Here for writing

This one week is the longest time I have went without updating this page since I started writing on Manah Sodhanam. No matter how hectic things become, I must have the discipline to sit and write. I now understand the importance of doing sadhana regularly. It takes a lot of conscious effort to make our thoughts stick to the Truth. And regular sadhana helps in pulling my straying mind back to the state of peace and calm. As I am typing these words out, I can feel the stress and heartburns and other work related pains flow out of my mind and body. Why didn't I do this at the end of every work day? It is so easy to get completely caught up in the process of day to day living. Also, while I theoretically try to remove expectations of the end result for the work I do, I couldn't help but feel really sad when all my efforts were dismissed as insignificant by the related parties. Whatever, all those are neither important, nor relevant. Let me move to verse 16 of Manah Sodhanam.

Past two days have been hectic. 14 hour work day left me with no time for anything else but to come home, eat, sleep, get up and go to work. In fact, I didn't expect to come home any sooner than 9 pm today also. So am doubly happy to sit and write this post today. Verse 15 little intense for me. It talks about perceptions and realities and truth. SATYABUDDHIRYADA  DRSYE  SVATMANO  BHINNATA  TATHA SUKHABUDDHISTADA  TASMIN  DUKHABUDDHIRHI VAA BHAVET When there exists a notion that the perceived world is different from me, then there alone arises the notion that the world gives me joy or sorrow. When I look at the tree, I say it is green and brown in colour. That is how I am perceiving the tree. But if I look through the eyes of the dog, then the tree is going to be in black and white. So what is the true nature of the tree here? All my observations and perceptions are completely based on how my mind interprets the inputs received from my senses. Similarly, Swami Tejo

From a dreaded Monday-after-a-long-weekend beginning, the day progressed into a successful one. The small success at work brought so much happiness, whereas, while I was struggling with the closing of this issue for the past 2 weeks, I was filled with dread, worry, fear, apprehension and frustration. I just wanted to get done with the issue. So while I was grinning like an idiot in the auto, while returning back to office from client's place, a sudden thought struck me. While the positive outcome, after so much hard work, made me feel elated, I am sure I would have felt very depressed if the outcome was negative. Absolute no brainer right? But then, life is full of such continuous oscillations between happiness and sadness -which again arises due to external factors, some of which are not even under our control. And I keep seeking happiness through the pursuit of various activities that I enjoy. And if we all are already beings of bliss, then so many of our activities l

I used to think that people who have realized the truth and who live with complete self awareness -or rather, with awareness of the "Self" - will all be like the great yogis and Godmen -having some special power in them. I had this very vague picture of a person full of divine aura, who is always calm and smiling, who knows how the future will unfold, who knows all the secrets that this world holds, who is free from all sorrows etc etc. Visually, I used to imagine a man with long white beard and flowing robes in white, his face the very expression of serenity. Then, last week, I saw the movie, "On A Quest", which is a biopic of Swami Chinmayananda. While I want to write a bit about the movie on a separate post, let me just say that this movie finally sealed the idea of what and how a life of self awareness through knowledge would actually be like. Knowing this is very important to me because, this is where or how or what I want to transform into -someo

Verse 12 speaks a bit about something that we all enjoy. Sleep. Whatever be the trouble or worries, no matter how unhappy I am, a good sleep provides temporary relief from the constant swirl of thoughts and emotions that possess me when I am up. And, a good sleep often puts things into perspective. What seemed like a mountain of insurmountable trouble, somehow becomes -if not a mole hill, at least a hillock after a refreshing sleep. Isn't this why people say that we have to sleep over our decision/trouble etc? ETE SARVEE HI DRSYANTE  CITTE  CALATI  JAGRATI PRALINAM  CA  YADA  CITTAM  NAITESAM  DRSYATE  GATIH                                                                                                                                                 All the impurities of the mind manifest only when the mind is working. When the mind is absorbed in sleep etc, then the effects of these impurities is not seen. My Guru says, we are in the state of one

As I was preparing to write this post, I suddenly realized that I no longer have to think too much about what I am going to write today. Also, I feel as if these lines are speaking to me more clearly now, than they were earlier. I used to keep overthinking the meaning of the verses and end up having a headache. But now, I am able to understand what the great master is trying to convey through the lines. I feel as if I have this nice buzz in my head...a small piece of calm that I can ease into, even when situations get overwhelming. This does not mean that I have become a better person or am now the personification of a calm mind. No! Even as recently as last Saturday, I had a minor breakdown on account of some silly issue. But the difference is, I am now able to identify the issue as a silly one and stop worrying/fretting/agonizing too much about it. Let me move on the verse no 11. RAGADVESADAYAH  KAMAH  KRODHALOBHADAYO'PI  CA AHAMKARASTATHA  SVARTHO  VIVIDHA  MANAS

