Listen to Heart: 51. Listen to Heart – Make Real life Really Real…....

Listen to Heart: 51. Listen to Heart – Make Real life Really Real…....: Hari Bol... 51. Listen to Heart – Make Real life Really Real…. We have discussed regarding Real and Unreal. Real is which does not...

51. Listen to Heart – Make Real life Really Real….

Hari Bol...

51. Listen to Heart – Make Real life Really Real….

We have discussed regarding Real and Unreal. Real is which does not go under any change. I had heard regarding endurance. Endurance is the ability to resist and withstand the changes. It is related to sufferance, resilience and hardiness. Endurance may also refer to an ability to keep going through a tough situation involving hardship, stress, etc. The term stamina is sometimes used synonymously and interchangeably with endurance. Endurance is state or fact of persevering. Endurance is for continuing existence. Endurance is the power or capacity to tolerate the unfavorable. We have learnt in the article, ‘Listen to Heart – Reel the Un-Real and Un-Reel the Real ….’ that everything changes including our name, fame, designation, body, situation, environment, temperature, climate, season and so on. So we conclude that all are unreal which we think as real in our life. So endurance is not effective here and thus endurance also in this case in unreal.

 

God prescribes one thing – we simply need to run towards him. We need to agree to the one thing that God requires of us.  Yes, God asks us to do something that He refuses to do for us. We need to’ Run to Win’ by performing our karma with positive attitude and stay in positive vibration. According to the writer of Hebrews, spiritual endurance requires three things from you:

·        You must go on a spiritual diet to lose the excess weight caused by unbelief.

·        You must start running after life instead of waiting for it to come to you.

·        Your ultimate destination has-to-be the Lord.

We’re running a different, longer kind of race. Our goal isn’t a t-shirt or a ribbon; we want to return to Godhead. Our race of life is difficult at times, and we can often become discouraged. However, just as I needed physical endurance to complete a physical race of some kilometers, we need spiritual endurance to help us surmount the trials we will come across in our lives to complete a spiritual race. We need to have;

·        Dedication: Dedication is vital in obtaining spiritual endurance. Making occasional, half-hearted attempts will not help our spirits be strong. It is only by committing ourselves and our families to following God that we will be able to obtain the spiritual endurance we strive for. We can show God how dedicated we are, by how we spend our time. Do we make spiritual time a necessity? Or is it easier to put those good intentions aside, telling ourselves that we’ll start tomorrow? Being dedicated towards staying close to God will not only help us, but it will also help our families as the spirit of God enters our home, and our children learn by our example.

·        Self-Discipline: Spiritual self-discipline is also vital in our lives. Often, it is the little, seemingly harmless things that chip away at our families. Exerting our will over our desires can be difficult. But by constantly exercising our mental muscles, we will soon become spiritually powerful. When we have strong spiritual self-discipline our homes will be calmer, and we will have an easier time feeling God’s love. Spiritual self-discipline can have many outward appearances. For some, it can mean the strength to stay away from pornography. Others may receive help dealing with tempers, an alcohol addiction or in having a better attitude. Exerting discipline to obey God’s laws can strengthen all aspects of our lives and those of our families

·        Perseverance: Spiritual perseverance behaves the same way. In order to compete against forces pulling us different ways, we need to maintain the spiritual health of ourselves and our families. Obviously there will be times when we fall short. But when we constantly strive to maintain our spiritual connection we will persevere. Often family members can lose their spiritual endurance. When this happens we can help them persevere by continuing to love them. Things can look bleak sometimes, and we may be tempted to quit. But God has told us many times that he will always be there to welcome us back whenever we are ready to return.

Let us try to understand the difference between body and soul & between matter and spirit. We have discussed about matter and spirit in the article ‘Listen to Heart – Matter and Spirit matters in Life ….’ It is the beginning of spiritual life and the only basis for true self-realization. Our body is constantly changing: infancy, childhood, youth, middle age, old age, and finally death. But the Soul remains the same. Soul never goes through any change. We, the unchangeable soul, witness this “virtual reality” from within. That’s why, even though our body changes throughout life, we always keep our sense of identity. Matter is temporary, and spirit is eternal. Therefore we eternal souls are more important than our bodies. To understand this point, is real knowledge. We are by nature eternally happy and full of knowledge. The human body affords us the opportunity to perform spiritual activities that will free us from getting further material bodies, which are by nature full of suffering.

