Mysorean

There was a talk on “What is Success in Life?” by Swami Dayananda Saraswathi yesterday at K.L.N. Prasad Auditorium, Hyderabad. I will try to articulate the 40-minute speech here. The learned and well-versed Swamiji laced his speech with characteristic humour and made it sound quite down-to-earth. Though I felt he could have avoided unnecessary swipes at other religions, as my uncle said after the speech, “Somebody needs to protect Hinduism too”. Maybe it’s true. I am thinking.

The Chief Guest of the evening, Hon’ble Justice L. Narasimha Reddy tried interpreting the topic in his way and gave his ideas on it. He said, “Success is something that is achieved on meeting Goals. An individual fixes a goal before starting out and at the end if he has achieved whatever he had set for himself, then success is achieved.” Fair enough we thought. We applauded.

Then Swamiji began.

What is Success? You have a desire. You achieve it. If the means of achieving that desire are within the confines of Dharma, then it is a success. That’s all. That’s why you need people like hon’ble Justice! [Pointing to the chief guest of the day!Audience is impressed. Laughter all around. Appluase follows!]

In life, we play multiple roles. A father, an employee, a son, etc. There are homes in which “Father is coming” is announced as if some ghost is coming. And as if on cue, the children rush into their rooms hiding from their father. Everybody is running to take shelter somewhere. The only person to come out is ‘the dog’ of the house! Ah! What a success! [Audience is in splits! Applause follows!] In some cases, even the dog runs for shelter! [More laughter, more applause!] With the tail in between its legs! [Laughter! Applause!]

There are some religions where it is preached, “Don’t have any desires. Be desire-less. The state of desireless-ness is happiness. Between the fulfilment of one desire and the beginning of another desire is defined as happiness.”

Don’t have any desires is like saying,”You are having an headache? Cut off your head!”. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Now you laughed. What desire did you fulfill you tell me?! You were happy, you laughed. Sometimes, happiness can also be achieved by not fulfilling any desire.

Have desires. It is healthy to have desires. If you have desire you will experience failure. You will learn how to come out of it. You will grow as a person. But make sure the means to achieve your desire is within the confines of Dharma.

We, human beings, have two things to do. We have to survive, and take care of ourselves to follow Dharma. Because there are predators all around. Be careful. They are waiting to prey on you.

But we have one more thing to do. “Make-up”. If we don’t have hair, we do some farming on our head to help hair growth. If we have some hair left, then we need to comb it from one side to another. If we have to hear a swamiji speak we need to comb our hair, put on a good dress and come. So, that means we have three things to do. Survive, take care and make-up! [Audience is almost on the floor laughing!]

What is Dharma you might ask. The Dharma being referred to here is Samanya Dharma. Lord Krishna has said, “I manifest myself in the form of desire in you. I am desire”. But before that he says, “I manifest myself in you as Samanya Dharma”.

What is Samanya Dharma? In order to have a desire you need to examine if it falls under the confines of Samanya Dharma. It is something like the “Law of Gravitation” that a baby monkey knows. Have you ever seen a Mother monkey tell it’s baby monkey, “See, you will need to hold on to me tightly. Otherwise gravitation will pull you down and you will fall”. Have you ever seen a baby monkey ask, “What is gravitation?”!

Similar to the knowledge of gravitation to a monkey, is the Samanya Dharma to a Hindu. Why is it called “Samanya”? Because it is “Samana” to all. “Samana” means common to all. It exists in everybody. In Hinduism, ends does not justify means. Never. The means have to be as righteous as the end being achieved.

Finally, success is following Dharma to achieve a desire.
[Applause! Applause! Applause!]

Quoting my dear friend Arjuna, on the strength of desire to see God. He quotes an incident involving Sri Ramakrishna Paramahmsa.

Once when Ramakrishna Paramahansa was standing in a river along with a disciple. The disciple told that he wanted to see God immediately. Ramakrishna then pushed the head of the disciple inside the river. The disciple could not hold it for long. But Ramakrishna did not relax his grip. But finally, the disciple gave a mighty push and emerged out of water. He asked why Ramakirshna did that to him. Ramakrishna then told that, if he had a desire to see God equal to that of him to emerge from water he had before, then God would immediately come before him.

