Power of Questions

Isidore Robey, a famous physicist, came to the United States as a small child and grew up on New York City’s Lower East Side.  In an interview he once was asked how a poor immigrant boy was able to become one of the world’s leading physicists.

He replied, “I couldn’t help it.  It was because of my mother. She had a deep appreciation for the search for the truth.  And every single day when I came home from school, she would ask me, ‘Did you ask any good questions today?’”

 According to Arnold Edinburgh, “Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.”  Every new invention began as an answer to a question. So in themselves questions are important, and according to Voltaire, we should “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” It is true that “a fool can ask more questions than a thousand wise men can answer”; but that is altogether another matter.

Indian Thoughts Archives

My India

Desktops, Laptops, Palmtops, Rolltops… technology is advancing or evolving in a cracking pace. All innovations added together have made both the nation and the individual smart. But, this is not the India of my dreams. The more we embrace shortcuts and change our life styles to become smarter and smarter the more we become prone to disappointments of all sorts. India of my dreams is not a crowd luxury mongers but a family of self-confident people who live in a state of peaceful happiness and celestial awareness. 

 

India had a bright past. All that the present world cries to have newly invented were not unknown to India. What is special with India was that we knew how to use knowledge in all its appropriateness. The theory of gravitation, which we attribute to Newton, was originally invented by Bhaskaracharya. (Read it in 'Siddhantha Sirmani’ > part ‘Bhuvanakosam’> Chapter 6. It was Aryabhatta who first said that the earth is round and it is rotating around the sun (read ‘Arybhatiyam’ which Aryabhata 1st wrote in his 23 year in AD 449). It was not Isaac Newton who first said that light is travelling. Instead, it was the great Vijayanagar Empire Guru, Sayanacharya, who prayed, ‘I bow to Thee Sun God who sends light at a speed of 2022 ‘yojana' in half of a ‘nimisha'. Remember that Varahamihira had calculated the longitude and latitude of the city of Alexandria to be 23.7 degrees in the year AD 553, while with Greenwich meantime also, the figure is almost the same - 23.3 degrees. In front of St. George Sanskrit University in Germany, we see a sculpture of our Indian Seer Panini. Know that German grammar is based on the book 'Ashtadhyaayi', which he wrote. 

Our Atharva Veda with all its 51 branches is a complete medical book. The father of Medical Sciences Hippocratus says in his book 117 times that he has heavily drawn from the Indian Mystics, Charaka and Susrutha. Surveys of Washington Post and New York Times say that 65% of the 40 plus people there do Suryanamaskar - the Indian Yoga. Patanjali talks about evolution well in his Natyasasthra. It is Chanakya in ‘Arthasasthra who talked about a one day break in seven days. In the Bodleian library of Oxford University, there are around 2000 numbers of palm leaf records kept at high security. Those 442 Rigveda books in Harvard University belong to India. Maxmuller who learned Sanskrit, translated very many Sanskrit books and finally wrote the Book of Oriental for himself agrees that the whole world will once stretch both its hands before India, just to know what they missed.

 

The Persians, the Dutch, the Portuguese, the French, the English …., all invaded into our country – some with Semitic philosophies and some with Arabian disciplines, but most prepared to loot our open treasuries. Still, India is intact and stands against all recessions and famines. India was always a hard nut to crack, even for the gunmen of the West. How many of us know that India is the only continuing ancient culture of that kind? All other ancient civilizations are under mud, but India is not. Don’t you Indians feel proud of our rich heritage? 

But now, it is very sad to say that the purpose of all social workers, religious or politicians, seems to be looting each other. It pains me heavily. I envision an India in which God Consciousness is a common gift and where parents are honoured, teachers are respected, leaders are followed, siblings are served and the entire humanity is loved unconditionally. Just one determined human being is enough to transform this great nation back to its original ambience – its’ You!

Joseph Mattappally

Teamwork

A man was lost while driving through the country. As he tried to reach for the map, he accidentally drove car off the road into a ditch. Though he wasn't injured, his car was stuck deep in the mud. So the man walked to a nearby farm to ask for help. "Warwick can get you out of that ditch," said the farmer, pointing to an old mule standing in a field. The man looked at the decrepit old mule and looked at the farmer who just stood there repeating,

"Yep, old Warwick can do the job." The man figured he had nothing to lose. The two men and the mule made their way back to the ditch. The farmer hitched the mule to the car. With a snap of the reins, he shouted,

"Pull, Fred! Pull, Jack! Pull, Ted! Pull, Warwick!"

And the mule pulled that car right out of the ditch.

The man was amazed. He thanked the farmer, patted the mule, and asked, "Why did you call out all of those names before you called Warwick?"

The farmer grinned and said, "Old Warwick is just about blind. As long as he believes he's part of a team, he doesn't mind pulling, alone he is very diffident of his abilities."

