7. Listen to Heart - Learning by Unlearning has No Bar ….

Hari Bol......

7. Listen to Heart - Learning by Unlearning has No Bar ….

In the morning when we go out for work, it is an atmosphere where everyone is in hurry and keeps on moving in his / her own direction. We just wish each other a very good morning or hello and ask how are you and how do you do…..It is a positive vibration. We go all fresh.

A child goes to school. You may find parents with them who go to drop him till the bus stop or the school. We observe that the child talks to his mother on the way. He gets his last moment queries clear before he reaches.  He asks or tells his friend if any confusion is left in the mind. In school he gets more knowledge by his teacher. This cycle goes on and moves to college and to university and so on. In the process he clears the doubts. Even when one starts his professional career he is in the process of learning by being trainee. A student comes out of his college / university with some theoretical and bit practical knowledge. When he reaches to the work place he realizes that he is in the ocean. He starts interaction with his team mates may be his senior, counterparts or junior. A person with open mind keeps on going and keeps on learning day by day.

When a child goes to bed his mother, grandmother, tells him many good lessons in form of story. It is in this form he is able to remember easily for whole of his life. Parents will ask a teenager more about his activity of the whole day. They take more care during this age of his as it is a crucial time for him. This teaches us about our traditions. One should grow with tradition. I remember my grandfather used to ask me to wish everyone, whenever I meet. He taught to touch the elders’ feet and take blessings. Though I was young when my grandfather ( I used to call him Pitaji ) passed away but I still remember he used to tell that “ a man is a human being first and his first priority should be to attain humanity and then the desired professional qualification will automatically be achieved “.  This is one of the tag line which I try to take care. Do we require an official classroom to learn this, rather any place where you can learn is a classroom.

A child has inclination towards learning. One has to be childish in nature to keep his learning process always young. During learning he has to be fresh so he has to keep the process of unlearning in open mind. The mind has to be open and not blocked else if unlearning is not there then learning cannot take place. Learning is necessary part to keep updated. So there is no age bar for learning. An open mind person tries to learn from everyone he is in contact may be a male, female, young, old, any religion, any cast, any nationality, at any place (school, field, travelling, etc.), at any time, ….. A teacher and a student are not interested to have any bar during learning process as hindrance, rather they try to raise the bar of learning. The whole life is a learning process, whole world is an institution and everyone is a teacher. When Sachin Tendulkar joined the Indian Cricket team he was the youngest and when he retired he was the oldest. He could play for maximum number of years. It was due to his alertness and attitude towards learning new techniques by unlearning the older ones.

Arjuna asks Krishna to take his chariot in the middle of the battlefield. When he sees the opponent army he sees them not as soldiers with whom he has to fight but sees them as relatives. It was due to his emotions overwhelming. He refuses to fight. More than the actual battlefield which disturbed him was a battle which started in his mind was between emotions and reasons of battle. The blindness took over due to his emotions. Arjuna believed Krishna as his friend and guide. He surrendered himself to Krishna. Arjuna Said, “My Dear Krishna, Seeing my friends and relatives present before me in such a fighting spirit, I feel the limbs of my body quivering and my mouth drying up.” Krishna then gave him lessons to lift him out of external and internal battlefield. Krishna took the role of a teacher and made the battlefield (Kurukshetra) as an institution and Arjuna as his student. Krishna is available at any time and at any place for whole of our life as a teacher, guide, friend, parents, and child. He abodes in our Heart. We need to Listen to Heart.

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 1 : Text 28

8. Listen to Heart - Supreme Assistant…….

Hari Bol...

8. Listen to Heart - Supreme Assistant…….

I was studying BE. My friend had joined NDA at Khadakwasala. We used meet on Sundays at Pune. He was continuously asking me to visit NDA. I planned for coming Sunday. I was excited and got up early on Sunday morning. I reached swargate (bus stop) and took a bus to NDA. The bus was of PMT. It was not a direct bus so it had to stop on the prescribed stoppages. I could find my friend at bus stop where I had to get down. “Waaahoooo……. What a big and fantastic campus” I automatically told my friend. He took me to several places inside the campus. I could find the life very disciplined. All these cadets are supposed to be the future of our country. The country would in their safe hands. So their training helps them to improve their alertness by physical and mental exercise.