Seeking the Divine is the goal of life. Reaching the Divine is the realization of life.

[Via Appa - An article in The Hindu]

It is paradoxical that the majority of human beings fritter away their entire life in pursuit of sensory joys, which are short-lived, while they hardly aspire for Self-knowledge, which will give them eternal bliss. Even realising this irony will go a long way in enabling a person to keep the spiritual objective in mind while engaged in the world. In the BhagavadGita, Lord Krishna has stated that the senses are turbulent by nature andthey distract the mind when one practises self-control. So it is with effort that a spiritual seeker must master his senses and meditate on God.

In his discourse, Swami Omkarananda said the Lord had outlined thecharacteristics of a man of wisdom (Stithaprajna) in the Gita to enable theaspirant to develop these traits. Being an embodiment of bliss, a wise mandoes not seek joy outside. As he is poised in the non-duality of the Self heis aware that the diversity that is apparent to his senses is a delusion asa result of Maya. So he advocates Dharma without getting affected by thejoys and sorrows of the world.

Why is there so much emphasis in the scriptural texts on control of the mind and the senses? It is only by self-control that one can develop dispassion.Only when there is detachment can one embark on scriptural study by which Self-knowledge can be attained. Unless the mind is free from the turmoil created by sensations it cannot grasp the preceptor’s teachings. The Gita rationalises this prerequisite for spiritual life succinctly in a verse, “He who has not controlled his mind and senses can have no reason; nor can such an undisciplined man think of God. The unthinking man can have no peace; and, how can there be happiness for one lacking peace of mind?”

After studying the scriptures from a Guru, the spiritual seeker must seek solitude and reflect on the teachings, and engage in meditation. The scriptural texts do not say that he returns to worldly life. The example of Yayati will be relevant to highlight the importance of self-control. He enjoyed heavenly pleasures for over a thousand years before he understood that it is impossible to satisfy one’s desires. Like a fire fed by fuel burns brighter, desires only grow stronger when one tries to satisfy them. So a wise person must never become a slave to his senses.

When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavor and purpose. When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else.

When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child’s song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the village gathers and chants the child’s song. When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the people again come together and sing. At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song. Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person’s bed, just as they did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life.

When I have shared this story in my lectures, a fair amount of people in the audience come to tears. There is something inside each of us that knows we have a song, and we wish those we love would recognize it and support us to sing it. In some of my seminars I ask people to verbalize to a partner the one phrase they wish their parents had said to them as a child. Then the partner lovingly whispers it in their ear. This exercise goes very deep, and many significant insights start to click. How we all long to be loved, acknowledged, and accepted for who we are!

In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them. The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.

A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it. Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.

One summer when I was a teenager I went to visit my cousin and her family in Wilmington, Delaware. One afternoon she took me to the community pool, where I met a man who changed my life. Mr. Simmons talked to me for about ten minutes. It wasn’t what he said that affected me so deeply; it was how he listened to me. He asked me questions about my life, my feelings, and my interests. The unusual thing about Mr. Simmons was that he paid attention to my answers. Although I had family, friends, and teachers, this man was the only person in my world who seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say and valued me for who I was. After our brief conversation I never saw him again. I probably never will. I’m sure he had no idea that he gave me the gift of a lifetime. Maybe he was one of those angels who show up for a brief mission on earth, to give someone faith, confidence, and hope when they most need it.

If you do not give your song a voice, you will feel lost, alone, and confused. If you express it, you will come to life. I have also done a workshop exercise in which everyone in the room is given a piece of paper with the name of a simple song on it, such as “Mary Had a Little Lamb” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” In the whole group there are perhaps eight different songs, and a half-dozen people have the same song named on their paper. Each person is then asked to mill around the room while they whistle or hum their song. When they find someone else playing the same song, they stay together until they find everyone who is singing that song. Thus they create small groups that serve as touchstones for the duration of the program.

Life is very much like this exercise. We attract people on a similar wavelength so we can support each other to sing aloud. Sometimes we attract people who challenge us by telling us that we cannot or should not sing our song in public. Yet these people help us too, for they stimulate us to find greater courage to sing it.

