The ocean and the fjords

Tom was a lieutenant, assistant to the captain of the frigate “Impudence.” He had
trouble with the hierarchical nature of command, and his natural impatience sometimes
made him question the captain’s orders.
One day, as the Impudence cruised through the frigid waters surrounding Norway, Tom
went too far. He contradicted his superior in front of the entire crew. The captain did not
Atma Sanchaya Dhwani
– 3 –
get angry. Instead, he slowly approached the lieutenant, took him by the shoulder and
walked him aside. By that time Tom already regretted his insolent behaviour. “Look at
all these fjords, Tom,” the captain said. “See how many there are and how impetuously
they flow.” Tom didn’t know what the captain was trying to say, but he obeyed.
“Now look the other way and see how vast the
ocean is, as if it were drinking up all the light
of the sun. See how its movements seem to
swallow everything. Do you think the fjords
are greater in majesty than the ocean?”
“No Sir, I don’t.”
“Really? But there are so many fjords. And
they flow so much faster than the gentle swell
of the sea.”
“But still, Sir, the ocean is stronger and more
majestic than a fjord.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear you say,
Tom,” said the captain. “If rivers and seas are
greater than streams and brooks, it is because
they are always lower. If you want to become a captain one day, you first have to learn
to obey, to listen to what I say and to learn from me. One day you may surpass me, but
that day has not yet come.” If you want to learn, you have to know how to hold back,
observe and forget yourself. Every living creature grows by assimilating what comes
from outside itself.
“The sage who wants to lead his people acts as a servant to his people.” -Lao Tzu

– by His Holiness Maitreya Rudrabhayananda

A Beautiful article on CHANGE – By His Holiness Maitreya Rudrabhayananda

CHANGE is the whole purpose of Life

Oh what a way the nature brings on change. Change is inevitable… change is subtle yet fragrant, like the cool breeze of
winter transforms into warmth that touches the body. Really, nature is one of the best masters you can find. It goes on
spreading the knowledge for us again and again in its own way. The beauty is in that the teaching Soul Wisdom in Songs
is glaringly visible yet we take it for granted. The moment winter is in its final glory you can see the change in the whole of the surrroundings
– all the plants and trees shed their leaves and wait for new and fresh leaves to decor them. This change is so prominent yet
rarely people seem to enjoy it let alone become aware of it. Some love the climate change while others continue to resist it.
Now, people who resist the change are the worst affected with seasonal illnesses like cold, cough, fever etc. Such people also have weak stomach, weak digestive system and it becomes evident with sore mouth and development of acidity. Now the crucial thing is that nobody can change the nature’s cycle but you can change yourself by reducing your resistance to change. This resistance to change is not only restricted to season but in every aspect of life.

Our life is a series of continuous change and if we are able to acccept the changes then it helps us in our own growth and evolution.
It is some part within us which always fights with us and resists change. When our recoiling becomes stronger than our reach, we
end up procrastinating. The more the resistance, stronger we feel the struggle, pain, tension and stress in a continuous cycle.
We know that we are suffering but seldom do we opt to change but on the other hand if we are able to form a relationship with change then the change becomes a tool for freedom, creativity, joy and happiness.

It is as simple as having a partnership deal with change – the more cordial the relationship, better would be the functioning between
the partners.
CHANGE – The Fantasic Condition for

GROWTH
The first and foremost thing that stimulates growth is GROWTH. Growth is the most prominent change that occurs naturally. A
child who loves to read comics at any moment suddenly grows up to read novels and mature equally suddenly start reading self-help
books, thesis etc. You ask a mature person to read a comic, he would glance through the whole magazine with a smile and then put it aside. But the comic gets transformed in the hands of a child – the child gets related to it immediately and he starts flying like a
Superman, or cling to the wall like Spiderman. A mature person would get more relationship in those books and matters that are
crucial to him i.e. related to work, course etc.

Growth is a natural way of letting go of the old while moving ahead to catch another. Every new belief and faith give rise to letting go off the old one. All these changes create a personal growth and this may lead to evolution…but then it is to be understood that growth leads to change while change does not mean growth.

You may lead a life of illusion of change but it does not and will not change the emotions inside us. Illusions will never lead to growth
of any kind except a growth of ego.

