Surya Yoga the scientific way

Life energy or prana start dysfunctioning when our body, mind and spirit loose their balance by moving away from nature, which is the core of our existence. Nature, has the solution for all our maladies. So, next time you feel disillusioned or distressed inhale the fragrance of a flower, admire the delicate designs on the wings of butterflies, enjoy the raindrops falling on your head, listen to the chirping of the birds, let the breeze caress you, moonlight soothe your nerves. And of course do Suryayog for good health, peace and Ananda.

Suryaji

A silver coin is placed on the forehead, on the third eye region between the eye brows, while doing suryayog.

The reason for doing so is very scientific. According to photoelectric theory of famous scientist Einstein, when light strikes a metal, it explodes into a chain reaction, producing waves of light and energy. Light is composed of tiny sub-atomic particles similar to a stream of bullets. Each bullet is a photon. Einstein said photoelectric effect starts as soon as photon hits a metal. Every time a photon hits an electron in a metal it knocks out its atom, emitting lots of energy. Fantastic amount of small energies are sent into our body by this process. The created photons, being organic, decide for themselves where to go into our bodies like the areas of disease and pump and balance energy there.

When we do Suryayog, we take in cosmic light of the sun through the silver coin, the high frequency light energy, spread from ajna chakra or pineal gland. This energy radiates through the body protecting all the organs and cells. Regular practice can make even diseased cells healthy again.

Doing Suryayog, within an hour of sunrise or before sunset has a scientific explanation. We in Suryayog take in high frequency light energy into our body through the coin. Each photon has a certain amount of energy, depending on its colour. In VIBGYOR of white light, violet is of high frequency and releases high energy when striking an electron. This is also one of the reasons why we wear white clothes since it absorbs maximum light. Whereas red is of low energy when striking an electron. By midday, the Sun gives out only red colour light, which is of low frequency, giving heat energy and not very helpful for the body.

The Light that flows through your system is Universal Energy. It is the light of the Universe. You give the Light of the Universe. You give the Light a form, by the way you feel, think, and behave. There are thought forms of light. Intentions shape light. Through guided meditation, we direct the light to various parts of our body to cure, and balance chakras for good health.

Soma Chakravertty

Pranic Healing for Body, Mind and Soul

In Pranic healing, we believe that we are all made of ‘prana’ or life-force that runs through our body, like water and sponge, and also envelopes it. The stronger and healthier our prana, the bigger, more spread out and more potent this energy field around us, also called the “energy body”.

One of the basic tools of pranic healing is the ability to feel and analyse this energy body. In a process called ‘ scanning ’, a healer’s hands, made sensitive by experience and concentration, can make out which areas of the body and mind are lacking in energy and so, fairing poorly.

Pranic healing is accomplished through very simple procedures which are easy to learn. The first process is ‘cleansing’ - to remove the devitalized, diseased energy in the whole body or in the affected part, and to remove blockages in the energy channels. The second process is ‘energizing’ - to replenish and reinvigorate the body with fresh prana or vital energy.

Pranic healing uses “no drugs or gadgets”. It is non-invasive and requires “no physical contact” with the patient. Physical touch in not required while healing, because the practitioner applies pranic healing on the energy body, rather than on the physical body. It has no side effects. However, it must be emphasized that Pranic Healing is not meant to replace the allopathic system of medicine, but in fact to complement and supplement it. It can be effectively combined with any other form of treatment. It can be used for self healing and healing other people even thousand miles away.

There is a lot more to Pranic Healing than just healing part. It not only makes you aware of the aura around the human body - the 'chakras' (energy centers) and their effects on our health, but also teaches us how to feel or scan the aura and determine which parts of the chakras may be affected. By learning about energy, we become more conscious about its ubiquitous presence, be it in people, buildings or even objects. Just by recognizing the existence of energy, we learn the possibilities of the healing process and bring in harmony and productivity to every aspect of our lives. Pranic Healers
around the world have started using Pranic Healing for their businesses, homes, relationships, projects and studies with fantastic results.
by MCKS Yoga Vidya Pranic Healing Karuna Wellness Centre

Jade. Versatile and Stable

A long long time ago, China was brutally invaded by the Tartars, who were so cruel to the people that the Dragons shed tears. Those tears became jade, revered as the most auspicious healing stone in China and till today sought after for its powers.

At its most fundamental, jade soothes. It calms, balances and detoxifies. At other levels it provides heavenly protection from harmful spirits, ushers prosperity, fertility and good luck.

Two basic of varieties of jade are available in a rainbow of colours, jade-ite and nephroite which is becoming increasingly rare. Properties of each colour resonate with the seasons, directions and elements eg Red Jade for the South, exemplifying yang or Fire signs. Chosen on the basis of translucency and texture, jade is much more than ornamental in value. Jade is considered to be a symbol of purity and serenity and works well as a stabilizer and cleanser.

In terms of crystal healing, jade treats the kidneys, removes toxins and heals stitches. As an aid to fertility and childbirth it is connected with the spleen and the hips. Green jade, the most common of all jades helps calm the nervous system and is known to bring harmony between people.

Different colours have been given different attributes by spiritual healers around the world. Blue jade aids meditation and helps people who may be feeling overwhelmed. Brown jade helps to ground a person. Green jade is used to soothe the nerves. Lavender jade helps heal from heartbreak. Orange jade brings joy. Red jade helps release buried anger and resentment. White jade aids better decision making. And hellow jade boosts the energy.

