744. Oh! Lord…mine is Limited Knowledge!!!!!

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/god-and-i/oh-lord-mine-is-limited-knowledge

Oh! Lord what can I do, I am Alpagyna (Limited Knowledge) while You are Jnanamayee (Embodiment of Knowledge).

I looked at the flower You had sent through a plant in my garden and with an ambition I wish to create a replica of it. With lots of efforts I did make a flower equivalent to Yours. Anyone looking at mine and Yours could not make out any difference.

Well, mine looked exactly like the one You created. The colors matched perfect and the feel of it was the same as the original in my garden. For the fragrance I used the artificial perfume and made my flower as sweet smelling as Yours. This venture satisfied me as everyone who looked at my flower told me it was on par with Yours.

But I have a problem Oh! Lord, why does not even a single Madhumakkhi (Honey Bee) come near my flower?????  What is so special in Your flower that attracts those swam of honey bees??? 

Oh Alas!!! That Makaranda (Nectar) is missing. My flower does not have the nectaries glands to produce nectar which attracts those honey bees.

Every one who looked at my flower appreciated me for my creativity and patted my back and encouraged me. I felt as if I am You, those praise and applauds elevated me high above the ground. 

I now know that those who appreciated my work were only compassionate and affectionate towards me hence they encouraged me but patting on my back for that I have done, but that honey bee showed me the difference between You and me. 

I know You are in me but I am not You. 

I can not exist without You, if I want to be You, it will be only with our merger. 

Oh! Lord, what I have is limited knowledge while You are embodiment of knowledge….!!!!!

743. An Extra Month in a year!!!!!! ADHIKA MASA

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/faith-and-rituals/an-extra-month-in-a-year-adhika-masa-530120

There are two basic sources for calendars in the world namely Lunar Calendar and Solar Calendar. First let us know what Lunar and Solar Calendars are. A lunar calendar (Chandramana) is a calendar that is based on transit of Moon into the each Nakshatra (Star) starting from Ashwini (Beta Arietis) to Revathi (Zeta Piscum). While Solar calendar (Souramana) is a calendar that is based on transit of Sun into the each Rashi (Zodiac) starting from Mesha (Aries) to Mina (Pisces).

Ancient seers found that Sun remains in a zodiac sign for approximately one month, the Moon travels through all twelve zodiac signs in about Twenty Seven and half days. As a result, on average, once about every two and half years, the entry of the Moon in the same zodiac sign occurs twice while the Sun remains in the same sign. In other words, when the Sun is traveling through the same zodiac sign, the month during which two new moons occur, happens once about every two and half years. This would result in sliding of a lunar month in relation to solar year. Such progressive slump of lunar months leads to disparity in seasons which depend on solar calendar. In order to synchronize the lunar months with solar calendar and to keep in pace with the seasons ancient seers formulated a concept or technique of adding an intercalary month for the lunar calendar.

Even this happens in Gregorian calendar also normally a month has only one new moon (Amavasya) and one full moon (Pournami). Sometime in a month two new moons occurred (it is very rare and called Blumoon). We can see that there are two full moons next month one on July 2nd and 31st there is another. In the same lines once in a while may be in 3 years, there will be no transit of Sun to any zodiac between two new moons such a month is termed Adhika Masa.
 
When was it suitable to add an extra month????

Adhika Masa, an extra month in the Hindu Lunar Calendar is also called Mala Masa. Adhika Masa happens to be from June 17th (tomorrow) to July 16th. Intercalation is the insertion of a leap day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phase. If there is Sun’s transit between two new moons (Amavasya) then it is a normal month, if there no Sun’s transit between new moons, it is considered Adhika Masa which happened this time. Sun transit to Mithuna Rashi (Gemini) takes place today June 16th and stays in that zodiac till July 16th there is no new moon (Amavasya) between those dates hence this entire Masa is Adhika Ashada Masa. According to lunar calendar from July 16th onwards it is Nija Ashada, while to solar calendar from July 17th onwards it is Karkataka (Cancer) Masa.  

742. Can I boast that I am Self Made Person???

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/can-i-boast-that-i-am-self-made-person

Success is the yardstick to gauge a person in this materialist world. The more successful one is the more elite one is considered. What seem to be amazing is that there are many who made the person successful yet we think that success is self made. In this universe every creature is dependent on other for its survival as well as success. I am never a self made person as I owe my success to many.

