thank  God for each and every moment in your life. Celebrating your life is a daily experience, and not an occasional big event. You celebrate your life as you  live   and your experience becomes another occasion to celebrate. The key to  celebration  is not what you are feeling  but rather what you are experiencing in solidarity with others.

Life is too important to be wasted on worries and trifles. Meditation and relaxation  on  a daily basis will help you to remain calm and face life with equanimity. Count your blessings not your troubles. Live in the present moment, smile often, exercise daily. Dress as becomingly as possible. Count most enjoyable moments of your life. Pray regularly, help others. Prioritise to  do  interesting and important things. Life is a mixture of sunshine and rain, laughter and tears drops, pleasure or pain, high tides and low tides, losses and gains. Life is too short to simply exist. You are given the chance to live the best life possible. Life is a daily choice. The choice to live  consciously and fully is what makes your life meaningful and worthwhile.

Can you think of yourself as a painter and your Life as a blank canvas? Take the biggest brush you can imagine and dip it into the colour of your choice. Be generous with your colour and apply it on the blank canvas. Paint with joy, Create, new piece of art. This is just your life can be-joyful, colourful and vivid! Just the way you want it to  be! You have to  believe,  it is possible. And you have to  believe you have the choice to  make it so. The realization of your dream depends on how badly you desire it and how you’re willing to  work toward it.

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the  more there is in life to  celebrate.

Sr (Dr) Lilly Thockanattu SJL

Mind, conscious & memory 6

Existence was very much here when we were not, and it will continue to be here after we will be gone. We will make no difference whatsoever so far as existence is concerned. Stars will continue to shine as brightly as ever. Flowers will bloom as they have always bloomed. Streams will continue to flow and birds continue to sing. We are like lines drawn on the surface of water: no sooner they are drawn than they disappear. Then why carry this utterly unnecessary burden of “I” on our heads and suffer endlessly? If whole of existence can go without me, why cannot I go without me?

To understand the deeper meaning of non- action is wisdom. To understand non-action is to understand everything. And then every action becomes inaction, then we do without being a doer, then we act through inaction. Non- action is the gate to wisdom. It is alchemy. Passing through ordinary action, if we encounter non-action with understanding, we will soon come upon inaction, which in its turn leads to remembering. Remembering only happens through inaction. Remembering which comes with effort is false, and it is another form of action. Remembering that comes on its own, effortlessly, is real and it comes straight from cosmos. That is why we say that the Vedas are divine revelations. Whenever something comes from beyond- whoever may be the medium- it is divine revelation. The Bible is as much divine knowledge as the Vedas are. That is why Jesus says again and again that his father in heaven speaks through him. And Krishna says, “I am not, only God is; I am God. And it is I who am making the Mahabharata happen; it is all my play.”

Therefore, Krishna says us not to think that we are the doer. With doer comes fear, anxiety and anguish. Every suffering, every sorrow, arises from ego, the doer which is false entity- Maya. We are merely instrument in the hands of the divine. Inaction is the technique of remembering which leads to realization

Wishing you all good health and happiness,

Dr. Dwarakanath, Director, MITRAN foundation- the stress management people

What is your age?

Life is full of problems. While some of them are created by Nature for a purpose, most of them are our own creations and that too without any purpose. A wise person is one who does not create problems for himself and also seeks a purpose behind the problems created by Nature. However, it is easily said than done. Most of us keep on creating new problems in addition to the existing ones. Life is thus spent in this process and its true goal is missed. Not only this, these problems are a constant source of worry and disturb our peace of mind.

I feel there is a need for changing our attitude towards the problems of life. Most of them are trivial and get sorted out in due course. It is a fact that ultimately all our problems get sorted out or become redundant and if we keep this fact in mind, they will not disturb us much. When we look back at our life, we realise that many problems, which appeared so big at that time, look so petty now that we even laugh at our folly of being so upset about them. This is true for most of us and if so, should we also not adopt the same attitude towards our present or future problems? I have a very interesting experience to narrate in this regard.