Indian Thoughts Archives

In Peace

The Baba continued: ‘The shared mission for religions offered by me is to work together for a New World Order that can usher in a culture of peace on earth. This will help to raise their collective consciousness from the divisive to the unities, .. from the sectarian to the universal….

‘We need an inter-religious mission for a culture of peace in India. Most religions speak of ‘peace’ as an important goal….. I myself have lived in four religious traditions during my years of sadhana: Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam and Christianity. I found all of them sharing this mission of peace. Hence, working for a culture of peace in the world can be a common shared mission for all religions of humankind. This will need a new ‘Integrated World Order’….

‘In our Hindu tradition we conclude our prayers with ‘Om shanti… shanti… shanti’. The world ‘Islam’ also means peace. Sadguru Jesus Christ offered his peace to his disciples as his parting gift….

‘All of us want peace irrespective of our religious, cultural, linguistic or geographical backgrounds. The whole world today is hungering and thirsting for peace….

‘True and lasting peace has personal, social and ecological dimensions. The seeds of peace are to be found within individuals…. Forgiveness and reconciliation are basic requirements for peace… We have already seen these requirements….

‘I have developed the Inner Peace Meditation termed ‘Shanti Yagna Meditation’ which will help people to find peace within themselves. You have already learnt it…..

‘True peace also has economic, political, religious, ecological and technological dimensions…. Without peace, there cannot be sustainable development and abiding happiness….

‘Working for peace is a mission that can be shared by all religions….

‘There are scriptures of all religions and many books on ‘Peace’ in our library. Please study them carefully. You can then think on ways and means of developing a new Integrated World Order that will promote a culture of peace in the world. You will also be able to understand the importance of peace for sustainable development and for abiding health and happiness……

‘Have you understood these things well, my son?’ The Baba asked and looked at his disciple questioningly.

The Baba continued after a short silence:

‘I envisage and present ‘Tyagarchana’ as a programme for spiritual unity and revitalisation of religions. Through this simple programme of ‘Tyagarchana’ religions can bring about a spiritual awakening not only of themselves by also of the whole nation and the world……

‘As you know, the term ‘Tyagarchana’ consists of two constituents: ‘Tyaga’ and ‘Archana’. ‘Tyaga’ means to sacrifice something dear to one’s heart voluntarily. ‘Archana’ here implies offering it with loving devotion to God…. 

‘Loving devotion to God is best expressed through loving and selfless service rendered to our own needy fellow human beings. That is what we are trying to do in this Ashram. Observe Mataji and you will see the best practical expressions of Tyagarchana in day to day life.….

‘Voluntary sacrifice and loving service are the two important and interdependent constituents of Tyagarchana. When the sacrifice and service are done prayerfully they have much greater spiritual potentials…. 

‘An amount of money can have a spiritual value in addition to its monetary value when it is saved through one’s own loving sacrifices. This spiritual value alone has the power to transform others and to bring out the best in them. When the amount with such spiritual value is used for serving the needy selflessly with love, it doubles its spiritual strength and transforming power…..

‘Experiences of many show that Tyagarchana can help to reduce selfishness, pride, greed and lust in the lives of those who practice it sincerely. It can also help to bring showers of divine blessings upon them and others.…

‘Tyagarchana is also an inner peace programme. It helps us find peace within. It helps to purify ourselves and develop in us an attitude of gratitude which is one of the greatest spiritual virtues….

‘Tyagarchana is a very effective and powerful tool for promoting the much-needed spiritual awakening of religions in India, and of India as a whole…. It can be practised by all..

‘Skipping one meal and using it for feeding a poor and hungry fellow human being with love is a simple act of Tyagarchana. Giving up some luxury item or celebration, and using the saving to help a poor person is Tyagarchana. Surrendering all our pains and sufferings to God with love and devotion following the example of Sadguru Jesus Christ is the highest form of Tyagarchana….

‘There are three small books on Tyagarchana in our library. These are also in shelf no- 1. You can study this inter-religious sadhana in detail from them. But the best way to understand it is to practice it and experience the fruits of it yourself…’ 

The Baba stopped for a while and looked at Atma Prakash.

‘It is a very simple and deeply spiritual programme guruji. I will start practicing it from today’ Atma Prakash told the Baba.

Excerpts from Integral Revolution

GOD REALIZATION

God communicated God’s Self to humans through creation. This communication of Self is God’s ultimate love for humanity. God created humans in the divine flow of love of God to enjoy the creation with humans. Through creation God made Self present in this world. God made God’s Self present in creatures in different degrees. God’s presence is manifested fully in humans. The Bible talks about God making humans in God’s image and likeness – male and female who complete each other. World’s theology treats God’s presence in creatures in terms of immanence and transcendence. Christian scriptures explain God’s presence as immanent and transcendent at the same time. Hindu scriptures, especially the Advaita interpretation, explains God’s presence in creatures in such an immanent way, that, through sadhana (spiritual exercises), culminates ultimately in the identity of the creator and the created.