Whichever way you look at jade or in whatever colour you choose, jade works quietly and subtly. The way it has for millions of people down thousands of years.

by Mita Bhan
Source: www.mitabhan.com
Photo: Daniel Tan

Inner Nature

by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

The word nature means that aspect of life which is limited to the perception of the sense organs. Only what you can see, hear, feel, sense taste, smell - that is nature. All the things that we call as nature are physical
. Now, I am using another word called Inner Nature. That doesn’t come in the orbit of nature; it is not a part of the physical nature. Spirituality is about going beyond nature, it is about going beyond the limitation of the five sense organs. If we are limited to only those things which we perceive through five sense organs, our whole involvement with life will only be physical. Nature is physical quantity. It may be in the three different forms of solids, liquids and gases. Air is around you. Water is flowing. Earth is there. Body is there. Blood is there. All this is physical. Now, the material sciences are busy with the physical nature. They go on searching for more and more endlessly. But it is not endless. Anything you pursue on the physical level, somewhere there is an end. Maybe the end is far away. Maybe we can’t see the end right now. But there is an end to it. Whether it is medical science, or physics or chemistry, whatever you take, you go to a certain point and you stop. For example, physics has reached a certain point where it has stopped. Physics is not a growing science anymore. Because we have reached that end point where the physical quantity ends and something else begins. That something else cannot fit into the logical faculty of our perception. That something else cannot be perceived through the five sense organs. It cannot be deduced into this or that. So physicists, they have come up with what is called as fuzzy logic. These are all excuses to be illogical. You don’t want to admit that you are illogical. Because you are a scientist, you can’t be illogical. So, they have come up with what is called fuzzy logic - which is no logic. A poet is not logical. Mystics are not logical. Their scope of life is not limited to the logical mind. It is beyond that. They seek through their experience because they know the logical mind is useless. They seek through their intuition. But a scientist cannot seek through his intuition or through his experience. A physical quantity can never be unlimited. Spirituality is about transcending the limited and going into the unlimited nature. Not settling for the limited. If you want to become spiritual, you have to transcend nature. Only then you become unlimited. In the process of yoga, in any spiritual process, so many practices and other processes have been created to slowly transcend our nature. Gradually, one by one, one by one, you defeat nature. That’s one way. There is another way of simply slipping out of nature; there is no question of defeating. You are just above it. You are above your own physical nature. You have heard of yogis and others. They sit in one place - all needs of the body are forgotten totally. You have heard of many such people sitting for months or years in a place. Now, he has transcended his physical nature. Whatever the limitations of the body - it is no more a limitation for him. He has gone beyond that. All the animals are doing what is natural - eating, drinking etc. If all you want to do is live like any other animal - why do you need a philosophy, why do you need spirituality? You can simply live. You don’t have to evolve a philosophy or read Vedas to co-operate with nature. Nature will make sure that you co-operate. Now, if you have to transcend it, then you need something else. If you want to become a part of it, there is no problem. When you are with nature, slowly you’ll become a part of it. It will absorb you. Somehow, that kind of peace - when night settles, you also become peaceful. If you live in a place where there is no electricity or anything, you know - simply when sun sets, everything becomes quiet including your mind. Simply be in forest for 2 days and see. When the sun sets and everything becomes quiet - you also become quiet. So nature just overtakes you and absorbs you into its fold. That much will happen. But that’s not what we are looking for. We want to go beyond that. We don’t want to settle for nature. Nature means - it wants to perpetuate life. The moment you are born with this body, it has certain needs. It has to eat, it has to sleep, it has needs for certain pleasures. It has a need to reproduce itself. These are all nature’s tricks to keep life going on. Now, even that - man has forgotten because he has become so artificial. He doesn’t even enjoy that. Now, the elephant
you see in the wild here - he simply roams about, eats what he wants, drinks what he wants, he just goes about doing things, he is natural. Nobody taught him any philosophies. Simply he is natural. Man has forgotten that also. He has made himself so unnatural. He has not become super-natural. He has made himself so unnatural that his suffering has become very deep. If he becomes natural, definitely some amount of peace and happiness will enter his mind and heart. Definitely he will be more peaceful and more happy. But he is not totally free from suffering. Going beyond nature is the ultimate deliverance. All yogic processes are only methods to go beyond the limited dimension of nature.

Photo: Michael Lorenzo

I used to be a diver of the ocean

“Main marjiva sumund ka dubki mari ek,

Muuthi layaa prem kii jaa mein vastu anek”.

To simplify:

I used to be a diver of the ocean, who searched for pearls.

When I dived deep into the ocean of Parmarth, I came up with a fist full of love in the form of Sat Guru’s grace which provided me with immense spiritual wealth.

One has to die a living death. Hope and care for living has to be

given up then something can be achieved. In the ocean of worldly

bondage a boat can move, the self can cross it and become free

only when there is no desire left. If the weight of desire increases

the boat will sink.

