Thinking About It

Despite feeling like we can do anything we’d like to, all of us are still on the same quest to find freedom. We seek it from our emotions, like anger or hurt. We seek it from wanting things we know we can’t have. We seek it from thought processes we think we can change but feel we cannot. Whether we realize it or not, we are seeking love, happiness and peace within ourselves. The clearer we are about what we are desiring, the more we benefit from this knowledge and the less distracted we get from our goal.

Most of us don’t really know who we are. Even when asked to describe our personality, we get confused for we all feel we are one and the other, no matter how contradictory. We all also feel as if we’re always trying to fix something. There’s so much about our life we want to improve. But before going out and improving the world, we turn to this knowledge to understand our essence. We give it attention so that it creates impressions in our mind. Our mind holds that new form and as the mind changes, so do we.

Time is movement, and the second that you think is the present, is gone and lost the next. But being present doesn’t mean staying still and focused. It’s a gentle sense of being and truth where we actually slip out of the bondage of time. In eternal, there’s fullness of experience; no divisions, no “me”. And only our conscious effort put into understanding who we are and adjusting our thinking process will set us free.

It’s human nature to get attached. But when we don’t let go, when we continue to do when we should have stopped, our worldly joy becomes sorrow, fear, or anger. This mantra empowers us to be free from the limiting, free from the fear of change. May we enjoy deathlessness and changelessness. Then, there is only compassion, kindness, love, empathy, and ripeness of character. Everything happens with ease; we are not forcing anything. And the sweetness that we experience, we share with the world around us.

Each one of us has a unique bundle of things we fear, and in general, all of us fear death, rejection, or loss. So it does not matter how big we grow from the outside, for inside, we all have the same scared heart that governs our actions and thoughts. This mantra’s sounds bring about nourishing vibrations within us that build courage so that we can outgrow this fear. Chanting this mantra may or may not solve our immediate problems, but it definitely gives us a far deeper strength that lets us face them.

Life’s about seeing there is a greater force and that each one of us plays a part in the grand scheme of things. We don’t have to live life like limited entities who only eat, drink, make money, struggle, feel unappreciated and die. Start by loving Shiva, and oneness won’t seem so far off. When we worship that which creates, sustains, and destroys this creation, we lift ourselves to feel more like Shiva himself does. We can then work our way towards becoming one with Him and thus one with all of creation.

In Hinduism, heaven and hell exist both in this life and in the hereafter. Here, they are realms of consciousness that we experience in our own minds. We either daydream positive scenarios or replay negative reactions of our actions in our head. Just like Arjuna, we too, glorify our weaknesses or just want to escape. We too, lose clarity when faced with our attachments. However, when we accept we don’t know and can no longer see clearly, our sorrow transforms. With surrender, we can detach and move forward.

Most of our thoughts centre around “me” and we become egocentric individuals as we think we are separate from everyone else. More importantly, we start thinking we are separate from the Lord, the light or the Supreme truth. But when we bow down and sincerely surrender ourselves, no thought of “me” or “I am” exists. Our mind is completely tuned into the Supreme, and we feel connected. The Geeta Dhyanam are such invocation mantras that help us in establishing that connection and staying there.

When fear, other emotions, and attachments creep into the mind, it automatically becomes weak. A weak mind looks for reasons to blame our sorrows, difficulties, and problems on. A weak mind loses clarity on why we are acting and what it is we want. A weak mind uses wise quotes or scriptures to justify its weakness. This is why we can relate to Arjuna. And when emotions get the better of us this way, it is sometimes better to watch the movement of the mind as a wave and simply let it pass.

Be it at the level of body, mind or intellect, anything that gives us joy attracts us. Thus, what attracts us the most is that which would give us the greatest joy. But instant gratification of our desires empowers us to go after temporary pleasures. And when faced with a situation that directly conflicts with our attachments, we become weak. Our resolve breaks and we can become complacent. This behaviour is what we are trying to be more aware of so that we can grow to be the very best we can be.

Chapter 1 lays the foundation so that when Krishna speaks, we can understand. But most front covers of published Geetas (i.e., Arjuna’s chariot) depict a great philosophy. In short, the chariot is our body, 5 horses our senses, reins our mind and charioteer our intellect. Plus, Arjuna represents the Jiva (us) who is Sattvic. Empowered by purity, selflessness, and other virtues, surrender it all and let Lord Krishna take the reins. Only once emptied can then we be filled with knowledge and feel His grace.

Swami Tejomayananda ji jokes, “What does it mean when a man opens the car door for his wife? Either it’s a new car or a new wife!” Attachment to objects and people changes the way we see the world and act in it for we add onto them a value. So during decision-making, we get swayed towards our attachments and away from Dharma, what we know is right. By repeatedly choosing Adharma, Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana were so weakened that they couldn’t accept grace into their lives. Shouldn’t we choose to do better?

Our minds are blinded by attachments, but our intellect can see. We are constantly making decisions that shape who we become and the destiny we face. Do we listen to the mind or intellect? Though Arjuna was faced with the epic Mahabharata war, this is the war that is eternally waged in our hearts. Our war is but the battles we face minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour, day-to-day and week-to-week. This new series is a discourse on the Bhagavad Geeta, rooted in the commentary of Pujya Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda.

With Day 30, we come to the end of our Gratitude Challenge. But please do not let this mark the end for your gratitude practice as we must always remember: gratitude is limitless. Over the last month, you have creatively practiced to keep various things in your awareness. Having done so, you would have seen some benefits, and the consequences of which will continue to come to you. As this would help you stay committed to gratitude, be inspired to continue. Be sincere, be aware, be grateful.

“We don’t experience the world, we experience only our minds,” has been said by numerous philosophers. Our mind is the most powerful tool. It creates our lives and our worlds. It allows us to overcome our limitations in the world and in our bodies. And it enables us to have crucial skills which we often overlook but are nonetheless vital to our survival. As we near to a close with this challenge, notice how much we are capable of and be grateful for our mind.

We have seen how we can be grateful for countless things in our lives. But we must not forget that there are times we feel ungrateful as we may feel unrealistically or inappropriately entitled to something that we do not necessarily do. Also, we can feel ungrateful when we perceive things to not be good enough or to not have met our expectations. Today, instead of putting aside our ungrateful thoughts, let us embrace them, use them and transform them into grateful ones.

There is a verse in the Bhagavad Geeta that reads “na me bhakta pranashyati”. Shri Krishna promises that each one of us will be liberated, taken care of by him, and supported. So today, let us be grateful for promises. Whether it is His promise or any other promise you made, let us be thankful for it and appreciate how these promises have helped build our lives.

Music has a huge influence in our lives. It takes the role of not only the best psychologist when we feel like no one understands or the best motivational speaker when we feel like we need to get pumped up, but it also is the best friend we need during both happiness and sadness. Music can be linked to memories, facilitate social bonding and encourage celebrations. Let us appreciate the power of music and all the wonderful things it brings to us.

Money is a crucial part of our lives, but it is not the most important. Ironically, however, it touches many aspects of our lives in terms of quantity and quality and gives rise to more opportunities. Money has the power of disciplining us, inspiring us, and allowing us to give more. Most significantly, money can be used to fund the change we wish to see in the world. Today, we show gratitude for our money by sharing it.

Gratitude is like many important but non-urgent things that we put off. However, these are usually our life’s most valuable things! So today, let us make gratitude a priority by taking gratitude pauses in the day. Stop everything else and simply be guided in your focus. Meditate during these pauses to be grateful for money, places, technology, objects and more.