Buddhism

The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings

The First Mindfulness Training: Openness

Aware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, I am determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding means to help me learn to look deeply and to develop my understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill or die for.

The Second Mindfulness Training:Non-attachment to Views

Aware of suffering created by attachment to views and wrong perceptions, I am determined to avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. I will learn and practise non-attachment from views in order to be open to others’ insights and experiences. I am aware that the knowledge I presently possess is not changeless, absolute truth. Truth is found in life and I will observe life within and around me in every moment, ready to learn throughout my life.

The Third Mindfulness Training: Freedom of Thought

Aware of the suffering brought about when I impose my views on others, I am committed not to force others, even my children, by any means whatsoever – such as authority, threat, money, propaganda or indoctrination – to adopt my views. I will respect the right of others to be different and to choose what to believe and how to decide. I will, however, help others renounce fanaticism and narrowness through compassionate dialogue.

The Fourth Mindfulness Training: Awareness of Suffering

Aware that looking deeply at the nature of suffering can help me develop compassion and find ways out of suffering, I am determined not to avoid or close my eyes before suffering. I am committed to finding ways, including personal contact, images and sounds, to be with those who suffer, so I can understand their situation deeply and help them transform their suffering into compassion, peace and joy.

The Fifth Mindfulness Training: Simple, Healthy Living

Aware that true happiness is rooted in peace, solidity, freedom and compassion, and not in wealth or fame, I am determined not to take as the aim of my life fame, profit, wealth or sensual pleasure, nor to accumulate wealth while millions are hungry and dying. I am committed to living simply and sharing my time, energy and material resources with those in real need. I will practise mindful consuming, not using alcohol, drugs or any other products that bring toxins into my own and the collective body and consciousness.

The Sixth Mindfulness Training: Dealing with Anger

Aware that anger blocks communication and creates suffering, I am determined to take care of the energy of anger when it arises and to recognise and transform the seeds of anger that lie deep in my consciousness. When anger comes up, I am determined not to do or say anything, but to practise mindful breathing or mindful walking and acknowledge, embrace and look deeply into my anger. I will learn to look with the eyes of compassion on those I think are the cause of my anger.

The Seventh Mindfulness Training: Dwelling Happily in the Present Moment

Aware that life is available only in the present moment and that it is possible to live happily in the here and now, I am committed to training myself to live deeply each moment of daily life. I will try not to lose myself in dispersion or be carried away by regrets about the past, worries about the future, or craving, anger or jealousy in the present. I will practise mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment. I am determined to learn the art of mindful living by touching the wondrous, refreshing and healing elements that are inside and around me, and by nourishing seeds of joy, peace, love and understanding in myself, thus facilitating the work of transformation and healing in my consciousness.

The Eighth Mindfulness Training: Community and Communication

Aware that lack of communication always brings separation and suffering, I am committed to training myself in the practice of compassionate listening and loving speech. I will learn to listen deeply without judging or reacting and refrain from uttering words that can create discord or cause the community to break. I will make every effort to keep communications open and to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

The Ninth Mindfulness Training: Truthful and Loving Speech

Aware that words can create suffering or happiness, I am committed to learning to speak truthfully and constructively, using only words that inspire hope and confidence. I am determined not to say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people, nor to utter words that might cause division or hatred. I will not spread news that I do not know to be certain nor criticise or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will do my best to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten my safety.

The Tenth Mindfulness Training: Protecting the Sangha

Aware that the essence and aim of a Sangha is the practise of understanding and compassion, I am determined not to use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit or transform our community into a political instrument. A spiritual community should, however, take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.

The Eleventh Mindfulness Training: Right Livelihood

Aware that great violence and injustice have been done to the environment and society, I am committed not to live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. I will do my best to select a livelihood that helps realize my ideal of understanding and compassion. Aware of global economic, political and social realities, I will behave responsibly as a consumer and as a citizen, not investing in companies that deprive others of their chance to live.

The Twelfth Mindfulness Training: Reverence for Life

Aware that much suffering is caused by war and conflict, I am determined to cultivate non-violence, understanding and compassion in my daily life, to promote peace education, mindful mediation and reconciliation, within families, communities, nations and in the world. I am determined not to kill and not to let others kill. I will diligently practice deep looking with my Sangha to discover better ways to protect life and prevent war.

The Thirteenth Mindfulness Training: Generosity

Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing and oppression, I am committed to cultivating loving kindness and learning ways to work for the well-being of people, animals, plants and minerals. I will practice generosity by sharing my time, energy and material resources with those who are in need. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others. I will respect the property of others, but will try to prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other beings.

The Fourteenth Mindfulness Training: Right Conduct

Aware that sexual relations motivated by craving cannot dissipate the feeling of loneliness, but will create more suffering, frustration and isolation, I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without mutual understanding, love and a long-term commitment. In sexual relations, I must be aware of future suffering that may be caused. I know that to preserve the happiness of myself and others, I must respect the rights and commitments of myself and others. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to protect couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct. I will treat my body with respect and preserve my vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realization of my bodhisattva ideal. I will be fully aware of the responsibility for bringing new lives in the world, and will meditate on the world into which we are bringing new beings.

