The value of your word

|| Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

My sincere pranams to all.  The current chill factor has somewhat made people hermits, extracting the high energy that normally prevails through the day. Even the vociferous birds seem to have taken a vacation. With that much less encouragement to leave the habitat the day is normally configured around reading the Sunday paper or watching movies.

But the thrill and excitement in reading the paper has fizzled out to a large extent because at the mere gaze one is able to deduce the central issues raised is nothing but corruption, murder and greed. As a matter of fact all other news has to settle around that.

It makes me sit in awe sometimes as to how this world we live in is so full of negatives but yet people live in it without batting an eyelid.

I wonder back in time to gather a sense of how things were when great giants of morality walked the earth. Did you ever wonder why with so much poverty in certain countries, why don’t the governments just print extra money to feed the poor, yes exactly for the money to have any value it must be balanced against something which in most cases is the amount of gold a country possesses.

In the exact same way the, the words spoken of a person has immense value if it is balanced or weighed against something. What is this something? Here I would like to reflect on two personalities during the Mahabharat age.  Two particular incidents come to mind. King Yudhisthira the eldest of the Pandava brothers was also referred to as Dharma Raj( King of Righteousness) because he was a man of his word. He never spoke a lie, So much so that when he gave his word that his wife would be disrobed if he lost a wager in a game he never back tracked on his word.

The other incident is that of Vasudeva , the father of Shri Krishna, he was also known never to speak a lie. When Kamsa was to kill his wife who will bear the child that will destroy him; he spared her life on Vasudevs word to bring every child born to him to be killed.

If we compare these incidents to today, we find that today every agreement has to be reduced into writing because nobody’s word has any integrity or value. Testament to this will be the huge backlogs of cases in the courts.

Even friendships suffer the fate of degradation when the promise of loyalty and unwavering support is diluted at the face of adversity.

In essence it really boils down to selfishness. When we don’t get what we want we resort to tactfully forgetting our duty to honour our word.

So going back to our question, as to what is this something? , That we must weight our word against. It is nothing but character, the DNA of a spiritual being. When one is raised in an environment of dharma (righteousness) rooted firmly in devotion and love for god.  Then his life becomes the collateral for all his actions. Every word that he speaks is like from god itself and  gains much respect and adoration from the people.

Swami Vivekananda said, that only cowards and those who are weak tell lies. The brave are always moral.

 Lies have become so natural that so often we hear in the midst of the conversation, the expression, “don’t lie”.  Are we so weak that we cannot burden the truth that we hide behind lies like cowards? Be bold as we are children of god. Speak the truth no matter how difficult you may feel it is, because truth is the essence and core of your being. Be proud of it!!!!!

Let us from today try to give value to our words and lives. This will help bring peace and harmony in the world.

This is my sincere prayer.

Aum

The Nature Of Human Suffering

Aum Namo Narayanaya

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

Dear readers, now that the anxiety is a little removed since my first post, I feel a little more comfortable in posting another entry.  On Tuesday I had the opportunity to meet up with one of my old colleagues at the parking of the gym and was extremely surprised that he recognised me and made the attempt to approach me. Whilst we were digging into the past a young boy drove past us in a brand new range rover. He immediately commented why his life was so full of suffering whilst others are born with a golden spoon and enjoy the pleasures of life.

I recalled that Holy Mother Sarada Devi gave a wonder explanation of human suffering and thought it will make some interesting food for thought.   

Mother Sarada explains the nature of Human sufferings through this lovely story: The creation itself is full of misery and happiness. Could anyone appreciate happiness if misery does not exist? Besides how is it possible for all persons to be happy?  Mother Sita once said to Lord Rama,”Why don’t you remove all the suffering and unhappiness off all your subjects? Please make all the inhabitants of your kingdom happy. If you only will it, it will happen. Rama asked, “Is it ever possible for all persons to be happy at once.” Why not? Asked mother Sita. Please supply from the royal treasury the means of satisfying everyone’s wants. Rama agreed. He then ordered the treasury to supply all the needs of his people.

They all went their ways and were enjoying their new found wealth. Through the maya of the lord, the roof under which they were living started to leak. They sent for workmen to repair the roof but not a labourer could be found, as they were all enjoying their new wealth. Unable to bear the discomfort mother Sita asked for things to be brought back to the way it was so they can procure labour to repair the roof. Mother Sita then declared that it is impossible for all persons to be happy at the same time.

She also said, “Lord this is your wonderful sport, no one can suffer all the time.” No one will spend all their days on earth suffering. Every action brings its own results and one gets ones opportunities accordingly.

It is important that we do not become depressed over the sufferings and setbacks in life. We must take them with the understanding that they are temporary. Joy and bliss awaits us at the next turn. Immerse yourself in the love of god. He will help you lessen your sufferings.

