Zeal

All true zeal for God is zeal also for love, mercy and goodness- R.E. Thompson

To bear up under loss; to fight the bitterness of defeat and the weakness of grief; to be victor over anger; to smile when tears are close; to resist disease and evil men and base instincts; to hate hate, and to love love; to go on when it would seem good to die; to look up with unquenchable faith in something ever more about to be --- that is what any man can do, and be great. G.K. Chesterton says the contentment is real, even an active, virtue--not only affirmative but creative. It is the power of getting out of any situation all there is in it. The effective person is seen as being able to commit himself to projects, investing time and energy and being willing to take up appropriate economic, psychological and physical risks. He is seen as being able to think in different and original, that is, creative ways. Finally, able to control impulses and produce appropriate responses to frustration, hostility and ambiguity.

Fire is the chosen symbol of heaven for moral passion. God is love, God is fire. The two are one. Spirit-filled souls are ablaze for God. They love with a love that glows. They believe with a faith that kindles. They serve with a devotion that consumes. They rejoice with a joy that radiates. Love is perfected in the fire of God. The purpose of life is not to be happy-but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you lived at all. What is a plan? A plan is a method of action, procedure, or arrangement. It is a programme to be done. It is a design to carry into effect an idea, a thought, a project, or a development. Therefore, a plan is a concrete means to help you fulfil your desires.

Thomas Carlyle once received a letter from a young man which read like this, “Mr. Carlyle, I wish to be a teacher. Will you tell me the secret of successful teaching?”

Carlyle immediately wrote back “Be what you would have your pupils be. All other teaching is unblessed mockery.”

Someone ought to do it, but why should I? Someone ought to do it, so why not I? Between these two sentences lie whole centuries of moral evolution - Annie Besant.

Zeal is very blind, or badly regulated, when it encroaches upon the rights of others- Quesnel

Sr(Dr) Lilly Thokkanattu SJL

Krishna on Bondage

Krishna says a wise man gives up attachment to the fruits of action and attains to freedom from bondage of birth and death. The whole thing needs to be understood in depth. Firstly, Krishna does not talk about our release from action itself. He emphasizes release from attachment to the fruits of action. He does not ask us to give up action and become inactive. Krishna urges us not to do something with a motive, with an eye on results of the action. There is a meaningful difference between action and the fruit of action. I would like to go deeply into the important matter of action without attachment to its fruits, because it is really arduous. If someone tells us to do something, but not to expect any result from it, we will say,” It is sheer madness to suggest such a thing. If there is no motive to work, why should one work at all?”

This phrase, “Freedom from attachment to the fruits of action” has put many interpreters of Krishna in difficulty. So many found a clever way to circumvent the real meaning of Krishna’s teaching and bring in “Fruit of action” by the back door. They said one who relinquishes attachment to the result of one’s labour attains moksha, liberation. So the fruit of action is in the form of liberation. It is the same if we say that one attains to liberation if he gives up his attachment to fruit of action. Krishna is not providing an incentive to desire less action. An action with an incentive can never be desire less, because what is incentive but a desire for result? Krishna’s “release from bondage” is a consequence which follows desire less action as its shadow. 

Krishna does not say that those who want to be free from the bondage of birth should give up attachment to the fruit of their action. If he says so, he is providing a motive, he is contradicting himself. No, he only says that freedom or liberation is a consequence of desire less action, not its motive. One who desires liberation or freedom can find it very difficult to come to it, because desiring is the barrier. So the question is: How to work without attachment to result?  

Let us contemplate over this and later we shall analyze about two kinds of action in our life!

Wishing you good health & happiness,

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

Secret of Economic Growth

Once I was on Election Commission’s duty as an observer in the state of Bihar. It was for assembly elections in the year 1995. Bihar is a poor state, but the Araria district, the area where I was assigned duty was even poorer. At that time, I was posted at Kolkata and there was a direct train from Sealdah to the place of my duty. 

On my very first visit there, I was amazed to see the socio-economic condition of its people. People there were simple and poor but their happiness index was certainly higher than their urban or more prosperous counterparts. This trait of theirs was exploited fully by their leaders, who had vested interest in keeping them in that condition only. Overall, it was a very rich experience, which not only increased my sensitivity towards poor people but also revealed to me the secret of economic growth. One day, while travelling on a countryside road in the district, I started conducting a survey of people walking or cycling on the roadside. The two parameters I had in mind were their clothes and footwear. I observed both these possessions carefully. As far as clothing was concerned, I noticed that half of them wore only an undergarment (baniyan) and in a good number of cases, it was a torn one. There were some who were bare-bodied, some with a damaged kurta and only about one in ten had put on a shirt or kurta which was in a good condition. More or less the same was the situation with women, many of whom wrapped their upper parts with a sari. In the case of footwear, half of them were barefoot and most of the remaining wore a cheap rubber chappal, which was damaged in a good number of cases. Only about one out of ten had proper shoes on their feet. 

I was touched to see this condition of the majority of people. My attention went to the wardrobes of those rich people who have countless clothes and shoes only to remain unutilised while depriving others. I was not a student of economics but by common sense thought that this could not be the way of economic development. Certainly, it would be much faster, if the entire population had access to their minimum needs. If each Indian woman was to possess one pair of sari, man one pair of shirt and all of them one pair of footwear, the textile and footwear industry would grow at a much faster rate than it does now. The same is true for other needs. 

Economists and planners have failed to bring equity in the development process. I feel that all the disorders of the society are mainly on account of the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. Such growth models cannot sustain for a long time and today’s recession has a lot to do with this failure. Gandhiji had this model of growth in mind which we have failed to follow, and are now paying the price for it. Let us review our priorities and learn from our mistakes. After the above visit, I also started possessing only one pair of shoes and few sets of clothes. Surely, I have been a happier person since then. 

Rakesh Mittal IAS

Be Polite

In today’s modern world, one has to deal with all kinds of people with different temperaments. Politeness helps us to communicate better and a person who can get along well with others is successful in life. Maintaining proper etiquette and speaking properly to a person without offending him or her is politeness. One must not be rude or offensive and must use proper words to convey something as foul language can put off a person. Being polite is all about being considerate and appreciative. A rude person can make the people around him feel offended, unwelcome, uncomfortable or even hurt. You should try to be gentle and honest without being forceful or insistent. 