Adventure in prosperous living

Everyone wants to be prosperous, but few are adventurous enough to become prosperous.

There are many people who if asked what real prosperity is, would have difficulties in giving a clear answer.

We must realize that we can only achieve what we can clearly define.

Before you conclude that you are already well off and really don’t need to give this subject any energy, think again.

    

Let’s go on an adventure to define prosperity for ourselves.

Is it having an abundance of things?

Is it having good physical and mental health?

Does it mean being emotionally mature?

 Is it having sound relationships with people and the environment?

 Does it mean we have to relate effectively to the material world?

Is it being spiritually attuned?

To prosper is to thrive, to be affluent, and to be in the flow of things.

    

How then can we experience the flow of things in our lives? Perhaps we should ask ourselves

Where does everything in this universe come from?

What is the source of it all?

How important is it for us to know the truth that the universe is an undivided manifestation of cosmic forces emanating from and being sustained by a field of infinite consciousness.

And how important is it for us to know that this field manifests the energies, which produce all forms of nature, all creatures, including us.

Do we really have to feel our connection to the whole to experience prosperous living?

Some would argue that if it were the destiny of all living organisms to thrive and to prosper, why do creatures and humans alike suffer misfortune, hardship and deprivation?

On observing our environment somewhat closer, we experience that all forms, plants and creatures thrive under ideal environmental conditions. Human beings are no exception. Because of survival orientation, most organisms adjust to some degree to changing environmental conditions. But we see the greatest casualties during the time of transition.

This can be observed in our present economic environment.

    

Even though humans with a more complex nervous system which makes them more adaptive than other forms, often create problems for themselves and others because of misdirected self- determination.

Lack of prosperous living

This is the reason why many people see justification in blaming their lack of successful living on their environment, their parents, teachers, bosses, or the country.

Even though there may be some truth in that, the first thing to change things is to take responsibility for one’s own actions.

   

To forgive those who have hindered our growth and to acknowledge that on a cosmic scale we live in a supportive universe but that we must learn to cooperate with it.

 To be successful, and to live an adventures, prosperous life

We must have a purpose in life. There was a stone mason who was cutting stones, when someone approached him and asked what he was doing? The stone mason replied,’ are you stupid, can’t you see I am cutting stones’. The person then talked to another stone cutter and asked the same question. He replied, I am cutting stones to be able to feed my family. He then went to a third cutter with the same question. His reply was, ‘I am cutting stones to build a cathedral. All the stone cutters had a different purpose in what they were doing, yet all performed the same task. We need to ask ourselves, what is our purpose in what we are doing?

We must have a vision, a clear picture in our mind of what we truly want. Not what we think we want, but what we truly want.

We must have faith, be a hero spirit.

We must be adventurous, go beyond the status quo.

We must be fully aware of our full potential as spiritual beings.

Unfortunately it is often we ourselves who limit our success.

We don’t believe that we should be prosperous.

We think in terms of limitations.

We dream about success but don’t embrace it.

 If we really believe that we are rays of God’s consciousness, that we are part of this infinite power,  - we are destined to be prosperous.

    

Prosperity is real

When we are spiritually awake,

When we are in the flow of things,

When we have what we need when we need it,

When we are physically and psychologically healthy,

When we are able to function effectively, and can easily accomplish our necessary duties or self-chosen purpose.

We all know people who have all kinds of money for one reason or another and are miserable, or lack good health or happy relationships.

What matters most is for us to realize that it is our state of consciousness, our mental and emotional state, that determines how we relate to our inner and outer world. We attract that which is utmost in our consciousness. 

There are many books published on abundance, emphasizing that the universe provides.

 Even though this is true, it is not spiritually useful to cultivate an egotistical attitude of just acquiring material things. For the reason may be greed, compulsion or control.

 It is much more beneficial and soul satisfying to determine what our major purposes in life are and to attract circumstances and financial support to accomplish our worthwhile endeavors.

On a mental level we attract that which we think about all day long. We must however realize that on this mental  level our accomplishments can never be permanent since they are created on the physical level.

To experience real prosperity, we must have a prosperity consciousness.

We must endeavor to manifest the effects of a prosperity consciousness:

Mental, emotional, and physical health,

Intellectual discernment,

Creativity,

Orderly circumstances,

Supportive relationships,

Financial resources,

Being in the right places at the right time.

Without an awareness of the wholeness of life we will always either fall short of our goal or fail to produce satisfying results.

Why is this so?

It is because we cannot experience or manifest that which we do not already have in our consciousness.

Because states of consciousness and mental states can cause effects, every person, whether happy or unhappy, healthy or unhealthy, successful or unsuccessful, rich or poor, is always consciously or unconsciously determining his experiences and circumstances.

When circumstances are other than desirable, we may want to think that we are victims of fate, of bad karma, malevolent planetary influences, genetic factors, economic or societal trends and circumstances, or the thoughts and actions of others. But the fact remains that we are contributing to our own suffering and misfortune by the way we think and by our state of consciousness.

Yet the truth is liberating. Every person capable of making choices can learn to be responsible for what he or she thinks, does and experiences; every person can be fulfilled by awakening to his spiritual potential and act accordingly.

