Friday 16 January 2015

Gayatri Mantra: Its Significance

"Ohm Bhoorbhuvah Suvaha
Tat Savithurvaraenyam
Bhargoo devasya dheemahi
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayath"


All things in the universe obey what we call laws of Nature. In other words, they automatically obey the commands of Gods. The evolution of planets and stars, the recurrence of seasons, the growth and decay and  decay of trees, the ripening of corn and the behaviour of birds and beasts- all these are subject to the will of the immanent God. There is a single exception to this common rule. And that is the mind of man. In this domain alone the divine law is kept in abeyance. For man is endowed with a will of his own. He alone has the freedom in the universe either to obey or disobey God. His highest happiness, according to the teaching of all religions, would consist in his falling in line with the rest of the universe and making his free will coincide with the will of the creator. He would then be doing voluntarily what the other orders of creation are doing automatically.
But man, in his ignorance, thinks his happiness consists in going according to his own will even when he knows that it is against the divine law. This is his fundamental 'Ajnaana' or ignorance. From this Ajnaana arises his sin and sorrow and all the ills. So his best prayer should ever be that his free will might be prompted not by his own desires, but by the will of the Immanent spirit and that he should be a willing instrument in its hands.
This is exactly what the gayatri mantra teaches us to do.

For, in it we meditate on the luminous Prescence of the creator of the universe in the form of the SUN so that he might prompt our minds according to his own creative will.

The Gayatri Mantra means, "Om, the eternal pervades the earth and the heaven and all that lies in between. on his adorable and divine radiance we meditate. may he prompt our minds".

gayatri mantra, which derives its name from its metre, may be said to contain the essence of the hindu philosophy in the form of a common prayer. At the very outset, the three words, viz.Bhooh, Bhuvah and Suvah which are called 'Vyahritis' in sanskrit represent all the lokas or the worlds.

These three words therefore convey that the Supreme spirit designated by the letter OM is immanent in the universe-in all the worlds known to us. the mantra is one of the oldest available Divine hymns.

Even though many revolutionary changes have taken place in our religious beliefs, the Gayatri continues to persist and has even today a compelling charm of its own to almost all Hindus. This has been attributed to the fact that it has been the experience of many that the repetition of this mantra with the right understanding of its sacred meanings, removes all negative tendencies in the human mind.

This mantra is never chanted for the purpose of material gains, either physical or otherwise. its very invocation concludes with an appeal to the Paramatmum to illumine our mind and heart. in other words, it is a prayer unto the self to unveil itself and come to manifest as pure wisdom in our life.

The speciality of the Gayatri is that it contains the essence of Jnana yoga, bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga. It is the essence Jnana Yoga because we are no longer subject to the primal 'Ajnana' of preferring our own transitory desires to the purposes of the Supreme Spirit. It is the essence of Bhakti Yoga because we willingly surrender ourselves to the sovereign Ruler of the universe. And it is the essence of Karma Yoga because we are to be prompted in all our activities not by self-will, but by the will of God.

The mantra thus contains in a nutshell the highest religious philosophy of the hindus.

It is chanted in the twilight hours both in the morning and evening. As Brahman is the supreme Reality of everyone, as the sun belongs to all, the Gayatri Mantra is a precious spiritual wealth of every human being who realises the value and significance of this great mantra.

It is the common practice to chant this Mantra a minimum of 108 times as in the evening.

Our ancient Rishis discovered that during sunrise and sunset there is a special subtle vibration in the energies emanating from the sun and this has significant positive effects on the life-current in all beings. Therefore, if the Gayatri is chanted at these times it will have beneficial effects.

There is another, greater significance concealed in the Gayatri Mantra. this may be traced to the contrast between the two words 'Bargah' and 'Dhiyah', which occur in the mantra. 'Bhargah' the light of the sun, which symbolises divine consciousness.

And 'Dhiyah' phases of individual consciousness. Therefore, the meditation on the mantra should be considered as an endeavour on the part of the individual consciousness to grow into Divine Consciousness

Thus the Gayatri Mantra may be said to contain the quintessence of Religion

--B M N Murthy
Bhavan's Journal
Feb, 2014

Tuesday 6 January 2015

Focus is essential to move ahead

As a victim of failure we wonder why we have not succeeded as well as many who are less deserving, and we hold fate to be responsible. If that be the case, the best advice one can give is to look back into our past.

At times we take up many things together but fail to finish even one, because there is disarray of thoughts and actions. These are the real causes of failure. One can attempt many things simutaneously and end up doing nothing well.

The popular saying "Jack of all trades and master of none", describes those who find themselves left behind on the road to achievements and who enviously stare at those who keep zooming past.