Krishna recommends in the Bhagavad Gita that we satisfy the bodily needs only as much as necessary to maintain the body in a healthy condition and spend the rest of our time and energy in spiritual activities which help us to reawaken our original spiritual consciousness. It is this spiritual consciousness which is a real need, the needs of the soul. Of course the needs of the body are there and we cannot ignore that. It is not that we do not eat, or sleep, or have sex or defend, but these things are done in a regulated way to maintain the body in a healthy condition. But as the motor car is simply a vehicle which is meant to transport the driver to his destination, we see this material body as a vehicle which can be used to transport the driver ‘the soul’ to his ultimate destination: back home, back to Godhead. With this understand we can see that satisfaction of the body is not our goal, we simply need to maintain the body nicely so we can use it in the real mission of our life, advancing spiritually. If we spend all our time trying to satisfy the senses of our body we will waste all our time and energy in this way and become completely distracted from the real purpose of life which is to get out of this material world and get back home to the spiritual world where we will get an eternally youthful spiritual body full of knowledge and full of pleasure. Then we will really be happy.

Krishna teaches Arjuna, “Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both.”

Srila Prabhupada explains that there is no endurance of the changing body. That the body is changing every moment by the actions and reactions of the different cells is admitted by modern medical science; and thus growth and old age are taking place in the body. But the spirit soul exists permanently, remaining the same despite all changes of the body and the mind. That is the difference between matter and spirit. By nature, the body is ever changing, and the soul is eternal. This conclusion is established by all classes of seers of the truth, both im-personalist and personalist. In the Vishnu Purana (2.12.38) it is stated that Vishnu and His abodes all have self-illuminated spiritual existence (Jyotimshi Vishnur Bhuvanani Vishnuh). The words existent and nonexistent refer only to spirit and matter. That is the version of all seers of truth.

All Glories to Lord Krishna & All His Loving Devotees….. Hari Bol……

Courtesy: Bhagavad-Gita As It Is (by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ) , Srimad Bhagavad-Gita ( by A. Parthasarathy  & www.gitadaily.com ) Chapter 2 : Text 16, www.google.com, Wikipedia. www.krishna.com, www.krishna.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.glossary.com, http://beliefchangers.com/blog/tag/spiritual-endurance, http://familyshare.com/training-for-spiritual-endurance, www.vocabulary.com, http://www.krishna.com/are-we-body-or-soul

Listen to Heart: 50. Listen to Heart – Reel the Un-Real and Un-Reel...

Listen to Heart: 50. Listen to Heart – Reel the Un-Real and Un-Reel...: Hari Bol... 50. Listen to Heart – Reel the Un-Real and Un-Reel the Real …. I remember we all (my sisters and myself) had come on a s...

50. Listen to Heart – Reel the Un-Real and Un-Reel the Real ….

Hari Bol...

50. Listen to Heart – Reel the Un-Real and Un-Reel the Real ….

I remember we all (my sisters and myself) had come on a summer vacation from school (Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya and Scindia School, Gwalior) to our village ‘Muraura’, which is located (approx. 3 kms from the Bihar Sharif Railway Station) close to Bihar Sharif in the district of Nalanda in Bihar. You must have started thinking about Nalanda which we all have studied in history. Yes, it is the same ancient Nalanda which was famous as Nalanda University once upon a time, which was the biggest university in the world. It is approx. 90 kms from Patna.

