What has an individual can we do to stop global warming

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1. Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs: Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) will help increase your energy efficiency.
2. Use reusable bags.
3. Up to 20 percent of heating and cooling energy is lost due to poorly sealed or insulated ducts in your home. Make sure your ducts are properly insulated and install weather stripping around windows and doors for a better seal.
4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Reducing your garbage by 25 percent will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1,000 pounds per year. Recycling aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastic, cardboard and newspapers can reduce your home's impact by 850 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Decreasing carbon dioxide emissions can help stop global warming.
5. Conserve Water: Purifying and distributing water takes lots of energy. You can make simple changes to reduce the amount of water you use. Replacing an older toilet can save about 7,500 gallons of water a year. Fixing a leak in a toilet can save as much as 200 gallons a day. Use low-flow shower heads and turn your water heater thermostat down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. These steps can add up to serious savings on your water and energy bills.
6. Air Dry Your Clothes: Line-dry your clothes in the spring and summer instead of using the dryer.
7. Buy Products Locally Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.
8. Buy Minimally Packaged Goods: Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%.
9. Plant a Tree: Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe.
10. Turn off Your Computer: Shut off your computer when not in use.

What If you could wake up everyday with Sadhguru's Voice

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Sadhguru's Punchlines Video

Smiles - Chinmaya Dunster

Himalayan Lust - A Book by Sadhguru

I cannot explain you the joy of going through this book. I have not yet read the whole of the book but could not wait posting it in the blog. For many reason's I would call a seeker's guide to walk on the spiritual path. Or a Guide to convert a tourist to a pilgrimer. In short, one can visualize Sadhguru at his best. The book will not bring you more knowledge but it will intensify the thirst to explore all the dimensions of life. Many significant doubt's of seeker, when he walks the spiritual path is replied with utmost wit and wisdom by Sadhguru. It also opens up the new avanues of life of making a pilgrimage to Kedarnath, Himalayas and many places like them. It will not feed you with more information but will leave a new desire to visit those places. I remember Sadhguru's words "Always desire for the highest. Do not worry whether it is possible or not possible. Just live with that desire and something will happen." So what are you waiting for.................................

Sadhguru's Punchlines

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

My Dear Sadhguru

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Deities and Enlightened Masters - Your paths to exhausting karmas

There is a way to again and again remind ourselves not to collect karma and to live without the influence of the earlier incurred karma. The first step is to have a clear understanding that karma is powerless in the presence of an elevated conciousness.

There is an important difference between normal human beings and enlightened masters. A normal person does not have the ability to make his body alive out of his will. His body is either alive or it is dead, that's all. It is not under his control.

But for an enlightened person, it is under his control. He can either make his body alive, or relax. Because of this ability, he can also make another body alive! When an enlightened being chooses to make a stone or metal alive, that stone or metal becomes a representation of his very self.

All the deities in our major traditional temples are energised by enlightened masters. Masters like Arunagiri Yogeeshwara from Tiruvannamalai, Patanjali from Chidambaram, Karurar from Thanjavur, Konganavar from Tirupati and Meenakshi from Madurai have energised the deities in these temples.

Deities are therefore considered to be the very bodies of the enlightened masters. Disciples continue serving the deities even after the masters leave their physical body. The body of the Deities is considered to be the body of the Master himself. That is the reason why the Deities receive the same respect offered to an enlightened master.

For example, all the disciples initiated by Arunagiri Yogeeshwara will worship the Arunachala temple for generations together. You will see that whatever is offered to the Master will be offered to the Deity also.

Masters, even after they decide to leave the body, are continously available to the disciples through the deities that they energised. For example, even during my lifetime, my physical presence is not possible everwhere at the same time. So these Deities are programmed to do my work where I am physically not present! They are my represetatives!

The deities posses independent intelligence. Energising the deities is a big process. It is giving birth to a child. These energised Deities will directly respond to your prayers. They will directly relate with you if you are open in relating with them.

If you see our Puja (offering) and our ashram routine, you will see that in the morning, they play the wakeup song to wake up the presiding Deity. Then they give a small cup of oil for His hair and a small cup of tooth powder for Him to brush His teeth! Then, they give Him a bath and offer fresh, ironed clothes, just like how they offer to the master. They offer food and perform the evening arati. In the night, they put the deity to bed again in a ceremonius way.

Understand, all this does not add anything to the deity or to the master. It adds only to us! This is what is living with god. This is what is practicing the presence of god. Practcing the presence of the master is Puja. Puja is done everyday because it is a technique to remember the presence of god everyday.

Breaking the Cycle - Sadhguru

Questioner : I'm always doing practices but still, something within me is not breaking down. I'm making the same mistakes again and again. How to break that ?

Sadhguru : So you want to break down certain limitations and go beyond them. You need to understand, the karmic structure in every human being is essentially cyclical. When we say it is a cycle, it is not from lifetime to lifetime alone. If you are observant enough you will see, outside events generally repeat themselves in cycles of 12 to 15 years. If you observe much more closely, you will see, within a years time, these same patterns are happening many times over. If you observe, very very closely, even within a day, the same cycles are happening many times over. These 40 minutes cycles are called galige in Kannada. So, the karmic cycle actually takes force every 40 minutes. Every 40 minutes you have the oppurtunity to break it. If you are not observant, it may take a cycle of 12 years for you to notice that there is a certain pattern to your life. If you make yourself, more and more concious, you will see, every 40 minutes the same cycle is happening. It is very important to see this. If you see that your life is simply a repetitive foolish cycle, that every 40 minutes you are doing the same cycle over and over again, it just takes two days to realize this is no good. If you see the cycles once in a lifetime, it will take a few lifetimes to see this is no good.

It all depends on how concious you are. The more concious you become, the more you see living in an unconcious cycle is no good. So, every 40 minutes, you have an opportunity to become concious of it and to break the cycle. You want to break the present walls and go away. Do you have your wife's permission? You need to take permission because you took vows together (Laughs). But unfortunately, certain things in life do not happen with permission. Unless people are concious enough to see arrangements only as temporary and unless they are willing to look at life beyond that and take the arrangements to different levels as necessary, then the only choice becomes either to give up the process of growth or to break the arrangements. Both will be cruel. One will be cruel to you; another will be cruel to people around you. If you want to grow taking people along with you, it takes much more effort, much more conciousness, much more dedication, much more balance, much more sadhana than walking alone. I would say that a Brahmachari needs much less sadhana than people who want to live in family situation and still want to go; because they have taken on a bigger challenge in their life; a much bigger challenge. You will find walking alone to Kailash difficult. If you have to take four people on your shoulders and walk, it will take tremendous strenght.

So, If you go with your whole family to the base of the mountain, the only thing that will happen is, you will look at the mountain and you will shiver, because you look at your wife, you look at your child - "How to take all these people and go up?" Then you will become cautious. Caution and cowardice are not two different things. When someone else does it, it is cowardice. When you do it, it is caution. So, you will become cautious and do a more practical thing; you will have a picnic at the foothills. You will never attempt to climb the peak, because you are cautious, sensible and practical; all the nice things that make life sane. That is why we Built the Isha Yoga Centre at the foothills, so that you can come and have a picnic. Your little children, your wife, your grandmother and your mother-in-law, they are all there, you cannot just leave them and walk away. So, as a responsible, cautious, practical man, you will naturally choose to have a picnic at the foothills.

Once it happened. At a family dinner, Shankaran Pillai announced that he is going to get married. It was a large family dinner and all of them asked, "Who? Who are you going to marry?" Shankaran Pillai said "Our neighbour Lucy. I'm going to marry her." The father said "What? You'll marry Lucy? She has no inheritance. We don't know who her father is." The mother said, "What? You'll marry Lucy? She doesn't even have her own house." The aunt said, "What? You're going to marry Lucy? Look at her make up; she looks like a street women." The little nephew is not to be left out; he said, "What, you're going to marry Lucy? She knows nothing about football." Shankaran Pillai said, "Yes. But I'm going to marry Lucy because there is one big advantage." All of them asked, "What?" Shankaran Pillai replied, "Well, she has no family."

There are three ways to approach the spiritual process. One way is, slowly, by doing the right things through a few life times, you will get there. Another way is, you remain in your present circumstances, do the best you can do, keep yourself open, keep yourself focused and make yourself available to the process. In the last moment of your life, we will see that it happens. Another way is, that you want to know something now. You want to break your limitation now and go beyond; you want to know life beyond its limitation now. Then you should not be concerned about what is happening around you. You should not be concerned about it because many things will happen that nobody will approve. Society will not approve, people will not approve, your family will not approve since they related to you because you were one kind of person. If you become another kind, they will not be able to relate to you anymore.