But there is never a soul so lost that it cannot get back on to Truth's roadway if it tries persistently enough. What needs to be done is to come out of the quagmire which one has landed in due inaction, indolence, and indifference.

The turnaround commences when one realises that no sooner one begins a piece of work he also gets seized with a feverishdesire to do something else. As a result one rushes through what one has started to accomplish, at a breakneck speed, undermining the work in hand for the work in mind.

Thought initiates action, thought is power and when thought is dissipated in doing something other than what one started out to do in the first place, thinking gets wasted.

The road to success lies along the path of decision. and up the hill of endeavour and across the bridge of patience.

We should take the first step  with conviction and take it right now and stay on course. Once we are already walking on the the path it will certainly lead to success.


-Sunderlal G Mehta

Monday 5 January 2015

Old Indian System Transcends New Science

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-- Martin Luther King

Ayurveda, the great Indian wisdom, system of medicure, in its treatise avers "Aapthopase vibhavetaarogyam..." which translates to "love everyone as your own and good health shall be yours".

Of course western sciences care two hoots for this. Western sciences do not make sense in many areas. Scientifc findings, perforce keep changing faster than you can keep a tab on.

This is understandable. Even the concept of space and time of both Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein have been shown to be seriously flawed. When we think of the reductionist medical science of mostly statistics, one really wonders if medical science is a real science.

One reads in the newspapers and "so called" science journals about many studies that give at times diametrically opposite results. 

"This makes one healthy" says a study, which is immediately overtaken by another which says: "Ha, it does not, wait, does it?" "Maybe, but alas no", and so on. These drips and drabs are making people lose faith in those short term. cross sectional cohort studies.

The longest study that we have to date is the MRFIT study which analysed the risk factor data in two groups of healthy men-one with intervention to set things right, and the other, a control group.

Alas, the study proved to be a boondoggle, making a mockery of the risk factor hypothesis which is being sold in our medi-business, netting billions of dollars. MRFIT showed that while the risk of premature deaths loom large, there are no true risk factors. This has upset out apple-cart.

Longitudinal observational studies running into decades and centuries are the bedrock of Indian wisdom. Indian wisdom has come up with certain aphorisms for a healthy and happy life which are for all times, and are unalterable.
Curiously there are a couple of very long term (In the context of western science) studies in western science which have been observing two groups of individuals for nearly eight decades- The Grant study of 284 Harvard sophomores which started in the 1930's  and spent more than 20 million dollars over the years, overseen by more than three people at different times since the beginning of the study.

There is another equally long stanford study which initially gathered 1444 children selected from schools in the area with the idea of studying geniuses. This was called The Terman Study in 1921. Lewis Treman was one of america's well known child psychiatrists. Soo it became evident that the Terman study could throw light on how people lived to be happy and healthy.

Today when many people around the world are living into their tenth decade, the longest longitudinal studyof human development ever undertaken offers some welcome news for the new old age: our lives continue to evolve in our later years and often become more fulfilling than before.

This interestingly echoes the indian wisdom's salient ideas. Now George Valliant follows that cohort into their nineties, documenting for the first time what it is like to flourish far beyond conventional retirement years.

Reporting on all aspects of male life, including relationships, politics and religion, coping strategies and alcohol use (Its abuse being by far the greatest disruptor of health and happiness for the study's subjects), "Triumphs of Experience" shares a number of surprising findings.

For example, " People who do well in old age did not necessarily do so well in midlife", and vice versa. While the study confirms that recovery from a lousy childhood is possible, "memories of a happy childhood are a lifelong source of strength. Marriages bring much more contentment after age 70, and physical ageing after 80 is determined less by heredity than by habits formed prior to age 50.

The credit of growing old with grace and vitality, it seems, goes more to ourselves than to our stellar genetic makeup. 

What do these two studies show? "Quit smoking , stop drinking, exercise, keep warm and healthy relations with your friends and family, and know that money doesn't necessarily make you happy. But mostly importantly, keep in mind that you will transform and progress constantly until you die."

To sum up longitudinal studies mentioned above and Indian wisdom, these following conclusions could be drawn:
  • Happiness is life. Full stop
  • The only thing that really  matters in life is your relationship with other people.
  • Being laid back and lazy could kill you. Hard work helps
  • A number of longitudinal studies agree on the quality most connected to a long and successful life: conscientiousness. Who lived the longest in the Terman Study? The conscientious people.
  • A little worry is good for health and happiness. Good to be optimistic.
  • Moderate worrying often confers real benefits to health. An example: James, tactful and sensitive, was some what of a worrier throughout his life. But it turned out that his concerns prompted him to take better care of his health, especially after the death of his wife.
  • There is always hope in life.
  • Time and Time again in the Grant study showed that those who come from loving homes do much better than the less fortunate.
These and other studies have given some tips for survival under difficult situations: So when life is daunting and we need resilience, keep in mind:

  • "Percieve and believe
  • Manage your emotions
  • Be a quitter
  • Be delusional
  • Prepare...even if its too late for preparation
  • Stay budy, busy, Busy
  • make it a game
  • Get help ad Give help."
All there read like the ancient Indian timeless wisdom which beats western reductionist cohort studies hollow.

