Realization takes only a moment, but with your whole intensity and being.

Papaji :

I traveled all over India looking for a Guru. I was in the army then and so I had a superiority complex. (giggles) So, I would find a teacher and ask them if they could show me God. Then all the devotees would look at me and show me their king beards which they grew during their fifty year stay with that particular guru. They would say, "We have searched unsuccessfully for years! How do you expect to come in here with your shoes on and see God in a minute?"
Then they would push me out. What to do?
But, if you search for something so intensely that you won't even take food until you find it, then you will get what you want. So, this story ends at the feet of Ramana Maharshi. I asked him, "Can you show me God?"

He said, "No God cannot be seen, he is not an object of senses which can be seen."
"Nee Naan Bhagavan:" You-I-God
You can't see God because you are God!
How can you search for That which you are?
At that moment I had trust that I am God and this trust didn't falter and still it stays....
You have to trust what you are.
~ Papaji

Have you been walking for too long on spiritual path & nothing happened. A laughter a day, keeps the doctor away.

To be successful in spiritual path, you need to be sincere with yourself. Don't show, what you are not. A Zen Story.

THE MONK WITH SWEATY PALMS

Kasan, a Zen teacher and monk, was to officiate at a funeral of a famous nobleman. As he stood there waiting for the governor of the province and other lords and ladies to arrive, he noticed that the palms of his hands were sweaty.

The next day he called his disciples together and confessed he was not yet ready to be a true teacher. He explained to them that he still lacked the sameness of bearing before all human beings, whether beggar or king. He was still unable to look through social roles and conceptual identities and see the sameness of being in every human.

He then left and became the pupil of another master. He returned to his former disciples eight years later, enlightened.

Yoga means leading a disciplined life. - Swami Satchidananda

Yoga means leading a disciplined life. This means that everything in your home should have its proper place and shouldn’t be scattered here and there. Even when you place your yoga mat on the floor, it should be done in a neat way, not in a haphazard way. Even when you put your clothing on a hanger, put it on nicely, carefully and make it look tidy. There should be discipline in all our habits—our eating, sleeping, working, in everything. That is Yoga. 

Nothing is haphazard in nature; there’s an arrangement in everything. Take a flower and analyze the petals; notice how arranged, how organized they are. There, you see tranquility; there is no restlessness. In yoga we’re going back to nature. In our daily lives, we should learn to have this tranquility in all our actions.

OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

Because an illumined soul experiences the nondual Brahman, he can never fear anyone. - Ramakrishna.

Vedanta says that a knower of Brahman becomes fearless. Fear originates from duality. Because an illumined soul experiences the nondual Brahman, he can never fear anyone.
Once while in the Himalayan region in Tihiri-Garhwal, Swami Turiyananda was living in a thatched hut that had a broken door. One night he heard the villagers cry, "Tiger! Tiger!" He immediately put some bricks behind the door to protect himself. Just then he remembered a passage from the Taittiriya Upanishad that declares that even at the command of Brahman the god of death does his duty like a slave. His awareness of the Atman awakened, and defeated the body idea. He kicked the piles of brick away from the entrance, and sat for meditation." Fortunately, the tiger did not show up.

Leave the shyness behind.

Four Gems from Ashtavakra Gita

1. Bondage is when the mind longs for something,grieves about something, rejects something, holds on to something, is pleased about something or displeased about something.

2. Liberation is when the mind does not long for anything, grieve about anything, reject anything, or hold on to anything, and is not pleased about anything or displeased about anything.

3. Bondage is when the mind is tangled in one of the senses, and liberation is when the mind is not tangled in any of the senses. 

4. When there is no "me," that is liberation, and when there is "me" there is bondage. Consider this carefully, and neither hold on to anything nor reject anything.

ASHTAVAKRA GITA

The chess game that God plays with us. What is your next move ? A Poem from Hafiz.

“TRIPPING OVER JOY
What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
And that of a saint?

The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God
And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move
That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, “I Surrender!”
Whereas, my dear,
I am afraid you still think
You have a thousand serious moves.”
― Hafiz, I Heard God Laughing: Poems of Hope and Joy

  

  

  

How the tribes in Africa brought the newborn child in the world

There is a tribe in Africa called the Himba tribe, where the birth date of a child is counted not from when they were born, nor from when they are conceived but from the day that the child was a thought in its mother’s mind. And when a woman decides that she will have a child, she goes off and sits under a tree, by herself, and she listens until she can hear the song of the child that wants to come. And after she’s heard the song of this child, she comes back to the man who will be the child’s father, and teaches it to him. And then, when they make love to physically conceive the child, some of that time they sing the song of the child, as a way to invite it.