Treat everyone the same way, even if you are not fond of them and always be courteous. A charming, polite person makes another person feel good. Keep this in mind and be considerate of other people’s needs and opinions. Ensure that you do not make derogatory remarks towards any kind of ethnic, political or religious groups under any circumstances.

Tailor your behaviour to the occasion. Different settings require different standards of formality. A work related dinner, a wedding, a holiday gathering and a funeral will all demand a different tone.

Remember to say please and thank you and be graceful and elegant. Try not to interrupt people when they are talking to someone else or in the middle of something. World over much business, trade transactions and diplomatic ties are carried out. Such dealings require a person to be polite to build up friendly ties.

Practice politeness and you will feel the difference. You will be more popular, likeable and people will be friendlier towards you. You will develop an attractive personality and will have less chances of developing enemies. Others will be impressed by the manner you conduct yourself and will reach out to you. Differences will be settled easily and you will feel that politeness indeed pays off in many ways.

Dr(Mrs) Archana Bharat

Lacking Empathy and Compassion

Two news items shocked me last week (the week of March 16-22, 2014).

1. The series of tragic events that Professor T. J. Joseph of Newman College, Thodupuzha, suffered starting in July of 2010 and culminating in the suicide of his wife and life-mate on March 19. To summarize the events: Professor Joseph’s right wrist was severed in front of his mother and sister near his home by extremely radical, fundamentalist, and terrorist Muslims for alleged defamation of Prophet Muhammed. He underwent an operation that lasted 16 hours. His son was hospitalized after being beaten up in police custody. The college suspends Joseph reportedly for hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslim community. Police files a case against Joseph for causing religious hatred. His suspension and eventual dismissal from the college caused him and his family extreme financial hardships. Mahatma Gandhi University, to which Newman College is affiliated, revokes Joseph’s suspension. A Kerala court acquits Professor Joseph of all charges. The college management fails to re-instate Professor Joseph even though he was cleared of all charges by concerned authorities such as the court and the University before his impending retirement on March 31, 2014. 

2. The arrest of two priests and an altar boy for the alleged horrible murder of Fr. K. J. Thomas, rector and theology professor of St. Peter’s Pontifical Seminary near Bangalore. The report stated that the accused, jockeying for power and control of the seminary, confessed to their crime.

To update the news I want to report that the Diocese of Kothamanangalam has decided to re-instate Professor Joseph, effective March 28, just before his retirement due on March 31, on humanitarian grounds, ostensibly under a great deal of pressure, so he can receive his retirement benefits. I must also say that he did lack some prudence or discretion in that  the controversial item in his question paper could lead to misunderstanding in a very emotionally charged multi-religious community.

A very concerned catholic friend of mine brought to my attention a Manorama TV program of March 21 called Counterpoint. He wanted me to watch it and make my comments. I watched it on my computer, and was affected by the lack of empathy and compassion of the priests representing the Diocese of Kothamangalam. Both the priests representing the management were defensive, and their arguments for delaying the right decision were not at all convincing. At least one person in the top management of the diocese was in priestly training with me in Jnana Deep Vidyapeeth, Pune, where I myself became a professor training priests before I left the Jesuits. That the diocese would follow the advice of a lawyer rather than make decisions in tune with the teachings of Christ, who was the epitome of compassion, deeply disappointed me. It was odd that a sister of Professor Joseph, who is a nun, had to appeal to the church authorities to do the right thing. Justice delayed is justice denied as the great Martin Luther King, Jr., said. It is adding insult to injury when it is implied that Professor Joseph is granted on humanitarian grounds what he has a right to. The management also left in the minds of persons an impression that they made the decision at the last minute and that too under enormous moral pressure. I must also add that the late Cardinal Carlo Martini (a papabilis: someone who could be elected as pope) said in an interview that the Catholic Church is 200 years behind times. I think the Kerala Catholic Church is out-dated by 300 years. That Professor Joseph put up with his long-drawn agony, suffering, and indignities with forbearance shows that there is still hope for the Church.

The ghastly murder of Fr. K. J. Thomas in his own institution that trains priests who are custodians of virtues is just unthinkable. It is reminiscent of what an officer said after seeing the ghost of Hamlet’s murdered father in the story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “There is something rotten in the state of Denmark.” It is also reminiscent of the dark Middle Ages where such horrors were not unknown. It clearly indicates that the Catholic Church needs to extricate itself from the world that rejected Christ, and thoroughly overhaul itself, and purge itself of various cancers, and fully devote itself to reformation and transformation. Today, more than anything, the Church needs empathy and compassion.

Swami (Dr) Snehananda Jyoti

Dodging a Dear One

It is a story of those days when I was studying in a boarding school in Nainital. Our school was on a hill top and we used to get town-turns on special occasions. A town-turn means a permission to go to town for three to four hours. The town was three kilometer down the hill. The episode relates to one such town-turn. I had bought the items of my need and grabbed some snacks in my favorite restaurant. As I was walking down the slopes of the town market, I noticed that a street dog was continuously following me. I took a turn inside a lane but the dog still followed me. He was not barking at me. He was simply following me. I turned towards the dog and shooed him to go back, as if his master was ordering him. He sat down and started swinging his tail rapidly. I gave a closer look. Oh yes! It was ‘Tommy’. 

Tommy was a street dog, who often used to visit our house when my father was posted at Nainital. It was around four-five years ago. As a child, I used to play with him a lot. I always gave him the sides of the bread. He was very friendly with me. I also gave him training to catch a ball. He obeyed me as if I was his full time master. But he was still a street dog. My parents never allowed me to keep him on a full time basis. I still treated him as my pet. Now after four-five years, his looks had changed. He was quite weak. His eyes looked wet, as if he was showing emotions, after meeting me. But now, reality started biting me. I had to return to my school and by no means was I allowed keeping a pet in my school. I couldn’t understand how to dodge him and take a different route. He kept on following me on every turn I took. Ultimately, I entered a tea-shop. Tommy waited outside the shop, swinging his tail rapidly, as if to tell me to come out fast. I asked the shop owner for the back door and came out. This way, I was able to dodge the Tommy and take the route back to my school. But somehow I kept feeling a pinch somewhere inside my heart. 