Let us open our mind and consciousness to life and the goodness it can and will provide for us. We can all be prosperous if we are spiritually aware, mentally, emotionally and physically healthy, can easily perform our duties and accomplish our purposes, and always have resources available that provide for our well-being and enable us to live effectively.

      

Whether our lifestyle is simple and our needs are few or our lifestyle is expansive and we need more resources to accomplish our purpose, whatever is needed, the universe can easily supply. Because the universe is whole and self-sufficient, its energy and substance is constant: energy manifests as material things and material things are transformed into energy. Since there is no deficiency of cosmic energy or substances which manifest things, if we lack resources, it is because we have not yet spiritually awakened to realization of the fullness of life.

The good news is we can.

Atma – Bodha - Self Knowledge, by Adi Shankara

           1. I am composing the Atma-Bodha, this treatise of the Knowledge of
           the Self, for those who have purified themselves by austerities and are

           peaceful in heart and calm, which are free from cravings and are  

desirous of liberation.

2. Just as the fire is the direct cause for cooking, so without Knowledge no emancipation can be had. Compared with all other forms of discipline Knowledge of the Self is the one direct means for liberation.

3. Action cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance. Knowledge does verily destroy ignorance as light destroys deep darkness.

4. The Soul appears to be finite because of ignorance. When ignorance is destroyed the Self which does not admit of any multiplicity truly reveals itself by itself: like the Sun when the clouds pass away.

5. Constant practice of knowledge purifies the Self (‘Jivatman’), stained by ignorance and then disappears itself – as the powder of the ‘Kataka-nut’ settles down after it has cleansed the muddy water.

6. The world which is full of attachments, aversions, etc., is like a dream. It appears to be real, as long as it continues but appears to be unreal when one is awake (i.e., when true wisdom dawns).

7. The Universe appears to be true (Satyam) so long as Transcendence (Brahman), the substratum, the basis of all this creation, is not experienced. It is like the illusion of silver in the mother-of pearl (liquid mercury).

8. Like bubbles in the water, the worlds rise, exist and dissolve in the Supreme Self, which is the material cause and the property of everything.

9. All the manifested world of things and beings are projected by imagination upon the substratum which is the Eternal All-pervading intelligence (Vishnu), whose nature is Existence-Intelligence; just as the different ornaments are all made out of the same gold.

10. The All-pervading space (Akasa) appears to be diverse on account of its association with various conditionings of nature (Upadhis, super-imposition) which are different from each other. Space becomes one on the destruction of these limiting conditions (adjuncts): So also the Omnipresent Truth appears to be diverse on account of its association with the various conditionings (Upadhis) and become one on the destruction of these conditionings (Upadhis).

11. Because of Its association with different conditionings (Upadhis) such ideas as caste, colour and position are super-imposed upon the Atman, as flavor, colour, etc., are super-imposed on water.

12. Determined for each individual by his own past actions and made up of the Five elements – that have gone through the process of “five-fold self-division and mutual combination” (Panchikarana) – are born the gross-body, the medium through which pleasure and pain are experienced, the tent-of-experiences.

13. The five Pranas, the ten organs and the Manas and the Buddhi, formed from the rudimentary elements (Tanmatras) before their “five-fold division and mutual combination with one another” (Pancheekarana) and this is the subtle body, the instruments-of-experience (of the individual).

14. Avidya (ignorance) which is indescribable and beginningless is the Causal Body. Know for certain that the Atman is other than these three conditioning bodies (Upadhis).

15. In its identification with the five-sheaths the Immaculate Atman appears to have borrowed their qualities upon Itself; as in the case of a crystal which appears to gather unto itself colour of its vicinity (blue cloth, etc.,).

16. Through discriminative self-analysis and logical thinking one should separate the Pure Self within from the sheaths as one separates the rice from the husk, bran, etc., that are covering it.

17. The Atman does not shine in everything although He is All-pervading. He is manifest only in the inner equipment, the intellect (Buddhi): just as the reflection in a clean mirror.

18. One should understand that the Atman is always like the King, distinct from the body, senses, mind and intellect, all of which constitute the matter (Prakriti); and is the witness of their functions.

19. The moon appears to be running when the clouds move in the sky. Likewise to the non-discriminating person the Atman appears to be active when It is observed through the functions of the sense-organs.

20. Depending upon the energy of vitality of Consciousness (Atma Chaitanya) the body, senses, mind and intellect engage themselves in their respective activities, just as men work depending upon the light of the Sun.

21. Fools, because they lack in their powers of discrimination superimpose on the Atman, the Absolute-Existence-Knowledge (Sat-Chit), all the varied functions of the body and the senses, just as they attribute blue colour and the like to the sky.

22. The tremblings that belong to the waters are attributed through ignorance to the reflected moon dancing on it: likewise agency of action, of enjoyment and of other limitations (which really belong to the mind) are delusively understood as the nature of the Self (Atman).

23. Attachment, desire, pleasure, pain, etc., are perceived to exist so long as Buddhi or mind functions. They are not perceived in deep sleep when the mind ceases to exist. Therefore they belong to the mind alone and not to the Atman.

24. Just as luminosity is the nature of the Sun, coolness of water and heat of fire, so too the nature of the Atman is Eternity, Purity, Reality, Consciousness and Bliss.

