The real men of achievement are the people who have the heroism to fuel more and more enthusiasm in their work when they face more and more difficulties-Swami Chinmayananda
Difficulties, failures and problems etc in a way are the greatest teachers in life. It is only during difficulties that we stretch ourselves out to the maximum our God given talents to overcome various challenges.
Difficulties strengthen the muscles of will power, determination and perseverance. Our weaknesses and limitations are exposed only during difficulties and hence they reveal the scope for growth, and improvement
Many a times, difficulties force you to turn within and tune in to God, thus helping us realize the fact that He alone is our true friend and the best guide. Difficulties enrich us with the noble values of humility and gratefulness. It also makes us aware of the bitter facts of life, thus urging us to strive for discrimination, dispassion and liberation. Difficulties are indeed the only available bitter pills unavoidable to get rid of the disease of worldliness.
When so many unseen blessings come along with difficulties, it is but natural that the truly wise welcome them with an open heart, knowing fully well that difficulties come only to stimulate and not to discourage.
In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling put forth the suggestion to build a bridge connecting New York and Long Island.
Strong oppositions and criticisms poured from all over proving how the whole plan was impossible to implement. But John knew in the depth of his heart that it could be done. He could convince only his son, Washington, an upcoming engineer, and both of them started working together to build their dream bridge.
The project started off well, but within a few months, a tragic accident took the life of John. Washington was seriously injured. With a part of his brain fully damaged, he could not walk, talk or even move.
As Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built, sharp criticisms again raised its hood and everyone felt that the project should be scrapped. But Washington still had the burning desire to go ahead. He tried to inspire and pass on the enthusiasm to some of his friends but all in vain.
Totally exhausted, as he was lying on his bed, something in him said not to give up. And very soon an idea struck him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. He developed a code of communication with his wife by tapping her arm and his wife would then tell the engineers what to do next! This went on for 13 long years and finally the bridge was completed. Today the spectacular 'Brooklyn Bridge' stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances.
Let us not stop trying. The greatest mistake one can make is to be afraid of making one!
Swami Vivekananda says, ''Never mind the struggles and the mistakes. Hold on to the ideal a thousand times and if you fail a thousand times, make the attempt once more. Be bold. Be strong. Stand up and fight! Not a step back!!"
Let us remember- the whole ocean is at the back of each wave!
Similarly an 'Infinite Power' is at the back of each and every one. This is the message of the Vedas and the Upanishads.
Once this knowledge is gained, one has then connected to the perennial source of strength, courage and wisdom within, thus transforming oneself from the state of a mere mortal to a real man of achievement.
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Showing posts with label Swami Chinmayananda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swami Chinmayananda. Show all posts
Friday, May 14, 2010
The Grace Of The Teacher, Developing True Devotion
Monday, August 31, 2009, 17:28 [IST]
Nevertheless, by the grace of God alone, great souls are attained.
(Sutra 40)
Though the cultivation of devotion in the human heart is very difficult, through continuous contact with great souls and by the consequent grace of the Lord, an individual can attain supreme devotion. The verse, as it stands, can also he interpreted as follows.
Even obtaining the company of the great souls is itself gained by His grace alone. No doubt, this is in line with the scriptural declaration and the words of Sri Shankaracharya and other great teachers.
The Kathopanisad thunders, "He who chooses Him, to him alone He reveals." Shankara in his Vivekacudamani says, "a human birth, aspiration for spiritual unfoldment, and the loving protection of a wise man are only caused by the blessings of the Lord".
It is divine power that makes an aspirant restless and drives him in search of guru. And again, it is the same divine power that makes the saint generally more restless to rush forth to serve the world and help others to liberation. When the time is ripe, the Lord, in a mysterious way, brings about first the communication and ultimately the communion between the teacher and the taught.
Why and how? Narada declares:
Because between the Lord and His devotees.
there is no sense of difference.
(Sutra 41)
This means that the true devotee of the Lord and of the saint is Lord Narayana Himself. It can also be interpreted as follows: There is no sense of distinction between the Lord and His true devotees.
The realized person is one who has transcended the pluralistic world of distinction and variety. To that person. all are but the one single divine glory expressing itself through different equipments.
From the Vedantic standpoint, the one infinite truth plays as the world of objects. "For in Him, there is no sense of distinction among His creatures".
This is to reassure a hesitant sinner, who might feel an inherent lack of self-confidence to come to the path of spirituality. He will naturally always be conscious of his past misdeeds and sins. Here the verse assures him that to the Lord there is no sense of difference between one devotee and another. A sinner is none other than one who has moved away from the real Self to identify himself with the flesh, and he therefore lives a life of endless sense gratifications. The moment he decides to turn towards the Self, the Real, he comes to peace, tranquility and joy
Courtesy : Vedanta Vani, Chinmaya Mission
Nevertheless, by the grace of God alone, great souls are attained.
(Sutra 40)
Though the cultivation of devotion in the human heart is very difficult, through continuous contact with great souls and by the consequent grace of the Lord, an individual can attain supreme devotion. The verse, as it stands, can also he interpreted as follows.