Life is like that. Many times we have to dodge our dear ones for various kinds of reasons. We do feel a pinch in the initial days, but slowly even that pinch is gone. Sometimes we do need a vent to remove that feeling of pinch. I could vent out my feelings after thirty five years, by writing this article. Find some pinches inside you and do find a way to vent them out. 

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

Thoughts

“Change your thoughts, and you change your world.”- Norman Vincent Peale

Thoughts manifest the reality outside.  Your each action is the externalization of the internal thoughts. If you don’t think, there is no action outside. Descrates says, “I think, therefore I am.” The very existence of a human being is because of thinking. Thought comes first, then action. A thought is not an accident. People who undergo a miserable life experience miserable thoughts. The moment they are able to change such miserable thoughts into happy thoughts, transformation happens internally and externally. Thus, researchers declare that we are the makers of our own destiny. If we are able to empower positive thoughts in our mind, undoubtedly the external reality will change. It has to change.

It is said, “People see what they want to see; people hear what they want to hear; people experience what they want to experience.” So try to reprogram your thoughts by being aware of them at every moment. Let your thoughts be natural, expressing the genuine desire of the heart which is the pure centre and source of everything.

There once, was a bunch of tiny frogs… who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach  the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer the contestants…. The race began… Honestly, no-one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. They heard statements such as: “They will never make it”, “The tower is too high” “It is too difficult” etc. The tiny frogs began collapsing one by one. At the end the tiny frog after a big effort reached the top. A contestant asked the tiny frog, how could make it.  I never listened to the comments of the people, I thought of the power and strength I have.

Be Positive in your Thoughts and Actions.

Sr (Dr) Lilly Thokkanattu SJL

Rituals & Reasons-5

Japa can be used with the awareness that it is a means which helps us to be free of our thoughts. But if we take japa to be an end in itself, of course we will be free of other thoughts but will be a prisoner of japa, which is as good as a thought. Our mind will remain as burdened and as tense as ever. There is not much difference between the mind teeming with thoughts and another filled with chanting of Rama or Ave Maria. At certain level they are equally tense and restless. It is possible a thought filled mind can achieve something worthwhile in the workday world; a few of the thoughts may be found useful, though most thoughts would be wasteful. But a chanting person will say, what helped to free him from wasteful thoughts is something valuable, and he is not going to part with it. This type among us is a man carrying a boat on his head. To give japa the place of Yajna or sacrificial ritual has a deep secret, it is meaning. When Krishna calls it Yajna, a sacrificial ritual, he means to say that japa is also like fire, which first burns its fuel and then burns itself. And it is meaningful only when it burns itself.

So we can use a mantra, a word, a seed word (Bhija Mantra), as a means to cast away other words from our minds. But ultimately the mantra also goes away. If we get attached to mantra, if we start clinging to it, then it will cease to be japa. It will instead turn into a kind of hypnotic trap; we will be a prisoner of its hypnosis. If we become obsessed with japa, we can go berserk. There are people who get so fixated with japa that they begin to derive an infantile kind of gratification from it, and then they can never be able to part with it. Then it becomes pathological. Japa has to be used with awareness. If we are a witness while chanting a name or mantra, if we know that while chanting goes on at the mental level, we remain a witness to it, then we are mankind a right use of japa. And it is only then that some day we will be able to go beyond it. And then japa becomes a Yajna, afire which first burns its fuel- the thoughts and then burns itself. And when we are empty, totally empty, silent within, we attain to meditation, we attain to Samadhi or super-consciousness. 

Krishna gives immense importance to Yajna. That is the reason he gives both knowledge and japa the status of fire. They are Jnana-Yajna and japa-Yajna. The truth is, if we are ready to burn our ego, our “I”, if we are ready to totally efface our self, is ready for Yajna. He alone is deserving of Yajna who is capable of making an offering of his own self into the fire of knowledge. And then all Yajnas fade into insignificance before this great Yajna, which I shall call the Yajna of life.   

Wishing you good health & happiness,

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

The Coffee Machine

In the year 1989, I travelled to the USA via Japan. My wife was also with me. The first leg of our journey was from Delhi to Tokyo where we stayed for three days. The next journey was from Tokyo to San Francisco on the western side of the USA. While travelling on this route, one gains time, which is quite an interesting experience. For example, if we leave Tokyo in the evening of Sunday, the arrival at San Francisco would be in the morning of Sunday. Thus, one can enjoy two Sundays in the same week. This was to happen with us also, as we were scheduled to leave Tokyo on a Sunday evening. 

While we were waiting at the Tokyo airport, the flight got delayed by about an hour. During this waiting period, I felt like having a cup of coffee. In my pocket, there were still some yens left as I had converted most of the yens into dollars before leaving Japan. So I went to a coffee stall but my possession felt short by a few yens. At that time, one yen was equal to about ten paise in India. I thought that the vendor would oblige me by accepting few yens less and give a cup of coffee. 

With this in mind, I approached the salesgirl, who could understand a bit of English. I tried to explain my problem to her and she could also understand. While she wanted to help me, she expressed her inability to do so because the machine would not operate even if the amount was only one yen less than the exact price. At that moment, I remembered the vendors of my own country, where the relationship between a buyer and seller existed on a direct basis and not through a machine. As a result, they could use their discretion in such matters. 

The idea behind narrating this small incident is not to condemn mechanisation, but to show how this large-scale mechanisation has taken away the joy of human relationships. The world today is growing very fast but with this change, human relationships are also changing. In this process, it is difficult to say whether happiness is also increasing. Why difficult, it is certain that the happiness index of mankind has come down with the so-called development. It raises questions about where we are going wrong. 