25. By the indiscriminate blending of the two – the Existence-Knowledge-aspect of the Self and the thought-wave of the intellect – there arises the notion of “I know”.

26. Atman never does anything and the intellect of its own accord has no capacity to experience ‘I know’. But the individuality in us delusory thinks he is himself the seer and the knower.

27. Just as the person who regards a rope as a snake is overcome by fear, so also one considering oneself as the ego (Jiva) is overcome by fear. The ego-centric individuality in us regains fearlessness by realizing that it is not a Jiva but is Itself the Supreme Soul.

28. Just as a lamp illumines a jar or a pot, so also the Atman illumines the mind and the sense organs, etc. These material-objects by themselves cannot illumine themselves because they are inert.

29. A lighted-lamp does not need another lamp to illumine its light. So too, Atman which is Knowledge itself needs no other knowledge to know it.

30. By a process of negation of the conditionings (Upadhis) through the help of the scriptural statement ‘It is not this, It is not this’, the oneness of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul, as indicated by the great Mahavakyas, has to be realized.

31. The body, etc., up to the “Causal Body” – Ignorance – which are objects perceived, are as perishable as bubbles. realize through discrimination that I am the ‘Pure Brahman’ ever completely separate from all these.

32. I am other than the body and so I am free from changes such as birth, wrinkling, senility, death, etc. I have nothing to do with the sense objects such as sound and taste, for I am without the sense-organs.

33. I am other than the mind and hence, I am free from sorrow, attachment, malice and fear, for “HE is without breath and without mind, Pure, etc.”, is the Commandment of the great scripture, the Upanishads.

34. I am without attributes and actions; Eternal (Nitya) without any desire and thought (Nirvikalpa), without any dirt (Niranjana), without any change (Nirvikara), without form (Nirakara), ever-liberated (Nitya Mukta) ever-pure (Nirmala).

35. Like the space I fill all things within and without. Changeless and the same in all, at all times I am pure, unattached, stainless and motionless.

36. I am verily that Supreme Brahman alone which is Eternal, Pure and Free, One, indivisible and non-dual and of the nature of Changeless-Knowledge-Infinite.

37. The impression “I am Brahman” thus created by constant practice destroys ignorance and the agitation caused by it, just as medicine or Rasayana destroys disease.

38. Sitting in a solitary place, freeing the mind from desires and controlling the senses, meditate with unswerving attention on the Atman which is One without-a-second.

39. The wise one should intelligently merge the entire world-of-objects in the Atman alone and constantly think of the Self ever as contaminated by anything as the sky.

40. He who has realized the Supreme, discards all his identification with the objects of names and forms. (Thereafter) he dwells as an embodiment of the Infinite Consciousness and Bliss. He becomes the Self.

41. There are no distinctions such as “Knower”, the “Knowledge” and the “Object of Knowledge” in the Supreme Self. On account of Its being of the nature of endless Bliss, It does not admit of such distinctions within Itself. It alone shines by Itself.

42. When the lower and the higher aspects of the Self are well churned together, the fire of knowledge is born from it, which in its mighty conflagration shall burn down all the fuel of ignorance in us.

43. The Lord of the early dawn (Arjuna) himself has already looted away the thick darkness, when soon the sun rises. The Divine Consciousness of the Self rises when the right knowledge has already killed the darkness in the bosom.

44. Atman is an ever-present Reality. Yet, because of ignorance it is not realized. On the destruction of ignorance Atman is realized. It is like the missing ornament of one’s neck.

45. Brahman appears to be a ‘Jiva’ because of ignorance, just as a post appears to be a ghost. The ego-centric-individuality is destroyed when the real nature of the ‘Jiva’ is realized as the Self.

46. The ignorance characterized by the notions ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ is destroyed by the knowledge produced by the realization of the true nature of the Self, just as right information removes the wrong notion about the directions.

47. The Yogi of perfect realization and enlightenment sees through his “eye of wisdom” (Gyana Chakshush) the entire universe in his own Self and regards everything else as his own Self and nothing else.

48. Nothing whatever exists other than the Atman: the tangible universe is verily Atman. As pots and jars are verily made of clay and cannot be said to be anything but clay, so too, to the enlightened soul and that is perceived is the Self.

49. A liberated one, endowed with Self-knowledge, gives up the traits of his previously explained equipments (Upadhis) and because of his nature of Sat-Chit-Ananda, he verily becomes Brahman like (the worm that grows to be) a wasp.

50. After crossing the ocean of delusion and killing the monsters of likes and dislikes, the Yogi who is united with peace dwells in the glory of his own realized Self – as an Atmaram.

51. The self-abiding Jivan Mukta, relinquishing all his attachments to the illusory external happiness and satisfied with the bliss derived from the Atman, shines inwardly like a lamp placed inside a jar.

52.Though he lives in the conditionings (Upadhis), he, the contemplative one, remains ever unconcerned with anything or he may move about like the wind, perfectly unattached.

53. On the destruction of the Upadhis, the contemplative one is totally absorbed in ‘Vishnu’, the All-pervading Spirit, like water into water, space into space and light into light.

54. Realize That to be Brahman, the attainment of which leaves nothing more to be attained, the blessedness of which leaves no other blessing to be desired and the knowledge of which leaves nothing more to be known.