Even obtaining the company of the great souls is itself gained by His grace alone. No doubt, this is in line with the scriptural declaration and the words of Sri Shankaracharya and other great teachers.
The Kathopanisad thunders, "He who chooses Him, to him alone He reveals." Shankara in his Vivekacudamani says, "a human birth, aspiration for spiritual unfoldment, and the loving protection of a wise man are only caused by the blessings of the Lord".
It is divine power that makes an aspirant restless and drives him in search of guru. And again, it is the same divine power that makes the saint generally more restless to rush forth to serve the world and help others to liberation. When the time is ripe, the Lord, in a mysterious way, brings about first the communication and ultimately the communion between the teacher and the taught.
Why and how? Narada declares:
Because between the Lord and His devotees.
there is no sense of difference.
(Sutra 41)
This means that the true devotee of the Lord and of the saint is Lord Narayana Himself. It can also be interpreted as follows: There is no sense of distinction between the Lord and His true devotees.
The realized person is one who has transcended the pluralistic world of distinction and variety. To that person. all are but the one single divine glory expressing itself through different equipments.
From the Vedantic standpoint, the one infinite truth plays as the world of objects. "For in Him, there is no sense of distinction among His creatures".
This is to reassure a hesitant sinner, who might feel an inherent lack of self-confidence to come to the path of spirituality. He will naturally always be conscious of his past misdeeds and sins. Here the verse assures him that to the Lord there is no sense of difference between one devotee and another. A sinner is none other than one who has moved away from the real Self to identify himself with the flesh, and he therefore lives a life of endless sense gratifications. The moment he decides to turn towards the Self, the Real, he comes to peace, tranquility and joy
Monday, February 1, 2010
Satsang With Swami Chinmayananda-The Soul And God
What is the relation between soul and God?
Let us first of all make sure that we agree upon the definitions or the terms used, or else there will be confusion. Can I assume that you mean by soul the spark of life in the body that makes our bodies alive? Shall we also assume that what you mean by God is the ultimate Reality the total life force?" If I have understood your question raised by you as:
"What is the relation between the life spark in us and the total life force?"
"If I have understood your question correctly. Let me now ask you: 'What is the relation between your question correctly, let me now ask you: What is the relation, between the electric current in the power-house and the current in a switched-on-bulb hanging in your bedroom? What is the relation between your bedroom space and the atmospheric space? This is exactly the relationship between the soul and God !"
The individual soul is a manifestation of the oversoul as 'life in a form,' and the seemingly limited entity the 'soul in me' is the same as the total life-God, the all-pervading. The atmospheric space is homogeneous and all-pervading, but when conditioned by four walls, a roof, and a floor, it gains an individuality as the bedroom. Arrogating to itself the ego that "I am," the bedroom comes to claim that conditioned space as the bedoom space. In fact it is ever the same as the eternal space. Before the room was built the room space was there, one with the entire universal space; when the room crumbles down in decay, the room space shall again lose its selfish arrogation as a separate identity and shall merge to become as it was in the beginning. one with the whole.
Similarly the soul: Conditioned by the enveloping layers of matter (body, mind and intellect), the spirit that reigns within gains in our egoistic false identifications with the unreal wrappings of matter, a misunderstanding that "I am the body, mind or intellect". This mistake is the cause of our delusion and sorrow.
When this misunderstanding is removed by a correct understanding of our true identity as Atman, the soul merges to become God! In this process there is no modification or change; it is but a question of Self-discovery. The soul in its essence is God. If we follow our agreed definitions: The soul minus our egoistic mistake is God;God plus our egoistic mistake is soul.
Why is the concept of God necessary in spiritual life?
It is not necessary as long as one is willing to logically and truthfully investigate the body, mind and intellect and the perceiver, feeler and thinker in relation to the objects, emotions and thoughts.Such an inquiry will lead to the subject in us, and we will be forced to accept that something other than matter is expressing itself through matter. This spiritual essence, is indicated by the word 'God'.
Let us first of all make sure that we agree upon the definitions or the terms used, or else there will be confusion. Can I assume that you mean by soul the spark of life in the body that makes our bodies alive? Shall we also assume that what you mean by God is the ultimate Reality the total life force?" If I have understood your question raised by you as:
"What is the relation between the life spark in us and the total life force?"
"If I have understood your question correctly. Let me now ask you: 'What is the relation between your question correctly, let me now ask you: What is the relation, between the electric current in the power-house and the current in a switched-on-bulb hanging in your bedroom? What is the relation between your bedroom space and the atmospheric space? This is exactly the relationship between the soul and God !"
The individual soul is a manifestation of the oversoul as 'life in a form,' and the seemingly limited entity the 'soul in me' is the same as the total life-God, the all-pervading. The atmospheric space is homogeneous and all-pervading, but when conditioned by four walls, a roof, and a floor, it gains an individuality as the bedroom. Arrogating to itself the ego that "I am," the bedroom comes to claim that conditioned space as the bedoom space. In fact it is ever the same as the eternal space. Before the room was built the room space was there, one with the entire universal space; when the room crumbles down in decay, the room space shall again lose its selfish arrogation as a separate identity and shall merge to become as it was in the beginning. one with the whole.