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn’t. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you’ll find your way home.

[via Boopesh]

A young Japanese man named Shui was riding on a crowded train when a belligerent drunk made his way through the train car and began to rough up passengers. Shui had studied martial arts for many years, yet never before had he been forced into a public confrontation. Shui felt his blood begin to boil, and realized the ruffian needed to be stopped before he hurt someone badly.

Shui stood up, blocked the fellow’s path, and the two exchanged angry words. As the men were about to square off, Shui felt a hand on his arm. He looked down and saw a frail old man. “Let me handle this,” the elder insisted.

Shui watched in amazement as the old man invited the heavy to have a seat next to him. Strangely, he acquiesced. The elder began to engage the fellow, asking him questions about his life and looking him in the eye with kindness and compassion. After a while the thug confessed that his wife had just died and he was in great pain; he had gone out and gotten drunk to numb his agony. The old man placed a comforting hand on the fellow’s shoulder, and he began to weep. Before Shui’s eyes the intruder was transformed from a villain into an innocent child.

When the train arrived at the next station, the tough guy thanked the old man and exited the car. Shui, stunned, sat down next to the old man and asked him, “Why did you stop me?”

“You were about to meet that man’s violence with your own,” answered the old man. “In true martial arts, if you hurt your opponent in any way, you cannot call your act a victory.”

We have all encountered people whom we feel we must protect ourselves from. Yet there is a way to keep ourselves safe without hurting others. It is the strongest way to protect our peace. Although we have been taught that we must wield pain as a weapon to keep others at a distance, it is not so. We gain all together or not at all. To wish ill upon anyone is to hurt ourself.

I used to visit a prisoner named Ron. Years earlier, in college, Ron had a girlfriend named Jen. One night the couple had an argument, and in a fit of rage, Ron beat her up. Tragically, she died. Ron was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to many years in prison.

I met Ron when he was up for parole after nine years of incarceration. In contrast to his violent act, I found him to be a gentle soul. He was contrite about his crime and he had used his time in prison to advance his spiritual growth. Ron studied A Course in Miracles, he was active in the prison church, he was liked by the other prisoners and staff, and he had worked his way up to a responsible position managing the prison laundry. When I visited Ron, I sensed no cruelty in him and he certainly did not seem like a dangerous criminal to me.

Ron told me that he had been denied parole repeatedly because Jen’s parents had mounted a citywide campaign to keep him in jail. Each year when Ron was eligible to be released, Jen’s parents took out newspaper ads, exerted their political influence, and orchestrated a concerted community effort to “keep this killer off the streets.” Yet, looking at this man, I did not see a killer at all. I saw a basically good man who had made a heartbreaking mistake.

“So how are you dealing with Jen’s parents?” I asked Ron.
“I send them love and prayer,” he answered. “I understand that they are very angry and they must be in great pain. If I could go back and undo my act, I surely would. More than anything, I wish I could bring Jen back. But I can’t. So I am just deepening my relationship with God right where I am and trying to be a blessing to the world.”

As I left my meeting with Ron that day, I wondered who was really in prison. Ron was locked up physically, but his soul was soaring. Meanwhile, Jen’s parents were quite wealthy and enjoyed unlimited physical freedom, yet they were consumed by anger and vengeance. It seemed to me that their wrathful thoughts were creating walls more formidable than those encasing Ron.

Because we are spiritual beings at our essence, what we do with our spirit influences us more profoundly than what we do with our body. Heaven and hell are not places we go or conditions the outer world imposes on us; they are experiences we create with our thoughts and beliefs. A Course in Miracles tells us, “I am affected only by my thoughts.” Where our mind goes, there we are. The desire to hurt brings us instant pain, while the desire to heal brings us instant freedom.

If you are angry with anyone, or involved in a conflict, keep reaching for a solution that leaves everyone whole. If you feel you need to hurt someone or take something away from them to make things even, you do violence mostly to yourself. Instead of seeing them as a villain, regard them as wounded or calling for love. No one does anything mean or foolish unless they are in great pain. To try to inflict more pain only exacerbates their sense of disconnection. As you connect with your own sense of peace, you invite them to claim theirs. Only then can you say you have won.

