My Faith

I’ve been in some pretty dark places in my life, dear God.  You above all, know how frightening that can be.  I remember as a child, being afraid at night when the lights went out.  And I remember as a n adult, being afraid when the lights in my soul dimmed.  I lost hope and courage and faith.  But you rescued me from that pit by your grace and the promise in your Word that you would turn my darkness into light and my night into day.  how you love me, o Lord.  And how I love you!

So many roles to play (1 of 2)

Good morning friends.  Many said that there are so many roles to play.  Do you believe in that?  I do.

Among the fundamental questions we tend to ask ourselves at some point in our lives is: “Who Am I?” Ramana Maharshi asked the seeker to constantly question himself as a way of exploring deeper truths and to come to a better understanding of them.

Who are you? Jiddu Krishnamurti answered thus: “When you call yourself an Indian, a Muslim, a Christian, a European, or anything else, you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, religion, political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind.”

While discussing what J Krishnamurti had to say on the subject of identities, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at a satsang held recently in Rishikesh, offered the following insight: The process of evolution is moving from somebody to nobody and from nobody to everybody, realising one’s true identity, Brahmn, the all-inclusive and all-pervasive. Masters all along, even after achieving the highest, have chosen to play limited identities well. Rama was called Maryada Purushottam, Krishna was Yogeshwar, and Dwarkadheesh , and Buddha as a bhikshu meticulously followed the sanyas dharma.

An individual cares for his immediate family and as part of society shares love and affection with neighbours. For a master, the family is the whole world. An avatar, a sadhguru, skillfully fulfills individual as well as universal roles, without any conflict. Playing a limited role is in no way in conflict with the universal role.

 

God is in everything

Good morning friends.  It’s a very good morning to me as everything said, God is everywhere,  God is in everything.  I was reading an article of an actress and how she believed that God is really in everything.  Let me share it with you as it is a good one. 

Actress Eisha Koppikar believes God is in everything!  

You find God in…

“For me, my parents are true manifestations of Him. God is everywhere — in nature, in human beings, in animals. Once you feel connected with God, you begin to enjoy life. I can feel God all around me in everything that I do, everywhere I go and within myself.”

How do you connect to God?

“I feel connected with God on a one-to-one level. If I need something or have any doubts, I talk to God! Our conscience or the inner voice is God keeping us on the right path.”

Karma & kismat to you are…

“I believe in kismat and that one has the power to change it. Destiny is always in our own hands. I believe good thoughts lead to good habits, which lead to good actions. These actions, when directed well, lead to good intentions, which make you who you are and that leads to one’s destiny. I believe in karma. My dad always says, ‘Put your best in everything that you do and don’t worry about the results’. Our experiences are also based on our past-life karma. We must try to correct our wrongs and approach life positively. Karma and kismat are closely interlinked.”

True contentment lies in…

“I am no spiritual guru and am still trying to get there. Knowing you are happy can amplify your happiness. Once you notice that something is pleasurable, you can increase your happiness by savouring the experience. Whether it’s appreciating a particular moment, the beauty of a rose, a job well done, or a trait I love in someone, the little things make me happy.” – The Times of India

God is in Nature

Good morning friends.  Do you believe that God is everywhere, were you least expected Him.  Yes it is!  We can find God anywhere.  Actually we don’t have to find Him.  He is just beside you every time you needed Him.  God is even in nature too. The article I read is very nice and  I do believe in it. 

I’m not a particularly religious person, but then you don’t have to be religious to be spiritual.

All my life, I’ve had to work for a living and therefore haven’t had the leisure to meditate on a mountain top or be spiritual in a public sense. However, being a writer, I tend to look inwards and am, by nature, a spiritual person.

If life becomes too pressing and the world is too much upon me, a walk in the woods and communion with nature helps. I like being with myself and taking a walk in the unspoilt surroundings and commune if not with God, with myself. I believe being close to nature is a spiritual experience.

And while writing is a mental experience, it’s also an emotional one and the enjoyment and satisfaction I get from it also makes it spiritual. Among writers, I feel a special connection with Thoreau, who went off to live in the woods and poets like Wordsworth.

In my free time, I like watching sports and playing with children. Enjoying what you do keeps you calm and in touch with your inner self. Was falling in love a spiritual experience? While it leaves you feeling hot and bothered, it also connects you with the higher self.

Spirituality to me means being at peace with oneself and with the world in general. It’s hard not to be grumpy or frustrated at times, especially when I hear the growing traffic below my window or the trucks banging into the boundary wall and my neighbor’s garbage incinerator sending bursts of smoke into my room, but I’ve by and large made my peace with these things. The Times of India

Explore the path of spiritual living (2 of 2)

We try to protect ourselves from fear through the influences of worldly life…by acquiring more money and more power. But spiritually we can insulate ourselves from fear, only if we have trust.

We were secure in our mother’s womb. At term when we were pushed out into the world, it was as though we were facing death. We experienced tremendous fear.

After being born, is it death or birth that marks our lives?

Trust that when one door closes, another door opens. Such trust insulates us from fear. The spiritual way of seeing is, if there is an impression or a negative impression of fear in the mind, one has to de-identify with it. This detachment or de-identification is the insulation that i am talking of. In yoga, it is called atma smaranam, self-remembrance.

