Sadhuism for Salvation

REUNITING..

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 10:30:00 +0000

REUNITING..

“You came to me

Like an unseason rain

And gave me the pleasure so,

Pleasure of surprised arrival,

What I was dreaming for.

You lightened me

With your sparkling lightening eye,

And so I wander to see,

Quickly followed by rain drops,

Leaking from your eye corner,

Cleaning all the dusts and obstacles,

You fall on me again…

Flooding my eyes …

With pleasure of reuniting.

I whispered in a breezy mood

Misunderstanding has no power

to keep apart us forever.”

Yes, whether you are a subject or subjected, there is a special peace, happiness and warmth in reunion. Whatever may be the cause of departion, there is a stronger and deeper cause of reunion. So take the initiation, or accept the subject of initiation for this greater cause for the eternal peace and happiness. It is the individual peace leads to societal peace - to world peace.

One single step of one person is
a giant step to world peace.

For more elaborating understanding visit the article FORGIVING.

HAPPINESS THROUGH SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 02:21:00 +0000

William James, father of American psychology, said that the greatest discovery of the nineteenth century was not in the realm of physical science. The greatest discovery was the power of the subconscious touched by faith. In every human being is that limitless reservoir of power that can overcome any problem in the world.

True and lasting happiness will come into your life the day you get clear realization that you can overcome any weakness – the day you realize that your subconscious can solve your problems, heal your body and prosper you beyond your fondest dream.

You may have been happy when you became engaged to the partner of your dreams. You may have felt happy when you educated from college, when you get married, when your child was born, or when you won a great victory or a prize. You could go on and list other experiences that have made you happy. However no matter how marvelous these experiences are, they do not give you the real lasting happiness. They are transitory.

The book of proverbs gives the answer :

Whoever trusteth in the Lord, happy is he. When you trust in the Lord (the power and wisdom of your subconscious mind) to lead, guide, govern and direct all your ways, you will become poised, serene, and relaxed. As you radiate love, peace, and goodwill to all, you will really building a superstructure of happiness for all the days of your life.

YOU MUST CHOOSE HAPPINESS :

Happiness is a state of mind. There is a phrase in the Bible that says, Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. You have the freedom to choose happiness. This may seem extraordinarily simple, and it is. Perhaps this is why people stumble on the way to happiness : they do not see the simplicity of the key to happiness. The great things of life are simple, dynamic, and creative. They produce well-being and happiness.

St. Paul reveals to you how you can think your way into a life of dynamic power and happiness in these words :

Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

HOW TO CHOOSE HAPPINESS

Begin now to choose happiness. This is how you do it : When you open your eyes in the morning, say to yourself,

“Divine order takes charge of my life today and every day. All things work together for good for me today. This is a new and wonderful day for me. There will never be another day like this one. I am divinely guided all day long, and what-ever I do will prosper. Divine love surrounds me, enfolds me and enwraps me, and I go forth in peace.

Whenever my attention wanders away from that which is good and constructive, I will immediately bring it back to the contemplation of that which is lovely and of good report. I am spiritual and mental magnet attracting to myself all things that bless and prosper me. I am going to be a wonderful success in all my undertakings today. I am definitely going to be happy all day long. “

Start each day in this manner; then you will be choosing happiness, and you will be a radiant joyous person.

Begin to realize that the world you live in is determined largely by what goes on in your mind. Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman philosopher and sage, said, “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.” The leading philosopher of nineteenth century Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks all day long.”

Make certain that you do not indulge in negative thoughts, defeatist thoughts, or unkind, depressing thoughts. Recall frequently to your mind that you can experience nothing outside your own mentality.

THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE

The happiest person is the one who constantly brings forth and practices what is best in himself or herself. Happiness and virtue complement each other. Not only are the best the happiest, but the happiest are usually the best in the art of living life successfully. God is the highest and best in you. Express more of God’s love, light, truth, and beauty, and you will become one of the happiest persons in the world today.

There is but one way to tranquility of mind and happiness; let this, therefore, be always ready at hand with thee, both when thou wakest early in the morning and all the day long, and when thou goest late to sleep, to account no external things thine own, but commit all these to God.

Yes, the happiest person is the one who brings forth the highest and the best in himself or herself. God is the highest and the best in him or her, for the kingdom of God is within.

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GOD ALWAYS WITH US

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 10:23:00 +0000

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. “Lord, You said that once I decided to follow You, You’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed You most You would leave me.”

The Lord replied, “My son, My precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

So God is always with us to give us a helping hand; at times He drives us fully. Only that we have to practice Godly qualities and have faith in Him.

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BECOME MASTER OF YOUR MIND

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 10:13:00 +0000

THE MYSTIC NATURE OF OUR LIVES – “BECOME THE MASTER OF YOUR MIND RATHER THAN LET YOUR MIND MASTER YOU”

It is the heart that is important, writes Nichiren Daishonin. Our heart, our mind, is truly wondrous and unfathomable. We can expand and deepen the inner realm of our spirit infinitely and boundlessly.

Like the elation of soaring freely through the vast blue heavens, the heart can feel immense and untrammeled joy. Like the clear, bright sunshine illuminating all things, the heart can embrace those who are suffering with warmth and compassion. And like a lion of justice, the heart can also at times tremble with righteous anger and defeat evil. Indeed, our heart or mind is constantly changing, like scenes in a drama or like an unfolding panorama. And nothing is more wondrous than its ability to manifest the world of Buddhahood. Even people weighed down by delusion and suffering can bring forth in the depths of their lives the state of buddhahood that is one with the universe. This momentous drama of transformation is the greatest of all wonders.

Buddhism finds supreme nobility and the potential for great change in all human beings. In “On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime”, the Daishonin therefore concludes that when we thoroughly polish our lives through chanting the daimoku of Myoho-renge-kyo, it is possible for us to tap the life-state of Buddhahood no matter how steeped in delusion we may be, and to transform even the most impure and evil into a pure land.

Myoho-renge-kyo is the name of the “Mystic truth originally inherent in all living beings”. Accordingly, through the practice chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we can reveal our inner Buddhahood – polishing “the tarnished mirror of a mind now clouded by the illusions of the innate darkness of life” into “a clear mirror reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality”. In other words by manifesting the mystic truth that resides within us, we can tap our infinite inner potential. Buddhahood is the state of life that is one with Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the originally inherent mystic truth. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is also the name of this ultimate state of life.

The passage I will discuss this time explains the relation between myoho-renge-kyo and the mind of living beings in terms of the element of myo, ho, renge and kyo. This explanation may be seen as a description of how our lives become one with myoho-renge-kyo and manifest the state of Buddhahood.

The mind is the mystic entity of the middle way that is the ultimate reality :

To begin with, the Daishonin says that myo of myoho-renge-kyo signifies the mysterious nature of our life from moment to moment. And he uses the concepts of existence and non-existence to describe this wondrous and unfathomable nature.

Our mind is in a state of constant flux, moving with the ebb and flow of countless thoughts and emotions. The Daishonin notes : “When we look into our own mind at any moment, we perceive neither colour nor form to verify that it exists. Yet we still cannot say it does not exist, for many differing thoughts continually occur. The mind cannot be considered either to exist or not to exist. Life is indeed an elusive reality that transcends both the words and concepts of existence and non-existence. It is neither existence nor non-existence, yet exhibits the qualities of both”.

The Daishonin describes, this mysterious form that the mind takes as the “mystic entity of the Middle way that is the ultimate reality”. The Middle Way means the middle course between two extremes; it refers to a more lofty perspective that is swayed by neither extremes; it refers to a more lofty perspective that is swayed by neither extreme but also embraces them both. Shakyamuni set forth a sound philosophy and practice transcending the two then prevailing extremes of hedonism and asceticism, and he called this the Middle way. In “On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime”, the Daishonin says that the ultimate truth, which transcends the two extremes of existence and non-existence and yet also manifests both, is the middle way, and because this is the pinnacle of truth, he calls it the “ultimate reality”.

Transcending existence and non-existence can be taken to mean transcending impermanent phenomena that alternate ceaselessly between existence and non-existence. Further, exhibiting the qualities of both existence and non-existence while transcending both does not refer to a transcendent or absolute being that is divorced from impermanent phenomena, but indicates the truly eternal that encompasses and resides within impermanent phenomena.

Although the Daishonin explains the mysterious nature of our life or mind in terms of the concepts of existence and non-existence in this writing, what he says here is comparable to Nagarjuna’s concept of non-substantiality, and to T’en-t’ai’s concepts of the unification of the three truths and the three fold contemplation in a single mind. Essentially, the mystic entity of the Middle Way that is the ultimate reality” of which Daishonin speaks refers to our life or mind that is one with the ultimate truth – a concept that is expressed variously as non-substantiality, the unification of the three truths, or threefold contemplation in single mind.

Renge refers to the principle of the simultaneity of cause and effect

The Daishonin next states that ho, meaning Law or phenomena, is the name given to the manifestations of the mystic nature of our line or mind – a term that can also be expressed as the wondrous mind or “mind of Myo“. The myo is itself the Mystic Law. Abstract words and theories alone- be they the concepts of non-substantiality or unification of the three truths – cannot be called the Mystic Law. For only when the Mystic Law is expressed as the highest human wisdom based on the Middle Way can it spread as a guide and compass and as a teaching or Law (ho) for people to follow.

In addition, the Daishonin says, “Renge, which means lotus flower, is used to symbolize the wonder of this law”. The mystic law is not visible to the human eye. Therefore, the Buddha uses a concrete metaphor in order to help people understand the Law’s wondrous and mystic nature. This is renge, meaning “lotus flower”.

Why does he employ the lotus flower ? usually plants flower first and then bear fruit – a relationship that is used to illustrate linear or sequential causality, with the flowers representing the cause and the fruit the effect. In Buddhism, this is referred to as the non-simultaneity of cause and effect. By contrast, the lotus flower puts forth its petals and its receptacle ( which contain its fruit) simultaneously – in other words, its fruit is produced at the same time as its petals open. The lotus thus symbolizes the principle of the simultaneity of cause and effect.

The provisional pre-lotus Sutra teachings do not teach that the cause for attaining enlightenment is the Buddhahood that is inherent in the lives of all people; rather they teach that one can only gain the life-state of Buddha after undergoing countless eons of Buddhist practice. Here, cause and effect are non-simultaneous. The teachings of Lotus Sutra, however clarify that all people are originally endowed with the state of Buddhahood and can reveal it instantaneously. In other words, the mind of delusion of an originally endowed with the state of Buddhahood and can reveal it instantaneously. In other words, the mind of delusion of an ordinary person is instantly transformed into the mind of Myo (the supreme enlightenment) of Buddha. The lotus flower symbolizes this simultaneity of cause and effect.

Maintaining the mind of myo is the Mystic kyo

The Daishonin explains that kyo, meaning sutra, of Myoho-renge-kyo also refers to realizing the mystic nature of life. He says: “If we understand that our life at this moment is myo, then we will also understand that our life at other moments is the Mystic Law. This realization is the Mystic KYO or SUTRA “

Kyo is written with Chinese charater meaning the vertical thread or wrap in a loom or fabric, and it is also used to refer to the passage of time. It is in this respect that the daishonin speaks of our life or mind at this moment and our life or mind at other moments. Our life or mind is constantly changing, but when we defeat our inner darkness or ignorance through strong faith manifested in chanting daimoku, the innate mystic truth appears within us, and the life of Myoho-renge(lit. lotus of the Mystic Law) blooms within our heart.

Day by day, through consistently chanting daimoku, we can accumulate the causes and effects for attaining Buddhahood that make it possible to transform a mind clouded by innate darkness of life into a mind reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality. The virtues of these causes and effects over time become the bone and marrow of our beings, with flowers of benefit blossoming in our characters and actual lives. This is the mystic kyo in terms of our individual lives.