Scindia School, Gwalior

We all planned to go for a movie. We took permission from our parents. We were glad and excited. We went to watch the movie and came back. We were in happy mood. We were enjoying our vacation. In the evening when we came back we were called by ‘Bhikhari Baba’ who is to serve my Grandfather. In fact my father played in his lap during his childhood and obviously we all brother and sisters also. He used to love us a lot like his own grandchildren. He even used to scold us when we made mischief. By writing this article I would like to take this opportunity to pay my regards to him wherever he is and ask him for his blessings once again. He questioned us, “Where did you all go?” We informed him that we had gone for a movie. He asked us if we took permission and we again inform him that we were permitted by Ma. He again asked, “Why did you go to watch a movie?” We answered, “For recreation purpose”. “Why movie?” he questioned again. We were puzzled but not much scared because he loved us from core of his heart. He was intelligent. He understood that we were confused. He made all of us sit and made us relax first. He said if you want to go for recreation then go for Circus. We all laughed and said a big “No”. He made us understand that in circus the artist play their role in front of the audience where as in a movie artist paly their role in absence of the audience. In movie everything is recorded and then played in the cinema hall. Before the final is shown there are many corrections made. It is the recorded and reels are prepared which are played in the cinema hall. So the mistakes are hidden. It is role of technology (camera and cameraman). In circus everything is in front of our eyes. The stuntman jumps with all the risks. The ring-man plays with tiger, lion, elephant and other animals in front of the audience. So in circus all the acts are performed in front of our eyes and in cinema all the acts are performed at the back of our eye. “Should we not praise the artist of the circus more than artist of cinema?” he asked and we all were convinced and said a big “Yes”. We immediately request him to take us to show a circus one day. It was so kind of him that he took all of us. He even used to ask people to go and watch Kushati. The reason was almost the same that it was in front of our eyes and one works very hard to maintain himself.  I still remember those incidences of my childhood. We need to decide which is ‘Real’? Which is ‘Un-Real’? For that moment obviously the movie was ‘Un-Real’ as it was in ‘Reel’ and Circus was ‘Real’.

Radhe-Krishna Mandir at Muraura, Bihar Sharif, Nalanda, Bihar

We all dream during our sleep. We sometimes observe that a person suddenly wakes then he realizes that it was a dream. We even observe that a child laughs or cries during his sleep. People say that he is dreaming. Some people even say that he is remembering some incidences of his past life which is giving him joy or sorrow. The dream is supposed to be not real rather it is treated as un-real. Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood. The scientific study of dreams is called ‘Oneirology’. Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep - when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. REM sleep is revealed by continuous movements of the eyes during sleep. At times, dreams may occur during other stages of sleep. However, these dreams tend to be much less vivid or memorable. The length of a dream can vary; they may last for a few seconds, or approximately 20–30 minutes. People are more likely to remember the dream if they are awakened during the REM phase. The average person has three to five dreams per night, but some may have up to seven dreams in one night. The dreams tend to last longer as the night progresses. During a full eight hour night sleep, most dreams occur in the typical two hours of REM. In modern times, dreams have been seen as a connection to the unconscious mind. Dreams can have varying natures, such as frightening, exciting, magical, melancholic, adventurous, or sexual. The events in dreams are generally outside the control of the dreamer, with the exception of lucid dreaming, where the dreamer is self-aware. Dreams can at times make a creative thought occur to the person or give a sense of inspiration. Some people also believe that dreams are direct messages from one and / or multiple deities, from deceased persons, and that they predicted the future. A world in the dream state (svapam) is experienced with as much reality as the one seen in the waking state (jagrat). Upon waking we realize that world never existed as a reality, but was simply imagined within our consciousness. Before a dream, the subject (dreamer) exists. During a dream, the subject exists. After a dream, the subject alone exists. The dream is full of movement, and hence is unreal (only imagined). The dreamer never moves, and hence is real (genuinely exists).

A day-dream is a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake. There are many different types of daydreams. While day-dreaming has long been derided as a lazy, non-productive pastime, it is now commonly acknowledged that day-dreaming can be constructive in some contexts. There are numerous examples of people in creative or artistic careers, such as composers, novelists and filmmakers, developing new ideas through day-dreaming. Similarly, research scientists, mathematicians and physicists have developed new ideas by day-dreaming about their subject areas.  In fact it is said that a person should dream but his dream should not be for dreaming only. We should do our karma with right intention to on the path of achieving the dream. Dreaming is not bad; it is the attitude of ours, towards the dream makes it good or bad.

We agree that movie is unreal as it is recorded and edited in reel. Once we come out of the hall everything has changed. The thoughts and the scenes of the movie have been replaced by worldly life activities. We have learnt that dream is also unreal and not real. The dream phases out and is replaced once we are awake. So this phase is also in continuously changing. Now if movie is unreal and dream is also unreal then we need to understand the word ‘Real’. A question comes to my mind if this life which we are living for and living in is real? This life in which we are living is also replaced when we were watching moving and when we’re dreaming. It is difficult or impossible to be in both states at the same time. If this life is also replaceable then I would say that this life is also changing continuously and if we agree to it then how can the changing be real then I would put is this life is also ‘Un-real’. As we grow there are changes in our body then this body is also unreal. We are tagged with different names and designation so this also changes; so our name which is supposed to be our identity is also unreal. Then what is ‘Real’?

