If you take care of your mind, all else will be taken care of

 

Look at your own life in the light of time. Millions of years have passed and millions will come. What is your life? 60, 70 or 100 years? Span of life is insignificant. It is not even a drop in the ocean.  

In terms of space, you simply don't exist. This understanding dissolves the ego. Ego is ignorance of your reality, ignorance of your existence.

Now, just to know this, do we have to do something else? Just open your eyes: Who am I? How am I on this planet? What is my lifetime? Awareness dawns in the mind and you will stop worrying about little things like, this person said this thing to me and that person broke away with me and this happened with that person and I am going to say this.  

All smallness will simply drop away, and you will be able to live every moment of your life. Your life reels around your context. You should be happy in life. All other business involves ups and downs which is very natural.  

If there is a body, then it will get cold, cough, fever or something else and it will go away. But take care to see that happiness is always established in you. That is known as purashaarth. Our love, faith and belief should be deep-rooted, then everything else moves on its own.  

How many events take place in life? Are you able to maintain your equanimity always? Not everything in the world is sweet. If you are grounded with faith, like the husk with grain, you will progress.  

Take this decision: Whatever happens I will be there. I will be grounded. God’s protection is there on me. Whatever happens, I will never go down. I always have God’s hand with me.  

Keep your mind in peace in all situations. The rest will be taken care of. You have to take at least one step forward, which is to be in peace and equanimity. Nothing happened. Nothing of my work happened. If you are able to laugh in such a situation, then understand that you have protection with you.  

The world is filled with love. Everybody has love inside them. You have to see that in your mind. Your head will be in the mud in a few years, don't put mud in your head while you are still alive. If you review the context of your life, the quality of your life will improve.

Stop trying to understand your feelings, emotions

 

All our struggles in life are to know more. You are trying your level best to understand feelings and emotions, and you get into more and more confusion.  

This is what has happened with psychology today. It tries to explain to you why you feel like the way you are feeling. The “why” arises always when you are unhappy. You ask, “Why this problem to me of all the people?” Nobody ever asked, “Why am I so happy?”  

You wanted to understand, “Why am I not feeling good?”, or “Why am I angry?”, or “Why is this not happening?” The more you try to understand and try to dig in, you seem to understand less and less. The mystery deepens; an illusion comes as though “I know it”. But that is for a short while.  

We ourselves do not know and we try to explain others. Stop your explanations. You put yourself into a soup and also make other people more confused.  

We need to learn a little bit about our breath. We need to know a little bit about all the layers of our existence – body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, ego and the self. This is what I call Art of Living, learning a little bit about ourselves, the seven layers of our life. And that makes you be in the present moment, and it helps us to maintain the innocence that we are all born with and feel at home with everybody, anywhere.  

What I would suggest is, take one week off every year for yourself, like you take your car for servicing. During that time, align yourself with nature, wake up with the sunrise, do some exercise, eat proper food, just as much food as necessary, some exercises, a few minutes of singing, and then some silent moments, enjoying the creation. Book yourself on a trip to this most beautiful place in the universe. Then you find that every day is a vacation and a celebration.

Questions about life

 

Have you ever thought 

1. What is the purpose of your life?  

2. What is the meaning of life?  

3. What is life all about?  

These questions are very, very precious. When these questions dawn in your mind, only then your life begins.  

But, when these questions come into your mind, don't be in a hurry to get an answer. Those who know will not tell you and those who tell, don't know. You can plug your ears and walk off.  

These questions are the tools by which you can dig deeper and the answers come from within you. Once these questions come into your life then you start “living” life rather than just existing.  

To know for what you are on this planet, find out what you are not here for. 

• You are not here to be sad. 
• You are not here to blame. 
• You are not here to be miserable. 
• You are not here to worry. 
• You are not here to show off. 
• You are not here to get stressed out. 
• You are not here to get irritated and irritate others. 

The list goes on.

Need for introspection

In this era of science and technology, we can be creative and productive, and at the same time, not lose the humanness that we are all born with.  

Just material things or comfort alone do not make you comfortable. You may have a good bed to sleep on but, be unable to sleep because of insomnia or worry.  

You need to get a broad understanding about yourself and your priorities. Clarity in the mind makes things much easier. Understanding your basic emotions like love, your interaction with people around you, knowing about your ego or what your intellect or mind is saying to you, and introspection will give you a few minutes of relaxation which is very vital.

So, what is most important is introspection about one's own life and how to improve the quality of life. This intention itself will open many doors for you to feel better about yourself.  

First of all, find out for yourself whether you are healthy. Health is:

• A disease-free body.
• A quiver-free breath. 
• A stress-free mind.
• An inhibition-free intellect.
• An obsession-free memory.
• An ego that includes all.
• A soul that is free from sorrow.

Boredom is an opportunity!

 

In life both are essential, the heart and the head. If you are only in the heart, it is no good. And if you are only stuck in the head, that is also no good. Balancing both is Yoga. Spirituality is balancing the heart and head together. Anyone who feels that they are a failure, just wake up! So what?! Life is eternal.

Meditation acts like a bridge connecting your head and heart. Take a few moments to sit down, be open to boredom, and you’ll effortlessly move into a deep meditative state. Otherwise, that boredom might just lead you to sleep. It’s a choice — either you sleep, become more sluggish, or you seize the opportunity of boredom to delve into a deep meditation. There are 365 days in a year and there are so many years in your life. If for one or two days you feel you are wasted, life is a failure, it’s okay, never mind!

