1. Always wash face, hands, and-if possible-feet before meals.
2. Never eat before sunrise or after sunset. If you must eat after sunset, avoid all sour and acidic foods.
3. Meditate briefly just before eating (or offer grace) to raise energy and increase appreciation for food.
4. Always eat only when right nostril is operating; drink only when left is operating.
5. Eat or drink only when sitting down.
6. Never talk or laugh during meals. Instead give full attention to taste, texture, and aromas of the food.
7. Always take water with a meal; beforehand if weight loss is desired, during meal if weight is to be maintained, and after meals if weight gain is desired.
8. Never drink items too hot or too cold. Water and other liquids should be served lukewarm.



9. Never mix temperatures in the meal. Don’t eat hot and cold items at the same sittings.
10. Eat only when hungry and previous meals have been digested. Generally, don’t eat within six hours of another meal.
11. Avoid all between-meal snacks, including-if possible-all liquids but lukewarm water.
12. Never eat facing south. This drains energy and fosters anger.(East is best.)
13. Never eat unpalatable foods. This creates resistance in the system.
14. Eat only in a pleasing settings from clean utensils.
15. Only take foods while hot and fresh. Reheated and canned foods create gas.
16. Eat neither too fast nor too slow. Don’t rush and don’t linger.
17. Avoid overly greasy and overly dry foods.
18. Whenever possible, laugh after meals. This helps digestion.
19. Never sleep within two hours after meals as this disturbs the mind and the digestive system.
20. Wash hands, face, mouth and eyes after meals.



21. Avoid all actions requiring physical or mental concentration for two to three hours after a full meal.
22. Urinate after eating, but do not defecate for three hours if possible. (Thus, one should not eat before one’s normal bowel movement.)
23. Never take hot milk before retiring.
24. Never take tea within a half hour of meals, before or after.
25. Eat once or twice daily only: a light morning meal, and if possible the main meal before sunset.

Eating is one of the simplest and most profound mindful practice. We often eat while doing other things such as talking or reading. We can learn a lot about the mind by eating without distractions and making it as much of a meditation practice as sitting and walking.

Anandmurti Gurumaa is an enlightened mystic and a contemporary master. Gurumaa’s pragmatic teachings show the right way of living. Thus Spoke the Master presents the illuminating words by Gurumaa in response to the questions asked by seekers at different times.

Is it fate to be born in a particular family or just an accident?

There is nothing called fate and there are no accidents happening. The nature works in great synchronicity. We are not islands; every thing is inter related. But when man lives irresponsibly then many odd things do occur. In most of the cases birth is happening because it has to happen. You are born accidentally to a particular pair of parents? You are not on this earth because your parents wanted ‘you’. When man and woman meet on the physical level and do not use any contraception, the woman is likely to get pregnant. And at that particular time, when she is conceiving, whichever individual soul is around, it just rushes. And there is not only one, but hundreds of souls, which are waiting to be born; so they just rush. And the one that wins the race enters the mother’s womb. Most of these souls are devilish. The reason being, no good soul would rush like this. Unless and until they are asked to come, they won’t. It is like unless you ask a gentleman or a sophisticated lady to sit down, they would keep on standing. They would rather wait than take anyone else’s place.All those who are dying and all those who are already dead, they are all trying to take birth. And remember, for the number of souls that are waiting to be born, there aren’t that many couples. If Jesus was born to Mary, that was not an accident. If Krishna was born to Devki, that was not an accident. Their births were planned. Mary and Joseph had meditated together for years. They prepared themselves so that a divine soul could take birth through them. That is what I imply when I say that physical relationship between a man and a woman is divine. There isn’t anything ugly there. Ugliness is in your mind, not in the act. It is through this very act that divine souls get a chance to descend in a new body. There cannot be anything wrong in that. It is beautiful, indeed. But it is beautiful only when it is devoid of lust.

Mary and Joseph meditated for a long time. Gautam Budha’s mother – Yashodhara also meditated for years. For years, she kept on doing yagnas and prayers and went for pilgrimages. Then one night, in her dreams, she saw that an elephant has come and is touching her on her stomach with his trunk. She thought it to be just a dream and forgot about it. Next day again she had a dream. This time she saw white swans. She again took it as just another good dream. But third day again she had a dream and this time she saw that there is a divine white/yellow light and it is saying, “Yashodhara, I am coming!” Now she went to her priest and asked him, what did it all mean?The priest said that her dreams meant that she would soon be gaining motherhood. And the child who would be coming would be a great divine soul. Yashodhara conceived, and she wanted to go to her parents place for the delivery but on the way, right in the middle of the jungle, she started getting labor pain. As she started getting the pain, the chariots were stopped and a makeshift arrangement was made where Yashodhara was asked to rest. Normally when a woman is in her labor pain, she is seen screaming or cursing or doing all sorts of such things as normal woman do but here Yashodhara went into a deep meditation. In fact, she was so happy that she started singing. Have you ever heard of a woman who is about to deliver a child, singing with joy? But Yashodhara was singing! She was in a trance! Happiness personified! And in that wonderful moment, Buddha was born. Both, Yashodhara and her husband prayed for a long time to have someone special as their child, and they have been waiting for this.The same goes for Jesus’ mother Mary. And the most amazing thing in all these individuals’ lives is that their followers started saying that these Gurus or these incarnations were actually never born. They appeared. They never say that they were born to their mothers. They say that they ‘appeared’. And indeed, it is true!

The pulse of the cosmos mirrors itself in the human body, with the beating of the heart reflecting the throbbing rhythm of the universe. The same elements that comprise the mantle of this earth make up the human body, and the laws that govern their form and actions are the same. Each one of us comprises of a microcosmic manifestation of all elements and laws existing throughout creation. To separate humanity from its place as an evolute of the cosmos is to deny the very core of reality.

We can’t escape. We are all products of the omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient causal principle. But we can hide, we can deny, we can veil ourselves in the illusion of “free will” and “self-determinism.” Nonetheless, each one of us has two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, two arms, two legs, and one mouth and one anus. Each must breathe. Each must eat. Each must sleep.