And then, when the mother is pregnant, the mother teaches that child’s song to the midwives and the old women of the village, so that when the child is born, the old women and the people around her sing the child’s song to welcome it. And then, as the child grows up, the other villagers are taught the child’s song. If the child falls, or hurts its knee, someone picks it up and sings its song to it. Or perhaps the child does something wonderful, or goes through the rites of puberty, then as a way of honoring this person, the people of the village sing his or her song.

In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them.

The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.

And it goes this way through their life. In marriage, the songs are sung, together. And finally, when this child is lying in bed, ready to die, all the villagers know his or her song, and they sing—for the last time—the song to that person.

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn’t. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you’ll find your way home.

The Mind Unleashed
www.themindunleashed.org

TRIPURA RAHASYA

•  The sight must be turned away from other objects and fixed on a particular object in order to see it. Otherwise that object will not be perceived in entirety. The fact that the sight is not fixed on it is the same as not seeing it. Similarly is it with hearing, touch, etc.

• The same applies to the mind in its sensations of pain and pleasure, which are not felt if the mind is otherwise engaged.

• The other perceptions require the two conditions, namely, elimination of other objects and concentration on the one. But Self-realization differs from them in that it requires only one condition: elimination of all perceptions.

chapter XVI, verses 29-33

When prayer rises from the depth of your being

"At all times, again and again, we should make vast prayers for the sake of all beings. When falling asleep we should think, 'May all beings achieve the absolute state'; when waking up, 'May all beings awake into the enlightened state'; when getting up, 'May all beings obtain the body of the Buddha'; when putting on clothes, 'May all beings have modesty and sense of shame'; when lighting a fire, 'May all beings burn the wood of disturbing emotions'; when eating, 'May all beings eat the food of concentration'; when opening a door, 'May all beings ope the door to the city of liberation'; when closing a door 'May all beings close the door to lower realms'; when going outside, 'May I set out on the path to free all beings'; when walking uphill, 'May I take all beings to the higher realms'; when walking downhill, 'May I go to free beings from lower realms'; when seeing happiness, 'May all beings achieve the happiness of Buddhahood'; when seeing suffering, 'May the suffering of all beings be pacified'."

- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Your Personality is an artificial construction, if you don’t protect it, it will crack and fall down. This is the whole purpose of the spiritual process - Sadhguru.

Tarun Tahiliani: I am trying to use the kriya as a process of self-nurture to become self-aware. Perhaps you can guide us in that respect?

Sadhguru: The self cannot be nurtured. It is so absolute that it does not need nurture. It cannot be transformed into something else, because what you call the self is also the basis of creation. If you are talking about your personality as a “self,” your personality does not need nurture either – it needs dissolution. In the East, the goal has always been to dissolve the personality. This is the fundamental difference between the Eastern and the Western approach.

I am not against the West in any sense. My point is just that you should not do anything compulsively – whether it is from the East or West. It must be by choice. For example, we have chosen to speak English now, because we understand we need to do what works for the wellbeing of the individual and the society. If I spoke Tamil, you would not be here now. But if I spoke English to be superior to someone else, it would be pathetic. If speaking English is a conscious choice, it is okay. This also goes for everything else – it has to be a conscious choice.

Going back to our topic, the self as the basis of creation does not need any nurture. If you refer to your personality as a “self,” this does not need nurture either.

Tarun Tahiliani: I think everyone interprets the word “self” differently.

Sadhguru: This is not a question of semantics. I am particular about the terminology because it should not leave any ambiguity. If you are interested in fixing yourself, first of all, we must clarify one thing – how many people are there in this body?

Tarun Tahiliani: One person, many selves.

Sadhguru: No. One person, many faces. For the purpose of clarity, I am trying to take away the ambiguity of language. How many people are living in this body?

Tarun Tahiliani: It’s just one person.

Sadhguru: The fact of the matter is, there is only one person, but this one person splits himself, according to your convenience. If you do something really worthwhile and fulfilling for yourself and people around you, you say, “I, Tarun, did this.” Suppose you do something nasty, you would say, “That was my ego.” But Mr. Ego is nonexistent – that is why you cannot fix him.