۞۞۞۞

The sound of the bell is considered as special. Whoever can listen

to it must concentrate on it. If the mind focuses on it, one is able

to reach the center. If the soul can latch on to ‘shabd’ then one

remembers it even when asleep. If it happens that one attains to the state of Videha, then, even on lying down to sleep, one hears

‘the sound’ and the mind focuses on it. One is if body-less:-

Divya Charitamrit

" Tulsidas ji has stated-Guru bin hoi ki gyan, gyan ki hoi birag binuu,
gawahin ved puran,sukh ki lahiya hari bhagati binuu

To simplify:

No knowledge can be gained without a Guru and also no knowledge can exist without detachment from worldly pleasures, there cannot be real happiness without devotion to God. So declare, the Vedas and puranas.

Resolving The Paradox Between Psychology And Spirituality

It seems that there is a contradiction between the psychology of transcendence and the spiritual idea of transcendence.

Psychologists believe that through the proper application of intelligence and self-cognition one can have a full and enjoyable life, with wealth, health, and a great relationship, as well as a sense of communal belonging and contribution.

Those in spiritual groups, in particular of an eastern orientation, believe that one has to get rid of the lustful ego that craves only fleeting things and to unify with divine consciousness.

The most popular compromise to resolve this seeming paradox is that you have to build up the self and let it go. In Vedic philosophy this is expressed as becoming a householder in the first stages of life then retiring to pursue transcendence.

Yet most believe, because of cognitive dissonance, that they should choose one view or the other.

Thus, there are those who believe that they should be worldly and experience the world as it appears to be.

Then there are those who believe that they should reject the world and dedicate themselves to getting out of the misery of the cycle of birth and death.

Here is another way of understanding this paradox.

The self is a transcendent consciousness. It is not limited to a particular body or a particular lifetime. Because it is not anything in particular, the "I" is not an "it." This is why Buddhists say there is "no-self."

Similarly, the world itself is entirely illusory. I don't mean this metaphorically or even psychologically. At the subatomic level, again there is no substance. There are just probability patterns that literally flit in and out of existence! For example, an electron can appear under an observing instrument then disappear, then reappear again. There literally is no stuff! This is why the Vedantists say that the world is Maya, or illusory.

Yet to all purposes, on the macroscopic level, both an intelligent being and an intelligible world appear to exist.

On this level, personal growth and advancement is necessary, not because it means anything on a cosmic scale, but because there is literally nothing else to do with this adventure of life. You can either resist evolution and suffer all kinds of lack or you can embrace evolution and the refining of mind and enjoy fulfillment of resources and experiences.

Thus, when you look at things from the view of levels of perception, all contradictions disappear, just as the contradiction of day and night disappears when you understand that the sun and earth are in a cosmic dance.

It is possible to be engaged in the world and to actually enjoy it and at the same time to enjoy meditation and contemplation to experience the inner sky of blissful freedom. It is by no means an easy path, but after a while, they will support each other. Material success and harmonious relationships will give you the opportunity to retreat to your inner work. Similarly your inner work will contribute to your increase of abundance and maintaining a loving relationship with others.

The Gift

Give yourself the gift of laughter, song, and love. Touch your life with your own magnificence. You are the ocean. Life itself. You are everything that you were meant to be. Touch your own soul; become whole once more.

Everything is the way it is. Let yourself see it as it is. Free yourself from the delusions of despair.

You cannot save the world from it's nightmares, but you can save yourself; and in doing this, you will salvage the world; for it will see your clear light and hear your clear call.

What if you don't have everything you need right now? Who you are is pure gold. You are the incarnation of abundance. It is right here where you are. Each part of your body is sacred, a miracle of life. And your mind is the greatest thing ever known among all living forms in the history of creation.

When you walk, you grace the earth itself with your presence. Who are you is the gift of life itself. How many more sunrises will it take before you allow yourself to celebrate the miracle of you?

You have lots to give and lots to share.

All lack, limitation, negativity, scarcity are the delusions you entertain to hide your own glory from yourself. And as you suffer through these things, you bring them into physical actuality. Free your energy, your mind, your life from these parasites of thought.

Instead, use your power and get everything you want when you want it. How? By learning how to love, by learning how to sing, by learning how to be yourself fully and completely, without inhibition.

Release yourself from the burden of what might have been. Allow the future to be as it will. Everything you want is here right now. What can be a greater blessing than life itself. To be, just to be, is glory itself. Take this moment to contemplate your own unique expression. Take the next one to celebrate it forever.

Yes, just be. Just be whoever you are. Just be yourself. And celebrate! For the rest of your days.

Not a moment can be grasped and held; not a step can be retraced. As you dance through your dramas of life, remember only this singular truth: you are the magnificence of all life.

Everything that exists filters itself through your senses. Can you celebrate the delicious moment? Or will it pass away as you evoke the hell of your sorrows and damn the cheerful lightness of the air all around you?

Give yourself the gift, before another moment has slipped away.

What is the gift?

The gift is you, my friend; just YOU. For never ever again in all of time and space will there ever be another even remotely like you.

May you be well and happy.

For Your Eyes Only

Imagine what would happen if you made a decision not to be unhappy anymore.

Yes, that's right. Give it up. Quit being unhappy. Sure there are plenty of reasons to be unhappy--the unpaid bills, the ache in your shoulders, and your difficult parents, spouse, children, friends, and so on.

In fact, if you really focus on it, the earth has always been a miserable place and if you read the newspapers it appears to be falling apart at the seams even faster than ever before.