One of my friends is a frequent visitor to my place and it is always a pleasure to receive him. He is a senior engineer in a government organisation and is rated as a very good officer. Hardly ever did he bring any personal or official problem to my notice. But one morning, he appeared upset and sought my permission to put his problem before me. By his body language I was able to understand the kind of problem he was likely to share with me. I knew that I had no solution to his problem and at the same time I was sure that he himself was capable of sorting it out. Therefore, refusing permission for placing the problem before me, I asked about his age. Though it appeared strange to him, he told me that he had crossed fifty-two a few months back. Then I asked him whether any of his problems, till that age, still remain unresolved. Being an intelligent and good person he could immediately understand my intention. With a smile on his face, his response was that even the problem which he was going to share with me, got sorted out and he didn’t need to share it with me. This response pleased me a lot and I appreciated his wisdom. It is a different matter that then he narrated his problem also but along with the solution with which I fully agreed.

Therefore, whenever we face a problem, an easy way to sort it out is to think that all our past problems got sorted out in due course and so the present problem will also find a way. Our getting upset or frightened only delays the solution. The quicker way out is to keep cool and to trust our inner strength, which is provided by Nature or God.

Rakesh Mittal I AS (Lucknow) 

Into the Hearts of Meccans

Mohammed reminded the Muslims present there that if anybody says that the prophet of God has been in war in Mecca, tell him “Oh tribe of Qusaa, God gave consent not to you but only to the prophet of God. Therefore stop killing people.  It is a great sin not a thing can be achieved by that. If anybody is murdered hereafter, his heir has the freedom to take vengeance or receive compensation from him.” In the referred case, Mohammed paid compensation to the heir of the person who was killed by the tribe of Qusaa. By solving the problem in this manner, Mohammed made a public declaration that nobody should indulge in killing or committing violence and set a very good example. This step naturally influenced the minds of the Meccans and later it resulted in mass conversion of Meccans to Islam. He said to the Meccans, “Oh people to whom I have utmost love. It means that you had always been in an elevated position. If you had not rejected and expelled me I would not have said these.” All these enhanced the respect of the Meccans towards Mohammed.

Abu Bekker produced his aged and blind father before Mohammed. Mohammed had expressed his displeasure in bringing the old man before him. He said that he should have gone to him. Mohammed invited him to sit by his side and requested him to accept Islam. Abu Huwaav (the name of the father of Abu Bekker) decided to embrace Islam. By exemplary conduct and extremely just treatment, Mohammed conquered the hearts of the Meccans.

Mohammed stayed in Mecca for fifteen days. Muslims were very much excited in the victory won by them without shedding any blood. They rushed to the mosque when they heard the call for prayer. They accompanied Mohammed to the Mosque. The Mohajids visited their old houses. It was then that they received a shocking news that the tribe of Halasin who lived a few miles away were marching against Muslims. Havasin tribesmen feared that the Muslims will make them the next target for attack. 

Justice P K Shamsuddin

Truth and Integrity

Truth and integrity are tossed into the ocean of corruption, avarice, revenge and false accusations on a daily basis. Reports of violence and crimes abound in media reports. Fortunately, most racist, casteist, colonial, imperial, and autocratic structures that have maintained a so-called well-behaved life and world order by brutal external force have physically crumbled. But these structures of discrimination and prejudice are still well-entrenched by and large in the hearts and minds of persons. Physical structures that need to usher in a new order, and that respect human rights are enshrined in beautiful volumes of legislated laws but have not been enforced, say, in India. Religions that at one time used to be custodians of moral integrity and values are losing their credibility and moral bite. This is a transitional stage where struggles are being waged among anarchy, vested, regional, and group interests for domination. As long as a broad spectrum of values, rights and interests of an all-inclusive humanity is not secured and safe-guarded, our moral and spiritual progress will be at great risk. Therefore a new sense of urgency and higher level of consciousness and awareness are of paramount importance. This can come only from a fine conscience formed on the basis of a spirituality beyond religions and a universal truth energy that respects everyone’s rights.

I have experienced prejudices and discriminations in my many years of life and work in the “land of the free and the brave” (USA).  I returned to India a few years ago to continue my ministry of unity of humanity and universal brotherhood and sisterhood with a new vigor in my setting stage of life. I did not anymore have to look for my livelihood as I provided for my simple requirements. So I plunged whole-heartedly into my ministry saying to myself: “I have nothing to lose, everything to gain.”