Then is the caption “Self Made Person” a myth? Yes, as I personally feel that there is a certain level of Egoism present in it. In this monetary world my success relies on many who recognize that there is something that I can offer to the world. A doctor is as dependent on the Hospital as the patient. A doctor did not become self made person just by studying medicine it was the patients who has proved him to be a doctor and that too a good doctor. In general producers need consumers and consumers need producers.  There are like two sides of a coin and both are dependent on each other. This is how nature too works look at a bee it is as dependent on the flower as the flower is dependent on the bee. The bee looking at its hive cannot boast that it is self made nor can the flower tell that it became fruit all by itself. Bee and flower are interdependent and both are benefited by either of them.

Then why did the sentence “Self Made Person” come into existence then?

A person who has reached certain heights in certain field from scratch is considered by others as “Self Made Person”. And the person who has thrived to achieve so should also feel the same in his heart not from his head. The thought of self made in the heart resonates to the other around him and motivates them to emulate him. If the thought is resonating from the head it is sure to inflate the ego of the person and make others around him to turn back considering this trait as some miracle which should not have been.

So there is nothing like “Self Made Person” as it is just a matter of perception. One who thinks that he is self made by considering himself as a part of this hierarchical world sits at the top beating his chest and propping-up his ego. While a humble guy who is made to the top can view himself as the hub at the center of a large and diverse network. The latter is both more profitable and enjoyable than the former. One can either opt to build a career at the expense of others or by helping others one need to choose wisely.

Is it correct to say one should not be self made then?

In my recent post on Dharma one of my fellow seeker had responded thus: The Dharma of a daughter-in-law is to look after her mother-in-law. If the mother-in-law is hale and healthy and she is able to walk to her kitchen to fetch a glass of water, she need not order it to her daughter-in-law taking the advantage of her daughter-in-laws dharma. Here the statement of self made person is pushed off under the carpet. I appreciate those who look at themselves as “self made person” from this post of view……..….What Say???

741. How much can you Give in Charity???

http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/how-much-can-you-give-in-charity 

There was a young man who worked hard yet was finding it difficult to make ends meet. He approached a Sadhu Maharaj who live in a temple and poured out his woes. Sadhu Maharaj after closing his eyes for few minutes told him to share a small pancake everyday with stranger before having his breakfast. He assured him by doing so he would be able to attain great merit and his financial conditions will improve.

The young man started following the advice strictly and made a habit to donate a pancake every day first thing in the morning. Amazingly his business started flourishing and he slowly became a wealthy man in the locality. Even after becoming a wealthy person he did not stop sharing the pancake daily in the morning. Years rolled by and he became old and finally one day he passed away. 

For all the good deeds done in this life he was reborn in a royal family and grew up to become the King of the region. He was happy there was no major issues in his life. Once out of curiosity he wished to get subjected to Past Life Regression (PLR) therapy and he came to know that since he had shared a pancake every day with a stranger and the result of that virtuous deed had earned him the status of a King. Without hesitation the King started to continue the act from the very next day. Years rolled by and one day too passed away.

Unpredictably the King was reborn as a beggar who seeks alms at a Dargah. One day a Sufi saint who visited the Dargah when up to the beggar and place his hand over the forehead of the beggar. He told him that even though he had donated daily in his previous two lives he was in this state. Citing the reason the Sufi saint told that prior to becoming a King he was an ordinary person and so sharing a pancake with a stranger was more than sufficient to provide him a lot of virtue. But in his next birth as a King he was endowed with affluence. So, thereafter, the gift of just a pancake a day was quite insufficient to earn him merit of any consequence.

It is the tendency of human race to hoard and not part with anything, this is greed. Those who hoard are willing to part only if they are told to part so that the current problem they are facing gets a solution. Art of giving is a supreme quality one need to develop for his own evolution and also to keep others around him happy. The blessings that come from a true heart is a true blessing for every individual to have a fulfilled and contented life at every stage. Though expecting blessing against charity is also not to be encouraged. Even parting with what we have, against a thought that it will bring benefits is not right. A philanthropist who is sponsoring students in an orphanage has to hope and pray that in the following year not even one less fortunate kid gets enrolled in the orphanage. 

Ultimately one has to understand that it is not "WE" who give instead it is "HIM" through us.

740. Can being Ignorant be considered Innocence???????

Innocence is the lack of knowledge as in a child, while Ignorance is the lack of capacity to absorb knowledge may be whether intentional or otherwise. A child is an icon of innocence and is rightly called an “angel” at that stage of its life. At that age they reflect ethical clarity, lack of remorse and lack of knowledge. When they make mistakes without knowing the consequential outcome, they are forgiven but warned not to commit the same nuisance.

