Holding Hands

When I walk with you or someone like you,
on the path of love and they agree to hold hands,
then my own journey becomes very beautiful and enjoyable.
All worries, about results and the difficulties along the way, are extinguished.
Every thing that I say or do is touched by grace.
Ganoba

Atma Samarpan

Atma Samarpan---a willing offering to follow the inner voice or the inner Guru. In English the word used for this is surrender, which brings to mind a notion of defeat and hence a resistance to do it.. Let us understand it well. It is a process of going deeper in our study of the self and broadening our horizons.

Rational thinking, which relies on the wisdom of the past is actually an impediment in reflective work. It does not allow us to go beyond the boundaries set by our past experiences. It does not allow experimentation and out of box thinking.
Ganoba

Meditation on Nothingness

This is what meditation on nothingness is.
When the conscious mind is being used the "I" is very active. Over time it gets puffed up and goes on boasting, " I did this and I did that", "But for me nothing would have happened" and so on.
We are all familiar with this language. Whole lot of self help books are loaded with this kind of stuff.
When the desired results do not come then all the moaning starts about injustice, about dirty politics, "why is this happening to me only" and so on. Then the blame game begins in full swing. Even God is not spared.
The inner voice is buried deep under this mountain of rubbish.
In doing nothing and being nothing we take the first tentative steps to silence this cacophany.
Gradually silence and stillness descend. We are then able to hear the voice of the wisdom that resides in the antarman.
This is to be practiced dilligently. It is not a concept fot discussion or debate.
May peace be with you.
Ganoba

Compulsive Behaviour

A behaviour is compulsive when you, yourself know in your heart of hearts that this is being done to put off doing something that you really should be doing.
It is not decided by external experts.
Be still for a while and listen. You will come to know
what you are putting off.
The block will clear, the weight will be off your shoulder. You will be free to resume your life.
Ganoba

Apprenticeship

The captain started of as an apprentice, as we all do, in which ever field we may choose to work. He uses his experience to delve deep in the mystery of navigation ( or whatever our field of specialisation be) and to broaden his horizon. If he slips and falls, he does not treat that as failure, because he knows he is an apprentice. He learns his lesson and moves on.
As he rises up the ladder of responsibility he has developed vision, the ability to see that which is yet to happen or is happening far away in space and time (like Sanjay of Mahabharat). He develops wisdom and hence calmness. The Sanskrit word for this is STHITHPRAGYA meaning grounded in wisdom.
Most of us in the name of experience just add the burden of years.
Ganoba

The Captain and the Sea

Not to worry. the sea is not always calm. That is its nature.
The captain of the ship needs to be calm always. That is his nature.
That is the relationship between external circumstances and the soul ( a representative of the creator)
I too get thrown overboard, sometimes. Fortunately the captain pulls me out of deep waters.
Ganoba

Our True Nature

We are engrossed in pampering the body and ignore the soul because there is a lot of muck accumulated around it, in the mistaken belief that it is of great value.
It becomes very difficult to get rid of it for the same reason. It appears to be a great sacrifice to give it all away. It appears to be very painful. This is all avidya.
That is why initially we need the guidance of a compassionate guide. Once the darkness of avidya is dispersed then all actions become easy and enjoyable.
Finally, it happens by itself. Our true nature comes forth.
Ganoba

Finding our true self

To a mother whose child wishes to move away from home.
Each one of us has to make this trip to discover our independent identity,
in order to rediscover our true relatedness with all the elements in our surrounding universe and with the universe and its creator.
Let her go and wish her well. She will come back to reside in your heart.
Convey my best wishes to her.
Ganoba

Meditating onNothingness

It does not surprise me at all.
Indiscriminate and excessive reading fills our mind with a lot of useless information. we are then forced to discuss and debate. Arguments ensue and a lot of heat is generated.
This becomes a hindrance to the practice of universal principles.
We, then also tend to do a lot of useless things in the name of being active.
To realise that all our so called knowledge is really rubbish and all the various things we do are unnecessary, is a big step forward on the spiritual path.
The next step is meditating on nothingness; remaining still and silent.
It brings much calm and clarity.
Ganoba

Man-Woman Relations

Our problems arise out of our identification with things. They have a very small life span, that is the same as saying they are transient or as the buddhists say, "anichcha". The body is a thing only. It seems full of life and wisdom only as long as consciouness or pran resides in it. That is why we need to transcend our identification with the world of things and bodies.
All relationships based on the attracction and enjoyment of the body give momentary pleasure and lasting misery.
This applies to man-woman relationship too.
If we can see each other beyond the body then we can experience bliss. If we see each other as objects of consumption (bhog) then we end up demeaning each other. Let us be of service to each other. That is the path of yog.
Our sex organs are located very close to the seat of Kundalini. By treating them with dignity we can arouse the Kundalini's creative power in a positive way. By abusing the sex organs we arouse the fury of Kundalini.What would you choose? I have often made the wrong choice and suffered immensely as a result.
Ganoba in all humility

Doing His bidding

Initially, we practice it as the welfare of others. This is so because we are still in the dualistic world of me and the others.
Gradually as we practice this on a regular basis, our idea of the self expands to include the so called others. Now they start appearing as our own. Eventually it is all His domain and we are only doing His bidding.
It is so educating chatting with you.
Ganoba

Purification

Purification is not achieved by the study of any book, by what ever name it is called or by listening to the discourse of any person (even Ganoba).
It is achieved by just doing it.
There are 3 steps (which actually go on symultaneously).
Cleaning our immediate environment
Cleaning the body, outside and inside
Cleaning the mind of all accumulated ideologies, theories, notions ets.
This order is recommended as these steps are progressively more subtle and it is easier for us to begin at the gross level.
Our immediate possessions are all gross, so we begin from there.
Love to all the lovelies
Ganoba

Excuses, excuses

There is only one reason to act and hundreds of excuses not to.
True action is undertaken in response to an inner call to act in the present moment.
Excuses for not acting, for not doing anything spring from fear, not fear of consequences but fear that one will not be able to deal with the consequences of the action. It is thus a lack of knowledge about what the self is capable of. The knowledge about the self is misplaced and in the negative. This is Avidya.
The answer to all our questions lies in the true knowledge of the self.
Ganoba

Who am I?

I was born a human being. If I remained one I would be able to relate with another human without any difficulty. I would be able to relate with other beings, birds and beast, equally easily.
There would be no fear and no need to defend.
However, as soon as I was born, the process of limiting my identity began. I was classified on the basis of race, religion, nationality, ethnicity and so on. Later I joined the band wagon of classification. I started placing my identity in new pigeon holes based on profession, political ideology, culture, sexual orientation and so on.
Today I don't know who I am.
How can I relate with others then?
Ganoba