An individual is indivisible. Only if you realize that you are an individual, that you cannot be further divided, transformation is possible. You cannot fix people who split into ten whenever it is convenient. This is an ambiguity that people create in their minds all the time to avoid change. The whole world is into this trickery. That way, they don’t have to take any step towards transformation – they can just talk about it and leave it at that.

A personality is an artificial construction of bits and pieces that you have gathered. Since it is an artificial construction, if you don’t protect it, it will crack and fall down. This is the whole purpose of the spiritual process – everything that can crack and fall down should fall down right now. There is something within you that cannot crack, nor can it fall. Ultimately, any significant transformation can happen in your life or in anyone’s life only when the intelligence of the Creator is at play.

Your personality is your making. Suppose you put two children of the same parents through the same school and the same culture, they will still not turn out the same. That is why we say the way you are right now is your karma – your doing. Input might have come from outside, but what you have done with it is your doing. The way you are right now is made up by you, but you have forgotten that you made it up. If you knew you made up this personality, you could change it. Until now, I have changed my personality dramatically three times. Some time in near future, I may do it again. It will be a shocker for everyone.

If you had seen what kind of a person I was before the consecration of Dhyanalinga – in every way, not just in terms of clothes and appearance, I was different. People barely ever saw me laughing. I was burning with intensity because at that time, that was what was needed for this purpose. Once that was done, I said to people around me, “Now I am going to change my personality. If you suddenly think there is a new person here, don’t run away.” In spite of the warning, when I changed, a few people dropped out, because this was not the person they knew. For one kind of work, I made myself in a certain way. For a different kind of work, I made myself in a different way. What is the problem?

You can make your personality the way it is suitable for what you wish to do. But right now, the personality that you have created for yourself has become a compulsive process. Unconsciously, people create a personality for themselves. The question is not which is better, which is worse. The question is just – are you compulsively stuck to your personality, or do you consciously keep it at a little distance to yourself?
Tarun Tahiliani: We are compulsively stuck to many things.

Sadhguru: Yes – that is what needs to change. You don’t have to nurture your personality. You must hold it at a little distance. Like for example, when you wear loose clothes, you are always conscious that these are your clothes, not a part of yourself. Suppose you wore tight nylon clothes, after some time, it would feel like your own skin – you would lose the distinction between your clothes and you. If you keep a distance between your clothes and yourself, you do not get stuck to them. Similarly, you must keep your personality, your body, and your mind at a little distance. That way, you will be able to use all of them to their optimum, ultimate possibility, and they will never cause any grief to you.

Source Link :  http://blog.ishafoundation.org/sadhguru/masters-words/the-self/

The Day I Stopped Saying 'Hurry Up' - An insightful sharing of a Mother.

When you're living a distracted life, every minute must be accounted for. You feel like you must be checking something off the list, staring at a screen, or rushing off to the next destination. And no matter how many ways you divide your time and attention, no matter how many duties you try and multi-task, there's never enough time in a day to ever catch up.


That was my life for two frantic years. My thoughts and actions were controlled by electronic notifications, ring tones, and jam-packed agendas. And although every fiber of my inner drill sergeant wanted to be on time to every activity on my overcommitted schedule, I wasn't.


You see, six years ago I was blessed with a laid-back, carefree, stop-and-smell-the roses type of child.
When I needed to be out the door, she was taking her sweet time picking out a purse and a glittery crown.
When I needed to be somewhere five minutes ago, she insisted on buckling her stuffed animal into a car seat.
When I needed to grab a quick lunch at Subway, she'd stop to speak to the elderly woman who looked like her grandma.

When I had 30 minutes to get in a run, she wanted me to stop the stroller and pet every dog we passed.

When I had a full agenda that started at 6:00 a.m., she asked to crack the eggs and stir them ever so gently.
My carefree child was a gift to my Type A, task-driven nature --but I didn't see it. Oh no, when you live life distracted, you have tunnel vision -- only looking ahead to what's next on the agenda. And anything that cannot be checked off the list is a waste of time.


Whenever my child caused me to deviate from my master schedule, I thought to myself, "We don't have time for this." Consequently, the two words I most commonly spoke to my little lover of life were: "Hurry up."
I started my sentences with it.