55. Realize that to be Brahman which, when seen, leaves nothing more to be seen, which having become one is not born again in this world and which, when knowing leaves nothing else to be known.

56. Realize that to be Brahman which is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute, which is Non-dual, Infinite, Eternal and One and which fills all the quarters – above and below and all that exists between.

57. Realize that to be Brahman which is Non-dual, Indivisible, One and Blissful and which is indicated in Vedanta as the Immutable Substratum, realized after the negation of all tangible objects.

58. Deities like Brahma and others taste only a particle, of the unlimited Bliss of Brahman and enjoy in proportion their share of that particle.

59. All objects are pervaded by Brahman. All actions are possible because of Brahman: therefore Brahman permeates everything as butter permeates milk.

60. Realize that to be Brahman which is neither subtle nor gross: neither short nor long: without birth or change: without form, qualities, colour and name.

61. That by the light of which the luminous, orbs like the Sun and the Moon are illuminated, but which is not illumined by their light, realize that to be Brahman.

62. Pervading the entire universe outwardly and inwardly the Supreme Brahman shines of Itself like the fire that permeates a red-hot iron-ball and glows by itself.

63. Brahman is other than this, the universe. There exists nothing that is not Brahman. If any object other than Brahman appears to exist, it is unreal like the mirage.

64. All that is perceived, or heard, is Brahman and nothing else. Attaining the knowledge of the Reality, one sees the Universe as the non-dual Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute.

65. Though Atman is Pure Consciousness and ever present everywhere, yet It is perceived by the eye-of-wisdom alone: but one whose vision is obscured by ignorance he does not see It; as the blind do not see the resplendent Sun.

66. The ‘Jiva’ free from impurities, being heated in the fire of knowledge kindled by hearing and so on, shines of itself like gold.

67. The Atman, the Sun of Knowledge that rises in the sky of the heart, destroys the darkness of the ignorance, pervades and sustains all and shines and makes everything to shine.

68. He who renouncing all activities, who is free of all the limitations of time, space and direction, worships his own Atman which is present everywhere, which is the destroyer of heat and cold, which is Bliss-Eternal and stainless, becomes All-knowing and All-pervading and attains thereafter Immortality.

          This concludes Atma-Bodha.

A Talk about Success

A Talk about Success

What is Success?

It can be defined as the progressive realization of our worthwhile goals.

What are our goals? How do we define them? In which context should they be realized?

From a yoga viewpoint I would suggest that we look at it from the perspective of Dharma or our major purpose in Life which is Self or Soul and God Realization. But, we also live and function in this world and in this respect I suggest our primary purpose is Service to our Fellow human beings.

When we blend our unique talents with selfless service to others and thereby serve unique needs, we experience the ecstasy of our own spirit, the joy within.

Here then are steps we ought to take:

¨     To discover our true self.

¨     To express our unique talents.

¨     To serve humankind by asking ourselves, what I can do and not what’s in it for me.

To experience success, we must be intentional, one pointed in our action but at the same time, we must relinquish our attachment to the results of our action. We must surrender to the process.

Intention implies desire for the realization of some worthwhile goal.

I intent to do something for some desired results.

Consciousness and energy exists anywhere in nature. If we place our worthwhile intentional goals into that fertile ground followed up with right action, our goals have to materialize.

Intention lays the groundwork for effortless, spontaneous, frictionless, flow of pure potentiality as it seeks expression from the un-manifest to the manifest. 

Most people have desires. Many of the desires are not fulfilled, because they lack intention and because people become attached to their desires. Attachment is the result of ego which impedes the flow of natural forces.

This brings us to the idea of least Effort.

Nature’s intelligence functions with effortless ease, with carefreeness, harmony and love.

When we harness the forces of harmony and love, we create success and good fortune with effortless ease.

When we observe nature we find that least effort is expanded.

Grass doesn’t try to grow, it just grows. Fish don’t try to swim, they swim. Flowers don’t try to bloom, they bloom. They follow their intrinsic nature.

An integral being knows without knowing, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing.

                              Lao - Tzu

When we are in harmony with nature, when we are established in the knowledge of our true self, we too can accomplish things with least effort. We all have experienced this at one time or another.

What is the secret behind this?

It is love.

Least effort is expended, when our actions are motivated by love.

When we seek power and control over others, we waste energy. When we seek money or power for the sake of the ego we spend energy chasing the illusion of happiness instead of enjoying happiness in the moment.

When we seek money for personal gain only, we cut off the flow of energy to ourselves, and interfere with the expression of nature’s intelligence.

The ways to do less and accomplish more

Acceptance, to make a commitment: “Today I will accept people, situations, circumstances and events as they occur. This means I will know this moment to be as it should be, because the whole universe is as it should be. When we struggle against the moment, we struggle against the universe”.

Responsibility, which means not blaming anyone or anything for our situation. Accepting responsibility leads to having a creative response to the situation. All problems contain the seeds of opportunity.

Defenselessness - not having to convince others of our point of view. In our interaction with people we encounter, that they spend much of their conversation in defending their viewpoint which is nothing but a waste of energy.

When we become defensive, blame others, and do not accept and surrender to the moment, our life meets resistance.

Think in cause and effect.

Every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind. As we sow, so shall we reap.

