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.....................................................

Volunteering + Practice = Continuity in Practice

When people initially join the Isha Yoga program for 7 days, the climate is simply euphoric. I have seen number of people crying, with the tears in their eyes, thankful for whatever Isha has offered to them. When I watch them, I feel simply excited. They can feel the loving atmosphere all around. Soon I feel that there will be a large turnout of people in the monthly sathsang.

But what happens next is that, hardly 10% of the people come back to monthly sathsang. What happened. Where did those people go, who were ready to offer themselves with totality during the initial program ?

What I feel is that those people have lost contact with the loving atmosphere, which they experienced during the program. Mostly they were led into an illusion that it was only the strenght of the practice which made them enjoy the atmosphere. I feel that they can be brought back with a little compassionate push from behind. Those people are not aware that how intimate life can be, if one is intensely involved with it. We call it volunteering here in Isha.

I feel that atleast once, when the new isha program is to held, the old volunteers should offer some kind of work to the previous batch participants. If necessary the old volunteers should make way for the new participants. Maybe, The old will need to be innovative, in finding new ways with involvement with life. The old volunteers need to be a guiding force to encourage the new participants to take on the life with enthusiasm.

But for the new participants, certainly, it should not be entrusted on them but gently asked that we need your help and If possible, please involve yourself in volunteering. If the participants experience the joy of volunteering, the joy of being together, the joy of being in the Isha family, then there is no power on earth that can stop them towards liberation and living a fulfilled life.

Life incidents with a mark of Isha

Very recently I was coming with my son from a library on a bike. All of a sudden I witnessed a loud sound of collision. What I saw that a elderly man of around the age of 85 was lying unconcious, gasping for breath while her daughter of age 60 was crying for help. Almost a group of 30 people gathered around the accident victim, to get him to the hospital. But everyone forgot about her daughter who was also in a state of despair. The first thing that came to my mind is that since she is alone, she needs to talk to her close ones by phone. Then a bypasser helped this couple to get on his car, to drop them in the hospital. All those 30 people felt that they have done their job. But what I felt that since the lady was crying inconsolabaly, she might be unable to handle the procedures of the hospital. So I rushed to follow the car. Since it was a goverment hospital, the work was not organised and I helped the lady with all the necessary procedures. Felt that I got in at the right time, right place. The greatest gift I have got from Isha is putting yourself in others place and then decide on where your awareness of the situation takes you. I left the scene when her husband reached the hospital. I could see the tears of gratitude in the eyes of the lady.

In the beginning, When the victim was to be transfered from car to a stretcher, the guards kept shouting at me to make effort to bring the victim out of car. But there was a invisible laughter inside me since the victim was weighing 120 kg while my weight was 35 kg. So i knew how much I could do.

Devotional music

Electrifying Sathsang with Sadhguru

Whatever has happened during these 3 days of sathsang with Sadhguru is indescribable. I have been regularly watching videos of Sadhguru from dvds and youtube. But it was only when I attended the English Sathsang that I came to know that having an direct sathsang with Sadhguru is totally a different kind of experience. Life spent in heaven. Magical spell. Life will never be the same now. I know that. I will always be indebted to Sadhguru. Every step I take, every breadth I take, I only take to feel communion with him. I feel rewarded for my perseverance with practices despite the weakness of energy I suffered. Somehow I knew that if life is to be experienced to the fullest, than he is the door.
Charishmatic Sadhguru. Bliss his nature. Love his clothes. Compassion his blood. Silence his energy. Whatever I say will fall short of what I want to say of him. When he speaks, you can always hear a invisible music of silence behind his words. Today, when you open any religious channels like aastha channel or sanskar channel, you will always find that those fake gurus always need a background music to bring strenght to what they are saying. It is really unbelievable that people are hypnotised by these music-cum-fake gurus otherwise they will be exposed of their emptiness.