Also, we can regard this mystic kyo as the spread of the Mystic law form ourselves to others. When the mind at other moment is taken to mean the minds of all living beings, then kyo refers to the Buddha’s teachings that expound aspects of his enlightenment regarding the mystic nature of life, or the mind of myo. And the king of sutras that directly elucidates the mind of myo itself is the lotus Sutra, the essence of which is Myoho-renge-kyo. In that sense, the development of kosen-rufu, with people propagating the Mystic Law and chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo unstintingly for the happiness of themselves and others and teaching others to do the same, could be said to correspond to the mystic kyo.

As seen in the aforementioned discussion, Myoho-renge-kyo is the Law inherent in our own lives. The ongoing moment-to-moment transformation in our hearts and minds that we achieve through chanting daimoku not only leads to a fundamental inner change but to a change in the entire way we live our lives, putting us on track to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime, and it further creates a groundswell for the great transformation of all humankind that is kosen-rufu. The dynamic force for change on all levels is Myoho-renge-kyo.

Becoming the master of our Mind

Since Myoho-renge-kyo is the Law inherent in our lives, there is another topic I must touch on. Namely the relation between the mind of delusion that is clouded by innate darkness and the mind of myo that is illuminated by the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspects of reality.

If we follow the minds of delusion of ordinary people—a mind that tends to be weak and easily swayed- our inner potential can rapidly wither or, even worse, we may succumb to negative and destructive impulses. This is a problem stemming from the subtlety of the mind. Because our mind is the key to attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime, we must overcome our own inner weakness. This is what our Buddhist practice is all about. The mind of delusion of ordinary people is constantly wavering. We must not make this wavering mind our basis or guide.

The Daishonin stresses this by citing the following well-known passage, “ … become the master of your mind rather let your mind master you”. This passage is from the Six Paramitas Sutra, which states to the effect : “our mind may suddenly run out of control. Therefore, we must tame it like a wild elephant, not allowing our mind to become our master, but rather seeking to master our mind.”. The Nirvana Sutra contains a similar passage : “I pray you will become the master of your mind, and not let your mind master you”. The Daishonin cites this admonition many times, making it a guideline for his followers.

Becoming the master of one’s mind means having a sound compass in life and the bright beacon of faith. We must not be mastered by the inconstant, week an ever-changing mind of delusion of ordinary people. To master our mind, we must guide it in the right direction. In that sense, the true master of the mind is the Law and the teaching of the Buddha. Shakyamuni vowed to make the law to which he had become enlightened the master of his mind, and he took pride in living true to that vow. This is the way of life of “taking refuge in the Law” that Shakyamuni emphasized in his final injunction to his disciples before he died.

The priests of the various Buddhist schools in Daishonin’s lifetime forget this spirit of Shakyamuni. Following their own arbitrary mind of thinking, they lost sight of Buddha’s teachings, denigrated the Lotus sutra and succumbed to arrogance. By contrast, ‘the Daishonin taught that the true master of the mind is Myoho-regne- kyo – the heart of the Lotus sutra and the fundamental Law of all Buddhas – and set forth the concrete practice of chanting Nam-Myoho-renge-kyo for mastering one’s mind. Also, he frequently stressed to his followers the important spirits of faith of seeking this true master of the mind (ie the mystic law).

For example, when one of the two Ikegami brothers was disowned by their father on account of his faith, the Daishonin encouraged them both saying that this was precisely the time for them to unite and overcome the situation based on faith. He offers them this guidance : “A passage in the Six Paramitas Sutra Says to become the master of your mind rather than let your mind master you. Whatever trouble occurs, regard it as no more than a dream, and think only of the Lotus Sutra.”

No matter what difficult circumstances we may face, we can break through them without fail as long as our faith does not waver. Faith is a battle against our own inner weakness. The Daishonin teaches that to win in this battle, we must base our lives wholeheartedly on the Lotus Sutra (the mystic law), without being swayed by our own weak-heartedness.

The path of mentor and disciple based on the Law

From the story of the Ikegami Brothers’ triumph, we also need to learn the faith of oneness of mentor and disciple. Because the brothers conducted themselves exactly as the Daishonin instructed, they were able to overcome their ordeal, discern the scheming of Ryokan of Gokuraku-ji temple behind their father’s actions, and in the end winning the dramatic victory of their father taking faith.

To allow oneself to be mastered by one’s mind is to lead a self-centered existence. Ultimately, one will be pulled this way and that by one’s constantly wavering mind, succumb to egoism and sink into the depths of darkness and ignorance. Conversely, to become the master of one’s mind is to live based on the Law.

A teacher or mentor in Buddhism is one who leads and connects people to the law – teaching them that the law on which they should depend exists within their own lives. The disciples in turn seek mentor, who embodies and is one with the law. Looking to the mentor as a model, they exert themselves in their Buddhist practice. In this way they lead a life that allows them to become the master of their mind.

In other words, the existence of a mentor who embodies and lives in complete accord with the law and who teaches people about the vast inner potential they posses, is indispensible for attaining Budhhahood in this lifetime. I had a mentor who practiced as the Buddha taught – second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, who dedicated his life to widely propagating the Daishonin’s Buddhism in the modern age – and that has made me what I am today. President Toda is always with me as my spiritual mentor. Even now, day by days, and moment by moment, I am carrying on a dialogue with my mentor in my heart. This is the spirit of oneness of mentor and disciple. Those who hold fast to their spiritual as their compass and exert themselves as that mentor teaches are people who live based on the law. The Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin is a teaching founded on the oneness of mentor and disciple and the Lotus Sutra is likewise a scripture of the oneness of mentor and disciple.

At the end of this writing, to convey the importance of the mentor-disciple relationship in walking the great path of attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime, the Daishonin cites a passage from the “Supernatural Power” (21^st) chapter of the Lotus Sutra. I would like to discuss the profound meaning of this passage next time, but suffice it to say here that the path to attaining Buddhahood is found in the practice of Bodhisattvas of the earth who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the Law inherent in their lives, for the happiness of themselves and others and teach others to do the same.

Above all, the great path to attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime lies practicing faith with the spirit of oneness of mentor and disciple, making our minds one with the lofty mind of Budhha and not being swayed by our inner darkness or the three poisons of greed, anger and foolishness. Faith based on the mentor-disciple spirit is the key to opening the treasure within our lives which is as vast as the universe. Moreover, courageously exerting ourselves in chanting daimoku and taking action for kosen-rufu is the direct path to attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime.

NICHIREN BUDDHISM : CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 03:05:00 +0000

BASIC CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF NICHIREN BUDDHISM

TEN WORLDS

The prime concern of Buddhism is our life-condition, the joy or suffering we experience at each moment. This is always seen as an interaction between external conditions and inner tendencies; the same conditions (the same workplace, for example) that might be experienced by one person as unremitting misery may be a source of exhilarating challenge and satisfaction for another. Strengthening our inner state so that we are able to resist and even transform the most difficult and negative conditions is the purpose of Buddhist practice.

Based on his reading of the Lotus Sutra, the sixth-century Chinese Budhhist T’ien T’ai developed a system that classifies human experience into ten states or “worlds”. The concept was adopted and elaborated by Nichiren Daishonin, who stressed the inner, subjective nature of these worlds.

Each of us proposes the potential for all ten worlds and we shift from one world to other according to our life state and our interaction with the environment.

The ten Worlds, in order from the least to the most desirable, are :

1. The world of hell : A condition of despair in which one is completely overwhelmed by suffering.

2. The world of hungry spirit : A state dominated by deluded desire that can never be satisfied.

3. The world of animals: An instinctual state of fearing the strong and bullying the weak.

4. The world of asuras or the world of anger : A state characterised by an unrestrained competitive urge to surpass and dominate others and often a pretence of being good and wise.

5. The world of human being : A tranquil state marked by the ability to reason and make a calm judgments. While fundamental to our identity as humans, this state can also represent a fragile balance that yields to one of the lower states when confronted with negative conditions.

6. The world of heavenly beings or world of rapture : A state of joy typically experienced when desire is fulfilled or suffering escaped.

7. The world of voice-hearers or the world of learning : This is a condition of learning in which one seek some skill, lasting truth or self-improvement through the teachings or experience of others.

8. The world of cause-awakened ones or the world of realization : This is a state in which we seek the truth through our own observations, efforts and concentration. Realisation indicates the ability to perceive unaided the true nature of phenomena.

9. The world of Bodhisattva : A state of compassion in which we overcome the restraints of egotism and work tirelessly for the happiness and welfare of other.

10. The world of Buddhahood : A state of completeness and perfect freedom, in which one is able to savour a sense of unity with the fundamental life-force of the cosmos. For a person in the state of Buddhahood, everything – including the inevitable trials of illness, aging and death – can be experienced as an opportunity for joy and fulfillment. The inner life-state of Buddhahood makes itself visible through altruistic commitment and actions enacted in the world of Bodhisattva.

In Nichiren’s view, enlightenment is not so much a goal or end in itself, as a basis for altruistic action. The life-state of Buddhahood – is one which is expressed, maintained and strengthened through committed action to contribute to the well being and happiness of other people.

Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds

The ten worlds were originally thought of as distinct physical realms into which beings were born as a result of accumulated Karma. In Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism, the Ten Worlds are viewed instead as conditions of life that all people have the potential to experience. As any moment, one of the ten states will manifest and the other nine dormant. The important implication of this principle is that all people, in whatever state of life they may be, have the ever-present potential to manifest Buddhahood. And equally important, Buddhahood is found in the other nine worlds, not somewhere separate.

In the course of a day, we experience different states from moment to moment, in response to our interaction with the environment. However, all of us have one or more worlds around which our life activities usually centre and to which we tend to revert when external stimuli subside. This is one’s basic life-tendency. The purpose of Buddhist practice is to elevate the basic tendency and eventually establish Buddhahood as our fundamental state. This does not mean riding ourselves of the other nine worlds. Rather, based on the life tendency of Buddhahood, the other nine worlds will be harmonized and function to benefit both ourselves and those around us.

Karma

Karma is the accumulation of effects from good and bad causes that we bring with us from our former lives, as well as from the good and bad causes who have made in this life time. Karma shapes and influences both our present and future.

Karma is a Sanskrit word that means “action”. Karma is created by our action- our thought, words and deeds – and manifests itself in our appearance, behavior, attitude, good and bad fortune, where and how we are born and live- in short everything about us.

The law of karmic cause and effect operates over the three existences of past, present and future and it is the karma formed in past lifetimes that accounts for the differences with which we are born into this world.

Karma however, like everything, is in constant flux. We create our own present and future by the choices we make in each moment. Viewed in this manner, the Buddhist concept of karma does not encourage resignation, but empowers us to become the protagonists and take charge of lives.

Lessening Karmic Retribution

Unlike some other philosophies, Buddhism does not consider one’s karma or destiny to be fixed. As our minds change from moment to moment, even the habitual and destructive tendencies we possess can be altered to varying degrees. Buddhism teaches that individuals have within themselves the potential to change their own karma.

One of the benefits of faith and practice is the lessening of one’s karmic retribution. This means that one will experience the effects of bad karma from the past to a lesser degree than would normally be manifested. This principle means that one can decrease the intensity of negative effects of the bad karma one has created, not only in this lifetime but also in the infinite past. One can also shorten the period for which one will have to suffer the effects of one’s negative karma. Furthermore, one can draw into this lifetime all the sufferings which would otherwise appear one at a time over many lifetimes and lessen them all at once within this lifetime.

Karmic retribution is lessened in three ways. Firstly by power of Wisdom; when one has sufficient wisdom, one can challenge and overcome the difficulties one faces, rather than trying to escape them. Secondly, one can reduce the effects of one’s negative karma through doing good deeds and accumulating good fortune. Thirdly, one can diminish one’s karmic retribution through the blessings one gains by protecting the law; by embracing, propagating and working for the Mystic Law.