Ignorance is a lack of knowledge. It's similar to innocence in some ways, because innocence can mean a lack of knowledge and understanding about the world. But there are distinct differences. Innocence is an optimistic term signifying inexperience and purity. There is some sort of solace in being innocent; if we happen to see the world today we would want our children to be innocent for as long as possible before they are spoiled by knowledge of the horrible things that are happening in the world. We idealize as elders the memories when we were young and innocent when we used to believe in all the stuffs which would make us happy and day dream.

On the other hand ignorance is that which imply to access of knowledge that isn't made use of. It's a term that can be applied to people who lack ability to understand matters that are more relevant in life, but are too lazy or don’t bother to learn. However we are fortunate that in this age information is fed to us by means of books, the internet, TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines. Lack of enthusiasm to know something that everybody else keeps track of, makes us seems as if we haven't bothered to learn about it.

There is up gradation of new information, ideas, technologies and strategies, in our jet speed world which needs us to be well connected with others. Unawareness of these connections may mean a missed opportunity. A well linked and diverse network annihilates ignorance. So we need to assess better networks that help us sustain in our success journey.

We cannot afford to be ignorant of things around us as we are living in a society. The only way to get rid of our ignorance is to get updated with the help of say, interacting with people, or reading about what has to be known, or ask for the answers from others. The main setback for us to know things is inhibition or arrogance. Inhibition can be taken care by joining to some personality development courses, but to handle arrogance is the tough task which needs to be looked in with high priority.

“IGNORANCE is not an offense but continuation of it IS”

739.. A Sthitaprajna in the Real Life ………!!!!!

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/a-sthitaprajna-in-the-real-life

About 12 years back on the advice of my father I read a book titled “The Glory of Gayatri” which is the English translation of a Great Kannada work “Maha Brahmana” by Sri Devudu Narasimha Shastry. It is an excellent story of how King Koushika transforms from being a proud and haughty Monarch to Vishwamitra (Friend of Universe), the Maha Brahmana. 


This work made me understand the importance of Gayatri Mantra. Even though I am not born in a Brahmin family and am not entitled to sporting a Yajnopavita (sacred thread), when I read this book by that great author I was mentally initiated with the Maha Gayatri Mantra and I remember it every morning and evening. I feel that every youngster should read this book to know that anyone can be a Brahmin by the way he conducts himself. The writer Sri Devudu Narasimha Shastry is famous in Kannada literary world. He had a strong hold on Mimamsa and Vedanta and had a great command over Kannada and Sanskrit languages. He made use of the language in his works hence his wisdom reached his readers through the characters in his works.


He talked on Bhagavad-Gita and once he was invited to talk in Udupi which is about 400 kms from Bangalore. Devudu along with his wife went to Udupi for a lecture on the Bhagavad-Gita. Just before the lecture there was a telegram to Devudu. He then requested the organizers for urgent transport to Bangalore after the lecture. When asked about the contents of the telegram, Sri Devudu mentioned that it was about a publication and that his publishers wanted him in Bangalore as soon as possible.


The lecture began Sri Devudu talked on the second chapter which deals with Atma and its nature. The lecture was most eloquently presented by Sri Devudu and his wife was also impressed. She felt that that particular lecture was the best he had delivered on the subject. After the lecture Sri Devudu broke the real news in the telegram. It was the death of his eldest son in Bangalore. The organizers were horrified at the news. This man seemed to be telling this news with such calmness while the news would have disturbed anyone’s mind. The head of the organization then asked Sri Devudu how he was able to deliver that phenomenal lecture knowing well that his son was no more. Sri Devudu replied that he had given himself the delivering the Song of the Lord. He had reflected upon the words of the Lord “Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja” which was the root of Sthitaprajnatva (Steadfast Mind).


 Sri Devudu felt that if he had mentioned the real reason to the organizers, it would have spoilt the efforts of all of the organizers and would have disappointed thousands of those seekers who had gathered and hence he decided to go ahead with the lecture.  Sri Devudu then informs his wife about the news the mother fainted on hearing that and became inconsolable.


All those who had gathered there could not imagine such a person of equanimity as mentioned in the Gita was in their midst in flesh and blood! There are many who write on Bhagavad-Gita and talk on the great scripture but a very few will behave and conduct themselves as the Lord has preached…They are rare…. very rare…..one such soul was Sri Devudu Narasimha Shastry ……….. I bow my head to such a person….