Life lived in Isha Ashram is of utmost purity. One can feel it. Somewhere Sadhguru says that once you experience living life with utmost purity, than this being will never settles for lower state of livings. Even animals look for the wellbeing of their family. So what is the difference between them and us. Even we are doing the same. Animal nature is so evolved that there is no evolution within themself. Though they are peaceful but there is no growth. But human nature can never go backward. It can only go forward. And if one decides to pause after experiencing higher states of living, than one is bound to suffer, holding on to the limitations of bondage. If one is to experience blissfullness within himself, then he has to explore all the dimensions of living which Isha offers. I was briefly drawn to the state of emptiness. Not knowing what to do. I took a small step towards that. I enrolled for being part of ISHANGA. I don't know what is this 3 days training about but it says that If you feel that whatever is done in Isha is beautiful, then you will have to keep yourself aside and see that you can live the life with purity. Then purity becomes the centre of living not yourself.


You will not believe that when in the evening on the last day, we were waiting for the arrival of Sadhguru, he came in with a wonderful snake in his hand. What excitement, what celebration of life. Then came the new dose of excitement. Has we were sitting outside spanda hall, in the lawn, it started raining. Everyone sat with utmost silence and ecstasy. Everyone's eyes were meeting each other. And it wanted to celebrate. Everyone started dancing in the rain. Sadhguru asked us if we wanted to go inside spanda hall. And there was a huge uproarious NO. And we continued with our dancing. I started dancing with all the old age people. It brought up all their young memories back in the dancing. Surely they new much better than me. I kept imitating them. Being with each other is a wonderful aspect of living. All boundaries vanish when one is highly energetic.
I remember during the last day of sathsang, we were supposed to wind up the sathsang since people would miss their trains. But the climate inside spanda hall was so euphoric that everyone forgot about the time. It looked like everyone was willing to miss the train. Time did not exist until Sadhguru intervened to wind up the proceedings. While he was leaving, he stood at the side door of the spanda hall and looked at all the devotees with tears in his eyes. Neither any of his devotees can stand the separation. It was a painful experience. I could see the concern behind his tears. It said that time is running is short. Sadhguru is making 100% effort to make people realize their bliss nature and this will be his last birth. But many of his participants, it won't be the same. Many will be left to suffer for 1000's of years in Samsara unless and until they make persistent effort to understand Sadhguru's message behind his words. I will tell you an example why people don't take Sadhguru seriously. On the 3rd day, during the morning session, Sadhguru asked all the participants to maintain silence atleast till 2 pm, unless it becomes necessary to talk. But what i saw everywhere was simply unbelievable. Initially only a few group of people started chatting. Vast majority of people, inspired by these chatters, followed them. Everyone forgot what Sadhguru said. During the Sathsang, everyone were allowed to go outside Ashram. Since the space was wide open, people forgot about Sadhguru. If these same people were enclosed within the Ashram area under the inspecting eyes of volunteers, they would have been silent. It shows that participants are not taking any responsibility for their inner wellbeing. Maintaining silence will take you closer to reality. And when Sadhguru says to be silent upto 2 pm, it does not mean to be silent only for a day. But it has to be practiced everyday. Mindless chatting will only bring more problems. People are not aware that mindless chatting is welling up innumerable and ugly emotions. His tears showed the helplessness of his situation despite his best effort. His love has no boundaries. He wants everyone of us to experience the same kind of bliss. Look at the teacher's of Isha. What grace, what bliss they carry within themself. With not a penny in the pocket. They are living like the creator himself. Their only endeavour is to enrich life around them, wherever they go. Even the president of any country looks a beggar in front of Isha teachers. When I look at my family, barring my son, I am truly disappointed at the way they are living. Holding on to their traditional religion without exploring other dimensions of life.