ONENESS OF SELF AND ENVIRONMENT

People generally regard the environment as separate form themselves. However, from the viewpoint of Buddhism, the individual and the environment are one and inseparable. At the most fundamental level of life itself, there is no separation between ourselves and the environment.

Buddhism teaches that life manifests itself in both a living subject and an objective environment. Nichiren wrote, ”Life at each moment encompasses the body and mind and the self and the environment of all sentiment beings in the Ten Worlds as well as all insentiments beings in the three thousand realms, including plants, sky, earth, and even the minutest particles of dust.”

‘Life’ means the subjective self that experiences the effects of past actions and is capable of creating new causes for the future. The environment is the objective realm where the karmic effects of life take shape. Each living being has his or her own unique environment.

Since both life and its environment are one, whichever of ten Worlds an individual manifests internally will be mirrored in his or her external environment. For example, a person in the state of Hell will perceive the environment to be hellish, while a person in the state of learning will perceive the same environment as challenging. People also create physical environments which reflect their inner reality. For instance, someone who is depressed is likely to neglect his home and personal appearance. On the other hand, someone who is secure and generous creates a warm and attractive environment around them.

According to Buddhism, everything around us including work and family relationships is the reflection of our inner lives. Everything is perceived through the self and alters according to the individual’s inner state of life. Thus, if we change ourselves, our circumstances will inevitably change as well.

This is a liberating concept as it means that there is no need to seek enlightenment outside ourselves or in a particular place. Wherever we are, in whatever circumstances, we can bring forth our innate Budhhahood, thus transforming our experience of our environment into “the Buddha’s Land” – the joy-filled place where we can create value for ourselves and for others.

As we accumulate good karma through Buddhist practice, the effects will become apparent not only in ourselves but also in our environment, in the form of improved material circumstance, greater respect from others and so on. Therefore our enlightenment is not confined to ourselves, but exerts an influence on our families, communities, nations and ultimately all humanity. The principle of the oneness of life and its environment is the rationale for asserting that the Buddhist practice of individuals will help usher in a transformation in society.

The single most positive action we can make for society and the land is to transform our own lives, so that they are no longer dominated by anger, greed and fear. When we manifest wisdom, generosity and integrity, we naturally make more valuable choices and we will find that surroundings are nurturing and supportive. Often, we cannot foresee the long-term results of our actions and it is hard to believe that one individual’s choice can really affect the state of the world, but Buddhism teaches that through the oneness of self and environment, everything is interconnected. And the more we believe that our actions do make a difference, the greater the difference we find we can make.

HUMAN REVOLUTION

“Human Revolution” is the term used by second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda to describe a fundamental process of inner transformation whereby we break through the shackles of our “lesser self”, bound by self-concern and the ego, and grow in altruism towards a “greater self” capable of caring and taking action for the sake of others and ultimately all humanity.

As SGI President Daisaku Ikeda explains : “There are all sorts of revolutions ; political revolution, economic revolutions, industrial revolutions, scientific revolutions, artistic revolutions … but no matter what one changes, the world will never get any better as long as people themselves remain selfish and lacking in compassion. In that respect, human revolution is the most fundamental of all revolutions, and at the same time, the most necessary revolution for humankind.”

Human revolution is the process of transforming our lives at the very core. It involves identifying and challenging those things which inhibit the full expression of our positive potential and humanity. Nichiren realized that the deepest process of change and purification takes place when we bring forth this state, and he taught the practice of chanting “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” as the direct and immediate means for accessing and experiencing it.

When we look beyond our personal concerns and take action for the sake of others, this process is strengthened and accelerated. An experience which previously seemed like a heavy burden can become the key to finding the purpose of our lives, as we learn how to help others struggling in a similar situation.

The individual process of human revolution is the very key to sparkling change on a global scale. For, as Daisaku Ikeda writes,

“A great revolution in just single person will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and, further, will cause a change in the destiny of all humankind,”

Taking responsibility for transforming our own lives is the first step towards creating a human society based on compassion and respect for the dignity of all people’s lives.

Kosen-rufu : Contributing to World Peace

The Japanese phrase kosen-rufu expresses a key concept of SGI members. It is often used synonymously with world peace, and has been informally defined as “world peace through individual happiness”. More broadly, it could be understood as a vision of social peace brought about the wide spread acceptance of core humanistic values such as unfailing respect for the dignity of human life.

Thus, for members of the SGI, kosen-rufu means the ceaseless efforts to enhance the value of human dignity, to awaken all people to a sense of their limitless worth and potential, it is for this reason that efforts in the fields of peace, humanitarian aid, educational and cultural exchange are all seen as vital aspects of the movement for kosen-rufu; these promote the values that are integral to human happiness.

Finally, it should be understood that kosen-rufu does not represents a static end point. As President Daisaku Ikeda noted in 1970, “Kosen-rufu does not mean the end point or terminus of a flow, but it is the flow itself, the very pulse of living Buddhism within society.”

In this sense, the “attainment” of kosen-rufu does not suggest the end of history or of the inevitable conflicts and contradictions that drive history. Rather, it could be thought of as building a world in which a deeply and widely held respect for human life would serve as the basis on which such conflicts can be worked out in a peaceful, creative manner. Buddhism teaches that it is something that we can begin to implement right now, wherever we are.

NICHIREN BUDDHISM

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 18:41:00 +0000

“We can all learn how to tap the highest potential of our lives, to create value each day, each moment. As we can’t avoid sufferings, our only choice is to overcome them and live joyfully and vigorously while we do so. No matter how unpleasant the circumstances we find ourselves in, we can transform them into hope and good fortune.

The secret to leading a fulfilling life is living based on the life philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism. Resolute faith is the best means for drawing out one’s inner potential and ensuring that we win each day.”

Happiness is not a life without problems, but rather the strength to overcome the problems that come our way. There is no such thing as a problem-free life; difficulties are unavoidable. The manner in which we experience and react to our problems depends on us. Buddhism teaches that we are each responsible for our own happiness or unhappiness. Our vitality – the amount of energy or “life-force” we have – is in fact the single most important factor in determining whether or not we are happy. We can never find happiness if we don’t challenge our weaknesses and change from within.

The practice of nichiren Buddhism empowers us to increase our life force overcome our weaknesses, face our problems, transform our karma, enrich the quality of our lives and become happier people.

“If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present.”

Basics of Buddhism

The idea that every human being is born with the ability to become happy is not new. Gautama Buddha taught this principle more than 2500 years ago. He realized that all human beings possess the potential for enlightenment – or Buddhahood – in the depths of their lives. He preached various sutras to help people actualize that potential. After Gautama Buddha’s death, different schools of Buddhism based on based on different sutras arose, with Hinayana and Mahayana emerging as the two key streams.

Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism

In 13^th century Japan, the Buddhist sage Nichiren Daishonin, after extensive study of various Buddhist sutras, concluded that the Lotus Sutra is the ultimate teaching of Gautama Buddha. The Lotus Sutra asserts the inherent dignity and equality of all people and, indeed, of all life. Nichiren Daishonin crystallized the teachings of the lotus Sutra into a concrete philosophy and established a practice suitable for all times. The Soka Gakkai International has made this philosophy accessible to millions of people round the world.

Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo

The first step in Nichiren Buddhism is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo each day. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the Law that permeates all life and the universe. The Sanskrit title of the Lotus Sutra – Sad-dharma-pundarika-sutra is translated into Japanese as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Nicheren prefixed Nam, meaning devotion to the title. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo literally translates as : “I devote my life to the Mystic Law of cause and effect.”

Nichiren devoted great energy to encouraging his followers to muster deep faith that chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is a practice by which they could bring forth their inherent Buddha nature – strengthening their capacity for wisdom, courage, confidence, vitality and compassion – to successfully meet the challenges of daily life and establish a state of unshakable happiness in this world.

The meaning of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

Each of the characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo represents profound principles :

Nam – This Sanskrit word means “to devote one-self”. It indicates the elements of action and attitude. By devoting our lives to this law through our faith, practice and study, we awaken the life-condition of Buddhahood or enlightenment within our lives.

Myoho – literally the Mystic Law. Nichiren writes : “[Myo] is simply the mysterious nature of our life from moment to moment, which the mind cannot comprehend or word express”. The three attributes of Myo are : to open, to be fully endowed and to revive. Ho is the Dharma or Law, together “the Mystic Law”. Buddhism regards Myoho as the two aspects –myo, latent and unseen and ho, active and manifest of deeper life-continuum.

Renge – is the lotus flower. The lotus blooms and produces seeds at the same time and symbolizes the simultaneously of cause and effect. The circumstances and quality of our individual lives are determined by the causes and effect , both good and bad, that we accumulate through our thoughts, words and actions at each moment. This is called our “karma”. The law of cause and effect explains that we each have personal responsibility for our own destiny. We crate our destiny and we can change it. The most powerful cause we can make is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. As we chant, the effect of Buddhahood is simultaneously crated in the depth of our lives and will definitely manifest in time. The Lotus flower grows and blooms in a muddy pond, yet remains pure and free from defilement.

Kyo – represents sutra, the voice or teaching of a Buddha. It also means sound, rhythm or vibration.

The power inherent in the characters Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is limitless. However, it is our sincere efforts in practice that determine the extent of benefits we experience. Through a consistent practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo each day, we can tap and manifest the state of Buddhahood, create value and positively transform our lives.

The Three Pillars : Faith, Practice and Study

There are three fundamentals in the practice of Nichiren Daishonin’s Budhism : Faith, Practice, and Study.

Faith means to believe in the Gohonzon. Faith begins as an expectation or hope that something positive will happen. To develop faith, we must take action.

Practice in Nichiren Daishonin’s consists of two parts : Practice for ourselves and practice for others. Practice for ourselves is primarily chanting daimoku(the primary practice), doing gongyo(The Daily Practice). Practice for other consists of introducing them to Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings.

Study means to read and understand the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings.

Study means to read and understand the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism. Of these three, faith is the most fundamental for the attainment of Buddhahood. Faith gives rise to practice and study, and practice and study in turn serve to deepen one’s faith.

There are many books and journals that members read to deepen their study of Nichiren daishonin, commonly referred to as the Gosho, is a compilation of letters and treaties in two volumes. Value Creation, the monthly news letter is a compilation of SGI(Soka Gakki International) President Daisaku Ikeda’s latest speeches, poems, lectures and essays.

“The great power of the Mystic Law … embraces everything, brings out the positive possibilities of all situations, transforming everything towards good, reviving and giving new life to all experiences.”

Setting Goals and Experimenting Benefits

Each one of us has set out to accomplish a goal at some point in our lives. The goal may be something life-changing or something small, such as completing as assignment by a particular date. Goals motivate us and provide us the drive to make the required efforts.

Likewise, in our practice, goals help to focus our prayers and efforts. Unless we have our sights set on a target we tend to ‘spin our wheels’ without moving forward. When setting goal, it is important to make a determination to accomplish it and then put effort into chanting and taking action to reach that goal. Once you start to practice consistently, you will definitely experience benefits and notice some changes in your attitude and environment.

The Power of Actual Proof

Nichiren Daishonin spoke of three proofs that should be used as standards for judging the validity of any teaching. These are documentary, theoretical and actual proof. With regard to this practice, Nichiren states that actual proof is the most important of the three. And it is actual proof– usually in the form of increased good fortune, protection or happiness – that people are referring to when they talk about “benefits or experiences”.

Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism teaches that physical and spiritual aspects of our lives are inseparable, so that if the overall state of our life is elevated, it is quite natural that this improvement will be reflected in both spheres. Broadly speaking, the benefits we derive from our practice can be divided into two types – conspicuous and inconspicuous.

Conspicuous benefits refer to improvement in our circumstances – in our working lives or in our relationships with others – that are clear and obvious. Inconspicuous benefits are not immediately apparent and can usually be seen only in hindsight.

