HOW TO BECOME IMMORTAL

A young seeker asked a sage how to immortalise the mortal.  The sage replied.  "Read the Gita".  The puzzled seeker said.  'But how can one become immortal by reading the Gita?'  Eyes sparkling, the laughing sage said.  "Read the Gita again and again and you will know."

     On an average every human is in the grip of miseries, ever since they entered in the realm of time and mind and lost the awareness of self.  Hence they are confused that why are they in the grip of miseries.  One yearns to get rid of misery and prolong pleasure.  The greatest misery is death that hounds every living soul.  Suffering is inevitable as long as one identifies with mind and body.   as long as one is spiritually unconscious.   Suffering is external and is caused by external agents.  We suffer due to resentment and hatred or jealousy towards others.  That is like dying every moment due to suffering.  Let's move away from those 'others' and remove the cause of suffering or every minute death.  With cause at some distance, we will immortalise pleasure and  distance ourselves from death.  Inevitable will become evitable.  Mortal will become immortal.

      Scriptures however say this is short-lived; Kaliyuga is the age of kalah or quarrel.  The result is suffering.  Sages diagnosed the basic cause of our problems;  the cause is forgetfulness of our ternal relationship with Krishna and while remaining in such a state, indulging in various activities that lead to incremental suffering.  The problem is that our mind always dwells in the past or in the future.  To ensure that it remains in control,  it seeks continously to cover up the present moment with the past and the future.  So, our real self and goal becomes covered with time and ture realisation is obscured by mind, which leads to lossing the cherished feelings of certainty in life.  

     Suppose all five members of a family fall sick, and a doctor gives his diagnosis and prescribes medication.  He also arranges for nursing so that medicines are administered in a timely fashion.  A helper is also arranged for regular cleaning and maintenance.  This house now has patients, docotors, nurses and attendants.  Can we now call the house a hospital ? one the same lines, this material worldis dukhalaya, a place of suffering.  Everyone is suffering one reason or another.  And everyone is suffering due to misidentification of seld with body, mind and false eog due to which we always feel insecure and incomplete.

       Eventually all these egos have to be relinquished, may be  now or may be later.  If we find it hard to believe, then we will learn this hard fact when we will feel  death approaching.  Death is a stripping away of all that is not us or that is not ours.

      Lead a full life.  Relish every moment as your own and leave all egos at bay for you need not die every moment.

HERS - A SILENT EVOLUTION

Enlightenment is a state of relaxed awareness, an inner state transcending identities of faith, nationality or gender and beyond outer behaviour.  All spiritual practices like yoga and meditation facilitate the journey.  Adi Shankara described it thus in the Atmashtakam,  "I am not the body, breath, mind, intellect, ego or memory   -  I  am the ever pure consciousness whose nature is bliss, I am that innocence and ebnevolence."   Friendliness, compassion, contentment, an attitude of sharing and caring all these are the qualities of those wh are i n their nature, cnetred.

         When we think 'women'  - soft, gentle, emotional, caring and sharing are the qualities that usually come to mind.  Women are naturally more sensitive,  a quality vital to understanding self and others.  A mother, for instance, is sensitive to the child's needs.  She is capable of an understanding beyond wordsl a mastery of the language of heart.   Enlightenment is also a realm where words have no access, but sensitivity has.

       The innate sensitivity of women,  when combined with sensibility and wisdom, facilities moving into the space of the self.

       Enlightenment is a state of being where we are balanced.  Women, playing so many roles, are constatnly engaged in this balancing act.  However, what is the difference between a woman who is spiritual and one who has  not experienced that silent space yet ? In the balancing game,  one gets strees while the other gets bliss.

       A mother has unconditional love for the child.  When the sense of belongingness extends to the universal family,  the enlightened state of seers becomes evident in her,  There are many women who have attained this state.  Like flowers in the forest that go unnoticed, these women blossom not for recognition,  but because it is in their nature.  They lead contented and happy lives and spread it,  too.

       There are also seers who have come with a purpose to uplift humanty from crises of values and created waves of transformation gargi,  meera and andal.  Throguh wisdom and devotion,  they help people to connect their higher self enlightenment is all about this connectedness.  In meditation,we experience this connection for a few moments.  Enlighted masters are connected.  once you have tasted this bliss, through self effort and the grace of the master these few moments can be extended.