But ever since I arrived, I have been swimming upstream against raging currents. The powerful, sinister forces in a parish I live viciously attacked and defamed me and my wife and damaged my property, and that too led by a misguided parish priest, for up-holding the values that East West Awakening stands for. My relatives mostly abandoned me for not catering to their financial wants as I used to in the past when I was working in the United States. Politicians and their parties and unions do not care as I do not make financial contributions or as I do not go along with their plans. I buy lumbers even as trees are rotting in my property as I do not provide bribes to respective officers. My trust has been severely betrayed by some relatives and a close friend causing huge financial loss. I did not have much luck with the law enforcement department. I am pleading my own case filed against me by the one who betrayed my trust on account of his own insatiable greed. A magazine called Osanna clamoring for reform has an article on me without mentioning my name and depicting me as a fraud and a time-tomb. That means the so-called reformers also can be corrupt!

Even as I am writing this, we are facing a vicious false accusation against a trusted Ashram member from a former employee.  My older brother living a quiet life had, calling my pet name, warned me: “What you are telling is true and right, but you are not going to go anywhere if you do not toe the line of those who are in authority and have power even though they are corrupt or blind. I, for instance, go for regular religious worship, not because of those leaders but because of my convictions in my heart. I do not have the energy to fight the corrupt religious or political system. I can only wish you good luck”. I suffered from many discriminations, prejudices, violations of rights, and a false law-suit in the United States. I am suffering from denigrations and violations of  rights and a false law-suit in my country of birth (India). Yet these are the only two countries I wish to live, the oldest and the biggest democracies. Both have their strengths and drawbacks. In spite of adversities I am not a quitter as I am spiritually in a vigorous condition. I am just one person in this vast universe doing what I can. I know in my heart that ultimately Truth and Integrity will triumph. Life of truth is worth living no matter what.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti  

Feel Appropriately

I remember an old folk story according to which there was a poor illiterate farmer who never prayed in his life. Somebody had told him that God will appear before a fervent faithful only once in his lifetime. The farmer thought it to be true and patiently waited without ever praying until he got old.  When he was old, he turned his head upwards and prayed, “Oh God, now you may show up.” As he thought God would do, God appeared before him. He was convinced that he will get any one thing he asks for.

“Why did you call me?” God asked him.

“Grant me everything I wish.” 

The farmer presented his long mended cunning demand, without any hesitation. “You will feel whatever you wish,” answered God and then disappeared behind the clouds, without even waiting for a note of gratitude. By the time he realized that he was only permitted to feel what he wish and he has been cheated by his own crookedness, God had disappeared. However, he opted to accept the boon and began living aware of God presence always. The story continued saying that he lived happily all his life. He never wanted anything more.

This story came to my mind when I happened to read the story of a farmer by name Dashrath Majhi, who lived in a remote village in Bihar. His wife died without any treatment, because the nearest town with a Doctor was 70 km away from their village. Well, that could have been a far shorter distance, if not for a hill in between the village and the town. Dashrath did not want anyone else to suffer the same fate any more. So he did the unthinkable: Dashrath Manjhi's claim to fame has been the herculean task of single-handedly carving a 360-foot-long (110 m), 25-foot-high (7.6 m) and 30-foot-wide (9.1 m) road by cutting the mountain of Gehlour hills with a hammer, chisel and nails working day and night for 22 years from 1960 to 1982. This passage reduced the distance between Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya district from 70 km to just 7 km.

I assume that this man could be the centre of the folk story I was reminded here. Without such a feeling of God presence, I’m sure that he could not have finished this road. With such an empowering feeling of God presence, nothing is impossible. Perhaps, he would have been the happiest man in the village because he only could make everybody in the village happy, in spite of religious, political, sexual, caste, age, language and cultural indifferences.