Physics tells us that when two or more vectors of force interact, a new flow is created following the path of least resistance. Man is a product of the vectors of cosmic force, and has within himself an inborn flow, an innate direction. By denying the principles that gave him birth, man can resist or divert the flow. But the price is pain and a sense of separation, anxiety, and loneliness.

Yoga is the science of seeking out the flow that rises and falls in each of us, then turning in and harmonizing one’s existence with this flow.

Dharma is the flow, and karma is the means by which one can reestablish contact with this all-pervading essence. The first stage is the realization that one is an evolute of the cosmos. Only then can one begin to bring one’s own discordant rhythm into harmony with the larger patterns of the cosmic symphony.

The sun rises and sets each day for all beings. And throughout the world the daily cycle of light and darkness establishes the basic cycle for all life forms.

With the first stirring of dawn, about ninety minutes before the sun appears over the eastern horizon, comes a great surge of energy on the planet. Sleeping creatures awaken, shaking the vestiges of inertia from their systems in preparation for the activities of the day.

Then, less than a half hour before sunrise, a second surge of energy rushes through the atmosphere, this one still more powerful. With this second in draft of radiation comes the single most important moment of the day- the time when body chemistry is set for all living beings.
Man is also affected by this cycle. Physiologists from Japan found a sudden and dramatic shift in the blood chemistry of human subjects inevitably occurring within ten or twenty minutes of the sun’s appearance.

The blood at this time is thinned and suffused with fresh chemicals, which gradually exhaust themselves only to be restored again at the next sunrise.

Physical health and emotional well-being are both the products of the body chemistry, a fact demonstrated by the changes in both states produced by the addition of foreign chemicals (drugs) to the system. If drugs can produce changes in physical and emotional states, both must themselves be reflections of body chemistry.

This brings us to the first and most important step in harmonizing individual being-rising at least forty-five minutes before dawn.

The suffusion of the system with new energy takes place ten minutes before sunrise, whether or not we are consciously prepared and awake but how much better if we are prepared.
Chemical reaction take place best in the clean vessels, free from contaminants. Our own bodies are vessels of chemical reactions. Logic dictates that a reaction taking place in a vessel free from wastes and contaminants will produce much greater results than a reaction in an impure vessel.

During sleep, the human system centralizes all wastes and refuse products in the bowels and bladder. The lower abdomen is full of wasted charged gases that will be used on awakening to push the urine and stool out of the system.

If one is sleeping at sunrise, these gases and waste will be present during the setting of blood chemistry. If one is awake, bowels and bladder emptied, body cleansed, and sitting in a receptive mood at sunrise, how much different would be the outcome?

Throughout history, all religions in all parts of the world have stressed to one degree or another the importance of rising before dawn and greeting the new day refreshed and receptive. The Hindu tradition lists failure to meditate in these early morning hours as one of the fourteen failings.

Only a healthy person can enjoy living in this world, and the first key to bodily health is rising ten minutes or more before dawn. Sanskrit scriptures call this time Brahma mahoorta or Amrit bela. Brahma mahoorta means the “time of Brahma,” pure consciousness, the divine self. Amrit bela signifies the time of the nectar of life.

With the first stirring of dawn, about ninety minutes before the sun appears over the eastern horizon, comes a great surge of energy on the planet. Sanskrit scriptures call this time Brahma mahoorta or Amrit Bela. Brahma Mahoorta means the ‘Time of Brahma’, pure consciousness, the divine self. It signifies the time of the ‘nectar of life’.

During these crucial minutes, the body’s glaze of the health increases, as do physical strength and power of concentration. One is filled with fresh energies, inspired to undertake any kind of work and any project initiated at this time is always completed. Difficult problems requiring great mental effort are most easily solved, and memory is at its sharpest. Sick persons feel released from the agonies that kept them awake and troubled through the night, often falling into deep, replenishing sleep.

Only in the past one hundred years have people in civilized nations neglected rising before dawn. And it is these same hundred years that have heralded an unprecedented upsurge in heart disease, cancer, and a score of other disorders-as well as the birth and phenomenal growth of the psychiatric and psychological professions.

BED TEA OR BAD TEA

Modern man should understand the importance of early morning rising. He has forgotten those practices that should be followed after waking to tune in the body and the mind. Each morning is the start of a new day.

What purpose is a new day if we allow ourselves to get entangled in the trips of the previous day? By allowing our energies to be spent in pondering the previous day’s follies and fortunes, the advantages gained by rising before dawn are exhausted in a destructive fashion. Receiving energy is important, but equally critical is the manner in which we spend it.

And of prime importanc is to not to take any food or drink in the predawn hours. Many people are addicted to a cup of coffee or tea, even before setting out foot out of bed. In India, where tea is the national beverage, this practice is prevalent among Western-oriented people and is called “bed tea” by the traditional majority. It must be considered a crime against the system. For what one is doing is adding a chemical stimulant to the system before emptying the bowels and bladder.

Morning is the time to keep one’s speed slow and easy. Adding a stimulant not only speeds up the system, but causes the waste charged gases to move upward, circulating throughout the body.