Longitudinal studies take a holistic attitude unlike our reductionist sciences.

" I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."
Martin Luther King Jr.

Saturday 3 January 2015

The Sweetness of Rectifying ourselves...

Swami Vivekananda advises: "Never show temper,or harbour jealousy, or backbite another in secret. It would be  the height of cruelty and hard-heartedness to take note of others' shortcomings instead of rectifying one's own." 

Jesus Christ said: "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again".

Holy mother Sarada Devi have said: "It is in the mind alone that one feels pure or impure. A man first makes his own mind guilty and then sees another's fault. Can you injure anybody by enumerating his faults ? You only injure yourself."

We have a wide-ranging inclination to tittle-tattle, to disparage and judge others, why do we have such bad inclinations? It is because it puffs up our own sense of self image.

At the back of our censure we have the sentiment that we don't have this flaw.

We are superior to others. As a rule, the fault we seem to notice in another person stay alive only in our own polluted thoughts. How many of us can in truth look into the rock bottom of another human being and see all the motives which are prompting him to take steps in a fussy way? Yet we are raring to go to judge and implicate wicked intention!

Harmfulness of gossip: - Backbite is the other name of gossip. Gossip may appear very blameless; nevertheless it causes mammoth injury in human social order, and predominantly to those who indulge in it.

Those who dwell on the faults of others build up the same faults themselves; for in the psyche of every personage both good and bad impressions and tendencies are stored up, and if we condemnanother person for a certain blunder, and go no criticising, similar tendencies which are hidden in our subconscious mind are released and turn out to be lively. When a man sees defects in others his own mind gets polluted. What does he gain by finding faults in others ? He only hurts himself by that.

As you think, so you act. As thoughts of love help in expanding the self, so do thoughts of anger, jealousy lead to its contraction.

Gossip is a deadly poison. A backbiter cannot bear others welfare and happiness. His heart breaks to see others progressing.

Sweetness of Rectifying:-

If we make seeing the good in others, a habit our own good tendencies are released and strengthened. So for our own sake as well as for the sake of others we must criticize, gossip or judge.

Holy mother Sarada Devi said : "If you want peace of mind, do not find fault with others, learn to make the whole world your own. No one is a stranger; this whole world is yours.

The fly sits on filth as well as on honey, but the bee seeks only honey and avoids filth. Therefore we should take a vow to follow the example of the bee, not that of the fly.

As we progress in our habit of seeing good in others, we learn to have love, sympathy and compassion for all. Real good men have that attitude in life. If they see the least bit of goodness in anybody, they see an ocean of goodness with that drop.

We consider a person sinful today, but tomorrow by the grace of God he becomes a saint tomorrow. Heaps of cotton can be burnt with one matchstick; similarly, one gracious glance from God can wipe out mountains of sin. Therefore, we must make our life sweet by rectifying our nature of backbites.

Ways to rectify our nature of backbites:-

Jesus and other great teachers of the world ask us to correct our own defects before we try to correct others. We are hypocrites as long as we rationalise our weakness and find others worthy of forgiveness, yet we remain unwilling to bear with our brothers imperfections. Sri Ramakrishna gives the illustration of a sword made of steel, which is touched by the philosophers stone and turned into gold. The sword retain its form but with that sword of Gold no harm can be done. just as the quality of the sword changes, so also the quality of our body and mind changes. That is what we find when  we practice not finding fault with others.

We must all be aware of the pitfalls of a fault finding nature, and strive to transform our character which results in moral purity and strength, thus preparing ourselves for higher life.

Human personality consistes of both good and evil. The evil is to be eliminated step by step and the good fostered.

If we can think of God, we will be able to stop backbiting. Let the strong wind of dispassion rise in our minds, that the trees of desire be uprooted. Then even as birds fly from the shelter of trees before a strong wind, will the ignorance of selfishness, jealousy, hatred and egoism take flight from our hearts. Then shall peace follow and fill our lives, even calm follows the storm.

Normally, when someone speaks ill of us or tries to harm us, we instinctively want to appease our ego rather than please God; and so we feel the urge to retaliate.
But if we give in to this urge, we hurt not only someone else, but ourselves as well; for when we are angry and resentful, we cut ourselves off from the thought of God.

Therefore all the great spiritual teachers have taught us, as Christ did, not to retaliate, not to resist evil, but to pray for those who revile and persecute us.

-Swami Sudarshanananda