Joseph Mattappally 

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm has a great cloak which can conceal lame talents, dwarfed ambitions, and mangy personalities. It has a sparkle like sunlight on rippling waters and can cause dedicated failures to  be  delightful. You can buy a man’s time. You can buy a man’s physical presence at a given place. You can even buy a measured number of skilled muscular actions per hour per day. But you cannot buy enthusiasm, you cannot buy initiative, you cannot buy loyalty. You cannot buy the devotion of a heart, mind and soul; you have to  earn  these things (Ed  Liden). 

Enthusiasm finds opportunities, and energy makes the most of them. The noblest definition for enthusiasm is by Greeks, meaning ”God in us.” There is no substitute for enthusiasm. When the members of a team are enthusiastic, the whole team becomes highly energized. And that energy produces power. Industrialist Charles Schwab observed, “People can succeed at almost anything for which they have enthusiasm”.

You cannot win if you do not begin. To conquer fear, you have to feel the fear and take action. You’ve got to get yourself moving. Likewise, if you want to be enthusiastic, you need to  start acting that way. If you wait for the feeling before acting, you may never become enthusiastic. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates remarked, ‘’What I do best is share my enthusiasm”. Obviously that ability has brought the people in  his  organisation immense success.

A good way to  fire up your own furnace is to  do things with greater urgency. A second way to is to do more. And the third is to strive for excellence. Many decades ago, Charles Schwab, who was earning a salary of a million dollars a year, was asked if he was paid such a high salary of his exceptional ability to produce steel. Charles Schwab replied, ‘I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among the men is the greatest asset I possess, and the way to develop the best is in a man is by appreciation and encouragement”.

The worst bankrupt is the person who has lost enthusiasm. Carefully managed enthusiasm is a most splendid business resource that can inspire dedication, drive, originality and above all, results. What is more, enthusiasm is highly contagious and can bring out the health, happiness and success in everyone.

Sr (Dr) Lilly Thockanattu SJL 

Mind, Conscious & Memory (Part V)

Between action and inaction there is akarma or non-action, which means a special kind of action. Inaction is ego-less action and action is egoistic action, so the non- action is a special kind of action. What does Krishna means by non-action? Where there is neither a doer nor a doing, yet things happen there is non-action-vikarma. For example we breathe, which we are not required to do by our own effort. Similarly, the blood circulates throughout our body, the food is digested and the heart beats. How can we categorize these acts? They come in the category of non-action, which means actions happening without a doer and without a sense of volitional doing. An ordinary person lives in action- karma, a sanyasin lives in inaction- akarma, and God is in non-action- vikarma. As for as God’s action is concerned there is neither the doer nor any doing of any kind we know. There things just happens; it is just happening. Should we think it is we who breathe? Then we are mistaken. If we were the master of this action known as breathing, then we should never die. Then we can continue to breathe even when death knocks at our door. Many things of life are like breathing, and they just happen.

If we understand rightly what non-action is, and we come to know its mystery, we will soon enter into a state of inaction which is acting without a center, an ego. Then we know that every significant thing in life happens on its own and it is utterly stupid to be a doer. And then we are wise and then alone we are a sage. We live in action. But if we understand what non-action is we will begin to live in inaction. Then inaction will be at the center of our being and action at its periphery.  Inaction is the foundational to Krishna’s devotion or upasana or whatever we wish to call it. We don’t have to do a thing, and we have only to allow that which is happening. We have to die to our doer, to our ego. And the moment doer disappears, remembering happens. This doer is the steel wall that separates us from our authentic being and makes us forget it. As long as this wall remains we cannot know who we are. Chanting God’s name or repeating the mantra “I am God” will not help, because it is the doer in us who chants and repeats the name, the mantra. As long as we exist as ego, we can do what we will, nothing will happen. So let the doer go, let the ego disappear. Now the biggest question arises, that is, how will the doer go? Just let us try to understand what non-action is. Let us continue to act, but try to understand what non-action is. Continue to do what we do, and try to understand life. The very understanding of life and its ways will tell us nothing significant in life is in our hands neither we decide to be born nor do we decide to die. Neither we breathe of our own volition, nor do we have a hand in the circulation of our blood. We are not consulted before our birth nor will we be consulted when our time arrives to depart from this world. Do we have a say in when we grow from childhood to youth to old age? Then why carry the burden of ego all our life?