In today’s stressful style of living, relaxation is like a dream. It’s just like a mirage. Everyone wishes to relax. And everyone is too stressed up to relax. People try to find their relaxation in different manners. Someone goes out to watch a cinema or to watch a theatre. Another person goes to a music concert. And yet another person goes just for a walk. One who is looking for relaxation in the food will go out to try various cuisines and restaurants. And yet another person would like to quit to remote place and be in that vicinity where no person is moving. And someone will do exactly the opposite of this, he might go to a fate or maybe a trade fair where throngs of people are piling one on another. When the crowd walks, you get pushed to walk. When the crowd stops, you stop. And you find relaxation in this? Everyone is looking for relaxation but everyone has a different way and method to achieve that.
I have heard about Mullah Nasruddin. He had become very old and was inflicted with insomnia. He couldn’t sleep. Now everything was tried on him; hot baths, massages, pills, tranquilizers, hot milk. But nothing was of any help. Everything was of no avail because Mullah neither slept himself nor did he let anyone in the house sleep. So, nights became a nightmare for the whole family. They searched desperately for any method, any medicine that would help Mulla to sleep. The whole family was suffering with him.
Someone suggested, “Why don’t you give a try to a hypnotist.” So a hypnotist was brought. People said, “He is a miracle man. He creates sleep within minutes. He knows the very magic of it. So don’t be worried. Just pay him his fee and don’t keep any doubt. He will put Mullah to sleep.” Now the hypnotist was brought home. He showed a watch with a chain to Nasruddin and said, “You will have to keep a little faith in me and see what a miracle will happen. You have to trust me. And if you do so, you will fall asleep like a baby.”
Mulla said, “Yeah, even I wish I could sleep like a baby but nothing is working in my case.” Hypnotist said, “Don’t worry. I am here to solve the problem. Just watch this watch. Look at this watch.” And he started moving the watch left and right and Nasruddin looked at it and the hypnotist said, “Watch is moving left to right. See it. Now your eyes are becoming tired, tired, tired. Now you are falling asleep, asleep, asleep.”
Everyone was happy as Mullah’s eyes closed and his head leaned down. And it seemed he is going to sleep like a baby. The rhythmic breathing started happening in Mullah’s body. Hypnotist gave a very satisfying smile, pleased with his mastery and took his fee. He asked everyone to leave the room after him. As he was about to sneak out, Mullah Nasruddin opened one eye and said, “That nut, has he gone yet?”

Mullah was making an effort to relax. He had started acting. He was breathing rhythmically. He closed his eyes. But it was just an effort. And you cannot relax with an effort.
Relaxation can only occur in effortlessness. Mullah was making an effort to relax and to go to sleep. He was trying to help the hypnotist with all sincerity. But this very helping and this very effort created a bigger obstruction in his relaxation. Nothing could happen. Only if Mullah could passively hear what was being said, sleep would have happened. No effort on his part was required. It was absolutely unnecessary for him to do something.
You are unable to relax fully. If you stay passive, positively inactive, and be effortless in whichever situation you are, you will feel the relaxation. Awareness and agitated mind cannot be in the same wave length. As your awareness increases, you begin to take things as they are, not expecting and not acting on others expectations. When you live on the periphery (mind is periphery), you loose touch with your center, and then you cannot be relaxed. Don’t let mind rule you, you take the reins of life, live every moment listening to yourself.
Before going into tools and ways to delete your tensions, we have to understand that why are you tensed in first place or who is making you tensed. Hold your breath! It isn’t your outer situations which are making you tensed, it is your mind. You are so obsessed with tomorrow that you are always dreaming about it, frame after frame you play the scenes in your mind, what how will it feel when your desires will see day of reality. Your cravings agitate you, your ego frustrates you and not any one else. What others think about you bothers you more than what you want from life. In light of such mental state, how can ever you relax? You can’t ignore these issues, you have to deal with it and you have to do something about it. Once this is done there won’t be any reason for you to feel tensed.
Learn to appreciate life, and rejoice. Every passing moment is never going to come back again. How can you loose precious moments for little things which have no meaning at all? What others say or do shouldn’t matter to you. Everyone has the right to speak what they think. What you are, you know it. Why let a statement spoken by someone bother you? Live your life and let go the habit of desire to gain appreciation and applauds.
Mind has taken charge of your life and you have lost connection with your being. You have lost your center and it has to be rediscovered. It is right there but because of the opaque film which your mind has created you aren’t able to see it. As you will begin to nurture the practice of awareness, for the first time your center will be revealed. As you will begin to live with awareness, being in your center, only then you will taste what real relaxation is. Center of our being is ocean of stillness and joy. Be in the present, be in this Now. See the present moment which is happening around you: the blue sky, giggles of children, chirping of birds, floating clouds and if what you can hear is just noise then even noise will be rhythmic.
Effort is needed, if something externally has to be done. If you want to achieve anything, if you want to create anything, if you want to reach somewhere, effort is needed. But if you want to relax, then definitely no effort is required. Only one thing is required to relax: Your non-doing. Don’t do anything to relax. Just relax. Let go off all bondages; let go off all desires for the moment at least, then nothing can agitate you. Just keep it in mind that you have to leave every effort and you have to go on just leaving them. Now even leaving is an effort. But a moment comes when everything is gone, and you are there. Simply there, not doing anything. Just there! Just in your being. And in this very being ness, the real relaxation will pour upon you. And this relaxation will come free. No charge, no traveling. You don’t have to wait. You don’t have to reach somewhere. You don’t have to go somewhere to experience it. You don’t have to even lift your finger. Just simply be in passive alertness. Just be silent. Not doing anything. Not thinking. Just being in the moment. And that is enough.

So here is the key for relaxation. Just be passively aware and alert.

Deductive Reasoning

How old are you, mullah?
Someone asked,
‘three years older than my brother.’ mullah answered.
‘How do you know that?’ ‘reasoning. Last year, i heard my brother telling someone that i was two years older than him.
A year has passed.
This means that i am older by one year…i shall soon be old enough to be his grandfather.

More useful

One day mullah nasruddin entered his favorite teahouse and said: ‘the moon is more
useful than the sun’.
An old man asked ‘why mullah?’
nasruddin replied ‘we need the light more during the night than
during the day.’

When you face things alone

You may have lost your donkey, nasruddin, but you don’t have to grieve over it more than you did about the loss of your first wife.
Ah, but if you remember, when i lost my wife, all you villagers said:
we’ll find you someone else. So far, nobody has offered to replace my donkey.

Obligation

Nasruddin nearly fell into a pool one day.
A man whom he knew slightly was nearby, and saved him. After that, every time he met nasruddin, he would remind him of the service which he had
performed. When this had happened several times, nasruddin took him to the water, jumped in, stood with his head just above water and shouted:
“now i am as wet as i would have been if you had not saved me. Leave me alone!

Promises Kept

A friend asked the mullah how old are you?
Forty.Replied the mullah.
The friend said, but you said the same thing
two years ago.
Yes replied the mullah, i always stand by what i have said.

Swami Buaji Maharaj

Swami Buaji Maharaj is a hundred and twenty two years old yogi,
who is also the founder of the Indo-American Yoga-Vedanta Society in New York.