Let us say you got married to somebody. They married you because you were certain kind of person. If you become another kind, maybe it is a beautiful kind but a different kind, you are suddenly an alien. They cannot live with you unless they have the wisdom and sense to see you as a great possibility, that "My partner has gone ahead. It is wonderful to have somebody ahead of me." If that much sense is there, fine, but if that much sense comes, then the relationship has to transform itself. It can be no more what it was; it has to become something else. Once you recognise that someone is way ahead of you, that relationship cannot be husband and wife, mother and son, , this and that, it will become something else. So, in some way, whatever you used to value will be broken, either physically broken and gone away, or you will be living in the same space, but still it will change. How many people are ready for that?

So, the other two options are better for a lot of people, that you do the right things, be available to your Guru, and when the last moment comes, he will take care of it. Or, you are not even willing to be available but you are willing to do a few little things; practice somekind of nourishement for yourself so that somewhere in the future, something will happen. I do not wish that for you. Either you must break your limitations now or atleast in the moment of death it must happen. I am not a patient person. I am not somebody who practices patience. I practiced impatience for lifetimes. Patience and I won't go together. People generally see me as an extremely patient person - but I am not. My acceptance is seen as patience, but I am not patient. I am a terribly a impatient person. I want everything on fast forward. I don't like anyhthing moving slowly. I would like the earth to spin a little faster so that your growth is hastened. Why should it take 24 hours ?

So, if you want to break your limitations and you have your wife's permission, there are ways to do it. You just come. Most people do not break without activity. Very few can sit here and simply dissolve themselves. The rest have to be broken. It takes physical, mental activity for them to break themselves. Or you leave yourself in my hands; I will break you very easily. Do you know what it means to leave yourself totally in my hands? If I say "sit", you sit. If I say "stand", you stand. Now, if I say "close your eyes", you want to check if everybody is closing them first and then you close your eyes - that won't work. You will follow instructions right now only if you feel the instructions are reasonable. When I give you an unreasonable instructions, only then you will know who you are. Till now, I have been very reasonable. Sometimes, I get very unreasonable. When I get unreasonable, I see most people fail. There is only a handful of people who are willing to take unreasonable instructions and simply go on without a single thought in their mind as to why it is so. This is not just for some sadistic pleasure to make you do something; it is because essentially, your limitations are created by your own mind; nothing else.

Between you and the ultimate, there is nothing else but yourself. You think some other mountain is standing between you and the Ultimate? - Just your own mental structure. If you have to break that, we have to do something in reverse. This is a simple thing you can do; team up with somebody you don't like. Spend time with that person; very lovingly, joyfully. A lot of things will break. But you always team up with somebody you like - that is not good for you. Get married to somebody that you hate - a lot of limitations will break.

If you choose something that you like, it strenghtens your personality. Learn to do things that you don't like, be with people that you don't like, and still live your life sensibily, lovingly, joyfully. Everything will break.

Linga Bhairavi - A Fierce Feminine Force

Questioner : Sadhguru, could you tell us something about Linga Bhairavi ?

Sadhguru : She is yet to be born. Giving birth to somebody or something which is far bigger than yourself is a tremendously beautiful experience. Because of a variety of disturbances from outside, her gestation period unfortunately has been stretched beyond what we thought it will take but hopefully we will deliver her sometime 2009.

Linga Bhairavi will be a very new form. A linga typically represents the masculine, but she is a Linga Bhairavi. Bhairav-I means it is feminine. She will be of different nature. She will respond to a particular kind of appeal. If someone knows how to do the necessary appeal, she will respond to them in a big way. So you will have a kind of super technology with which you can get anything you want done - that is the whole idea of Devi worship. There is a huge culture of Devi worship here in India. But not only in India - in Arabia, Europe, and large parts of Africa, everywhere goddess worship was the most prominent thing till the monotheistic religion came up. All the crusades and inquisitions were mainly against people who were goddess worshipper. They tried to completely banish the goddess from the planet, but in India she lived and she continues to live. Everywhere else, wherever the monostheistic religions dominated, they completely erased the worship of the feminine.

One crucial point they held against these Devi or goddess worship groups was, they said they were doing devil's work because they were doing things that other people could not grasp or understand. They could do things that others would not have means to do - that means they were into occult practices. Because they could perform occult practices, they were branded has devil worshippers and put to death, or their places of worship were burnt. Systematically, over centuries, goddess worship was completely erased.

Here in India, it is still a very strong culture, but today, even here it has become like this that people conduct Devi worship in a clandestine way. People have become educated - anything that does not appeal to their reason, they want to destroy. Because of this, most of the Devi temples conduct the core of their worship in a very clandestine way. , not known to the outside world. Not everybody, just a small group of people is involved in this, because unfortunately, society has become very male dominated.

When I say male dominated, I do not mean man is dominating. I mean the male mind is dominating. Woman also has become like a man today. That is the most unfortunate thing. Women think they are becoming free by becoming like men. This is the most horrible slavery, that a woman has to become like a man. Once the masculine mind dominates the world, anything that does not appeal to the reason will be destroyed; which is happening worldwide. Here in India also this is happening, but you cannot kill the Devi worship totally because it is too deep-rooted. There are still some hardcore people like me. People have still kept the feminine alive in them - there are many of them. But I think worship of the feminine being mainstream is over in the world. It will always be somewhere clandestine. That is one of the reasons Linga Bhairavi will take a corner. She is taking a corner, but she got a triangular temple because of that. The Linga Bhairavi temple is going to be in the southwestern corner of the Dhayanalinga complex. Linga Bhairavi will be a very fierce feminine force.

The Dhayanalinga is a very powerful energy form but he is made in such a way that he has no need to defend himself, so he does not defend himself. One form of Shiva is Bhole, that means he is simple minded; because he just gives to everybody irrespective of who they are; how they will use him, misuse him - he doesn't care. That's how he is. Because of this nature, people would want to use it. For anybody who is practicing the occult, the Dhyanalinga is like a goldmine because occult practitioners have a certain type of sadhana through which they know how to make use of energy but they do not know how to create it. This is why the occult has always involved sacrifice - they know how to use the energy but they do not know how to create it. So they destroy one life to use it the way they want it - that has always been their way. It would be boon for anybody who is into serious practice of occult to be in the presence of Dhayanalinga and do certain sadhana, and to use the energies for occult practices; but we would not like to encourage that.

In this generation, it will not happen, but in future it is possible that people who want to do occult practices and use these energies in so many different ways would want to take over the place; and they will be capable. They will be too diabolically calculative and they are very powerful manipulators; they could just take over the whole space to use for a completely different purpose. When you create such a big energy source, naturally they will be drawn towards it, and you cannot keep them out, because not all occult is necessarily negative. The occult can be a positive force. It all depends on who is using it and for what purpose.

So we want to create Linga Bhairavi as a space which will be open for the occult. We will open up that possibility. This may cause a certain amount of misunderstanding and disturbance in people around right now, but that does not matter. I have gotten used to live with misunderstanding, and misunderstanding will always be there. These are sciences; these are things that very few people in the world can do. So, we will establish this space when I am still around. These are things which will live for a very longtime, and these are things which people will cherish. This is not only for the occult. For people who are only seeking physical health and material wellbeing, Linga Bhairavi could be far more responsive. I only hope the Linga Bhairavi temple will not become more crowded than the Dhyanalinga. That should not happen.

Still, for majority of the people, their immediate wellbeing is the most important thing. If we make their immediate wellbeing effortless, if they can achieve their material needs so much more easily, I am hoping - you know I am a hopeless optimist - that if they have more time in their hands, they will dedicate it to their spiritual search and wellbeing. I fear Linga Bhairavi may become more popular with people than the Dhayanlinga, but she also has a spiritual dimension. She could be one more conduit. On the northern end of the outer parikrama, we created the Theerthakund as a conduit for people to experience the Dhyanalinga. Similarly, on the southwest end, the Linga Bhairavi also will become a conduit to enhance people's ability to experience the Dhayanalinga.