The key benefit of the practice is the gradual elevation of our general life condition : from one in which we have suffered as a result of circumstances and our karma, to one in which we can increasingly experience life through the qualities of our Buddhahood – wisdom, courage, compassion an life force. Of the two benefits, inconspicuous benefit is incomparably greater : for as long as one keeps practicing, not only can it ever be lost or taken from one, but it also adds value to every aspects of our lives.

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 16:51:00 +0000

Our life is frittered away by detail …… simplify, simplify!

Somewhere in the woods along the shores of Walden Pond an owl screeched, and far off another answered. The moon was bright, the water still as glass. Henry Thoreau sat in the moon filled doorway of his shack, looking out across the stillness and brightness of the lake. “this is the spot I love above all other on earth” he thought.

Here, in the quiet and peace of Walden Woods, a man could live simply and deliberately – shearing off all the unessentials and getting down to the basic truths of life. Here, in the solitude, living close to nature, a man could examine his ideas, think things through, and perhaps come to some reasonable conclusion about the meaning and purpose of life.

He turned back to the open notebook on his knees and read the last few words he had written : “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation …. “

A squirrel came stealthily from the woods and sat watching him, wide-eyed and friendly. All above him were the soft, gentle sounds of nature, stirring, whispering, ushering in the night.

“I am convinced from experience that to maintain oneself on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely . . . Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. . . "

A cloud obscured the moon and it was suddenly dark in the woods. He put the notebook aside and took a flute from his pocket and laughed as the squirrel scurried in alarm up the nearest tree.

“Don’t be afraid, my friend!” he called into the branches. “this isn’t a gun. Come and listen to my music.”

Henry David Thoreau loved nature. Every sight and sound in woods and fields had meaning for him. He knew the birds by their calls, the animals by their tracks on the ground. He could find a path through the woods at night as easily as any Indian. He was at home in Walden Woods, at home and completely happy.

In concord young, Thoreau had been stifled and wretched. A Harvard graduate, he had tried teaching for a time, and a number of other uncongenial occupations. But what he wanted most to do was study, think, and write; and for these important occupations he had no quiet in the cluttered lodging house where he lived, no seclusion, no opportunity at all.

Did people ever do what they really wished, he wondered – what they were by nature intended to do, and what they were best suited for? Everywhere about him he saw people squandering the precious substance of their lives in pursuit of material gains. Everywhere about him he saw people squandering the precious substance of their lives in pursuit of material gains. Everywhere about him he saw people feverishly piling up property and possession, enslaving themselves at the cost of things that really counted.

Surely there must be something more to life than the mere “laying up of treasure on earth.” Being a man of original mind and great personal integrity, Thoreau abhorred the idea of being poured into a fixed mold, of being forced to do what others thought right and proper instead of what he himself wished. He did not intend to let his life slip by without ever having lived. He decided to do something about it.

The world’s wisest men, the reflected, the great tinkers and philosophers of the past, had lived lives of Spartan simplicity. He would take his cue form them. The would live alone in Walden Woods away from problems, involvements and artifices of civilization; and in the peace and solitude of the woods, living close to nature, he would improve his soul’s estate, learn to think and write clearly – and perhaps come closer of an understanding of life and to the basic but elusive truths that give it meaning.

So in March, 1845, Thoreau borrowed an ax and started building little cabin for himself on the edge of Walden Pond, on a tract of land belonging to Ralph Waldo Emerson. On July 4^th this house completed, a vegetable garden planted – with little more than his flute, some notebooks and pens, and a copy of Homer – he went to the woods to launch his experiment in simple living.

“ he chose to be rich by making his wants few,” said his friend Emersion.

Thoreau was twenty eight years old when he began his experiment. He was not a hermit by nature; he had many good friends in Concord. He merely wished to escape for a time form the complex pattern of civilization and live a free, independent life, serene and uncluttered. In Walden woods his ideas slowly came to fruition, and he shaped the inspiring truths that now illumine his name. he remained for a little more than a two years; then, having exhausted the advantages of solitude – and completed satisfied with the experiment – he returned to concord and conventional life. From notes carefully written down day after day in the woods, he produced Walden, the book that made him famous, and from which these passage are selected :

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, to discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not a life, living is so dear, nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish the meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion . . .

Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumbnail. In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live, if he would not founder and go to the bottom and not make his port at all, by dead reckoning, and he must be a great calculator indeed who succeeds. Simplify, Simplify . . . .

Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life ? . . . when we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence, that petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the realities.

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can do without. Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.

Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicate his fate.

Only that day dawns to which we are awake.

Every man is the builder of a temple called his body . . . . we are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones. Any nobleness begins at once to refine a man’s features any meanness or sensuality to imbrute them.

Be not simply good; be good for something.

In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore . . . they had better aim at something high.

I know of no more encouraging fact that the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.

I learned this, at least, by my experiment : that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he had imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

The record of an experiment in serene living, Walden is as timely now as it was when Thoreau wrote it a hundred years ago. It has, in fact, steadily increased in popularity, and is today more widely read than ever- perhaps because the patterns of life have become more complex and confusing.

Simplify your life, Thoreau urged his readers. Don’t waste the years struggling for things that are unimportant. Don’t burden yourself with professions. Keep your needs and wants simple, and enjoy what you have. Simplify ! Don’t fritter away your life on non-essentials. Don’t enslave yourself for luxuries you can do without. Don’t destroy your peace of mind by looking back, worrying about the past. Live in the present, enjoy the present, Simplify!

“Henry Thoreau’s place in the common heart of humanity grows firmer and more secure as the seasons pass,” wrote Elbert Hubbard, fifty years after Walden was written.

“Thoreau learned how to live a life, which is a thing rarely heard of,” says Brooks Atkinson in his introduction to a recent edition of Walden.

In the peace and quiet of Walden Woods, Henry David Thoreau found what was for him, and has been for countless people since, a wise and tranquil approach to life. Out of his experiment in serene living has come a book of enduring beauty and inspiration, one of America’s most beloved classics - Walden, named for the woods and the pond Thoreau so loved.

MALICE TO NONE, CHARITY FOR ALL

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 13:36:00 +0000

WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE, WITH CHARITY FOR ALL….

The fourth of March, 1865, stated out to be dull and rainy. But later in the day it cleared; and it turned out to be pleasant after all for the President Abraham Lincoln’s second inauguration.

The streets were filled with milling crowds of people, with cavalry patrols and police. The inauguration platform had been built on the east front of the Capitol; and here there was a vast sea of humanity, stretching as far as the eye could see, filling the great plaza and flooding out into the grounds beyond. As the President appeared and took his place on the platform, a tremendous roar swept the crowd, rolling back like thunder to outer edges, loud and prolonged.

Abraham Lincoln had not expected such an ovation. He has not, in fact, expected to be re-elected at all. No man in American history had been so hated and reviled, so bitterly denounced, as he had been these past four years. They had been difficult years- years of great struggle and suffering, of agony and bloodshed. He had taken over the leadership of the country at a time of grave crisis, and had given his best efforts to maintaining and preserving the Union – the only thing that really mattered.

But he had been misunderstood, condemned, humiliated in public and in private, assailed alike by friend and foe. One newspaper had called him “the obscene ape of Illinois.” Horace Greeley had written an editorial demanding his withdrawal in favour of another candidate, declaring : Mr. Lincoln is already beaten. He can never be elected.” His life had been threatened over and over again. Even today, though every precautions had been taken, he knew there were many who feared for his safety.

No, he had not expected to be re-elected… not even with the high tide of the confederacy broken and victory at last in sight. With Grant’s vise closing on Lee, and Sherman moving up from the south, it was clear the war was almost over. But he felt no elation, either at the recent victories in the war or his unexpected victory at the polls. He saw the hand of God in both these events and was humbly grateful for the chance now given him to complete his great task. He harbored no resentments, had no slightest wish for retaliation against those who had cruelly slandered and abused him. He had one interest only : to conciliate the rebellious states and to rebuild the Union he had sworn to preserve.

The great crowd fell silent as he stepped forward to make his address. The sun, which had been obscured all day, suddenly burst through the clouds and flooded the scene with brightness. He spoke slowly and clearly, his voice vibrant with emotion, aware of the great importance of this moment and the potential influence of his words on the nation.

“On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war …. All knew that slavery was, somehow the cause of the war. …Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it had already attained … Each looked for an easier triumph … Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other… .. it may seem strange that any man should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces; but let us judge not, that we be not judged… The Almighty has His own purposes…… “

The huge crowd listened without a sound. This was not a party language. This was not a political phraseology. Abraham Lincoln was talking out of the fullness of his heart, to a people and nation he loved, appealing for peace and tolerance, for understanding, for an end to sectional bitterness and strife.

There was no hint of self-aggrandizement anywhere in his speech, no boasting about his re-election, no praise for the administration and what it had accomplished. The Union was his main theme, his main interest . . . a strong, united, unbroken nation, firm in its loyalties and ideals. He wanted no gloating, no malice- above all no malice! The issues involved were too vast to admit of malicious dealing. His aim was to end all feelings of hatred and resentment between North and South, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to prevent – in so far as possible – the unhappy aftermaths of war.

He closed with this passage, which has been called “the purest gold of human eloquence.”

“With malice towards none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan- to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Lincoln’s second inaugural address received high contemporary praise. Many newspapers called it the most inspiring speech ever made by an American President. Others declared it raised high hopes for the future, and congratulated the President on finding words so eloquent, and so adequate to his desire.

But it was the closing paragraph of Lincoln’s speech that had the greatest impact, that stirred the nation and the world. In these few words were condensed the essence of his philosophy, his abiding faith in the nation and its people, his dream of an America in which all were free, and in which even the most humble could find peace and happiness. They were words of infinite sympathy and compassion. Though he spoke out of the depths of his own heart, he spoke for millions of others who felt as he did, voicing their hopes and prayers for a lasting peace “with liberty and justice for all.”

It was a paragraph for ever memorable- and forever inspiring. The language was simple but there was a majesty to it, almost a Biblical quality. It was like a “sacred poem” wrote Carl Shurz. “No President had ever spoken words like these to the American people.”

Above all else, this famous closing paragraph was an expression of Lincoln’s won inherent character : his great courage and integrity, his humility, his love for his fellow man. “with malice towards none, with charity for all …… “ Lincoln did not believe in harboring resentments or bearing grudges. He never willingly planted a thorn in any man’s bosom, never did anything through malice or spite.

“Lincoln’s noble sentiment of charity for all and malice towards none was a specific for the Civil War,” declared Elihu Root. “It is a living principle of action.”

Few words have been so widely quoted; few words have had such tremendous and enduring influence on people all over the world. The late Earl Curzon, Chancellor of Oxford University, called it “One of the truly great treasures of mankind.” It has guided countless men and women in ways of greater tolerance and understanding.

“With malice towards none, with charity for all ……”

Generations of Americans still unborn will thrill to these words of love and compassion spoken by Abraham Lincoln at one of the most crucial hours in the nation’s history.

FORGIVING..

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 15:24:00 +0000

To err is human; to forgive is divine.

… Allexander Pope

You must forgive those who transgress against you before you can look to forgiveness from above.

….Talmud

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.

… The Lord’s Prayer

Life is short and we have not too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark way with us. Oh, be swift to love! Make haste to be kind!

… Henri F. Amiel

Life is too short to be little.

… Benjamin Disraeli

There are many fine things which you mean to do some day, under what you think will be more favourable circumstances. But the only time that is surely yours is the present, hence this is the time to speak the word of appreciation and sympathy, to do the generous deed, to forgive the fault of a thoughtless friend, to sacrifice self a little more for others. Today is the day in which to express your noblest qualities of mind and heart, to do at least one worthy thing which you have long postponed, and to use your God-given abilities for the enrichment of some less fortunate fellow traveler. Today you can make your life . . . . significant and worth while. The present is yours to do with it as you will.