There are plenty of reasons to be unhappy. The sensory evidence just keeps piling up.

On the other hand, there is only one reason to be happy. You're alive!

Do you understand what a miracle and wonder that happens to be? No one on this entire planet, ever, has been you. Only you are you. You have a total exclusive on this total immersion movie called life.

Expand this idea a little. The entire universe exists for you only. It only exists through your eyes. If you were to completely blink out of existence, it really would not matter much whether the universe still existed or not because there would be no you to appreciate it.

This means that the only reason the sun shines is so that it can settle on your skin, that rain falls only to make the earth green and beautiful for you, and that mountains and rivers and oceans exist in case you might see them.

True, for everyone else, it exists only for them, too. But what of it? It does not detract from your own exclusive experience.

Only you breathe for you, see for you, hear for you, talk for you. Just think for a moment of the sensory pleasure of being alive. All of this grandeur--just for YOU! Focus on your breath for a moment, and notice how delicious is that experience. You did nothing to deserve that breath or the air around you, yet here it is, offering itself freely to you.

Unhappiness is such a waste of life. It seems to me now that unhappiness is just a bad habit, an expression of ingratitude.

Every day life is blessing you with awareness and all everyone appears to do is grumble, grumble, grumble. Things will never be perfect. Life is short. If you don't enjoy it now, chances are it won't get any better tomorrow. Besides, it's not going to last long anyway.

Life is about love, laughter, and happiness. That's all. Not a complicated concept.

If people lack things, it is because their bad attitude brings them scarcity.

Imagine, for a moment, if instead of crumbling under every adversity, and drowning in uncertainty, you were to remain mindful. Imagine if you had a taste for the adventure that is your life. Imagine if you stopped taking everything so very seriously.

In the cosmic scheme of things, decades pass in the blink of an eye. Before you know it, the show will be over. All your suffering will cease. But before that happens, you still have a chance to grab some happiness.

Who knows, your happiness might even be contagious, and instead of spreading your irritation at the imperfection of all created things, you can just as easily start blessing others with the sunshine of your presence.

If you focus on unhappy events, either in your past or in the world at large, you will only dig yourself deeper into misery. Yet, with just a little effort, you can notice the bird that hops on a branch and think that this little scene was enacted just for you.

Nobody is going to start taking pleasure in life for you. It really is up to you to start connecting with the joy of your own existence and to the magical promise of your own gifts of love, laughter, and song.

It means much to be happy. Even for a day. And it is only today, every day.

elp Always, Hurt Never

Revenge, the desire to hurt others who have hurt us, only bears bitter fruit. It hurts those whom we have inflicted our wrath upon. And it hurts us, because no single act in the universe goes unrewarded. From that singular act, our own consciousness is wounded by the expression of our animalism.

Nations pride themselves on the swiftness of their retribution but inevitably collapse in on themselves because the seeds of discontent that they sow, hurts all of life. Rome, the greatest civilization that the world had ever known, built on the finest arts and sciences known to the ancient world, the epitome of legal and architectural order, collapsed from within, destroyed by its own impulse to use its mighty force to strike out and subdue.

Today our world is dying because of this impulse to strike out.

We are destroying each other at an alarming rate, both individually and collectively.

And even the earth itself, is collapsing at a faster rate than we can repair. Scientists now estimate that by the year 2050, we will have exhausted the earth of all its natural resources.

The science that we celebrate, the genius of our efforts, are wasted on destructive uses. Instead of using the power of the nucleus to build great civilizations we are busy using it to stockade bombs.

Billions of dollars that could be used to heal the broken places on our planet are used to send people to horrific deaths.

When we seek to hurt life, we hurt ourselves, for we are life.

Revenge it is said is a dish best served cold; but whether it is served with cold deliberation or hot reaction, it is a dish in whose very preparation we imbue a poison that will return to destroy us.

The greatest illusion is this: that we can hurt and not be hurt, that we can wound another and remain unscathed. When we inflict harm upon another, we inflict harm upon ourselves. What goes around comes around. A rudimentary study of history will prove this.

When we love, we reach out to align with life, to nurture and make others better, and in that act, we redeem ourselves from our own past follies.

This love is a precious act. It is our extension of spiritual power in the world. It is a moment of sympathy and support that we have for life. When you bend down and help a child tie its shoelaces, you are tying up all the knots of the world. When you listen in silence and understand another's intention, you are spreading the meme of empathy through all of time and space, for thoughts are cosmic waves that do not know any barriers.

As we extend love to others, it comes back to us.

Yet we cannot love others unless we love ourselves as well.

We cannot live without making mistakes of judgment and do things that we will later regret, because we are na?ve and do foolish things out of that naivety. But we do grow, and looking back at the harm we have invoked, we feel grief. Our act of love, then, is to forgive ourselves. Yet instead of taking this simple act, we damn ourselves repeatedly, and in this way, we still hurt life, because we are life.

When we feel the urge to strike out, we must remember how it feels to have the wound inflicted upon our own flesh, because everything returns to the author of a deed.

Help always, hurt never. Do this and your life will be a blessing to the world and you must reap the harvest from what you have sown.

What is the Connection Between God and Man?