Hurry up, we're gonna be late.
I ended sentences with it.
We're going to miss everything if you don't hurry up.
I started my day with it.
Hurry up and eat your breakfast.
Hurry up and get dressed.
I ended my day with it.
Hurry up and brush your teeth.
Hurry up and get in bed.


And although the words "hurry up" did little if nothing to increase my child's speed, I said them anyway. Maybe even more than the words, "I love you."


The truth hurts, but the truth heals... and brings me closer to the parent I want to be.
Then one fateful day, things changed. We'd just picked my older daughter up from kindergarten and were getting out of the car. Not going fast enough for her liking, my older daughter said to her little sister, "You are so slow." And when she crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sigh, I saw myself -- and it was a gut-wrenching sight.


I was a bully who pushed and pressured and hurried a small child who simply wanted to enjoy life.
My eyes were opened; I saw with clarity the damage my hurried existence was doing to both of my children.
Although my voice trembled, I looked into my small child's eyes and said, "I am so sorry I have been making you hurry. I love that you take your time, and I want to be more like you."


Both my daughters looked equally surprised by my painful admission, but my younger daughter's face held the unmistakable glow of validation and acceptance.

"I promise to be more patient from now on," I said as I hugged my curly-haired child who was now beaming at her mother's newfound promise.

It was pretty easy to banish "hurry up" from my vocabulary. What was not so easy was acquiring the patience to wait on my leisurely child. To help us both, I began giving her a little more time to prepare if we had to go somewhere. And sometimes, even then, we were still late. Those were the times I assured myself that I will be late only for a few years, if that, while she is young.


When my daughter and I took walks or went to the store, I allowed her to set the pace. And when she stopped to admire something, I would push thoughts of my agenda out of my head and simply observe her. I witnessed expressions on her face that I'd never seen before. I studied dimples on her hands and the way her eyes crinkled up when she smiled. I saw the way other people responded to her stopping to take time to talk to them. I saw the way she spotted the interesting bugs and pretty flowers. She was a Noticer, and I quickly learned that The Noticers of the world are rare and beautiful gifts. That's when I finally realized she was a gift to my frenzied soul.

My promise to slow down was made almost three years ago, at the same time I began my journey to let go of daily distraction and grasp what matters in life. And living at a slower pace still takes a concerted effort. My younger daughter is my living reminder of why I must keep trying. In fact, the other day, she reminded me once again.


The two of us had taken a bike ride to a sno-cone shack while on vacation. After purchasing a cool treat for my daughter, she sat down at a picnic table delightedly admiring the icy tower she held in her hand.
Suddenly a look of worry came across her face. "Do I have to rush, Mama?"


I could have cried. Perhaps the scars of a hurried life don't ever completely disappear, I thought sadly.
As my child looked up at me waiting to know if she could take her time, I knew I had a choice. I could sit there in sorrow thinking about the number of times I rushed my child through life... or I could celebrate the fact that today I'm trying to do thing differently.
I chose to live in today.

"You don't have to rush. Just take your time," I said gently. Her whole face instantly brightened and her shoulders relaxed.

And so we sat side-by-side talking about things that ukulele-playing-6-year-olds talk about. There were even moments when we sat in silence just smiling at each other and admiring the sights and sounds around us.
I thought my child was going to eat the whole darn thing -- but when she got to the last bite, she held out a spoonful of ice crystals and sweet juice for me. "I saved the last bite for you, Mama," my daughter said proudly.


As I let the icy goodness quench my thirst, I realized I just got the deal of a lifetime.
I gave my child a little time... and in return, she gave me her last bite and reminded me that things taste sweeter and love comes easier when you stop rushing through life.

Whether it's ...
Sno-cone eating
Flower picking
Seatbelt buckling
Egg cracking
Seashell finding
Ladybug watching
Sidewalk strolling
I will not say, "We don't have time for this." Because that is basically saying, "We don't have time to live."
Pausing to delight in the simple joys of everyday life is the only way to truly live.

Source Link :  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-macy-stafford/the-day-i-stopped-saying-hurry-up_b_3624798.html

Paramahansa Yogananda on the Christian theory of "Man is the Sinner".

As narrated by Swami Kriyananda :

In Los Angeles, Yogananda once went to a revival meeting.  A women was leading it.  During her haruenge she shouted: "God has no use for sinners! In his eyes they are an abomination."

Voices were raised everywhere in fervent response: "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Right on, Sister!"