[via Boopesh]

How much is a kind word worth? How deeply can a touch heal? How important are your little interactions with your family, friends, and clients?

Hairdresser David Wagner learned these answers from a customer who came to him regularly every month. One day she phoned David in between her regular visits and asked if he would style her hair for an important event that evening. David fit her into his schedule and gave her his usual loving attention. He talked amiably with her, laughed, touched her kindly, and told her how beautiful she looked. After her session, she smiled and thanked him.

You can imagine David’s shock when a few days later he received a handwritten letter from the woman explaining that the important event she wanted to look good for that evening was her own funeral. She had planned to commit suicide later that day. When she spent time with David, however, the kindness he showed her influenced her to change her mind. She decided that life was worth living, and she could go on.

This extraordinary feedback inspired David to reconsider what he was doing with his work and his life. He realized that his purpose with customers went far beyond cutting hair. Within his own sphere of influence he had the power to make people’s days – and even lives. So he adopted the vocation of “Daymaker.” Now, as owner of ten successful spas that treat thousands of people each day, David teaches his employees to see themselves as daymakers.

His inspiring book Life as a Daymaker chronicles his adventures and techniques. Never underestimate the power of a kind word or thought. It may affect one or many, many people without you even knowing it. Even a gentle touch can make a huge difference.

My friend Rick Jarrow was participating in an intensive Zen meditation retreat that required him to meditate many hours a day in rigorous conditions. One morning Rick decided this was just too hard, and he would leave the retreat after the morning silent walking meditation practice. During the walk, a student behind Rick gently placed his hand on Rick’s shoulder. “In that touch,” Rick told me, “I felt totally comforted and encouraged. It was as if my friend was saying, ‘I know this is hard for you. I believe in you. You have what it takes to do this.’ So I decided to stay, and I went on to gain tremendous strength from that retreat. That touch was the turning point.”

You don’t even need to speak or touch someone to help them. You can serve simply by the energy of your being. Emerson noted, “Who you are speaks to me so loudly that I can hardly hear what you are saying.” Indeed at every moment we radiate empowerment or discouragement simply by the feelings we dwell in.

One day while I was standing in line at a deli counter, I noticed a woman in a line beside mine. She kept looking at me as if she knew me. I didn’t recognize her, so I just kept moving ahead. When we finally arrived at the counter at the same time, the woman turned to me and asked, “Why are you so happy?” Her question took me by surprise. I wasn’t thinking about being happy or even trying. “I guess I’m just glad to be here and alive,” I answered. “How about you?” I asked her. “How is your day going?” She thought for a moment and then answered, “Well, it wasn’t going so well. But now that I saw you, I feel a lot better.”

With that, we both smiled and went on our ways. As I thought more about her comment, I realized it was the most meaningful compliment I could ever receive. Just being was healing. I have experienced such healing simply by seeing a peaceful person for a moment.

One day I was rushing through an airport when I noticed a man who looked unusually serene. His face was soft, his gait was light, and his demeanor felt comforting. In that moment my energy shifted from anxious hurry to deep peace. Though he will never know it, he taught me that airports are not necessarily stressful. Stressful thoughts are more dangerous than airports. If we choose healing thoughts, we become a beacon of peace in apparently dense or dark places.

A friend went to pick up a revered rabbi from the airport. As the two drove toward the tollbooths to exit the airport parking lot, my friend had to choose between an automatic payment lane and a lane manned by an attendant. “Take the lane where you pay a person,” the rabbi urged him. “Why is that?” asked my friend. “Because any opportunity to make contact with another human being is a blessing from God,” answered the rabbi.

In this light, every one of our interactions is a prayer. There are no chance encounters and no small meetings. Everyone we meet is sent to us by God for a noble purpose. Every relationship, no matter how brief, is an invitation to connect. As we remember to keep love first, we have our priorities in order and we might even save someone’s life – beginning with our own.

[via Boopesh]

Are you worrying about how something important to you will turn out? I know the answer. You’ve got to believe me.

