Friday, August 31, 2007

Thought of the day

Protect your atma (soul), this is an instructive sentence. Without spiritual practice, the order can not be internalised. The first sutra for spiritual practice draw the senses inwards. When the senses are used as sources of knowledge, then they can be drawn inwards. When they succumb to attachment however, the atma can not be protected, nor can the person be protected.
Restraining and drawing inward the senses functions the same way as the blinkers which keeps a horse on track.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Thought of the day

Why are some people tall and some short? This is an ordinary question. The answer to this has to be looked for within the body constitution. The believers in karma sastra have looked for the answer in the nature of nam-karma. Doctors have looked for an answer in the source of the pituitary gland. The question is related to the gross but the answer has been sought in the subtle.
There are problems in the gross world and to find solutions to them one has to enter the world of the subtle and therefore we do not consider gross a barrier.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Thought of the day

There is strength, bliss and knowledge in our body. There are sources of strength, bliss and knowledge. When the sources are closed, then there is no development of strength, bliss or knowledge. When the source is opened, then strength awakens, bliss sprouts and inner knowledge develops. If we could isolate the source and open it, then no man would be devoid of strength, unhappy or ignorant.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Thought of the day

There are many sources of strength. One among them is the word. The sound of the word produces certain vibrations. That vibration influences the body, mind and emotions. It makes the vibrations of the emotion - filled word more powerful. The sound of the word full of emotions is called jap. When jap is done of one's Isht devta, then the devotion and the sound of the word together charge the surroundings with power. The one who does jap identifies with his Isht. Words devoid of feeling will not be able to achieve the goal.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Thought of the day

It is very easy to say something, but to do it is difficult. The reasons for this according to Karmasastra are - power of activity, elimination of, or subsiding the obstructing karma, elimination of karma particles which destroy energy. The reasons for purification of conduct are elimination of, or subsiding deluding karma, elimination of the karma particles of delusion. If there is a balance between the elimination of the obstructing karma and the deluding karma, then what is said is also done. If there is no co-ordination between the two, then the saying becomes true - easier said than done.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Thought of the day

Today is the day of silence. What irony that to define silence, man is speaking! How nice it would be if silence could be defined by silence. Just as much as man likes to talk, he does not like silence. If we go into the depths of spirituality, we find speech takes rest there. The meaning of spirituality is silence. Day to day practicality means talking. You can not speak in the deep recesses of spirituality. In day to day life you can not remain silent.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Thought of the day

Untitled Document It is very necessary to save oneself from external stimuli. But every thing that is necessary is not complete within itself. If one were to be constantly involved in saving oneself from external stimuli, then in just doing so we would spend all our life and never get at what we should. The whole truth of the matter is that while you save yourself from external stimuli you should also simultaneously rectify your instincts. As the material cause is rectified, there will be less talk of avoiding external stimuli. To save oneself from stimuli gives security. That can not be called spiritual practice. To rectify the material cause is spiritual practice and it is this practice that will take you to the desired goal.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document What can be the adjustment between time and work? Two jobs can not be done together. There is a lot of work. One feels that time is short, but work much more. Whatever time there is, there is. When we imagine our work as being a lot, then there are two emergent feelings:
1) of being busy,
2) of shortage of time. Time has its own rules. We too should make our rules. We should not think of doing many things at the same time.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document If you want to develop your virtues, then first develop a feeling of affection towards them. For whichever mood a man is engulfed in, it is in the same mood that he begins the process of his transformation. Keep a virtuous man as your ideal. Reflect on and praise his qualities. This outward act will give rise to an inner strength and you will become virtuous. The one who wants to erase vice and develop virtues will have to go through this exercise.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document What are difficulties? It is not easy to define. What appears as trouble to one man, may appear as a source of joy to another. No definition is absolute. Only existence is absolute. All else is relative. I found it a problem to walk in the sun. But when for the sake of my guru I walked in the sun, I felt a surge of happiness. Is it difficult or pleasurable to walk in the sun? There can be no definite answer to that one. In one state there can be pleasure and in another, difficulty. Make your goals larger then there will be only happiness everywhere.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

If a particular work is to done at a certain time, then do it at that very time. This direction is for an ascetic. There is no such directive to nature. Nature, by herself, does her work at the time when it ought to be done. Violations are done not only by humans but by nature too. The month of savan(rainy season) is passing away absolutely dry. This is nature's violation. How can savan be charming without greenery? Man's violations do bring difficulties but not so many as nature's violations do. Is it possible to find a formula for balance in nature?




DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document There are few people who discuss world peace. The ones who build a climate of unrest in the world are many and they seem to be successful in their work. Those who talk about peace are less successful. Those who cause unrest know the point of beginning whereas those who talk of peace, do not. They want to straight-away grapple with the end result and so their success turns into failure. Those in power can not do so much for the spreading of peace as the common man can. The beginning point for peace is the individual and the end point is the world. Is it not further complicating the issue if we straight-away aim at world peace?



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document How expensive bread is! When we see labourers toiling, it strikes us as a bolt from the blue that indeed bread is expensive. There are some whose efficiency at work gets them their daily bread quite easily. Majority of the people earn their bread with toil. This dedication to work and work itself are the ones that can construct a new life. In essence, can we not say that bread and hard work are synonyms?



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document In life, it is difficult to always observe propriety. Why is the element of propriety less in nature? It is difficult to find an answer to this question. Nature has her own rules and so there are obstacles to propriety. Man too has his own rules, but he also has ego and greed which break the rules. The environment becomes one of mal adjustment. When ego and greed are dominant then how can one think of propriety? If, however, they both are subdued, then propriety is no problem.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document Rectification is very important. The samskaras within, the surroundings in the outer world and the environment : they radiate the atoms of pollution. They keep influencing life. Pollution keeps coming to the fore. Somewhere the lines get interchanged, in some places, the commas and in other places, the fullstops. If they are not continually rectified, cleansed, life will become a basket of imperfections.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document The life of a Terapanth Acharya, is not his own. There are both disadvantages and advantages of having one leader. Every person desires that the Acharya speaks to him. Everyone places his own problem before him and wants solutions. Devotion becomes so focused that they are not happy with presenting their problems to anybody else. The Acharya's duty is to satisfy everyone. On the one hand there is this talk about satisfaction, and on the other, the time required for the development of the organisation. Can decentralisation solve this problem?