So in one way, Linga Bhairavi is like a side attraction for people. People may find her more impactful than the Dhyanalinga itself because she will be very raw energy. The Dhayanlinga is subtle - it takes some amount of focus to feel it. But she will be so raw, nobody can miss it; very strong, raw power. In a way, she will be a kind of insurance for the Dhayanlinga on a long-term basis. If people want to do certain work, they can use Linga Bhairavi.

Why are we facilitating such things ? - Because I am not against anything in life; I am okay with everything. It is just that we have to counterbalance everything with something else. If we try to eradicate it, it will only grow. Right now, because of ecological pollution and other things that are happening, tomorrow, shall we pass a law to stop all the industry, buses and automobiles ? You think it is going to work ? We are saying, "Let's plant more tress." Actually, planting more trees is not a 100% solution; we are just delaying the process. If you take medicine that your doctor gives, you are not becoming immortal, you are only delaying death. That is how the whole life works.

You cannot eliminate those things from the world. They have been there for a very longtime. So, we are setting up a small corner where people can make use of this energy. And also for the devotees and meditators who come there, their life is not all spiritual. There are other aspects to their life. They have a family, they still have to struggle for their money, they have to fight for their professional wellbeing - there are so many things. For people, who are seeking physical and material wellbeing, these aspects are also available in the Dhyanalinga, but the Linga Bhairavi will cater to them a little better.

We do not want the Dhyanalinga to be a space to be used for any kind of personal pursuits, whatever they are. The Dhayanlinga, should be constantly kept as a spiritual space, not to be used for anything else. But people have other aspirations. It is not in me to decide and judge what somebody should be doing - it is upto them what they do. It is just that if they show an inclination, we are willing to help. If they do not have an inclination, they just want to enjoy the physicality of the world. I have no issue with that. It is up to them. Till they realise the limitation of what it is, let them go....

So, if you want health, wellbeing, prosperity - these kinds of things are very strong in the Linga Bhairavi energy. People who imbibe it can benefit from it that way. And she has a spiritual possibility also. Especially for those who are emotionally bound, the devotee kind of people, Linga Bhairavi will become a stronger attachment. It will give them a stronger sense of emotional connection than the Dhyanalinga because the Dhyanalinga doesn't really respond to your emotions. He only respond to your energy. He is just on all the time. That is the most wonderful way to do things but people have their limitations and inclination. So Linga Bhairavi can become a powerful force.

She will be fierce and powerful. What level of consecration to go for depends on many factors, especially the kind of support that will be there. When we did the Dhyanalinga conscration, we were doing this with time, space and certain kind of compulsions. There was very minimal support and a huge amount of resistance and struggle in the social situation around us. Now we have a much larger support base, both socially and otherwise. There are lots of suitable people around. If the situation allows, we would include a large group of people and make it happen. Otherwise, it could be done in stages, involving a small group and then a little larger group for peripheral work.

There is no question of ritualistic consecration. It is bound to be energy work. It will again be mercury-based linga. But will it be like the Dhyanalinga ? No. The kind of consecration we will do for Linga Bhairavi will need maintenance to keep it vibrant. She will not be like Goddess Kali - she will not ask for blood on daily basis. She will be consecrated in a different way. Because there is rasa - mercury is refered to as rasa - she will not need any outside help, but still she will need some maintenance. The Dhyanalinga does not need any maintenace. If for thousand years nobody enters the temple, after thousand years, it will still be the same. It will not drop even a notch. But if we consecrate Linga Bhairavi, it will not be like that. It can sustain itself for a certain period but after that it will dissipate.

There are many levels of consecration that can be done. One thing is consecrating the idol and making it powerful; that we will anyway do. Another is creating a form like this and letting it loose, so that people can seek it wherever they are. There are many forms like this, which at different times in history, people created and let loose, and even today people are making use of them. In India, there are many many examples - people call for a certain goddess and she actually appears for them. Most of these goddess were created in terrible forms. She appears to them in that form and things happen.

One example that is fairly well-known is Ramakrishna Paramhansa. Ramakrishna used to call Kali and she would come. He would actually feed her and she would eat. The plate would become empty. It was the real form, because these forms were created long ago. These are not just dolls that are created for the psychological wellbeing of a person. These are energy forms, which have been created and let loose. If you know how to bring them down, you can bring them down right here, like a live thing.

If we want to go for that level of consecration, it will involve a lot more. A new goddess will become alive. Making her alive in one form, here in the idol is one level of consecration. Making her truly alive, not in just this form, so that simply she is there, is something else. We could also establish a method that can be imparted to people, through which they can bring down that particular form into their lives. That will take a lot more. That is the kind of work I must be doing. I am in my elements only in that kind of work. We will make up our mind how exactly to create her, whether to make her mild or to make her wild. What kind of goddess do you want, mild and nice, or wild and wonderful ?

To witness the Consecration of Linga Bhairavi, a 3 Set DVD is available for purchase online CLICK HERE

Heart always wins over Intellect

Osho on Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Keshav Chandra Sen

Osho - I have told you the story of Ramakrishna and Keshav Chandra Sen. Keshav Chandra was one of the most intelligent people of his time. He founded a religion just on his intellectual philosophy, brahmasamaj, the society for God. And he had hundreds and thousands of intelligent people, a very intelligent group, as his followers. And he was puzzled that this uneducated Ramakrishna, who had not even completed the primary school – in India the primary school, the lowest school, takes four years; he had done only half.... Why were thousands of people going to this idiot?

That was in Keshav Chandra Sen’s mind. Finally he decided he had to go and defeat this man, because he could not think that the man could not be defeated by argument. That was impossible for him to imagine. This idiot from a small village is collecting thousands of people every day! From far and wide people are coming to see him, and to touch his feet!
Keshav Chandra with his followers informed Ramakrishna: ”I am coming on such and such a day to challenge you on every point in which you believe. Be ready!” Ramakrishna’s followers were very much afraid.

They knew Keshav Chandra was a great logician; poor Ramakrishna would not be able to answer anything. But Ramakrishna was very joyful, he danced. He said, ”I have been waiting all this time. When Keshav Chandra comes that will be a great day of joy!”

His disciples said, ”What are you saying? That will be a day of great sadness, because you cannot argue with him.”

Ramakrishna said, ”Wait. Who is going to argue with him? I don’t need to argue. Let him come.” But his disciples were shaky, very shaky, very much afraid that their master was going to be defeated, completely crushed. They knew Keshav Chandra. In that century there was no parallel to Keshav Chandra’s intelligence in this country.

And Keshav Chandra came with one hundred of his topmost disciples to see the argument, the debate, the challenge. Ramakrishna was standing on the road to receive him, far away from the temple where he used to live. And he hugged Keshav Chandra. And Keshav Chandra felt a little embarrassed, and that embarrassment went on growing.

Ramakrishna took his hand in his hand and took him inside. He said, ”I have been waiting and waiting for years. Why did you not come before?”

Keshav Chandra said, ”He seems to be a strange man, seems not to be afraid at all. Do you understand? I have come here for a discussion!”

Ramakrishna said, ”Of course.”

So they sat near the temple by the side of the Ganges, a beautiful place, under a tree.

And Ramakrishna said, ”Start.”

So Keshav Chandra asked him, ”What do you say about God?”
Ramakrishna said, ”Have I to say anything about God? Can’t you see God in my eyes?”

Keshav Chandra looked a little puzzled – ”What kind of argument is this?”
And Ramakrishna said, ”Can’t you feel God in my hand? Come closer, boy.”

And Keshav Chandra said, ”What kind of argument...?” He had been in many debates, he had defeated many great scholars, and this villager... In Hindi the word for idiot is gamar, but it actually means the villager. gaon means village, and gamar means from the village. But gamar is used as stupid, retarded, idiot.

Ramakrishna said, ”If you can understand the language of my eyes, if you can understand the energy of my hand, you are proof enough that existence is intelligent. Where have you got your intelligence from?”

This was a grand argument. He was saying, ”If you have got this great intelligence – and I know you are a highly intelligent person; I have always loved you – tell me from where it comes? If existence is without intelligence you cannot get it. From where? You are the proof that existence is intelligent, and that is what I mean by God. To me God is not somebody sitting on a cloud. To me God simply means existence is not unintelligent. It is an intelligent universe; we belong and we are needed. It rejoices in our rejoicings, it celebrates in our celebrations, it dances with our dance. Have you seen my dance?” – and he started dancing.

Keshav Chandra said, ”What to do!” But he danced so beautifully. He was a good dancer, because he used to dance in the temple sometimes from morning till evening – no coffee break! He would dance and dance till he would fall on the ground.