When we have always been in darkness, we cannot know the meaning of light. Due to some reason if we move towards light then we become enlightened by our own experiences. We live in unreal so we will never come to know real until we experience Reality. In unreal we take everything at face value. We have no awareness beyond our physical senses. We need to control the emotions and be calm as a calm and even mind is like a line drawn on water.

Krishna made Arjuna realize regarding Real and Unreal. Krishna said to Arjuna, “The unreal has no existence, the real never ceases to be, the truth about both these indeed has been seen by seers of truth”.

We can say that ‘Sat’ means ‘Real’ and ‘Asat’ means ‘Un-real’. Real exist forever and un-real has no existence. That which never changes is real. That which changes is unreal. Appearance is unreal as it is in constant change. Consciousness is considered real, since it never changes. That which has a birth (beginning), must have a death (end), and being impermanent is unreal. That which has no birth (beginning) can have no death (end), and being permanent is real. A wave arises and falls (has a beginning and an end), and hence is unreal. The ocean (unaffected by the rise and fall of waves) remains the same, and hence is real. Consciousness (which alone exists) being immaterial never creates anything, for there is no material to create anything. And consciousness being non-spatial never goes anywhere, for there is no space to enable any movement. Since consciousness never creates nor moves, all experiences can only be imagined within it (and hence are unreal). Perception is not reality.  Just because something is perceived (through the senses and mind), does not mean it is real (genuinely exists). Maya (the world illusion) believes the real (consciousness) to be unreal, and the unreal (world appearance) to be real. In mystical circles the definition of what is ‘real’ is based only upon the concept of ‘change’. The body, mind and world appearance are subject to change, and hence cannot be real. The consciousness within which they appear never changes, and hence alone is real. Hence from the absolute viewpoint, anything that moves (whether a thought, emotion or object) cannot be real. So for balance in what never changes and freedom to play with what is imagined for play, be aware of the absolute truth. If it moves (changes), it is not real (being imagined for play). If it does not move (change), it is real (genuinely exists). We have discussed that change is the only constant in the article ‘Listen to Heart – Change is the only Constant….’ If we all agree to this then nothing is ‘Real’ in this world.

Reality is said to be that which existed in past, is existing in present i.e. now and will exist in future. It is present at all times and remains eternal unchanging. On the other had unreal is which never exist. With the understanding of a movie – dream – world, we learnt that while dreaming the dream world replaces the waking world. So this world is not real but as this world exists so it cannot be called unreal. The waking world exists till the time we are awake. We can conclude that the world that we experience in neither real nor unreal. It is basically ‘Maya, Mithya i.e. an Illusion’. Arjuna was confused and started living in illusion. He lost his ignorance. He could not differentiate between real and unreal. He was in grief. The wise who have gained the ultimate experience recognize the truth beyond this world. They do not identify with this illusory world. They are balanced in joy and sorrow, in pleasure and pain as they are very steady on their path of Karma.

All Glories to Lord Krishna & All His Loving Devotees….. Hari Bol……

Courtesy: Bhagavad-Gita As It Is (by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ) , Srimad Bhagavad-Gita ( by A. Parthasarathy  & www.gitadaily.com ) Chapter 2 : Text 16, www.google.com, Wikipedia. www.krishna.com, www.krishna.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.glossary.com, www.vocabulary.com, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream, http://www.theself.com/realvsunreal.cfm

Listen to Heart: 49. Listen to Heart – Don’t Allow the Distraction ...

Listen to Heart: 49. Listen to Heart – Don’t Allow the Distraction ...: Hari Bol... 49. Listen to Heart – Don’t Allow the Distraction to Distract…. The mind is very fiddle in nature. It is never stable. I...

49. Listen to Heart – Don’t Allow the Distraction to Distract….

Hari Bol...