Similarly the soul: Conditioned by the enveloping layers of matter (body, mind and intellect), the spirit that reigns within gains in our egoistic false identifications with the unreal wrappings of matter, a misunderstanding that "I am the body, mind or intellect". This mistake is the cause of our delusion and sorrow.
When this misunderstanding is removed by a correct understanding of our true identity as Atman, the soul merges to become God! In this process there is no modification or change; it is but a question of Self-discovery. The soul in its essence is God. If we follow our agreed definitions: The soul minus our egoistic mistake is God;God plus our egoistic mistake is soul.
Why is the concept of God necessary in spiritual life?
It is not necessary as long as one is willing to logically and truthfully investigate the body, mind and intellect and the perceiver, feeler and thinker in relation to the objects, emotions and thoughts.Such an inquiry will lead to the subject in us, and we will be forced to accept that something other than matter is expressing itself through matter. This spiritual essence, is indicated by the word 'God'.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Attachment to Serving
One of the devotee of Gurudev had assumed the job at one yajna of taking care of Swamiji's footstool, slippers, and cane at the end of each lecture. Every night, as soon as the lecture was over, she would unobtrusively position herself next to where Swamiji was sitting, move the footstool out of his path, place his chappals in front of his feet, and hand him his cane. In order to do this, she took a seat on the floor very close to the front, near his seat.
One night, another woman had taken her spot. When the time came to help Swamiji with the footstool, she said to herself, "Don't worry. The person who took my seat will take care of things". But her rational mind didn't listen to her own advice, and at the end of the lecture she got up from her seat, positioned herself in front of the other woman, and crawled toward the stage to be in position to move the stool.
Swamiji stood up, and she took the footstool away and handed him his cane and chappals. But instead of walking off the stage, he sat back down in his chair and said in a very loud voice for the entire hall to hear: "If I had remained standing, she would have taken away my chair also!"
On several other occasions, at satsangs and bhikshas, Swamiji repeated the same line in her presence: "If I had remained standing, she would have taken away my chair also" - just to make sure that she got the message that attachment has no place in doing any kind of work, including service to the guru.
One night, another woman had taken her spot. When the time came to help Swamiji with the footstool, she said to herself, "Don't worry. The person who took my seat will take care of things". But her rational mind didn't listen to her own advice, and at the end of the lecture she got up from her seat, positioned herself in front of the other woman, and crawled toward the stage to be in position to move the stool.
Swamiji stood up, and she took the footstool away and handed him his cane and chappals. But instead of walking off the stage, he sat back down in his chair and said in a very loud voice for the entire hall to hear: "If I had remained standing, she would have taken away my chair also!"
On several other occasions, at satsangs and bhikshas, Swamiji repeated the same line in her presence: "If I had remained standing, she would have taken away my chair also" - just to make sure that she got the message that attachment has no place in doing any kind of work, including service to the guru.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
A Spiritual Master's Service
Courtesy : Vedanta Vani, Chinmayananda; OneIndia.com
At a bhiksha in Boston, a Christian minister asked Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda:
It brings about an expansion of our heart. A gush of love fountains up from our heart and streams forth to bathe the life around us.
"When such acts of seva (service) are undertaken in a spirit of dedication and love, surrender, and worship of the Lord, they hasten to cleanse the mind of agitations, and such a purified 'heart'(mind-intellect equipment) discovers the poise and dash needed for contemplation. As a result of steady contemplation, the mind gets transcended to the timeless Essence, the god-state, in a direct subjective experience.
"After this realisation, the master, saint, or sage returns to play with his old equipment. In the deepest sense of love for all, he cannot but get involved with the world. The seva he does now is the fulfillment of his realisation. It is the Lord's play through the saint or prophet."
At a bhiksha in Boston, a Christian minister asked Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda:
"OK, we realize the infinite, supreme Essence. Thereafter, no individuality, and so no universe. So your personal responsibility to serve the world ends. Is this the state of Perfection?"
Gurudev's answer was:
"The intellectual conclusions arrived at about this state and the life thereafter are authentic - but not true. Social responsibilities and the urge to serve one's fellow men, the urgency rising in our mind to wipe the tears from the eyes of the sad, the melancholy, and the suffering is indeed sacred.Gurudev's answer was:
It brings about an expansion of our heart. A gush of love fountains up from our heart and streams forth to bathe the life around us.
"When such acts of seva (service) are undertaken in a spirit of dedication and love, surrender, and worship of the Lord, they hasten to cleanse the mind of agitations, and such a purified 'heart'(mind-intellect equipment) discovers the poise and dash needed for contemplation. As a result of steady contemplation, the mind gets transcended to the timeless Essence, the god-state, in a direct subjective experience.
"After this realisation, the master, saint, or sage returns to play with his old equipment. In the deepest sense of love for all, he cannot but get involved with the world. The seva he does now is the fulfillment of his realisation. It is the Lord's play through the saint or prophet."
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
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