“Never lie down to sleep with your head northward or westward” is a common injunction given from time immemorial by the Indian mother to her children. Almost every Hindu- orthodox or heterodox- observes this dictum of his ancestors, but he doesn’t know the rationale or significance behind the dictum, although it has been handed down to him through generations. For example, Vishnu Purana says: “O King! It is beneficial to lie down with the head placed eastward or southward. The man who lies down with his head placed in contrary directions becomes diseased.” The Varshaadi Nool says: “Sleeping eastward is good; sleeping southward prolongs life; sleeping westward and northward brings ruin.” The Mahabharata says: “Men become wise by sleeping eastward and southward.” There are two Tamil proverbs which run thus: “Vaaraatha Vashvu Vanthaalum Vadakkae Thalai Vaikkakkuudathu”, meaning; ” Even in the heyday of sudden fortune, one should not lie down with head to the north”, and ” Vidakkeiyayinum Vadakkaakaathu”, meaning: “Even the head of the dried fish should not be placed northward.” The Ayurvedic physician seats his patients facing eastward before diagnosing the disease or administering his medicine. Brides and bridegrooms are always seated facing eastward on the wedding day. Even corpses are placed down with the head southward.
The explanation for such advice and practice as discovered recently is as follows: This dear Earth, on which we live, has been for ages past, and is still being subjected to constant exposure to the source of all Energy-Heat, Light, Electricity and Magnetism- the Sun. When its eastern half is heated by the sun, its western half remains comparatively cold. In consequence, a strong and constant current of thermal electricity generated by the sun, travels across the earth from east to west. By this current of electricity the earth becomes magnetized, and its geographical north pole, being to the right-hand side of the direction of the current, is made the magnetic north pole; and its geographical south pole, being to the left-hand side of the same current, is made the magnetic south pole. Thus the earth is rendered a mighty thermo-electric magnet. This is evident from the fact that by the attractive and repulsive forces of its poles, the compass needle, in whatever position it is placed, is invariably turned so as to point to the North and the South.
We have learnt inside the class rooms that a non-magnet kept in contact with a magnet is eventually converted into a magnet, or that magnetism is imparted to it. And that the poles of the magnet have infused opposite polarity into the ends of the non-magnet. Now, we human beings are in perpetual contact with the huge Electro-Magnet, the Earth. We are all therefore converted into small magnets. It has been found by the experiments that the human body also is a magnetable object, though far inferior to iron or steel. This cannot be denied that, for in addition to other causes, there is a large percentage of iron in the blood, circulating through the body.

Further, as our feet are magnetized by contact with the northern hemisphere of the earth, where exist all the properties of north polarity is induced in our feet, and consequently, north polarity is induced in our head.

It has been found by the experiments that the human body also is a magnetable object, through far inferior to iron or steel. This cannot be denied that, for in addition to other causes, there is a large percentage of iron in the blood, circulating through the body.

At school when experimenting with magnets we have seen : “Unlike poles attract each other; like poles repel.” We used to restore the magnets back to their place in the laboratory with their unlike poles in contact, so that the polarity may not be destroyed. Now, it is very easy to conceive that if you lie down with your head placed southward and feet northward, the South Pole of the earth and your head, which is the North Pole of the human magnet, as also the North Pole of the Earth and your feet, which is the South pole of your body, being juxta-position, will attract each other, thus the polarity of the human body, natural to it, will be preserved; which if you lie with your head placed northward and feet southward, the like poles of your body and the Earth being in the juxta-position, will repel each other, and thereby the natural polarity of your body will be destroyed or its intensity diminished. In the former position, the polarity acquired by the human body during the day by standing, walking or sitting on the ground, is preserved intact at night during sleep; but in the later position, the acquired polarity is seriously tampered with and destroyed. This arrangement of the poles in the human body is natural to it, and therefore conducive to our health and happiness. The body enjoys perfect heath, if the polarity natural to it is preserved unaltered, and it becomes subject to disease if that polarity is in the least degree altered or its intensity diminished.
This would lead us to infer these arguments apply only to the inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere. The inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere must lay down their bodies with head northward, for similar arguments. That the bulk of the human race live on the Northern Hemisphere, appears to have been known to the ancient Hindu Sages, as the dictum appears to have come down without any qualifying remark.

Why the Eastern direction is preferred to the Western for placing the head in the lying down posture is explained thus: “It has been established by experiments on medical electricity that if a current passes from one part of the body to another, it exercises a wholesome influence where it enters, and produces some inflammations in that part of the body whence it goes out. If you lie down with head eastward, the current of thermal electricity, which is constantly passing over the surface of the earth from east to west, passes through your body also from head to feet, and therefore subdues all inflammation present in the head, where it makes its entrance; while if you lie down with head westward, the same current of the electricity passes through your body from the feet to the head, and therefore produces some kind of inflammation in the head, whence it goes out. The head contains the most vital of organs, and the most delicate of mechanisms- the Brain. It is a clear and healthy head that can easily acquire knowledge, and not an inflamed or congested head, which, on the other hand is the hot-bed of vague and distressing thoughts.

The head contains the most vital of organs, and the most delicate of mechanisms- the Brain. It is a clear and healthy head that can easily acquire knowledge, and not an inflamed or congested head, which, on the other hand is the hot-bed of vague and distressing thoughts.

Thus has been elucidated for our benefit, what was commonly considered a superstition hitherto. From this, it is plain that the Sciences of Electricity and Magnetism were not only extensively cultivated by the Ancient Hindus, but also highly developed, and the principles applied in their practical daily life. As other instances of their advanced knowledge of the Sciences, we find that iron or copper rods are inserted at the tops of all temples that Mindulies (Metallic cells) made of either gold, silver or iron are worn on the diseased parts of the body, and that Asanas or seats made of either silk, wool, kusha grass, or hairy skins of the deer or tiger are used when saying prayers. The function of the rod at the top of the temple is the same as that of the modern lightening conductor. The Mindulies serve the same purpose as the electrical belts and other appliances of the present day electrical treatment of diseases. The woolen and skin asanas protect our lives during a thunderstorm. So do the wooden sandals or mithiyadi worn by the sanyasis of old.
For the same simple reasons described above, it is the age long custom among Hindus that younger people should prostrate before the elders and touch their feet with their head so as to acquire magnetic energy and more particularly before the saintly persons, as these saints had magnetized their system by their Tapasya, i.e., by observance of Brahmacharya (celibacy), conducting Poojas, by practice of Yoga Asanas, Pranayamas and meditation, and by austere observances and various spiritual practices.

