LESSONS FROM KITE FLYING

"Even a simple phenomenon when viewed with heightened awareness, can unfold new avenues of learning". Every moment, every encounter, every activity and every experience have within it an unspoken message. There is something even in nothing, and there is everything in something.

                

1) Freedom & Discipline – The entire significance of kite’s freedom comes from it being disciplined by the thumb and a finger that is holding the string at the other end. If the hand holding the string let go of it, the kite will fall into directionless death. Freedom has no meaning without discipline. Freedom without discipline is licentiousness.

2) Detached attachment- Flying a kite is all about fun and excitement. It demands complete emotional participation. Even when an adult flies a kite, the child in him or her comes to the surface. His or her gestures are always exaggerated. Yet, when the kite gets snapped off the thread, nothing can be done. You become a mute spectator. Genius is in knowing when to let go. Nothing teaches this lesson better than kite flying. So, stay attached while flying the kite, but accept it’s snapping away with detachment. Detach yourself from the result, but intensity attaches you to the process. Knowing very well that death will detach you from a relationship you cherish, stay attached to it when the person is still around. Practice detached attachment.

3) Risk against all odds- The kite does not rise with the wind, but against the wind. Sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right; sometimes upwards and sometimes it has to fall to rise… but finally it finds itself up in the skies. Life is never going to be free from obstacles and challenges. Yet, when you live up to your potential, you rise against all odds. Compared to the 100 meters dash, a 110 meter hurdle race will just a take little more time and effort; nevertheless, we will go past the finishing line. Go past the finishing line, against all odds.

Be blissful.

S.SEKAR

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com

FOCUS ON HIS FEET

A man who is determined to avoid sinning must resort to nine observances. He must control his indriyas and speak the TRUTH always. He must give to others GENEROUSLY. He should keep his mind and body PURE. He should be KIND to all living beings. He must do JAPA and TAPAS. He must observe BRAHMACHARYA. He must control his MIND. Through these NINE observances, a man’s sins are burnt up. This is saamaanya dharma. Other than this, he should be Calm, Cheerful and Confident at all times. He should have endurance power (titiksha), control his anger, and remain peaceful even under provoking circumstances. By following the above mentioned, he will attain excellence in Life and Living.

A better way is to reach the feet of Lord Narayana through Saranagati (surrender). If a man does this, then just as dewdrops are dried up by the Sun, so will his sins dry up? Through service to Him and to His devotees, the sins of a man who surrenders are destroyed. In addition, this grants a man total freedom from sins. The nine observances do not give this complete freedom from sins.

The practice of serving the Lord and His devotees is an ancient practice, resorted to by great men. Suka says that Pareekshit must know about this path that leads to freedom from sin. In his Gita Bhasya, Ramanuja says that one must do what one’s elders did, and also do it the way they did. Just as great people served Him and His bhaktas, we too should serve God and devotees. If a pot that once contained arrack is washed in the Ganges, does it get purified? It cannot become pure, because it once had contained arrack. Similarly, if you have no Bhakti towards the Lord, you may atone for your sins, but you will never attain absolute release. You will remain in the same state as a pot that once contained arrack.

Bees go from flower to flower. Likewise, the human mind wavers thinking of many things without focus. That mind must be trained to focus only on His feet.

Be blissful.

S.Sekar

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com

SCRIPTURAL STUDY IS FOR WHAT REASON

All the puranas contain a message, which is fundamentally given in Vedas. Vedas are the original scriptures called Sruthi. All other scriptures are called Smrithi and derived from Vedas. Smriti is “that which has been remembered” supplementary and may change over time.

The aim for Veda Vyasa is to promote Vedic teaching through purana. Uddhava Gita is a part of Bhagavatha purana. Veda purva focuses on Dharma sastra. Veda anta focuses on Brahma sastra.

The equation is

Sat Gunani (noble thinking) + Sat Karmani (noble action) + Sat Bhavana (noble attitude) = Dharma sastra.

Being a Vaidiga, we have to follow dharma sastra. Omission of duty called Dharma will attract papam and one will forfeit being born a human. Dharma if followed will give all kinds of benefits. It is an all round well being for you. Spiritual growth is an invisible internal transformation. Desire for spiritual growth should be there within you. The very desire for gaining spiritual knowledge is due to Dharmic way of life in your previous janma. The opportunity for gaining spiritual knowledge will come to that person who follows Dharmic way of life. If you have the interest within you and the opportunity comes for you then spiritual knowledge is not far away from you. Dharma sastra gives Gnana yogyada. Brahma sastra will give Gnanam. Uddhava Gita contains both Dharma sastra and Brahma Sastra. Avadhuda Gita is inside Uddhava Gita.

Scriptural study is not for information. Scriptural study is for transformation in my thought, word and deed (action).

Quality of life depends upon what I am and not what I have. Possession does not give quality but depends up on my way of living. Our tradition considers our internal transformation as the most important.