I dreamed that a friend of mine had just gone through a painful breakup with her boyfriend. She felt devastated because she had thought for sure this fellow was the man of her dreams and they would be together for life. Now she was heartbroken and discouraged, and feared to face her future.

In the dream, I was telephoning my friend from two years forward in the future. From that vantage point, I knew what had happened since her breakup. Her future was already history to me. During that time she had met a wonderful man, they had married, and she was very happy. The breakup was of no consequence now; in fact, it put her in a position to meet this fine fellow.

On the telephone, I told her, “Please listen to me. I know this sounds crazy, but I am seeing your life from two years ahead of where you are now. I know what will happen because, from where I am standing, it has already happened. Within the next two years you will meet an awesome man and be happily married. You’ve got to believe me.”

I awoke from the dream feeling deep bliss and fulfillment. There are many levels and kinds of dreams; this one was an inspirational vision from a higher power. Beyond the message for my friend, I had received a universal lesson. God could call any of us up and say, “Please listen to me. I am standing in your future, and I can tell you with perfect assurance that the thing you are worrying about now is utterly meaningless. Everything is going to turn out all right, and you will have everything you want. You’ve got to believe me . . .”

One day when I had just begun to present seminars, I was driving to a program and I began to feel nervous. What if my presentation flopped? What if people did not like me? What if my anxiety undermined my skill? And on and on. Then another voice popped into my head with a profound statement that helps me even now. It noted, “You always get nervous before a program, and the program always turns out great. So why bother worrying?” Instantly I relaxed and let go of my fear. The program was a success, and since that time I have approached my presentations with a sense of knowing that all is well and everything will turn out fine.

At one seminar, a young Jewish woman tearfully told of a painful relationship conflict she was struggling with. She was in love with a Muslim man, but her father forbade her to see him. This created a deep quandary for her, since she could not reconcile her love for this man with her desire to honor her father’s wishes and keep harmony in her family. She went on to wrestle with this issue for a long time, and returned to another seminar a year later, still distraught.

Then, several months later, she mailed me a copy of a letter she had written to her father. The letter was a masterful communication filled with honesty, clarity, and compassion. She told her father that she loved him very much and appreciated all that he was to her, but she had to follow her heart and be with the man she loved. As I read the letter, I realized that this woman had finally claimed her power and made a loving stand for her truth.

A year later I received a beautiful photo of her wedding, and a few years later I received another photo of their newborn child. Meanwhile, her father came around to support her. This woman’s joyous resolution represents thousands of journeys I have been privy to in my seminars. I see so many people stuck, confused, or fearful about what will come next. Eventually they somehow handle their issues, and the universe gives them a hand with the details. I have seen this process so often in so many lives, including my own, that when I offer counseling, I can assure my clients that somehow things will work out. Their job is to get out of the way and let it be.

And not only do things somehow work out, but the process of getting to that point ultimately empowers them more than if the challenging event had not occurred. So every piece of the jigsaw puzzle fits.

A Course in Miracles tells us, “A happy outcome to all things is sure.” That’s a big chunk of truth to bite off if you are accustomed to fearing that if you do not control every detail of your life – and perhaps the lives of others – things will fall apart. But when you let go and trust the process, things usually fall together. The Course also tells us that it takes great learning to realize that all events, encounters, and experiences are helpful.

So here I am, two years into your future, telling you that that thing you are worried about will turn out fine, and every step in the journey will be an integral one. You’ve got to believe me.

A nation is not its land and buildings—it is its people. If we as a nation have to rise and be empowered, the first and the foremost thing we need to do is to empower the people.

Empowerment does not mean amassing of material wealth, or technology, but is entirely an inner process, a spiritual process. Without the necessary sensitivity, inner balance and the faculty of discrimination in individuals, widespread negativity and perversions creep in. This is how a human being or an entire culture sinks to its depths.

Never before has mankind been as comfortable as it is today. The kind of comforts and conveniences that even kings did not have a hundred years ago are now available to the common man. Today our pursuit for these is so vigorous that the very life of the planet is being threatened. Yet, it cannot be said that we are any happier than our forefathers. This is because people try to create an outwardly perfect life, but the quality of our lives is based upon our interiority.

