And yet again it is the time of the year to reflect on what you could have done but chose not to do and blamed it upon the situation or other people or simply didn’t bother. 

Years of doing so brings you to a point of realising the futility of the entire cycle of making resolutions/breaking them/regretting the entire process and this experience leads you to the wisdom of not making any resolutions and yet bringing utmost love to every moment of the years to come to finally realise that love is everything.

May love fill each moment of your life.

Happy New Year 

Today, 26th December 2023, is Datta Jayanti and the essence of Lord Dattatreya’s teaching in Avadhuta Gita is

Sarvam Brahmeti…

Brahman(Advaita/One without second/Absolute/Source) is the Supreme Reality. The world is apparent, like water in a mirage.

The real nature of the individual soul is divine but it is covered by ignorance.
It is due to ignorance that people limit themselves and think they are men or women, Africans or Americans, healthy or sick, beautiful or ugly, rich or poor, learned or illiterate, happy or unhappy.

Actually they are infinite, eternal, blissful Self. Human beings are hypnotised by Maya: one has to de-hypnotise oneself in order to be free.

Avadhuta Chintana Shri Gurudev Datta

A chance encounter with Sunaullah Bhat, a 83 year old Retired High School Principal at a Kahwa Shop outside a Mandir in Srinagar made me realise that in life, there are no coincidences. The question that had come up in my mind as to what is the essence of Sufism, was answered by this graceful gentleman in one word “Insaniyat”. 

That humans are given “dard” feelings is not to cry whilst watching movies but to help another sentient being in need, regardless of religion, caste, creed, etc. No human is different from anyone, all religions, castes, etc are human creations for facilitating a good, moral conduct in society but they can’t override “Insaniyat”.

The simple essence is “Be Human”

I wonder whether other animals also believe in the concept of God or even are capable of doing so and is their God any different from ours and if so why, how….
“God” is just a human word for a human idea that has different meaning for different people, usually exhibiting qualities that are not normally found in humans – omnipresence, omnipotence, etc that are centred around an idol by people wanting a form for their God and around an idea of God by others. 

Is God a fiction or reality, who knows?Whether God exists in a manner believed by you or not is a matter of spiritual exploration which is the only way to arrive at a conclusion. The best way to explore is that of silent observation. Be intensely present in every moment….

Finding your Self is returning to roots, Ghar Wapsi.

But oftentimes the spiritual journey feels like going around in circles, 

like a dog trying to catch it’s own tail. 

It feels occupied till it doesn’t catch it and once it does, it doesn’t know what to do with it.​ 

Either way remember that there is nothing to find that isn’t already there.

You and the Source are no different, you are just identifying with an impermanent manifestation or a reflected derivative of the Source, this identification/attachment is Maya

Reason and knowledge are like the pole of the pole vaulter…Leaving the pole(doing) is the act of faith that carries you beyond(being)…

The thought that you need to get somewhere to experience peace is void ab initio. This leads to action – result cycle. Stop. Peace is here and now. It always was, is and will be. Don’t look for it in intent, action, result. It is in this moment. Find out by letting go of the thought that you’ll find it elsewhere….

This is perhaps what Dyaneshwar Mauli meant when he said

“Aata karne nahi, hone” (Not in doing, but in being)

On all spiritual paths silence is given prime importance. You must experience silence not only of speech but also of thoughts, ideas and urges for beyond all this lies the Source. In today’s highly interconnected social media it is even more difficult to practice silence. I am not sure whether the mobile phone is a boon or a curse but actually its usage depends on you, as in case of a knife – you could use it to cut fruits or ….

In silence you become a witness of everything that comes and goes in your mind. This witnessing when done sitting down with eyes closed is called Dhyana and when done whilst moving is called karma yoga, the witnessing is common to both. Know that you are the Source of that witness. The more you practice this, the more you detach from the impermanent world around you and the more your life becomes decluttered. You progressively experience liberation from your own conditions/attachments to people/things/ideas till such time that they no longer hold you under their sway. 

Be the witness – to detach & declutter….

To be considered to be a civilized society/nation the first necessity is the ability, willingness & action to co-exist peacefully without having to resort to violence of any sort. However this is very Utopian and may not happen in the real world wherein there are the haves and the have-nots, wherein there is greed, jealousy, lust, anger… and people trying to prove to others that they are right and others are wrong…

It’s a mad mad world that we’re living in and the worst part is that there is no solution to it. The world with all its madness, is not a problem to be solved but an experience to be lived and the only choice you have in your hand is to either reject/fight it or accept it and bring love into it. Love as a response has nothing to do with what cards you were dealt with by life or who did what to you or who is right or wrong. Love simply is acceptance and a response with the intent of well being of all sentient beings including the ones….

Remember the world is not your problem to solve. The only problem to solve is yourself. You cannot change the world if you are unable to change yourself.

Choose love, transform yourself….

Ananda, Buddha’s chief disciple asked “Bhagwan, give us your last message.” And he said “Ananda, appa deepo bhava: become a light unto yourself. There is no other light, so don’t look into the sky, don’t look at me. There is no other light. Be a light unto yourself.”

Happy Diwali

The festive season is upon us, and as we all know, the effect of excess accumulation of food in the body translates to weight which takes even more energy to expend/maintain the body. For whatever reasons, we perceive life as an opportunity to accumulate, whether they be experiences or power/wealth/fame, we think more will mean better but we also know that not to be true out of sheer experience since everything follows the law of diminishing returns but by then we are so attached to accumulating that letting go/detaching becomes very difficult. 

Life was always meant to “let go/detach” which is evident even in our breathing process. You have to let go of the breath taken in, in order for the fresh breath to come in. As I was jogging a couple of days back, I observed that for being a successful distance runner one must let go of his/her breath consciously and the intake of breath is automatic. Once such a breathing process is perfected, the body becomes light and you can run longer/faster. Same holds good for swimming and other endurance sports wherein you empty your lungs consciously & the process of refilling them is automatic. Same also holds good  for other aspects of life – the more you let go(detachment), the more freedom you experience but somehow we cling on to or are attached to the process of accumulating…

How you change the game from “attachment to accumulation” to “letting go/detachment” is up to you. Realise that life is a zero sum game, you can bring nothing in it and certainly take nothing from it so what is the point of attachment to something that is ephemeral…..