Our janma is to exhaust our punya papam. Let us learn to endure and move on, gain self-knowledge, and transform ourselves.

Be blissful.

S.Sekar

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY – THINGS TO KNOW

While travelling through our spiritual journey we should learn one important point. Scriptures talk about various disciplines for those who are entering or starting their spiritual journey. They are:

Those who have only spirituality and no other worldly things and possessions. Those who lead the life of a Sanyasi even while living in Grihasthasramam.

A spiritual beginner can pursue Artha and Kama but follow Dharmic way of life. He should do Pancha Maha Yagna; Contribution to various segments. He can earn well and contribute well. Greater the contribution greater the internal growth and greater the pleasure for him. He should continue to be exposed to scriptural teaching and attend spiritual discourse. Finally, renunciation and detachment to things and beings including family members is required. He should not be over attached to his spouse also. Detachment should gradually grow. Detachment should give ananda. It should not be suppression of attachment. Scriptures say that one should gradually go out of attachment. Our mind should grow out of attachment. It is called Vairagyam. Vairagyam is talked about in Bhagavad Gita and Uddhava Gita.

We should have the endurance to go through choiceless difficulties that we are faced with. Old age is a choiceless problem. When there are choiceless difficulties in life, we should allow them to go through because of our endurance. We should avoid impulsive solutions. Before arriving at aggressive solution, always try a peaceful solution first. Use aggressive remedy as a last resort only. If I follow these principles then I have “Kshama”.

All difficulties in life are because of our own past Karma. Our past karma work through our own family members. Even during extreme pain or difficulty, we should follow Dharma. We can follow Dharma when everything is favourable. Even in poverty, we should not violate dharma. Earth (pritivi) sustains all living beings because of endurance.

In Uddhava Gita Chapter II Avadutha in a dialogue with Yadhu Maharaja tells about the lesson learnt by him from 24 Gurus. The lessons are performing noble actions, noble values and noble attitude. Every follower of Veda or he who is a Hindu requires Dharma as a way of life. Dharma gives many benefits to humanity. The next higher level Dharma can give internal peace and happiness, which is unique, compared to gross happiness coming from the external world. Dharma can give you material well being, inner peace and joy. The 3^rd and the most important benefit is the spiritual benefit, which a spiritual seeker will enjoy. It will also give the greater benefit of Moksha. Dharma will produce a desire for scriptural study. Brigadharanyaka says Dharma will take one to a Guru and make him read Sastras. Dharma will help in deriving the benefit of spiritual knowledge. Dharma is a versatile way of life. In the 16^th Chapter of BG Dharma is called by the name ‘Deivi Sampat’ that will convert a human being into a divine being. Manushya will be converted into a Deva. The whole world will revere him, admire him and worship him. Dharma will lead a person to attain liberation. Incurable difficulties will be there in life. We should learn to endure them without losing our internal peace and joy. We should have the capacity to live in a moral way in spite of difficulties in life. It requires internal guts for a person. In and through all these difficulties the capacity to endure and contribute to the world is required for my own survival. We should pay back to the world, family, scriptures and Acharya. Taking should be compensated by giving also (paropakaraya palanthi virusha). Even if we do not have the resources to contribute Veda says still you can contribute by praying sincerely. Sarve Bhavanthu Sukinaga should be the prayer. Para upakara is required. If we offer help sincerely, it will benefit the universe.

Be blissful.

S.SEKAR

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com 

OUR LIFE - Part II

Learning can stop when breathing stops; not even a breath before.

Life is something of what happens to us and everything else of how we respond to it. Every event that we encounter in life offers infinite learning possibilities and it is up to us to discover from it, its intrinsic wisdom. If we learn from the event, it becomes an experience and our maturity expands; else, the event simply passes by meaninglessly. Even insignificant events when translated into a learning opportunity can create experiences that are very significant to our life.

Robert Bruce after six consecutive defeats learnt about resilience of seeing a spider not giving up its pursuit to spin its web. He went ahead and won the battle while fighting it for the seventh time. Einstein, Archimedes and Newton gave the world great discoveries that changed the course of human lifestyle by merely experiencing the experience of insignificant events’ yet unfolded significant discoveries.

Our maturity level is always one leg below the new events we encounter in life. If we learn and mature from them, only then we move higher to take the next challenge of life. If we just go through them by being upset, worried, tensed, scared and disturbed, then we have learned nothing from them and similar events will keep recurring until we learn the lessons they had to offer. The very purpose of any event that we encounter is to provide us with the maturity that is needed for us to take up the higher challenges of life.

Be blissful.

S.Sekar
Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com

OUR LIFE

Our life will be either an example or a warning to others. So is the life of others; either an example or a warning to us. Essentially, every human life, yours and mine and that of others, is either a lesson on how to live (example) or a lesson on how not to (Warning).