We saw how Lord Krishna himself attests to the practice of inquiry here.  The 10th verse is like a promise that we make to ourselves to consciously practice self inquiry to remove the impurities of mind, like anger, fear, likes, dislikes etc. ETAD  BHAGAVATO  VAKYAN  SVATMASUDDHYAIKASIDDHAYE VICARYATE  MAYA  SAMYA  SRI  HARIRME  PRASIDATAM Through these lines, we promise to ourselves that " I undertake inquiry into the meaning of these words of Lord, for the sole purpose of gaining purity of mind. May Sri Hari be pleased with me and bless me." I am really amazed by this line. We are saying here that we will inquire into the meaning of the Lord's statement to the best of our ability. While we have already seen that we have to have full faith in the words of the Vedas and the teachings of our Guru,  here the text says that we have to inquire into it. Learning biology was something that I so enjoyed in school -especially botany. You know why? Because, we

I don't really remember the last time I came across a character, whom you don't really know whether to like or hate. Except maybe for some of James Hadley Chase's protagonists, for whom you feel sad even though you know what they did was wrong. But as far as Deputy Sargent Dennis Milne goes, I kept swinging between love and hate almost till the end of the book. And I bet that all through the book, you feel a tiny bit smug, because, seriously, no matter how much our work or life sucks, it is not as bad as Milne's is. Milne is a jaded and cynical London copper who is tired of having his hands tied by the law and being paid peanuts for doing one of the most thankless but necessary job of that of a copper. He sides with a shady businessman called Raymond Keene and does odd jobs for him here and there to earn some extra bucks on the side. When Keene sets him up to assassinate three people by telling Milne that they are nothing but drug dealers, Milne remorselessl

Verse 9 of the text IS from Bhagvat Gita. This verse further extolls the virtues of inquiry. It is as follows. NA  HI  JNANENA  SADRSAM  PAVITRAMIHA  VIDYATE BAHAVO  JNANATAPASA  PUTA  MADBHAVAMAGATAH Lord Krishna says, "There is nothing here as purifying as knowledge", and "Many individuals, purified by the penance of knowledge, have attained My Being." What other justification/ motivation/ support you need to get into the habit of self inquiry? I feel that this process is like consciously developing a habit. One of the biggest challenges for me is getting up in the morning. I can stay up for long in the night. But I just can't get up early in the morning. I feel so depressed and utterly murderous when I have to get out of bed during the weekdays. But once I get out of the bedroom and brush my teeth, my mood vastly improves. And I return to sanity by the time I finish my bath, washing away the last vestiges of sleep. Only because of this diffi

VICARAH  SADHANAM  SRESTHAM  VARNYATE'TRA  YATHAMATI MAHATTVAM  TASYA  VAI  PROKTAM  KRSNENA  SVAYAMEVA  HI After listing down the various means of purifying the mind here, in the 8th verse, Manah Sodhanam says that the best way to purify the mind is inquiry. Even Lord Krishna himself has spoken of its greatness. The basic desire to know about the truth started, atleast for me, due to curiosity. What is the purpose of our life? Isn't this something that we all want to know? Career, money, family, helping the society, excelling in whatever we choose, all these will give temporary satisfaction and a temporary sense of purpose. But obviously, there is a bigger scheme of things that is there -just beyond our grasp. Something that is shimmering out there -like a mirage in a desert, that just makes me want to go near and see if it is truly an oasis or again, just a mirage. How to figure out what is the purpose of our life? Ok, forget about the big picture. How do we f

After discussing so long about the need to purify our mind, verse 7 goes on to tell us how we can do this. For me, mind purification essentially means getting rid of all unwanted thoughts and let peace prevail in me. Unwanted thoughts include all sorts of rubbish like fear, worry, envy, anger and all other negative things that you can possible think of. After all, according to the Vedas and all the great Gurus, we are nothing but beings of bliss. So, working in reverse, to become a being of bliss, if I get rid of all that are "not bliss", then I can get a glimpse of my true state. Right? My Guru keeps saying "பற்றது பற்றி விட்டால் பற்றற்றது தானாக விட்டுவிடும்." So if I focus on the truth, all other distractions will automatically melt away. Verse 7 tells us how to actually get rid of all the distractions. It goes like this. MANASSUDDHIKARANIHA  SADHANANI  VADANTI  HA YAJNO  DANAM  TAPASCAIVA  JAPASTIRTHAM  VRATASTATHA The meaning is very simple. Grea