Like the waves in the ocean, storms are inevitable in life. No storm lasts forever and no storm can affect the depth of the ocean. Accept all that comes with open arms. Even when the storms come, you are like the ocean, deep as ever.
Value of being centered
Being centered when everything around is calm and peaceful, has no meaning. That is dull and boring. When everything is falling apart, then being quiet and peaceful, has value.
A bottle of water has more worth in a desert than when you are surrounded by water. When you are sitting by a spring, then a bottle of water is of no value to you. A handful of water from the spring is good enough to quench your thirst.
When there is chaos and confusion; when there are problems all around you, then calmness is needed the most; wisdom is most valuable then.
When people blame you, when they don’t understand you, that’s when you need the inner strength to smile through it. When things don’t go the way you want them to, that’s when you need the endurance, the strength and courage to remain unperturbed.
Every creature has a role to play
Every creature on this planet brings down a particular electromagnetic wave on the Earth. And even if one creature goes missing, the Earth would not be able to sustain itself. There is snake, mouse, lion, cow, cat, fish and so many others, and all play an important role in maintaining the balance on the planet. That is what scientists say today.
According to the laws of nature, everything radiates energy.
In the middle ages, people never understood that butterflies have very specific things to do. If there are no butterflies, food cannot be grown. People with less knowledge question what butterflies have to do with having more food.
In the US, when the pesticides were spread, they never considered butterflies or insects as an important phenomenon.
So what happened? All the butterflies disappeared! Now they are bringing butterflies in containers and leaving them in the fields so that pollination can happen and food can be grown. The quality of food suffers a lot when pollination does not happen.
So, from an ant to an elephant, everything has a role to play in this planet.
Importance of laughter
Laughter comes from the centre of our Being, from the core of our heart. Our belly is so full of laughter that the laughter permeates every cell in our body.
True laughter is true prayer. When things go all right, everybody can laugh, but when everything falls apart, and yet you laugh, that is evolution and growth.
Nothing in life is more worthy than your laughter. Never lose it. Events come and go. Some are pleasant, and others, unpleasant.
There is an area deep in you that is left untouched. Hold on to what is untouched. Then you will be able to keep laughing.
Atma chittam
You may have gotten angry many times, but do you stay angry forever? The Shiv sutra, ‘Atma Chittam’, conveys something very important. Day, night, clouds and colours all appear in the sky, and later disappear. Similarly, the mind imagines many things, which disappear just as they came.
Just as light fades in the evening, anger also fades. It is the same with envy. There is a limit to everything. When one thought arises, another falls away. Where does it go? All is in our mind. That mind is the Self. Clouds may cover the sky, but the purity of the sky remains untouched. Whatever may be the state of mind, the Self is pure. There is no such thing as a bad Self. As anger is a quality of the Divine, it is also a quality of the Self ! That is why it is said, ‘Atma Chittam’ —the mind itself is the Self. The mind is part of the Divine.
When we say ‘Do your sadhana,’ it means sadhana needs to be done daily. This is because there are millions of cells in our brain. Some work today, and others work tomorrow just like workers do shifts in a factory. The factory is running continually, but the workers have shifts — they come, work and leave. Similarly, in our brain neurons work in shifts.
Some neurons are trained today, others will get trained tomorrow and others will be trained the day after tomorrow. Through this process, one day you will reach perfection, siddhi. This will happen only if japa (chanting) or meditation is done regularly.
Union with the Divine
Life is incomplete without union with God. It is quite natural that a matured mind and a receptive heart strive for this union. Since long, philosophies were born, debates happened, music, art and literature evolved from this very need.
Religions, philosophies, practices, customs and austerities have all pointed to one thing: union with the Divine. On an average, any person who wakes up to suffering in his life wants to be free from it.
For this, he looks to the superpower of creation. The more he looks at the misery and shortcomings in his life, the farther away he feels he is from the Divinity that is his very nature. His heart yearns to establish contact with the Supreme.
Since ages, we’ve been striving to reduce the gap between ourselves and God. There are two ways to do this: one way is to elevate humankind towards Divinity — this is called Siddha, and the person who achieves this state is believed to have attained perfection.
The second way is to bring God to human level in avatar form. Here, Divinity manifests itself for the sake of humankind. So, man rising up to God is Siddha; God coming down, because he cares for you, and wants to communicate directly with you, is avatar.
Avatar is God in human form and in that humanness, you can get a glimpse of Divinity. In the Puranas, all the devas are depicted with human emotions and tendencies. They experience ‘normal’ feelings of anger, love and resentment.
The greatest fortune in this world
The greatest fortune in this world is to be a disciple or a devotee. Those who have become a disciple or a devotee alone know the value of it.
A disciple in Sanskrit is called antevasin. Antevasin means one who dwells inside the Guru. It is not just the master who is in the heart of the devotee, the devotee also dwells in the heart of the master.
There is nothing other than the Guru. Everything around you is Guru. You dwell inside the heart of the Guru all the time. The love of the master is surrounding you at all times. The one who realizes this, is a disciple or a devotee.
What else would you want once you realize that you are surrounded by unconditional divine love all the time? No lack remains in life. It is all bliss.
The most beautiful spot in the universe
The most beautiful spot anywhere is ‘right here’. When you come here, you find that wherever you are, everything becomes beautiful. Where is this place?
Don't look here and there for this place. It is right within you. When you come here, then any place is beautiful. Then wherever you go, you add beauty there.
If you are unhappy, even the moon is irritating to you. Sweet things are nauseating, music is disturbing. When you are calm and centered inside, noise is musical, clouds are magical, rain is liquid sunshine. 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.
"What am I here for?"
Find out what you are NOT here for.
You are not here to blame.
You are not here to cry.
You are not here to sleep.
You are not here to show off.
You are not here to fight.
You are not here to be miserable.
You are not here to be angry.
You are not here to worry.
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