Your True Self

Are you quiet? Quieten your body.

Quieten your mind.

By your own efforts

Waken yourself, watch,

And live joyfully.

Follow the truth of the way.

Reflect upon it.

Make it your own.

Live it.

~ Buddha from the Dhammapada

A very, very good morning everyone. I woke up beautifully this morning with a smooth transition from sleep to consciousness. The blink-and-miss-it moments between our sleep and awakening tells us a little something about the state of our minds, if we pay attention. After wishing God, my guardian angel (my nana) a good morning and blowing life a kiss, I decided to quieten my mind, rein it in, listen to my heartbeat, pay attention to my breathing. I realised that I was going into Vipassana mode and as my second course begins in less than a month, my heart remembers a beautiful couple I met on my recent trip to Jaipur.

Taiji (aunt) and taoji (uncle) are a friends relatives who I just met. They opened their hearts and home while we were in Jaipur and insisted that we stay with them (all this in spite of meeting us for the first time). Since we were three women travellers, they believed that we'd be safer in their home. We were served tasty food the moment we arrived and taiji and taoji embraced us with open arms... literally. The peace, satisfaction, love and calmness on their faces and in their hearts was palpable. We were enamoured. We later learnt that the beautiful couple lost everything financially on account of taoji's accident. There was a time, when this lovely couple didn't have a square meal to feed their own children. We learnt that after the accident, taiji devoted her life and breath to taoji and her children. During course of conversation, we learnt that in spite of everything, taoji completed 14 Vipassana courses and taiji had done four! As I sat and listened to them, I realised that taiji and taoji learnt only to love and share... they not only practiced Vipassana, they lived it. It's Vipassana and their belief and faith in the good Lord that helped them through times that could break even the strongest.

Ever since I started practicing Vipassana, I noticed how this form of mediation helps one grow in love, faith and belief. Vipassana meditation helps us get in-touch with ourselves - our minds. It reintroduces us to a part that's constantly on a roller-coaster. It helps us understand our mind and it's through that understanding, we eventually understand ourselves. I've always looked up to my spiritual gurus and used them as examples of spiritual living. I've often faced questions regarding how feasible a spiritual life is in this world we live in. I've never had a problem following the spiritual path in a layman's world; and now taiji and taoji reaffirm my belief that spirituality can find its place in this world. In fact, it's right here, here and now, stop, feel and experience. The real question is - will we allow it to make its place or will we find excuses for its absence?

Each and everyone of us are born spiritual, we'e born holy, we 're born pure. We lose our true selves along the way, but instead of focusing on the loss, we must change our focus to reconnecting and rediscovering our true self. The self - it's through this self that we will find God. Vipassana is one of the ways, one of the paths to finding our true selves. Whether we choose to read The Bhagavad Gita, The Bible, The Torah, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sogyal Rinpooche, books from the Rigpa, the Buddhist percepts or any other spiritual literature - they begin with love. Love - true love for someone else, is loving oneself first. We often see in someone else, what we see in ourselves.

Let's conduct a little exercise: when you wake up tomorrow, try and observe how you see and feel about the world. If you're feeling cheery and happy and see beauty in everything (and I mean everything), then your mind is at peace and it's working in cooperation with your heart. In case you feel otherwise, then it's time to take a closer look at the state of your mind. Don't focus on the problem, all of us have one problem or another, focus instead on what you can do to solve it. Remember, sometimes God burns bridges, but believe that there is a path there you can cross. You can and you will. A problem is never a problem unless we want it to become one. A problem is a mere learning, an essential learning on the path to spiritual enhancement. Accepting all learnings will be easier only when you know yourself, you truly now yourself, your mind, your truth, you.

It's a simple beginning; begin by observing yourself, observing your breath, and slowly making your way within. When you go within, you may want to run back out and may be you will, but try again and again and again. Most of us, are just scratching the surface when it comes to ourselves and it's okay... as long as we've begun the journey.

Vipassana helps us understand that the good and the bad will change. When we experience joy, it natural for us to grasp at it and want it to stay in our lives forever; when we experience pain, it's natural for us to run away from it and in effect we run away from life's most important lessons (and of course there are a host of emotions and feelings in between). But remember, all things good and all things bad are temporary - there's nothing we can do except to accept the situation, enjoy them, learn from them, live through them and enhance our souls in the process.

Getting to know ourselves must start now, it's now. Vipassana enhances our journey, but sometimes we can begin ourselves by devoting a specific time in the day or night to quiet contemplation. The journey to ourselves is one of the longest ones we will ever undertake, but it's one that helps us realise who we truly are and truly discover God, truly discover God.