Shri Ramakrishna says, “There are pearls in the deep sea, but you must hazard all perils to get them. If you fail to get them by a single dive, do not conclude that the sea is without them. Dive again, and again, and you are sure to be rewarded in the end. So also in the quest for god, if in your first attempt to see him proves fruitless, do not lose heart. Persevere in the attempt and you will surely find him.

May his divine grace inspire you to succeed is my sincere prayer

The Grace of God

Aum Namo Narayanaya

My Salutations to my divine Master Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, Swamiji  and to all the embodiments of Narayana.

I feel really intimidated and anxious about penning my first blog. This blog intends to discuss and bring Vedanta into discussion from a youth perspective. Having being involved in youth development for many years I have come to learn that the solutions of the world are not political but can be found through the rich , noble and lofty teachings of Vedanta. I gained the courage last Friday to setup the blog; I was for some reason not inspired enough to contribute anything. I realised that it was the will of god, as the days that followed provided so much material and inspiration for discussion.

I awoke this morning in a democratic free South Africa that was celebrating or should I say commemorating the 35^th anniversary of the Soweto uprising on June 16 1976, declared a public holiday known as youth day, by the democratically elected government post 1994. The youth of 1976 are remembered for their role and sacrifice for justice and equality in South Africa.

And as the day started to unfold I reflected on a very significant reality of life, that everything in life is a huge struggle. We have to continuously fight and struggle to maintain what we have or acquire what we need.

This has been happening since time immemorial, reflected by our great scriptures like Mahabharat , Ramayana where great wars were fought in order to maintain righteousness. In the philosophical sense this also represents the internal struggles in our minds to maintain a level of sanity. Even in the material sense our bodies are continuously fighting to defend it against the bacteria waiting to devour it.

 We now understand that some sort of struggle is a central part of our lives, and continuous exposure to such will only result in pain, misery and sorrow. However, deep down we are seekers of joy and peace. We are intrinsically and fundamentally embodiments of bliss, this is clearly overshadowed and polarized by the environmental, mental and material struggles.

On Saturday 11 June 2011 our Temple The Shree Veeraboga Emperumal Temple consecrated a beautiful Ganga Rani(fountain with Ganga water)on the occasion of Ganga Dasami. The Ganga has enjoyed the admiration of gods and sages since creation. She represents purity, strength, selflessness and divinity. I believe that our solution to attain the peace and bliss that we seek can be found in Mother Ganga.

Soon after the consecration of the Ganga Rani, I made my way to the Ramakrishna Centre Headquarters for satsangh and spent the night. I was overjoyed by the thought of spending time in the company of our revered Maharaj Swami Vimokshananda.  After partaking of supper we took a relaxing walk within the ashram precinct and Maharaj gave a wonderful story related to Ganga ma.

Once Ganga Ma who allows all to utilise her waters, was feeling really impure as so many sinners were bathing in her. She approached Brahma and asked for his sage counsel. But he said that since she is the daughter of Maha Vishnu (AS SHE EMERGES FROM HIS BIG TOE) we should go see him. But at the chambers of Maha Vishnu , he responded that the only one with a solution would be lord Shiva. They all then went to lord Shiva , who smiled and said that she should not worry as in time she will be purified as sages , sannyasins and noble men bath in her waters.

How beautifully the Master has been the architect of this discussion. In our discussion that night with Swamiji we have also deduced that Mother Ganga represents the grace of Maha Vishnu or God.

Like how the mighty Ganga flows from the source through the gangeiatic planes into the Arabian sea, serving the sadhus, providing water, food, irrigation, electricity, industry, sports and recreation to millions , the grace of god is always flowing.

In the same way we make an effort to get Ganga water from India to South Africa for our use we must make a concerted and sincere effort to tap into the grace of God. The moment this grace is channelled into us, the intensities of our daily struggles are diluted by his divinity. As Shri Krishna Says in the Bhagavat Gita, surrender completely unto me and I will deliver you from the cycle of birth and death.

The question then is how can we attract the grace of god into our lives. Develop good character, do regular pooja and japa, meditation and most importantly keep good company. If you have the opportunity seek the company of sadhus( sadhu sangh). These practices will ensure that we attract the grace of god into us and mitigate the distractions and pains that result in our conflict with this material world.

In parting from my first entry I want to say that devotion (bhakti) is the grease that we need to reduce our friction with this material world. Intense devotion to God will bring peace and tranquillity of mind, inner peace and overall joy.

I look forward to some interesting contributions and discussions on the various challenges in our lives  especially as youth and how we can utilise the wisdom of Vedanta to reduce them.

May we all attain the grace of god is my sincere prayer

Aum