So he started dancing with such joy and such grace that suddenly there was a transformation in Keshav Chandra. He forgot all his logic, he saw the beauty of this man, he saw the splendor of this man, he saw a joy which he had never felt.
All that intellect, all those arguments were just superficial, inside there was utter emptiness. This man was so overflowing.

He touched the feet of Ramakrishna and said, ”Forgive me. I was absolutely wrong about you. I know nothing, and I have been just philosophizing. You know everything, and you are not saying a single word.”



Ramakrishna said, ”I will forgive you only on one condition.”
Keshav Chandra said, ”Any condition from your side. I am ready.”

Ramakrishna said, ”The condition is that once in a while you have to come to discuss with me, to debate with me, to challenge me.”

This is the way of a mystic; and Keshav Chandra was completely finished. He became a totally different man; he started to come every day. Soon his disciples deserted him: ”He has gone mad. That madman infected him so much. There was only one madman, now there are two. He is even dancing with him.”

But Keshav Chandra, who had been a sad man, grudging, complaining about everything, because he was living in a negative space, suddenly blossomed, flowers came to his being, a new fragrance. He forgot all logic. This man helped him have a taste of something that is beyond mind. Zen is the method to go beyond mind. So we will be discussing God and Zen together. God has to be negated, and Zen has to be planted deep in your being. The lie has to be destroyed and the truth has to be revealed. That’s why I have chosen God and Zen together. God is a lie, Zen is a truth.


Source: "God is Dead, Now Zen is the Only Living Truth" by Osho

Sri Ramakrishna on doing worldly duties

M. (humbly): "How ought we to live in the world?"

Sri Ramakrishna : "Do all your duties, but keep your mind on God. Live with all — with wife and children, father and mother — and serve them. Treat them as if they were very dear to you, but know in your heart of hearts that they do not belong to you.

A maidservant in the house of a rich man performs all the household duties, but her thoughts are fixed on her own home in her native village. She brings up her master's children as if they were her own. She even speaks of them as 'my Rama' or 'my Hari'. But in her own mind she knows very well that they do not belong to her at all.

The tortoise moves about in the water. But can you guess where her thoughts are? There on the bank, where her eggs are lying. Do all your duties in the world, but keep your mind on God.

If you enter the world without first cultivating love for God, you will be entangled more and more. You will be overwhelmed with its danger, its grief its sorrows. And the more you think of worldly things, the more you will be attached to them.

"First rub your hands with oil and then break open the jack-fruit; otherwise they will be smeared with its sticky milk. First secure the oil of divine love, and then set your hands to the duties of the world.

"But one must go into solitude to attain this divine love. To get butter from milk you must let it set into curd in a secluded spot: if it is too much disturbed, milk won't turn into curd. Next, you must put aside all other duties, sit in a quiet spot, and churn the curd. Only then do you get butter.

"Further, by meditating on God in solitude the mind acquires knowledge, dispassion, and devotion. But the very same mind goes downward if it dwells in the world. In the world there is only one thought: 'woman and gold'.*

"The world is water and the mind milk. If you pour milk into water they become one; you cannot find the pure milk any more. But turn the milk into curd and churn it into butter. Then, when that butter is placed in water, it will float. So, practise spiritual discipline in solitude and obtain the butter of knowledge and love. Even if you keep that butter in the water of the world the two will not mix. The butter will float.

"Together with this, you must practise discrimination. 'Woman and gold' is impermanent. God is the only Eternal Substance. What does a man get with money? Food, clothes, and a dwelling-place — nothing more. You cannot realize God with its help. Therefore money can never be the goal of life. That is the process of discrimination. Do you understand?"

South India Actress Shreya at Dhyanalinga

Mother and Father are next to God

Today I came to know that my father's heart pumping rate is quite slow. Though there is no immediate danger, I became aware of the possibility of death in face of the bad health. The doctor suggested a costly procedure to recover from this condition. Looking at my financial position, It was unlikely that such an operation could happen. My mother suggested to me that not to worry about his health since medicines along with control in diet will work well for him. I know how much she loves him. I was broken down when the suggestion came from the mother herself. She needed to be so strong within herself. She did not make me feel like I was not doing enough. I was just standing there like a beggar, realizing that how much little I was doing for them. Every moment became precious. I just wanted to be with them in whichever way I could participate with them. Those words that "Mother and Father" are next to God became a reality in my life. I know my mother how she had sacrificed herself for the sake of wellbeing of her children. Never caring for her health. She has been my inspiration. I have not well behaved with my father in the past. I was always pinpointing his mistakes without realizing that Love ignores all shortcomings of life. What is precious is being together. Just sharing small moments together. Rejoicing in life, given has a gift by God. Death and Love are two sides of the same coin.

Despite our financial difficulties, the word "Suffering" looked so unreal. Yes, there can be physical pain, there can be sadness, but even sadness is the emotion which is sweetly coated with Love. And that has been a greatest gift from Isha. All the hankering for the worldly objects dropped. Only enjoying in each other's presence became the truth of in our life. Only serving each other was the source of bliss, which I learned during my Volunteering in Isha. It showed that money is so powerless in front of Love.

Spiritual Music reminds you of where you are coming from.

And that has been my experience. Especially the music here in Isha has that divine quality in it. It fills the morning with so much peace and joy. One can feel the waves of stillness all over the place. It reminds us to be at our original place. It awakens love within us. And that fragrance can be carried with us all day long. The Music of Isha is the outpouring of love for Sadhguru. Love has a miraculous quality for transformation.
I will recommend readers to purchase all the 4 albums of Isha which have been released upto now.
1. Exuberance of the unmanifest - Sound of Isha
2. White Mountain - Sound of Isha
3. Project Green Hands - Sound of Isha
4. In the Lap of the Master - Sound of Isha

Adding to this, The Album of Krishna - Vikram (Art of Living) has wonderful devotional music. Devotion by Sharma Sisters has beautiful spiritual music to add to your basket. One can purchase the songs individually on the internet from the given link http://www.mysticamusic.com/devotion-bhajans-meera-tulsidas.php. And last but not the least I will keep developing the Music Jukebox given at the bottom of my blog.
I am quite aware that I am the most selfish person in this planet. I have experienced that the more I share, the more joy it brings to me.

Guru Pooja

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The Guru is looked upon as an embodiment of God himself. For, it is through his grace and guidance that one reaches the highest state of wisdom and bliss. "My salutations to the Guru who is Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara. The Guru is Parabrahma incarnate" Gururbrahmaa gururvishnuh gururdevo Maheswarah | Guruh-saakshaat parabrahma tasmai shrigurave namah ||


When we infuse spirit to a ritual, it becomes spirit-uality. Without the spirit, even spirituality becomes just a ritual! What this means to say is that every act of ours can become spirituality when we infuse the intensity and enthusiasm. It could be a small thing like having a cup of tea, if the spirit is there then it becomes a blissful act. Otherwise it becomes another ritual, another chore. Our life becomes monotonous and mechanical.


So, coming back to Guru Puja. What does this ritual do? It's to offer our gratitude to existence for all that we have. We are taught only societal "thank you"s, but when true gratitude oozes out from inside, its a natural expression of the being. This ritual creates the ambience and triggers that expression from within - ONLY if we are open to allow this to happen. Let me explain to you briefly the meaning of the chants that accompany the Guru Puja. It basically says that we offer our entire mind-body system, part-by-part to existence in gratitude. Since Guru symbolises existences, we invite Him to our core, just like we would invite a guest and offer ourselves to Him. We make the Guru comfortable in the home of our inner space by offering Him water to drink, rinse His mouth, fresh clothes to wear, sandal perfume to adorn Him, food to eat etc. Inviting the Guru to our inner space is equivalent to invoking the divinity/existential energy/God/cosmic energy that is within us.


Now, you may ask, 'if I have the feeling of gratitude, it's enough; why should I perform the ritual?'. Very valid question. But the problem is that our mind and inner space is so polluted that it easily wanders away here and there not allowing us to even feel the emotion of gratitude intensely. By doing the external ritual, it integrates our actions with our thoughts and emotions. It only adds intensity. This is the reason, we physically offer flowers, fruits, incense etc. How beautiful! When we are connected to the external Guru, then the Guru Puja can becomes even more beautiful! We can literally experience the Master sitting in front of us accepting the puja. Guru Puja can become an intimate rendesvouz with the Master!


