Growing Up

what scientists are trying to prove has been known to wise people for ages; for example not to give too much importance to any one aspect of life or our own personality.

We train ourselves to live inside a box(called home, culture etc) and look at the world through a window and then try to find ways of stepping outside the box.

Is this what science is all about?

When will the scientists grow up?

Ganoba

Happiness for all

The source of all creation is one.
There is no other.
In sanskrit it is "Ekoham dvitiyo nasti".
Since there is nothing else to compare with,
We can also say that it all came out of nothing, zero, shoonya.
Thus we see that the basic building blocks are 0 and 1.
By the manipulation of these two numbers all creation can be understood and explained and all problems solved.
These two are the life breath of the binary system, which is the language of the computer.
As we have realised the power of the system and started using it, we are experiencing an explosion of possibilities.With the help of this we are now able to enter the virtual world.
Isn't this a spiritual explosion?
It is in deed one.
However, it is turning out to be the dance of the devil because we are forgetting the third player in this game, the one who plays with 0 and 1, the one who invents ways of deciphering the truth and communicating the whole world.
If we acknowledge the divine spirit behind all this and give it it's rightful place, we may yet convert this revolution as the engine of happiness for all.

Insights

I closed my eyes and sat quietly waiting for an insight to appear.
Nothing appeared for a long time.
all of a sudden I realised that the mind wasn't at all quiet.
It was waiting, hoping, pleading, cajoling for something profound.
This realisation about the mind, is it not an insight?
insights cannot be commissioned or ordered.
Ganoba

The Source

There are some principles that regulate the lives of individuals.
We as humans have been given the right to choose and the apparatus to do so.
If we choose wisely and live in consonance with the principles, we would be happy.
Unfortunately many of us choose to challenge and defy these principles.
Then our life becomes a "bhulbhülaiya", an illusory play of light and shade; happiness and suffering.

The same principles apply to organisations.
Organisations that choose to live by these principles, prosper and grow.
They also sow seeds of prosperity in the communities in which they are located.
Those that flaunt these principles become sick and eventually perish.
They also hurt the society at large.

How does one know these principles?
They are coded in the individual self which is at the core of each one of us.
The journey to the core is a holistic exploration.
It is a journey to the spirit,the soul and the source of wisdom.
Energy, beauty and grace reside at the core.
How can we fail if we operate from the source?

Ganoba

Values

Purpose is personal.
Values are universal.
Each one of us has taken birth to fulfill a specific mission in life.
It is the pursuit of this mission that adds meaningfulness to our life.
if we jettison the mission we have to pay a heavy price.

values represent the ground rules for all life.
They help to provide a sense of relatedness and coherence in the universe.
Without values organisations cannot flourish.
values provide a sense of worth, of usefulness.
They help us to know that we have through our presence made a difference for the better.
That our life has been worthwhile.

Ganoba

Self knowledge

If you have the answers to the following questions:
Who am I?
and
What is my mission in life?
Then nothing can tempt you or terrorise you.
You will always be on course.
You will be able to navigate through life gracefully.

Knowledge of the self cannot be obtained by the study of scriptures or by doing so called good deeds.
It is obtained by Swadhyay- self observation while being actively engaged in life.

Ganoba

Magnamity

Pettiness is anti-growth.
Petty people may create an illusion of growth and prosperity for a while. like bubbles They would soon burst.

Magnanimous people cannot but grow.
Nothing can come between them and success.
Those who come into contact with them will also grow.

Cultivate magnanimity.

Entrepreneurs never fail.

9 out of 10 start-ups would not be around in a year's time. These 9 who would fail are not entrepreneurs. They represent the get-rich-quick crowd.They jump on the latest bandwagon. They chase the latest fad.They believe that one can get rich without any effort.
Unfortunately the proportion of people in the general population who have no roots of their own and so are easily swayed is also about 9 in 10. So these speculators find a lot of succors. A bubble of affluence is thus created which soon bursts.

This has been going on since time immemorial.The crowd does not learn.

Entrepreneurs have self knowledge. They never fail.

Ganoba

Stillness

the sound of the drum
as the wind dances on it
is nearest
to the sound of stillness.
Ganoba

Becoming One

When we prostate ourselves in front of God ( a symbolic surrender in totality) God bends down to lift us and takes us in a loving embrace,
Then the bhakta (devotee) and Bhagavan become one.
Ganoba

Being Creative

Being creative is our inherent nature. Let us just remember this fact.

It does not need to be released or boosted.

Avoid the temptation to copy, imitate, follow a role model, repeat.

These are all short cuts and they shred our basic nature, including being creative.

Ganoba

Experimentation

Experimentation is not the same as making mistakes or permission to make mistakes.

Before experimentation begins there is a pressing idea of a possibility. This does not allow one either to set it aside or just to discuss it. It initiates action.

This action is accompanied by keen observation; of the action itself and all the consequences, internal and external, material and spiritual that happen to take place. All this is meticulously noted, mentally and on paper. Finally it is shared with others who are also into experimentation.

This last part, sharing makes the learning a self perpetuating spiral.
Ganoba

Being a Pig

We are all pigs in some measure,
being preoccupied with just survival,
eating and procreating,
to the exclusion of every thing else.
Vishnu was once born as a pig
and got so involved in enjoying it
that he forgot who he was.
He had to be rescued by Narada,
one of his foremost devotees
Ganoba

Washing

Washing
much better
than just wishing
and hoping
that it would happen
without lifting
a finger.
Ganoba

Success and Failure

Success and failure are culturally loaded value judgments.
In nature there are only up and down (and other pairs of opposites).
These two are buddies. One cannot exist without the other.
Ganoba

Simple Living

What appears as simple living to the outside world
is based on a fundamental truth.
It is that we already have enough
(actually more than enough so we may be able to share with others)
Let this truth sink in
and then we would find all desire for more dropping off
like dried leaves in the fall season.
We would also notice the rising of compassion
which is actually a sense of brotherhood ( sisterhood).
Sharing happens naturally, effortlessly in this state.
We are then thankful for all that we have and feel inspired to use it wisely.
Let us not make this into a movement.
We need no research and expert opinion to commercialize this way of living.
This is not a treatment.
It is just a way of living.
It is subjective and personal.
Let each one work out his(her) way.
Ganoba

Useless Play

in useless play
we lose a lot of energy
not enough is left
to follow the way.
Ganoba

Suffering

Question and answer are inseparable,
like Radha and Krishna or Purush and Prakriti.
Seeing them as two separate entities is the primary folly
and is the cause of all our suffering.
Ganoba

sata

I do not know in what context the above remark was made. It is important to know the context, since many of the aphorisms are contextual.
Let me share my take on Satan.
there are certain aspects of our being that we are unable to handle gracefully. Societies in which we live decides to give them a bad name. then the individuals also begin to disown them.
The raw, the rough and tough, the adventurous, the risk taking, the maverick aspects in us are usually condemned. They are either banished or imprisoned. Then they become rebellious.
This is Satan in the moralistic world.
I am not an angel all the time. I often play the devil's advocate. I have been able to help in both roles. It is important to know when to play which role. If we know that, then all is well.
Haven't you experienced both aspects of me? and loved them both?
am I less of a yogi because of that?

Ganoba

Purpose

We need to have a purpose in life to be able to navigate through the troubled waters and have fun. If the purpose too narrow, much of the fun is lost.

For instance, if fishing is the purpose then the expedition would be too focused and a lot of fun and beauty would go unseen and unfelt.

May be your friend realised this during the last trip and has invited you again. life gives us chances afresh and so nothing is lost for ever.

Try this time to open up the purpose and enjoy nature without the blankets, physical and mental.
Would love to be with you as nature made us.

Ganoba

guru

would you please share with me the meaning of 'guru dev'?

Life is dynamic. We all are changing every moment and so does the environment. So the balance has to be re-established every moment.
We are lost if we forget this.

guru is the process of learning. We divide it into two parts; the question and the answer. They are really inseparably one.

Then we personify these two
as the learner, who asks the question
and the teacher who has the answer.
Let us dissolve these artificial divisions then the process of learning (guru) will become clear and simple.
Dev is a word signifying respect.
Respect clears the ground for love to take root and blossom.

Ganoba

Suffering.

As long as the I and the other are seen as separate and different from each other,
so long will suffering be an inseparable part of our life.
Ganoba

Being with the self

when the body is in rebellion
go for a while in isolation
being just with the self
watching the breath
as it comes and goes
naturally, effortlessly.
Ganoba