On a full moon, if it is cloudy and the light cannot shine on the Earth, the moon does not get upset. If on one full moon night, you cannot see the moon rising, so what? The moon is still there. Like that, inside you there is potential, there is divinity which is so complete. If it has not come to the surface in one day, never mind! You have all the great qualities. If some do not exhibit on a particular day, never mind.

Don’t blame yourself, don’t analyze yourself too much. We start analysing ourselves too much; to the extent that we feel upset and down. We are so hard on ourselves. I am saying this to those who feel bad about themselves. NEVER MIND, WAKE UP! Never mind if these many years are wasted. The future is bright and there is still so much for you to do. All regrets happen only when you are looking at the past. If you are walking and your head is turned backwards, then that is called regret. Turn your head and look forward, and you will see the future is always bright.

How is boredom related to memory

 

In an ocean, the waves keep coming non-stop, it doesn’t get boring! Birds sing the same song, every morning, all their life, they don’t get bored! It is only human beings who get bored! ‘Oh! Once again the same thing.’ And why do you get bored? It is because of memory. You remember whatever you have done before, so you get bored.

Memory is both a blessing and a curse. It is because you get bored that you feel the need to look for something different, something new, and that is how creativity comes up; you look for the ultimate. Otherwise, you could have remained like an animal doing the same thing every day. But, you can’t do it because you get bored! So, in that sense, boredom is a blessing. Because you get bored, you move on, you look forward, you become a seeker and you rise higher. 

At the same time, boredom is also a curse because it doesn’t allow you to be centered and steady in one place. So your mind aimlessly keeps jumping from one place to another. Because you get bored of everything, you can’t enjoy anything.

There are two different paths that boredom leads you to. Boredom is a blessing when it leads you to wisdom. Boredom is a curse when it leads you to frustration and depression. Because you are bored, you can’t enjoy it, and when you can’t enjoy it you get depressed and frustrated. Or, because you are bored you wake up and begin with a quest.

When life feels dull, there’s this magical moment where everything becomes lively. You can repeat the same thing over and over, and it won’t bother you. It’s like finding a spring of life. Just let go of the past, be like a carefree child, and every moment becomes priceless.

You move ahead and you look into the Self which is fresh all the time! The Self is ever new. Because you are bored with the ephemeral, the surface, you go deep into the Self. So boredom is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it takes you away from the routine monotonous life, makes you aware and brings life into you. And it is a curse because it doesn’t let you stabilise. People who are in love don’t get bored. The heart knows no boredom. The head knows boredom.

Sacredness of certain symbolism

 

In all cultures throughout the ages, certain places, times of the year, persons and symbols have been considered sacred. Native Americans and other tribal people consider the earth, sun, moon and all the directions to be sacred. In the ancient tradition of India, the rishis considered all the rivers, mountains and even animals, trees and herbs to be sacred. 

And what of people? They are definitely sacred. Various cultures honor certain people and consider them to be sacred. 

For Christians, the cross, Jerusalem, Christmas and the Pope are sacred. For Muslims, the crescent moon, Mecca and the month of Ramadan are sacred. The Hindus consider the river Ganges, the Himalayas and the Swamis to be sacred. 

When you consider a place, time, person, symbol, or act sacred, your attention is undivided and whole. When things are ordinary and the same, you tend to slip into unawareness and inertia. The moment you consider something sacred, your inertia disappears and you become more alive.

There is nothing as fulfilling as a sacred act. You put your heart and soul into a sacred act. When every action of yours becomes sacred, you have become one with the Divine. Then every minute of your life is sacred, every place you go to becomes sacred, every act of yours is sacred and every person you meet is only your reflection. 

An act when performed repeatedly loses its sacredness. This happens when your memory overpowers your consciousness and you lose your sensitivity. For example, people living in Benares do not feel that it is a sacred place. It is too familiar; that sensitivity is just not there. 

How can we preserve that feeling of sacredness in our acts? Through living in the present moment and through sadhana (spiritual practice). Your sadhana will not allow your memory to overpower consciousness. Then repetition is not a hindrance. 

It is good to feel that some places, times, people and symbols are sacred so that you can be awake and alive. But eventually you need to transcend and feel that the entire creation and your whole life are sacred. 

For the person of God, the whole world, with all its symbols, places and people are sacred at all times. Be a person of God!

Don't try to shorten "longing"

 

Longing itself is Divine. 

Longing for worldly things makes you inert. 

Longing for infinity fills you with life.

When longing dies, inertia sets in. But longing also brings a sense of pain. To avoid the pain, you try to push away the longing. The skill is to bear the pain of longing and move on. Do not try to find a shortcut to overcome longing. Do not make the longing short – that’s why it is called loooonging. 

True longing in itself brings up moments of bliss. That is why in ancient days longing was kept alive by singing and listening to kathas, or stories. 

When longing transcends relationships, then judgments, jealousy and all negative feelings drop. It is only with wisdom and self-knowledge that one can transcend relationships.

People often think wisdom is devoid of longing. No! Such wisdom is dry. The longing that comes with true wisdom makes life juicier. The Divine is certainly juicy! 

Longing gives you the power to bless. Bless the entire creation for the longing in you is God.