We are going wrong in the sense that in the modern age man himself has been reduced to a machine. He has been made to believe in certain norms of life, which dub him as modern and successful. Thus, success has become the sole goal of life. Whether it is accompanied by peace or not is not important. The whole turmoil of the modern world is on account of this madness. If we pause for a moment and analyse our life, there is every likelihood of finding a way to happiness. But most of us are too busy to do so and in the process miss the essence of life, which is joy and happiness. Let us not lose the human connection as we modernise ourselves. This is the main agenda before us in modern times. For this, we have to be our own masters and not slaves to machines. 

Rakesh Mittal IAS

Be A Good Spouse

Each marriage is a partnership and a true connection between you and your spouse. Keeping a marriage strong and healthy does take a lot of work but it is a work of heart when you truly love your partner. There needs to be both give and take in all marriages. If you want to be a good spouse, avoid being selfish and hold your spouse’s needs above your own. Things in a relationship should not be taken for granted so express your gratitude and show your spouse how you feel. Don’t forget to share. Marriage involves the celebration of good things, and the talking over of the bad things which helps you through tough times. Share your deep and personal feelings with your spouse. Be careful of your financial situation. It is vital that spending and savings be discussed so as to avoid conflict with one another. Keep track of what you spend and what you save.

Even if you can get everything accomplished by yourself, let your spouse know that he/she is really needed. Spruce up your spouse’s self esteem by showing your dependency on him/her.

Avoid overextending yourself or getting too emotionally involved in hobbies, communities and job skills that your spouse takes second place. It can create conflict and stress between a couple. Maintain a balance so that your marriage remains happy.

In a marriage there will always be habits that bother one or the other spouse. Don’t worry about little things and focus on the bigger things instead. There are bound to be difference of opinions but never go to bed without resolving a quarrel. Try suppressing your egos. Spend time with each other and care for the other’s needs.

Treat your spouse’s relatives with the same affection and respect that you treat your own.

Surprise your spouse with gifts and flowers and show that you love and care. Depending on someone other than your spouse for emotional support can ruin a marriage. Focus on the good things and ignore the bad things to make your marriage happy.

Dr (Mrs) Archana Bharath 

Living for Others

The world famous Helen Keller once said: ”Life is an exciting business and most exciting when lived for others”. Living for others is the best form of loving others. Life without altruism is worthless. Life is interconnectedness. Life is relationship. Lower forms of life are automatically determined in that they have no choice other than to follow their own instinctual imprints. It is only humans that can think, make choices, and come up with free decisions. They can also reflect, evaluate, and even change their decisions if need be. Rational thinking is not linear as intervening emotions play a major part on decisions. Emotions are the motors that drive the decisions into practical living. Thoughts give directions to the decisions. It is not enough that we understand others. Mutual understanding happens only when others understand that we understand them. The surest way to change the world is to change ourselves. That is the only thing within our control. The best way to change others is to be a model for change or being the change we want as Gandhi said. When people do not change, they state in effect that they are satisfied or helpless with their situation. People who meddle in others’ business do not have enough things to keep themselves busy. They think they know what others need to do while they do not have a clue to their own behavior and sense of direction.

We are social beings. We are naturally ordained to other humans. The nucleus of a family is composed of a man and a woman who in reciprocal surrendering to each other become a father and mother, and who as co-creators bring forth into this world other human beings who are trained and modeled at various stages of growth and development by teachers and spiritual guides besides parents. Loving, respecting, and accepting others are essential for loving others. We have to accept them for who they are and not as we would like them to be.  When we accept persons to be the way we like them to be, we desire them to be our own extensions, we want them to be like ourselves. Relationships are rooted in truth, trust, and justice that are bonded in love nourishing the human society. Trying to please and placate persons at the expense of truth eventually backfires. Truth is God, the only source of real energy, and at any time truth is diminished the divine element - the part of God - within us is diminished. And the quality of relationship suffers. One diminished truth or distortion of truth, seemingly harmless on the surface, leads to another, and before we realize, we all end up liars. So, extreme vigilance is needed in our conscious living lest we are swallowed up by the culture of lies, distortions, and exaggerations so prevalent everywhere. Hollywood and Bollywood with their insatiable fans, who do not have a life of their own, are modeling and marketing products so phony that even the most discerning among us fail to distinguish the phony from the genuine, and fantasy from reality. There is nothing in this world more worthwhile and purposeful than loving others and living for others, which is in reality loving ourselves and loving God.

Swami (Dr) Snehananda Jyoti  

Wants To Die Positive

“The Merchant of Death is Dead”, was the headline in the morning newspaper which he read about himself. He was well in his senses, but his face became pale white. He thought: “Is this the way people will remember me after my death?” Actually it was the news regarding the death of his brother. The reporter did not examine the facts correctly and wrote this news about him. 

The error committed by the reporter became one of the top ‘blessing-in-disguise’ situations in history. The person for whom this news was published was none other than the great Swedish Inventor and Philanthropist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. This news article forced him to think differently. He thought that the world will remember him mainly for his invention of dynamite, which became a symbol of destruction. He decided to do something to change this perception. It was this “perception change effort” that made him dedicate his earnings to establish the most coveted prize on this globe, the Nobel Prize. 

Think! Are we doing anything in our day to day life to die positive? Here I cite the title of a famous book by a well known author Robin Sharma, “Who will Cry, When You Die”. You may also read this book to get this message with more anecdotes. 

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

Inter-Connectedness

“I think what makes us human—is our interconnectedness among people. It’s our ability to form and maintain relationships. It’s the barometer by which we call ourselves human.”- Thomas Jane

Life is a chain of events –Life is an inter-connected whole. It starts from womb and ends in the tomb. Each event is inter-connected to the previous one. It is like a movie—each scene is related to the previous and gives birth to the future.  Your tomorrow is born out of the present. It is said that when you are happy the world around you seems happy and when you are sad the world around you too looks gloomy and sad. So the first step in building a happy world is to lay the foundation stone within you. Then you experience the world as a rainbow of colours in all facets of life. Life is a chain. Wherever you go whatever you do---you will remain part of the inter-connected chain of life.