When we chose actions that bring happiness and success to others, the fruit of our own karma is happiness and success.

Karma is the eternal assertion of human freedom. Our thoughts, our words, and deeds are the threads of the net which we throw around ourselves.

                                 Swami Vivekananda

We all are infinite choice makers. Whether we like it or not, everything that is happening at this moment is the result of the choices we have made. This is why it is so important for us to evaluate the choice we make.

Unfortunately, even though we are infinite choice makers, we have become bundles of conditioned reflexes that are constantly being triggered by people and circumstances into predictable outcomes of behavior.

We all need to become conscious choice makes.

We must give and appreciate to receive because the universe operates under the law of exchange.

Most people like to receive. But someone must give first before something can be received.

We must give that which we seek. If we want success, we must help others on their journey to be successful.

Success in living can be defined as the full realization of our potential which occurs when we have discovered who and what we really are.

We can all give the gift of caring, paying attention, affection, appreciation, love. There are all kinds of things but they all add to our successful living on this planet.

Recognizing pure potential

The source of all creation is pure consciousness, pure potentiality seeking expression from the un-manifest to the manifest.

When we realize that our true Self is one of pure potential, we align with the power that manifests everything in the universe.

       In the beginning there was neither existence nor non

     existence,

all the world was un-manifest potential.

The One breathed, without breath, by its own power

Nothing else was there.

                                          Hymn of creation, Rig Veda

When we discover our true nature and know who we really are, in that knowing itself lies the ability to fulfill any dream we have, because we are the eternal possibility, the immeasurable potential of all that was, is, and will be.

How can we experience this Self? By being Self referring, by going into that quiet place within for our answers rather then to the objective world around us, the outside.

When our reference point is the objective outside world, we have the need to be right and to control things, which often cannot be controlled. We have the need for approval and for assertion.

We live effectively when we express and live in an authentic way. Let as all Endeavour to live and express in wholeness.

In Search for Ultimate Reality by the ancient seers

The purpose of this writing is to emphasize the relationship between man and his Creator. To indicate that nature with its infinite variety of inexorable laws, is veiled by maya, the magical measurer that makes the One appear as the many, in its embrace of individuality, form and intelligence.

As in nature, so also in man God has separated His consciousness as individualized soul from His own Being, but endowed with ego which leads man to believe that he is separate from Him.

To escape the illusion of separateness, one needs to renounce the ego. This can be achieved through abandoning all selfish desires springing from its interaction with the environment and through union with the Infinite in the practice of yoga meditation. In this practice, one detaches himself from the forces of nature that otherwise perpetuate the delusive dichotomy between Self or soul and Spirit.

It should be emphasised that God realization is difficult to attain by merely reading a book, but rather by primarily dwelling every day in the understanding that this world is play of ever changing, intelligent forces emanating from God, of which man is a part and in which he plays his role as a spiritual being.

For us to obtain a better understand of the creative processes of the world in which we live, we may want to take a look at how the seers and sages saw it.

The ancient seers and sages in their quest for understanding the world around them were turning inward to analyze the data that perception presented to their mind. Penetrating below the senses, they found, not a world of solid, separate objects but one of ceaseless process of change in matter coming together, dissolving and coming together again in a different form. Yet below this flux they found something changeless: an infinite indivisible reality. They called it Brahman (God), the divine ground of existence.

This analysis of existence corresponds much with contemporary physics. A physicist would remind us that the things we see are ultimately not separate from each other and from us. We perceive them as separate because of the limitations of our senses. If our eyes were sensitive to a much finer spectrum, we might see the world as a continuous field of matter and energy. Nothing would resemble a solid object.

In examining themselves, the sages made a similar discovery. Instead of identifying a single personality, they discovered various components, such as senses, emotions, will, intellect, ego all being in a constant flux at different times  and when in company of different people. The same person seems to display different personality trades under different conditions. They recognized the mood shifts, as well as changes in desires and opinions over time.

Western philosophers like David Hume reasoned their way to a similar conclusion, but with them it was an intellectual exercise.

To the sages what they perceived were not logical conclusions, but personal discovery. They were actually exploring the mind, testing each level of awareness by withdrawing consciousness from the mind through the process of meditation. They found that when consciousness through profound concentration and meditation is withdrawn from the body, mind and senses, the idea of ego or separate existence disappears into a state which is beyond time and space in which all is one. They called this the Self.

To summarize, this paper presents an explanation of how sages came to realize Brahman or God and the Self, or soul in man; God immanent and God transcendent. We have seen how in meditation sages discovered unity: the same indivisible reality without as within, oneness.

Every interested person through deep meditation can for himself realize the same truth. The Self, is the same in everyone and can be realized by everyone. It is the essence imminent in all creation and it is eternal.

“The image of God is found essentially and personally in all mankind. Each possesses it whole, entire and undivided, and all together not more than one alone. In this way we are all one, intimately united in our eternal image, which is the image of God and the source in us of all our life”.

                                                          Flemish mystic Jan Van Ruysbroek.

In deep meditation, Samadhi every trace of separateness disappears. Life is seen as a seamless whole. But the body cannot remain in this state for long and after a while awareness of body and mind returns and the conventional world of multiplicity rushes in again. The memory of unity once again seems like a distant dream. Yet after many super conscious, experiences, in meditation, one sees the One underlying the many, the Eternal beneath the ephemeral.