"What is the connection between God and man? If God is unseen, how can a connection be established between man and something unseen? How can man see the connection? Is the one who sees the connection a man, and is one who does not see the connection also a man? How does the connection come?" A man asked these questions of a Sufi gnani.

The gnani replied, "True indeed. Not everything we see or believe in is God, and not everyone we see is a man. But it is easy for a true man to see the connection between God and man.

"God is beyond mind, desire, and thought. From a place beyond mind, desire, and thought, one who acts with the qualities of God, who does the duty of God, who hands over to Him the responsibility for the diseases of hunger, illness, old age, and death, one who does duty without selfishness and has compassion--he is in the state in which God exists. He is a man, an insan. He is God. In that state he can see the connection between man and God, which is made up of the qualities and actions of God.

"When form is created, the ray of the power of God comes into each form. Thus a connection exists between the power known as God and the ray known as the soul. That ray existed within Him in anathi, the dark time before the beginning. The bodies that were formed with the ray of Gods power inside them will live with that connection.

"There are six kinds of lives. One of them, man, has a connection to God. Man had that connection in anathi, and he maintains it even after he leaves anathi. Just as a fish dies when it is taken out of water, the ray of the soul will die if its connection to Gods power is broken.

"Gods power exists for all time. But if man forgets his connection to it and establishes a connection to the five elements, to earth, fire, water, air, and ether, he will live and die with a connection to hell.

"One who maintains the connection to God is a man, while those who prefer the connection to the elements are pulled by those shakthis, their forces and energies, and disappear into the karma of animals। They become subject to millions of births and to hell. One who is connected to God is pulled by that power and grace and will disappear in God.

by WisdomArticles

Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa

Sri Ramkrishna was born on 18.02.1836 in Kamarpukur, Hoogli of Khudiram Chattopadhay and Chandramoni Devi. He was the 4th child of his parents, after Ramkumar, Katyayani, and Rameswar and a sister, Sarbamangala. Nicknamed as Gadadhar he was a very reckless but god fearing boy since childhood, and was deeply devoted to serve the mother goddess Kali from a young age. He was inspired by the leelas of Lord Krishna and tried to imitate his feats. As a child he was matured for his age and earned the love of all. He had an unusual memory interested in Hindu mythology.

Once while playing the part of Shiva in the plays performed during Shivaratri, he attained Vhava Samadhi. His elder brother Ramkumar took him to Dakhineswar to assist him in his works as a priest in the temple. In 1855 Rani Rashmoni of Janbajar offered him the job of the priest of the Goddess Kali at Dakkhineshwar Temple. Onlookers would crowd to see Ramkrishna performing puja as they wanted to see the love and devotion with which it was performed. At the age of 23, May 1859, he married Saradamoni of Jairambati, whom he thought would be his ideal life companion. Soon after, the urge of finding the truth of life made him take sannyas under the sage Totapuri who gave him the sobriquet, Paramhansa.

His quest for truth continued with Bhairavi Ma and sages in other religion. Though he attained Bhava Samadhi very often, he was inclined to know the truth about human existence. He started Adyitya Sadhana and realised god exist in every form of life. In Jan 17, 1868, he stared for a Tirthayatra along with Mathur Babu and his nephew Hridoy. He visited places like Deoghar, Varanasi and Vrindavan. He even worshipped Saradamoni in the same way he worshipped the mother goddess which was known as Shorshi puja.. He preached universal brotherhood, and soon stalwarts like Kesab Sen, Shibnath Sastri, Girish Ghosh and Narendranath Datta (later Swami Vivekananda) became his disciples.

He developed a strange theological relation with Narendranath and soon moulded him in his own way. He taught Naren the truth of life by letting him see a glimpse of the holy spirit. He taught Naren the truth of life by letting him see a glimpse of the holy spirit. It was Vivekananda in later days, who held high the teachings of Sri Ramakishna to the world by forming the Belur Math. In Jan 1st, 1886 in Kashipur Garden an ailing Ramkrishna touched some of his disciples. Those who were touched felt an unearthly feeling never felt before. While some went speechless for a short while, others moved into a state of Samadhi. This incident is remembered by his disciples as Thakur taking the form of a Kalpataru. The great preacher passed away in 16th August, 1886.

Union Of The Jeevatma With The Paramatma

When I wanted to submit this article, I found that it would be published under Yoga-Spirituality। So, I first thought of requesting the editor to change the last part of the link from yoga to spirituality to differentiate it from yoga, which is more concerned with asanas, yama, niyama, pranayam etc., but then realised that the goal of spirituality and yoga is one and the same, that is. union of the jeevatma with the paramatma, the part realising its oneness with the whole, the ego willing to play its role in the drama of life. So, I felt that no change is needed. Many times we talk of Spirituality. What exactly do we mean by that? Let us try to approach this question from the point of view of science.We can very well understand when we talk of a physical world. We can hear, see, smell, taste and touch something. We talk of it being a solid, liquid or a gas. We can touch a solid, smell it if it has a smell, taste it if it has a taste, we see it as having a definite size and shape. We can impact it with another solid and hear the sound of impact. Thus a solid can be sensed by all five sense organs. Sai Ram.When it comes to the liquid, we can certainly see it but with an important difference - it has no size or shape except as defined by a container. It may have a smell and it may have a taste too. It certainly makes a splashing or sloshing sound when moved in the container. Even a dynamic body of liquid like a river makes sound as the water ripples along and meets other solid bodies or when it is separated from itself and then meets itself like a water fall. We can certainly touch the liquid, though it may be difficult in case of mercury and dangerous like in case of corrosive acids. But with suitable precautions, it is possible.