We unite our minds with the holy mind of the Spiritual Master, who is considered the root and life-force of the spiritual path, to receive blessings to generate realisations on the path to enlightenment. The word puja literally means "to please", thus Guru Puja means "to please the Gurus, or Spiritual Teachers". Why should we please them? Because they are fully dedicated to helping us develop our inner potential to be enlightened. In fact, we cannot become enlightened without their skilled guidance, and thus they are more important to us than anyone else. The idea of "pleasing" our Spiritual Teachers is for our own benefit, not for theirs. We need merit, or positive energy for our enlightened potential to grow and become perfect, and one of the best ways to do that is to make beautiful offering and prayers to our Spiritual Teachers. This is what happens in the Guru Puja.

A tribute to Ammachi, Anandmayi ma - The saints from this century

Everything is divine - Animate or Inanimate

................................................................................................................................................ As far as I can look at my pre-isha life, I was never inspired to go to temple or to take on to some kind of worship. Looking at the society, I always felt that the temple-going people are always living on the surface and all the worship is just unreal. It is like the body without a soul. Someone like Shreemaa, a realized saint is offering worship, as a complete path in itself. One can check www.shreemaa.org for details. I was inspired to take on to worship by Bhagavan Das, a disciple of Neem Karoli Baba. And looking at the way various festivals that are celebrated in Isha Yoga Centre, it has become a way to celebrate our life in this planet. Why not dance our way to death ? In the following excerpt from a book "Its here now" by Bhagavan Das, Ram Dass is a fellow traveller of Bhagavan Das. Not to forget while reading this excerpt is that Bhagavan Das prepared himself with intense practice before experiencing the things of the other world. The following is the excerpt from the book :-


Ram Dass was always extremely generous. He gave me the sitar he'd bought in Delhi because he knew that i loved music.
A sitar is a very complicated instrument. This one had dozens of strings, and I did not know how to tune it. I didn't know where to begin, so i left it in the empty room next to Ram Dass's room. Every day I'd bring it flowers and worship it has Saraswati - The Goddess of music, art and letters. For weeks I sat with it and meditated.
One day, the sitar spoke to me and told me to pick it up. I picked it up very respectfully, as if I was holding a beautiful woman in my arms. Then it said, "Tune me". And I started tuning the strings. For the next couple of weeks, i spent hours tuning the sitar, never playing it. Finally, something happened and all came together. I started to play. But it didn't feel like I was playing the sitar - It felt like the sitar was playing me. Saraswati was playing the sitar by using my fingers. I never had a lesson. I just surrendered to the Goddess. The music was sublime.
Soon after I learned to play, Ram Dass told me he had been sitting in the next room listening to me play the sitar for about an hour. It was the most beautiful melody. Then he happened to look of window and saw me over at the tea stand accross the street. And still the divine music continued.. He turned white and ran next door, and there was the sitar lying by itself on the floor. There was no one in the room.
Ram Dass realized he had tuned in to where music itself comes from. He realized that I was tuned in to where it was coming from when i sat down to play perfectly, never having had a lesson. In India, musicians practice Nada Yoga, the yoga of sound following the notes back to their source, searching for the original player. It's so arrogant of us to believe we can make music. Only God makes music. The universe is her song.

Suprabatham - Invocation of Lord Venkateshwara

The following is the excerpt taken from the book "It's Here Now" by Bhagavan Das, a disciple of the enlightened master Neem Karoli Baba. The excerpt signifies the importance of the Lord Venkateshwara Temple in Andhra Pradesh. The excerpt :-
One of the most famous temples I was told to see was Tirupati, at "The Seven Hills of Lord Vishnu". This is located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, north of Madras. The seven hills were originally sacred to the seven sages and the Goddess. The statue there is of Venkateshwara (Lord Vishnu) appearing as the charming cow herder Govinda (Vishnu's incarnation of Krishna as a boy). I hiked up the seven hills and dropped into the vortex of devotion swirling around Krishna. It was like wading into a pool. I started to move with the pilgrims, and suddenly I was swirling in the frenzy of devotion.
Here I began kissing the ground as a spiritual practice. I would take a step, kiss the ground, murmur "Om Namo Bhagavatay Vasudevaya (I Bow to Lord Vishnu)", stand up, say "Om Namo Bhagavatay Vasudevaya," bend down, touch the ground, repeat the mantra, stand up. I did this for eight to ten hours, and it altered my conciousness. I went to the inner light of the heart of the deity by approaching the formless reality and projecting an image onto it and crying, "Out of your mercy please let me love you! Become a mirror for my devotion so I can see myself in you."
I didn't understand any of this philosiphically at the time. I was simply lost in the bhava, the divine mood. I was experiencing the truth of tantra: Only God can worship God; only Goddess can worship Goddess. You become what you worship, and then you worship yourself.
Thousands of pilgrims arrived every hour on the hour, asking for boons (spiritual gifts and blessings). They sacrificed their hair. Thousand of Barbers lined up in stalls, and freshly cut hair was lying everywhere in big heaps. The devotees offered their hair, and their prayers were answered.
Intention, commitment, sacrifice, faith, and devotion- together these produce real effects. Too often we underestimate the power of thought. Thoughts manifest. Your life is what you think it is. That's why meditating and disengaging from the thought process helps free the self. The devotees believe, "I will give my hair, my beauty, my good looks to Vishnu and he'll have compassion for me and help me out. " And he did.
The temple was so big that I was dwarfed. I stood under massive carved columns twenty-five feet tall, surrounded by thousand of pilgrims waiting in line to go through the giant doors.
The ceremony in front of the temple was intense. It was as though I had found the one place in the world where God really lives. The music, chanting, prayers, vast number of people--Oh, the enormity of all! I couldn't go to this place just once. There was too much to see and too much to feel.
I entered a turnstyle machine set up by the initiated priests who, with the power of mantra, keep the river of liquid shakti flowing. After many hours of repeating mantras in line, I was finally inside the doors. Everything got dark. The giant stone walls, dark with soot, reminded me less of a cathedral than a fortress. I couldn't see the end of the corridor. It was so long, with a cavern of blackness backlit with flickering torches. The ceiling had to be at least thirty feet high.
Devotees that we were, we all had little boats in our hands made of leaves, containing offerings of food and flowers. Around me clusters of family were waiting together, everyone chanting "Govinda, Govinda, Govinda, Govinda!." Thousands of people were chanting around me . "Sita Ram, Sita Ram" , "Radhe Shyam Radhe Shyam". Everyone was trying to drown out everyone else with their own favourite name of God.
It was musky and damp, and everyone was dripping with sweat. I was drenched, too, as I was pushed along in the line.
There was no way out. I was totally trapped in the enormous crowd. I was like a snake in the bamboo reed: there was no reverse gear; I could only go forward. I had no choice. i was being pushed toward God.
IT WAS GOING to happen. I was going to see God. As it got darker and darker and sweatier and sweatier, I could smell everyone's bodies and all the crushed flowers under my feet. Sonorous sounds of the sacred prayers being chanted by the Brahmins came from both side of the corridor. Imagine a hundred Brahmin on each side, chanting in unison- a really unearthly sound echoed in the chambers of this castle of God.
Finally I came out of darkness and into the golden light. God was tall, fifteen or twenty feet, and made of one solid black, carved, basalt stone. Vishnu was covered with Gold. The Brahmins have melted down everyone's jewelry and stuck it on the statue. Tirupati is the richest temple in India. Those who can afford it, give all their bracelets, necklaces, rings- all their gold- to God, and their desires are fulfilled.
The atmosphere was very intense within five feet of God. The chaos was part of the worship. Yet in the midst of the craziness was a deep sense of peace.
I was standing in front of God with my offering in a basket when one of the priests took it to the feet of the Lord. Then he picked up another offering and placed it in my basket. The priest kept the rupees from the basket as his salary.
Now I had shakti, the energy of God, in my basket. I had offered my devotion, and someone else's devotion was returned to me. All of us are linked in the eyes of God, and the love we offer him, flows back and forth among us all.
The line suddenly jagged, and right in front of God was an empty space. It was the first I'd seen in many hours - a genuine miracle! The statue of Vishnu was very big, scary and mysterious. Although it was black, it was really bright. And the intensity of light was all the greater because I'd spent hours in the long, dark halls. Now I could either go into the light or look away from it. I held that empty space as long as I could. How long could I hold the vision of God? As long as i wanted. Then I closed my eyes, bowed and said "Enough, God. Thank you." and shuffled out of his presence.