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document Some people are endowed with power. They manage to work even while fasting. Some people are not so strong. Even after consuming nutritious meals, they are not able to complete any work. There are many forms of strength which manifest themselves in different ways. Even in amounts, they are not equal, manifesting sometimes in higher and sometimes in lower degrees. But strength is infinite. The coordination of its expression and materialisation makes a man great.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document You walk. Before keeping the next foot forward, think. How much strength does your foot have? Without measuring one's strength, to put forward one's foot is not without dangers.
You talk. Before uttering the next word, measure how much strength there is in your speech. Without evaluating your speech, to speak further is not without dangers.
You work. Before undertaking any work measure how much work energy you possess. Without assessing your power, to undertake work is not without dangers.
The second step, the second word and the second hand will be the touchstone of your discrimination.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document In the ancient practices of yoga, the Hridayapadam had been visualised. In the technique of Preksha Dhyan, its equivalent is Anand Kendra or the centre of bliss. This psychic centre is very useful, important and a source of great bliss. In this place the consciousness of the Atma is in its most intense form. That is why to develop this centre is to develop one's consciousness. Acharya Hemchandra has described its specialties thus:
Tatoavidya viliyante
vishayechcha vinashyati
vikalpa vinivarthante
gyanamantarvijrambhate.
The result of controlling one's breath and concentrating one's mind on the centre of bliss is -destruction of ignorance, rectification of desires, attainment of the state of thoughtlessness and gaining of inner knowledge.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document Writing should not be an addiction. Is it necessary to communicate every thought to others? A wave rises in the sea and then falls and disappears within the same waters. Similarly a wave of thought rises and falls disappearing within itself. Is this not natural? Is it not unnatural to want to concretise that wave? In our world there are so many conflicts and disagreements in our thinking that now it seems more pleasant to move towards thoughtlessness. To be thoughtless is a state similar to that of the calm sea. A peaceful sea is desirable, waves and storms not always so.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document <!-- .style1 {color:#FF9966;} --> The kind of discussions that take place in the world of psychology for the development of a complete personality, do not take place in the field of religion or philosophy. But its seeds are however scattered in the field of religion. To be only a scholar makes an incomplete personality. Similarly to be a person endowed with high conduct alone, does not make a complete person either. For the development of a complete personality, coordination of both conduct and knowledge are important.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document Memory gives both pain and pleasure. Separation from a loved one, brings painful memories. As soon as we entered the Jain Vishwa Bharati complex, we experienced this truth. This place where we had experienced the presence of Gurudev Acharya Shree Tulsi, is now telling the story of separation. Many a time we have tried to falsify this truth, but the truth is, that truth can not be falsified.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document There are three powers: the power of wealth, the power of rule and the power of religion. The power of wealth strengthens the ruling power and so occupies the first place. The power of the ruler manages the financial power. The affairs of a kingdom can not be conducted without financial power and financial power can not be managed without ruling power. Both are important for society. But one does not seem to experience the need for religion as being necessary for society. In the absence of religion, money leads society towards crime and the government towards immorality. At this juncture the need for religion is felt. This is because only religion, nothing else, has the power of renunciation.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document Today is Holi. An important festival for the Hindu society. Many mythological stories and folklores are associated with it. Once a myth has been glorified, automatically a few folklores and aphorism are constructed around it. The truth however is that the month of spring (Basant) is one for merriment. Rejuvenated blood flows through our body and new grains fill the fields. This is actually an agrarian festival. A time for farmers to rejoice. When farmers bring home harvested wheat and gram, they are overcome with joy. Indeed, pods and pods of gram do make the festival joyful.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document Every idea has a root cause which does not normally manifest itself. When there is an external stimuli the material cause( the root cause) manifests itself. So while the role of external stimuli can not be ignored, it is necessary to recognize that it gains expression only when there is a material cause. If the material cause is rectified, then the external stimuli would be disempowered. Based on this truth, Acharya Mantung says eulogising Lord Rishabha that, Chitram kimatra yadi te tridashang-anabhir neetam managapimano na vikaramargam kalpantakaalamaruta chalitachal kim mandaraadri shikharam chalitam kadachit. [No external stimulus or inducement is able to unsettle a patient man. To be patient is to control the mind in such a way as to develop intellect :that is firmness of mind. Kalidasa wrote this truth in poetry: Vikarhetau sati vikriyante yesham na chetaansi ta eva dheeraaha.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document We have a fixed notion that we should always save ourselves from external stimuli. To desist external stimuli, the golden rule is to be immune to attraction. While there is an element of truth in this, on the basis of this one can not think of developing one's work. The complementary rule should be to 'strengthen the mind'. On the one hand we should save ourselves from external stimuli and on the other we should strengthen our mind. When the two happen together, there is progress towards a peaceful state of mind. What is surprising is that while a lot of attention is paid to save one self from external stimuli, so much is not paid to strengthening the mind.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document If you want to prepare for a bright future never disregard the past. To recollect the past is like holding up a mirror. Seeing your reflection there, you can understand your assets and defects. This understanding will help to enhance your potential. Make an absolutely correct evaluation of the company you keep for it bears the stamp of your future. The most powerful weapon, however, is self confidence. If that is there, then go ahead and visualise a bright future, or else keep quiet.



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Untitled Document <!-- .style1 {color:#FF9966;} --> The ultimate goal in life should be mental happiness. The tools to reach that goal are:
1) Limiting consumption enjoyment
2) Limiting individual property
3) Reducing violence
If the aim, however is to have
1) Maximum comfort
2) Maximum popularity
3) Maximum respectability



DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

ntitled Document

The kind of pleasure a word spoken from the vital energies of the Guru gives, neither political power nor wealth can give. Vital energy is the fundamental source of inner happiness. Wealth and power have the potential to give comfort and popularity, but lack the vital energy capable of giving bliss. I have seen the rich and the political leaders leading a sorrowful life while those blessed by the vital energy of the Guru, blooming with bliss.




DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

ntitled Document

We know of the greatness of the moon. Its secret lies in its purity. The sun too is dignified and the secret of his greatness is his light and radiance. The secret of the ocean's greatness is its depth. The Himalayas are unconquerable because of their height. How great will that man be who is pure in heart, bright and radiant, tall in stature and deep in the mind. These qualities are difficult to find but rare to find is a man endowed with all of them.




DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

ntitled Document

Religion has its own area wherein there is no concept of friend or foe. Amity is acceptable but not with only one person. Spiritual amity is with all mankind. On the basis of this principle, a sukta has been framed: Mitti mei savvabhutesu: I have amity with all living beings.




DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

ntitled Document

In politics, there is no friend or foe. At times friends become foes and foes, friends. This is true not only in politics but of man's very nature. Moments of friendship and enemity keep flashing across man's mind. The restlessness of the mind, after all. Then, in a restless mind how can we imagine the attribute of steadfastness.




DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away.

Thought of the day

Restraint in food habits is linked to both our body and mind. The first point of contact is health. The one who eats less remains healthy. The second point of contact is youth. The one who eats with restraint remains young for a long time and is also full of energy. The third point of contact is longevity. The one who practices self control in eating lives long and escapes untimely death. The fourth point of contact leads to cleansing of thoughts, serenity and purity of mind. On the basis of all this the Dhramasastra (religious texts) says maintain control over food. Svasthya sastra or the treatise on health also says practise restraint in food habits.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Thought of the day

Conduct is the essence of knowledge. So, only that knowledge will be useful which does not increase arrogance, is not binding, does not make one forget oneself but instead, helps in rectifying the samskraras and leads towards mental peace. The acid test for the usefulness of knowledge is that it should lead towards the soul. Knowledge that leads away from the soul is called ignorance in Indian literature. *Samskaras are the imprints of past events and lives on the mind.

Thought of the day

As I see it, the value material wealth has , even life does not seem to have. Material wealth is to support life not life to support material. Yet, it is surprising that the primary has become the secondary and the secondary the primary. The value money has, the breath does not have. Had breath been more important, the process of breathing would have been taught to the child from the very beginning. A child is taught how to earn, but not how to breathe. One who has not learnt to breathe, how can he, lead a peaceful life

Thought of the day

The exercise of control is the greatest power. A person faces many situations where he may slip up in life but if he is able to exercise control, he will have the strength to stabilize himself. A small slip-up may cause sorrow for a long time whereas exercising control over a short period may give long lasting happiness. We are familiar with the power of control. We are also familiar with the benefits of control. Yet to exercise control at the right time, is difficult, very difficult.

Thought of the day

Knowledge is transmittable. One person's knowledge manages to reach another. Experience, however is specific to the individual. It can not be shared. Even if the experience is similar, one person's experience can not become another's. The distinction between knowledge and experience is thus clear. Knowledge is beyond the senses but experience needs the senses.

Thought of the Day

Every man wants to be successful. It is surprising that even the man who does not know the manner in which to become successful, wants to be so. There is great distance between wanting-and perfecting. Want marks the beginning. Thereafter, to attain success, spiritual practice, strengthening of will power and development of concentration are essential. The one whose mind is filled with doubts and has weak will power will not be able to take his want to the end goal of achievement. So also one who has not developed his concentration will not be able to harness success.

Thought of the day

To have faith is a solution as well as a problem by itself.
It is a solution because the word riding on faith always gains immediate acceptance.
On the basis of that the problems of an organisation and of discipline are removed and the path of development becomes clear. Those who do not have faith have to face a longer struggle.
Faith is a problem because every man wants to meet the person who has faith and talk to him. Gradually respect gets superimposed by devotion.