God’s very communication to humanity can be seen as God’s grace. Humans have devised sacraments in Christianity and sacred rituals (samskar) in Hinduism that are purported especially to effect or channel grace. In reality God pervades in the whole of creation, and as such God’s presence itself is grace. God is the life force in the core of every being. God’s grace as is easily available for humans’ spirit-life as water is available for the maintenance plant and animal life on earth. 

It requires only our freedom of choice to benefit from God’s grace. God realization can take place through faithfulness to conscience. Discerning God’s will in our daily life and faithfully following it will secure our life in union with God. Various spiritual exercises found in religions are very helpful in going through different stages of God realization. Many sages, seers, and holy men and women have modeled life for humans. Love and truth guided by justice, tolerance, compassion, and non-violence create the right climate for achieving God realization. Despite claims to the contrary, there is no magic formula, person, ritual, or practice is necessary to achieve God realization which is given us at birth and which is our natural destiny. God of freedom, love, mercy, and understanding does not force any human to follow God’s will. As we learn to walk, run, and learn other skills for material and physical well-being, we need to form our conscience and learn a value system and guidelines for living in a society. 

What about heaven and earth, mukti or nirvana (liberation from bondages)? For persons failing in the life’s work of attaining heaven or freeing from bondages, no hell or re-births are envisaged. For those who failed in God-realization at the end of their life, they return to God at the level of consciousness or awareness they were able to achieve on earth to continue their purification (purgatory?) to accomplish their goal before they achieve their perfect union or realization with God. Over two millennia things got very complex and confusing, and many grievous and fatal errors due to false doctrines and suppression of human freedom have taken place. We need to get back to the original charism, spirit, and teachings found in scriptures of persons who gave rise to various religions. Traditions are important only to the extent of their relevance in changed times.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti 

Dead Lawyer

A guy phones a law office and says: "I want to speak to my lawyer."

The receptionist replies, "I'm sorry but he died last week."

The next day he phones again and asks the same question.

The receptionist replies, "I told you yesterday, he died last week."

The next day the guy calls again and asks to speak to his lawyer.

By this time the receptionist is getting a little annoyed and says, "I  keep telling you that your lawyer died last week. Why do you keep calling?"

The guy says, "Because I just love hearing it."

Indian Thoughts Archives

Inner Mahabharata

LL 290 211116 Inner Mahabharata

Indian epics always are subject to multitudes of inner and outer interpretations. This is one touching interpretation for which I owe my unknown friend Krishna. The story goes:

“Sanjay, at the end of the war went to the spot where the greatest war took place; Kurukshetra. He looked around and wondered if the war really happened, if the ground beneath him had soaked all that blood, if the great Pandavas and Krishna stood where he stood. 

“You will never know the truth about that!” said an aging soft voice. Sanjay turned around to find an Old man in saffron robes appearing out of a column of dust. 

“I know you are here to find out about the Kurukshetra war, but you cannot know about that war till you know what the real war is about.” the Old man said enigmatically.

“What do you mean?” 

“The Mahabharata is an Epic, a ballad, perhaps a reality but definitely a philosophy.” 

The Old man smiled luring Sanjay into more questions. 

“Can you tell me what the philosophy is then?” 

Sanjay requested. 

“Sure”, began the Old man. “The Pandavas are nothing but your five senses, sight, smell, taste, touch and sound and do you know what the Kauravas are?” He asked narrowing his eyes. 

 “The Kauravas are the hundred vices that attack your senses everyday but you can fight them and do you know how?”  Sanjay shook his head again. 

“When Krishna rides your chariot!”  The Old man smiled brighter and Sanjay gasped at that gem of insight. 

“Krishna is your inner voice, your soul, your guiding light and if you let your life in his hands you have nothing to worry.”

Sanjay was stupefied but came around quickly with another question. “Then why are Dronacharya and Bhishma fighting for the Kauravas, if they are vices?” 

The Old man nodded, sadder for the question.  “It just means that as you grow up your perception of your elders change. The elders who you thought were perfect in your growing up years are not all that perfect. They have faults.  And one day you will have to decide if they are for your good or your bad. Then you may also realize that you may have to fight them for the good. It is the hardest part of growing up and that is why the Geeta is important.” 

Sanjay slumped down on the ground, not because he was tired but because he could understand and was struck by the enormity of it all. 

 “What about Karna?” he whispered. 

“Ah!” said the Old man. “You have saved the best for last. Karna is the brother to your senses, he is desire, he is a part of you but stands with the vices. He feels wronged and makes excuses for being with the vices as your desire does all the time. 

 Does your desire not give you excuses to embrace vices?” 

Sanjay nodded silently. He looked at the ground, consumed with a million thoughts, trying to put everything together and then when he looked up the Old man was gone. 

Joseph Mattappally