Wishing you all good health and happiness,

Dr. Dwarakanath, Director, MITRAN foundation- the stress management people

Investing in a Book

A lot is said about good books. Good books are our best friends and can bring a great change in life. I have realised this in my own life. Till the age of thirty, I was not fond of reading books other than the course books. But a time came in my life when I started reading good books and they have enlarged my vision immensely. Not only this, as a result of this expansion, I myself started penning down my experiences and by now they have been published in the form of many books. Since these books are based on real-life experiences, they have been found to be useful and have reached thousands of readers. This in turn has given me great satisfaction and joy.

One of my books is titled ‘Swastha Chintan Ke Path Par’ and its cover price is one hundred rupees. One day, I received a phone call from a stranger in Lucknow who introduced himself as a reader of this book and conveyed his appreciation for it. His appreciation naturally gave me pleasure but this pleasure multiplied when he told me the reason of his appreciation. He said that he had decided to change the flooring of his house before reading the book which was to cost him about one lakh rupees. However, when he read a chapter in the book on ‘simple living’, he started liking his flooring because, essentially, there was nothing wrong with that except that it had become obsolete. As far as utility was concerned, it was perhaps more. Thus an investment of one hundred rupees in the book saved his one lakh rupees. For a moment I also felt that this single call had paid back all my efforts in writing the book. I could think of no better investment than this with such a high dividend.

The same holds true for all our investments in good things whether physical, material, intellectual or spiritual. On the face of it, they may appear to be paying no dividend but their intangible benefit is so high that it surpasses all tangible benefits. Whether it is good health, good mind or positive thinking, all these make a great difference in our life. A good book is perhaps the best investment from this point of view. 

Rakesh Mittal I A S

My Life is with You

Mohammed’s declaration that you are free was a relief to the Meccan people who had entered into a conspiracy to kill him and were unleashing all kinds of torture and persecution against Mohammed and his companions. There were people who waged various wars against the religion of Islam. It was such people who stood before Mohammed with fear and anxiety, without knowing what kind of punishment was awaiting them. To their great surprise and relief, Mohammed declared that they are all free.

Mohammed entered into Kaba. There were statues and pictures of prophets and angels, including the statue of prophet Abraham. Mohammed removed all these pictures and statues from Kaba. The angels were depicted in the form of beautiful women. There were idols of other saintly people also. All these were removed. He convinced the Qureshis that these statues and idols will not do any good thing to them.

The people of Medina who gave refuge to Mohammed and Muslims were witnessing all these events. A fear arose in their minds that if Mecca has surrendered to Mohammed whether Mohammed would make Mecca his permanent place of residence. Mohammed found that something was disturbing the minds of the people of Medina. He asked them about it. With some hesitation they expressed their fear. Mohammed said, “My life is with you and my death also will be with you.” Mohammed fully observed his treaty with them at Ataba. He did not disappoint the people of Medina who stood by him during all his great troubles.

After the victory over Mecca, the tribe of Qvatha met with a man from the tribe of Hubai and they killed him. Mohammed knew about this and he got angry. He went to the people and addressed them, “Oh people God has given Purity to the city of Mecca from the time He created heaven and earth till the day of judgment. That purity should be maintained. None who believes in the world hereafter should shed blood or even cut a vein in Mecca. Nobody is given permission to do so before and even to me only for a limited period that such a permission shall given.” And immediately thereafter, this purity was reestablished. He also asked all those present there to convey the message to all who are not present. 

Justice P K Shamsuddin

Purpose of Life

What are we in this world for? What is the purpose of our life? These questions have absorbed the minds of scientists and believers all over the world from the beginning of conscious, human life. Science really has no answer. Purpose of life does not fall in the purview of science. Faith provides answers for the believers. Yet faith and science can work in harmony as the whole human endeavor is to find meaning for life.

When I left home at the age of 17 to become a sanyasi (monk) in a religious order, I was motivated by accomplishing my salvation. More concretely, I wanted to become a saint and bring others to God. Examining and analyzing my motive in becoming a monk years later, I came to the realization that death anxiety among other considerations may also have played a major role in my decision. Existentialist psychologists consider death anxiety to be a great motivating factor. Bringing philosophy, theology, spirituality, and psychology to throw light on the purpose of life, ultimately the blind leap of faith alone can make any sense out of life. One has to believe in some kind of organizing intelligence or higher power (God) to explain the universe.