…..Grenville Kleiser

In this life, if you have anything to pardon, pardon quickly. Slow forgiveness is little better than no forgiveness.

… Sir Arthur W. Pinero

Around the corner I have a friend,

In this great city that has no end;

Yet days go by, and weeks rush on,

And before I know it a year is gone,

And I never see my old friend’s face,

For life is a swift and terrible race.

He knows I like him just as well

As in the days when I rang his bell

And he rang mine. We were younger then,

And now we are busy, tired men:

Tired with playing a foolish game,

Tired with trying to make a name.

“Tomorrow” I say, ‘I will call him Jim,

Just to show that I am thinking of him.”

But tomorrow comes – and tomorrow goes,

And the distance between us grows and grows.

Around the corner – yet miles away . . .

“Here’s a telegram, Sir . . .

“ Jim died today.”

And that’s what we get, and deserve in the end :

Around the corner, a vanished friend.

….. Charles Hanson Towne

As usual, the great church was filled. Phillips Brooks faced the enormous, hushed congregation as he had so many times before, Sunday after Sunday—the expectant, well-dressed congregation waiting for his weekly message.

He looked into the faces of men and women he long had known, men and women who had come to him with their problems, who had asked for his help and guidance. How well he knew what seethed behind the pleasant, smiling masks of their Sunday-best respectability! How well he knew the petty spites that embittered their hearts, the animosities that set neighbor against neighbor, the silly quarrels that were kept alive, he jealousies and misunderstanding, the stubborn pride.

Today his message was for those bitter, unbending ones who refused to forgive and forget. He must make them realize that life is too short to nurse grievances, to harbor grudges and resentments. He would plead for tolerance and understanding, for sympathy and kindness. He would plead for brotherly love.

“Oh, my dear friends!” he said… and it was as though he spoke to each separately and alone :

“You who are letting miserable misunderstanding run on from year to year, meaning to clear them up some day ;

You who are keeping wretched quarrels alive because you cannot quite make up your mind that now is the day to sacrifice your pride and kill them;

You who are passing men sullenly upon the street, not speaking to them out of some silly spite, and yet knowing that it would fill you with shame and remorse if you heard that one of those men were dead tomorrow morning;

You who are letting your neighbor starve, till you hear that he is dying of starvation;

Or letting your friend’s heart ache for a word of appreciation or sympathy, which you mean to give him someday; if you only could know and see and feel, all of a sudden, that “the time is short,” how it would break the spell! How you would go instantly and do the thing which you might never have another chance to do.”

As the congregation poured out of the church that Sunday morning, people who hadn’t spoken in years suddenly smiled and greeted to each other . . . and discovered it was what they had been wanting to do all along. Neighbors who had disliked and avoided each other walked home together . . . and were astonished to find how very much they enjoyed doing it. Many who had been grudging and unkind firmly resolved to be more generous in the future, more considerate of others . . . and all at once felt happier and more content, felt at peace with themselves and the world.

Phillips Brooks had found just the right combination of words to inspire his listeners, to make them want to forget their grudges and patch up their quarrels. His sermon struck a responsive chord in many hearts that day; and there were some who never afterward forgot his words, for they helped change the course of their lives, helped bring back the happiness they had so nearly destroyed.

Forgive, Phillips Brooks urged his congregation. Forget, Bear with the fault of others as you would have them bear with yours. Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful and malicious. Life is too short to be petty or unkind. The sermon later appeared in print, and the arc of its influence steadily widened and increased.

Phillips Brooks was one of the America’s greatest preachers. As Rector of Trinity Church in Boston, and later as Bishop of Massachusetts, he delivered many eloquent and memorable sermons. “The Candle of the Lord,” which he preached in Westminster Abbey on July 4, 1879, remains one of the world’s most famous sermons. He was also a distinguished literary personality, a writer of essays and poems. One of his poems was set to music and achieved immortality as the beloved hymn, O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

But of all his prodigious sermons and writings, the selection we have quoted is one of the best known and best remembered. It is so frequently quoted, in print and from the pulpit, that it is familiar to vast number of people; and its influence has been incalculable. The influence continues . . . reminding us that life is short, that we must forget our grudges an grievances, forget and forgive while there still is time.

Don’t wait to patch up that quarrel. Don’t wait to say that kind word, to do that kind deed. The time is short, and tomorrow may be too late!

A PSALM OF LIFE

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Mon, 13 Oct 2014 15:52:00 +0000

Let us, then, be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labour and to wait.

It was early morning. The bright sun streamed through the windows of the Craigie house on Cambridge where George Washington has once had his headquarters, and where a young Harvard Professor now lived. He lived, in fact, in the very room that Washington had occupied. And as the stood gazing out of the window at the sloping lawn and the elms, he wondered if Washington might not have stood here once feeling perhaps as he did- unutterably lonely and dejected.

The young man’s wife had died three years ago, but he longed for her still. Time has not softened his grief or eased the torment of his memories. He turned restlessly from the window and wondered how to spend the time before breakfast.

He was a poet too; this young professor; but he had no heart for poetry these days. He had no heart for anything. It seemed, Life had become an empty dream.

But this could not go on, he told himself! He was letting the days slip by, nursing his despondency. Life was not an empty dream! He must be up and doing. Let the dead past bury its dead….

Suddenly Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was writing in a surge of inspiration, the lines coming almost too quickly for his racing pen :

A PSALM OF LIFE

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,

Life is but an empty dream! –

For the soul is dead that slumbers,

And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each tomorrow

Find us farther than today.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

And our hearts, though stout and brave,

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,

In the bivouac of Life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no future, howe’er pleasant!

Let the dead past bury its dead!

Act, - act in the living Present!

Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all reminds us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us then, be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate,

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait.

Longfellow called his poem “A Psalm of Life.” He put it aside at first, unwilling to show it to anyone; for as he later explained, “it was a voice from my inmost heart, at a time when I was rallying form depression.”

But later he allowed it to be published . . . and it went straight to the hearts of millions of people. No poem ever written became so well known so fast. It was taught in schools, recited on the stage, discussed from pulpit and lecture platform. It crossed the ocean and spread like wildfire through England. It was translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Danish – even Sanskrit! In China it was printed on a fan and become immensely popular.

A whole generation of school children grew up under the influence of Longfellow’s “Psalm.” Many prominent men later acknowledged that influence with gratitude. Henry Ford, for example, memorized it as a lad, and later years often said that the six and ninth stanzas came back to him all his life, inspiring him to effort and achievement. Firestone also freely acknowledged his indebtedness to the poem, as did many other famous men. Edward Bok made a special visit to Longfellow to tell him how much the last four lines meant to him. Even Gandhi, on the other side of the world, quoted a favorite line from it just a few days before his death (“.. … things are not what they seem”).

The call to courage and action of a men emerging from a great sorrow. “A Psalm of Life” is one of the best loved and most widely read poems in the world. Its lines are full of faith and hope, its message clear and unmistakable. Its appeal is as vital and timely now as it ever was; in a recent poll to determine the nation’s favorite poem, it easily won first place. For over a hundred years aged to be “up and doing, with a heart for any fate.” No poem more richly deserves its place among the inspirational classics of mankind.

PRAYER

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Mon, 13 Oct 2014 15:51:00 +0000

All who call on God in true faith,

earnestly from the heart will certainly be heard,

and will receive what they have asked and desired.

…… Martin Luther

All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

…..Mathew

Ask, and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find,

Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

……. Mathew

The sovereign cure for worry is prayer.

….. William James.

Prayer is not only worship; it is also an invisible emanation of man’s worshiping spirit- the most powerful form of energy that one can generate. The influence of prayer on the human mind and body is as demonstrable as that of a secreting glands. Its results can be measured in terms of increased physical buoyancy, greater intellectual vigor, moral stamina, and a deeper understanding of the realities underlying human relationships.

If you make a habit of sincere prayer, your life will be very noticeably and profoundly altered. Prayer stamps with its indelible mark on our actions and demeanor. A tranquility of bearing a facial and bodily repose, are observed in those whose inner lives are thus enriched. Within the depths of consciousness a flame kindle. And man sees himself. He discovers his selfishness, his silly pride, his fears, his greeds, his blunders. He develops a sense of moral obligation intellectual humility. Thus begins a journey of soul towards the realm of grace.

Prayer is a force as real as terrestrial gravity. As a physician I have seen men, after all other therapy has failed, lifted out of disease and melancholy by the serene effort of prayer. It is the only power in the world that seems to overcome the so called “Laws of Nature”; the occasions on which prayer has dramatically done this have been termed as “miracle”. But a constant quieter miracle takes place hourly in the hearts of men and women who have discovered that prayer supplies them with a steady flow of sustaining power in their daily lives.

Too many people regard prayer as a formalized routine of works, a refuge for weaklings, or a childish petition for mental things. We sadly undervalue prayer when we conceive it in the terms, just as we should underestimate rain by describing it as something that fills the bird bath in our garden. Properly understood, prayer is a mature activity indispensible to the fullest development of personality – the ultimate integration of man’s highest facilities. Only in prayer do we achieve that complete and harmonious assembly of body mind and spirit which gives the frail human reed its unshakable strength.

By : Alexis Carrel

SERENITY

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 05:03:00 +0000

CALMNESS of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.

A man becomes calm in the measure that he understands himself as a thought evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the results of thought, and as he develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect he ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, serene.

The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others; and they, in turn, reverence his spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of him and relay upon him. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Even the ordinary trader will find his business prosperity increase as he develops a greater self-control and equanimity, for people will always prefer to deal with a man whose demeanour is strongly equable.

The strong, calm man is always loved and revered. He is like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm. “Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite poise of character, which we call serenity is the last lesson of the culture, the fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisdom, more to be desired than gold-yea, than even fine gold. How insignificance mere money seeking looks in comparison with a serene life- a life that dwells in the ocean of Truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the Eternal Calm!

“How many people we know who sour their lives, who ruin all that sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers, who destroy their poise of character, and make bad blood! It is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by lack of self control. How few people we meet in life who are well balanced, who have that exquisite poise which is characteristic of the finished character!

Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is tumultuous with ungoverned grief, is blown about by anxiety and doubt only the wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him.

Tempest-tossed souls, wherever ye may be, under whatsoever conditions ye may live, know this in the ocean of life the isles of Blessedness are smiling, and the sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming. Keep your hand firmly upon the helm of thought. In the bark of your soul reclines the Commanding Master; Calmness is Power. Say unto your heart, “Peace, be still!”

By : James Allen; He was a philosophical writer of British nationality known for his inspirational books and poetry. This a collection from his best known work, As a Man Thinketh, was mass produced since its publication in 1903 and has provided a key source of ideas to countless best-selling motivational and self-help authors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

HAPPINESS

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 05:06:00 +0000

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are –

Something to do,

Someone to love, and

Something to hope for.

.... Joseph Addison

I created you human being because-

I desire to see you lead a joyous life.

Man still wishes to be happy even when he so lives,

As to make happiness impossible.

Happiness is a conscious choice,

Not an automatic response.

Most folks are about as happy as

they make up their minds to be.

....... Abraham Lincoln

Being happy does not mean everything is perfect,

It means you have decided to look beyond the imperfections.

... Albert Camus

To be happy is the ultimate goal of all ambition, all endeavour, all hopes and plans. “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence,” declared Aristotle, supreme philosopher of the ancient world.

But what is happiness? Clearly, it means vastly different things to different people. Since earliest times men have sought and found their happiness along amazingly divergent paths- in work, achievement, success, in love and family ties, in the affection of friends, in religion.

There is one point, however, on which philosophers in every age agree : true happiness stems from a quality within ourselves, from a way of thinking of life. Of all the millions of words written on happiness, this is the oldest and most enduring truth. If the principles of contentment are not within us, no material success, no pleasures or possessions, can make us happy.

