OF BONDAGE AND LIBERATION

I have been listening to the Bhagvad Geeta for one week,each month.
Last week it came to an end, the 18 chapter was done, a lifetime ambition of mine was fullfilled , to hear the whole Geeta at least once in my life.
In it there was a verse on bondage and liberation, which made me think.
The two are so paradoxical , yet one cannot exist without the other..

To start at the very basic level, 'I sometimes say that I feel liberated, I dont do any housework, the servants manage everthing..ok great feeling, but then, what happens when the food served is not good, and the family complains.. don't we feel bad?
Bondage to the ego?
If instead, one did their housework, for the short time it takes to do it, and yes it may have felt like a bondage at that time, are we not then liberated forthe whole day, and we don't have to hear criticism for work /food not properly done.
Simple logic..
This is at the level of a householder.

At the next level, of relationships...
Sometimes we feel trapped in certain relationships, be it on the personal level, or at work, like with a boss.
If we were to shift the focus from saying that I am trapped, and am here for financial reasons, or because it is my duty, etc, the hundred reasons we give ourselves to feel the victim..and thereby feel "bonded"
and
Were to shift the focus to what that situation offers me in return, e.g in a job, the freedom to not have to worry about my finances, once I get home, and enjoy the rest of my time,
or
In relationships ,to view the overall situation from the angle of the freedoms that I get/enjoy as a result of that relationship..,
whereas we tend to view the small parts where we feel that we are the victims, instead of the larger whole picture...and the benefits we get..
And
In the ultimate analysis,
What are we actually bonded to..?
OUR MIND..
OUR IDEAS ..
OUR SENSE OF WHAT I THINK , IS THE ONLY WAY, AND THE RIGHT WAY...
So actually we have created our own sense of bondage...
and we are the only ones who can liberate ourselves
by..
Understanding that people are a product of their own karmas, vasanas(desires), and are here to fullfill their own life pupose.
That all of us are goverened by our karmas, and that our nature, be it Satwick( pure, thinking type) ,
Rajsic(action oriented)
or Tamasic ( dull witted, indolent, lazy)
is also the result of past karmas,
and that we act under the force of our nature, that it propels us forward,
like water gushing downstream...
(As lord Krishna tells arjun, you are a Kshatriya (warrior), and it is your nature to be rajsic, and therefore even if you dont want to fight, your nature will propel you to fight, if not here, then elsewhere, so pick up your weapons and fight..)
So once we can ...
understand and accept people for what they are,
understand that people cannot but help act the way that they do ,
that our ideas belong to our own mind and ego,
and that it is best not to get to attached to them, and be "bonded "to them, but to let go and be "liberated"
For each one comes with their own karmas which create their destiny.

Therefore why should I dissipate so much of my energy in trying to impose my ideas/thoughts on them..

When I view life with this attitude..
I will then become FREE, LIBERATED,
and
enjoy the peacefullness and quietetude of my own mind.

That I will be free of anxiety and distractions..in the knowing that nothing is in my hands,
and
that my only duty (purushart) is in keeping my mind free from my ego, my anxieties..and all the negative tendancies that arise in one's mind..
To to do this..
All I need to do is SURRNDER to the lord,
knowing that he is doing the best for everone according to their needs..their karmas, their vasanas..
For then I become truly LIBERATED..freed from the BONDS of ego, attacments, desires, anxieties..etc.
And reach that wonderful stae of BLISS as extolled in the scriptures.

OM TAT SAT


we are liberated

The Value of an Apology

APOLOGY

I was down with a terrible attack of Gastro entrites.

My G.P. had been treating me, but the diarrohes continued.

It was a Sunday, and the G.P. is not available on Sundays.

In a panic stricken state, I called Dr.Chichgar, who I know personally, since he is my friend Dilnar's husband.

He went out of his way, came over , and gave me an injection.

I was to have 2 more ,on Monday and Tuesday to complete the course.

On the advice of my G.P. I did not contiue the course.

When The good Dr called to find out how I was doing, I told him that I had not taken the injection...



Naturally he was livid!!



I sent him an sms apologizing about my irresponsible behaviour..to which he graciously replied "No problem"



Today is Sunday again, and I was back to sqaure one, the diarrohea had returned with a vengance...



With great trepidition I called Dr Chichgar..

He was very nice on the phone, and came and gave me an injection, even bringing the medicine, needle and syringe.



Also he did not charge me, either for the visit, or medicine.



Which made me think...

1) What a nice person the Dr is..

2) The value of an Apology..

Mine was a sincere apology, sent immediately after a wrong action commited on my part.

It was accepted and the transaction completed.



What if one were to apply the same principle to people whom we live with ,and interact with, on a daily basis.

That is ,to apologize as soon as one is made aware of a mistake commited by oneself..irrespective of whether the apology is due to ones spouse, children, servant, whoever...



Instead ,we get lost in our Ego..