Unfortunately for us, our ancient sages and saints have left us only a legacy of short, crisp, epigrammatic aphorisms without an amplification or explanation of the rationale behind each. In our littleness we have denominated the legacy as a bundle of superstitions. This one instance must be an eye-opener to us and an incentive to do some research and thinking to get at their real and inner significance.

Meditation is a way of life. It is to be lived. We have a vast reservoir of energy in us, lying unused, untapped. Once we get in touch with this energy, our life changes from just being an ordinary to a divine one.

What is meditation?

If your answer is to get relief from stress, to experience joy, to kill time, to know God -Wrong! Absolutely wrong! Utterly wrong! Don’t be surprised. Keep on reading, you will be truly surprised.
We can get relief from stress from thousand things. A good movie, match of soccer, cricket, tennis, by dancing in a discothèque, by pubbing, in sex, list will go on and on. Company of like minded people gives joy, all adventure sports give a great kick, an adrenaline rush of blood and Wow- what an experience. If you have been meditating for the sake of getting relief or looking for joy, then you are really confused and don’t know what really meditation is. Meditation is not getting relief from stress but it is much more than that.
Meditation is moving in the inner zone of emptiness, where stress can never touch you. It is exploring the inner space where you remain absolutely untouched from all ill effects of mind and samsara. This inner space is there and we need just the right method to move there, once you have understood and experienced nothing can bring you down from that timeless zone. Being in this zone means, being an ocean of joy. It is not just getting little glimpses of joy for some time and then back in rut. This had been a great dilemma of all meditators; as long as they are doing it, they feel good, elated, happy, enlightened, but moment they come out of the place where they meditate, one finds that one is back to square one. Things are exactly the same, people still bother you, you get offended often, jealousies and prejudices are very much intact there. Now individuals begin to plan when they can run away to their safe haven. So they are always on a run. Being an escapist seems very romantic. It seems to provide an easy short cut to all problems.

A Way of Life

Meditation is a way of life. It is to be lived. We have a vast reservoir of energy in us, lying unused, untapped. Once we get in touch with this energy, our life changes from just being an ordinary to a divine one. Meditation is being in tune with our inner energy source.
Life throws up many challenges and if we do not have the right tools to face them, then we’ll fail in our task. These are the tools of patience and tolerance. There are scores of people fighting mental problems – suicides are happening in large numbers. You cross the borderline and end up in a psychiatric ward. Remember that in this fast-paced life, we have to live with competitions which are nerve-wrecking. Then there is a bombardment of advertisements on TV, newspapers, magazines and internet which puts a lot of strain on our mind. This explosion creates false desires. This is the century of exhibitionism – people earn to show off, vanity is on constant display. All this leads to immense pressure on the mind, resulting in a sense of insecurity and lack of trust. Relationships and families start breaking apart.
Meditation is an antidote for the many ailments that our mind and body undergoes in this stressful life. The transformation that comes from the regular practice of meditation is gradual but sure. Interestingly, meditation is not about doing something; rather it is about doing nothing. Meditation is experiencing emptiness and enjoying it – though this enjoying is a mind-oriented experience. Both joy and sorrow are experienced by the mind – and anything that is experienced by the mind does not include meditation. Whatever we do, is done through and by our mind. And releasing ourselves from the clutches of our mind is called meditation.

Sharpen your Attention

To meditate, we need to understand two factors: evaluate the intricacies of the mind (how the mind works) and become familiar with awareness. Once we know how a thought is formulated, what triggers thoughts, what are the conditions in which mind is prone to generate thoughts, only then we can take a leap beyond the cobweb of thoughts and experience the ever-flowing bliss. To understand all this, we need to cultivate and nurture attentiveness, alertness, vigilance and have a sharp microscopic vision – as the Buddha said “Sharpen your vision like a bowman sharpens his arrow”.

I am the soul that wears the costume of his/her body on the stage called “LIFE” & plays the role assigned by the almighty. My existence is eternal and full of love, joy & abundance. I am the bubble of his bountiful ocean of love and compassion. I choose to be a part of this universe in order to learn my lessons which either I have forgotten or have not learned as yet. God chooses my destiny and my paths of learning; my parents, my family, my roles as different characters, my life’s each and every occasion.

Each and every moment is designed by dear lord and I flow with his will. When I grow in mother’s womb for those nine months, my journey of life begins then and there itself. I listen to everything my mother speaks & hears. I grow with whatever she eats, and I feel whatever she feels. When she’s sad, I feel sadder than her for I can’t help her before this world welcomes me. When she’s not well, I not only feel unhealthy but also feel that when I will become part of this world I may not be a very strong person. When my mother is loved and adored, I become a bundle of happiness. She carries me in her womb and I carry her in my heart. I share every experience that she experiences. Whether love or hatred, ignorance or attention, respect or disrespect, joy or sadness, I experience the same, but with more intensity than her because before I take birth I am more aware of my being with higher state of consciousness, and I understand how she feels. I understand her each and every action but can’t express my feelings.
At times when she’s angry, I get scared but I know that fear is something which causes insecurity and instability and my loving mother would not like me to be insecure and fearful child. When she smiles, my heart is filled with colours, and the whole universe gets filled with lights. When someone makes her laugh, not only I bless that person but also pray that our dear lord showers his blessings on that person. When my mother reads good books about life, spirituality, religion & ethics , I grow mentally & emotionally and thus feel blessed that she’s preparing me to face this world in a better way. I feel confident and enthusiastic when my mother talks to me and calls me by sweet nick names. Even her silence speaks to me. She’s not only a mother but a Goddess who takes all the pains willingly & joyfully so that I may be a part of this world. My mother may go through bad times and good times, but she always cares about me more than herself.

God chooses my destiny and my paths of learning; my parents, my family,
my roles as different characters, my life’s each and every occasion.
Each and every moment is designed by dear lord and I flow with his will.