This philosophy has been expounded by writers and thinkers since civilisation began; but never more beautifully and effectively than in Maeterlinck’s famous play, “The Blue Bird” Tyltyl and Mytyl, the woodcutter’s children, search far and wide for happiness, only to find it on their return home. (“we went so far, and it was here all the time!”) it is not necessary to search for happiness in far places, says Maeterlinck in The Blue Bird. It is everywhere around you and about you. The quest for happiness is always in vein unless you can find it within yourself, within your own heart and soul.

“very little is needed to make a happy life,” wrote Marcus Aurelius in his immortal ‘Meditations’. “It is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”

THE ART OF HAPPINESS

William S. Ogdon the writer and columnist had a column to write for “Topics of the Times” why not make this his subject ? if there were ever time to remind people of their blessings and urge them to stand on their own feet, this was it!

He created one of the best piece on “The art of Happiness”

The column appeared on the editorial page of New York times on December 30, 1945, under the title “The Art of Happiness” which was most stimulating and inspiring. This has helped many to achieve a happier, more tranquil way of life....

“There was never a time when so much official effort was being expended to produce happiness, and probably never a time when so much little attention was paid by individual to creating the personal qualities that make for it. What one misses most today is the evidence of widespread personal determination to develop a character that will in itself, given any reasonable odds, make for happiness. Our whole emphasis is on the reform of living conditions, of increased wages, of controls on the economic structure- the government approach – and so little on man improving himself.

The ingredients of happiness are so simple that they can be counted on one hand. Happiness comes from within, and rests most securely on simple goodness and clear conscience. Religion may not be essential to it, but no one is known to have gained it without a philosophy resting on ethical principles. Selfishness is its enemy; to make another happy is to be happy one’s self. It is quite, seldom found for long in crowds, most easily won in moments of solitude and reflection. It cannot be bought; indeed, money has very little to do with it.

No one is happy unless he is reasonably well satisfied with himself, so that the quest for tranquillity must of necessity begin with self-examination. We shall not often be content with what we discover in this scrutiny. There is so much to do, and so little done. Upon this searching self-analysis, however, depends the discovery of those qualities that make each man unique and whose development alone can bring satisfaction.

Of all those who have tried, down the ages, to outline a programme for happiness, few have succeeded so well as William Henry Channing, chaplain of the House of Representatives in the middle of the last century: “To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy.... to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to the stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never; in a word to let the spiritual unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. “

It will be noted that no government can do this for you; you must do it for yourself.

Real Happiness

According to Professor William Lyon Phelps “the happiest person is the person who thinks the most interesting thoughts”. He taught to his students – “The real happiness is not dependent on external things. The pond is fed from within. The kind of happiness that stays with you is the happiness that springs from inward thoughts and emotions. You must think of this now, while you are young. You must cultivate your mind if you wish to achieve enduring happiness. You must furnish your mind with interesting thoughts and ideas. For an empty mind grows bored and cannot endure itself. An empty mind seeks pleasure as a substitute for happiness.”

Happiness by John Burroughs :

“....

Without the one think I have in mind, none of these things would long help their possessor to be happy. We could not long be happy without food, or drink or cloth or shelter, but we may have all these things to perfection, and still want the prime condition of happiness. It is often said that a contended mind is the first condition of happiness, but what is the first condition of a contented mind? You will be disappointed when I tell you what this all important think is – it is so common, so near at hand and so many people have so much of it and yet are not happy. They have too much of it, or else the kind that is not best to suited to them. What is the best thing for a stream ? it is to keep moving. If it stops, it stagnates. So the best thing for a man is that which keeps the current going- the physical, the moral, and the intellectual currents. Hence the secret of happiness is – something to do; some congenial work. Take away the occupation of all men, and what a wretched world it would be!

Few persons realise that how much of their happiness is dependent upon their work, upon the fact that they are kept busy and not left to feed upon themselves. Happiness comes most to the persons who seek her least, and think least about it. It is not an object to be sought. It is a state to be induced. It must follow, and not lead. It must overtake you and not you overtake it. How important is health to happiness, yet the best promoter of health is something to do.

Blessed is the man who has some congenial work, some occupation in which he can put his heart, and which affords a complete outlet to all the forces there are in him.”

“Work and thou canst not escape the reward; whether thy work be fine or coarse, planting corn or writing epics, so only it be the honest work, done to thine own approbation, it shall earn a reward to the senses as well as to the thought. No matter how often defeated, you are born to victory. The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.”

...... Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Happiness, I have discovered, is nearly always a rebound from hard work. It is one of the follies of men to imagine that they can enjoy mere thought, or emotion or sentiment. As well try to eat beauty! For happiness must be tricked! She loves to see men at work, she loves sweat, weariness, self-sacrifice. She will be found not in palaces, but lurking in the corn fields and factories and hovering over littered desks; she crowns the unconscious head of the busy child. If you look up suddenly from hard work, you will see her, but you look too long she feds sorrowfully away.

There is something fine in hard physical labour .... One actually stops thinking. I often worked long without any thought whatever, so far as I know, save that connected with the monotonous repetition of labour itself- down with the spade, out with it, up with it, over with it- and repeat.

And yet sometimes – mostly in the bore noon when I am not at all tired – I will suddenly have a sense as of the world opening around me- a sense of its beauty and its meaning- giving me a peculiar deep happiness, that is near complete contentment.”

...... David Grayson

To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face; to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains; to approach my work with a clean mind; to hold ever before me, even in the doing of little things, the Ultimate purpose toward which I am working; to meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart; to be gentle, kind and courteous through all the hours; to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep and the joy that comes from work well done- this is how I desire to waste wisely my days.

..........Thomas Dekker

WE MUST SEEK FOR HAPPINESS IN A FOCUS OUTSIDE OURSELVES..

According to Psychiatrist AW. Beran Wolfe, Happiness is not in having or being ; it is in doing. That was a point he has emphasised and made it clear in his writing. Almost every human being could be happier at once if he realised this basic truth and accepted it.

He thought again of those ghostly malcontents, crowding the corner of his room. Most of them had one trait in common: a selfish concept of life. Absorbed in their own interest and desires, they failed in their human relationships, and so created their own unhappiness. He must make them realise that the only ambition consistent with happiness is the ambition to do things with and for others- that the only way to find happiness is to look for it in a focus outside themselves.

He glanced again at the last three words he had written : “What is happiness?“ he knows what he wanted to say without any hesitation how:

WHAT IS HAPPINESS ?

If we want to know what happiness is we must seek it, not as if it were a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but among human beings who are living richly and fully the good life. If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden. He will not searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has button that has rolled under the radiator. He will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living twenty four crowded hours of the day.

Just as no one can be happy in work which is centered entirely above his own person and deals exclusively with the satisfaction of his own immediate needs, so no one can be entirely happy in social relations which focus only in himself and his immediate and narrow sphere of influence. To find happiness we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves....

If you live only for yourself you are always in immediate danger of being bored to death with the repetition of your own views and interests. It matters little, for psychological purposes, whether you interest yourself in making your town cleaner, or enlist in a campaign to rid your city of illicit narcotics, or whether you go in for boys’ clubs. Choose a movement that presents a distinct trend toward greater human happiness and align yourself with it. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow men.

If you pride yourself on your ambition, take a mental inventory of its ends, and ask yourself whether you desire to attain those personal ends and forgo the opportunities of being happy, or whether you prefer to be happy and forgo some of the prestige that your unfulfilled inferiority complex seems to demand. It your ambition has the momentum of an express train at full speed, if you can no longer stop your mad rush for glory, power or intellectual supremacy, try to divert your energies into socially useful channels before it is too late....

For those who seek the larger happiness and the greater effectiveness, open to human beings there can be but one philosophy of life, the philosophy of Constructive Altruism. The truly happy man is always a fighting optimist. Optimism includes not only altruism but also social responsibility, social courage and objectivity. Men and women who are compensating for their feeling of inferiority in terms of social service, men and women who are vigorously affirming life, facing realities like adults, meeting difficulties with stoicism, men and women who combine knowledge with kindness, who spice their sense of humor with the zest of living –in a word, complete human beings- are to be found only in this category. The good life demands a working philosophy of active philanthropy as an orientating map of conduct. This is the golden way of life. This is the satisfying life. This is the way to be happy though human.“

To swing in true happiness and be free from your doubt and self, Mahatma Gandhi gave the golden formula :

“When you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you,

apply the following test:--

Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man

whom you may have seen, and ask yourself,

If the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him?

Will he gain anything by it ?

Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny ?

In other words, will it lead to ‘Swaraj’ (independent solution) for the hungry and spiritually starving millions ?

Then you will find your doubt and your ‘self’ melting away.

LOVE

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 08:04:00 +0000

Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination

nor both together go to the making of genius.

Love, Love, Love, that is the soul of genius.

For those who passionately love,

The whole world seems to smile.

… David Myers

A fool in love makes no sense to me,

I only think you are a fool if you don’t love.

…… Sigmund Freud

If you love someone, set them free.

If they come back they’re yours;

If they don’t they never were.

......Richard Bach

We never hopelessly unhappy

as when we lose love.

….. Sigmund Freud

It is better to have loved and lost,

Than never to have loved at all..

.... Alfred Tennyson

Love is always about open arms,

If you close your arms around love,

You will be left holding only yourself.

The heart wants what it wants;

There is no logic to these things.

....Woody Allen

Love is composed of single soul

Inhabitating two or many bodies.

In dreams and in love..

There are no impossibilities.

You fall in love with Personality

But you live with Character.

When you have nothing left but love,

Then for the first time you become

aware that love is enough.

… C. S. Lewis

In the arithmetic of love,

One plus one equals to everything and

Two minus one equals to nothing.

…. Mingnon Me Laughin

If you love life..

Life will love you back.

…. Norman Vincent Peale

When one man loves the one women and the one women loves the one man, the very angles leave heaven and come and sit that house and sing for joy.

... Brahma

Two person who love each other are in a place

more holy that the interior of a church.

... William Lyon Phelps

THE most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one’s relationship has a glowing depth, beauty, and joy as the time increases. The inner progressiveness of love between two human being is the most marvellous thing, it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of Divine accident.

.... Sir Hugh Walpole

Robert Browning had persuaded Elizabeth Barrett to leave her invalid’s couch and elope with him, had brought her to this gentle climate for her health. And climate and love had worked their magic charm. She was still frail and delicate, but she was not an invalid now! She was able to move about, to see the world, to be a true wife and companion to the man she so admired, she so adored.

“how do I love thee?” Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach...”

She thought of these lines from a sonnet she had written when Robert browning came courting her in Wimpole Street, in London. She was ill then, nervous and distraught – completely dominated by a tyrannical father who had forbidden all his children to marry. But with unfailing devotion, Robert browning had continued to visit her, to keep her room filled with flowers, to tell her of his love and beg her to marry him.

During the period of emotional strain and indecision, torn between love for Robert Browning and fear of her father’s displeasure, Elizabeth Barrett wrote a sequence of love sonnets. She wrote them in secret, intending them for no eyes but her own.

“but I will show them to him now,” she thought, “I will show them to him now, and they will tell him how much I love him”

And so, one sunny day in Italy, one enchanted autumn afternoon, Robert Browning read his wife’s secret love sonnets for the first time. He was profoundly moved be their beauty and power, recognising the unmistakable quality of their genius. They were, he declared, “the finest sonnets since Shakespeare!”

She was pleased as a child be his praise- though she well knew his love wrapped his judgement, that Wordsworth’s incomparable sonnets far surpassed any she had written or was ever likely to write. Still she liked to hear his praise, liked to hear him say she was the finest women poet England had produced.

‘Which do you like best?’ she asked him shyly, knowing these sonnets revealed her innermost thoughts and feelings.

“I liked them all,” he told her. “But there’s one . . . ‘How Do I Love Thee?' Let me read that one again.”

