Obsacles are actually Opportunities to learn..

I had often heard/read this phrase and wondered how it was possible, till I experienced it myself...
I had borrowed a dvd of Swami Chinmayanad, Atma Bodha, and had to pass it on to a study group member on Tuesday.
Today was Sunday..and to my horror I discovered that the T.V. was not working, and being Sunday, there was no way it could be repaired , and tomorrow was Dussera, another holiday..

How do i see your dvd ..

I prayed to the Gods, and somehow I had this firm belief that I would see it..so I waited for the day to unfold and to see if my belief would manifest into reality.
The children said that it was not possible on their laptops, my computer was not reading the dvd.
I smsd a friend to see if I could borrow an old laptop of hers, and she replied that hers was spoilt, so now what?

Then my daughter came up with an idea, of using an external drive on our computer, which was fine, but then the mouse was not working..
She then told me to remove the printer and attach the mouse in its place...which I did using my common sense..since I was unaware of how the hardware got attached etc...and hey presto, I had the dvd working on my computer...

Lessons learnt..
1) That I had common sense, and by using it , any problem can be solved..
2) More important, when you deeply believe that God will make something happen, He does..you only have to have the faith and patience...

P.S. I enjoyed myself immensly, watching the dvd on my computer for as long as I wanted, which was a better option than being able to watch it on the family T.V, where I would get limited time to watch , since everbody loves the T.V....

As a friend said, you only have to take the first step in the dance....and then experience Him leading you into the most perfect waltz...which I did!!

Bhajans and the Divine Presence

Yesterday was a very spiritual day for me.

I had my Upanishad class in the morning, in which we were taught ..

"That when we are dreaming, everything seems so real, and when we wake up, we realize that it was only a dream, and so are not perturbed if it was a bad dream, or, if it was a good dream.... are saddened that it was only a dream!
Likewise , this world that we are living in, where our joys and sorrows seem so real, are as real as the dream world, ONCE WE DISCOVER OUR TRUE NATURE, WHICH IS PURE BLISS (Sat Chit Anand)"

I went away, hoping to experience this "Pure Bliss"

Then I went for my yoga class, which futher quietened my mind and made it more peaceful..
And from there to my friends house for Bhajans , which she had arranged , as part of her husbands 50 birthday celebrations.

Well what to say of the Bhajans..
They were sung by a young man from the "Art Of Living foundation
He had the most beautiful voice, you felt surrunded by velvet..
He asked us to close our eyes and become one with the music, and sing after him., and to sway , clap , whatever, with the music.
In other words to let the music take over..
Which I did ...and was slowly transported to the wonderful Blissful state that I was hearing about in the morning..
One felt the Divine within and around.. pure BHRAMAN is what i imagined it to be...
Then the Bhajan ended, and one came floating back...have experienced for a few moments in time " TRUE BLISS.."

I could now understand why people chant in groups, their is a certain dynamism in group energy .
Also when you become one with whatever you are doing , like the music , I was lost in it, one forgets their other problems, etc..

AND
This, I realized
Is what is meant by being in the NOW..

For when is at ONE WITH THE PRESENT MOMENT, our actions become more focused and powerful, as their is greater clarity in our thinking,because our minds are not clouded with anxiety/worry about the past or future actions..

So, live in the NOW !!,
or,
As said in the Bhagvad Gita,
"You have control over your action only, not the fruit, leave that to me..."