HEALING
Change is another form of healing of emotions. You must have seen people changing their appearance feeling that changes would
definitely change their thought process, feelings and nature. Does it happen? Sometimes the change becomes a medium of motivation for others and this, in turn, helps them to get motivated due to the push of others and then the whole transformation happens for the positive results. A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug. See, it is like an actor who dons the role of a pilot and acts like one. If he dons the role of a thief he would act like one, but imagine a pilot who acts like thief and a thief who acts like a pilot. It would be confusing to be in such a situation. An actor is able to get into depth of the act and play the role but he does not remain a pilot or a thief, the moment the shot is over he comes out. But a person who watches the movies enjoys the actor not as an actor but as a pilot or a thief, like James Bond… you would remember who Pierce Brosnan or Sean Connery are… why? The character has become so strong that the persona of the person has also changed to suit him in real life also.
All the basis of the form is the emotion and that has to change to bring about the change genuinely. External changes boost the ego
and ones you are able to overcome this boosted ego, you will reach deep down to know the change soul wants from you. The radiance appears from within like when you are happy it shows from inside; you do not need to put on a cosmetic smile for the world to see, the fragrance of happiness automatically spreads. So change from within first is required before you change from outside.

CHAOS
When the change happens then another major event occurs and that is utter chaos. Life and everything works on two extremes – if you are alive, you will die; if you have happiness, you will carry load of sadness; you love then you will also hate. Thus when you change you have chaos too. Nature gives everything in two forms – one pure and other totally impure. Yet both are required to
make the event a success. The moment mind changes the whole concept, the body works with the conscious self to boost the ego.
Now ego resists the change by creating chaos. Now how does egocreate chaos when the mind is supreme?
It does not directly do so rather it takes hints from the surroundings. For example, if a person is going to get promoted to
a post that you feel is desired by you, then all the comments from the colleagues and friends on the matter would create a sense of tension in your mind. In the beginnning you might accept the change but now the change is confronted by chaos, which creates anger and resistence. The moment resistence is there, ego gets boosted to the extreme.
The beauty of all this is that the inner self requires chaos to survive, the soul loves to flow with chaos as it is with chaos only creattivity rises to a new height. Chaos is a mysterious element which helps trigger many events and changes in a person.
Ego is the most suffered element in all this as it is ego which indirectly creates the chaos but once it happpens it tries everything to avoid the chaos as it threatens ego’s defense mechanisms and it’s delusions of being in control.Most people, in the illusory world
of ego, feel that it is ego that controls their life and they destroy their life. It is essential that life is mastered by our soul and spirit.

How can we help our Soul and Spirit to master our lives?
Here are a few simple tips for you
to follow:
a. Let the mind be clear that the we are not just this body.

b. Let there be a hundred percent surrender to chaos and you would survive the worst scenario in your life.

c. Be more of a spectator to the event. It does not mean that you do not participate in it but even when you participate, be a witness
to what your involvement would do on the whole.

d. Allow the soul to show the direction of the future. Do not wait to see what future is all about, create it.
The main flaw with our thinking is conditioning into which we have been trained. We flow in similar patterns of thought process that
has been followed for millions of years. On the external front, we have changed but the thought process is still hundreds of years
old.
Humility and strong vision with intense faith in implementation of the event would create the future.

For example, when a smoker wants to quit he thinks that he would be able to quit smoking by reducing the number of cigarattes. But does this happen? Yes, for a short time
and then again he starts smoking. How can he quit smoking… he has to quit. Period. No other event can resolve this.
Yes! Many tools can be used for this like meditation, visualisation,
affirmations, but if we wait for the direction to be provided by someone to make changes in life then it is going to be too late for the actual event to take place.
You have to ask yourself what is that you want from your own life:-
a. What is the desire of your life as per
1. Health
2. Career
3. Relationship
4. Finance
(please include whatever categories you want in it and can have a long list)
b. What are your strong points?
(do not hesitate in answering whateever you think is the strng point)
c. What are your weak points?
(do not hesitate in answering this question… be true as this is essenttial
for knowing what you can have)
Place all the three sheets side by side. Now is the crucial area. Start eliminating the strong vis-a-vis the
weak areas. (Be true as you will only need to know this). At the end you will have the true strengths and weaknesses.
Place the final list with the desire and meditate (visualise) with all the changes in the future already in place. Be sure to remember all
the strengths and weaknesses Let the visualisation be perfect to the minutest detail and be there and feel the surge of emotions
coming and going. Do it for a few days and you would be surprised that many of the desires you feel are unwanted and then the process of elimination of the desire happens. Continue this process for a period of one week and you would find that you have a smaller list of desire. 