An American soldier wounded by the Japanese owes his life to the Japanese scientist Kitasato, who isolated the germ of tetanus. A Russian soldier is saved by a blood transfusion, which came from an Austrian. A German soldier is shielded from typhoid with the help of the Russian. A Dutch marine in the East Indies is protected from malaria because of the experiments by an Italian. A British flier in North Africa escapes death from surgical infection because of a French man, Pasteur, and a German called Koch and their work with bacteria. Need knows no language or language barriers. Or as someone put it: “We are all brothers and sisters under the skin.”

“Each form of life supports all others, together they weave the grand web of life. Thus there really is no happiness for oneself alone, no suffering that afflicts only others.’’- Daisaku Ikeda

Sr(Dr) Lilly Thokkanattu SJL

Rituals & Reasons-4

Krishna talks about another kind of Yajna which is Japa-Yajna or the ritual of chanting. The secret of Japa is the same as that of knowledge. Japa at first burns all our thoughts, and then it burns itself- the thought of Japa or chanting. For this reason it is called Yajna, because it works like fire. Our mind is stuffed with thoughts, all kinds of junk. So we use a word for chanting, and with the help of this chanting we banish from our mind all other thoughts- except the one thought which is our word for chanting. However, when all other thoughts disappear, then this last thought- the thought of chanting- becomes unnecessary and it drops on its own. It is followed by a state of utter silence which is called ‘Ajapa’ or wordless chanting or non-chanting. So Ajapa too, is a kind of fire, which first burns the fuel and then burns itself.

But there is a danger with chanting, just as with knowledge. In fact, there is danger in with every kind of spiritual discipline. There is no path from which one is not going to deviate. Every path leading to a destination has its by-paths of deviation, and we can/may use them to deviate from our journey. The truth is that we use paths more to digress from them than to reach. For example, Krishna talks about the path of knowledge. For most knowledge is scholarship, information, concepts, ideas, doctrines. If we mistake knowledge-ability for knowledge, we are on a wrong path, we are going astray. Now we cannot attain to truth, to knowledge, even if we claim our head full of all the scriptures there are in the world. And we must remember, ignorance is not as harmful as false knowledge. False knowledge is harmful, pernicious. It is lifeless, it lacks fire altogether. Pseudo knowledge is like ashes left after the fire has been extinguished. We can collect tons, but they are not going to change us. So if someone mistakes scholarship for knowledge he is already off the track.  

It is the same with Japa or chanting. If someone thinks he will reach the truth through chanting the name (just chanting) of Rama or Ave Maria. Chanting is like a thorn- one uses it to take out another thorn sticking in his fresh and throws away the two together. At the end both the thorns are equally useless. If we leave the second thorn in the place of first, thinking it is something valuable, and then we will continue to suffer. And we are for sure a stupid people. But there is no dearth of such stupid people in our present day world. Buddha said a story once. There where a group of scholars and they had to cross a flooded river & they made a boat & crossed the river. Then they carried it all along their journey on head over the land. When the common people laughed at it, they said, “It seems you all are ungrateful people. This boat helped us crossing the river & we are repaying the dept by carrying it over our head. It will stay on our head for ever.” Buddha says many of us turn means into ends and cling to them for the rest of our lives. A boat is useful for crossing a river. But we are not supposed to carry it on our heads after it has served our purpose.

Wishing you good health & happiness,

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

Refusal by Coolie

Once I was waiting at the Aligarh railway station to board a train for Punjab. The train was to leave at about 8:30 p.m. but it was delayed. I had a coolie for my luggage who was also waiting with me. I was carrying my packed food for dinner. As the train was late, I ate the food on the platform itself, sitting on a bench. After that, I bought two oranges, one for myself and the other for the coolie. While doing so, I was filled with compassion and with that subtle ego within, I offered an orange to the coolie. He was absorbed in his own world and, perhaps, this offer disturbed his contemplation. 

As a result, he declined my offer saying that he was in no mood to eat at that time. For a moment, I felt hurt and also insulted. It took me some time to come to terms with this small incident. At that time, I was reading a book by Vivekananda, in which it is often mentioned that it is us, who need the world and not vice versa. Whenever someone offered his or her service to the society, the first advice he gave to others was to drop the ego while serving others. Since this advice of his was fresh in my mind, I immediately related this incident with it. It, then, became clear to me that it was my subtle ego of giving which hurt me and not his refusal. 

These were the initial years of my service. Fortunately, certain incidents of this period turned me into a spiritual seeker. At that time, I was in the nascent stage of seeking and such incidents were certainly programmed by Nature as practical demonstrations of what I was reading in the books. The refusal by the coolie was one of them. Since then my perception about giving to others, in whatever form, changed completely and I started taking all such opportunities as grace of God In due course, I also realised that when we give with the right attitude to the right person, we receive much more from Nature. The return may not come from the same person or persons, but it comes from sources which are often unknown to us. Therefore, to live a life based on calculations or expectations proves counterproductive and mars the joy of giving. Our concern should only be our joy in giving and once it becomes our nature then our returns are taken care of by Nature itself. In that case, even the joy of receiving multiplies. 

The simple refusal of the orange by the coolie taught me this lesson for life. 

Rakesh Mittal IAS

Be a Good Neighbour

Good neighbours are usually unappreciated, but that doesn’t mean that they are unnoticed. They are usually just taken for granted. Some things that our neighbours appreciate are a clean exterior, quiet music, no loud or late parties and driving within speed limit especially if there are children in the neighbourhood. Being helpful is the biggest thing that neighbours appreciate.

On the other hand loud music, blaring T.V. sets, keeping odd hours, driving too fast and leaving garbage on the road and letting your dog make their lawn dirty are not appreciated by anyone in the neighbourhood.

You can start by being a good neighbour yourself. Be friendly and smile and wave at your other neighbours. Start a conversation and enquire about their wellbeing. When new neighbours move in, offer to help. Be sure to introduce yourselves to them and tell them where the good places for eating and shopping are. Make them feel welcome.

If your neighbour is blessed with a baby, offer to lend a hand. Celebrate festivals together and greet them on special occasions. Maintain the area around your home so that it is neat and attractive. Be conscientious about noises that disturb your neighbours such as vacuum cleaners, music, loud talk and barking dogs. Return anything that you borrow from your neighbour as soon as possible. Express your gratitude when you do so, replace anything that belongs to your neighbour that you, your children or your pets break or soil.