Now let us see vapor state and gaseous state. The difference between a vapor and a gas is that in the case of a vapor it is in contact with the liquid. If the vapor is sufficiently heated, it becomes gas. We cannot see all vapors and gases directly, but we can see them indirectly. We can smell them, taste them (most of the gases don't have a taste but some like carbon dioxide react with water and produce carbonic acid, which gives a characteristic taste to the soda and when oxygen is driven off by boiling water and cooling it without much aeration, it tastes flat) and touch them indirectly (when a breeze blows, we feel it).One important difference between a liquid and a gas/vapor needs to be understood at this point. Though both are classified as fluid (flowing, not having a definite shape and so ever changing), liquids do have a definite density at a given temperature. So a given quantity of a liquid will occupy a definite volume at a particular temperature. Even if we provide a larger volume than that needed, the liquid doesn't flow to fill the total volume. But a few molecules will escape from the liquid surface and form the vapor above that surface. Of course, some of those molecules get kicked back or pulled back into the liquid and some other molecules escape in their place. This is called a dynamic equilibrium. The temperature and the vapor pressure of a liquid, will determine how much part of the liquid will evaporate Alcohol, which is called the rectified spirit has a high rate of evaporation at the room temperature. When the doctor or nurse rubs your shoulder with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol preparatory to injection, you will normally feel cool. That is because the alcohol absorbs heat from your skin for evaporation and that results in a local lowering of your body temperature.So, now it is easy to see what is meant by a spirit. A spirit is a liquid that evaporates easily. Since the rate of evaporation of a liquid at a given temperature is proportional to the average velocity of its molecules and is inversely proportional to the binding force between two molecules of the liquid, it is clear that a liquid with low boiling point, low surface tension will evaporate faster and the vapor pressure will be higher.Another meaning of the word spirit is that it refers to astral entities who may be visible but who can't be touched, for example, ghosts etc. They are lighter, more transparent and can penetrate between the spaces that are impervious to thicker bodies like our normal bodies. So, spiritual means light, less dense.Vapors of a substance are also less dense compared to a solid or liquid and the vapors can penetrate through small crevices which a solid or liquid cannot enter. So, the vapor has better penetrating ability, and thus indirectly better means of knowing things not seen or touched by heavier, denser bodies.If left open, the vapor from a vessel containing a liquid will go on rising and mix with air or if left in space vacuum, will continue to expand outwards forever. Thus a spiritual person tries to expand his consciousness further and further.A person who is all the time attached to his body and its surroundings - a person who is attached to physical comforts, sensual pleasures - see how we are connecting philosophical concepts of a person with scientific concepts discussed above - is not considered spiritual. A person, who feels tied down by these bonds - a person who wants to liberate himself from these bonds - is said to be spiritual.Spirituality expresses itself in several ways - a strong desire in the other worlds, a strong interest in ghosts and other phantoms, a strong interest in study of palmistry astrology and other occult sciences - a strong desire for astral travel - a deep interest in religion, psychology and other behavioral sciences and of course also through a strong interest in philosophy (literally meaning love of knowledge) - physics and other sciences all being branches of philosophy and study of Vedanta etc.

By: Swarna.Venkateswara Swamy

Letting go of the past

Our lives are weighed down with past memories and expectations from the future. How can we let go of all that clutter and live life spontaneously? We feel burdened not because of our present but because of the past hanging around our neck like a heavy stone.

Osho gives some useful tips for separating psychological memories from the factual ones. It is good to remember that mere facts never burden us. The memory of our name or phone number is not a burden but a psychological memory of an insult or even a felicitation can become a hang up.

Interestingly, many of us tend to forget facts but we tend to remember and dwell upon psychological memories.

Osho points out, "Memory has technical uses. You have to know how to drive, you have to know where your home is, and you have to recognise your wife and your children. But those are not psychological hang-ups. Factual memory is useful. It enhances life, facilitates it. But if you come home and you look at your wife and think of all your past experiences with her then that is a psychological hang-up. If she was angry with you in the recent past, then that memory can cloud your eyes. If she was nasty or sad, then it too can colour your perception. Psychological impressions change your way of looking and perceiving her as she is standing in front of you at this moment. You are no longer looking at her but at someone who doesn't exist. You are looking at a ghost, not at your wife. And she may also be looking at you in the same way. Drop the past each moment. Just as you clean your house, clean your inner house of the past. All psychological memories have to be dropped. Just keep factual things and your mind will be very clean and clear."

Soon you will find that there is a new light in your life - the light of here-now, the Present.