Write down all the desires on a fresh piece of paper with the strengths and weaknesses. Carry this paper with you always and
once every day look at the list and visualise all the things.
A small surprise waits for you…in future

article from atma sanchaya dhwani

Journey minus travails

Swami Sadananda, a disciple of Bhagwan Nityananda, was once asked by Bhagwan to go to Udupi
at once. Swami was dismayed for in those days passengers had to first reach Pune from Mumbai and then
take a train to Kadur. On reaching Kadur, one had to go to Mangalore by bus and then take another bus
to Udupi. In strict obedience to Gurudev’s order, Swami left Mumbai by train for Pune. After reaching there, he found
that the connecting train to Kadur had almost left the platform. Swami stood there wondering
what to do. Inwardly, he prayed to Gurudev.

Then suddenly the train stopped and the guard stepped down and asked Swami, “Where do you want to go?” Swami replied,“Kadur.” The guard then invited him to travel with him in his own compartment. Swami travelled like that till Kadur.

On reaching Kadur, he found out that no ticket was available on the Mangalore-bound bus. But at the last moment, the conductor offered him a ticket. In Mangalore, a lorry came to Swami’s rescue and took him up to Karkal where an obliging man gave him a bus
ticket to Udupi. Thus, a totally unplanned journey undertaken in blind obedience to Gurudev was made smooth and comfortable by
His kripa and grace!

Shanthi (peace)

Shanti (Peace)ntent> Ignorance> H
– by His Holiness Maitreya Rudrabhayananda
Duality in life> Restlessness> Discontentment>hatred and Fear

Duality is the life we all lead. This duality creates a sense of restlessness in a
person. This leads to a state of discontentment, which is the cause for all the
emotional activities that our mind creates in every event of life. Small events
become the source of outbursts of hatred, anger, sadness, depression, tears andCancel Post
lead to trauma. This creates a sense of fear and the person shuts himself in a
cocoon. He fears everything and everyone. He starts building a conditioned
lifestyle that is so unique to himself that he starts feeling there is no one in the
world who suffers more than him.
Imagine a world filled with such people and everyone crying for peace. They look
for every event that transpires to prove that peace exists. They look at pictures of
Saints and Sages, start worshipping their calmness in the feeling that they too
shall get peace. They also go to various saints, sages and teachers to learn the art
of peace. But they fail to realize that externally nothing can be found. Only the
moment they are able to be still and are able to delve within that they find the
peace and harmony. People talk about meditation with a notion that it is about
sitting idle. Yes. The difference being that meditation is actually an art that is
simple yet most difficult to be able sit and do nothing.
A simple way to start meditation process is to sit comfortably and silently in
a room for one or two hours daily. There should be absolute silence in the
room. It is possible that the first few days it will be uncomfortable when one
is distracted with bodily itching, wavering of thoughts, stiffness of joints. But
make sure that you do not move your body during the period. If the mind
wanders, allow it to do so. Do not stop anything – if itching happens, scratch,
stiffness should be borne. But in all the cases, be very slow in moving the
body. Let the movements be like that of a snail. Bring the awareness to the
event that has made the body make the movement. Once the event is over,
become silent in thoughts until the occurrence of another event. For example
if you want to scratch, move the hand very slowly to the spot. Let not the
movement make any other body part to move. Scratch the spot and slowly
bring the hand back to its original position.
This practice is the basis for allowing the person to become a Sadhaka
(seeker). Unless you have perfection in this simple yet powerful technique,
all the other techniques will become superfluous. Practicing any technique
without basic preparation shall give you some pleasure and experience only
for a short period of time because then the mind will get unattached with the
technique itself. This makes you look for more avenues and techniques for
getting the satisfaction. This technique if perfected makes you calm and
quiet resolving all the problem areas in the body and mind.
***
Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti Aum
Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti Aum
Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti Aum

TALK, talk

People love to talk on and on. There may be sense or no sense yet they go on talking. Many a time, the talkiing
starts with an issue and moves on to issues that are normal yet you want it to have some special relevance for you. Even a sneeze
due to cold weather should have a spiritual relevance otherwise the sneeze should have someone doing some black magic on you. If you tell them it is a normal sneeze they feel all hopes come crashing down of being someone special.

Is it so necessary to be special, that you will go on opening your mouth as often as possible? It only increases your dependency on others to praise you and affirm that you are better than others.
Talking is not just a way but expression is also to be understood. Simple and true words are often ignored yet complicated words are
easily clung on to for even if the knowledge of the word is not there yet if the word is complicated then it should have a higher meaning – this is the normal perception leading to blind acceptance.

When you become simple, there is little to talk or even if talking happens then it is repetition of the same words that you feel comfortable with. Being in silence and being in the moment helps you to see other things going on other than
yourself. When you are silent from withiin, then only silence reigns thus even when another person moves
in he also feels the expression of silence. When the person who moves in is not silent then the trouble starts for it is like throwing
a stone in the still water. It shall cause ripples for sometime then everything shall fall silent again.