Blogger's Remark :

I was excited when I came accross this article. The only thing I could imagine was that someday I would shave my head to see that Sadhguru lives a long life. May Lord Venkateshwara adds my life of years to Sadhguru.

Sadhguru on floods in Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka

...........................................................................................................................................................................08 October, 2009
After the recent floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, wherever I go, one question I'm repeatedly asked is: "Such a great calamity; what can we do? Are the gods angry with us? Is there some spiritual process that we can do to avoid cyclones and floods in this country? Can we do some yaga or yagna for this?"
I want you to understand, a cyclone or a flood is not a calamity but just a natural process that can happen anywhere, and at any time. Two-thirds of the earth is under water anyway, so a little extra gets displaced now and then due to natural reasons or maybe because of global warming. But what is a calamity is that so many people have died and so many more have been displaced, their lives shattered perhaps to a point where they will never be able to put it back in their lifetime. This could have been avoided to a large extent, if we only managed our lives better.
The present devastation by floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is not sudden or unforeseen. In 1998-99, when people in this region complained of lack of rains, I said that the way we were progressing in another 5-6 years there would be too much rain. It does not take any great intuition to say this because if there is any slight disturbance in climate over the oceans, a certain low-pressure area will get created over a dry peninsular tract of land with oceans on both sides and with insufficient green cover. This will naturally attract enormous amount of rains.
If there was enough vegetation, it would have held the rain and let it out in small drops to become streams and rivers which we could have enjoyed. But unfortunately, we have stripped the land completely of green cover so the rain, which should have been a great blessing, has become a curse upon us. This is just a natural progression; it is neither God's wrath nor is it some unforeseen force acting upon us. We are the cause for the effect that we are facing right now.
The human tragedy due to these rains is because the land is also overpopulated. In the beginning of the twentieth century the world had a population of only 1.6 billion people. Today we have grown to 6.7 billion, which is an enormous and unprecedented increase. So wherever there are any small changes in nature like earthquakes, tsunami, floods etc, human beings are badly hit, because they are everywhere to die. This has become our condition today.
This is because, through the advancement of medical science, to a large extent we have taken death into our hands. So it is all the more important that we also take birth into our hands. But today various vested interests in the form of religions and other forces are resisting any kind of control over the growth of population. So the pressure on the land will be high with more forest being cleared resulting in more devastation.
We can create human societies either with conscious action or nature and other situations will force us to act in a certain way. It would be worthwhile if we act consciously and see that such situations, such pain and such devastations don't happen to human societies. One of the most important things that we must do right now, as a nation, is to aim for reduction of population by at least one third in the next 50 years. We must also ensure that a minimum of 33% land is under green cover. If these two things happen we can largely control such calamities.
As a part of our efforts in this direction, Isha Foundation started Project Green Hands. I must say, since 1998 we have been making efforts to plant trees in people's minds and in the last six years we have been transplanting it into the land. We have planted millions of trees in Tamil Nadu where the green cover according to official figures, has actually increased by 4.2% in the last 5 years. This is probably the only geographical entity of its size in Asia where the green cover has actually gone up in the recent years, everywhere else, it has been going down. It is not enough if we do this in one state. Everywhere the political leadership, the citizenry, the religious leaders, media and everybody should come together and make sure that our goals on population and environment are achieved.
This is the yaga and the yagna that needs to be done.
For every calamity that we bring upon ourselves there is no need to look for cosmic explanations, this is a local disaster. When I say local I'm talking about what we have done to our surroundings and the planet. This has nothing to do with the cosmic phenomena and is very localized to our planet and to our country right now. So this is something we have to handle and there is no need to look for any cosmic solutions or divine interventions.

Papaji, no-mind, dead mind and silent mind, what are the differences ?

Silent mind means to keep quiet temporarily. It is simply a suppression of the objects in mind. It can happen many times, but it will not last. Still mind is also temporary. Mediatation or concentration can result in still mind. It is like the flame of the candle. When there is no breeze, the flame will be still. When a wind comes, the candle will flicker and go out. Still mind will be blown away as soon as it encounters the wind of a new thought.

As for no-mind, I am hearing this question for the first time. No person from India or the West has ever asked me about this before. I am very happy to deal with this question for the first time.

Before we speak about no-mind, we have to see what mind is. Let us start from conciousness. Sometimes you want to look in a mirror to see what you look like. In the same way, conciousness sometimes wants to look at itself to see what it is. A wave will arise in conciousness. It will ask itself, "Who am I"? This wave that arises in conciousness imagines itself to separate from the ocean. This wave becomes "I", the individual self. Once it has become separate, this "I" degenerates further and start to create. First there will be space, the vast, frontierless emptiness of infinite space. And along with space, time will be created, because wherever there is space, there must be time. This time becomes past, present and future, and from these three attachments arise. All creation rises within the past, the present and the future. This is called samsara. Samsara is endless past, present and future. Anything which is born in time, which stays in time, will be finished in time. And all this is mind. The "I" arose and created space, then time, then samsara. This "I" has now become mind, and this mind is "I".

Then at some point, an intense desire for freedom will arise. This desire will arise from conciousness itself. Originally there was a descent from conciousness- from the "I" to space to time to samsara. Now there will be an ascent. As you ascend, attachment to physical object will go, then vital, then mental, then intellectual. Finally , you return to "I" alone. This "I" is still mind.

This "I" has rejected everything. It exists alone with no attachemnts. It cannot go back to the world of attachments, to samsara. It has a desire for freedom; it wants to return to its original place. This "I" which rose from conciousness is now returning to conciousness. It takes the decision, "Become no-mind now" and with that decision the "I" is gone, mind is gone. The "I", which is the mind, has been rejected, but there is still something there which is between the "I" and conciousness. This in-between thing is called no-mind. This in-between entity will merge into conciousness, and then it will become conciousness itself.

Look at this cup (pointing at a tumbler on the table). There is space, emptiness, both inside and outside this cup. The space inside we call "inside space" and the space outside is called "Outside space". Why ? Because name and the form of the cup divides the inside from the outside. When the name and form are removed, the space inside and the mahat, the greater space, becomes one. In fact they were always one. From the point of view of space itself, there never was an outside or inside. Name and form made it appear that there was an inside and outside, but the space was never affected by the artificial divisions. Likewise, freedom is always there, always unaffected by names and forms. Name-and-form is "I". When the "I" goes, the walls which appear to divide conciousness are removed. This becomes This.

When you go from mind back to conciousness, you go through this stage of no-mind. In that state there will be the feeling, the recollection, "Now I have no-mind". Gradually, slowly, this no-mind will merge back into the beyond. But how it happens, I do not know.

One conciousness with the animal kingdom - Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi

.....................................................................................................................................................Ramana's identity with all creation, with all life was total. There were no "others" for him. The following is an interesting excerpt taken from the book "Timeless in Time - Sri Ramana Maharishi" :-

We have an interesting happening at the asram in 1948, recorded by a devotee Narayanan, illustrating the sense of equality prevailing. Not finding Ramana at his usual place, he and his friends were wandering round the ashram when they heard a child like voice "Chee, Asatte" (Tamil word meaning stupid fellow). Looking in the direction from which the sound emanated in the kitchen garden, they saw a small goat, a little monkey, a squirrel and Bhagavan Ramana. "Bhagavan was sitting on his haunches with his legs folded upto his breast. The goat rested between his knees, the monkey had its head resting on the right knee and a squirrel perched on his left knee. Holding a packet of paper in his left palm, Bhagavan picked up groundnuts from it from his right hand fingers, one by one, and fed the goat, monkey, the squirrel and himself by turns. His remarks (Chee, Asatte) seemed to have been addressed to the monkey which had tried to snatch a nut, as he was about to place it in the squirrels mouth. As we watched, the four companions went on enjoying the eating. All the four seemed equally happy, the way they looked at each other and kept close together was quite touching.
The nuts were over, Bhagavan threw the packet away, and said "Pongada" (meaning go away, you fellows) just as an old man talking to his grandchildren.