During the sathsang, the whole group of Isha teachers got together and presented a video of being with Sadhguru on their early days. It was said that when Sadhguru took his 1'st class of Isha Yoga, there were only 15 students who came to learn under his guidance. They had no proper fooding. Even the thatched roofed they prepared, soon collapsed under the heavy rain. Soon they took up to the hills with determination to go with Sadhguru with all kinds of difficulties. And look at todays world. Everyone wants proper facilities to be established in the Ashram instead of realizing that being with master was of utmost importance.
Also in the video they showed what happened to Sadhguru, during the Dhyanalinga Consecration. Usually the word used in India for consecration is "pran-prathistha". That it is creating something with your life energy. In India, temples are created on a weekly basis, with the consecration process under unenlightened saints. What I saw in the video was unbelievable. I understood the true meaning of consecration process, creating something with your life energy. Even before the consecration could start, Sadhguru handed a bundle of instructions to his devotees, which were to be followed in the event of his death in the consecration process. He valued this world more than his life. There were 3 people involved in the consecration process where 1 of them was the wife of Sadhguru, Vijji. During this process, her wife could not hold on to the body. She left the body while attaining Mahasamadhi, which is difficult even for a accomplished yogi to achieve. Sadhguru took the job of his wife in his hands and completed the consecration. But he was hospitalised and doctor had no hope of his survival. Some miracle happened and Sadhguru survived but almost like a living dead body. I saw him actually in the video in his worst condition. He could not speak, so he gave something in writing which he wanted to share with the people. Later on, almost 4 people were needed to carry him to the car, to take him to his residence. If one has not watched this video, then you should press the Ashram people to make arrangements for you. Life will never be the same, once you watch this.

You can also note in the above video where I was witness to the situations when it was raining in the garden as i mentioned in this post and also where Sadhguru got emotional while parting with his followers.
It is so unfortunate that I cannot put everything in writing.........................................................Love you Sadhguru.

Volunteering - An ultimate experience

It's really difficult to define volunteering since it carries many values within it. The first and foremost meaning I felt is that I wanted people to know the joy of being with sadhguru. People like Sadhguru are scarce in this world and we have got that job to carry forward the message. Just being with him, I have forgotten my problems and anxiety but now new kind of problems have come in. There is a strong urge within me to work as a full time volunteer but whatever I do falls short of expectation.
Distributing pamplets door-to-door and hanging posters was an extra-ordinary experience. Distributing pamplets was not a simple work but it needed a kind of alertness and intelligence. Many times before approaching anyone, I would check whether he is in a mode of listening. If he is not entangled in any work or if he is calm within himself, then i would approach him and tell him about the program. This way I found many people who were excited to learn about isha yoga. Usually people try to finish off distributing pamplets in a day or 2, feeling they have done the job. But what happens is that in the faster mode of distribution, the pamplets does not reach right kind of people. I succesfully approached a doctor to allow the pamplets to be kept in his clinic. Similarly I approached temples with the positive response.
Hanging posters was an enjoyable experience. There was so much to contemplate before we could decide on which place to hang the posters. Usually we would start off after 9 p.m. Learnt so many things. You will have to find whether large group of people would go through the poster by walk. Is the view clear ? Is it at the junction point ? Have you covered all the area within the 4 km radius of the venue ? How to prepare the posters, so that they can carry a little longer life span than they usually carry ? It s a never ending experience and I am sure that there will always be something new to experience with every volunteering oppurtunity.

Get enlightened on nasal blockage - Effective pranayama

Source : The Divine Romance - Paramhansa Yogananda

Bad colds affect the whole body adversely, and even obstruct the mind so that you cannot think clearly. Colds are extremely disruptive to the yogi's meditation, preventing correct practice of pranayama techniques. Therefore Satan to delight in getting into the nose and throat area. All those who need their voices, such as singers and lecturers, are usually susceptible to throat troubles because they are more or less sensitive about the throat, and this mental fear makes it easy for Satan to establish himself there. So when a cold first starts in the nose, you should arrest it immediately. If you don't, it gradually settles in the throat and lungs. Do you know why ? The heat of the body becomes unbalanced..


Speaking of colds, let me give you some practical suggestion: Gargling daily with a glass of warm salt water is a very good preventive for colds, as are right diet and exercise, and daily sunbath for 10 to 30 minutes (depending on the intensity of the sun and the sensivity of the skin.) If you do get a cold, it is best to stop it while it is only in the nose, before it goes down into the throat and chest. The best way to quickly bring the cold under control is to fast. It will arrest the condition. If you fast for 24 hours, the cold usually goes away. But if the condition is chronic, you must eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, and also have plently of fresh air and sunshine, and exercise. Many people believe in drinking lots of water when they have a cold. This is good, if they have a fever or congestion with thick mucus. Otherwise excess water can make the mucus membrane very active. One of the worst thing you can do when you have a cold is to drink hot beverages. Cold contracts, and heat expands. The heat may feel good for a little while, but it expands the cells and disturbs their normal function. And don't take ice-cold drinks either.


