Winner of a rat race is still a rat!

Winner of a rat race is still a rat!

• PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA

HEAR yourself when you speak. When I ask people who they are, they tell me they are doctors, spouses of someone or another, or friends of someone or another. These tags, doctor, engineer, husband, wife, father, daughter and friend, are labels given to you by the society. These tags are not you. “Who am I” is a deeper question beneath all these labels.

These labels serve well in the outside world. They mean nothing internally. Let us ask ourselves how to succeed in the outside world. You will say, “it is hard, Master”; you will advice me, “we should be ahead of the crowd in ideas, information, possessions, and even relationships.” I will ask you again, “Are you happy with everything you have?”
You will say, “Master, there is no such thing as a happy state. We have to keep moving to be the leader in the pack.”

You are living and describing a rat race. The problem of winning a rat race is that even after winning you are no better than a rat.

People are concerned that they haven’t yet reaped the benefit of success. Sometimes failure is better than success. Look at the other side of failure. With failure you have still hope that you can succeed; but if you are successful you have nowhere to go, if you are still dissatisfied.
You may have climbed very fast but the climb would have led you to no place in particular. In fact, you might be stuck in a place where it makes no sense to you at all. You are totally disconnected from your inner being. This kind of success brings depression. Depression of success is worse than the depression of failure. People ask me, “what will meditation do to help achieve what I want?” They want to know whether it will give them what they want.

I say to them, may be not, meditation may not give you the power, the shakti, to make your dreams a reality, but will certainly give you the wisdom, the buddhi, to know that your entire reality is only a dream. Let this be clear.

Meditation creates a space for the inner being to flower. It creates peace amidst the chaos that rules your life. Meditation creates the space where you have neither answers nor questions. You will simply be aware. This awareness is precious. Where there is pure awareness, there is enlightenment. This is true freedom.

This inner being, the inner intelligence, the inner energy guides us in our path. Vivekananda says: till inner intelligence is awakened no book will help you; once it is awakened you do not need any books.

Life is beyond logic and reason!
PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA

PEOPLE again and again tell me, “Master, my son is not taking care of me.” In traditional societies as in India and other Asian countries children, especially sons, are still expected to take care of their parents in their old age. The logic of parents is that they took care of their children when they needed care and therefore, children should take care of them when they need support.
Of course, this may have been the case in the west in the past, but certainly no longer. After 18, connection between parents and children seems to get severed. As yet, this is not so true in Asian countries. Tradition seems to survive.
Be very clear, your son may be the first enemy for you. You are also the first enemy for him. You have given him so many rules, so many regulations. You had given him so many laws, so you were almost the master for him when he was young. Naturally, in one part of his mind he will have respect; the other part will always rebel against you. The other part will be just waiting to take revenge on you. Because you imposed rules and regulations on him, it is a basic rule that naturally he will be against you.
This reality holds good in our relationship with any rule giver, whether societal or religious. All these institutions try to impose their rules in us in subtle ways. They exploit our fear and greed by showing, talking, and convincing us about hell and heaven. They make us aspire and desire for heaven and develop a fear of hell.
They create so many concepts of hell and heaven in us. They say, “If you practise these types of teachings you will be rewarded with heaven; if you practise other type of teachings you can only go to hell.” This concept of heaven and hell is a subtle way of exploiting our being. When we are given some rules based on greed and fear, we start creating a deep sense of guilt in ourselves.
And one more thing! There is one law which is difficult to understand but it is one of the ultimate laws. The law states, “Nobody can live their lives based on any law.”
When I say nobody, I mean nobody. When I say any law, I mean any law. Life is far superior to laws. All the laws, rules, regulations are based on some, partial understanding of life.
People ask me, “Why is this life created at all?” I tell them, this why can never be answered. Because this why is based on logic.
Logic is not truth. With logic one can only travel as long as reasoning has power. Life is beyond that. Life is expansive and beyond logic and reason.

Life is beyond logic and reason!