I was walking back to the bus stop. It was evening. The darkness started covering. The street lights were switched on. The vehicles started moving with the headlights on. My friend was saluting all the vehicles (four and two wheelers). I could find some cadets were on front rolls on the way. I was wondering. I decided to ask him about this behavior of his. I asked him, “what is the rule for salute and why do you salute”. He answered in a very simple way, “You need to salute all your seniors and this way you pay respect”. I told him “you are saluting all, are all senior to you”. He said, “In this darkness I do not know who is passerby. I cannot take a risk of missing a single senior also. I am giving benefit of doubt to juniors also by saluting them. If I miss one also I would also be on the front roll. I don’t find anything wrong in paying respect to juniors also. They would also feel happy that my senior has saluted me. So I am not hurting in fact I am respecting all as human beings”. It was a great thought. I said, “Now I salute you for this gesture and nice lesson which you have given me on the pavement. You made his pavement also a classroom”. We then laughed…..This walk of mine is unforgettable. I was wondering on the way back to Pune that I was in darkness internally and externally (which had covered all of us) but my friend was in darkness only externally but internally he had found light and was surrounded by positive energy.

I happened to meet my friend a year before in Delhi in person. He is Colonel. I saluted him for the great thought which I still carry. We were having dinner together at his place. We introduced our wives & then we were busy remembering our school days. We talked about the present. He shared another experience with me. He said he was on an important expedition few months before. He said “I cannot share the details of the expedition as I am committed but will share an incidence”. I respected his concerns and decided not to enquire much. He went to take the charge of the group which was given to him for the expedition. The second in command saluted him and briefed him about the battalion. He introduced himself and conveyed the plan and asked them to be at ease with alertness and wait for next order. He went to his room. The room was knocked. A junior of his wanted to meet him. He called him inside. The junior wished him. The junior then asked him to recognize him. After a long exercise of the brain he could recognize him and my friend saluted him in return with great respect and pride. This junior of my friend was an instructor of his in laboratory at NDA during his training. My friend was full of emotions. His instructor said now I love to see my student leading the expedition. Let me see and learn from your leadership. My friend emotionally said to his instructor that “I cannot pass any order to you as you are my guru. Now you are assisting me. I do not know what to do sir. I am nervous. The instructor again taught him to do his duty (Karma) and as per duty the instructor (college teacher / guide) was supposed to assist him and asked my friend to move on to achieve the target of the expedition. The confidence of my friend increased and they were successful in completion of the expedition. This was a real scene of Mahabharatha where Krishna asks Arjuna to perform his duty.

In Mahabharatha, Pandavas chose Krishna on their side. Krishna took the role of a charioteer. Arjuna was his friend and Krishna apart from his friend he was also the Master and Guide of Arjuna. Krishna is not sitting on high moral cloud and passing judgment on humanity but accepted the role to assist Arjuna who represented humanity.

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 1 : Text 14

6. Listen to Heart - Alertness can be improved by being Alert ……

Hari Bol....

6. Listen to Heart - Alertness can be improved by being Alert ……

 

 

Alertness is viewed in different ways by different persons depending upon his / her requirement in concerned field of work and interest. In a simple way we can say that alertness is quick to notice any unusual. To be alert we need to be attentive, watchful, observant, responsive, etc. Alertness is required by an IPS officer, an IAS officer, a Doctor, an Engineer, a Teacher, a Lawyer, a Soldier, a Judge, Parents, a Brahmin, a Yogi, by everyone. To achieve this we need to be disciplined. We need to nurture ourselves. We need to be Positive. We should be in Positive atmosphere surrounded by Positive Vibration. Everyone has its own way to make it happen.

 

 

I was going through an article - How to Increase Alertness (Edited by DifuWu, Lily A, Girly99, Mummymunt) which I would like to share.

 

 

·         Get enough sleep at night. We all know it's important, but many of us don't know just how important. Sleep is the most important factor in increasing alertness, according to University of Florida psychology professor Ira Fischler. Although the amount each person requires varies, The National Sleep Foundation suggests 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 hours for teenagers and 7 to 9 hours for adults.

·         Stimulate your mind by crossword puzzles, creative writing, word jumbles, etc. If an activity stimulates your brain activity, you can increase your alertness to perform any task better.

·         Avoid heavy meals, increase protein and vitamin intake and decrease carbohydrate intake, etc.

·         Take a power nap to recharge (15-30 min).

·         Coffee (or other sources of caffeine)- do not exceed 8 oz. a day

·         Smell strong oils (Cinnamon), it really helps to open up the mind.

·         Wash your face with cold water every 1-2 hours.

·         Walk a bit every half an hour for about 1-2 min... Avoid staying stationary for too long.

 

There could be other means also e.g.;

 

·         Perform physical exercise in Gymnasium

·         Practice Yoga

·         Practice concentration

·         Take fresh Oxygen

·         Do chanting

·         Avoid negative people company

·         Think Positive about yourself & about others

·         Keep on practicing good practices to improve.