She was delighted. “that is my favourite too, Robert!”

“How do I love thee ? Let me count the ways.

I love you to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of every day’s

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints,- I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life!- and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death. “

DISCOVER YOURSELF

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 18:04:00 +0000

Many of us are now at the place where we have no alternative but to be true to ourselves...

We come to this world to experience our own reality- to learn who we are by being what we thought would be best for us. Eventually most of us reach a place where we are not so content with doing our lives in the old ways. Most people may never recognise this state when it happens. They may go on doing life as they always have until they die discontented. Life is intended to be lived here in great joy with great wisdom, and with energy abounding.

Why then do so many people live in a state of fear, or exhaustion, or depression? It’s often because they are not living the true life they came here to live and their mind and body know it. They know it on such a deep level that they cannot keep themselves from feeling discomfort. I know that for me there were many years in which I sensed that I was not doing my life exactly as I needed. I was either in the wrong profession, living in the wrong place, or with the wrong people, or trying to convince myself that I was happy. It wasn’t working. I knew in my heart that I don’t have time to continue living that way, that if I did I would never be happy or fulfil my life’s purpose.

Today, I have reached a place where I feel relatively content with my life, though many people living in the old ways might be prone to wonder. I am living so far outside the box of typical human existence that I often make no sense to them. Because now i see my life a joyous walk through a beautiful hand, encumbered only by my own ability to express joy and give and receive love.

If I learned to do these things to the best of my ability, then there is no more for me to do here. When we first come here, I believe many of us don’t believe we know how to relax and be ourselves. We may be following someone else’s mandates or beliefs. Have you found your life blocked or unrewarding ? Can you see new ways in which you can enjoy your life, if you gave yourself a chance ? Look deeper, inside yourself and discover where your joy and then begin doing them. You may not find your truth entirely the next moment. It usually takes years for one to open fully to one’s self, after years for one to open fully to one’s self, after years of self-denial. But you can begin to discover the things which have always brought you joy and allow yourself to begin doing them.

This is a time to be who we are. It’s a time to allow that to be enough. It’s not a time to seek ourselves in the external world, for that world holds no answers for us. Our truths are within us, deep inside where we place them for later discovery. Many of us are now at the place where we have no alternative but to be true to ourselves. This is the way we planned it when we came here. If you are like me, you have found that you can no longer pretend that the old ways are serving you. you know that you must go forward into a new reality which may be unknown and may be more than a little bit frightening. We are often afraid to move into the light, to be someplace we may know is real but we can’t quite remember.

This is the nature of this new energy, this new reality, which is coming to this planet. We have no choice but to follow it- if it is our path- yet we may fear the letting go of old things which have been part of our lives. We may fear the very thing that we must experience if we are to become our true selves. One must move into the light in baby steps until one is ready to run with it. But holding back from it entirely brings great pain. The pain you feel in your soul may be from holding yourselves back from experiencing joy and love.

How does one find oneself ? Look inside where the answers are buried. Be who you are to be the best of your ability each moment.

Don’t worry if some of the things you are still doing don’t feel entirely enlightened. Allow yourself to experience your reality as fully as possible, as if you then discover there are places which are not in alignment with your truth, allow them to slowly dissolve, to release from your being. As you become more aligned with your truth, you become happier with your life even though you are letting go of many aspects of your former self. Your life comes more into balance; you become the being you came here to be, in spite of all the ways you may have formerly done in life. You may have been told how to act and how to be here. You may have been told that you were this or you were that. But whatever you were told, it was not who or why you are.

Only you can know why you are here. Only you can find happiness inside of you. Only you can discover your own truth. And only you can learn how to be happy here. No one outside you has any of the answers you seek.

By : Joan Marques

4 Ways to Stop Worrying and to Be Emotionally Fit

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Peace of mind keeps us healthy. But an anxiety-free life seems too difficult to attain.

We worry about the bills, our personal relationships, and all the other grudges of daily life.

But do you know that relaxation can be had at arms reach? Little things that have the ability to calm us are easy to obtain. So, why not incorporate them into our lives?

Here are the four ways that can help you to ward off an anxiety attack and to stay worry-free day after day.

Drink green tea. Nothing beats the emotional wellness that a cup of warm green tea brings to an otherwise dreary day. The high proportion of the amino acid, L-theanine, in green tea has a soothing effect.

Reduce your caffeine intake. Soda and coffee are strong stimulants, and there is a tendency to crash after taking them. The lull after the period of caffeinated “high” can lead to depression and anxiety. Here is a hearty alternative: Granny Smith apples – they offer the same perky “high” without the burnout afterwards.

Perform some deep-breathing techniques. Do a little breathing exercise a few times each day, especially during emotionally charged situations. You will end up feeling relaxed or less stressed at the end of each day. Here’s how to perform a deep-breathing exercise: close your eyes, inhale slowly through the nose, then hold for a few seconds. Then exhale to melt away the stress. Do these up to ten times, and concentrate on your breathing. It is simple, and it does wonders.

Go on an aromatherapy me-time. A calming scent on your work desk or on your bedside table can uplift you when you need a boost. Light an incense stick or a scented candle. Dab a teeny drop of essential oil to calm your frayed nerves. Two of the best scent relaxers: vanilla or lavender. Amp the relaxation quotient by taking a warm bath. Then light lavender-scented candles nearby.

To learn more about the different treatments for panic disorder and anxiety attacks, as well as to get a detailed look at alternative treatments, read 'Perfectly Panic Free' by Mike Karowski. The eBook makes an excellent discussion on panic disorder, and it presents all the treatment options fairly, giving the statistical success of each. For more information, go to http://www.panicdisorderattacks.com

By Mike Karowski, author of ‘Perfectly Panic Free’

Self Actualisation

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 10:07:00 +0000

Accept Yourself

Knowing what is right and what is wrong in your own inner consciousness is insufficient. It is not the knowing of truth that transforms a person; it is doing of truth that has an impact on you and other people whom you interact with.

You may know that it is inappropriate to think selfishly and look out for your won interest first, but your inner emotions may drive you to be blinded to the needs of others. You may know that it is against your basic truth to judge another individual, but your inner emotions may cause you to look at that person and make a judgement because of the effect you are allowing them to have on your life.

You may understand that all of God’s creatures were created equal, but that doesn’t stop you, on an emotional level, from feeling that human race is the most important life form on the planet. The discrepancy lies not in the lack of information, for the information is available on a worldwide basis for those who would seek it, evaluate it and accept it as their own; the discrepancy lies in the ability to integrate universal law into your lifestyle.

Knowing the self doesn’t just focus into the positive aspects of personality or the positive aspects of skill and talents that you brought with you into this lifetime, but into the negative as well; it is only when the positive is weighted against the negative, and balanced perspective is used as a guidepost in integrating higher consciousness into the self that the influence becomes apparent in your relationships and in your lifestyle.

Self-actualisation actualisation can be translated to mean, “making the self actual.” It means there is no difference between what you think and what you do. There is no contradiction between what you tell others and how you respond yourself. It is manifesting who you are and what you believe in on a day-to-day, consistent basis. The path to self-awareness is a long and solitary one, and many individuals give up. It is difficult to accept what our conscious choices in the course of a specific existence has driven us to do to other people. It is hard for us to accept that we have been selfish, or resentful, or spiteful. It is hard to see where we have deliberately manipulated our lives so that we have control over the people and the situations and the events within it.

It is never easy to admit that we are not the positive, smiling, loving person that we prefer to see ourselves as; when, in the course of personal growth, it becomes necessary for an individual to truly, honestly evaluate how they have interacted with their fellow human beings, the drop-out rate skyrockets.

This is unfortunate, because personal growth cannot proceed, self-awareness and self-actualisation cannot be accomplished without a true and open acknowledgement of who we used to be and how we used to live our lives, no matter how unpleasant that panorama may be.

This doesn’t mean that we need to spend years of our lives suffering regret and remorse for the wrong we have done in their lives to other people. What it does mean that we need to take a reasonable amount of time to look back and to evaluate honestly what was really at play in any particular situation, where the two parties were really coming from, and where each conducted themselves with less than universal love. We cannot go back and change the past; we cannot undo the influence that we have upon other people by our thoughts, our feelings and our reactions, but we can learn from that experience and make a personal commitment never to treat anyone with that lack of respect again.

If that person is still in our life, we can have the grace to apologise, and share our learning experience, and say, “I am sorry that I used to be like that. I want to be like this, now and I hope that you will help.”

It is only when we acknowledge our past weaknesses, and share our future aspirations, that we can experience the support and encouragement of others on our journey to self-actualisation.

If we are not willing to admit to ourselves that we have ever made a mistake, then we cannot admit that we need to change.

It is, from a soul evolution perspective, self-defeating behaviour to remain in situations made from the lower consciousness that create less than fulfilling situations and relationships in our lives.

By : Lois Grant

LOVE AND MEDITATION

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 05:10:00 +0000

Love means art of being with others.

Meditation means the art of being with yourself.

A person who does not know how to be with himself cannot timely relate with others, his relationship will be awakened , graceless, ugly, haphazard, accidental.

A person who is not capable of being with other, of relating, will find it very difficult to relate with himself. Because the art of relating is the same—whether you relate with others or you relate with yourself does not make any difference, it is the same art.

Both the arts have to be learned together, simultaneously, they are inseparable. Be with the people and not unconsciously, but very consciously. Relate with people as if you are singing a song. As if you are playing on a flute.

Each person has to be thought as a musical instrument. Respect, love worship…..

“Because each person is a hidden face of God.”

Change your ways;

Beautify life around yourself.

Let every person feel that the meeting with you is a gift –

Just being with you something starts flowing .. glowing..

Something start arising in the heart,

Some flowers start opening.

And when you are alone, than sit utterly silent,

Absolutely silent and watch yourself;

Watch your breathing, one’s thoughts,

One’s memories- slowly, slowly,

Great awareness explodes…

One becomes full of light within.

This is the art of meditation.

TEN KEYS TO HAPPINESS

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:47:00 +0000

Physical wellbeing is inseparable from emotional well being. Happy people are healthy people. The wisdom traditions of the world tell us that happiness does not depend on what you have, but on who you are. In an era of materialism, it may be worthwhile to reflect on what really creates happiness in us. The following ten keys, gleaned from the wisdom of traditions may give us some insight.

1. Listen to your body’s wisdom, which expresses itself through signals of comfort and discomfort. When choosing certain behaviour, ask your body. “how do you feel about this?” If your body sends a signal of comfort and eagerness, proceed.

2. Live in present, for it is the only moment you have. Keep your attention on what on here and now; look for the fullness in every moment. Accept what comes to you totally and completely so that you can appreciate it, learn from it, and the let it go. The present is as it should be. It reflects infinite laws of nature that have brought you this exact physical response. This moment is as it is because the universe is as it is. Don’t struggle with the infinite scheme of things; instead, be at one with it.

3. Take time to be silent, to mediate, to claim the internal dialogue. In moments of silence, realise that you are recontacting your source of pure awareness. Pay attention to your inner life so that you can be guided by intuition rather than externally imposed interpretation of what is or is not good for you.

4. Relinquish your need for external approval. You alone are the judge of your worth and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks. There is great freedom in this realisation.

5. When you find yourself reacting with anger or opposition to any person or circumstances, realise that you are only struggling with yourself. Putting up resistance is the response of defences created by old hurts. When you relinquish this anger, you will be healing yourself and cooperating with the flow of the universe.

6. Know that the world “out there” reflect your reality “in here”. The people you react to most strongly, whether with love and hate, are projections of your inner world. What you most hate is what you most deny in yourself. What you most love is what you most wish for in yourself. Use the mirror of relationships to guide your evolution. The final goal is total self-knowledge. When you achieve that, what you most want will automatically be there, and what you most dislike will disappear.

