Why do we need spirituality?

I welcome all of you, who love the god most and who hate the god most

             
 The basic fact is that human beings want to be happy and do not want any pain or suffering. We all have different needs and desires, which if unfulfilled, can lead to a stressful situation. As we try to achieve these goals, many a times we find ourselves frustrated and helpless. This hampers the accomplishment of happiness and creates anxiety and constant nervous tension. It is then, that the people invoke a higher intelligence or a higher force like spirituality to help them cope with their inabilities and accept reality.

 Spirituality is working Smart not working Hard:  

                 Spirituality is all about working smart, not working hard. With a spiritual approach one can attain everything that one ever wanted with minimum efforts.  This is how universal intelligence works. Instead of toiling and struggling, one needs to flow effortlessly. It's like walking with the wind assisting you from behind. All one has to do, is to align oneself with spiritual laws and laws of nature and let these forces glide you to happiness.

Expanding your unlimited potential :  

                 Spirituality helps to create new ideas, new visions, creativity, and intuitive abilities to reach our aspirations.  It helps to build a magnetic aura around you that attracts the people towards you. It creates an energy that gives a sense of security, power and fearlessness.

Better emotional intelligence : 

                 Handling emotions is perhaps the most difficult of all human abilities. We spend almost 75 per cent of our time trying to sort out the varied and complex emotions, while the other 25 per cent is spent in emotional reactions to the situation and the people around us. Negative emotions, literally drain our energy and affect the quality of our lives.
Since it is difficult to manage these reactions with a logical mind, one needs to resort to a process that helps us to rise above all that is depressing. This is where the spiritual approach helps us as it has the power to alter the negativity of the mind to a positive pattern.
I have personally used this approach to spread the laughter mission worldwide.  Without many resources and any great assets, I managed to set up more than 5000 laughter clubs in 55 countries. It was spirituality that helped me cope with any obstacles that came my way. It is indeed a powerful tool that helps in realization and fulfillment of one's dreams and aspirations.
In the forthcoming articles on spirituality and inner spirit of laughter, I will share with you some amazing stories of mysterious coincidences that occurred in my life.  Stay tuned.

Thanks to  Dr.K


God always in us, with us and bless us!
aravindam

20 Important Spiritual Instructions

I welcome all of you, who love the god most ,who hate the god most.

                    Here is a systematized presentation of the well-known "20 Important Spiritual Instructions" of Swami Sivananda, and it enlarges upon the prerequisites required for the all-round discipline that should act as the forerunner to direct meditation, arranged in their sequential order. 

1. Get up at 4. a.m. daily. This is Brahmamuhurta, which is extremely favorable for meditation on God.

2. Asana: Sit on Padma, Siddha or Sukha Asana for Japa and meditation for half an hour, facing the east or the north. Increase the period gradually to three hours. Do Sirshasana and Sarvangasana for keeping up Brahmacharya and health. Take light physical exercises as walking, etc., regularly. Do twenty Pranayamas.

3. Japa: Repeat any Mantra as pure Om or Om Name Narayanaya, Om Namah Sivaya, Om Name Bhagavate Vasudevaya, Om Saravanabhavaya Namah, Sita Ram, Sri Ram, Hari Om, or Gayatri, according to your taste or inclination, from 108 to 21,600 times daily.

4. Dietetic Discipline: Take Sattvic food, Suddha Ahara. Give up chillies, tamarind, garlic, onion, sour articles, oil, mustard, asafoetida. Observe moderation in diet (Mitahara). Do not overload the stomach. Give up those things which the mind likes best for a fortnight in a year. Eat simple food. Milk and fruits help concentration. Take food as medicine to keep the life going. Eating for enjoyment is sin. Give up salt and sugar for a month. You must be able to live on rice, Dhal and bread without any chutni. Do not ask for extra salt for Dhal and sugar for tea, coffee or milk.

5. Have a separate meditation room under lock and key.

6. Charity: Do charity regularly, every month, or even daily according to your means, say six paisa per rupee.

7. Svadhyaya: Study systematically the Gita, the Ramayana, the Bhagavata, Vishnu-Sahasranama, Lalita-Sahasranama, Aditya Hridaya, Upanishads or Yoga Vasishtha, the Bible, Zend Avesta, the Koran, the Tripitakas, the Granth Sahib, etc., from half an hour to one hour daily and have Suddha Vichara.