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Squirrel

When Bhagavan was staying in the Old Hall, he was literally surrounded by squirrels. They would run all over his couch, on his body, and even under his pillows. Ramana had to be extremely careful before he sat or leaned, lest some squirrel be crushed by the weight of his body.
Once a mischievous and overactive squirrel bit Bhagavan's finger. This particular squirrel would not take his nuts from the tin but would insist on Bhagawan feeding him. Yet, when there was some delay, in chagrin he bit Bhagwan's finger. A regular tussle then followed between Ramana and the squirrel. Ramana said "You are a naughty creature! You have bitten my finger! I will no longer feed you. Go away!."
Would that fellow stay quite? No, he began begging of Bhagavan for forgiveness by crawling hither and thither. Bhagavan put the nuts on the window sill and on the sofa and told him to help himself. But no, he wouldn't even touch them. Bhagavan pretended to be indifferent and not to notice him. But he would crawl up Bhagavan's legs, jump on his body, climb on his shoulders and do ever so many things to attract his attention. Then Bhagavan told everyone, "Look, this fellow is begging of me to forgive him his mischief in biting my finger. He wants me to feed him with my own hands."
He pushed the squirrel away for some days saying, "Naughty creature! Why did you bite my finger? I won't feed you now. That is your punishment. Look, the nuts are there. Eat them all." The squirrel would not give up his obstinacy either. Some days passed and Bhagavan had to finally admit defeat because of his mercy towards his devotees.

I love you, Sadhguru

Cast aside your ego, and abide in yourself

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Firm and disciplined inheritance in Atman without giving the least scope for the rise of any thoughts other than the deep contemplative thoughts of the self, constitutes self-surrender to the Supreme-Lord. Let any amount of burden be laid on him, He will bear it all. It is, infact, the indefinable power of the Lords that ordains, sustains and controls everything that happens. Why then should we worry, tormented by vexatious thoughts, saying "Shall we act this way ? No, that way ?" instead of meekly but happily submitting to that Power ? Knowing that the train carries all the weight, why indeed should we, the passengers travelling in it, carry our small individual articles of luggage on our laps to our great discomfort, instead of putting them aside and sitting at perfect ease ?" - Ramana Maharishi

The main point focused on by Ramana is that happiness is inherent and common to all life. Such happiness is experienced by the mind which is abiding in its source, in the spiritual heart. A mind which abides in the heart is the Self itself. Such a mind is a pure mind. When the attention is so focused on this core without paying attention to the rising thoughts, the mind subsides in its source. The mind is always aware of the bliss in the heart.

Source "Timeless in Time - Sri Ramana Maharishi" page 98.

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CAST YOUR BURDEN ON THE LORD OF THE UNIVERSE

On the seekers aspiration on how to achieve self-realisation, Sri Ramana replied "One should cast one's burden on the Lord of the Universe who is always victorious. He is the excellent doer of all actions. You should always concentrate your intellect on the heart, which is the seat of the atman and abide there.

"This does, the Lord, is powerful enough to fulfil your object in the future.

"The lord of the Universe controlling the past and the future should be entrusted as the efficient actor.

"When the time comes, the excellent object would be fulfilled. Let there be no doubt in your mind, jeewel of the learned. By steady abidance in the heart, your welfare is sure. Let the work be surrendered to Siva."

Osho poisoned to death - Truth always hurts

............................................................. ......................................................... ....................................................... ............................................................ .......................................................... ............................................................ .......................................................... ..................................................... ................................................... .............................................. ........................................................... ....................................................... ............................................... .................Its really unbelievable that the American Goverment can stoop down to such a low level, that it executed the plan to kill the most loved, most revolutionary enlightened master of this planet. There are many books, which exposes the hypocrisy of the American Goverment. Some of the book such as "Twelve days that shook the world" by Juliet forman, exposes the hypocrisy of the American Goverment. You can buy the following book from this link http://www.amazon.com/Bhagwan-Twelve-Days-Shook-World/dp/3893380582 .
A small article from the words of Osho himself about his experience, when he was arrested in America :-http://www.otoons.de/politics/osho_on_his_death.htm
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Taare Zameen Par - Movie of this century

...................................................................................................................................................Directed by Aamir Khan, It was an awakening experience, watching this movie. Despite trying to be a responsible parents towards our children, we unconciously destroy their very source of joy, their very being. The movie is realistic with a very strong message and depicts a life of our school children, who has to go through a unneccesary torture by parents and teachers. I wish that every parents and teachers watches this movie. Unfortunately, the movie is available only in Hindi Language in the original form.
I remember visiting my son's school on eve of Science Exhibition held in his school. Though the school in which he studies is very famous. You will find that the school's article appears on all newspaper. But there is a proverb that everything that shines is not a diamond. There were various stalls arranged, where students try to explain any one aspect of Science through experimentation. What was shocking that even before I could approach them, they would start explaining their subject. There was fear that they may forget their subject. Everything was memorised, even by the grown up children. Fear was very apparent on their faces. Memorising without understanding is the most destructive way of learning, which is encouraged in all our schools.


I wish that all beings in this planet are rejoiced in whatever way they can contribute to the richness of our planet, never imposing our own mind and belief on them. Giving them freedom to be themselves, where joy of the being has victory over material profit, where stillness of the being wins over the power trip of the society.

About Sadhguru in Hindi

The following PDF file is taken from a Hindi Magazine "Sadhana Path" :-
http://www.ishafoundation.org/news/newsclips/2009/Sadhnapath-June-2009.pdf

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Anger - Expression of Disturbed Mind

Today as I was coming back home on my motorcycle, I saw a autorickshaw farway, immobile. When there was a space to crossby, I thought that I could passaway. All of a sudden, the man came out of auto and I collided with him. The vehicle and myself were hit on the road. But strangely there was no upsurge of anger inside me. I find that the more I am focused to Sadhguru, the less there are chances of being disturbed. Only my body was hit. And the mistake by the man was not intentional. I and the autorickshaw, just parted our ways without looking at each other.

I remember a event few months back. I was sitting in my shop with few of my friends. My motorvehicle was just parked outside my shop. In India, the bullock carts are unpredictable vehicles of transportation. They don't have a brake. So all of a sudden, it hit my vehicle. I just stood up, as if nothing as happened. It was only the vehicle, not me. These meditations have dis-identified myself with all the outside objects. The friends, who were enraged, encouraged me to fight with the bullockcart man. The first thing, my consiousness was searching for, was, my chappals. Feeling embarrased at what I was doing, I enacted a argument with the man outside. But when I came back in the shop, my friends told me clearly that all my anger was a cover-up and it seems that your Isha Yoga Practices might have loosened the anger within you. I wonder that I have been introduced to only the basic exercises and am optimist on what the future holds for me since there are many advance programs, which I have not done yet.

Shambavi always comes to my rescue

Today I was calculating over the monthly expenditure I incur every month. What was revealing was purely disturbing whereby my monthly expenses are more than the income I earn. My father wants to play the role of the boss whereby he decides how to expend money but does not want to know whether the shop is in profit or loss. This thought about the situation which is going beyond my control, kept running in my mind again and again. I was in depressive state. So when I came up in the evening to my home, it was my usual time for evening practice. But because of the depressive state, there was a temptation today to skip the practice. But in the time like this, I always remember Sadhguru's words "The outside situation is beyond your control but what happens within you is always under your control". So I went ahead with my Shambavi Practices. Has it always happened, I came out refreshed, away from the dark clouds of depression.

My experience always says that how much ever the thought might be depressing, it cannot hold over you forever. Even today, though the situation over my father's behaviour has not changed but those thoughts are not clouding over me, like in the past. Life is open, to be explored in other dimensions. Thoughts always stay for a certain time. If one stays has a witness, they will pass away, leaving no scar of the past. So I learned a key.

Even during the practices, I notice that there are tempting thoughts, depressive thoughts, angry thoughts, happy thoughts but I have taken a decision that I will be seated for the next 40 minutes, no matter what my thoughts says. Usually thoughts are the extension of the what kind of society you are exposed to. As we can observe that society always harbour violence, aggressiveness in a deceptive state. So it is we, who have to decide, whether we want to live a life of selfish human being or the way shown by Sadhguru. This is bringing me to live life with clarity.

Project Greenhands Song

Click http://www.projectgreenhands.org/ to know more.

Something we can learn from a Awakened Aids Patient

Source : "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" - Sogyal Rinpoche.