49. Listen to Heart – Don’t Allow the Distraction to Distract….

The mind is very fiddle in nature. It is never stable. It keeps on changing its place. It keeps on moving with different thoughts. The thoughts move in positive and negative direction. We need to control it and keep it always in positive vibrations. We have discussed few ways to control but we all need to practice. It can never happen in overnight as a wish. We need to ensure that we are not distracted by the worldly nature. For this we need to focus on Real from our heart. A simple rule to not get distracted is to ‘Listen to Heart….’

A distraction is something that takes your attention away from what you're supposed to be doing. Our mind is generally in agitated state of mind. Sometime we even find that our mind is in extreme agitation also. This prevents from concentrating which leads to distraction of our mind. Distraction divides and distorts our attention. It is due to lack of ability to pay attention. It could be due to novelty or attractiveness of something other than the object of attention. It could be due to internal and external sources. Sometimes distraction can also be a pleasant. If you're worried about your soccer practice tomorrow, watching a mindless action flick may be a welcome distraction that helps you relax. Is it not relaxing? Has anyone ever told you, "You're driving me to distraction"? When you're driven to distraction, you're so agitated you feel like you're going crazy. The word Distraction comes from the Latin dis-, "apart," and trahere, "drag." So distraction is when you're dragged away from your task or from your worriesOne needs to take interest in the topic. This helps to be focused and helps us to avoid distraction. The thoughts will keep coming and try to distract from the main topic as the mind is always in thinking process and is always agitated. Let the thoughts come and go as waves. You be focused and to be focused we need to take interest. Arjuna had focused the eye of the fish and as a result he was only and only able to see eye of the fish and not even the fish as a whole. We need to be positive in thoughts. I would like share below difference and similarity in thoughts and is up to us to decide if it is co-incidence in our life.

·        CHURCH has 6 letters so does MOSQUE and TEMPLE.

·        BIBLE has 5 letters so does QURAN and GEETA.

·        LIFE has 4 letters so does DEAD.

·        HATE has 4 letters, so does LOVE.

·        ENEMIES have 7, so does FRIENDS.

·        LYING has 5, so does TRUTH.

·        HURT has 4, so does HEAL.

·        BELOW have 5, so does ABOVE.

·        CRY has 3 letters so does JOY.

·        ANGER has 5 so does HAPPY.

·        RIGHT has 5 so does WRONG.

·        RICH has 4 so does POOR.

·        KNOWLEDGE has 9 so does IGNORANCE.

·        FAIL has 4 so does PASS.

·        NEGATIVE has 8, so does POSITIVE.

·        FAILURE has 7, so does SUCCESS.

I would like to remind all of you when the mobile phones were a pride for few and dream for others. Everyone could not afford to use a mobile. A person carrying or using a mobile phone was to be considered in the elite group of the society. Using a mobile was a symbol of a man rich financially. I would like to remind you all of a slogan “Kar Lo Duniya Mutthi Mein”. Yes, your thought is right; it reminds of a great person Late Dhiru Bhai Ambani. His target was to see a mobile set in everyones’ hand in our country. He was continuously working towards it. He used to believe that eaning money from business was not the only aim. Now I request you all to find a person who is not using a mobile set. It is really tough to find. He could do that as he did not allow any distraction to come on his way. Let us pay our tribute to the great leader Late Dhiru Bhai Ambani.

I would like to share some parts of life of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. His focus was to spread the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita and work for Krishna Consciousness.  This shows and teaches us to be focused and avoid distraction to distract us. The article is from ‘Biography of Srila Prabhupada’.

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was born in 1896 in Calcutta, India. He first met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, in Calcutta in 1922.Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, a prominent devotional scholar and the founder of sixty-four branches of Gaudiya Mathas (Vedic institutes), liked this educated young man and convinced him to dedicate his life to teaching Vedic knowledge in the Western world. Srila Prabhupada became his student, and eleven years later (1933) at Allahabad, he became his formally initiated disciple. At their first meeting, in 1922, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura requested Srila Prabhupada to broadcast Vedic knowledge through the English language. In the years that followed, Srila Prabhupada wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad-gita and in 1944, without assistance, started an English fortnightly magazine.