It is true that a lot can be learnt from reading books, but nothing compares to how much we can learn out of studying people. Every human life is living encyclopedia. A human life and the associated experiences are a living testimony to the otherwise theoretical understanding of life.

• Observe your father to learn discipline. 
• Observe your granny to imbibe Willpower. 
• Observe your mom to situational leadership. 
• Observe your granddad to learn delegation. 
• Observe your sibling to learn to Forgive and Forget. 
• Observe your child and learn to live in the present. 
• Observe your Guru to inherit selflessness. 
• Observe your servant to understand contentment. 
• Observe your employee and learn to go the extra mile. 
• Observe your boss to understand the power of vision.

We can learn that the “Messenger is the Message” from the life of Christ. We know “Holistic Abundance” is possible from life of Krishna. We realize “Compassion to every form of life is the way “from the life of Mahavira. We learn Faith from the life of Prophet. We learn selfless love from Radha, Bhakti from Meera, Surrender from Hanuman, Resoluteness from Mahatma Gandhi, Resilience from Lincoln, The power of dreams from Martin Luther King , Impossible is possible from Steve Jobs, the Power of ne from Mother Teresa, Humility from Dalai Lama, Altruism from Bill Gates, Persistence from Edison and so on… every human life is learning opportunity.

The key is to keep the student within us alive. The key is to be like blotting paper’ ever ready to observe and absorb. The seeker within you should keep seeking. From anybody, from anything, from any situation we can learn. For most people learning stops when schooling stops. Then, they just stagnate and vegetate. If you wish to actualize and maximize our potential, then learning is a lifelong quest.

Learning can stop when breathing stops; not even a breath before.

Wishing you most and more

Have a great day

S.Sekar

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com

GURU SHISYA PARAMPARA

Parampara (Sanskrit: paramparā) denotes a succession of teachers and disciples in traditional Vedic culture and Indian religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism. It is also known as guru–shishya tradition ("teaching from guru to disciple").

The teaching is given in the form of a dialogue (Samvadey) between a Guru and a sishya. Spiritual knowledge requires our effort and the guidance of an acharya and cannot be gained independently. Spiritual knowledge is a systematic education programme where doubts are cleared by way of dialogue. 

Vedanta is the essence of the scriptures. Vedanta enunciates the eternal principles of life and living. In Upanishads, we see these principles by way of a dialogue between the Guru and the student where the Guru talks about the unknown god to the student. Upanishads contain the philosophy of Vedanta. Veda means knowledge and anta means end. Thus, Vedanta means end of knowledge. It will take you to the ultimate of self-realization or god realization. Upanishads talk about your life and the very purpose of your life.

The first chapter of Uddhava Gita is preparing the ground for the Udhhava Gita teaching to take place, which will start from the second chapter of the text. In the 1^st chapter, the developments are presented in which Uddhava a relative and devotee of lord Krishna is going to Krishna and surrenders to him. Uddhva the lord becomes Uddhava the disciple. Krishna becomes Guru the teacher. Always the teaching is between a Guru and a Sishya. In no other relationship teaching can take place. It will not be an education otherwise. 

In Guru – Sishya relationship, one should become a disciple, show the reverential attitude in the form of Bhakti and Shravanam, and imbibe the teaching in a consistent and a systematic manner. In Bhagavad Gita, teaching takes place between Krishna and Arjuna in 18 Chapters. In Uddhava Gita, the systematic teaching takes place between Krishna and Uddhva in 24 chapters. Therefore, consistent and systematic teaching is required by way of involvement on the part of Guru and learning is required on the part of the disciple. Guru has to accept to play the role of Guru and Sishya also likewise. This kind of involvement alone opens up the communication channel between Guru and Shisya.

Brahma and other devatas have come to Dwaraka and requests Krishna to come to Vaikunta. Krishna says that he has one task, which is incomplete, and it is the destruction of Yadava kula. Brahma and Rishi Sabham is the cause for Yadava kula’s destruction. Ultimately, yadavas have to quarrel among themselves and kill each other. Krishna says until this happens successfully he cannot quit the world. He says, “I will arrange for the destruction of yadava kula to happen”. Krishna addresses all elderly people “let us go to Prabhasa thirtha (holy place) and remove our papam for our next janma. Krishna gets ready for this action during which time Uddhava comes to Krishna for help. Uddhava approaches lord Krishna when he along with elderly gets ready to leave for Prabhasa thirtha. Uddhava at this juncture is associated with Krishna. Krishna also belongs to Uddhava family. 

Uddhava talks about the glories of Bhagavan, which is the reason for Uddhava not able to quit Bhagavan. 

Thus, Lord Krishna starts teaching Uddhava from 2^nd chapter of Uddhava Gita in the 11^th Skanda of Bhagavatham. 

Be blissful.

S.SEKAR

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com

28-02-2018