This is the story of Rick, a real life story, where even under difficult life situations, he lived the life with grace and richness. Despite facing the imminent death, he faced the death gracefully. But facing the death with open arms became possible for him, only because he lived the life in gratitude for the whole planet, feeling the oneness with it. The following are the excerpts from this book :-
Rick lives in Oregon and has Aids. He is forty-five, and used to work as a computer operator. Sometime ago, he came to the annual summer retreat I lead in the United States (I refers to Sogyal Rinpoche), and spoke to us about what death, and life, and his illness meant to him. I was amazed by Rick, who had only studied the Buddhist teachings with me for 2 years, had taken them to heart. In this brief period he had, in his own way, captured the essence of teachings: devotion, compassion, and the View of the nature of the mind, and made them a part of his life. Rick sat in his chair and faced us all and told us how he felt about dying.

I hope that these excerpts of Rick will give you some flavour of this moving occasion :-

When I thought I was dying, two years ago, I did what was natural: I cried out, and I was anwsered. And it took me through several weeks of horrible fevers, where I thought I was going to go in the middle of the night............This devotion, this crying out............When this is all you can do, we have that promise from Padmasambhava (Seen has a every embodiment of all the Buddhas in Tibet) that he is there. And he doesn't lie: he has proved himself to me many times.
If it were not for Padmasambhava, whom Rinpoche teaches us is the nature of our own mind, our own buddha nature, if it were not for that glorious shining presence, I couldn't go through what I'm going through. I just know I coundn't.
The first thing I realised was that you must take personal responsibility for yourself. The reason I am dying is that I have AIDS. That is my responsibility, no one else is to blame. In fact there is no one to blame, not even myself. But I take responsibility for that.
I made a vow to myself and to whatever god there may be, before I came into Buddhism, that I just wanted to be happy. When.........I made that decision, I stuck to it. And this is very important in doing any kind of training of the mind. You must make the decision that you really want to change, no one is going to do the work for you.
Our part............is to work with the daily aspects of our situation. first is to be grateful that you are in this body, and on this planet. That was the beginning for me - realizing the gratitude for earth, for living beings. Now that I feel things slowly slipping out, I am becoming so much more grateful for everyone and everything. So my practice centers on this gratitude, simply a constant offering of praise to life, to Padmasambhava, who Is living all of these multitudinous forms.
Don't make the mistake I did for so many years, that "practice" means sitting straight and saying mantras, thinking "I'll be glad when this is over". Practice is much bigger than that. Practice is every person you meet; practice is every unkind word you hear or that may even be directed at you.
When you stand up from your practice seat, that's when practice really begins. We have to be very artful and creative in how we apply the practice to life. There is always something in our environment we can connect with, to do the practice. So if I am too dizzy to visualize Vajjrasattva above my head, I stand up, and I go and wash my morning dishes, and the plate I'm holding in my hand is the world and all its suffering beings. Then I say the mantra........OM VAJJRA SATTVA HUM...........and I am washing away the suffering of the beings. When I take a shower, that's Vajrasattva above my head. When I go out in the Sunshine, it is the light, like the hundred thousands suns, shining from Vajrasattva's body and entering me, and I just take it in. When I see a beautiful person walking down the street, I might in the beginning think, "What a nice looking person", but the next instant I am offering that up to Padmasambhava with my full heart, and letting it go.. You have to take real life situations and make them your practice. Otherwise you will have only an empty belief that gives you no solace, no strenght, when hard times start. It's just a belief: "Oh. Someday I'll go to heaven. Someday I'll be a buddha. You are a Buddha, now. And when you practice, you are practicing at being who you are..............

It's very important to take situations that are occuring in your life and use them. As Rinpoche keeps saying, if you have practiced calling out and asking for help, then in the bardos(After-death situations) it will be natural to do the same............. I made a mantra out of this line by Dudjom Rinpoche: "Lama of unrepayable kindness, I only remember you." Someday, it is all I can manage to think; it is the only practice I can get out. But it works great.

So.............Happiness, self-responsibility, gratitude.......don't confuse a dead, ritualistic practice for a living, ongoing, changing , fluid, opening, glorious practice. Because, and it's my experience right now - and I know it sounds like words perhaps, but I know in my heart it's not - I see Padmasambhava everywhere. That's just my practice. Every person, especially the difficult ones, that are making life difficult for others around them, to me that is the blessing of the master. To me this illness is the blessing of the master. It is grace. So much grace, I can chew on it.

But this has happened because I have trained my mind..............When I srarted, I used to judge things constantly in my mind. I would judge this person; I would judge that one. I would judge the way he looked; I would judge the way she sat; I would judge, "I don't like today, it's too rainy, too gray. Oh poor me.......Oh love me.......Oh help!. So I started with that. It was just a constant commentary in my mind. But I made a start. I would write myself little notes and stick them into refrigerator. "Don't judge".

When you live in your mind-that is choosing between this and that, "This is good.........This is bad, I don't want it," between hope and fear, between hate and love, between joy and sorrow, when you are actually grasping for one of those extremes- the essential peace of your mind is disturbed. A Zen patriach says "The great way is not difficult for those who have no preferences." Because your Buddha nature is there. Happiness is everywhere.

So I began to work with my conceptual mind. At first it seemed like an impossible thing to do. But the more I practiced at it........I found out; If you leave the risings on their own place, they are perfectly fine, where they are. Just be with them, and be happy, because you know you have the buddha nature.

You don't have to feel like you have the buddha nature. That's not the point. The point is trust, which is faith. The point is devotion, which is surrender. That, for me, is the essence. IF YOU CAN TRUST WHAT THE MASTER IS SAYING, and study and try to bring the teachings back to yourself in difficult times, and train your mind not to fall into its habitual patterns, if you can just be with what is happening, with bare attention, after a while you notice that nothing stays around very long. Not even negative thoughts. Especially not your bodies. Everything changes. If you leave it in its place, it will liberate itself.

In a situation like mine, when fear becomes so obvious to you, and so predominant, and you feel like you are being swallowed by the fear, you must take your mind in hand. I have realized that fear is not going to kill me. This is just something that is passing through my mind. This is a thought and I know that thought will liberate itself, if I keep my hands off. I also realise that's what happens in the bardos, when and if you see a vision coming at you that might be frightening; it's not coming anywhere other than you! All those energies we have kept damped down into our bodies are being released.

Some of you have been dearer to me than my family. Because you allow Padmasambhava to come to me in just another way, through your care and your concern and your love. You don't seem to care that I have AIDS. No one has ever asked me "Well, how did you get it?" except a old friend of mine who called me a week or so ago and said "Aren't you afraid that this is God's curse on you?" After I stopped laughing, I said "You believe that God has cursed the earth and the human body is impure. I , on the other hand, believe that blessing is the original starting point, not a curse." From the beginningless time, everything has already been accomplished, pure and perfect.

So what I do now is just rest in radiance. It's everywhere. You can't get away from it. It is so intoxicating that sometimes I feel like I am just floating in the radiance. I am letting Padmasambhava, as he flies through the sky of mind, just let me tag along.

Now If i were sitting out listening to this, I would say "OK then, why aren't you healed?" People have asked me that. It's not that I haven't tried: I bought a whole suitcase full of pills. But I stopped that question quite a while ago. I guess the reason I did was because it seemed it would be manipulating and interfering with the process that had started. This process is very cleansing for me. I know there is a lot of karma being burned up. It's cleansing perhap's for my mother, because I offer this for her. She suffers quite a bit. Then there are spiritual friends in this group whom I love like brothers and sisters, they suffer to. I have made this covenant with Padmasambhava: If I have to stay around and suffer so that some of it could help cleanse and purify you as well as me, what a blessing that would be! This is my prayer. And I'm not a person who likes to suffer, I can guarantee you that!. But I feel that grace, that blessing, pushing me gently into that suffering.

And at this point, from studying what I have studied of Rinpoche's teaching on the bardos, death is not an enemy. Just like our thoughts are not to be seen as enemies.........And life is not an enemy. Life is something glorious, because in this life we can awaken to who we truly are.

So I beg you - from the bottom of my heart - not to waste the opportunity you have, while you are still relatively healthy, to work with what Rinpoche is offering you........He knows how to get the point in speaking and teaching about what Dzogchen is, and he knows how to take you there in the heart. That is so important: and especially when you are getting ready to die.

So I'm here to say goodbye. Atleast for this time around...........I want to say goodbye to all those of you who have become my brother's and sister's, those of you whom I know not have not had the privilige of getting to know better, those of you I have not even met................I have a feeling that within the next 6 months I may die. It could be within the next 3 months. Si I hold you all in my heart, and I see you all bright and shining. There is no darkness. It is just light from Padmasambhava's heart, pervading all of us. Thank's to the master's blessing.

TO BE CONTINUED.....................................................