"Unless you accept Jesus Christ, and live for his glory, you will end up in hell!".
Again the responses with few variations.

The women continued: "Man is naturally sinful. He can be redeemed only by faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ!."
Once more the congregation intoned heartfelt replies.
"You are all sinners! Get down on your knees!"

                                            In all that crowd, only Yogananda remained standing. Later, he commented, "I wouldn't accept her statement that I was a sinner! Nobody should ever say that. To call yourself a sinner is the greatest of all sins before God!  Don't identify yourself with your mistakes.  When you know God, you will become aware of His Presence everywhere.  And than you will never judge anyone."

                                            On another occasion, in the Pacific Northwest, he stopped at a farmhouse hoping to buy some cherries, and got into a discussion on religion with the farmer.  At a certain point this man, who proved to be a religious fanatic, shouted, "We are all sinners!-doomed to eternity in hell!"

                                             The Master paused a moment before replying.  Then he asked, as if irrelevantly, "You have a son, haven't you?"
The answered dolefully, "Yes. I have a son."
"He gives you trouble, doesn't he?"
"Oh, my God, what trouble!"
"He drinks, I think?"
"Like a whale! You can't imagine the grief I go through on his account."
Yogananda than announced confidently, "I have a cure for his problem."
"Oh, sir, if you can help me with that, I'll be grateful to you forever!"
"Well, here's what you do: The next time he comes home late at night, drunk........." He interrupted himself.
"Have you a large oven?"
The man glared suspiciously. "Say," he demanded, "what have you got in mind?"
"No, no, just wait."  Yogananda spoke reassuringly. "I'm offering you a solution to your problem."
Hesitantly the man replied, "Yes, i have such an oven."
"Has it a large door?"
Suddenly again apprehensive, the man cried, "Just a minute! Where is this all heading?"
The master spoke soothingly. "Just be calm. I'm going to solve everything for you."
The other sat back, relaxing slightly.
"Now then, here's what you do: The next time your son comes home drunk......well, first have the oven good and hot......"
The man sat up again, horrified.
Yogananda was now speaking hurriedly: "Grab him; tie him up with a strong rope, and shove him into the oven!"

Furiously indignant, the man shouted, "Blasphemer! Evildoer! Whoever heard of a father throwing his own son into an oven! Get out of my house this minute!"

                             Yogananda than spoke appeasingly. "Don't you understand what I've just said to you? You said God wants to throw us all into hell.  But He is our true Father!  You, a mere human being, were horrified at the thought of throwing your own son into an oven despite all the trouble he's given you.  Can you seriously believe that Godm who is Perfection Itself, has less love for you than you have for your own son?"

                              From panting fury the man grew gradually calm. "I see now?" he said.  He reflected a moment. "Yes, you are right."  He looked at his visitor with a grateful smile.  "Oh, thank you! You've cured me of a serious error. God is Love.  He can't wish our destruction! Thank you! Thank you!"

Excerpt from the book "The biography - Paramahansa Yogananda" by Swami Kriyananda

Reaching out to Somalia - An Issue needing our urgent attention

Across the Horn of Africa, people are starving. A catastrophic combination of conflict, high food prices and drought has left more than 11 million people in desperate need. The United Nations has been sounding the alert for months. We have resisted using the “f-word” — famine — but on Wednesday we officially recognised the fast-evolving reality. There is famine in parts of Somalia. And it is spreading.

This is a wake-up call we cannot ignore. Everyday, I hear the most harrowing reports from our U.N. teams on the ground: Somali refugees, their cattle and goats dead from thirst, walking for weeks to find help in Kenya and Ethiopia; orphans who arrive alone, their parents dead, terrified and malnourished in a foreign land.

From within Somalia, we hear terrible stories of families who watched their children die, one by one. One woman recently arrived at a U.N. displacement camp 140 kilometres south of Mogadishu after a three-week trek. Halima Omar, from the region of Lower Shebelle, was once considered well off. Today, after three years of drought, she barely survives. Four of her six children are dead. “There is nothing in the world worse than watching your own child die in front of your eyes because you cannot feed him,” she said of her ordeal. “I am losing hope.”

Even for those who reach the camps, there is often no hope. Many are simply too weak after long journeys across the arid lands and die before they can be nursed back to strength. For people who need medical attention, there are often no medicines. Imagine the pain of those doctors who must watch their patients perish for lack of resources.