If you get a chest cold, dip a turkish towel in very hot water, wring it out and rub the chest with it. Then wipe the chest area with a dry towel. Repeat this five times, two or three times a day. Keep the chest well covered after each treatment.


In spite of precaution and remedies, colds as well as other disease sometimes lingr, and sometimes they go away quickly. The reason for this is karmic. That is, the state of the body as determined by the law of karma, cause and effect. The cure of a disease depends in great part on one's karmic condition---the sum total of the effects of his past action---plus the antidote taken for that illness Some people think that since our karma predestines us to suffer, we might as well give up and accept the inevitable. But it is not right to be fatalistic. To try to help yourself and then give up when you don't get immediate results is foolishness, because every effort you make will help to break down that karmic pattern. "God helps him who helps himself".

Devotional Music

Inspiring words

Source : Glimpse after Glimpse - Sogyal Rinpoche.

To learn how to die is to learn how to live; to learn how to live is to learn how to act not only in this life but in the lives to come. To transform yourself truly and learn how to be reborn as a tranformed being to help others is really to help the world in the most powerful way of all.

Let us dare to imagine now what it would be like to live in a world where a significant number of people took the opportunity, offered by the teachings, to devote part of their lives to serious spiritual practice, to recognise the nature of their minds, and so to use the opportunity of their deaths to move closer to Buddhahood, and to be reborn with one aim, that of serving and benefiting others.

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Evoking the power of compassion in us is not always easy. I find myself that the simplest ways are the best and most direct. Everyday, life gives us innumerable chances to open ur hearts, if we can only take them. An ald women passes you with a sad and lonely face and two heavy plastic bags full of shopping which she can hardly carry. Switch on the television, and there on the news is a mother in beirut kneeling above the body of her murdered son, or an old grandmother in moscow pointing to the thin soup which is her only food.........

Anyone of the sight could open the eyes of your heart to the fact of the vast suffering in the world. Let it. Don't waste the love and grief it arouses. In the moment you feel the compassion welling up in you, don;t brush it aside, don't shrug it off and try quickly return to "normal", don't be afraid of your feelings or be embarrased by it, and don't allow yourself to be distracted from it. Be vulnerable : Use that quick, bright uprush of compassion - focus on it, go deep into your heart and meditate on it, develop it, enhance and deepen it. By doing this you will realize how blind you have been to the suffering of the world.

All beings, everywhere, suffer; let your heart go out to them all in spontaneous and immeasurable compassion.

Watching disturbance in mind

Source : Glimpse after Glimpse - Sogyal Rinpoche.

Just as the ocean has waves, and the sun has rays, so the mind's own radiance is its thoughts and emotions. The ocean has waves, yet the ocean is not particularly disturbed by them. The waves are the very nature of the ocean. Waves will rise, but where do they go ? Back into the ocean. And where do the waves come from ? The ocean.

In the same manner, thoughts and emotions are the radiance and expression of the very nature of the mind. They rise from the mind, but where do they dissolve ? Back into the mind. Whatever rises, do not see it has a particular problem. If you do not impulsively react , If you are only patient, it will once again settle into its essential nature.

When you have this understanding, then rising thought only enhance your practice. But when you do not understand what they intrisically are- the radiance of the naure of the mind, then your thoughts become the seed of confusion. So have a spacious, open and compassionate attitude towards your thoughts and emotions, because in fact your thoughts are your family, the family of your mind. Before them, as Dudjom Rinpoche used to say "Be like a old wise man, watching a child play".

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Realizing the view subtly but completely transforms your vision of everything. More and more, I have come to realize how thoughts and concepts are all that block us from always being, quite simply, in the obsolute.

Now I see clearly why the masters so often say "Try hard not to create too much fear or hope", for they only engender more mental gossip. When the View is there, thoughts are seen for they are truly are : fleeting and transparent, and only relative. You see through everything directly, as if you had X-ray eyes. You do not cling to thoughts or reject them; you welcome them within the vast embrace of Rigpa. The thing you took so seriously before - ambitions, plans, expectations, doubts and passions - no longer have any deep and anxious hold over you, for the View has helped you to see the futility and pointlesness of them all, and born in you the spirit of true renunciation.