8. Brahmacharya: Preserve the vital force (Veerya) very, very carefully. Veerya is God in motion or manifestation—Vibhuti. Veerya is all power. Veerya is all money. Veerya is the essence of life, thought and intelligence.

9. Prayer Slokas: Get by heart some prayer-Slokas, Stotras and repeat them as soon as you sit in the Asana before starting Japa or meditation. This will elevate the mind quickly.

10. Satsanga: Have Satsanga. Give up bad company, smoking, meat and alcoholic liquors entirely. Do not develop any evil habits.

11. Fast on Ekadasi: Fast on Ekadasi or live on milk and fruits only.

12. Japa Mala: Have Japa Mala (rosary) round your neck or in your pocket or underneath your pillow at night.

13. Mouna: Observe Mouna (vow of silence) for a couple of hours daily.

14. Speak the Truth: Speak the truth at all cost. Speak a little. Speak sweetly.

15. Reduce your wants. If you have four shirts, reduce the number to three or two. Lead a happy, contented life. Avoid unnecessary worry. Have plain living and high thinking.

16. Never hurt anybody: Never hurt anybody (Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah). Control anger by love, Kshama (forgiveness) and Daya (compassion).

17. Do not depend upon servants: Do not depend upon servants. Self-reliance is the highest of all virtues.

18. Self-analysis: Think of the mistakes you have committed during the course of the day, just before retiring to bed (self-analysis). Keep daily diary and self-correction register. Do not brood over past mistakes.

19. Fulfil duties: Remember that death is awaiting you at every moment. Never fail to fulfil your duties. Have pure conduct (Sadachara).

20. Surrender to God: Think of God as soon as you wake up and just before you go to sleep. Surrender yourself completely to God (Saranagati).

Swami Chidananda writes, “Swami Sivananda gave us one aspect of His teachings in the form of the 20 Important Spiritual Instructions. These instructions comprise a harmonizing of the outer and the inner, the emphasizing of the inner and practicing of the teachings of the ancient sages and seers of the Upanishads, practicing of the teachings of all the saints who through the centuries have graced and blessed Bharatavarsha (India) by their ideal life and teachings. This practice, together with the normal life is Gurudev’s special teaching to the world, and summing up, the practical 20 Important Spiritual Instructions give us the key to Blessedness even while living in the world and through the world itself. 

god always with us, in us and bless us!
aravindam

Love of God, basis of spiritual life

I welcome all of you, who love the god most and who hate the god most

Once a devotee asked Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa to teach him an easy and sure way to realise God when the saint replied that it was love of God and constant prayer to Him that would enable a person to realise Him. The devotee insisted that he should be given only one prescription as it will be difficult for him to follow both simultaneously. The saint then told him that love of God was the basis of spiritual life and started singing spontaneously comparing God to a mother who will come running to her child the moment it calls out to her. Then he remarked that He was always there though we did not pay heed to Him.

How does one develop love for God? It is by constant singing of the divine names and His glory that one's heart becomes purified enough to love Him. Initially the spiritual aspirant sings His glory so that love blossoms in the heart but as love and devotion to God take root, he revels in singing His praise. What was adopted as a means to an end becomes the end in itself. Though this enables a person to progress spiritually, one may wonder what relevance it has to worldly life. The benefit was peace of mind when discrimination and dispassion resulted as a consequence of love of God, said Swami Gautamananda in his discourse.

The human mind is the source of all the problems man faces. The mind by nature will not engage in spiritual pursuits. It is swayed by thoughts which arise due to desires. So spiritual practices are advocated with the object of realising peace of mind. Mental discrimination enables a person to understand the transient nature of worldly life which will prod him to seek that which will give him eternal joy. Dispassion is the corollary of discrimination of mind when the devotee eschews worldly desires after understanding their fleeting nature.

It is not as if human beings are unaware of the limitations of worldly life. Problems, suffering, old age and death are facts of life which stare us in the face everyday if we look around us. But it suits us not to face the reality with the misconception that they will not afflict us. This paradox has been pointed out in the famous Yakshaprasna section of the Mahabharata when Yudishtra was asked the question, ``What is the greatest wonder in the world?'' to which he replied that man entertained the misconception that he was immortal even though he confronted death all the time. Spiritual life is thus the preparation man engages in throughout his worldly life to realise God so that he is not caught unawares when it is time to leave the world.

God always with us, in us and bless us!
aravindam