What happens when we insulate ourselves from negative impressions?

Worldly influences do not touch us. Instead, we would be in touch with higher vibrations and open ourselves for higher influences. The higher centres in us are constantly communicating something profound to us, but we close ourselves to them. It is like a cup turned upside down. No amount of rainwater can fill the cup. The moment we are available for higher vibrations, we attract nobler aspects of life. Lower states attract lower aspects of life while the higher states attract higher aspects of life. This is the law of attraction.

Why is devotion necessary?

Devotion activates our higher centres. Devotion purifies our emotions. Devotion allows the finer vibrations to flow into our lives. With devotion, your third eye or intuitive eye opens, and you would see many meaningful coincidences occurring in your life. You will see the mysterious hand of God blessing you. – The Times of India

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Virtue is timeless

Good morning  friends.  Virtue is timeless.  Yes I believe in that.  We should be always positive in a good quality of something.  We should have good quality of life and that should endless.  I want to share with you what I have read.  It’s good and many of you will get good idea which can apply in real life. 

They said spirituality visualize our life. 

Spirituality can exist in affluence as well as in poverty, says Milind Deora.

For me, spirituality is about finding your own God, and happiness is about being content. Spirituality and affluence are not inter-related. Spirituality can be there everywhere, both in affluence and poverty. For me, spirituality means looking for attaining bliss in knowing who you are.

Virtue is timeless. So, even in today’s time where money, gloss and glamour get a premium in everyday life and its portrayal in the media, the winner is always the person who lives by some values. Be it business, politics, sports wherever you may glance.

A person looked up as a national icon is not because he/she represents a certain lifestyle, but more because of a set of values he/she represents. So yes, honesty, integrity, loyalty, perseverance and hard work still matter and work.

Even in my personal life, I have seen its relevance, may be because we were taught the importance of ideology, compassion and empathy. At the end of the day, what matters is not how powerful you are or how much you have in your bank account. Rather, the values you live your life with.

When I look around, I see signs of awakening among the upper middle class who used to lie low earlier. It was the underprivileged section who would come out on the street rallying for a cause. But today, be it a public interest litigation or a protest movement, the upper middle class is also showing their support.

My only worry is the urban English-speaking youth. They lack the sense of empathy that they can only inculcate from their parents. The onus lies on their parents and school teachers. They must appreciate Bill Gates and Warren Buffet not because they are rich but because they are great philanthropists.  – The Times of India

Faith makes us human

Good morning friends.  Every time I heard the word faith it reminds me of something.  I know there are people whose faith were so little.  They are so materialistic.  They dong believe in God’s word and work.  But with others, faith is the best thing to do as human.  We have to have faith even not only to God.  We should have faith in all what we are going to do.  Faith really makes us human.  I read one article of which was written by one of my favorite writer. Chetan Bhagat.  It’s a good one.  I want you to know it. 

It is our belief in God that makes us human, says Chetan Bhagat. 

There are some questions that I don’t have answers to. Like, why does faith help? Or, why do we have faith? But I realize that it’s very important to strike the right balance between science and spirituality. If you become too scientific, too analytical and insist that everything has a reason, then you probably are trying to be all-knowing and all-powerful, which you as a mortal being cannot be.The Times of India

Anything can happen anytime. Life is uncertain, relationships are uncertain, success is uncertain and so is health. Our belief in God is an acknowledgement to that sense of vulnerability. It makes us more human. I would like to pray more but I don’t get the time.

Our faith should not make us dogmatic or agnostic. Instead, it should channelize positive energy so that society benefits from it. Faith should comfort people, not antagonize them. God does not decide things for us on a day-to-day basis. He has given us a mind that can reason and an ability to think for ourselves.

This is what makes us superior to other living beings. Even if there is destiny, there is also a lot of free will. God has His place, an individual his. Hence the need to strike a balance between science and spirituality is all the more important. – The Times of India

Vision Quest – 1

Are you feeling restless?  As if maybe there’s something more out there?  Embarking on your own version of a spiritual odyssey can help you create an authentic life.

 

Throughout times and history, we humans have searched for meaning, for a reason that explains—or perhaps even justice—our existence in the stars, proof of God, and signs to guide us along some clearly defined path.  Along the way, we’ve assembled cultures that have created sacred rituals devoted entirely to this search, often through a transformational experience such as the Native American vision quest or Christian mystical experience.

 

While looking for a deeper meaning to life beyond alarm clocks and paychecks is an important part of our evolution, the myths, legends, and historical doctrines that recount the quests of others can be as daunting as they are inspiring.  Scholar Joseph Campbell’s acclaimed study of what he calls “the hero’s journey,” for instance, examines tales of heroes battling dark forces and ascending to often mythic proportions.

 

Given that few of us have the means to launch a full-scale odyssey or the time to meditate on some remote mountainside, a personal quest may seem impossibly out of reach.  The truth is, the journey toward creating a more meaningful and satisfying life may be as siple as learning to listen to our institution.

 

 

ref: yogajournal