·         Attitude to do

·         Do your duty (Karma) honestly

·         Practice detachment

·         Believe in & respect your Guide or Master

And many more…….

 

 

 

We need to improve Alertness for performing any activity. We mean improving alertness in all ways. We need to control our sense organs. We need to practice detachment. Arjuna asks Krishna to place the chariot in the middle. He wanted to see all against whom he had to fight. This would help him to be more alert as this is one of the characteristic of any soldier. In this verse, Arjuna is referred as Gudakesa which means a person who conquers sleep. Here sleep does not mean only physical sleep. It even means darkness of life and ignorance. As Krishna was his friend and he was a great devotee of Krishna (his Master / Guide) he always remembered Krishna. Arjuna remembered him even in his sleep, while walking and during his all activities. He thought of his qualities which he tried to practice and remembered his pastimes. By doing this any Krishna devotee can conquer sleep and ignorance. One of simplest way is to practice Chanting.

 

 

 

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 1 : Text 24

5. Listen to Heart - Believe Trust, Prevent Rust ………..

Hari Bol....

5. Listen to Heart - Believe Trust, Prevent Rust ………..

 

 

Trust is firm belief in the reliability and truth or ability of someone or something. It leads to confidence. You Trust a person because you believe him. Trust is free from suspicion or doubt. It emphases on certainty and assurance, it is ‘conviction’. This leads to reliability & thus faith. We all believe in the Supreme Power & thus have faith in him (Lord). Trust is the foundation of Mutual Trust & Respect.

 

 

Marriage is a big and important event in every family and so was in my friend’s home when his brother’s marriage was finalized. The atmosphere started changing. A positive vibration with excitement started. The works of the marriage preparation was decided. We could observe people coming and going now and then. It was a happy going atmosphere. The elders planned all events and distributed responsibilities after several round of discussions. During those discussions certain changes were also made. The responsibility was decided based on the individual ability which was required for that particular activity. This is Trust. Various functions were organized. You could participate in sangeet samelan (Music & Dance), Mehandi (Henna) decorations, leg-pulling, jokes, etc. The final day of Barat came. An open car was decorated so that everyone could have a look at bride. In all this happy moments my friend’s mother called his son. She made him to sit next to her. Slowly he kept his head in his mother’s lap. He told his mother that I would like to talk to you and reply to this she said “I know beta something is troubling you, so speak out“. His mother got a shock after hearing him. He told her that he is committed to someone else and he cannot say “No now”. She was shocked to listen this. The whole atmosphere became quiet and did not know what would be the next course of action. She conveyed this to the father of the boy & her father in-law. The whole atmosphere changed within a minute. There was silent in the whole house. The positive vibration got disturbed. It was a tense situation.

 

 

Let us now see what Trust is. The boy is committed; it means he Trusts his girlfriend and the Girl Trust her boyfriend. The two families had trusted each other which were leading to family tie up. We all will agree that relationship is always built on Trust. Now if the marriage takes place between the two lovers then the Trust builds between them but the two families’ relationship starts getting rusted. If the marriage continues then the Trust is built within two families but the Trust gets not their between the two lovers. As a normal human being we will start finding who is to be blamed and tag him or her. It is up to you all to decide and find a solution. But this is a situation which is increasing in our country. Is it taking us in Positive direction? Is it taking us in Negative direction?

 

 

Duryodhana was full of negative thoughts and ideas. Duryodhana had committed to Pandavas that he would return the Kingdom which they lost in Poker but for that Pandavas had to stay exile for thirteen years. Pandavas trusted Duryodhana and agreed to his terms. The Kingdom was under Duryodhana’s control. The terms were agreed only on Trust. But after the said tenure was over Duryodhana refused to stick to his terms. This lead to mistrust and the relationship got rusted which resulted in Mahabharatha.

 

 

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 1 : Text 23

4. Listen to Heart - Over Confidence Leads to Lack of Confidence ……..

Hari Bol.....