Modern technology has tremendous capability for both—creating well-being or total destruction. Without bringing in the dimension of spirituality that brings an experience of all-inclusiveness in individuals, it will surely bring destruction not just to humanity but the planet itself.

After all, whatever every human being is doing, whether it is pursuing money, or pleasure or God, he is only seeking his own well-being. Spirituality only expands this innate urge to include the whole humanity within oneself. This is the only way that human well-being can happen.

Developing the spiritual core of humanity does not mean propagating any particular religion. Unfortunately, today most religions have been reduced to mere belief systems. And belief systems are bound to conflict with one another. Spirituality means to raise the body, mind and spirit to its true potential. Once this is established other challenges can be handled rather effortlessly. When we strive to create human beings functioning at their ultimate potential then his general well-being is naturally take care of.

In every society, it is necessary that there is at least a handful of people whose passion in life is beyond their own well-being. Every society needs those individuals who will go on planting mango trees without thinking whether they will get to eat the fruits or not. Of all the degenerations we have suffered, this is the most damaging, as the nation has been deprived of its greatest strength—producing exalted beings who are rooted in a different dimension of existence and whose very presence is a blessing to the planet.

One example that the world is familiar with and whose fruits we continue to eat is Gautama Buddha. As a prince, perhaps he would have had a few more wives and children and ruled over his little kingdom, but as an Enlightened Master in many ways he has changed the course of life on the planet. We value this culture not because we happened to be born into it, but because this culture had perfected the technology of producing such beings.

When I was twelve or thirteen years of age I happened to come across some literature in which Swami Vivekananda said ‘‘Give me hundred truly dedicated people and I will change the face of this country.’’ At that time it seems there were three hundred and thirty million people in this country, but he could not find a hundred truly dedicated people. I thought what a tragedy!

A man like Vivekananda, he’s a phenomena, he doesn’t happen every day. When he comes, we could not even give him a hundred people in this vast country. It seemed like a great tragedy for this culture and this country. From that day I always thought in my life I must create at least those hundred people the man dreamt of. For twenty years I have gone around working for this and today, I can proudly say, that we have created many people who place the well-being of the world around much above their own—life or death, these people will fulfill what has to be fulfilled.

Today, I can proudly say that in homes and the marketplace alike we have created people whose vision and experience of life is rooted in the harmony and unboundedness of life rather than any narrow perception of the limited. I can proudly say that it is not just the urban and the privileged, but even the impoverished, whose struggle for existence is a daily process, that are able to walk the inner path to well-being. But this is far from fulfilling what is needed.

There was a time where in a society a few people were spiritual and the rest of the people just went to them for blessings and sustained their lives. Today, with the tools of science and technology we have brought ourselves to a self-threatening situation that everybody in the society needs to turn spiritual, otherwise there is no survival for this world. With the kind of equipment, and capabilities that we have, it just takes one fool to blow it up. And there are any number of those fools standing in the queue to get to the top.

So spirituality is no more a fancy pursuit. It is an absolute necessity for our own survival and the planet’s survival that every human being brings in the spiritual dimension into his life. Unless some sense of oneness touches the people, especially to the leadership in the planet, then self-destruction is a live threat.

Skeptics are quick to ask, ‘‘Is such a thing possible?’’ I want to tell them, do not think of the future of the world on the basis of existing realities. Existing realities on the planet could be changed in a moment, because existing realities do not take into consideration people’s will, they do not take into consideration people’s commitment, they do not take into consideration the love in their hearts.

Existing realities are just looking at the number of people that died on the planet today, the number that were slaughtered today, the number of bombs that exist on the planet, but statistics cannot consider what is beating in the human heart. If only we can stoke that, if only we can stir up what is happening in individual hearts, miracles are possible.

It is not far away, we just need to work for it. With the spiritual legacy of this land, with the spiritual processes that are available to us today, it is definitely a possibility. If we dedicate ourselves to making this happen around us, we can see in our own lifetime something tremendous and dramatic happening on the planet.

SADHGURU JAGGI VASUDEV

As promised, the next post regarding the discourse by Swami Atmashraddhananda on Katha Upanishad on our blog.

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