Questions always come to a seeker yet before asking Hold On – before you say something. Silently passing off the question
will yield you the answer from your Guru. Speak your revelattions, otherwise, remain quiet for it shall have no purpose behind
it. Communicate only when it is practical, helpful or necessary. Just wandering off in a conversattion is a wasteful exercise leadiing
to a more confused mind and soul. It shall only lead to more frustration and desperation and loneliness shall set in.

Cut back on phone conversations. Sitting in silent meditation during that period is much more helpful. The more you are able to
be with yourself, more so you find your soul talking back to you in subtle waves.

-By His HOliness Maitreya Rudrabhayananda

Secret of Happiness

In a small village in the valley, there lived a man who was always happy, kind and well
disposed to everyone he met. He always smiled and had a kind and encouraging word to
say whenever necessary. Everyone who met him left feeling better, happier and elated.
People knew they could count on him and regarded him as a great
friend.
One of the village dwellers was curious to know what his secret was, how could he be
always so kind and helpful? How is it that he held no grudge towards anyone and was
always happy? Once meeting him in the street, he asked the man who was always
happy, “Most people are selfish and dissatisfied. They do not smile as often as you do;
neither are they as helpful or kind as you are. How do you explain it?”
“When you make peace with yourself, then you can be in peace with the rest of the
world. If you can recognize the spirit in yourself, you can recognize the spirit in
everyone, and then you find it natural to be kind and well disposed to all. If your
thoughts are under your control you become strong and firm. The outer mask of the
personality is like a robot programmed to do certain tasks. Your
habits and thoughts are the programs. Be free from these programming
and then the inner good that resides in you will be revealed.” “But a lot of work is
necessary. Good habits have to be developed. The ability to concentrate and to control
the thoughts has to be strengthened. The work is difficult and endless. There are many
walls that need to be to climbed. It is not an easy task.” Lamented the villager.
“Do not think about the difficulties, otherwise that’s what will you see and experience.
Just quieten your feelings and thoughts and try to stay in this peace. All the abilities and
powers awaken spontaneously. You do not work on them directly. They are by-products
if your peace of mind. Just try to be calm and do not let yourself be carried away by our
thoughts.”
“Is that all?” Asked the villager. “Try to watch your thoughts and see how they come
and go. Stay in the quietness that arises. The moments of peace will be brief at first, but
in time they will get longer. This peace is also strength, power, kindness, and love. Then
you realize that you are one with the Universal Power, you begin to act from a different
dimension, not from the selfish, small, limited ego.” “I will try to remember your words,”
said the villager and continued, “there is another thing that I am curious about. You do
not seem to be influenced by the environment. You have a kind word to everyone and
are helpful. Yet people do not exploit your goodness, and they treat you well.”
“Goodness and being kind do not necessarily point to weakness. When you are good you
can also be strong. People sense your strength and do not impose on you. When you are
strong and calm inside, you help people because you can and you want to. You then act
from strength and not from weakness. Goodness can also go with power and strength,
it is not a sign of weakness as some people erroneously think.” “Thank you very much
for your advice”, said the villager and went away happy and satisfied..

 

Taken from Atma Sachaya Dhwani, soulsearchers newsletter, april 2007.

