(Below is a continuation of the post The Art Of Being)
Why should life be simple? Life is complicated and that is what makes it fun. There is beauty, there is thrill in life. It is when you feel very tired that you feel “Oh, it is all so complicated. Let me get away from it all”. When you are bubbling with energy, then you do not feel this way. You feel tired from the complications when you lack energy. When you are tired, you want everything to be simple. . Got it? That is what it is.
See, is eating a banana simple or complicated? When you take a bite of the banana, then the starch gets mixed with the saliva. Then it goes into the stomach where the digestive acid digests it. Then it has to give a signal to the brain to release the enzymes for digestion. It is all so complicated. The liver, the pancreas and other organs secrete juices and it gets mixed in the duodenum of the intestine. Then it goes in the big intestine and finally gets absorbed in the blood. Oh God! It is so complicated. So do you think it is simple or complicated? (Laughter)
When you are looking at me, do you think the process of sight is very simple? When you look at me or at anything, you will realize how light falls on any object, and then enters the eye. The image formed in the eye is initially upside down on the retina. Just ask an ophthalmologist and you will understand how complicated it is. Is there any one thing that is simple in your body? No! There are 50,000 types of bacteria in your intestine. Did you know that? Even if 10 types out of these 50,000 are missing, you will have some problem or another. So, all the 50,000 bacteria need to be present for you to feel healthy. And the bacteria are very territorial. If another five different bacteria enter the body, they will send out signals and you will have diarrhoea or constipation. Similarly, there are three different kinds of bacteria on your forehead. They are called mites and they all stay in their respective zones. In the scalp there is another kind of mite. The mites on the forehead do not cross into another mites’ region. Did you know that? How many of you are hearing it for the first time? You know that in India there is a custom of applying Vibhuti (sacred ash) on the forehead in the form of three lines. There must be some correlation between this and that (the three mites on the forehead and applying Vibhuti). Three different kinds of mites live on your forehead, and it is different for different people.
There are people who are married and are happy, and there are people who are single and still happy – you better belong to this category. There are people who are single and unhappy, and there are people who are married and unhappy. It is better you do not get into that category of people.
See, the example of Ramakrishna Paramahamsaji. He was married, Sharada Devi was his wife. There are many such examples like this. So even couples can attain enlightenment. Enlightenment is not something that just drops from somewhere. It is present in us all. Lord Rama was married, Lord Krishna was married. Of course, you cannot compare Rama and Krishna. In the previous birth of Lord Krishna when he was Kapila Muni, he was a Brahmachari (celibate) from childhood. In the next life he chose to be married. But he was anyway a Siddha (perfected being).
The other day, someone was asking me, “When Lord Shiva can have Bhang (an intoxicating drink made from the fruit of the Cannabis plant) and smoke opium, why can’t I?”
I said, “Well, before Lord Shiva drank Bhang and smoked opium, he also consumed the deadly Halahala poison (a fiery poison that emerged during the churning of the Cosmic Ocean). Why don’t you also first take poison and after that you can consume all these? Do not take that as an excuse to consume Bhang. Lord Shiva also consumed poison. When poison could not affect him, then Bhang also cannot affect him in any way. But both of these substances can affect you!" (Laughter)
There is a story of Lord Krishna. Once when the river was in full spate, he said, “If I am a true Brahmachari then may the river stop swelling and resume its gentle flow”. It is said that when he said this, the flood in the river disappeared. Have you all heard this story?
Oh my God! God only can help you, and God is very helpful, provided you help yourself first. God helps those who help themselves.
How can you help yourself? First, create some space for imperfection in life. Do not expect everyone to be perfect overnight.
It will take quite some time for you to get to that level, where anger does not even touch you. It will keep coming in different shades and intensities. Instead of looking at the cause of anger, look at the effect it is producing in your system. And then keep relaxing your system, attend to yourself.
This world cannot be so perfect, so broaden your vision. You cannot make everyone the way you want them to be. Unpleasant things are bound to happen. When it happens, you should have the strength and courage to move on. Meditation will definitely provide you that much needed strength to overcome anger. Once in while if anger comes up, don’t start blaming yourself. One thing that can be very detrimental on the spiritual path is you blaming yourself. Keep moving ahead. This is where Sangha, group or company can also help. Whatever things you cannot do alone, you can get help and support from a group, from good company.
Sangha has many benefits, but a few drawbacks also. It can also take up a lot of your energy. It can be draining at times. Many times you will have to compromise on something. The positive effect is that Sangha helps you to move forward. It gives you that much needed support to move forward. Whenever your mind goes topsy-turvy, or if your emotions are going up and down, when your inner faith is shaken, then at such times the Sangha will carry you forward. It will help you move through the situations. One negative effect of the Sangha is that if someone in the group is negative and miserable and you are not careful enough and join hands with that person, then it can bring you down as well. Sangha is also a strength.
You absolutely should. Have you not noticed that in all advertisements for cigarettes there is a warning message that says, “Smoking is injurious to health”. So you should leave smoking. It is like diving in the swimming pool. You do not hold on to the rails, you simply dive into the water. In the same way, just take a firm decision that from this moment on I will not touch cigarettes. I am not going to look at it, I am not going to touch it at all. You will feel such an enormous sense of self-empowerment within you. Your lungs will feel so happy. When your lungs are happy, your breath will be happier and joyful. When your breath is happy, your brain will be happy as well. The brain will feel, “Ah! I am getting fresh food (oxygen) today and not stale food”.
We have introduced a Smoking Pranayama technique here as well. I have never smoked in my life. But I have often wondered what makes one get addicted to smoking? Is it the smoke, or something else? Or is it that style of breathing that stimulates something in the brain? It seems to relax the brain. Try keeping the fingers on the lips without having a cigarette and breathe, then see what you feel. Breathe in and out 5 to 10 times, and you will find the same impact that you would have gotten with a cigarette (laughter). You will get the same relaxation but without any harmful impact on your lungs.
Come on, this is a story of the past. Wake up now, and resolve that 'I am not going to worry'. Invoke the valour inside you. If you find it difficult to do so, I would suggest that you practice Bhastrika and do the Sudarshan Kriya.
Do you feel worried after Bhastrika and the Sudarshan Kriya? You do not look worried to me. You seem very well today. Do you feel the difference after doing these practices? Go for a walk in the morning, and then make the “Ha” and “Ho” sound. You will feel an increase in your energy levels, you will start bubbling with enthusiasm.
Definitely. Technology and spirituality should go together. Then technology can bring comfort and progress. Otherwise technology can be used to destroy mankind. Technology can be used to create terror on the planet. Is it not happening already? Technology can be abused to hurt people if human values are missing from it. By combining spirituality with technology, you can prevent so much disaster and bring comfort to people. Technology can be used to feed millions, to educate millions. When technology is combined with Spirituality, it can bring physical, mental and emotional comfort to everyone.