As a human family, these stories shock us. We ask: how is this happening again? After all, the world has enough food. And yes, economic times are hard. Yet since time immemorial, amid even the worst austerity, the compassionate impulse to help our fellow human beings has never wavered.

That is why I reach out today — to focus global attention on this crisis, to sound the alarm and call on the world's people to help Somalia in this moment of greatest need. To save the lives of the people at risk — the vast majority of them women and children — we need approximately $1.6 billion in aid. So far, international donors have given only half that amount. To turn the tide, to offer hope in the name of our common humanity, we must mobilise worldwide.

This means everyone. I appeal to all nations — both those who fund our work year-in and year-out, and those who do not traditionally give through the multinational system — to step up to the challenge. On July 25, in Rome, U.N. agencies gather to coordinate our emergency response and raise funds for immediate assistance.

Meanwhile, we must all ask ourselves, as individual citizens, how we can help. This might mean private donations, as in previous humanitarian emergencies in Indonesia after the tsunami or Haiti after the earthquake, or it could mean pushing elected representatives toward a more robust response. Even in the best of circumstances, this may not be enough. There is a real danger we cannot meet all the needs.

The situation is particularly difficult in Somalia. There, ongoing conflict complicates any relief effort. More broadly, sharply rising food prices have stretched the budgets of international agencies and NGOs. Operating conditions are complicated by the fact that the transitional national government of Somalia controls only a portion of the capital city, Mogadishu. We are working on an agreement with the forces of al-Shabab, an Islamist militia group, to grant access to areas of the country that they control. Even so, serious security concerns remain.

We must also recognise that Kenya and Ethiopia, which have generously kept their borders open, face enormous challenges of their own. The largest refugee camp in the world, Dadaab, is already dangerously over-crowded with some 380,000 refugees. Many thousands more are waiting to be registered. In neighbouring Ethiopia, 2,000 people a day are arriving at the Dolo refugee camp — also struggling to keep pace. This compounds a food crisis faced by almost seven million Kenyans and Ethiopians at home. In Djibouti and Eritrea, tens of thousands of people are also in need — and potentially many more.

Even as we respond to this immediate crisis, we need to find ways to deal with underlying causes. Today's drought may be the worst in decades. But with the effects of climate change being increasingly felt throughout the world, it will surely not be the last. This means practical measures: drought-resistant seeds, irrigation, rural infrastructure, livestock programmes.

These projects can work. Over the last ten years, they have helped boost agricultural production in Ethiopia by eight per cent a year. We have also seen improvements in our early warning systems. We knew this drought was coming and began issuing warnings last November. Looking ahead, we must ensure those warnings are heard in time.

Above all, we need peace. As long as there is conflict in Somalia, we cannot effectively fight famine. More and more children will go hungry; more and more people will needlessly die. And this cycle of insecurity is growing dangerously wide.

In Somalia, Halima Omar told us: “Maybe this is our fate — or maybe a miracle will happen and we will be saved from this nightmare.”

I cannot accept this as her fate. Together, we must rescue her and her countrymen and all their children from a truly terrible nightmare. (Courtesy: U.N. Information Centre for India and Bhutan)

(The writer is Secretary-General of the United Nations.)

An appeal to all nations and individuals to step up to the challenge of helping the famine-hit, conflict-ridden nation.

THE MIRACLE WATER VILLAGE - A boon to the struggling farmers, who have been often forced to commit suicide. A message that needs to be passed.

If these animals, who are born enemies, can go on together, than why not a human like us ?

United we should fight

Are we free ? Are we the automated machine ? George Gurdjieef

We must strive for freedom if we strive for self-knowledge. The task of self-knowledge and of further self-development is of such importance and seriousness, it demands such intensity of effort, that to attempt it any old way and amongst other things is impossible. The person who undertakes this task must put it first in his life, which is not so long that he can afford to squander it on trifles.

What can allow a man to spend his time profitably in his search, if not freedom from every kind of attachment?

Freedom and seriousness. Not the kind of seriousness which looks out from under knitted brows with pursed lips, carefully restrained gestures and words filtered through the teeth, but the kind of seriousness that means determination and persistence in the search, intensity and constancy in it, so that a man, even when resting, continues with his main task. 

Ask yourselves—are you free? Many are inclined to answer "yes," if they are relatively secure in a material sense and do not have to worry about the morrow, if they depend on no one for their livelihood or in the choice of their conditions of life. But is this freedom? Is it only a question of external conditions? 

