What is Som, referred to in the Rig Veda?

There is fire element in the base chakra. Do you know, whenever you are eating food, the brain sends some signals and enzymes get created in the body? Do you know about it? Soma is that cooling fluid which is generated from top chakra. Life is a combination of Soma and Fire, the cool and the hot. There is the fire element in the Mooladhara Chakra, Swadisthana Chakra, Manipura Chakra and sometimes in the Anahata chakra also.
Sometimes we say that I have fire burning in my heart', isn’t it? So, in these 4 lower chakra’s the fire element is dominant. And the upper three chakras have the cooling element dominant. If you see, it is said that the third eye which is related to anger, has fire element dominating. We never say that we have feeling of fire in our throats. When we feel sad or very grateful the throat gets choked. So Somras is the fluid which is released from the brain and flows downward in the body, and the fire element rises upwards from the lower chakras. They meet at the Anahata (Heart) chakra and that is what is called Agnistoma. This is what is the essence of the Vedas - the technique of meditation that creates equilibrium between the hot and the cold, which creates a positive balance.

Do You Have To Be Thankful And Feel Obliged?

When you are on a spiritual path, you are not thankful or obliged to anybody. In the Gita, Krishna says, "He is dear to Me who neither goes on thanking people nor hates anyone (Na abhinandati na dveshthi)." Thanking and feeling obliged indicates that you believe in some one else's existence rather than in the Divine who is ruling everything. When you feel obliged, then you are not honoring the principles of karma or the divine plan.

Appreciate people for what they are, do not thank them for what they do. Otherwise your thankfulness is centered around ego. You are grateful, but not for an act. You are grateful for what is. As every individual is nothing but a puppet of the ONE, thanking and being obliged is simply an exhibition of ignorance. Everything is ruled, controlled and managed by one Divinity, that consciousness has to shine forth in every act of yours; you do not have to make a mood of it.

When you have a total sense of belonging, then gratefulness does not become an obligation. Such gratefulness is for the Divine only, which enhances strength.

Need to get rid of prejudices

Save your mind and use your brain. Mostly, we save our brain and use our mind more, and, this is where we get into problems. We keep our minds so fragile that even a small thing throws us off balance and we go on with that for so long and feel so unhappy, pathetic and depressed.

Recently, I saw that in colleges in India, the depression rates have gone so high! And, in the Police department, in Maharashtra, a huge percentage of policemen are depressed. This is because we keep our minds so fragile that small things throw us off-balance. Please use your brain and save your mind.

Even a brilliant person hardly uses 3% to 5% of the brain all his life! I think you should start using at least 5% to 6% of your brains. Don’t return back the brain unused to nature! Come up with ideas, what we can do to better the world? What can we do to uplift society? How can we reduce prejudice in the world?
There is prejudice against women, against elderly and aged people, against caste, religion, etc. We should see how we can get rid of these prejudices. Prejudice has infiltrated almost every aspect of human life.

You go to a temple and you face prejudice there. You go to villages and there are prejudices there. A man from the city is feared in a village and in a city, villagers are considered useless.
There is caste prejudice in our country. Prejudice against women, prejudice in the media, prejudice in government and the bureaucracy; with Gurus. We must come out of these prejudices. What do you think? What can we do about this? How do we educate people so that they have a broader vision? Think on these lines! Be more creative.

Students in politics

Students are the future of the society, and they should start owning this planet! I would just ask of them one thing - please do not sacrifice your studies for politics. Give utmost priority to your studies.

Those of you who are interested in politics, it is a good thing because all the student movements that have happened in the world have had a great vision, and they wanted to do something good for society. They want to fight injustice.

Just one thing you must keep in mind is - don't have any prejudice. If the youth have prejudice, it is a sad thing. The youth should have an open mind. Don't put your mind into categories - have an open mind and be open to logic and reasoning.
Bias and prejudice are the greatest enemies for logic and reasoning. If we lose reasoning, we have lost everything in life. So reasoning and logic is essential, and along with it - an open mind.

Sometimes, values like patriotism which are essential in life, get associated with one particular ideology. When you identify yourself with one particular ideology, then you become so blind that you don't want to even look at any other new ideas or other ways. So students should be free from any sort of bias or judgements and have an open mind. There is nothing wrong in student activism but should follow reasoning. 

Inner peace and strength

When there is inner peace then strength comes, and you are not scared of anything. When your intentions are right and your heart is in the right place, then you know (from within) that you can go and do what you want to do. This is the real selfless service.

In the last few days, there are thousands of children and women trapped in Iraq and there is no food and there are no medicines. Our volunteers and teachers are constantly thinking how they can get relief material over there. They are also in negotiation with the army - to give them some passage through which they can get the supplies to these people. This shows how committed our volunteers and teachers are. They understand the pain of the people and that is why they have gone to serve in such a dangerous atmosphere.

They have collected around 80 tonnes of food and are waiting for the permit to go into Fallujah. This is bravery and service, and they are doing this service without any sense of doership. You know, service for us is natural, we are not making an effort to do it, or even thinking, 'Oh, I am doing a big service!' No. We do it because we can't but do it, that's all!

Devotion out of Intention

Intentions keep the tension in. Being hollow and empty means dropping all intentions. Within tension, rest does not become deep. Devotion dissolves intentions. Intention pushes you to the future. Bliss is always present. The one who wakes up to this truth is wise. In a state of bliss, once in a while, if an intention comes up, it manifests effortlessly. The more intentions you have, the more in tension you will be. To minimize your intentions could be your last intention.

Steeped in Mystery Is Devotion

One who is not amazed by the magnificence of this Creation, his eyes are not yet opened. Once your eyes are open, they close and this is called meditation.

Tell me, what is this Creation? Is not a mystery? Birth is a mystery, death is a mystery. If both birth and death are mysterious, then life is certainly a greater mystery. Isn't it?

Being completely immersed in the mystery of life and this Creation is Samadhi. Your knowing or believing doesn't really matter to what Is. This Creation is an unfathomable secret, and its mysteries only deepen. Getting steeped in mystery is Devotion. The "Scene" is a mystery; the "Seer" is a mystery. Deepening the mystery of Creation is science. Deepening the mystery of the Self is spirituality. They are the two sides of the same coin. If neither Science nor Spirituality can create wonder and devotion in you, then you are in deep slumber.