The three Devis and creative energy

Durga is one version of the all-pervading Shakti, the powerful manifestation of the Supreme Energy. The eternity of this supreme manifestation of divine female power is considered to be pervading infinite space and time. The everlasting and all-pervading Shakti also presides over the processes of creation, conservation and annihilation. Concepts of creation, preservation and annihilation are crucial as "many-body" operators in physics. Almost all physical systems are many-body systems. The smallest many-body entity is a physical system with only two constituents. Atoms, atomic nuclei, molecules, solids, liquids, gases and the universe constitute important physical many-body systems. We, too, live in many-body systems that include family, our society and the world. However, these are not studied as physical systems, although some enthusiastic students of the subject do show some interest in them. Maha Shakti or Supreme Energy is manifested chiefly in three forms: Maha Saraswati, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Kali. The three devis represent three important facets of life: Creation, conservation and annihilation. Learning and wisdom play a far more important role than details of one's birth. Maha Saraswati stands for creation. The creative person who pursues knowledge and wisdom continues to live with the grace of Maha Lakshmi, who is responsible for the sustenance of life. Maha Lakshmi bestows her grace and bounty. Finally, Maha Kali, responsible for annihilation, completes the cycle. Physical energy has several forms. There are transformations among the different forms of energy. In the process, however, the indestructibility of the energy, and consequently matter, is not affected. The stability and functionality of different forms of energy and matter depend on the distribution of these in the atom, which is the source of all forms of energy and matter, the complete knowledge of which still remains elusive. This is also true with regard to the Universe. In spite of several propositions and expositions about the universe and its finiteness or infiniteness, the subject is still mysterious. This fact emphasises the boundless or infinite limits of knowledge. We are not bound by finite dimensions. We live free, and we are surrounded by infinite space, time and knowledge. It's all there, we only need to reflect on the metaphysics of it. Science is normally handled within only space time dimensions. With knowledge included, it becomes philosophy or metaphysics. Research in science is increasingly also revealing to us the infinite nature of knowledge: the more we know, the more there is to know and so on. What we might refer to as super-space is spanned by space, time and knowledge, all having both real and imaginary components; the imaginary components are the reciprocal or momentum space, frequency and ignorance respectively. That we are in this situation is not our doing. In this context, the concept of a Supreme Power is important. Philosophy and science have a common characteristic. Both are born of doubt and also evolve with creation of more doubts. Understanding the correlation between the seemingly contrasting aspects of science and philosophy is important in enabling further exploration of the mysteries and nature of space, time and knowledge.

G S TRIPATHI

A Guru to provide safe harbour

Prince or commoner, rich or poor, every individual who wishes to get empowered and enlightened benefits greatly from the guidance of an able guru। Even the gods sought out gurus for themselves. Lord Krishna's guru was Sandipanirishi. Rama and Laxmana along with many other princes learnt all skills from their spiritual master, Guru Vasishtha. When Swami Vivekananda first visited Ramakrishna Paramahansa he asked: "I have read the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures several times, i lecture and give discourses on the Gita and Ramayana. Do i still need harbour of a saint; do i still need a guru?" Ramakrishna didn't reply to Vivekananda's question. After a few days Ramakrishna called upon Vivekananda and handed him a parcel to be delivered at a nearby village a few hours away by the sea route. Early morning the boat and sailor would be ready and all he needed to do was to go to the village and deliver the parcel to the designated person. Vivekananda agreed and decided to start early. He found the boat and the sailor ready to put out to sea. Suddenly, upon sitting in the boat, Vivekananda realised that he didn't know the road to the village. He inquired of the sailor who had no clue, either. Vivekananda decided to go back to his guru to ask him the shortest way to the village. Upon this Ramakrishna said, "Narendra, this is my reply to the question you asked me when we met the first time: Today, you have the medium (the boat), you have the resource (the sailor), you have the road (the sea), you know what to do (deliver the parcel) and you also know where to go but you don't know the way. Likewise you have read all the scriptures, and you can conduct wonderful discourses on them. However, to realise the wisdom of scriptures one needs a guru, someone who has already traversed that path so that he can guide you through the journey and encourage you to not give up." In Sanskrit, 'gu' is one who dispels and 'ru' means darkness. Every individual who wishes to rise above his existing levels needs a lighthouse, a guiding star to guide him on the journey of life, who can help by dispelling darkness at every step. Lord Swaminarayan ordained Sikshapatri, containing 212 conventions of code of conduct for every human being. One of the points reads: "Even the most learned of men will become morally declined if he is not involved in devotion to God and in good acquaintance." Many seers have made various suggestions on how to embark on the spiritual path according to their perceived wisdom. Is there a universally accepted spiritual definition? How should one lead one's life which balances both the spiritual and the material? To understand all this and choose the right path for a balanced life of duty, responsibility, love, detachment and striving for higher consciousness, you need the grace and guidance of a spiritual master. As the saying goes "When the disciple is ready the Master arrives." Like a lone ship sailing in turbulent waters hunts for a safe harbour to anchorage, similarly one needs to constantly endeavour in the journey of life for a true guru, a harbour against all storms.