Indian scriptures state: Ajnanenavrtam jnanam: Knowledge is covered by ignorance. The Hindu philosophy which is also theology holds that a human is born in ignorance, lives in ignorance, and dies in  ignorance. Ignorance is the chief enemy. Information from the outside world is subjected to experience and processed to acquire knowledge. Knowledge percolating into life through experience acquires insight and becomes wisdom. Wisdom through a difficult process of discernment removes avidya (non-knowledge) that are really different layers of maya (illusion) to attain moksha (liberation). This long and tedious process, of course, requires many transmigrations of the soul or rebirths.

Christianity holds  humans, except Christ and his earthly mother, Mary, are  born in original sin and suffer from the terrible effects of original sin. Christ came into this world to liberate humans from the devastating effects of the original sin. Belief in Christ as the savior who mediates between God and human is necessary for the sanctifying grace that paves the way for salvation.

Both Hindu and Christian explanations and speculations are not satisfactory to the human mind in that both require faith. Should we then look for a third explanation that is related to conscience (antaryamin) that is in every human?! Here the formation of a conscience absorbing the best from every religion acquires supreme importance. Conscience formed by the best in all religions, and guided by a harmonious, blissful, universal value system headed by truth can set us free from all that prevents us from reaching the fullness of being (God). Here then Truth is God as  Mahatma Gandhi surmised, nay, concluded from his experiments with truth in his final stage of life. We may not have much here, but this is all we have if we do not take the blind leap of faith. Yet once we take that leap of total surrendering, we can be like the baby in the hands of a fully trusted father, who is tossed in the air and enjoys the thrill and excitement of that bounce without any care in the world. We can also think of the Supreme Being (God) as the full reality reflecting in our consciousness as a good and clean mirror.

Swami (Dr) Snehanada Jyoti

Masks of Honour

May I tell you an old Indian story. There lived a very cruel king by name Virat Singh. All the people in the country feared this cruel ruler. The king had a dog called Jack, which he loved more than anything. One fateful morning Jack died. Virat Singh organized a ceremonial burial for the dog and the entire city was present at the royal cemetery. Virat Singh was very happy to see that his people love him so much. After a few days, Virat Singh died. The story tells us that no one from the city attended his funeral.

We know that the entire city came to see off the dog only because they feared Virat Singh. They pretended that they love Virat Singh. I’m of the opinion that not a human being, who hasn’t tried at least one mask in his/her whole life has crossed this world. A basic study over the masks we regularly use might reveal that the emotions we express and thoughts within never match. If we observe ourselves more carefully, we will be surprised to see the number of masks we wear each day. Perhaps we might not have appeared anywhere without masks. It could be because we are afraid to be natural by speaking what we think or doing what we say. Whom are we afraid of? The answer is certainly, ‘we ourselves’. Most surprising is the fact that each player thinks that he/she wears the best mask and nobody is going to break it. I remind my friends, the truth that every time we wear masks they are detected by some degree.

One fine day, Akbar lost his ring. Akbar told Birbal, “I have lost my ring. My father had given it to me as a gift. Please help me find it.”  Birbal said, ”Do not worry your Majesty, I will find your ring right now.” He said, ”Your Majesty, the ring is here in this court itself, it is with one of the courtier. The courtier who has a straw in his beard has your ring.”  The courtier who had the emperors ring was shocked and immediately moved his hand over his beard. Birbal noticed this act of the courtier. He immediately pointed towards the courtier and said, ”Please search this man. He has the emperors ring.”

How at peace each one would have been without masks? I don’t know. However I need not agree with those who argue that we need some masks every time. Anyway, the sale prices of masks also have gone up and fancy masks are very expensive these days because even the animals have begun using them. 