We share the most deep rooted bond among all other relationships of this world. I am not only part of her body from now, but also a part of her soul and she’s my first soul mate whom I can always rely upon. God told me that he resides in all of us and everything that he has created and he has left this to us to find him in our heart & soul. I found my God in my mother. To whom this soul will always be thankful for nurturing me and giving me the opportunity to step into this world. It is the most beautiful & wonderful of communions among all other relationships in this universe. I, The Soul Feel Thankful To Thee (Lord) For Blessing Me With Wonderful, Loving And Caring Mother, To Whom My Soul Will Always Be A Slave. Because I Can Never Repay For What My Loving Mother Does For Me….Love You Lord…Love You Mother.

Eckhart Tolle (born in germany, 1948 as ulrich tolle) is a contemporary spiritual teacher at the age of 29, he experienced a spiritual transformation that marked the beginning of an intense inward journey and the beginning of his function as a counselor and spiritual teacher. He now lives in vancouver british columbia canada the name change from ulrich to eckhart seems to be a reference to german mystic meister eckhart. Eckhart tolle’s non-fiction bestseller, the power of now, emphasizes the importance of being aware of the present moment as a way of not being lost in thought. In tolle’s view, the present is the gateway to a heightened sense of peace and aliveness.

Eckhart Tolle is widely recognized as one of the most inspiring spiritual teachers of our time. Maggie Mavi from Soul Curry met him in London, where he was giving intensive talks after the silence of more than three years.

• SOUL CURRY: ECKHART, PLEASE EXPLAIN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROLONGED SILENCE?

• Eckhart Tolle: For more than three years, I had stopped one particular cycle-the teaching cycle. One of the reasons is because I realized that it’s time to write again. So I wrote another book, ‘A New Earth’, and there was no teaching during this period. By the time I reached the end of the book, I still felt that the new teaching cycle has not yet begun. So I was happy remaining silent. I wouldn’t call it a decision because when you say decision, it implies mind is just working out, what is to be done and what not. It was more like a realization, feeling the energy and seeing what is right, and this is the way I always live. It’s not so much of a mental decision-making but the totality of the present moment, and then you live without thinking, tuning into the total energy field. You can practice this with any situation. Where the mind becomes still, you are very alert, you tune into the energy field, you feel the energy and the answer comes not as a decision but as a realization. Then there is no question about it. It is just so clear.

• SC: HOW WOULD YOU INTRODUCE SELF AWAKENING TO A COMMON MAN ENGROSSED IN THE VICIOUS CIRCLE OF HIS LIFE?

• ET: The first step is to become aware that mind is continuously active. It is always thinking. So I would ask the person whether he realizes that there is a voice in his head which never stops talking; the first step is this realization. Now, it may sound very obvious that my mind never stops thinking but many people are so identified with the voice in their head that they are not even aware of the fact that they have voice in the head because they are the voice. They are so completely possessed by the mind. The key is to direct the person’s attention to their own mind and say, ‘do you realize that there is a voice in your head- that talks, talks and talks.’ The moment they realize it, that’s the first step towards awakening because awakening is to dis-identify from the mind and the dream of unconscious thinking.
  So, once the person has realized that there is a constant noise in my head-mental noise-that is the first glimpse of awakening. This is the place from where you can be aware of the mind, and not be part of the mind. Now this sounds very simple but many people are not even ready for this simple step.

• SC: WHEN ONE IS ON THE PATH OF SPIRITUAL AWAKENING, DOES ONE SEEK GUIDANCE OR IS ONE GUIDED?

• ET: The phrase, ‘when student is ready, the teacher appears’ is indeed true. When there is this inner readiness, very soon something comes to you from the outside, not always immediately in the form of a human being but may be in the form of a book or you would hear something that takes you deeper and from there you go on. In some cases you actually need a spiritual teacher, while for some a spiritually vitally alive book can also take place of a teacher. I have had many letters from the people all over the world whose life has become transformed simply through reading ‘Power of Now’. And this could happen only because there was an inner readiness. This readiness opens the doors of great evolution and this is how the teacher emerges. Teacher is not the person. It’s something that is deeper than the person and it comes when the person becomes transparent to it; when there is less of density. Most human beings have a high density because that’s the density of the workings of the mind and emotional density. When that goes through a shift, you become more present. Present moment is the key. Then a greater consciousness emerges from within – the only real teacher. That consciousness is not yours or mine. It’s consciousness. Truth is always a recognition. It is not something that you learn anew because truth is essentially within you.

• SC: HOW TO BECOME AWARE OF THE PRESENT MOMENT?

• ET: In the beginning, practice being present, being aware, being conscious in the little things that you do in day to day life, that are not challenging. See if you can do them consciously, which means not to make them into means to an end, but simply be fully present. As simple as washing your hands, or when you make a cup of tea, be fully present with every action, rather than looking to the end result that you want to achieve. Usually, the whole process of making a cup of tea is unconscious and finally when you are drinking the cup of tea, you are already looking forward to the next thing. You are never present in the present moment. So when you do things in daily life like putting on your clothes in the morning, be conscious of every touch so that there is a presence as you do that.
  Occasionally, when you look out of the window, focus of something very natural, for example the sky; if you don’t have anything natural, then may be a potted plant, or an animal or anything that you can consciously focus on. It will be of great help, as it will take you out of the mind. Human made things can also make you aware- for example, a car. But it’s easier to connect with the tree and be free of the mind, than to connect with the car, but after awhile you can also do it with the car.
  So when you are not being challenged, sit alone in your room for meditating and simply being, and take in the totality of the room. When you get into your car, instead of immediately starting your car, just for 30 seconds, feel the inner body, the energy field. Stop and just be!
  One never finds those gaps as there are no gaps in one’s life. One needs to continuously find those gaps in the stream of thought. The mind always pulls you from one thought to another and then to another. We just keep thinking, thinking and thinking. One needs to be free of it. It is important to find the gaps in your daily activities and to be free of the compulsive thinking.
  One way of being free- is simply to realize that you are thinking. How can you realize that you are thinking? Now this is not part of thinking. The moment you realize that certain thoughts are going through your head, there is already some freedom there. For most people, stopping their mind doesn’t work because when they try to stop thinking, they usually find they can’t do it but one way of reducing mind activity and finding stillness is actually by not resisting the present moment as it is. Then automatically thinking slows down-the mind activities slow down. All these things are connected. When you say yes to the present moment, the compulsive thinking begins to slow down and you tune into the present moment.
  The gaps don’t need to be long; just a few seconds are sometimes enough. More important than the length is the frequency and the mind often might tell you, ‘I don’t have time for gaps’ but it’s a lie. Everybody, even the busiest person has time to occasionally stop for 10 to 20 seconds. There is nobody who is that busy that they can’t occasionally stop for even 20 seconds.
  Question is, are there those gaps in your life. There is an utmost need to find the gaps: No mind, just stillness. Finding the gaps is more important than meditating. Meditation is a great tool, but if your meditation is one part of your life and then for the rest of your life, you are as unconscious as everybody else then it’s no avail.