CO S M I C U P LI N K
Life is beyond logic and reason!
PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA


PEOPLE again and again tell me, “Master, my son is not taking care of me.” In traditional societies as in India and other Asian countries children, especially sons, are still expected to take care of their parents in their old age. The logic of parents is that they took care of their children when they needed care and therefore, children should take care of them when they need support.
Of course, this may have been the case in the west in the past, but certainly no longer. After 18, connection between parents and children seems to get severed. As yet, this is not so true in Asian countries. Tradition seems to survive.
Be very clear, your son may be the first enemy for you. You are also the first enemy for him. You have given him so many rules, so many regulations. You had given him so many laws, so you were almost the master for him when he was young. Naturally, in one part of his mind he will have respect; the other part will always rebel against you. The other part will be just waiting to take revenge on you. Because you imposed rules and regulations on him, it is a basic rule that naturally he will be against you.
This reality holds good in our relationship with any rule giver, whether societal or religious. All these institutions try to impose their rules in us in subtle ways. They exploit our fear and greed by showing, talking, and convincing us about hell and heaven. They make us aspire and desire for heaven and develop a fear of hell.
They create so many concepts of hell and heaven in us. They say, “If you practise these types of teachings you will be rewarded with heaven; if you practise other type of teachings you can only go to hell.” This concept of heaven and hell is a subtle way of exploiting our being. When we are given some rules based on greed and fear, we start creating a deep sense of guilt in ourselves.
And one more thing! There is one law which is difficult to understand but it is one of the ultimate laws. The law states, “Nobody can live their lives based on any law.”
When I say nobody, I mean nobody. When I say any law, I mean any law. Life is far superior to laws. All the laws, rules, regulations are based on some, partial understanding of life.
People ask me, “Why is this life created at all?” I tell them, this why can never be answered. Because this why is based on logic.
Logic is not truth. With logic one can only travel as long as reasoning has power. Life is beyond that. Life is expansive and beyond logic and reason.

Choose joy over worry!

CO S M I C U P LI N K

Choose joy over worry!

IF I were to tell you that you choose your worries that make you suffer, you will disbelieve me. That is the truth!
Each one of us carries our personalised version of worry. Undoubtedly, the commonality of this worry is that we each have our personalised laundry list. Our worries are not the same as our neighbour’s. Our worry is completely based on our perceptions. Worries are based on individual desires.
Sarah was moving to a new house. She watched over the movers pack her household articles in preparation of her move. One man was handling her antique vase and she warned him, ‘Please be careful, that is over a hundred years old’ The man looked at her and said, ‘Don’t worry ma’am, I will handle it like it is brand new’.
Possessions and desire to possess bring about most of our suffering. Greed fuels many of our worries. We are bothered when our neighbours and friends possess things we do not have. If a neighbour has bought a new refrigerator it increases the temperature in our kitchen! When a friend buys the latest model automobile, we immediately feel that our last year model looks like a vintage car.
Our desires are plenty. When these desires are unfulfilled, we begin to worry. Our worries do not arise from a genuine need for what we really require. We create and invent new wants by comparing ourselves with others.
Desires, by themselves, aren’t harmful. If our desires are deep and pure, then they become true. Such a deep, true desire has power. Desire is energy.
We all have a problem here. Our desires are borrowed. They arise out of jealousy and greed. We develop the desires by comparing with others. Our desires have no connection with our true needs.
Ramana Maharishi, a realised master, explained the nature of desires with clarity: The Universe can cater to the needs of every single inhabitant. However, it cannot fulfil the wants of even a single person.
We worry about everything. We are trapped in a circuit that leads from desires, to worry, to greed. Every time we are worried or stressed about something, we are generating an energy block.
Look within instead of around. Stop craving for what others have. There is no need to renounce what you have to reach spiritual freedom. It is enough if you renounce what you do not have.
Renounce your fantasies to possess what others have. Enjoy what you already have. This is the path to eternal joy, Nithyanandam.

• PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA