Seeking a genuine path

Seeking a genuine path

We tend to get confused with all the synonyms used for religious expressions. There is not much of a difference between understanding the connotations of rituals and ceremonies. An initiation into a certain spiritual path is confused with religious stigmatism. Topics related with spiritual enhancement are then made to be seen in the light of blinding superstition. What then is the genuine path for a seeker of truth? What is the way to truly realize the nature of Divinity in our lives?

A whirlpool within a whirlpool, the torrid currents of the media influence, the hunger of guru kin ship and the mere disbelief, that there is any true benefit acquired, have become the greatest hindrances for us, preventing us from following a true spiritual path. The fear and confusion related with all the worldly cacophonic opinions, totally confusing the nuances of spirituality with religious paraphernalia.

As this movement heightens into another level of collective criticism – It gains the momentum of thousands compromising on the interest of those few who may be genuinely interested to follow a truer path. The hatred of collective, targets the very core of our religious beliefs. It’s not the religion that has made things bad; it’s the people who have manipulated its purer cause to serve their selfish greedy motives. Such a drastic situation almost scares away the possibility of those who desire the revelation of a truer direction and experience in life.

India today has touched the pinnacle of such religious conflicts. There are no conflicts in a truer sense in religion. The truth of any religion is to bring us to an end of conflicts not to their advent.  Understanding of universal Love is no conflict; appreciation of mutual differences is no conflict. Why then have we become a society of hate breeders? Religion was created for man to understand his spiritual reality. To become awakened to his truer self. Spirituality is the purpose, religion is the means, and realization is the end. We have forgotten our purpose and got stuck - hating the means without realizing the end. Such is the trauma of a world that claims to live with a better quality of life but a poorer understanding without the finesse of mutual acceptance.

Hatred breeds hatred, and love breeds love. If we are to make this world a better place how can we do so by breeding hatred for everything that we are to truly love? Man was not made for religion. Religion was made for man. But it was to serve a purpose of enhancing lives with the enrichment of Truth, Love, Beauty, Understanding, and develop compassionate hearts - Hearts that understand the purpose of life and its existence. Spirituality is the process of this revelation, and self- realization of this truth is the goal.

It is important for truth seekers to understand this and not be swayed by the stormy currents of opinion arising in this world. We have to remain focused and true to our path, we have to consider our own experience and take only that which is true and factual. Critical Judgment comes easy but when love unfolds, it generally comes through a breakthrough from a painful understanding. Sometimes existence offers us a chance to recognize this love, but it can only be realized through unasked humility. In short, the humbler the mind becomes the easier it is to live in love. We can surely blame this world for not realizing love, and blame ourselves in too for not realizing that love within ourselves, but this blame game goes nowhere and lands us back to the initial point, this is where we have to consider if our movement has to be a genuine one or just allow it to pass by as another event unfolding in our lives.

A true seeker is the meek servant of the Heart. He beckons not to the whirlwinds swaying in this world. A light that has sparked within, lights up the path of the dark voyage. The burden is borne by the soul that seeks its enlightenment and fights until the end. Victory is for such a blessed one, victory is his. This life has offered such a rare blessing of the Almighty unseen glance. Don’t hold back yourself, don’t let the doubts arise; don’t let the foolish wolves bite. The day when we see all this as a false illusion, we will tear apart from this world of delusion, victory will be ours to shine in, and in the embrace of the divine we dive in. The world will perish as a sand castle swept by water. We build again, another, just for our laughter.

Shyam Lala

Tiruvannamalai

14 Sept 2013

Transforming Hatred into Love

Transforming Hatred into Love

Mankind in the present times is technologically evolving very aggressively. People have ambition, needs, desires and wants that are larger than them and their lives. We feel pressured and compelled to live in a very competitive environment and aggressive surroundings so it is very natural for a lot of us to live in comparison and experience competition, jealousy and hatred. These very traits form the foundation of unhealthy value systems in humans and abuse and violence related with it.

How do we transform these severe poisons that affect us? How do we experience a better change in regards to our environment, greater love in our relationships and a sense of harmony with everyone?