• SC: IS BEING IN THE MOMENT A GRADUAL PROCESS OR HAPPENS LIKE AN INSTANT CHANGE?

• ET: Instant deep change is relatively rare but it does happen to some people. It usually happens through some disaster in a person’s life. Perhaps, somebody suddenly loses his/her family or all their possessions. For most people, it is a more gradual change where the thinking mind no longer possesses them. It is the dis-identification from the conditioned mind and a gradual arising of the unconditioned dimension of consciousness., which is a great liberation. Then the person i.e. the conditioned entity weakens and becomes less dense, and the unconditioned being, which is the consciousness, gradually begins to shine through the person. This gradual arising brings the change. Gradually an intense change begins to happen. One feels the need to withdraw completely, as there is a deep pull. Doing simple things like watching TV programs, chatting – all become more of an effort. Suddenly things that were very important, now become less important or in some cases meaningless. The stillness, the space, begins to attract the person. It’s important for the person to go back into the world but without being part of it. One needs to be in it, but not a part of it. It is a different level of consciousness, as one finds the inner stillness. You are still there with everyone but just do not need to participate anymore as a change has begun to happen. The new consciousness is arising.

• SC: HOW IS IT THAT ACTIVITIES LIKE CHATTING, WATCHING TV BECOME LESS IMPORTANT?>

• ET: Yes! Many people find that a lot of human activity that they might have enjoyed, they don’t enjoy it any more. They much prefer to be alone, or to be in nature, or to be alone in their room, or they might feel the impulse to withdraw completely. When the change takes place, the intensity is so deep that it just pulls you away from everything. You begin looking for that space, that stillness, which you were not aware of before and you may need to occasionally withdraw.But ultimately it’s not necessary because you always carry that within you and you can go back into daily activities without loosing it. That’s where you become an important agent of change in the world. Because the world needs you, it needs the new energy coming. So it’s not asking you to permanently withdraw from the world but to go back into the world, without becoming a part of it. There is an expression which is sometimes used in Christianity-`Be in the world but not part of it`. Don’t be part of it but you need to be in it. This means that you embody a different frequency, a different level of consciousness. When you are going through the process of finding that inner stillness, that space in you, doing simple things like watching television or sitting and chatting, having a regular conversation with friends becomes more of an effort, because you don’t feel the need to be talking or listening. Suddenly you find that you might want to just sit, but not listen and not be part of that conversation because it doesn’t mean anything much to you anymore.
  All the things that otherwise people enjoy, like gossiping, criticizing, which are favorite activities of many people. It all becomes quite meaningless and you don’t want to be part of it anymore. You might still be with your old friends but not participating in the conversation. Now it could happen that your old friends don’t want to be with you anymore because you are not interesting enough. So, some people find that eventually a change happens. Some old friends also get drawn into the new consciousness while others drop away, but they will evolve in their own time.

• SC: IN ‘POWER OF NOW’ YOU HAVE OFTEN MENTIONED ‘SURRENDER TO THE SITUATION COMPLETELY’. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

• ET: It simply means to say ‘YES’ to this moment. That is the state of surrender-a total yes to what is. And the complete yes to what is, is the transcendence of the world. The usual state of consciousness is to resist, to run away from it, to deny it, to not look at it. And surrendering to the situtation means to welcome this moment, embrace this moment. This is all that’s needed. No inner resistance to what is! No inner resistance to the present moment, i.e. to surrender by letting go of resistance, and you only let go of resistancewhen you realize the futility of resistance. You realize how much damage it does, first to your body because it is a negative state and a prolonged negative state creates disease in the body. It does damage to the human relations. It spreads like disease. It inflicts others. Every negativity infects others and it re-enforces their negativity. So you see it’s futile, it doesn’t help. It spreads
  like pollution. You could call it psychic pollution which is far worse than physical pollution and I believe things are connected. You experience so much pollution in physical realm because there is tremendous amount of pollution in your psychic realm. Where the outer always reflects the inner. So it’s up to you to bring about the change rather than demanding that situations should change or other people should change and behave differently. We often demand that the other people should behave differently an then we will be ok. You drop the demand that others should behave differently. It starts with you. If you start behaving differently, after awhile, you will notice changes in the other people’s behavior but you didn’t demand it. It just happens.

A role model in many respects, Kiran Bedi is the most admired woman of India. She broke new ground by joining the élite Indian Police Service in 1972, the first woman in India to do so. Her accomplishments as India’s first & highest ranking woman police officer and a philanthropist have established her as one of the most respected public figures today. Her humane and fearless approach has contributed greatly to innumerable innovative policing and prison reforms. She not only introduced a “Godly approach to jail inmates” with the introduction of yoga, meditation and discourses by various sections of religious groups to inculcate spirituality and human values amongst the under trials and convicts, men and women but also empowered them with education. Vanshika Gaba from Soul Curry spoke to Kiran Bedi about her approach to life.

• Soul Curry: How do you define spirituality? What changes has it brought into your life as a person and as a police officer?