How could the person have spoken so badly or said such things..and the past looms up like a mountain before us, made up of previous hurts and insults...and we hide behind it, and refuse to apologise!





Why dont we take each transaction/interaction for what it is, and react from that situation?

Why do we let "The Ego"come in the way?



A HEARTFELT APOLOGY can take away so much pain..

I think one of the greatest lessons we can pass on to our children is

"Saying Sorry from the Heart!"

The Illusion of Relationships

Relationships..
Looking back at my life, and from conversations one has had with others.. I realized how illusionary relationships can be.
People who were your closest friends, for no apparent reason ..faded away or suddenly dropped out from your life.., and then came back in.. like the tide going out and coming back in..
And there was always a learning in each of those experiences.. a voyage of self discovery and growth...

The fading away was always very painful, as all endings are wont to be..

Joint families, where one family would not talk to another, , so much bitterness,. as is common in joint families.. and then one day even those barriers dissolved.. and there was amicability and friendship...

Friends who were not talking to each other, are now saying "let us meditate together in peace and harmony.."

Husbands and wives.. the ups and downs.. which sometimes end in ..
divorce..
sometimes in acceptance of each other and a stronger bonding..
sometimes in self growth...
the list is endless ...

But what does all this show..
That relationships are never static or permanent.
That there is constant change in the dynamics of relationships...

There is PAIN, whenever there is a change..and there is no getting away from that...

There are 3 stages to deal with the pain of ,or happiness in, Relationships ..
I think..
First stage..
We go up and down on this sea saw of relationships, and view it as a game, like we did as children playing on the see saw, and play with it, saying "OK , I am sad today,and I am going to allow myself to feel the pain for awhile,
or
I am happy today, so let me enjoy this feeling of joy to the fullest for the moment"
being in complete awareness that both theses states are also temporary, and that they to shall pass away...

Second stage..
We realize that the very nature of relationships is like that of a sea saw, and not get to deeply affected by the ups and down ...
We realize that its all an illusion, that nothing is permanent, so don't get pulled down or ecstatic..

Third stage...
Think that there is a divine plan, and that there is a learning in it for me,that something good is going to come out of this situation, that nothing happens without a reason..and trusting in God, fill yourself up with a feeling of LOVE.. and let it radiate out ( like the sun)..sending out warmth ,caring and and love to all around you...

The benifit...simple..Instead of being awash in bitterness , sorrow, and negativity, you are filled with love, happiness and positivity..

TRY IT!! and let me know..

Passion

Passion...
This word has been playing in my mind from the last two days.. ever since I heard Swami Chinmayanda's dvd in which he states that..
" Its important to have an ideal.. a goal ..
because without a goal, without any inspiration..
the best in you cannot come out.
When you want to achieve something , you bring out the best in you ,
The talents, the abilities, the capacities, which are now lying dormant in you, of which you are unaware, they will start bubling up to the surface.. once you have an inspired goal in your life..
You realize your strenghts and weaknesses when working towards your goal."

I thought how true, and looked back to my life, and found that whenever I needed to do something, which I had never done before, but wanted to..it went off very well..
and I thought,
'Well I never thought I had it in me to do it!'
Of course I worked very hard, but it was fun, and did not seem like work at all..
I was consumed by the work ..

Which brings me to Passion
What is passion.. I would define it as something which consumes all your mental energy joyfuly, when you can think of nothing else but the work at hand,,and even though you work night and day at it, you are not exhausted, but you feel energized.. Theres a buzz in your life...

Then I realized ..
This is akin to falling in love.. when all your energy and time is consumed in thinking about the love of your life...

This is the first tast of passion in the physical form..

It is this same Passion that one has to apply to life I thought..
For when there is passion in whatever you do, life becomes wonderful.. It becomes magical..
Things happen to you, things fall into place.
Your positive energy attracts into your life/sphere... events,people,things, etc...whatever is needed to get the job done.

So why is it that we dont teach our children to find their passion..

Why is success measured in terms of money and not in terms of ...
"Am I happy doing what I am doing.."
"How do I feel each morning?
"Am I excited about today!"

And if the answer to all the above is YES, then you are success..

That money is something which is in your destiny..
But happiness is in your hands..in doing what you love to do, in what you are are intrinsicly good at...

Which then led me to think, Why did God put this feeling of passion in us?

First at the physical level,
Then at the mental level via our work..

And then the answer came to me..

To Find the God within , there are 3 different paths..
1) The path of work or Karma yoga
2) The path of devotion or Bhakthi yoga
3) The path of knowledge and contemplation or Gyan yoga

I know a friend who is totally into bhakti, and does it with all her heart and soul..its her passion..
I am into the gyan path..its my passion, as you can sense it when reading my blog!
And we are both passionate about feeling/experincing the God within, even though our paths are different.

And that is the purpose of PASSION
To lead you from the physical,
To the mental,
To the most subtle.

For it is only at this level that you can experience the DIVINE ,which is ..
YOU.