Learning

We can learn life lessons from every aspect of life, be it sport, theater,dancing, music, cooking, trekking, hiking and what have you.
In each of these there are rules to be followed and moves to be made within the framework of rules.
Another important aspect that we have to take into account is that no game is a solo affair.
There are other players to be taken into account.
The results depend on our understanding of the whole complex network.
Life is like that too.
Ganoba

Bhakti

We don't ask for any special favours from Krishna.
That amounts to insulting His judgment and fairness.
We just sing His glory and leave it to Him to bestow on us whatever He thinks right.
That is true bhakti.
Ganoba

Amiss

being missed or missing someone
is an indication that we are giving too much importance to the body, as we have known it before.
There is nothing amiss in the present moment.

Ganoba

Life, wonderful as it is

The idea of being stuck assumes that life should be going somewhere and doing this at a certain pace.
There is no basis for both these assumptions.
Rather than looking for solutions for imagined problems, it would be worthwhile to verify all our assumptions.

We may then find that there is nothing wrong with life and that it is wonderful as it is

Ganoba

Wayward

When I come across some one who has gone wayward;
alcoholics, drug addicts etc,
the following comes to mind:
"But for the grace of God, there go I."
The judge and executioner is side lined for a while,
and Compassion arises in the mind.
I am saved from going wayward myself.
Ganoba

Behave

Behave means
BE YOURSELF
and
HAVE FUN

GANOBA

Bhakti means becoming one with the source.
There is no separation between I and its surroundings.
They are one and the same.















Vibhakti is a state of separation.
It celebrates separation.
I and You are competing for resources,
so they appear to be in short supply.
I and You are at loggerheads.
How can there be peace between them?
This is the root cause of all violence.

Bhakti is the alternative.
It means becoming one with the source.
There is no separation between I and its surroundings.
Whatever we have and whatever we do is for the I only.
There is no wastage.
We live in abundance, hence there is no anxiety, no fear of loss.
Only love and joy.

Ganoba

Gratitude

At the level of social niceties,
We are caught up in dualities.
If we dive a little deeper,
We see the play of opposites.
If we dive a little more,
We meet the director of the play.
If we dive some more,
We are engulfed by the vibrations of OM.
Further down,
There is silence and stillness.
The energy for all the diving,
Comes from GRATITUDE
Felt and expressed.
Ganoba
in gratefulness

Birth of Charity

When we say, "I deserve what I have."

We are actually saying, "I deserve much more than what I have."

It is really a statement of dissatisfaction and suppressed anger at the unfairness of the way goodies are distributed.

Then we cannot enjoy what we have nor can we appreciate what others have.

How can charity take birth in such a mind?

What we have is not about deserving but is due to the grace of the Lord.

Charity begins when we see it like this.

Ganoba

Spiritual Truth

Only if you can give it away,

can you enjoy it in its wholeness.

Sounds paradoxical, isn't it?

All spiritual truths are paradoxical when viewed from the box of social propriety.

Ganoba

Forgiving reinforces the ego, the sence of a separate self, that sits on judgment over others and finds them wanting.

Forgiving in effect says," You have hurt me. You are nasty but I in my magnanimity choose to ignore it."

Isn't that ego speak?

If and when I feel hurt, physically or emotionally, I try to use all available enrgy to heal, that is to remove the sense of separateness. The extent to which I feel oneness, to that extent the feeling of hurt is dissolved.

Ganoba

Guidance

I am guided by whatever wisdom I have at a given point of time.

Can I borrow it from someone else or from the future?

This means I have to grope at times.

What is the alternative?

Ganoba

Healing

If and when i am hurt, physically or emotionally, I prefer to use all available energy to heal.

What is the point wasting it on taking revenge?

Ganoba

Free Will

Is there such a thing as free will.
Yes, of course.
Why then, for most of us, it does not seem to operate?
What we will, does not come to pass.
Are you free?
It operates only for free people, not for slaves.
Ganoba

Interactive Learning

When an idea or a picture comes in through the eyes or ears, most of us open the path to the brain, to the intellect, not to the heart center.

It then provokes thoughts and an intellectual game begins. This game is confined to the box called known. The inquiry that ensues is rational logical which is always within the box.

To open the path way to the heart we need to allow emotions a free sway. Then the process can be evocative (not provocative) and we would be able to go out of the box of logic and rationality. New ideas will come to mind that will cry for attention and will induce trying out.

Satatya, regularity and honesty of purpose, is an essential element of any sadhana. Most of us approach it casually. Then the returns are short lived.

Why do you write? You seem to intuitively know that learning is an interactive process. While helping your learning you want to assist me too.

Thanks for writing.
Ganoba

True Satsang

Curiosity is the mother of learning. It allows us to look with wonder (not fear) towards the unknown. It makes us stay rather than run away from the unknown. It makes us take a second look rather than shut our eyes (or ears).

It manifests in the form of a question. If we look for a ready made answer then we have pseudo learning. We then take a more or less passive role in the learning process. We seek out a teacher to provide the answer. A real teacher would not provide the answer but would initiate an interactive process with the student leading to an answer.

Many of us would seek out an authoritative book ( called a scripture if the question is spiritual) and then read it a number of times, recite or chant it in a mindless way. This does not lead to any learning. Many are not willing to take even this much trouble. So they attend a discourse, called satsang, where a learned guru will read the book for him and also interpret it for him giving juicy examples to illustrate the practical value and application. This may provide intellectual understanding but does not lead to a change in behaviour.

A true satsang happens when people working togwther seek out the answer through an expriential experimentation. Refer to the learning spiral for details of the process. This removes all doubts and questions and we are able to embrace the unknown.

Ganoba

Honouring Limitations

Knowing ones own limitations and honouring them is a very big step in building lasting relationships. When we honoure our limitations, as against hiding them, it is easy to accept the limitations of others gracefully.
Then we can focus on the qualities within the limitations and help each other to develop them in the service of a larger good.
This is the basis of any lasting and fruitful partnership.
Ganoba

Primal Energy

Be still for a while, doing nothing.

It is not as easy as it sounds, because we are hard wired to keep doing something all the time, even if it is totally useless and sometimes down right harmful.

Be silent for a while, just listening.

This is also not easy as we love the sound of our own voice. We want others to listen to us but we are unwilling to pay the same courtsey to them.

Become aware of energy as it vibrates. We may even hear its reverberations.

This is primal energy and will open the gates to a reality much more significant than the social reality.

Ganoba