Recognizing Srila Prabhupada's philosophical learning and devotion, the Gaudiya Vaisnava Society honored him in 1947 with the title "Bhaktivedanta." In 1950, at the age of fifty-four, Srila Prabhupada retired from married life, and four years later he adopted the vanaprastha (retired) order to devote more time to his studies and writing. Srila Prabhupada traveled to the holy city of Vrndavana, where he lived in very humble circumstances in the historic medieval temple of Radha-Damodara. There he engaged for several years in deep study and writing. He accepted the renounced order of life (sannyasa) in 1959. At Radha-Damodara, Srila Prabhupada began work on his life's masterpiece: a multivolume translation and commentary on the 18,000-verse Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana). He also wrote Easy Journey to Other Planets. After publishing three volumes of Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada came to the United States, in 1965, to fulfill the mission of his spiritual master. Since that time, His Divine Grace has written over sixty volumes of authoritative translations, commentaries and summary studies of the philosophical and religious classics of India.

In 1965, when he first arrived by freighter in New York City, Srila Prabhupada was practically penniless. It was after almost a year of great difficulty that he established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in July of 1966. Under his careful guidance, the Society has grew within a decade to a worldwide confederation of almost one hundred asramas, schools, temples, institutes and farm communities. In 1968, Srila Prabhupada created New Vrndavana, an experimental Vedic community in the hills of West Virginia. Inspired by the success of New Vrndavana, then a thriving farm community of more than one thousand acres, his students founded several similar communities in the United States and abroad. In 1972, His Divine Grace introduced the Vedic system of primary and secondary education in the West by founding the Gurukula School in Dallas, Texas. The school began with three children in 1972, and by the beginning of 1975 the enrollment had grown to one hundred fifty.

Srila Prabhupada also inspired the construction of a large international center at Sridhama Mayapur in West Bengal, India, which is also the site for a planned Institute of Vedic Studies. A similar project is the magnificent Krsna-Balarama Temple and International Guest House in Vrndavana, India. These are centers where Westerners can live to gain firsthand experience of Vedic culture. Srila Prabhupada's most significant contribution, however, is his books. Highly respected by the academic community for their authoritativeness, depth and clarity, they are used as standard textbooks in numerous college courses. His writings have been translated into eleven languages. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, established in 1972 exclusively to publish the works of His Divine Grace, has thus become the world's largest publisher of books in the field of Indian religion and philosophy.

In the last ten years of his life, in spite of his advanced age, Srila Prabhupada circled the globe twelve times on lecture tours that have took him to six continents. In spite of such a vigorous schedule, Srila Prabhupada continued to write prolifically. His writings constitute a veritable library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture.

Srila Prabhupada left us a veritable library of Vedic philosophy and culture. Highly respected by scholars for their authority, depth, and clarity, his books are used at colleges and universities around the world.

In Ch-2: Text-15: Krishna says to Arjuna, “O best among men (Arjuna), the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation”.

In Ch-6: Text-26: Krishna says to Arjuna, “From wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the self”.

In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that he needs to learn to steady his mind if he wants to attain the state of yoga – union with God. Arjuna responds to this suggestion with despair, saying that it is impossible to control his restless mind. Krishna admits that it is very difficult to control the fickle mind, but he tells Arjuna that with daily practice and perseverance the mind will gradually become steady.  It is through regular and consistent practice that we achieve a steady mind. We need to ensure that we don’t allow the distraction to distract our mind. It can only be ensured if our mind, intellect and soul co-ordinates together. We need to focus on our Karma and all the Karmas should be dedicated to the Lord.

All Glories to Lord Krishna & All His Loving Devotees….. Hari Bol……

Courtesy: Bhagavad-Gita As It Is (by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ) , Srimad Bhagavad-Gita ( by A. Parthasarathy  & www.gitadaily.com ) Chapter  :2 Text 15 & Chapter  :6 Text 26, www.google.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconditional_love, www.krishna.com, www.krishna.org, en.wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distraction, http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/distraction, http://www.krishna.com/biography-srila-prabhupada

Listen to Heart: 48. Listen to Heart – Be Steady to Achieve Steadin...

Listen to Heart: 48. Listen to Heart – Be Steady to Achieve Steadin...: Hari Bol.... 48. Listen to Heart – Be Steady to Achieve Steadiness on the Path of Self-Realization… I would like to share a story ...