There is no doubt that Divine Love itself is the transforming element but one may find it very difficult to experience this love so long as they carry anger, jealousy and hatred in their hearts. Love can be experienced very easily but unfortunately for a heart that is afflicted with these grosser poisons it does not come to experience love for itself immediately.

Therefore it is very essential for us to recognize and cure ourselves from the poison that we carry within our heart. It does not take much to become hateful and it does not take much to release ourselves from this poison of hatred. The only difference between accepting and rejecting hatred in our lives lies in the fundamental choice of self awareness and the self acceptance of love that we live with.

Hatred poisons our entire being. It affects us to our very core and if left unattended, it deteriorates into Self- loathe that hardens us and makes us completely numb in every way possible. Hence for a healthy living, one has to get rid of hatred from their life.

Our relationship with others cannot have a prolonged destiny if we infuse it with hatred. Our health too gets affected with hatred. We live in bitter resentment and finally ruin our good health forsaking the opportunity to live a happier and a healthier life. In effect, the lesser the hatred we live with, the healthier we are.

It is a very natural phenomenon for children to live as their parents live. If parents, without realizing are living with hatred, they too will compel their children to live and grow in hatred. That will only unfold greater tragedies for the oncoming generations.

The violent outbursts and abuse caused by hatred are the major causes of sicknesses affecting our society. Therefore, just accepting a “No Hatred” way of living is enough to cause a great transformation.

If we can’t give love, at least we should not give abuse and hatred. If we can’t say something good about somebody at least we should not speak badly about them. Just by remaining quiet and accepting that, unfolds a greater strength within the spirit.

Man was not born for hatred, he was born to live in love and if love is too difficult at least let us not spread more hatred around. This world has already become a toxic playground. And we don’t need more of venomous self loathing environments. Just accepting this is enough to bring a great change within us, and the moment it happens within us we see it happening everywhere. That is the Grace.

Maithreem Bhajatha , Akhila Hruth Jethreem,

Cultivate friendship that conquers all Hearts

Atmavat eva paraan api pashyatha

Look upon others as Thy self

Yuddham thyajatha , Spardhaam Tyajata ,

Give up war, forswear competition

Thyajatha Pareshwa akrama aakramanam

Give up aggression on others which is wrong

Jananee Prithivee Kaamadughaastey

Our wide mother Earth is Here to fulfill all our desires

JanakO Deva: Sakala Dayaalu

We have the kind compassionate Lord; as our Father

Daamyata Datta Dayathvam Janathaa

O People of the world! Give! Be Kind!

Sreyo Bhooyaath Sakala Janaanaam

Sreyo Bhooyaath Sakala Janaanaam

Sreyo Bhooyaath Sakala Janaanaam

May all beings be Happy and Prosperous

Nurturing Blossoming Buds

Since the advent of Modern civilization and its advancement to its zenith, the Education systems have undergone massive changes and have meant more as a means and tools to serve the modern Industries rather than as means to encouraging human values. The meaning of education has merely become a concern for business, trading, economy, health and medic industry transforming itself into a very different nature of light and journey for the oncoming generations.

Since Industrialization we have allowed so many different systems of Education into our society, assuming that most of it; is to bring a better future for our children. Hoping to give them a better life, a better way of living, a sound system for achieving their goals and securing their future, well it may sound too good but it might not all be true, not just yet, not all of it is good and not all of it truly benefitting healthy or nurturing.

Consider this - A child learning about things of the world at the same time learning about his own self, nurtured with a deeper understanding, he feels more integrated with him-self and world, such a child will definitely care more and do more for the world because he learns to respect it. He is a part of it and there is an integrated approach towards accepting the totality of life in it as a whole, filled with abundance of understanding, love and its correlation with this world, rather than living in the lack of it all.

Consider again – A Child who is just taught and oriented with the idea of achievement for only oneself, disregarding mutual respect and care for others, not having any understanding regarding oneself will grow up confused in society, simply due to the fact that it has been nurtured in an extremely competitive environment. He is definitely going to continue living under that nature of confusion compelling him-self and others to live in the same mode of life.

Ethics play a very vital and a pivotal role in the formation of the character of a child. If we push our children into learning, just how to make a living without teaching them about how to make a life, how to love and live in life, we are putting them into a grave danger of becoming individuals who will start to only achieve and live for their personal selfish gains.

This dangerous experiment of putting the delicate hearts through a process of educational pressure by peer abuse, and social pressure is only going to fold them into ‘compartmentalized thinking’ which will leave them extremely exasperated and depressed. This is the byproduct of the mounting burden that they have been assigned to accomplish. The deeper Truth is a fact - that their inability to perform according to the expectations loaded onto them makes them, feel more inadequate with themselves, which becomes the foundation for self abuse and self hatred and self loathe in most cases. This nature carries on further if uncorrected into another generation of abuse and peer pressure.

The most common misunderstanding we have regarding Education is that a better Education means a better life – in material terms it may mean so, but matter as a means to serve to an end not as an end to serve the means. A better education should actually mean a better human being with a better understanding potential, a better developed character, a loving heart and an intelligent mind.

Sadly, this is not the truth today. The order of success and the social pressure as well as the peer pressure created for the children is having a very damaging effect upon them. The struggle to achieve and be on the top with colorful scores has subdued the concern for having children with a clearer understanding potential and regard for human ethics, values and behavior.

It does not take much to understand this – ‘Good Modern Education’ does not necessarily mean a Good Natured Human Being. To be a good Human being we have to get Edu – Cared not Edu – Cated. This ‘Care’ starts right at the source - at Home. The responsibility for getting edu-cared lies with loving parents, with caring teachers, with the overseeing elders of our society who help us with their wisdom to understand the value of human relationships and above all the value of fundamentally nurturing love.

In the world, that has become far more competitive today, where people are living in such haste and a waste, we have to take a few moments and slow down. Question the basics! Observe our decisions for these very blossoming buds. They are our future, they are our tomorrow! Are we just simply taking their future for granted? What we are giving them, is it really ‘the best’ because the world says so? Or are we really giving them our values to be carried forward? Or we just await a future where we have doctors who are doctors but with no heart and engineers with no consideration for Nature (Human, earthly or divine).

The future does not come into existence sometime later; it is happening HERE and NOW itself. The decisions we take today; shape what awaits us in the future. If we fail to encourage love in our children and want them to be shaped according to the worldly nature of understanding, we are going to fail tremendously.

We hear about the violent outbreaks in different countries where simple children get complicated and have violent outbursts to the extent of killing other students, this is an unfortunate result of education without proper loving care. No child could ever be violent if he felt love within his heart. No child could ever harm another if he felt he was cared for. No child would ever rebel if he felt he was listened to.

It our responsibility to show them the right path - Of truer understanding, love, consideration of Human values and ethics as means for getting Edu - cared. The future that holds children as abiding in mutual respect, integrated with the understanding of this world as whole rather than in parts, and awakening to the responsibility as sensitive, caring and conscious individuals.

A trend perhaps has set into motion, where all students are compelled by either competition or their families to migrate abroad to get educated, this is another means of escapism. Denying responsibility that a better education could be available here, in fact we do have a potential not just for a better Education but a better Edu Care here.

What starts as a spark spreads as a fire

When the dry woods ignite with the light

Warm winds carry the fire into the forests

Such are the mysteries of Life.

But alas! Who really cares about this?

Fragmented realities torn apart in the spasms of time,

And flowers wilted away in the freezing winds.

These trends are just like the weather, foreign bound,

Some still hoping till today

The return of a soul home bound.

Shyam Lala

Tiruvannamalai

18 April 2013

Game of Desires - The Ultimate Killer

The Game of Desires - The Ultimate Killer

Humanity today runs a mile and furlong for gratifying their excessive needs of consumption. World today as we know it, and understand it has become a gateway of unwholesome, unethical, insensitive massive consumption.

We teach our children these same mannerism of life, we teach them to be walking talking consuming entities.

A world full of desires is considered welcoming by most, rather than understanding it as a world full of responsibilities. A view that has got pretty much contorted along the passing roads of time moving from industrialization into modernization and finally into techno-I-zation. 

A big moment of success for those who believe in wasting away the natural resources of life. What humans have taken for granted from the mother Earth and its Nature thereof will have to be paid back with a huge Capital plus a forbearing interest. 

This is not an uncommon knowledge anymore - growing markets, taxing economy and the Autocratic Tyranny of the Governments all over the world have added to the burden of taking more than what is truly needed. We have fed our greed into the mortal veins of our lives, and this very greed is become the treacherous poison that consumes our entire existence. 

Who is to blame?  Society? Governments? Education? Conditioning? Parents? Teachers? Who is to blame?

The answer to this question does not lie outside of us, it lies within us. We accepted greed and treachery as a way of life for ourselves. What motivates greed? What motivates a man to become so treacherous in destroying the very roots of sane existence? Accepting the tyranny of dominating behavioral modes at all times?

Man was not meant to be born as a slave of social conditioning and norms!

What motivates us to accept this evil? Simply Desire itself! Our biggest Master has become 'Desire.'

Modernization brought along with itself an amazing blessing that became a vicious curse too. Instant-I-zation.

People wanted everything instantly from coffee too food ..... you name you got it. This very attitude adapted also became a curse, Instant Gratification fueled more desire and more needs and more wants.

The natural pace of our desires reached an untimely proportion, we did not stop to think anymore of what was good and what was not good for us. Simple because desires could be gratified instantly we progressed into speeding up, going off limits to have and to get what we want.

This might sound as thrill for some but it could also be very dangerous. Very little of instant age brought some good utility along with it. Of course there few good things that came out of it but on an ethical level a lot of it got propelled towards the greater fall of human self understanding and consciousness.

Now critics may disagree and would like to point otherwise, but let us again consider one more thing here. The good that happens does not hinder transformation it adds to it. It is the evil that we adopt that needs more work of accuracy and transformation. Hence, it is very important to observe this and to examine the roots of our faulty social norms and attitudes.

Desire today holds the motivation for human behavior and conduct. A desire can be good, a desire can be evil too. It is how we are are using desire rather getting used or abused by it that determines our quality of living. Man has a greater blessing than just desire to accept and adopt in his life. What is that? Self Discrimination!

Where desire has become the Ultimate Killer in our way of living, a Re-Investigation is necessary reminding us to consider first then act. To self discriminate first then decide. Using discrimination as a means for greater good than evil. To adopt a harmonious, wholesome perspective, a caring attitude and a giving attitude from a consumption-ist to a conservationist. This what can bring changes for a greater whole. It does not take much to remember this. Our society that has turned competitive, violent and discriminative in separateness can turn around into a more healthy, encouraging, harmonious and accepting the Oneness of our existence. This in itself can bring about a greater change and transformation.

What we have accepted from the philosophy of separative existence, and that can be undone only by the accepting the realization of One humanness. Not heading from desire into destruction but rather from desire into self realization. It is only then that the awakening of responsible humanity unfolds, if we give away this responsibility for ourselves we are giving up our very potential of an awakened future.

The question still persists if not now then when? When do we wake up? This is a question that humanity has to answer for itself today. Not sometime in future but HERE AND NOW.

We have only burrowed from what belongs to our future generations, and we have already done an irreparable damage to this planet to their future lives. Our insatiable desires have caused tornado's of mass destruction, and its time, we whirl ourselves away from it to save of what's left for the chidlren of tomorrow's dreams. Its only a simple decision, to accept, not by trying to change the world,  without changing ourselves first. The change within causes the change without. This is how it all began and this is how it all ends too. May the Grace of a clear compassionate understanding prevail on us today. May humanity realize its folly above its pride of achievement, may be we all move towards a better future in living more harmoniously and with a fuller understanding of love for all humanity and beings as ONE and ONE only.