7. Shed the burden of judgement- you feel much lighter. Judgement imposed right and wrong on situations that just are. Everything can be understood and forgiven, but when you judge, you cut off understanding and shut down the process of learning to love. In judging others, you reflect your lack of self-acceptance. Remember that every person you forgive adds to your self-love.

8. Don’t contaminate your body with toxins, either through food, drink or toxic emotions. Your body is more than a life-support system. It is the vehicle that will carry you on the journey of your evolution. The health of every cell directly contributes to your state of well being, because every cell is a point of awareness within the field of awareness that is you.

9. Replace fear-motivated behaviour with love-motivated behaviour. Fear is the support of memory, which dwells in the past. Remembering what hurt us before; we direct our energies towards making certain that an old hurt will not repeat itself. But trying to impose the past on the present will never wipe out the threat of being hurt. That happens only when you find the security of your own being, which is love. Motivated by the truth inside you, you can face any threat because your inner strength is invulnerable to fear.

10. Understand that physical world is just a mirror of a deeper intelligence. Intelligence is the invisible organiser of all matter and energy. And since a portion of this intelligence resides in you, you share in the organising power of cosmos. Because you are inseparably linked to everything, you cannot afford to foul the planet’s air and water. But at a deeper level, you cannot afford to live with a toxic mind, because every thought makes an impression on the whole field of intelligence. Living in balance and purity is the highest good for you and the earth.

By Deepak Chopra.

Alpha Mind : A Miracle Healer

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Tue, 10 May 2011 12:55:00 +0000

Alpha Mind : A Miracle Healer

“The thing you set your mind on is the thing you ultimately become” – Nathaniel Hawthrone.

“Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs”- Dr Maxwell Maltz.

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future or anticipate trouble... but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly”- The Budha.

When it comes to healing, the state of brain is as important as the state of the mind. As per neuro-scientist Paul Mclean, the human brain is divided into three parts. The first part is called reptilian, which regulates breathing, heartbeat, muscle movements and other basic instincts. The second part is called mammalian brain. The third part is the reasoning brain. The cerebral cortex is distinguished by its folds, valleys and ridges, which increases the surface area of the cortex and allows maximum area for grey matter to be packed within the skull. The hypothalamus “is the brain of the brain”, just like the tip of our thumb, yet rules the entire endocrine system.

Generally, the more awake and busy our brain are, the faster the brainwaves. Scientists have divided our brainwaves into several categories. When we are fully alert and mentally engaged, they call it ‘Beta’ state. When we are relaxed and calm, but alert, they call it Alpha state. When we are dreamy, it is Theta state and in deep sleep, it is Delta state.

Beta state : Fully alert and mentally engaged state

Alpha state : when relaxed and calm

Theta state : dreamy state

Delta state : Deep sleep period

Our bodies do the most of the healing while we are in Alpha, Theta and Delta state. The good news is that we can learn to consciously enter Alpha and Theta, and direct that healing with mental imagery and suggestion. According to Jose Silva, the standard way of entering the Alpha is to associate numbers with the desired states.

Number 6 : The outer conscious level,

Number 5 : Eye-lid fatigue

Number 4 : Eyes closed

Number 3 : Physical relaxation

Number 2 : Mental relaxation

Number 1 : The basic plane level that you learn to use for any purpose.

Hypnotherapy also uses Alpha level to suggest to the sub-conscious mind to remove mental blocks, past traumas and unwanted negative thoughts and put positive affirmations for perfect health.

In order to gain the continued experience of deepening we can practice the count down-deepening exercise- counting backward from 100 to 1 or 50 to 1 or 25 to 1. Mental pictures and verbal instructions are the mechanisms for making physical changes at the subjective or Alpha level. This is called programming. While at the Alpha level, we can picture any part of our body that is ailing and heals it. We can overcome any problem like allergies, colds, headache, anxiety, phobias and problems concerning heart, brain, kidney or liver because the mind runs the brain and the brain runs the body, and so the body complies.

Alpha takes you away from the objective realm, the physical world, and into the subjective world, the causative and creative realm, that is the source of the physical world. By entering the Alpha level, we move towards the world within – a step closer to heaven. Existing on these levels you are aware of the going-on of the outside world but not actively in it. With practice, you go deeper in the direction of Alpha, which enables you to use your mind for super-health-for yourself and others. When you reach this state, no bells will ring, no sirens will sound, and voice will announce “this is Alpha”. You will just feel better and better.

By : Dr. Vasantha Krishnamurthy

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 20:00:00 +0000

Being true to yourself, to your passion and visions,

is the place where evolution begins...

I am a person who stands for a breakthrough for humanity. I stand for human magnificence. I stand for our ability to source-creators, to evolve life and to evolve ourselves into mega-being of great passion, wisdom, wonder and possibility.

I love humanity deeply, proudly, committedly. I think we are some of the bravest beings to come here to a planet where loss of self is the very first thing happen to us...

How many of you are walking around with that mega you inside of you, hidden away safely so it can’t get trampled on one more time? How many of you are hiding behind a mask of something that is not really your humbleness? fierceness? there are lots of masks and lots of reasons to keep wearing them.

Well, i say it is time to come out of the closet; time to throw away those masks and be truely everything you really, genuinely are! Don’t be afraid of your passion, of your power, of your knowing yourself.

When you are coming from the true place, it is impossible to misuse that power. In fact when you are coming from the true place you access a whole new kind of power, a collective power that works continuously and always for the greater good of all. I call it pour(power) because it reflects that it does not belong to any one person, but instead is generated from us all.

This is the year of living vision, this is the year where we as a human race breakthrough; it is already begun. Don’t you see it opening up to themselves, asking great questions, exploring their own wisdom and knowing?

I am a powerful man, not because I want to control and dominate the world, but because I refuse to stay small or to have humanity stay small. I am a powerful man because I refuse to allow myself to be anything less than what it is I stand for as all being. I am not afraid of power, it’s gift that allows us to partner with creation and move things. And you should not be either. From the place of wholeness you learn to trust yourself to do only that which is for the greatest good for all of life. From the place of wholeness you learn that.

We are not perfect. We are human beings. And we are learning to be in a way that has never been known before to mankind. Yes, we will make mistakes and we will clean them up quickly and responsibly when we do. Yes we have been trained to be afraid of power, but why? It only misfired because people tried to contain it within a closed system. If your heart and soul are open, then you will know what is right to do.

If you care deeply and passionately then you cannot hold back what you can offer. It’s time for a new leadership in our world. It is time for a new collective pour to emerge from the very heart and soul of humanity. This can only happen if we each step out of the closet, throw away the masks of indifference and rush headlong and passionately into our new playground of creation.

Those who have already done so, discovering a world of amazing synchronicity of friends who truely get who they are, of a deep and deepening fulfilment with life and of a profound relationship to a new kind of power, the power to create new realities, new futures, new life and last, but not the least, a new humanity that reflects the very deepest and greatest that we all can be.

This year, live the dream that is in your heart. This year come out of the closet and be all you can be. How else are we ever going to become all that we, a new humanity, can be.

This is the soliloque which corresponds to my inner spirit; hope it will corresponds to you too to bring you a new light inclusive of all humanity in a humane way...

SIMPLE MEDITATION

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:41:00 +0000

Meditation is nothing but a hearty breathing in more meaningful, delightful and regularly without disturbing.

Before going to sleep put off the light, sit on your bed, close your eyes and exhale through the mouth with a sound ‘oh’. I am saying simple ‘oh’. It will become ‘oum’ automatically. And this sound ‘aum’ is the deepest sound, the most harmonious, the most basic.

When it happens and you enjoy and you flow in its music your whole body and brain relax. With the sound ‘aum’ you will go on relaxing and your sleep will have a different quality.

When you exhaled completely and you feel that now no more exhalation is possible, the whole breath has gone out, stop for a single moment. Don’t inhale, don’t exhale—just stop for a single moment and be a witness – just look what is happening. Witness the whole situation, there in, that single stopped moment. Time is no more there, because time moves with the breaths, breathing is the process of time. In that stopping you can aware of the deepest source of your being and energy. So for a moment stop. Then inhale.

Inhalation is equivalent to life, exhalation equivalent to death. So exhale as totally as possible; that will give you a death moment. That is beautiful because a death moment is the most silent, the most peaceful- that is NIRVANA. Then let the body inhale to the full, and then stop that moment is a life moment- feel it and feel both. That is why I say stop twice- when you have exhaled and when you have inhaled – So you can feel both life and death. These two moments are very significant, you know this is life and this is death. You have transcended both.

One point to remember here, make all effort to exhale, but don’t make any effort to inhale; just let the body take the inhalation. You don’t do anything. That too is beautiful and work wonders

You have exhaled, stopped for a moment, then you allow the body to inhale. You don’t make any effort to inhale; you simply watch the body taking the inhalation. You will face a deep silence surrounding you, because you know your effort is not needed for life, life breathes itself. Your effort is not needed, your ego is not needed- you are not needed. Deep silence will be felt.

When the body has taken full inhalation, stop for a single moment again. Again watch.

These two moments are totally different. When you have exhaled completely and stopped, that stopping moment is just like death. When you have inhaled totally and then stopped that stopping is the climax of life.

LIFE PLUS

noreply@blogger.com (Abhishek Kumar Sadhu) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:34:00 +0000

A rose is a rose is a rose. You are alive, you are living, and this is life. Now experience life in a more meaningful way – look into the source of your liveliness, source of your life energy- just go in – forget everything, the whole world. Even for a few moments as if you are alone. Going deep into the life reveals that life is a mystic to be experienced, but it can not be explained. That is why I said “A rose is a rose is a rose.”

And the rose is something out side you, but life is all that you are. But for thousands of years you have been conditioned not to live, just survive. You have been told by the religions to renounce everything that can give you a taste of life.

My effort is just opposite of all religions. I don’t want to the category of life-negative people. I am utterly in love with life.

My approach is life-affirmative. You dance, you sing, you love, you meditate. In different ways, try to feel your aliveness. What ever you are doing do it so intensely and so totally that your full life starts functioning, that you start throbbing.

Wild or not to be wild !

What is wrong in being wild ? I don’t see anything wrong in it. To be too civilized may be dangerous- a little wildness is good. In a better world, with more understanding about human nature, we will keep a balance between civilization and wildness. And it is the source of creativity and innovation.

If your wildness is not destructive to anybody, it is perfectly religious. If your wildness is just your expression of your freedom and it is not in interference with any body else’s freedom – if it is not a trespass on anybody else’s life, liberty – it is perfectly good.

Be Erotic or Not to be Erotic !

A man whose eros is fully alive is a master. On the other words destroying eros, like making human being slaves. A man whose eros is fully flowering does not bother about anything. A man who is really in love with life and enjoying it will not bother about becoming the President or Prime Minister of a country. The man who is really living his eros will not even go to the church or temple. Because he has found real temple. Love is his prayer.

A person whose eros has been killed become very weak. Haven’t you seen a bull or an ox ? The erotic freedom of bull when destroyed it becomes an ox. An ox is a poor specimen. A bull is something alive. The bull is so erotic, such a perfect eros. And look at an ox pulling a bullock cart – a slave.

Destroying eros will make mankind to be slaves. That is what it has been done up to now. In the future eros, has to become the religion. Love should be the worship. Eros is the source of creativity, love, affinity, humanity and ultimately the God.

Joy is very simple. If you allow life to flow through you in a natural way, joy is a natural phenomenon. Let the erotic instincts be liberated in natural way, in spontaneous way and in harmony with others (not by the application of force or interfering others freedom or rights). And it does not wait at the end of the journey, it here, it is now… Right Now…..

Don’t listen to anybody. Whatsoever you enjoy, enjoy it and accept its consequences – because there will be consequences. If you enjoy sleeping you cannot become a very rich man; only the people suffering from insomnia can become rich.

So Live joyously, guiltlessly, live totally live intensely. And then heaven is no more metaphysical concept, it is your won experience.