48. Listen to Heart – Be Steady to Achieve Steadiness on the Path of Self-Realization…

Hari Bol....

48. Listen to Heart – Be Steady to Achieve Steadiness on the Path of Self-Realization…

I would like to share a story of a Hare and a Tortoise which we all studied and heard during our childhood. This story comes to my mind whenever I hear or come across the word steady or steadiness.

Once, a hare was roaming near a lake in a forest. Suddenly he saw a tortoise and mocked at him saying - "Hurry up, you slow coach! Don't you find life very dull taking so long to cover a few yards? I could have run to the other side of the lake by now." The tortoise felt teased and dared the hare to a race. The race was to be through the wood to a fixed goal. The hare agreed laughingly. In a few minutes he was away and out of sight. "What a funny race it is!" he said to himself, "I am already half -way through. But it is too-too cold; why not have a nap in the warm sunshine?" The tortoise walked steadily on and on. In a short time, he passed by the sleeping hare. The hare slept far longer than he had intended. When he woke up at last, he looked around in surprise and said to himself," Not even a sigh of the poor tortoise anywhere so far; I had better trot along and finish the race." The hare ran to the goal. He was amazed to see all the animals cheering the tortoise that had arrived just a minute earlier. How ashamed he felt indeed!

We all know that the moral of the story is ‘Slow and steady wins the race’. I would put my view bit differently. It is not the speed i.e. fast-slow and high-low matters but what matters is steadiness towards the duty with target in mind. We should continuously perform our karma with right intention without thinking of the outcome and result. We as human beings starts focusing on the result and loose our focus from karma; as result always plays a vital role in our life. It is the attitude and mindset of a person. We have to be positive in our thoughts. We should have strong will to do our karma. We need to be steady in our persistence and trials. The steadiness is not only related to the speed. It is related to many more on which our life is dependent.

Steadiness means fixed in nature. Steadiness is stable in position and is in state of equilibrium. Even if something is moving it has to move evenly with uniform and at regular speed. Steadiness is free of any change or variations or fluctuations. Steadiness is not affected or interrupted due to any change in life, situation, emotions, feelings, habits, environment and climate and so on. Being steadiness is free from excitement and agitation in fact it takes the position of being calm. We can say a steady person does not falter rather he is always un-falter. Steadiness makes a person more reliable, responsible, and dependable and a balanced matured person. Steadiness is freedom from wavering or indecision; constancy of resolve or conduct. Steadiness is the quality of being steady or securely and immovably fixed in place and regular and unvarying and predictable. On the other hand unsteadiness is the quality of being unsteady--varying and unpredictable.

 

“If you want to achieve steadiness of mind, you should remain engaged constantly in your moment-to-moment duties with attention. The discipline this attention brings, makes opposing desires, thoughts and feelings powerless to affect your mind.” – Bhagavad Gita 18:45. The Bhagavad Gita, “The Song of the Lord” is the best known of all Indian scriptures. The Bhagavad Gita opens in a battlefield. The battlefield is perfect scenery, but the subject of the Gita is the war within, the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must undertake to live a life that is meaningful, fulfilling and worthwhile.

Steadiness is crucial in the spiritual life. We need to remain steady in our struggle. We need to be strong as we face the trials and tribulations that assault us in this world. We need to be firm. Sri Ramakrishna declared, “Unless the mind becomes steady there cannot be yoga i.e. union with God.” He compares the mind to the flame of a candle. “It is the wind of worldliness that always disturbs the mind. If that flame doesn’t move at all, then one is said to have attained yoga.” I would like to re-put the statement, “Mind is never a problem, it is the Mindset.”

We need to develop steadiness not only in regard to our fears and worries, we also need to be steady in the face of the reactions of others. We cannot let the thoughts and emotions of others affect how we feel ourselves. People will praise our actions one day, and then on another day, the same people will un-praise the deeds that we have done. There is nothing that we can do to change this except “Change yourself rather changing others….” it is the way of the world. Our steadiness needs to come from within. Spiritual steadiness, therefore, also means a steady faith. Our faith in God tends to be spasmodic and erratic. We are great believers if matters work out to our liking, but we quickly lose our faith when things start to go wrong. We need to cultivate a firm faith that remains steady no matter what our circumstances. We will develop this type of faith when we realize that the only one we can truly rely on is God who is our true and real friend, father, mother, brother, sister, teacher, guru and so on and in fact He is all for all of us. We need steadfast friends who will support us when we are weary of the struggle, who will strengthen us when we feel that we cannot go forward another step. True spiritual friends are a real blessing. They are a gift worth more than any object or experience. Spiritual friends will help us to be steady in heart and mind. They will aid us in being consistent in our devotion and learning. They will encourage us to learn and grow. They will stand on either side of us.