738. A crafty way of Exploiting Women by Male Chauvinists….!!!

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/wellness/a-crafty-way-of-exploting-women-by-male-chauvinists

In Vedic period there was no gender discrimination in my land, but later on there was a time when women needed to be protected from male chauvinists. The general thought was that women are fragile by nature their physiological, psychological and emotional aspects were to be dealt with very delicately and they need to be protected. And that responsibility was shouldered by the male section of the society. Accordingly he was protecting her with love as a father, husband and later on as a son. As there would to be male chauvinists at all times there were a few and they too in the pretext of protecting women started to exploit them to satisfy their lust. They confined them as their personal property by taking advantage of their poverty or vulnerability. From then on started the various atrocities against women and those who protected from love were overshadowed by those who pretended to protect for lust.     

Unable to tolerate at one point of time women gathered strength and fought back by organizing groups and voicing their rights. They found it was unacceptable for them to consider that they needed protection as they were no way inferior to men folk. Then there were debates on equal rights and empowerment of women. Accordingly women refuse to sit locked up in their parents’ home till their families find somebody to marry them off and even so some did not find marriage anything as interesting. Male chauvinists started to fear these women with a good education and earning well. They acceptably got nervous and were afraid of losing their grip over women they suddenly found out that women do not need them to survive, neither financially, nor emotionally. Male chauvinists started to lose ground; they had to do something so that they continue to exploit women.

The new mantra they got was to fight for “independence” to women. They encouraged women folk to live as they wish to and be independent. They started to support them so that they are financially, emotionally and now “sexually” independent too. With such encouraging thoughts Indecent Representation of Women, Sexual Harassment at workplace and Live-in-Relationships thrived. And thus those male chauvinists have again started to have their say in exploiting women as before but very tactfully.

No parent would want their daughter to be so much independent. Independence for a woman is to let her choose her way of life not letting her get exploited. Some few years back I was watching the program “We the People” on NDTV. The topic was “Women projected in bad light by movies” one of the participant said there was nothing wrong if a woman performing skimpily dressed for an item song for a movie as it was art. But when the anchor asked if his daughter would wish to get into movies and want to do such a role would he agree, the gentleman said No!...this is how male chauvinism works. They want other mans daughter to get independent but not his own daughter.

No father wants his daughter or no brother wants his sister to have so much independence so as to let her exploited by such male chauvinist. Look at the advertisements which use women to sell their products; it is indeed disgusting to see advertisements being made exploiting women. In a resent advertisement a man was shown as if he is talking over to someone on a phone through his Bluetooth and tries to exploit a woman in the shopping mall. Is it this independence the women folk of my country are looking for……if so they need to rethink…. What say?????

737. There is Noise both in Srotakasa (Outer Space) & Hridayakasa (Inner Space)…….

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/there-is-noise-both-in-srotakasa-outer-space-hridayakasa-inner-space

There is noise which is absorbed by the sense of hearing called ears. That noise is then conveyed to our mind through which we experience it as hearing. This noise is in the space that is audible to others in the vicinity which is called Srotakasa (Outer Space). 

There is another noise which is heard only by our mind, but not heard by our ears, the sense of hearing. That noise is always vibrating and cannot be heard by others. The noise is in the Hridayakasa (Inner Space) and sometimes may cause annoyance. 

Serenity is obtained if the external noise is taken care of, but what can we do to the internal noise???

The noise from the Srotakasa, the outer space can be avoided by either getting away from it or even ignore the noise. The noise of Hridayakasa, the inner space is more problematic than the noise from outside. The simple reason is that one cannot stop getting involved with the noise as it is happening inside the mind. This noise in the inner space when allowed to chatter more and if the involvement to have a dialogue gradually grows then it becomes a stress on mind.

Now can that chattering be stopped? 

The mind is so unpredictable that it is difficult to say when it gets noisy or when it gets calm. No one, not even the enlightened person on this earth has been able to stop the noise in the Hridayakasa. Stopping the noise is equal to saying one can stop the heart beat, but that noise can be reduce. 

Now the question is how to reduce the noise?

The best way to reduce the noise in the Hridayakasa is by allowing the noise to happen withoutappraising or suppressing it. If it is appraised it will continue on the other hand if it is suppressed it will come up with an opposite thought. If not appraise or suppressed that thought loses its identity and will fade away. The noise in Hridayakasa is automatically reduced.

It is quite natural for the mind to have thoughts but it becomes noisy when there are too many of them wanting to air at the same time. 

As it is Mind has a lot of thoughts from the past experiences which always linger. These thoughts suddenly get intensely noisy and it can totally be disturbing those thoughts that are already featuring. Mostly people get scared of this syndrome and wince away from it or try to escape it through some means of addiction and cravings. But those who are willing to stay calm by understanding the ways of the mind, notice that mind is just broadcasting equipment that is transmitting those noisy thoughts and will fade off once it is said it all. The problem is when the mind is given a chance of countering the noisy thought. It is then there are more chances of stress on the mind.