We may ask, what is it that makes undivided reality appear to be a world of separate objects?

In yoga it is called maya, (illusive, veiled) where the One becomes the many, through the creative power of the Godhead, the primal creative energy that makes unity disappear into innumerable separate things with names and forms.

Philosophers explained maya in contemporary terms. The mind, they say, observers the outside world and sees its own structure. It reports that the world consist of a multiplicity of separate objects in a framework of time, space and causality, because these are the conditions of perception. The mind looks at unity and sees diversity. It looks at what is timeless and reports transience. In fact, when man is in an ego state, this multiplicity is his reality. Man’s mistake is when he sees the ego state as ultimate, like the dreamer thinking that nothing is real except the dream. 

We are what we behold. When we look at unity through the instrument of the mind, we see diversity. When we transcend the mind, we enter a higher mode of knowing, a higher state of consciousness in which duality disappears. This does not mean that the phenomenal world is an illusion, but the illusion is the sense of separate existence.

To see the world as it is, it must be viewed from a perspective of wholeness, where one sees himself as the impartial witness of ever changing events without any sense of becoming attached to the objects of observation.

Looking at it from physics, the world of name and form exists only as a condition of perceptions. At a sub atomic level, separate phenomena dissolve into a flux of energy. The effect of maya is similar. The world of the senses is real, but it must be known for what it is: unity appearing as multiplicity.

The person who misidentifies himself with the condition of perception in maya may eventually, through the process of meditation wake up into a higher state of knowing in which the unity of all life is realized.

In this state the individual realizes that he is not a physical being, but the Self, a spiritual being and thus not separate from God. Then he sees the world not as fragmented, but whole and sees in wholeness the manifestation of God.

Once identified with the Self, he knows that although the body will die, his Self will not die and that his awareness of this identity with the Self is not severed by the death of the physical body. Thus, he has realized his essential immortality which is the birthright of every human being. He knows death is no more than taking off an old often worn out coat.

Life cannot offer any higher realization. The one who realizes the Self and God, has everything and lacks nothing. He cannot be shaken by the heaviest burden. Life cannot threaten such a person. All life holds for him is the opportunity to love, to serve and to give. Let it be so.

24 Evolutes of Creation – Samkhya

Prakriti (unmanifest primordial matter),

Buddhi (first principle of individuation, Intelligence, discrimination)

Ahamkara, (ego)

Manas (mind)

Sattvic: illumined, lightness

5 Jnanendriyas, ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose

5 Karmendriyas or organs of action: speaking, holding, moving, Procreating, eliminating

Tamasic: stable, solid

5 Tanmātras or subtle elements are sound, touch, vision, taste, smell

5 Mahabhuthas are earth, water, fire, air and space.

Note:               

Ahamkara, ego divides itself into two: first as the sentient and knowing life of a man, his mind, his five jnanendriyas and five Karmendriyas. The second is constituted by the five "Tanmātras" and the five "mahabhutas” of the insentient cosmos.

The Jnanendriyas are faculties with which a man gets to know outside objects: the eyes that see objects, the nose that smells, the mouth that tastes, the ear that hears and the skin that feels by touch.

With his Karmendriyas he performs various actions. The mouth serves as a Karmendriyas also since it performs the function of speech. The hand, the leg, the anus and the genitals are all Karmendriyas.

The Jnanendriyas are sound (ear), feeling, (skin), form (eye), flavor or taste (mouth), smell (nose).

The 5 Mahabhutas are space (sound), air (feeling or touch), water (flavor), earth (smell), and fire (form). Thus Prakriti, mahat, ahamkara, mind, the five jnanendriyas, the five Karmendriyas, the five Tanmātras, the five Mahabhuthas - all these make up the 24 Tattvas.

The Problem of Belief

Religious beliefs in themselves are not necessarily always problematic, but that the anti-rational nature of religious belief formation crushes free thinking and limits the creative capacity to think and to reason.

‘The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.’ Albert Einstein

The choice to be critical, curious and creative in one’s exploration of all knowledge is stifled by religious belief which counters the flexibility and revision that are a fundamental part of increasing knowledge and independence of thought.

Religious beliefs block our ability to see the world as it is rather than how we want it to be based on our prejudices and religious allegiances. Religious belief formation is clearly a form of manipulation, even when the intention behind its dissemination may appear positive.

Human actions take on a vicious and inflexible character when they are driven by beliefs that are unresponsive to reality.’

All beliefs are by their very nature problematic; not just the religious ones. Furthermore, beliefs do not establish facts, or truth.

Belief requires faith in something. It’s a certain sort of cognitive activity that requires holding to a script or story some sort of a narrative or image or information about a non-existent state of affairs. If the state of affairs is present and real, there’s no need to believe it. That’s what we call knowledge; it’s this acceptance of what’s in front of us

Groupthink

This type of bias is the result of increasing consensus among group members. Critical evaluation of alternative views is avoided, internal critique is abandoned and members of the group seek to avoid conflict by actively suppressing dissent and alternative views. This is carried out in part by isolating themselves from the outside world. Groupthink is typically the result of an exaggerated sense of morality, sometimes defined in religious circles as purity, and an excessive form of optimism about the group’s value and potential.

Spirituality

Spirituality is one of those terms widely used today by Christians and yet frequently misunderstood. Much of our understanding of the term comes from popular religious usage, which often is plagued by a dualism that draws a sharp contrast between body and soul, material and spiritual realities. In this view, the "spiritual" is generally valued as good, and all material, earthly things are considered evil.

Christian Spirituality

In order to appreciate what Christian spirituality is, we must first clarify what it is not. Christian spirituality is not a Gnostic renunciation of the created world, nor the Platonic flight of the soul from the body.

In the Gnostic view, there is a true, ultimate and transcendent God, who is beyond all created universes and who never created anything in the sense in which the word “create” is ordinarily understood. While this True God did not fashion or create anything, He (or, It) “emanated” or brought forth from within Himself the substance of all there is in all the worlds, visible and invisible. In a certain sense, it may therefore be true to say that all is God, for all consists of the substance of God. By the same token, it must also be recognized that many portions of the original divine essence have been projected so far from their source that they underwent unwholesome changes in the process. To worship the cosmos, or nature, or embodied creatures is thus tantamount to worshipping alienated and corrupt portions of the emanated divine essence.

Christianity

The world is the object of God's love (John 3:16), and we are to glorify God in our bodies (Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthian 6:19-20). Furthermore, such attitudes fly in the face of appropriating the Christian doctrine of the creation and the incarnation.

Spirituality must be practiced in this world, which God made good (Mark 7:19) and which God is in the process of redeeming (Roman 8:18-25). As in the Old Testament, spirituality does not imply that one is to flee this world to find God, but that one must find God and grow in grace in this world, even discovering avenues (i.e., spiritual disciplines) in and through the physical realm for spiritual growth.

With this foundation clearly in mind, Christian spirituality has to do primarily with sanctification (to make holy). It requires divine grace (first and always) and deliberate human cooperation. This combination is epitomized by Paul in 1 Corinthian 15:10).

So, spirituality has to do with holiness, which is the restoration of the human person to what he or she was created to be. One could say that holiness involves the recovery of wholeness the integrity of our lives as they are being restored by the Spirit.

This is a process, depicted by several metaphors in Scripture. We are to be trees whose roots are firmly established in Christ, planted by streams of nurturing water (Ephesians 3:17). We are people of "the Way", sojourners on a journey (Acts 9:2; 1 Peter 2:11 ). We are "born again" and meant to grow from infancy to adulthood, sustained on a diet of rich spiritual food (John 3:3; Heb 5:12-14).

The goal of the process is to be renewed in holiness, righteousness, and knowledge after the likeness of God (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10), or, what is the same thing, to become more like Jesus Christ by whose stature our maturity is measured (Ephesians 4:13-16). The goal is to acquire a Christian definition of everything.

How does one acquire such a Christian construal view of everything?

The process is similar to that which we have found in Hebrew spirituality. It is formed by what one reads and listens to, the people with whom one associates, the activities in which one engages, the way one eats, and so on, but above all it is formed by what one loves. When a Christian mixes the Christian definition with other definitions (such as a materialistic conception of the world), then there is a kind of double vision that leads to conflicts, hypocrisy, and the like (Matthew 6:19-24). We need a single focus, a total devotion to God (Matthew 6:33). This is simplicity, and it requires the grace of God and our response of total sacrifice and the transformation of our minds (Romans 12:1-2).

Developing and keeping this single focus is accomplished by spiritual disciplines like Bible reading, meditation, prayer, and fasting, church attendance, giving things away, and serving others. Initially, this begins by repenting turning our spiritual eyes away from our former conceptions of the world to see life from Christ's vantage point. This is followed by concentrating on, focusing on, conceptualizing, and even imaging Christ's character and God's presence and activity primarily through Scripture reading and prayer in the context of the fellowship of believers. (Recall the Hebrew and later Jewish focus on God's presence and the law.)

These disciplines mold and shape the embodied self. They are activities of mind and body intentionally undertaken to bring our entire person into effective cooperation with God's work. This put us in a condition whereby God's grace can really work on us. Our minds and bodies are then usable as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:12-14; 12:15).

By these disciplines the Christian is not simply copying Jesus Christ as a model (as in Charles Monroe Sheldon, “In His Steps,  what would Jesus do?" though "putting on Christ" might mean that the Christian sometimes Acts like Christ even if he or she does not yet understand why (Romans 13:11-14 ). Nor is one merely accepting the values of Jesus (as in nineteenth-century liberalism). The Christian is learning Christ likeness by sharing Christ's life in an organic way (John 15:1-17; 17:20-24). We share in the life of the risen Christ through the Holy Spirit who indwells us and who groans in us for the completion of our redemption (Romans 8:22-27). This indwelling is creative and transforming. It has been called "sanctifying" or "habitual" grace because it is not just a momentary help, but a vital source of holiness. Through this work of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of Christ and our response we come to have the "mind of Christ" Christ's way of seeing the world that becomes "second nature" in us (Philippians 2:1-5). The result is that obedience to God is "from the heart"; we become "slaves to righteousness" (Rom 6:17-19). We are now free to serve God and others with self-sacrificial love.