Many thousands of years ago, there was an Indian spiritual Master who had many devoted disciples. The Master felt the most effective form of teaching was silence. He told his disciples that to really understand his philosophy and teachings it was necessary to silence the mind and listen to the still, inner voice within. However, the Master also found that, out of necessity, he needed to give specific teachings on aspects of his spiritual path.

As books were very rare and expensive, this Master did not write any of his teachings down but relied on speaking informally to disciples. Sometimes his teachings and talks were slightly misinterpreted; two disciples could come out of the same talk and remember very different things! But, fortunately, this Master lived a very long time, and when he felt he was not being understood, he would repeat his philosophy and teachings until it was widely known.

Despite living for a long-time, the Master eventually left the body and his disciples dearly missed the outer presence of their Master; however, by and large, they continued following the Master’s way of life, and the ashram continued in a similar vein to when the Master’s physical presence was outwardly guiding it. Read On…

Jenya and Kalap were good friends who both followed the same spiritual path. However, they had quite different temperaments. Jenya liked meditation and spiritual discipline, while Kalap was more gregarious and gravitated to working on big projects.

On Kalap’s birthday, their Master invited Kalap to his house for a birthday meditation. Jenya loved to see his Master go into a trance and offer his light to his disciples. Although it was not his birthday, he felt great oneness with his brother-disciple Kalap’s birthday-blessing.

After his Master came down from his lofty trance he offered his love and gratitude to Kalap, but then the Master became more serious, and he added:

“My dear Kalap, I am very happy with your dedication-life and service to my mission. When I need something doing, you are there cheerfully and selflessly. But I would also like you to pay more attention to your aspiration-life – your daily meditation and prayer. Please don’t neglect to meditate.”

Read On…

I am reading a book about the Golden Age of Atlantis [1]. It is a picture of Heaven on Earth, a world with no conflict, but a society where willing individuals see and feel the underlying unity of the universe. There are some sections I skim through (it does have quite a new age vibe) But, the interesting thing about the book was the depiction of a golden age, where people were predominantly spiritual and the prevailing culture was one of connection to God, the Ultimate Source in every aspect of life.

Whether it is true or just the writers imagination, is perhaps not important. The idea of a golden age – a world where spiritual oneness and peace are the predominant qualities of the world does touch at an inner core of our being. The hope of every soul must be to someday live through a golden age, where real spirituality is natural, spontaneous and all-pervasive.

The current world situation is certainly a far cry from any golden age – though it is often said the night is darkest before the dawn.

I feel optimism and belief in a better world are not just building castles in the sky. Optimism and faith in the divine potential of man and the world are an important foundation for creating this future golden age.

The Golden Age will rapidly blossom
In the hearts of those
Who most devotedly love God
And at the same time
Shall not remain detached
From His earth-family.

Sri Chinmoy

References

[1] Discover Atlantis – Diana Cooper

A look at the relationship between politics and spirituality.

As a student I took quite an interest in politics, and became involved on a fringe level. I think the attraction of politics was the idealism of creating a better world, and the intellectual challenge of thinking about issues.

A few years after being a student, I became disillusioned with aspects of life and looked for something completely different. As I became interested in meditation and spirituality, the interest in politics slipped away. The essence of spirituality, as I understand, is to live in the heart – to see what unites us rather than what separates. When discussing politics, it invariably brings forward the ego – feelings of superiority, self-righteousness and frustration. Meditation gives a feeling of inner peace and serenity; after a good meditation, there is a genuine feeling of oneness, and outer differences, such as political differences seem unimportant.

If news came on the TV, and people started arguing about politics, I would reach for the off button as quickly as possible. It seemed futile to have this kind of debate between entrenched opinions. Sometimes, people try to engage me in debate on economics and politics, but I try to evade their questions. Debating politics brings forward the ego, and also there is a sense of futility, if we argue and debate, we rarely change someone’s heart or mind. In fact, it can just create more frustration.

The world is ruled
By human opinion.
Even one opinion
Has the strength
To divide the entire world.

Sri Chinmoy, AP 5,666 Read On…

If you struggle with low self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy, these are some suggestions to gain self confidence and increased self-esteem.

Remember the good, forget the bad

If we are honest with ourselves we will notice that all humans are a mixture of bad qualities and good qualities. However, perhaps out of a sense of false modesty, we are more prone to remember our mistakes and weaknesses. It is this that makes us feel guilty and worthless. But, in this situation, we are doing ourself a disservice; true we have made some mistakes, but, we have also done many good things. We should make a conscious effort to remember our good qualities and selfless actions to others. If we have made mistakes, learn from them, but, don’t allow them to drag you down with feelings of guilt. – Let go and move on.

Detach from criticism

You can’t avoid getting criticised, but, it is up to you whether you let it disturb your peace of mind. It is no one other than yourself who can rob you of inner peace. If you receive criticism, don’t let it disturb your peace of mind. Feel it is criticising only an aspect of your character – an aspect you can easily improve. If the criticism is unjust, pay no attention to it. Just leave it with the other person.

Stop procrastinating

Often feelings of inadequacy occur during periods of great procrastination. Rather than doing anything positive, we just think of all the things we haven’t done. Here it is easy to get into a negative frame of mind, thinking of all the things we should be doing, but haven’t. The cure for this is quite simple. – Stop procrastinating and start to achieve certain targets. As soon as we are actively working towards something we will have much greater self confidence. Read On…

There is a story from long ago India of a great yogi – Narada – who is requested by the sage Vishnu to fetch him a glass of water from the river. Narada is a highly evolved soul who has shunned the world but never understood the power of ‘maya’ – our enthrallment with the appearances and enchantments of the world – and is about to experience this.

At the river Narada sees a beautiful girl, and captivated by her beauty follows her to her village and requests her father for her hand in marriage. Years go by and Narada has forgotten his original purpose and Vishnu’s request – he is immersed in his human life in the world with his wife and family. One night a terrible storm comes, sweeping away the village and his family in a flood – desperate, Narada remembers his Guru Vishnu and calls out for his help. Vishnu appears before him and asks him:

‘Narada, where is my glass of water? I am still thirsty.’ The distraught Narada is still grieving though for his family, and does not understand.

‘Where does this pain and suffering come from, Narada?’ asked Vishnu with a smile. ‘I thought you had full knowledge of Maya before you set out to fetch water for me.

You knew all about the spiritual truths and realities. Yet you forgot all about them as soon as you experienced the material world – home, family, children, and village. Your understanding of Maya could have helped you in the tumult of pleasure and pain, but it did not. Such is the spell of Maya, the illusory nature and powerful enchantments of this world.’

The story remains relevant even today, our tendency to easily forget our deeper spiritual nature and purpose as we become absorbed in the human dramas of our lives that resemble, in Shakespeare’s words ‘a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more’. When we become interested in meditation though, there is a remembering of something more, a questing beyond the usual attractions of our lives that have failed to fully satisfy. This is a special time in our journey of self-discovery, an awakening to some deeper realisation. Vishnu has come to us and asks of us…

‘But where is my glass of water?’