Connect with a smile of contentment (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. I read one article about a how to connect a smile of contentment. Every time we smile the people around us always smile. When all smile our life becomes easy whatever we do. I want to share you the article I read.

Her smile beckons me; it is captivating, friendly and full of warmth. She cuts the paddy stalks rhythmically with the other womenfolk laboring under the harsh afternoon sun.

They giggle as I wave out to them and ask if I can join them in their work. The woman with the warm smile shyly points out that such hard work is not for the likes of me. The rest start laughing. I too join in the laughter, in response to the simple truth of my inability to swiftly cut paddy stalks with the sun burning my back. There’s so much hard work, harsh circumstances, and little leisure in this remote tribal hamlet. Later she speaks to me about her life cheerfully with no trace of the grim circumstances that engulf her. She connects with a smile of contentment. Happy responses to life’s travails are confounding. Is this a mindset that has decided to quietly accept what life has to offer as one’s destiny or a smiling ‘dare you’ to challenging circumstances? Surely it is the latter. In each one of us is the innate desire to connect to our circumstances, share moments from our life with another and brave it out. That is the inner core from where each one of us draws energy to live life through hard times. A smile reflects what’s inside us and communicates our desire to experience connectedness with another. Smiling at another is a fleeting moment, but sublime nevertheless. Contentment is a natural outcome of engaging in such moments. Leading a meager existence is not very appealing. Despite that, with few resources to indulge in materialistic extravagances, there is a simple understanding among these people on the endless bounty of connecting to others and finding contentment.

61st Republican Day

Wishing All A

61st Republican Day

To My Countrymen

Wake up and keep moving (2 of 2)

Our ancients believed that ecology and enlightenment are inseparable. If we do not remember who we are and what our place is in the web of life, it is time to take stock. The crisis may be an evolutionary catalyst in the push towards a higher level – Self-realization.

That being so, we must reconsider the way we see ourselves vis-à-vis the rest of the world. But the ego and the pull of the outer world come in the way. This, the ‘ego encased in a sheath’ – conceals the real me. According to Vedanta, the universal self, not bound or restricted by the ‘skin’, is a Self whose essential quality is oneness with the rest of creation, rather seeing itself as separate from it. This is the essence of the nature of interconnectedness we see all around us but fail to recognize. The moment we understand that we are an intrinsic part of the web of life; everything begins to fall into place.

The Upanishads affirm that we are all ultimately one, that this oneness is knowable as the pure Self, the atman, at the very core of our being, and that this realization is accessible to all. Most of us do not live in such a state of consciousness because we have all been conditioned to see only the superficial side of our identity, the ego-self. Our predicament is the result of our ignorance of the true Self. The Times of India

Wake up and keep moving (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. In matters of global concern, we tend to think that our own personal contribution is futile. An example of feeling such helplessness is that of the way we perceive the global climate change issue. Consequently, we tend to ask: How can an individual make a difference when the issue at hand is so unwieldy?

We may first understand that there is no situation so bad, no predicament so unwieldy, and no crisis so formidable that it cannot be transformed in a way that yields common benefit, either in its physical actuality or in the way we approach it. However bleak the global outlook may be, it can be changed into a positive one. And we are better able to make positive and effective contributions to the situation through meditative self-awareness, with our own inner awakening.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad affirms that he who has found and awakened to the self, the atman is the maker of the universe. The world is his and the world is he. While on earth, if we do not do this, we would be unable to avert avoidable calamities. Those who know the truth become in a way immortal; the others only experience distress.

In Vedic tradition, life is compared to a chariot, a ratha , and human beings are described as passengers on the chariot – ratha matasthivamsa . The world or the universe is spoken of as samsara, which means “incessantly in motion” and the word atman, derived from the root ‘at’, is understood to be the basic – that is, not to move forward – is to deaden the inner cry of existence. So, an awakened person is enlightened enough to not resist the flow of life. He keeps it moving.

Happy Uttarayan from Gujarat

Happy Uttarayan to All

from Dhirendra from Gujarat.

May this 2010 1st feastival

bring Happiness to your life.

I wish you and your family a very

Happy Makar Sankranthi.

Choose your options with utmost care (2 of 2)

Some would argue that forgiveness does not always work, and that it is better to adopt the tit-for-tat policy. But tit-for-tat is not a real solution; it does not end the problem, it only leads to a chain reaction. A reactionary attitude aggravates the problem. Wouldn’t the policy of forgiveness only encourage others to take further negative steps against us? To assume so would be unfair, and also, it is against the law of nature.

Psychological studies show that every human being is born with two different faculties – the ego and the conscience. If you follow the path of vindication, it fans the ego of the other party, whereas if you follow the policy of forgiveness, it will activate the conscience of the other person. And it is a fact that conscience always plays a positive role in controversial matters.

The culture of forgiveness helps in the building of a better society, where positive values flourish, where the spirit of co-operation prevails, where disparate groups come together and form a peaceful society. Revenge, on the other hand, creates an environment of mistrust, in which everyone takes others to be rivals. The revenge culture rules out the growth of a healthy society.

To err is human; everyone is bound to do something wrong at one time or other. But, in such a situation, revenge means committing not just one mistake, but making mistake after mistake. On the contrary, forgiveness means undoing wrongs with rights. It is better to say that, if to err is human, to forgive is also human. Perhaps this concept is expressed in the saying: ‘To err is human, but to forgive is divine.’ For at the core, aren’t we all really divine beings? The Times of India

Choose your options with utmost care (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. Every day in our life, we perhaps have some kind of bad experience, big or small. There is no escape from experiences. One has two options: either to ignore them or try to react. The first option is a form of forgiveness, while the other amounts to engagement and in some cases, even revenge .

Which is the better option? We have to decide by looking at the result, for that is the determining factor. Forgiveness is a better option for it is based on a proven formula: ‘Save yourself’. Forgiveness saves you from distraction, it saves your time, and it saves you from creating more problems. Forgiveness could amount to an instant solution to the problem.

In contrast, reaction and emotional revenge means turning the bad into worse, for revenge tends to worsen the problem. If forgiveness is buying time, revenge is just wasting time without hope of any positive result.

In such a situation people generally tend to give in to negative thinking but such a reaction would be unwise. The better formula is following a self-oriented course of action. In other words, if you are having a sad experience, don’t think about the other party who you feel has wronged you. Think about your own self and adopt a course of action that is better for you.

At all times in our life we are torn between two choices – anti-other thinking and pro-self thinking. Anti-other thinking makes you descend to the lowest level, whereas pro-self thinking elevates you to a higher plane of consciousness.

If forgiveness is a full stop, revenge is full of commas. Forgiveness means ending an unwanted situation, while revenge means extending it to infinity. Forgiveness maintains your positive thinking uninterruptedly, while revenge creates negativity. And negativity creates all kinds of undesirable behavior, in terms of both thought and action.