Respect your neighbour’s privacy and do not pry in their affairs. Park your car outside your own house.  Invite them over a cup of coffee to discuss and share problems or good news. Try having a get together of all the neighbours at least once a year.

It is not too hard to be a good neighbour. After all don’t you want your neighbours to be good neighbours?

Dr(Mrs) Archana Bharat

God-Men and God-Women

In the context of devastating allegations against Mata Amitananandamayi Ashram in a book named Holy Hell - A Memoir of Faith, Devotion, and Pure Madness - by Gail Tredwell from Australia who served Amritanandamayi in the capacity of a very close personal attendant for 20 years, I take the opportunity to express some thoughts on God men and women. I read the book. I also watched an interview given to Kairali TV by Gail, who was known as Swamini Amritaprana, and before that Gayatri, in the ashram. It is reassuring to hear that the City Police Commissioner of the area stated that he would make an inquiry into the shocking allegations if Ms Tredwell made a complaint to the police even through an e-mail. This is as it should be in a democratic country where legitimate and responsible freedom of expression as well as guarantee of everyone’s reputation is protected. Meanwhile it is discreet and wise for all, including politicians and celebrities, not to take any side in public. Let the truth come out unimpeded by any bias. A rigorous and unbiased inquiry after a complaint is registered can throw the needed light on the veracity of allegations.  The Catholic Church, the most powerful organization in the world, for instance, did not like civil and criminal inquiries by public authorities in cases of pedophilia perpetrated by a handful of wayward and criminal priests, but subjected itself to these inquiries. No human or organization is above law if violation of human rights has taken place. The book and the interview generated a great deal of passion, interest, and curiosity. But at this stage no one knows the truth for sure. I am interested in the topic as I am also a director of an ashram in India, and also as no person working for God and serving people should misuse trust, by making false claims, placed in them by public. I am also interested as a friend of mine visiting me from the United States wanted to visit a close personal attendant of Mata Amritananadamayi at the Ashram. I drove my friend to the ashram but did not have darsana (also darshan meaning vision of a very holy person with divine power) of Mata Amritanandamayi. This friend of a friend, who was a psychotherapist in St. Louis, USA, had contacted me in St. Louis to meet with her before she left St. Louis for India.

The simple truth is: I do not believe any human being has any exclusive divine power that another human being does not have. It is our poverty of thinking, hence lack of insight and wisdom, added to a good dose of poor self-esteem and lack of purpose and direction in life that makes us believe in the tall claims of so-called God-men and God-women. We are sometimes like the poor children possessing precious stones think they are worthless stones. We are all God-men and God-women. We all have our charisms (charism or charisma here means a divinely inspired power or gift) to help connect others with God. Some of us are aware of our unique charism or special openness to God that inspire others for altruism in the service of God. Thus service of God becomes service of humanity. Unfortunately, these special charisms in persons can be exploited by politicians and commercial interests.

Years ago as a young man travelling India visiting various ashrams for ashram experience, I passed through Puttaparthi, but did not stop there to see Sri Sathya Sai Baba. I lived close to Rajnish’s (Osho’s) Ashram in Pune for about 9 years. I did not think of visiting his ashram. I was amused to find a chair that Osho sat in specially exhibited in a least expected place in Munich, Germany, during an itinerary. I must say, though, Osho was very intellectually challednging especially in our culture numbed by a heavy dose of hypocrisy. Pope John Paul II, Mata Amritanandamayi, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and Mother Theresa visited St. Louis, USA, at different times. I had some curiosity to see all of them. But the only person I took trouble in seeing was Mother Theresa. She had no claim to any special power. She was a humble human being serving God through her full dedication to destitutes wherever they were. Unfortunately humanity in spiritual evolutionary consciousness got stuck in venerating and worshipping saints and holy persons. They are mere human beings. They can serve as good models if they are genuine and humble. We need to recognize God’s face in ourselves and others and connect directly with God, letting go of all human mediation. That is the only and sure hope for humanity to arrive at its destiny which is human and divine at the same time.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti

Biased GOD

He was an old office colleague of mine. He used to meet me very often even after I had left that company and started my own. His purpose was just to keep discussing with me some social topics, some philosophical topics or even some topics that relate to spirituality. I always enjoyed discussing with him, because at the end of the debate he used to get convinced with my logic and this always gave me pleasure. This might be my own version that he always gets convinced with my logic, but he always maintained a kind of respect he used to give to me when I was his direct Boss. 

Today, to my little surprise, he started arguing about the existence of GOD in a relatively louder tone. He said that even if GOD is there, he is biased. He wanted to prove that GOD is partial. He has always seen in his life that people doing wrong things every day enjoy lots of wealth and social status and the people who do good deeds remain unrewarded. He gave examples of some of his school and college mates and he showed a lot of envy and jealousy towards their success. I felt that what he has been saying has also occurred to me many times. I read a lot of religious books, moral teaching books, visit a lot of relevant internet sites and sometimes I also feel that all the explanations given appear to be junk. They all start by saying that you need to trust GOD to find him inside yourself. All of this seems to be one-sided. There seems to be no second theory about GOD. It seems to be a creation of our own minds. When our thought process reaches a certain limit, we start avoiding further arguments with ourselves and we say “Okay! We trust that there is surely some super-power who is running this universe and we name it as GOD”. We visit people who explain the same theory again and again to us in different flavours and we claim that we are getting some sense of satisfaction or peace after visiting these so called Gurus. These gurus ask us to abandon logic for understanding GOD. Sometimes we temporarily leave logic out of respect for those gurus; sometimes we leave logic, because others around us have also left it. But! Our journey is rarely over. We keep struggling within ourselves. 