4. Listen to Heart - Over Confidence Leads to Lack of Confidence ……..

 

 

In my school we had lots of extra-curricular activities. As a student I also enjoyed sports. We had lots of matches & competitions.  The season was of soccer. A friend of mine came very excitedly that a match has been decided with Marigold House. Immediately the group assembled at a place. We knew that Marigold House was better than our Lavender House. They had better players. In fact it is tough for their captain to decide the first 11 players. It means his extra players are also better than our playing 11. We were discussing among ourselves that we should refuse for the match. The message went to House Master who was himself a good soccer player & was Coach for the school team also. We call were called & were asked to take up the challenge. He asked us to finalize the date. It was decided to be played on 27^th July. Today was 3^rd July. He started guiding us. We were working out. The practice started every day with some extra time & the extra tips. We analyzed the opponent strength & weakness and started acting on ourselves to their weakness as our strength. The coach decided the strategy. On the other hand Marigold House was confident that they had a better team which would no doughtily lead them to success. The final date was getting closer & our anxiety was on upward trend. Finally on the great day of 27^th July the field was packed. The house flags were flying. A big crowd gathered including the students from other houses also. The team of Lavender House entered in line after taking the blessing from their Guru but the team members of Marigold entered from different locations. 2 Players of Marigold House were not in football boot. The teams arrayed in the field. The teams were formally introduced to the chief guest. There was a sound “Buck up Marigold” and to that was a reply “Buck up Lavender”. The sound of Buck up Marigold House was full of over confidence and it was not a sound of team togetherness on the other hand the other team cheering was full of confidence as a team. The team decided to follow the coach guidance. Finally the match referee blew the whistle. The kick was taken by Marigold house. The Center Forward (CF) passed the ball to right-in & then to Center Half (CH). He took the ball single handedly & managed to reach near the goal post. The game was going on and the first goal was shot by Lavender House in the 18^th minute of the game. The game became tense. Whistle blew for half time. Our coach told us to continue to cover the key opponent players and play the way we were playing i.e. by passing ball and moving ahead as team. The second half started. The opponent players were getting annoyed & were losing patience due to which they were irritated. They were continuing making the same mistake of not playing by passing ball and moving ahead as team. They were playing individual game with over confidence. Due to anger & fear of losing they were not able to control themselves and continued to make same mistakes. Finally the match was over.

 

 

Both team played well & the match was interesting. Everyone enjoyed watching the match. No one expected the Lavender house to play so well. But the team followed almost all what was told by the coach with strong belief & confidence. I still remember the words of our coach – “Enjoy the Game.  Do your Best (Karma) & play as a Team”. Really hats off to the coach. On the other hand they were over-confident, less disciplined, full of ego (all negative vibrations surrounded them). The Lavender House followed the coach & they believed the Master.

 

 

Duryodhana had many great warriors. Bhishma was with Kauravas. Bhishma was referred as Grandsire. He was respected by both Pandavas & Kauravas. Duryodhna was in fear so he needed the support of Bhishma. Duryodhana due his materialistic mind he chose Krishna’s formidable armed forces. He knew his force was full of strength but lacked strength & conviction to face the Pandavas as Pandavas had chosen non-combatant Krishna on their side. The world is pointless without Krishna not that Krishna is pointless without the world as positive vibration is always with Krishna. Bhishma observed the fear in Duryodhana & to cheer him he blew his Conch with great force. In reply to the conches were blown by Krishna & Pandavas. The sound of conches of Pandavas was deep. It gave a signal of threat to Kauravas. Sanjay warned Dhritrashtra about the steps taken by him & Duryaodhana due to their deep blindness. Due to Dhritrashtra & Duryaodhana over confidence of winning they lacked confident due to which Duryadhana was in fear & his senses & intellect was not acting in positive, due to which they could not recognize that Krishna was with Pandavas. The power of supreme was not considered. They forgot that the Powerful was with Pandavas. Arjuna requested Krishna to place the chariot in the middle to observe them with whom he had to fight.

 

 

 

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 1 : Text 12 - 22

3. Listen to Heart - Knowing Myself by Knowing Others…….

3. Listen to Heart - Knowing Myself by Knowing Others…….

 

We all are interested in enquiring about others. I do not want to discuss if it is Right or Wrong. But let us find - Why do we do so? When do we do so? ……..

 

We all do so every now & then. In our friend circle we generally enquire about others. We ask how he is placed in Life. We start comparing me with him. We find result in both directions. Some of my friends are placed much better in life than me & in some cases I find myself better. A person has two way of looking at it. In the second case he is happy which leads to no fear & some of you might say it leads to complacency. But it may also give a new challenge to set his new bar to maintain his headiness. In the first case, one gets disturbed. He starts thinking what he should do to improve. He starts thinking where did he lack and what is required to be done by him cover up & move ahead.

 

Let us take an example of students’ life. In any class you will find having competition among the students. The more of competition pertains for top order position. Each one of those tries to find the weakness of others so that he / she can keep himself / herself ahead. A student may be good in math but may be weak in biology as compared to his competitor.  His strategy would be to score more in math to be ahead. Some might be good in Physics but weak in Math; his strategy would be to score more in Physics to keep ahead. Even the strategy could be allocating more time to the subject in which he is weak. He would practice more to sharpen his knowledge. So a student weighs himself by weighing his classmates and thus plans his further course of action.