• Kiran Bedi: Spirituality is our whole being. Clean thoughts are spirituality. For me, spirituality is clean thoughts, clean mind, clean action, and clean human being. In my life, it has been a growth and not a new learning. This is the way I believed as a student and as a person. When I was growing up, this has been my education, my training, the nurturing from my parents, and environment i.e. clean mind, clean thoughts, clean hands, clean human being which is a spiritual human being.
  I have been growing in this belief, that’s why I am in Indian police because this service is meant entirely for that; to help people stay clean. And this is the reason why this service attracted me as it has the power and potential to help people stay clean. So, for me it was not to pick up dirty people or people with dirty hands but the people to be kept clean. I look at the glass half full and not half empty.
  When I was small, my parents used to say, “If you want to know how others feel about what you do, get into the others shoe, you will see where it pinches”. And at that time 40-50 yrs ago when I was in my early school days it was this which mattered, this has the philosophy of spirituality.

“I have teachers, books, scriptures, and discourses but there’s not yet that stage come in my life where I could say that this is the end…this person is my Guru.”

• SC: You introduced Vipasanna Meditation in Tihar Jail. Why did you choose vipassana?

• KB: In prison, I was looking for solutions, all possible strategies, all possible options and this came as an option. I didn’t choose this out of many, as I haven’t experienced all. The most significant thing was that it got accepted by everyone because it did not have any form of religion. Vipassana was one which was more of internal understanding, more of internal reflection than external formation. So, with no external formation you can sit and meditate anywhere in any form. It was not any formal religion of praying to a name, or a mantra; Muslims could accept it, Hindus could accept it, Sikhs could accept it because it did not have any form. There was no jaap, no prayer, and no form, only understanding yourself that anyone would be willing to do. In prison, where there are people of every denomination and they have very rigid views, very strong views, like the Sikh would say Guru Granth Sahib is my last word, the Hindu will say Geeta is my last word, the Muslim may say Quran is my last word, the Christian might say Bible is my last word, but Vipassana emphasized on understanding the meaning behind all of them. In fact not only understanding, but imbibing and living those values. Therefore, it is rising above; it is like living those teachings, which is why Vipassana worked very well as it was not about limiting but expanding.

• SC: In every walk of life, one needs the right guidance and training. Do you have a mentor? Do you listen to a Guru?

• KB: I listen to a lot of discourses. I do pray. I have a temple in my house but I don’t limit myself. I have teachers, books, scriptures, and discourses but there’s not yet that stage come in my life where I could say that this is the end…this person is my Guru. But I have many many teachers in my life.

“For me, spirituality is clean thoughts, clean mind, clean action, and clean human being.”

• SC: How do you deal with your problems in life?

• KB: Life is a challenge. My problems in life are not different from any other. In fact they are same for everyone but I think the challenges are different. When you are in the profession like mine then the challenges ought to be different. If you are in some other profession then there are some other kinds of challenges.
  Challenges are like stepping stones. Either you make them as a step to climb up or you make them as a blockage. In my approach I recognised that whenever you have a challenge, there is an opposite reaction. So, the need is to understand the concept of opposite reaction. I don’t look at the reaction as something to block my way, rather I take it as something in a way that I have to climb over and look at the next hill. So, my whole approach has been – not to expect nothing but to expect anything and to look for which is my next step to climb and convert it into a stepping stone to step over it. Now this comes with grace. It cannot come with the ‘I’; it’s something within the ‘I’ that is also giving you the energy. While you have the energy, there is something that is sparking the energy to face the challenges. To me, that’s the hidden invisible grace and nothing comes without grace. Even being healthy is by grace. Why I must eat the right thing and live the right way, there is something that is protecting the rightness. Many people do feel differently, even the feeling of that invisible grace is a grace by itself. I feel the hands of protection around me. When I am in awkward situations, I feel there is some hand that is protecting me and I remain grateful. It is invisible. You can just feel it in circumstances like when you could have been killed, you could have been injured, you could have been hurt, and then you feel that something protected you; so what protected you is the invisible grace which stays with you. To me, that’s the special spiritual grace.

• SC: According to you what steps should be taken to improve the situation of women in this society?

• KB: It is to educate her and to set her free. Let her seek her needs as much as a man’s needs. Just as man needs to be free and work for himself and be a provider, so should woman be allowed to educate herself to the maximum she wants and choose her own course of life and to be her own provider. Why should others dictate what she should do, as they don’t decide for men what they should do. So, women should be free enough to decide for themselves. Set them free and let them choose there own righteous path, walk on those paths and be the source of strength and energy for themselves. They are as good as men and in fact if they can do better. Allow them to grow and be on their own, so that they can be the providers in more than one way; they are already providers to the society, but let them be the providers in many more ways like men; man is a provider in every aspect, so should a woman be a provider in every aspect and let her choose the aspect.

“Just as man needs to be free and work for himself and be a provider, so should woman be allowed to educate herself to the maximum she wants and choose her own course of life and to be her own provider.”

• SC: Even in today’s 21st century, female foeticide is widely practiced. What do you think are the reasons of such brutal acts and what steps should be taken to eradicate them from grass root level?

• KB: This is happening because somebody else is deciding for her that she should deliver a boy or a girl. Somebody else is controlling her all the time and she allows herself to be controlled because she has been conditioned that she is weak. But if she is strong, she will not let anybody control. On the contrary, she will stop others from being victims. So, she allows herself to be a victim. The more she becomes a victim, the more others victimize her. The day she says I stop being a victim and I will not be a victim, she stops others from being a victim. She can do this by educating herself, but first somebody has to allow her to be educated so that she gets empowered.

• SC: You have started many projects. What do you foresee for society?

• KB: A lot of sharing and giving; a lot of doing and creating. I want to do more. I want to share more. I want to create more. I want to give more.

• SC: In this highly demanding schedule of yours, how do you de-stress yourself?

• KB: A good sound sleep at night. To me, sound sleep with a morning meditative walk is the nutrition of the day. It gives you energy enough for the day and still leaves a reservoir.

DESTRESSOR

Live a simple life. Live a life of
giving, simplicity, moderation,
giving and remain happy during
the day.

Message for Youngsters…

I have always said, “youngsters have two big assets: health and time, the great combination. If you have good health & time and you use it well. Then you will be the king or the queen and if you loose them, you will be the beggar for the rest of your life. So, build it for the first 20-22 yrs. of your life, you are the king all your life.”