Joseph Mattappally

Instill Hope to Empower

“The word which  God  has written on the brow of every man is hope.”                      Victor  Hugo

A  reporter  asked Prime minister Winston Churchill, who led Britain during the dark moments of the  Second  World War, what was the greatest weapon his country possessed against Nazi regime of Hitler. Without pausing for even a moment Churchill said, ”It was what England’s greatest weapon has  always been - hope”. Hope is one of the most powerful and energizing word in the English language. It is something that gives us power to  keep  going in the toughest of times. And its power energises us with excitement and anticipation as we look forward toward the future. It’s been said that a person can live forty days without food, four days without water, four  minutes without air but only four seconds without hope.

When someone praises you, doesn’t your energy level go up?  And when you are criticized, does not  that  comment drag you down?  Words have great power. Helping another person to win is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Recognition is greatly appreciated by everyone, not just people in business and industry. Even a little bit of recognition can go  an  incredibly long way in a person’s life. Everyone is hungry for appreciation and recognition. As you interact with people, walk slowly through the crowd.

Remember people’s names and take time to  show  that you care. Make other people  a priority in your life over everything, including your agenda and schedule. It will make you a person of significant influence in their lives. Empowerment makes people more confident, energetic and productive. As you empower  others , you will find that most aspects of your life will change for the better. Empowering others can free you personally to  have  more time for the important things in your life, increase your influence with others and make a positive impact in the lives of the people you empower.

HOPE   is wishing something will happen; FAITH is believing  something will happen; COURAGE  is making something happen.

Sr(Dr) Lilly Thokkanattu SJL

Mind, Conscious & Memory (Part IV)

Krishna gives so much emphasis on akarma or inaction. In-action in depth is his message. As discussed earlier, even if we want to remember a friend’s name we cannot succeed as long as we go on straining our mind. Memory comes alive only when we give up efforts and become totally inactive. Similarly if we become totally inactive – inactive in depth- the memory buried in the cosmic unconsciousness will spring like an arrow from there and shoot up to our conscious mind. And when the meteor of remembering, awareness arising from the cosmic unconscious, reaches and illumines our conscious mind, we know who we are. So inaction is the key to remembering, as remembering is the key to devotion. On the other hand, action is the central to spiritual discipline, it is only through action that we can discipline our self and achieve our goal. And inaction is the door to devotion.  It would be good to properly understand Krishna’s principle of inaction. Unfortunately it is not properly understood by many, many interpreted Krishna, thought inaction as renunciation. Here renunciation is escapism, escape from life. And all this happened in the name of Krishna. Few bothered to see that Krishna himself is not a person who led a life of renunciation; he never left his world, his family and his worldly responsibilities. He loves, marries, fights wars and negotiates peace. He does many other things. So by no stretch of imagination can Krishna’s inaction be interpreted as renunciation and escape.  

In this context Krishna uses 3 words: akarma, karma and vikarma, meaning inaction, action and non-action. What is action? According to Krishna, mere doing is not action. It is true- if any kind of doing is action, then one could never enter into inaction. Then the inaction of Krishna’s definition will be impossible. For Krishna, action is that which you do as a doer, as an ego, an egocentric act, an act in which the doer is always present. As long as ‘I’ remain as a doer, whatever we do is action- karma. Even if we take sanyas it is an act, an action. Even renunciation becomes an action if a doer is present in the act. 

Inaction is just the opposite kind of action- it is action without a doer. Inaction does not mean absence of action, but it certainly means absence of the doer. An egoless action is inaction. If I do a thing without the egoistic sense that I am the doer, that I am the center of this action, it is inaction. It has to be clearly understood, inaction is not laziness. If the center, the ego, the I, the doer, ceases and only action remains, it is inaction. Krishna’s every action is egoless, and therefore it is inaction. Between action and inaction there is akarma or non-action, which means a special kind of action. Inaction is ego-less action and action is egoistic action, so the non- action is a special kind of action. The thing which is in between action and inaction, Krishna calls non- action should be understood rightly.

Wishing you all health and happiness,

Dr. Dwarakanath, Director, MITRAN foundation- the stress management people

Oust my Son

When I was the commissioner of Lucknow, a retired civil servant came to meet me in my office. I didn’t know him closely and had only heard his name but he felt close to me. He had a personal problem and wanted me to solve it with the help of my official position. The problem was his only son who was married and was living in the same house, on the first floor. The son had been brought up with lots of love and was married in due course. The daughter-in-law was also to their liking, at least in the initial years of marriage.