Today, I'd like to leave you with a quote from Vipassana, "This too shall change." Remember, if you're having a good time, revel in it, cherish it, love it and feel it for what it is; never rue its end, celebrate instead that it happened. In case you're going through a tough time, embrace it wholeheartedly, remember with faith that God has a lesson in there and once you've learnt your lesson or someone else has learnt theirs, your situation will change. Don't run, just embrace, accept and believe... and if things get too hard, look up at the sky, talk to God and believe that your guardian angel is right with you... here and now.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)

Understanding Jīva (Life) and God

The words of Dhamma 

Akkodhena jine kodham (conquer anger by love)

Asādhum sāhunā jine (conquer the wicked by goodness)

Jine kadariyam dānena (conquer the stingy by generosity)

Saccenālikavādinam (conquer the liar by truth)

- Dhammapada 223

The Dhammapada is a versified Buddhist scripture that's ascribed to Buddha himself. My vipassanā practice urged me towards reading and studying Buddhist scripture. As I read on, I realised that all holy scriptures (The Bible, The Torah, The Bhagavad Gita, The Dhammapada) have a common message from God - live life with love. Love. God is universal, it's us, humans who choose to give him a name. I believe in the universal God and I am in the process of reading all the holy scriptures above.

Being the product of a Roman Catholic mother and Jewish father, a lot of people have questions regarding my diverse interest in all holy scriptures, love of mediation, vegetarianism and passion for Eastern philosophy. All I can say is that God is one, God is universal, God is love and Eastern philosophy and meditation bring us closer to God in ways that we cannot even imagine. All the scriptures above help us realise that life is about one thing - love; and all the good things come out of love - faith, caring, sharing, giving, generosity, purity, peace and of course the truth.

Today, I began my day with the above paragraph from The Dhammapada. As I read it over and over, I realised that Jesus too preached the same words. The Bhagavad Gita and The Torah too have examples of living life with equanimity (a state of mental and emotional stability that arises from a sense of temporal detachment from a reality we believe to be true), no matter what the situation.

So, how do we do this successfully? Especially, when we live in a world that is centered around 'I, me, myself'? Vipassanā helps us meet our mind, understand it and help it work with our heart and soul. Once our heart, mind and soul work together, it's easy to live with equanimity. Vipassanā started out as a quest for peace of mind, and has now transformed into a journey that shows me so very many layers to my spiritual self, that there is only one way for me now and that's the next step - the next step towards discovering another facet of my soul.

I woke up this morning, gave God, the universe, my guardian angels (my nana and papa) a big, sunny 'Good Morning' and read the above paragraph. So simple and sometimes, it's so difficult to follow, isn't it? But, vipassanā simplified it for me. You see, vipassanā helps us see things as they really are. When we do that, we realise at a deeper level, that we are just a part of a larger universe. We're here to fulfill our roles in accordance with God's will and leave when he knows that it's time. Life is about knowing oneself enough to realise that we're all children of God. Life is about another person more than it is about ourselves. That is how God lived, that is how he wants us, his children to live.

Think about it - a simple argument with a loved one or friend can turn very ugly if both parties argue. It's normal to have disagreements (human nature remember), but what's more important is to realise that an argument, any argument is not about anyone being right or wrong; it's about two or more people with different perceptions and understandings of a situation. Sometimes, mum and me argue. We hear each other out and try and understand the other. In case we don't, we let it rest for a while and when our minds are clearer, we decide to give communication another go. An argument isn't about the 'I, me, myself' being right - it's about accepting another's point-of-view and being able to move on from there. Of course, throw in a hug, kiss and/or a friendly handshake depending on who the person is. :) To me, this is a practical example of conquering anger with love. This can work in professional life too. Accepting an argument for the sake of peace is okay. Sometimes, sorting out a situation when both people are cool, helps. 

Anger shouldn't give rise to more anger, instead it must give birth to a lot of love and understanding, just as wickedness must be answered with goodness, stinginess with generosity and lies with truth. Indeed, the paragraph above is so simple, but the priceless lessons it helps us understand come straight from God. Religious scriptures are not something we may read and put away; they are God's lessons, God talking to us through his word. No matter what we may read, all scriptures teach us the same thing. I believe our universal God has given us different languages to help understand him better. His lesson though are all the same - all of them begin with love and truth.

If we truly contemplate and understand what he's telling us, we realise that different words mean the same thing - when we do things with love, we're able to look beyond ourselves and feel and understand another. Prayer and meditation are ways that bring us closer to him in a way that a blessed soul knows.

The universal language of love awaits us, our universal God loves us, prayer and meditation will take us closer and closer to him. Here's to all of us rediscovering him in each other and in ourselves.

Have a fabulously blessed day everyone. :)