If we take example and try to learn from successful people we will find that everyone has something in common and one of them is ‘Steadiness’. They all have chosen their path according to their interest and ability. They all have moved on that particular path with right intentions to perform their Karma. One of the learning from Srila Prabhubadaji is that he was very steadily and continuously working for ‘Krishna-Consciousness’ and able to form ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) thus bringing different people from all parts of the world at the common platform of ISKCON.

I would like to share teachings as ‘Lecture on BG 5.17-25 - Los Angeles, February 8, 1969’ of  His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada  on Steadiness of mind is called ‘Sthira-Buddhi, or ‘Self-Intelligence’ below;

He is not joyful in achieving something, nor does he lament in losing anything which is related to this body. This steadiness of mind is called ‘Sthira-Buddhi’, or ‘Self-Intelligence’. The symptoms of the self-realized person are given herein. The first symptom is that he is not illusioned by the false identification of the body with his true self. He knows perfectly well that he is not this body, but is the fragmental portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is therefore not joyful in achieving something, nor does he lament in losing anything which is related to his body. This steadiness of mind is called ‘Sthira-Buddhi’, or ‘Self-Intelligence’. He is therefore never bewildered by mistaking the gross body for the soul, nor does he accept the body as permanent and disregard the existence of the soul. This knowledge elevates him to the station of knowing the complete science of the Absolute Truth, namely Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. He thus knows his constitutional position perfectly well, without falsely trying to become one with the Supreme in all respects. This is called ‘Brahman Realization’ or ‘Self-Realization’. Such steady consciousness is called ‘Krishna Consciousness’.

Just like the sunshine, the sun disk and the sun-god within the sun disk. They are the same thing, light. But there is difference of degrees. The light and temperature which you feel in the sunshine is different from the light and temperature in the sun disk. And the light or temperature in the sun disk is different from the light and temperature of the sun-god. But they are all light. Similarly, Absolute Truth is one, light, but there are degrees. If you become attached to impersonal Brahman, you simply enjoy the eternity feature of the Absolute Truth. If you simply try to understand the Super-soul by meditation, then you realize the eternity and knowledge aspect of the Absolute Truth. But if you realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then you realize eternity, knowledge, and bliss, three things, because without being connected with Krishna or the Supreme Personality of Godhead there is no possibility of enjoying transcendental bliss. In the impersonal Brahman you can remain there eternally. In Paramatma you can have knowledge but in Bhagavan you have eternity, knowledge and transcendental bliss.

Krishna says to Arjuna, “O best among men (Arjuna), the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation”. Anyone who is steady in his determination for the advanced stage of spiritual realization and can equally tolerate the onslaughts of distress and happiness is certainly a person eligible for liberation. Immortality means death-less and birth-less. It is the state of ‘Self-Realization’. Krishna address Arjuna as ‘Purusarsabha’ meaning ‘Bull among men’ Bull is sacred as per Hindu mythology as it lives with the principle of service and sacrifice. Arjuna also followed the same principle of service and sacrifice in life. Being one of the best people in mankind, he qualified to rise above the world of pleasure and pain and gain immortality for self.

All Glories to Lord Krishna & All His Loving Devotees….. Hari Bol……

Courtesy: Bhagavad-Gita As It Is (by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ) , Srimad Bhagavad-Gita ( by A. Parthasarathy  & www.gitadaily.com ) Chapter 2 : Text 15, www.google.com, Wikipedia. www.krishna.com, www.krishna.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.glossary.com, www.vocabulary.com, www.shortstoriesshort.com,www.kidsgen.com/moral_stories/hare_and_tortoise.htm,www.daatelyon.org/2011/10/steadiness, http://vaniquotes.org/wiki/Steadiness_of_mind_is_called_sthira-buddhi,_or_self-intelligence