 

This reminds of a movie – Border, which I think we all have seen and if not we should find time to watch it. It is movie directed by J.P. Dutta Saheb. We all Indians should watch and thank the entire team for an excellent movie. It was full of entertainment and messages to be learnt and practiced. It is based on war between India and Pakistan. The Indian army had less battalion than Pakistan. Major Kuldeep Singh was leading from Indian side. He demanded for more battalions but the war was declared. In the movie a scene is there that Major starts moving towards Line of Control (LOC) with Confidence. His subordinates ask him to be back but he continues and makes everyone astonished. All were discussing what the Major was trying to do. He then stands and starts challenging the opponent loudly and he returns confidently. By doing this he was just trying to test the confidence of the opponent. Now the war starts and the result was that India won. By this we learn that Major judged the opponent thus judged his army.

 

 

Duryodhna wanted to know about his & Pandavas’ army. Duryodhana ask Drona (his teacher) to tell about his army. He wanted to know his battalion. Drona told him about all his great warriors like Bhishma, Karna, etc . He even enquired about Pandavas’ army. On the other hand Arjuna asked Krishna to take the chariot in the middle of the battlefield. He also wanted to know the strength of his army & see against whom he had to fight. Duryodhna & Arjuna both enquired about his & about the opponent army. They both had great warriors like Yuyudhana, Viraoa, Drupada, Dhanoaketu, Cekitana, Kaciraja, Puruji, Kuntibhoja, Caibya, Uttamuja, Sons of Draupade,Kapa, Acvatthama, Vikarea, sons of Somadatta called Bhuricrava, many more. By this they came to know about their strength and weakness and about the strength & weakness of opposite army thus by knowing them better by knowing the other.

 

 

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 1 : Text 4 - 11

2. Listen to Heart - Blind Fear ……………………………

2. Listen to Heart - Blind Fear ……………………………

 

In continuation to my thought about Blindness. Once a person achieves Blindness he is not able to see the difference between the Right & Wrong. This brings the Negative energy around him. His thoughts are Negative. He is surrounded by Negative Vibration. This leads to even Fear. Fear of not “ not Winning “ but Fear “ to Loose “.

 

26^th Nov 2008. Does this remind you of anything? 26/11 – I am sure this cannot be forgotten by anyone specially a True Indian. This was the Black Day for all Indians. There was hue & cry. You could just hear sound of bullet shots & Cry. This was the biggest attack on India. Taj Hotel ( Pride of India ) was on fire. People were shot in the hospital where one gets nursing. Passengers were shot at the CST railway station which turned their journey to be the last which was finally to heaven. Everyone was continuously attached to the TV screens. Teams were sent from Delhi. It was a true Indian team ( Positive Energy ) fighting against the Negative Energy. They were successful in killing all & even caught one of them alive. Finally salute to the entire Soldiers who laid their lives for us and also to those due to whom we are living freely and above all standing ovation to the parents of these soldiers. You must be wondering why am I talking about 26/11. It is just because we should never forget it  in our life time. This will remind us of our strength which will help us to strengthen ourselves further.

 

These terrorists were full of arms & ammunitions. They were fully working as per their plan which was not known to others. But they were scared of the people. They were shooting - hiding & shooting – hiding, shooting – hiding,  …………. On the other hand the commandos were trying to get closer to the terrorists without knowing much about them & their plan. It was because the terrorists were blind by heart i.e. the soul was getting impure due to which they were in fear whereas the heroes were performing their duty ( Karma ) with Pride with no fear & confidence to Win.

 

Negative forces are always in Fear. It is a negative thought but they are not able to realize as they have lost the power of differentiating between the Good & Bad. Generally all the terrorists keep cyanide as they are in fear of being caught.

 

Let us try to understand how Fear was there due Blindness because of Negative vibration in case of Duryodhana. Kauravas’ army was stonger than Pandu. Kauravas army was full of great warriors. Infact Kaurava had Karna for Arjuna. Drona was also with Kaurava who was the teacher of Karna & Arjuna. Kauravas had Duryodhana for Bhima. There were many other great warriors like Bhishma. Kauravas had Eleven Aksauhinis ( Battalions ) as compared to Seven battalions of Pandu. But Duryodhna refers great / mighty army to opposite army i.e. Pandus’ army ( Mahatim ).  It was because of Fear due to Blindness achieved by Duryodhna as he was continuously doing wrong things. He stopped listening to his Heart ( Pure Soul ). Due to this Fear due to Blindness he was not able to listen to his inner conscious.

 

 

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 1 : Text 2 & 3