I came up with my logic, in front of my friend. I tried to explain to him in easier words. “My dear friend! There is no need to attribute your failures or success of others to an unknown thing called GOD. Some people do it, because they believe that it will make life easier for them. You may not do it. You do not need to believe in a biased GOD. It is simply destiny, and destiny needs to be biased, that is why we call it destiny. Remember, destiny is ‘Destination’ reached ‘un-knowingly’”. Pick ‘Destin’ from the first word and ‘y’ from the second word”. He was a little mum after hearing this kind of word 

association. By this time his voice tone had also come down. He said, “You are right sir. I need to accept the things the way they are.” I was delighted as he accepted my logic once again. I knew it was wrong, but I could not help enjoying the false pride in winning the debate. On the face, I showed modesty and made a remark, “It was the biased GOD, who wrote the destiny for you, so be cool”. 

But somewhere deep in my heart I was also aware of the limits of my logic. I was still struggling to find the answer to the same question which he initially asked me. “Is GOD biased?” If he is really there, he has to be. 

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

The Power of Recognition

A too common mistake, especially among leaders, is failure to share recognition and show appreciation to others. J C Staehle did an analysis of workers in America and found that the number one cause of dissatisfaction among employees was their superior’s failure to give them credit. It’s difficult for people to follow someone who doesn’t appreciate them for who they are and what they do. As former secretary of defense and World Bank President Robert McNamara said, “Brains are like hearts—they go where they are appreciated.”

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, only the degree varies. Remember people’s names and take time to show them you care and give others recognition at every opportunity.

Travelling during his term as vice President of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson requested a room at Baltimore’s principal hotel. The vice president was travelling alone incognito, without secretary or attendants; it had been a long trip and it showed in his clothes and appearance.  The proprietor, not recognising his distinguished guest, refused him room. After Mr. Jefferson left, the proprietor learned that he had just turned away from his establishment the vice president of United States! The horrified proprietor immediately sent his subordinates out to find Mr. Jefferson and offer him whatever accommodation he wished. Mr. Jefferson had meanwhile taken a room in a small inn not   far from the principal hotel. He sent the subordinate back to their proprietor with this message: “Tell your master I value his good intentions highly, but   if he has no room for a dirty farmer, he shall have none for this vice president!”

Those of us who have had the privilege of hearing the Lord’s words of wisdom at the Final judgement as reported in the Gospels should shudder at the prospect of we being told, “As long as you did it not the least of my brethren, you did it not to me!”

How often in our lives we have a tendency to look at people whom we consider ‘unimportant’ and can –be-ignored-types’, and do not have a desire to come to their aid. If we behave thus, neither will the only One who matters find any substance in our lives!                               

Sr (Dr) Lilly Thokkanattu SJL

Rituals & Reasons-3

Fire attributes to many understandings of human knowledge and wisdom, which is the reason the Yajna is still popular in Hindu religious and spiritual practices. This attribute of fire has deeper and more meaning to it. It is that first it burns its fuel and then burns itself. As soon as the fuel turns into ashes the fire is extinguished. This is deeply representative of knowledge, which first burns the gross of ignorance and then burns itself. It means to say that after our ignorance is dispelled, the ego, the knower himself disappears. The Upanishad says, “While the ignorant wander in darkness the knowledgeable wander in blinding darkness.” For sure this has been said to ridicule the pundits and scholars who subsist on borrowed knowledge. One who attains to true knowledge, what is called wisdom, disappears as an ego, and so there is no way for him to wander in darkness. True knowledge first destroys ignorance and then it destroys the knower too, who ceases to be an ego, an entity. It is like fire that after burning the fuel extinguishes itself. So those who came to know the truth realized that knowledge is like fire. It burns ignorance like fuel, and then burns the knower as an ego, who disappears into emptiness. Therefore, he alone can embark on a journey to knowledge, who is prepared to become an utter emptiness, nothingness. 

There is yet another attribute of fire which is still more relevant to the knowledge of truth. As the fire’s flames rises upward it is visible only to an extent and then disappears into vast space- it becomes invisible. The same is the case with the knowledge of truth. It is related with the knower only to a small extent and then it disappears into that which is unknowable. The visible part of reality is very tiny in comparison with its invisible part which is immense and infinite. For all these reasons fire became a very useful and powerful symbol of knowledge and Krishna ushered in Jnana- Yajna. Worship of knowledge is like worship of fire.  

We shall see more about Japa- ritual chanting in the coming week. 

Wishing you good health & happiness,

Dr. Dwarakanath, Director, Mitran Foundation- the stress management people

Both Disappointed

Once I came across an industrialist-cum-businessman along with his only son in the ashram of my spiritual master Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha at New Delhi. At that time, I was posted as the Regional Development Commissioner for iron and steel. With me was also a friend of mine from Kanpur. He knew the industrialist because he had some industry in Kanpur. My friend was quite surprised to see the industrialist in the ashram, as he was supposed to be a very materialistic person. When enquired, it was revealed that his only son had become a recluse and took no interest in his business. It was only on his son’s insistence that he had come to the ashram. While the purpose of his son was to seek spiritual guidance, the father had come to seek Swamiji’s blessings for bringing his son back to business. 

When my friend introduced me to the businessman and told my designation, he got keenly interested and sought an appointment with me in my office. I thought that his son’s detachment with the world must have had a deep impact on him and, perhaps, he wanted to discuss this matter with me. At that time, I was a beginner in the field of spirituality and didn’t understand human nature very deeply. I thought that if the businessman also turned spiritual, it would be a great benefit to the society. Considering all these points, I fixed up an appointment with him in my office a few days later. 

The gentleman came to my office on the appointed day. When I started the discussion about his son, he appeared disinterested and even my repeated references made no impact on him. At this, I thought that he must be very sad about it and, therefore, avoided the discussion. But soon, he came to his point. At that time, steel was a controlled commodity and had a premium on it. This gentleman wanted some quota of steel so that he could earn some money by selling it in the black market. Firstly, I didn’t believe it but then I found that he was quite serious about it. Not only this, he openly offered some share to me also. I was dumbfounded by his offer. I had no words to respond. I had genuinely expected him to say something sensible, particularly in the backdrop of his only son’s renunciation. But everyone is not fortunate enough to rise above the world and this gentleman was one of them. For him, money was everything and its accumulation was the only purpose of his life. Perhaps, that was the reason why his son had developed a disliking for the material world. But there was no point in talking to him about all this. Therefore, I begged him to excuse me and our meeting ended abruptly. In a way, this appointment was a disappointment for both of us. 