To relieve this stress some opt for pilgrimage but ironically it is the same mind that they carry to the pilgrimage. Hence in most of the cases after visiting the holy place also the stress remains. Pilgrimage is a period where a short time is spent with solitude and it should never be looked as a stressbuster. Pilgrimage gets its fulfillment when there is inner peace. With the inner noise one cannot enjoy even heaven. Now if there is inner peace is there a need to go on pilgrimage some might asks. True, pilgrimage is just to have a change of spiritual scene, as we all know that the Lord whom we think is in a holy place is here too.

Some would like to put the inner noise to mute by pressing the mute button called “Alcohol” which is even more dangerous. Alcohol is depressant which will affect the nerves gradually. Alcohol takes one to a sort of no-mind state for a few hours and there seems to be the forgetfulness of the stress but the stress is always there. All that Alcohol does is puts one in a bad “lapse of judgment” and “awful misreading” of the situation. 

736. The Elusive Economics in the Law of Karma………….

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/the-elusive-economics-in-the-law-of-karma

The Law of Karma operates similar to a bank transaction. We living beings are the account holders who step into this world with a Credit Balance known as Sabeeja Karma. This Karma is with the individual from the birth and is the brought forward of his previous life account. Even though he might have had a physical death in his previous life his Karma Account has not been closed. It will be brought forward to his next journey in the cycle of unbroken chain of life and death. Whenever the account holder (individual) experiences the fruit of the past Karma which is issued to him from his Current Account that event of experience, for him is the Prarabdha Karma Phala. Here the individual tastes the Fruits of Karma and hence it is called Karma Phala.

Taste of Fruit depends on the nature of Karma that the account holder would have deposited in his previous life. The experience of Prarabdha Karma Phala has its direct effects on the physical body through his mind in this present state of existence. The account holder does not have any choice on the matter of the withdrawal since the maturity of Prarabdha Karma Phala has already been determined by the Manager of the Bank (Absolute) and even the Manager cannot alter the sequence or stop it. The account holder during the course of his transaction would not only enjoy the fruit but also consciously try to continuously replenish his account balance. These new deposits do not mature in this span of life. This is the Agami Karma. These regular cash deposits through deposit slips are combined with the Fixed Deposit called Sanchita Karma. Sanchita Karma is the balance that an individual would accumulate in every single past life in the form of Agami Karma which would have aggregated without the knowledge of the account holder. Sanchita Karma represents an individual’s fate of which the individual has no idea of its maturity. Even the Manager of the Bank (Absolute) is not in a position to ordain it, but a strategist (destiny) who works for the Manager of the Bank delivers this to the account holder from his Credit Balance. As the Fixed Deposit swells due to the deposit pay slips (Agami Karma) to the account, the account holder has no relief from the bank.

When there is nil balance in the Current Account as well as the Fixed Deposits, then the account holder is released from the shackles and entanglements. Such an individual has gained exemption from the cycle of unbroken chain of life and death. The very purpose of life is to ultimately see that the balance is eliminated in the Karma Bank Account. Zero Balance is the Goal to be achieved. There is a lot of misinterpretation on the words like Liberation, Moksha, and Salvation. They are not reward or punishment and should not be confused with the concept of “Heaven” and “Hell.” Liberation is to see that there is no “credit” of positive Karma, or “debit” of negative Karma in our pass sheet in the Karma Bank Account.

Now the most important question is:

Is Law of Karma only a solace for a weak mind???? If so, then how would one explain the reason behind an innocent infant born with physical or mental disability???? How could we justify a corrupt individual living a luxurious life evading the law????? How is it possible for an individual with an average IQ to get a high paid white collar job while a highly capable person has to be contented with a petty job?????

The answer to all such questions lies in the knowledge of Karma Siddhantha. The Jnana of Law of Karma will not let the questions arise at all in the first place. 

Now after knowing how the law of Karma works what are the benefits from understanding it????

There are many points but few are noted bellow as per my understanding:

1. We are our own destiny makers. We are the only cause for the situation we are facing hence no point in blaming either Absolute or Family or Friends.   

2. The action we do (Agami Karma) has to be at least beneficial to others so that the result of it will erase the bad karma phala in the Sanchita (Fixed Deposit).   

3. As we are unable to rectify our Prarabdha karma it is better to live with it without getting mentally anxious to evade it.

4. By understanding that we have to experience the Prarabdha karma phalas without fail, we will never have an inclination to take refuge in the superstitions and black magic. 

5. Most prominently with the understanding of Karma Siddhantha we are not skeptical in our belief regarding Absolute.