The son was not very sound financially but his wife also being a working woman, they were somehow managing by themselves. To begin with, the family was living together with a common kitchen but gradually the kitchen had to be separated and the son shifted to the first floor. The house was owned by the father. In due course, even living as neighbours became difficult and things reached to such a pass that the father wanted his son to vacate the house. The son was not willing to do so, mainly because of financial reasons, and this had become a bone of contention between the father and the son. The father had come to me to get his house vacated. I listened to his problem patiently without intervening, till he finished. As soon as he completed, I asked him whether he had come to me thinking of me as a commissioner or as a well-wisher. I also told him that as a commissioner, I was not in a position to help him because it was his personal problem, but I could certainly be of help as a person provided he desired so. Being a good person, he could understand my point and agreed to listen to my personal advice.

Then I told him that the problem was not with his son but with himself. His attachment, expectations as well as his ego were the main cause of the issue. I also told him that if at all separation from them was an answer to the problem, he should vacate the house instead of asking his son to do so. He was listening to me seriously, which encouraged me to advise further. I said that according to me, separation was not the answer to the problem and in all probability it would only aggravate it. The answer lied in shedding the ego and developing an attitude of detachment in their relationship. For this, he should start treating his son as his tenant whose help could be sought only in an emergency. For this, even if a nominal rent was to be charged, there was no harm in doing that also. After all, if his son vacated the house, he would have to search for a tenant.

The elderly gentleman took my advice seriously and without speaking much thanked me and left the place. His body language conveyed that he was going to follow my counsel and he actually did. He met me again after a few months and thanked me profusely for having given him a very pragmatic advice. At that time, his wife was also with him and she was very happy too. They both admitted that the major fault was at their end and once they took care of that, the relationship improved. Now they were living happily with their son as neighbours, and he, like a tenant. Since then whenever we meet, he never forgets to mention this episode. 

 Rakesh Mittal I A S

You are Free

Muslim army entered Mecca. Only the division at the command of Khalid Ibn Walid met resistance. Mecca was a place where the people had great hatred towards Mohammed. A few of the  Meccans attacked Banu Bekker Qusa, an allie of Mohammed, in violation of the terms of treaty of Ubaidiya. They came forward to fight the Muslim army. In the forefront were Ikrima Bin Abu Jahai, Sawan and Suhail. When the division commanded by Khalid Ibn Walid was marching forward, these people started shedding arrows towards them. The Muslim camp lost two persons while the Meccans lost thirteen persons engaged in fighting. Finding that they would not be able to resist the Muslim army Ikrima and Fatwan ran away leaving their soldiers to the mercy of Walid. 

Mohammed was happy about the victory won by the Muslim army peacefully without much resistance. It was at that time that Mohammed knew about the confrontation of a small division of army with this division at the command of Khalid Ibn Walid. Mohammed was very sad about that. And again he brought to the notice of the Muslim army about his declaration, not to kill anybody or shed any blood. The Muslim army informed him about the circumstances under which the division under the command of Walid was forced to fight with the army led by Ikrima and group, who attacked with arrows. 

Mohammed camped at the place in the front of the mountain of Hint near the place where the viewed burial ground where Abu Talif and Khadija were laid to rest. He moved to his camp and then place from where he and his companions were expelled. He found that he is back in the same place with flying colours without much resistance. Mohammed thanked God for the mercy shown to him. He viewed the village valley and the surrounding mountain to which he used to retire whenever the  behavior of  Meccans turned unbearable. He was convinced that he has completed the task entrusted to him. He left the camp on his  camel Ksaba for Kaba. He circambulated Kaba seven times and finishing circambulation he called Usman Ibn and asked him to open the doors of Kaba. Mohammed stood at the doors of Kaba and addressed the audients gathered at the mosque. They replied only goodness, “You are charitable, and the son of a charitable father.” Prophet said, “You are free. You can go.”

Justice P K Shamsuddin