Rakesh Mittal IAS

Be A Good Friend

Friends play a most important part in most people’s lives. Friends might come and go in your life, they might make you laugh and cry, but most of all, they love you for who you are. It does not matter what a person looks like or what kind of clothes he wears, but its what’s on the inside that counts. A true friend will be there no matter what your situation is. Many of your favourite memories are likely to include times you have spent with friends.

Be there for your friends when they need you, not when you need something from them. Good friends do not call up people only to request a favour. Don’t wait for friends to call you. Make an effort to keep in touch with them. Everyone is busy, but if you want to maintain good friendships, you should be proactive about communications and respond to them in a timely manner. Never be part of the gossip train. If you talk about your friends negatively behind their back, it is one of the worst things you can do. Be happy at your friends' successes and celebrate with them. Always be gracious and supportive and go out of your way to help your friend. It is truly said – “A friend in need is a friend indeed”. A simple gesture such as a hug or a smile can show your friends that they are not alone and that you are there for them.

A good friend is someone you can trust and who won’t judge you, someone who won’t put you down or deliberately hurt your feelings, but will show kindness and respect, someone whose company you enjoy and whose loyalty you can depend upon.

A friend will laugh when you laugh, cry when you cry and stick around when things get rough. They will make you smile and accept you for who you are and just lend you an ear when you need to confide or complain. Caring and sharing is what true friendship is all about. Being a good friend and having a group of close friends surrounding you can surely increase your happiness. 

Dr (Mrs) Archana Bharat

Arriving At Truth

Many are truthful. But they do not have the passion for truth. They do not make truth their priority in life. They do not evaluate the credibility of those who transmit truth. The wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi, especially after considering his life to be a continuous experiment with truth, equating, in his later years, truth with God is very poignant. While God is object of faith, truth is an object of direct experience. Truth, freedom, and justice are the fundamental values on which all other virtues are built. Without truth there is no trust. Without trust there is no relationship. And without relationship, there is no human interaction or humanity, for that matter

“I wish you believed me”, said the most significant person in my life.  “I want you to believe me too”, said I in response in the context of some substantial disagreement related to a trivial event leading to important decisions. Truth is not believed, but experienced directly. Every truth experience is a direct experience. Truth is gotten only indirectly from believing another person’s experience of truth or perception or evaluation of what may be going on in another person. This other person may be sincere and may be telling the truth. This version of truth is filtered through one’s experiences, and, therefore, very subjective. This person’s truth may be colored by needs at the time and motivation that is often unconscious.  I have seen persons swearing that they were right or did not misplace something to find out later that they were wrong or did misplace. Our mind does play tricks. That is why psychologists are very concerned about one’s motivation and quality of training in observation. Many significant events in life are directed by unconscious motivation. Psychoanalysis or psychodynamic psychotherapy, hypno-analysis or hypnotherapy, and narco-analysis are powerful tools to uncover the hidden but the truth-revealing unconscious. Of course, to engage in these procedures arduous professional training and strict ethical code need to be in place. Informed consent of the person participating in any of these procedures is essential for protecting human rights. Any of these procedures is interactive and consensual, and hence to be initiated by the client for one’s healing and growth. As what is revealed through these procedures cannot be always hundred percent right, corroboration and confirmation by the client from whom the revelation comes is of paramount importance. The court-ordered or coercive narcoanalysis or the administration of “truth serum” (administration of psychoactive medications to obtain information from those unable or unwilling to provide it)  and the much publicized polygraph (“lie detector tests”) to a party to establish the veracity of an event, for instance, is unethical and, hence, should be prohibited  internationally.

We generally believe that our closest relative or best friend to be telling the truth. But their mind may be tricked to believe they are telling the truth while they are not. They themselves may not be aware of their own, often unwitting, hidden agenda, unconscious motives, and biases and prejudices. Hence they may not be morally responsible for their truth that may turn out to be untruths in reality. Can anyone then have absolute truth? The answer is a simple and straight forward  ‘no’. Does that mean that we cannot arrive at truth? The answer again is ‘no’. Strict criteria, rigorous observation, consistency in approach, one standard for all, freedom from biases and prejudices, and detachment from desired outcome or results are absolutely necessary for someone who searches after truth. One should be extremely careful about loaded  or leading questions in eliciting information.  Examples of leading questions are:  “It is delicious food, isn’t it? Don’t you know this is hundred percent genuine? From these questions, the answers expected are clear. The questioner expects the respondent to agree. These questions in reality are pseudo-questions that already contain the direction of answers. Truly, one’s credibility is at issue in believing certain type of things. In a particular situation your closest relative may be less credible than a person less acquainted with  on account of lack of accurate observation, consistency, internal coherence, reliability, and validity. Truth can  be distorted or embellished. What is required is truth and nothing but the truth. If one direct observation of a close person is found to be inaccurate in an emotional situation, other observations of that person can become suspect in similar emotional settings. From my observations and clinical experiences in the USA and India, I have seen relationships break down again and again because one does not give credence to reports from a close one, and stay, on the contrary, strongly with one’s own perception and, above all, conscience. The aggrieved close party feels disbelieved, and that leads to break-down. If an agreeable disagreement can be embraced in good faith in many controversial and disagreeing perceptions, most of the problems can be dissolved, and break-downs  avoided. The world certainly is going to be a better place with so much more energy and good will. In other words, accepting the other person to have as much integrity as I have, while according generous benefit of doubt can go a long way in promoting harmony and unity of humanity. There will be real truth, and not just travesty of truth which is worse than no truth. Sometimes the best we have is not truth but some fragments of truth, and plenty of disagreements coming from incompatible perceptions. But then this is often the stuff of life from which beautiful patterns and designs can be woven for a rich tapestry of life. Certainly we can celebrate bliss, no matter what. Let the dead preoccupied with the past bury the dead while we engage a gorgeous present life full of future promises. Because we thrive in the present our future is secured. We need to have passion to arrive at truth at any cost.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti