An eye that can see beyond the obvious, ears that can give a patient hearing, an intellect that is free from prejudice, an intention to help those in need, and a heart that is strong and soft.
It is easy to find people who are very emotional, and say, "Oh, I love everybody". They are compassionate but have no strength in them, they cannot endure even a simple criticism, which is no good. Then there are those who just throw their weight around; they are very harsh and hard. They feel like there is a stone inside - that is not the quality of a good human being.
A good human being has the right combination of the head and the heart, the left and right brain is balanced.
Usually people think a miserable person is very sensitive. When you are miserable, you block yourself out. You may feel sensitive to others comments, but you are not sensitive to others feelings, it’s a one-way sort of sensitivity. Because your perception is totally colored, you are not sensitive to others, you feel vulnerable. But when you are centered, you are sensitive to others feelings.
Do you understand the two types of sensitivity? One is vulnerability, you feel very vulnerable when you are hurt and upset. When you are on your own trip of self-pity, you are ready to accept anything someone says. It does not mean that you are sensitive to others feelings. It is only when you are centered, content and calm that you become sensitive to others needs and requirements -- that is a different kind of sensitivity.
Every moment dying to the past! Unless you die every moment, you can’t live in the present.
Know that it is a tough time, and it will pass. Many concepts will come; every day you will find different concepts crumbling down. When these concepts keep crumbling down, you often experience vacuums. It is the vacuums that create restlessness and confusion in you. Here, meditation will help and enhance your endurance.
It is amazing to see how much wisdom has been there in the past. From the Vedic Wisdom program, you will get a little glimpse of the various aspects of life and tattvas, i.e., the principles and the natural laws that govern the universe. That is what you will learn.
The first initiation for this is called the Gayatri Mantra, which is a very powerful mantra. It was kept a big secret for all these years. In certain sections of society, it was given only from father to son, it was not available to general public. People were even barred from chanting it aloud. It is only in the last 10-15 years that you have started getting it on tapes, people even sing out aloud. Before that, when we were young, when I was 10, nobody would even utter it, it was kept so secretive.
I thought everyone should now get access to this beautiful chanting. The meaning of the chant is, 'Let all our intellects be inspired by the divinity deep within us. Let noble thoughts and intuitive thoughts come up in our mind and rule our intellect. Let our intellect be soaked in the transcendental consciousness.’
It is our intellect and not just mine, since it is a collective prayer and wish. Similarly, you will understand more and more during the program. Actually, if you have to study any one aspect of the Vedas, it will take 12 years, it is that vast. But in these 4 to 6 weeks, you will get a little sample of everything. I thought people would enjoy it because this Vedic wisdom does not belong to any one religion, nation alone, it is the property of the whole planet, and the whole humanity. That is how I see it. No one can say that only one particular set of people should keep it. Although in the past that has been the case, now, it is available to everybody.