want

Want Want is a powerful term on a basic level it is very simple yet when the same is put in practice it is so complex that it totally dominates our lives and takes us into a whirlpool of confusion. If a serious look is taken into the thinkers and philosophers, saints and sages all have been focusing their teaching on the concept of want itself. Majority of life and effort of a person is spend in three stages of wants a. fulfillment b. control c. denial Want is the outcome of the desire. Desire in turn is the fulfillment of the interest in abstract form. Fulfillment is unique stage in itself for every wants works towards a path of fulfillment and the path in itself is filled with lot of obstacles and restrictions for many of the desires and wants manifest as a castle in the air. Many of the relationship also work on similar pattern most of the people look for the relationship which meets the desired results in life, they would never accept or submit to obstacles which causes them pain and suffering and sometimes reaches a level of frustrations. This frustration happens when the want is seen as a path of restriction and such a person feels bounded by every event in life the path itself gets lost and only the remnants of the desire remains with a bitter taste in the mouth. Those who are able to focus their mind on the want with a clear intention of fulfillment of the want with a controlled level of wanderings of the mind and body and regular and persistent denial of the distractions are successful in both material and spiritual life. When the power of desire becomes clear, the mind becomes focussed and directed to the single most desired goal in life. Such a focused direction of the mind provides the desired results whether it is positive or negative. People on the spiritual path often say that desires should be eliminated from ones life then only progress can be made on the path of spirituality. It is totally wrong for the simple fact that the desire itself takes a person into spiritual path and if we start eliminating the desire itself then it would be a dangerous position for it can totally destroy the human being himself. The truth in reality is that the desire in spirituality is also present for it is only desire in seeker that he seeks knowledge, enlightenment, moksha, healthy body and mind, spiritual upliftment. When the seekers tries to destroy the desire of spiritual development for the sake of spiritual development, then the frustration again sets in for he is fighting to eliminate desire of development on one hand is seeking more desires under various names of knowledge enlightenment, moksha etc. Desire is not to be eliminated rather the dynamic energy that can be termed, as subtle motivation should be harnessed for this would work towards achievement of wisdom. It is a stateless state where the striving is not done rather it is a simple dedicated path of delving within. It is a pure path of acceptance. Not the acceptance which people have understand as a process of non-doing rather the pure acceptance is a state of bliss a spiritual bliss happening in the moment. In this state of the difference of mind and body vanishes and the inner conscience becomes clean. It is a state of pure harmony where the mind, body and soul merges with no conflict neither outside or from inside. This is a powerful state where the true nature of want can be understood in its full glory. Want is a problem when there is conflict between body and mind due to lack of clarity while in a state of oneness the Manas(Heart + Mind) remains in total bliss a state of no conflict a state of no restriction for the acceptance is the ground while the desire is the seedling waiting to sprout. Want on the other hand becomes non-personal for the result is not restricted to the result of the desire itself. It is like a person sowing a seed of mango so that his children can enjoy the sweet taste of mangoes. The person will go on watering and providing the requirement nourishment to the seedling till it grows up to become a tree. This is called desireless-desire where there is no conflict neither is there any resistance. When a seeker understands that rather than running after something that he feels divine but he is not able to reach; if he is able to utilize the divine gifted wisdom and gifts to its full potential. This would result in proper direction of thoughts and inspirations in the most creative and beneficial manner, then the divine gifts becomes a wonderful force to embrace and channel. This then is not a individual property rather it is a force of the divine which grows from the acceptance. When the level of acceptance is selfish which normally happens in the initial stage then the experience may or may not come or even if it comes, it remains like a passing memory good or bad. When the desire expands to become something, which is acceptable by the mind, then this acceptance itself transforms the desire into an aim in a person life. This is the same state of mind that the person who sowed the seed Experience is something which is unique for it does not work on anticipation; rather it is a process that happens. Body, mind and heart can be trained to be open but the flood of waves of transformation cannot be expected as per your expectations, as it just hits you in a moment. The moment of transformation can drench you with divine energy a feeling of happiness and this beautiful experience can be felt by one who is totally in a state of acceptance even if the state of acceptance is due to failure. If the acceptance is not there then the mind will resist, the pain will be there and this spreads to oneself and others surrounding you. The beauty of acceptance and want is that both go mutually hand in hand while the resistance or partiality in anyone of them results in suffering and pain. Full acceptance results in completion of wants without denial or control, complete faith in the want transforms wants into aim, which gets complete acceptance from the divine. -His Holiness Maitreya Rudrabhayananda

Belief or Faith

Miraculous is life! And life is something that we all
have. Pains and sufferings are caused when we try
to overcome them without understanding the
ecstatic energy that is surrounding us, protecting us
and showing the path. At some junction of life when
it is shown to us as something divine, then the
miraculous feeling occurs in life again. This is called
moving back to the roots.
You may be following a Guru but the real issue is
not the Guru. It is one’s own belief and faith that
need to be developed from within. Guru is only a
medium and cannot be termed as a whole
enterprise. He is a person who can show you water
when you are thirsty, he may even bring water to
Belief or Faith?
– By Gurudev Rudrabhayananda
you in a vessel. Now it all depends how you use it:
a. if you just keep the water then the thirst will be always there… this has
happened to much of the knowledge that was spread by Saints and Gurus of
ancient times. Many scriptures in India are still worshipped like God but very few
people know the immense knowledge.
b. if you pour it on a plant, you would be nourishing it, but then you would again
ask for water. If a person is able to share the water between his thirst and that of
the plant’s then this is a true form of learning where you gain and you also are
able to pass on the knowledge to others.
c. if you drink it then the thirst would be quenched but if another requires water
then you should be humble enough to show the path to water and if possible
provide water to the person then it is a divine form of passing knowledge on.
d. if you drink the water and move ahead then it is only satisfaction of your selfish needs

 

By His HOliness Maitreya Rudrabhayananda