           

                       You have plenty of money, let us say. You live in luxury and enjoy general respect and esteem. The people who run your well-organized business are absolutely honest and devoted to you. In a word, you have a very good life. Perhaps you think so yourself and consider yourself wholly free, for after all your time is your own. You are a patron of the arts, you settle world problems over a cup of coffee and you may even be interested in the development of hidden spiritual powers. Problems of the spirit are not foreign to you and you are at home among philosophical ideas. You are educated and well read. Having some erudition in many fields, you are known as a clever man, for you find your way easily in all sorts of pursuits; you are an example of a cultured man. In short, you are to be envied. 

In the morning you wake up under the influence of an un- pleasant dream. The slightly depressed mood disappeared but has left its trace in a kind of lassitude and uncertainty of movement. You go to the mirror to brush your hair and by ac- cident drop your hairbrush. You pick it up and just as you have dusted it off, you drop it again. This time you pick it up with a shade of impatience and because of that you drop it a third time. You try to grab it in midair but instead, it flies at the mirror. In vain you jump to catch it. Smash! ... a star- shaped cluster of cracks appears in the antique mirror you were so proud of. Hell! The records of discontent begin to turn. You need to vent your annoyance on someone. Finding that your servant has forgotten to put the newspaper beside your morning coffee, your cup of patience overflows and you decide you can no longer stand the wretched man in the house. 

Now it is time for you to go out. Taking advantage of the fine day, your destination not being far away, you decide to walk while your car follows slowly behind. The bright sun somewhat mollifies you. Your attention is attracted to a crowd that has gathered around a man lying unconscious on the pavement. With the help of the onlookers the porter puts him into a cab and he is driven off to the hospital. Notice how the strangely familiar face of the driver is connected in your associations and reminds you of the accident you had last year. You were returning home from a gay birthday party. What a delicious cake they had there! This servant of yours who for- got your morning paper ruined your breakfast. Why not make up for it now? After all, cake and coffee are extremely important! Here is the fashionable cafe you sometimes go to with your friends. But why have you remembered about the accident? You had surely almost forgotten about the morning's unpleasantness. . . . And now, do your cake and coffee really taste so good?

                                               You see the two ladies at the next table. What a charming blonde! She glances at you and whispers to her companion, "That's the sort of man I like." 

Surely none of your troubles are worth wasting time on or getting upset about. Need one point out how your mood changed from the moment you met the blonde and how it lasted while you were with her? You return home humming a gay tune and even the broken mirror only provokes a smile. But what about the business you went out for in the morning? You have only just remembered it ... that's clever! Still, it

does not matter. You can telephone. You lift the receiver and the operator gives you the wrong number. You ring again and get the same number. Some man says sharply that he is sick of you—you say it is not your fault, an altercation follows and you are surprised to learn that you are a fool and an idiot, and that if you call again . . . The rumpled carpet under your foot irritates you, and you should hear the tone of voice in which you reprove the servant who is handing you a letter. The letter is from a man you respect and whose good opinion you value. The contents of the letter are so flattering to you that your irritation gradually dies down and is replaced by the pleasantly embarrassed feeling that flattery arouses. You finish reading it in a most amiable mood.

I could continue this picture of your day—you free man. Perhaps you think I have been exaggerating. No, this is a true scenario taken from life.

                           This was a day in the life of a man well known both at home and abroad, a day reconstructed and described by him that same evening as a vivid example of associative thinking and feeling. Tell me where is the freedom when people and things possess a man to such an extent that he forgets his mood, his business and himself? In a man who is subject to such variation can there be any serious attitude toward his search?

You understand better now that a man need not necessarily be what he appears to be, that the question is not one of exter- nal circumstances and facts but of the inner structure of a man and of his attitude toward these facts. But perhaps this is only true for his associations; with regard to things he "knows" about, perhaps the situation is different.

A feel of events after the earthquake in Japan - A letter from a survivor from Sendai, Japan.

Hello My Lovely Family and Friends,

First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you.

Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend's home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.

During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.

Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another."

Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.

We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on. But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not.

No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group.

There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun.People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time.

Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled.

The mountains are Sendai are solid and with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky magnificently.

And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my entrance-way. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no.

They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others. Last night my friend's husband came in from the country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.

Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an enormous cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.

Thank you again for your care and Love of me,

With Love in return, to you all,
Anne