KAMLESH DIXIT

Lord Ganesha

Universal appeal of the legend of Ram

Hey Ram! With these last words, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi breathed his last। What would he have thought of the current controversy over the historicity or otherwise of Ram, the epic hero? It would be interesting to ask: What is the historicity of the wind or cosmos? Behind visual reality, there exists something one can call supernature. Beyond history, there is the realm of metahistory. How can man with his arrested sensibility, give expression to eternal life or eternity, in a language which is itself man-made? When we do not have a recorded or authentic history of language how shall we be able to understand the word 'history' used in language? The word Ram means causing rest, charming, loving and delightful. Gandhi knew from the core of his heart that Ram is the hidden centre of all apparent reality. It is the unchanging reality, underlying a shifting reality. Ram is part of metahistory. Ram possesses highest power but never reveals himself as a possessor of power. People with inferior power exhibit their power in mindless activity and vanish like a bubble. Much of Bapu's philosophy was based on the substance of Indian thought. He did tend to believe in avatars or incarnations and believed in the saving power of the name 'Ram' in salvation through Lord Krishna. For Gandhi, the legend of Ram is so deeply embedded in the Indian way of life that it is difficult to think of India and Indian culture without any mention of his name. The metahistory of Ram has inspired many poets and artists to depict his character with all its glory and transcendental splendour. After having understood the superficiality of so-called history Oswald Spengler had said in his book, The Decline of the West, that history should be the business of a poet. The first such epic is the Ramayana, composed by Sanskrit poet Valmiki who is believed to be a contemporary of Ram. The whole of the Ramayana consists of 24,000 stanzas or 96,000 lines. It is a great work of art with many dramatic passages. Apart from the Ramayana other important epics of Sanskrit literature which characterise the life of Ram are Raghvansh by Kalidas and Uttar Ramcharit by Bhavbhuti. Ram gained immense popularity through the writings of Tulsidas, too, who depicted Ram's character with such devotion and sincerity that Ram became the inseparable part of the collective unconscious of the people. Abhinand, Kshemendra Jaidev, Pravassen, Kritivas Kambhan and at least 40 other poets have eulogised the greatness of the legendary Ram through their writings. So it is not difficult for any one of us to utter the name of Ram consciously or unconsciously as Gandhi did. Although Gandhi was acquainted with the basic tenets of all religions, he was deeply moved by Christ's Sermon on the Mount. Gandhi's passion for sustainable living and development was inspired by eternal and universal principles of faith in the oneness of religion and humanity. Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence, truth and simple living was derived from a belief in the power of the very same principles epitomised by Maryada Purushottam Ram - the ideal personality - immortalised in the legend's story, the Ramayana, narrated in as many languages, forms and cultures as its plural versions.

Kailash Vajpeyi

Recreating ourselves

To create is to bring into being or existence। And to create something new, we have to die to what is. Something has to die for something new to emerge, and our soul is constantly taking quantum leaps of creativity. What is a quantum leap? It's when a subatomic particle moves from here to there without going through the space in-between. So it's here, then it's there. In between where was it? Nowhere. How did it get from here to there? Don't know. And it got from here to there instantly. There was not time for it to get from here to there. That's a quantum leap. Every death is an opportunity for a quantum leap of creativity. Through death, we recreate ourselves at every level: the material level of the body-mind, the intellect, the personality. All of these have to die in order to recreate ourselves. With every death we store the wisdom of our experiences since the beginning of time and take quantum leaps of creativity so that we can look at ourselves again as if for the first time. Cycles of birth, transformation and death keep us ever fresh so that we can imagine new realms for our existence. In biology there's a term called apoptosis, which means programmed cellular death. In the absence of apoptosis, cells forget to die and this condition is called cancer. Cancer cells don't know how to die and in their quest for immortality, they kill the host body upon which they are dependent for their life. Death, therefore, is the ticket to life and it is happening right now in our body-mind. Where is our two year-old body? It's dead. The body, thoughts, emotions and the personality of the two-year-old are dead. We traded all these in for the three-year-old by dying to the two-year-old. Birth and death are happening all the time at all these levels.

Deepak Chopra

Spiritual healing for cuts and bruises

This week we reveal certain emergency procedures for healing minor cuts and bruises. We need to once more emphasize on the fact that when we use the spiritual dimension for healing, it is not to be forgotten that this is not the dimension of common beings, it is the dimension of saints. Sadhnas (these are yogic kriyas like sanatan kriya etc) for increasing your position on the evolutionary ladder are the most advanced sadhnas and will result in a heightened ability to access the dimension of colours to effectuate healing. Certain energies (colours) which are non-accessible to common people would now be within easy reach for you. If you practice self- healing without any commercial thoughts/bias, the results would be miraculous. When observed clairvoyantly the cells which regenerate tissue and skins are of various shades of yellow. The first step is to bring your awareness to your Anahat chakra and connect with you Guru, whoever, wherever he maybe. Do keep a dust bin in the form of a bowl filled with water and sea salt, as described last week. The bowl is the place to throw off the diseased prana, as if you are dusting dust off a cloth. Some light yellow flowers and neem leaves are the tools you will need for this procedure. Hold the neem leaves in both your hands and sweep the whole body 50 times. The sweeping motion should be from top to toe. Then holding the neem leaves in your right hand clean the cut specifically in an anticlockwise circular motion. Your awareness should be on your vishuddhi chakra (in the throat) all the time. Then using the yellow flowers energize the cut for around 15 minutes with whitish yellow light, moving your hand in a clockwise direction. (At no time during the process should your hands or neem leaves or the flower touch the body.) Though your awareness is at the vishuddhi chakra you should also remain detached from the subject by being aware that you are just a channel for healing and the healing is being effectuated by a higher force. Then with your palms transfer a cooling sensation to the wound in the form of a blue colour. You should now be able to see the effects of your healing.