Choice and Purpose

Hi Folks!

How are you and how is Life?

It's been a long time and got a firm nudge from a friend to write!

I am sorry for the long gap.

A number of interesting things have happened in the meantime, though today, I want to write about an important turning point in my life. 

15 years ago, a deep voice from the other side asked me to: 

"Become a Past Life Regression Therapist."

I tried to refuse respectfully, giving genuine reasons:

"I am interested in all aspects of the Beyond; what happens after death, rebirth, automatic writing, spirits - and so on."

'You can do all that, but become a therapist."

"I am not going to advertise. Who will come to me?"

"That's not your problem."

"It's too expensive. I cannot afford such a huge amount for the training."

"That's not your problem."

"Okkay. But you will have to be with me. I will only be your channel."

There was just a gentle breeze.

I decided to see how it goes, and things started to fall in place.

Those 15 years were an exciting roller-coaster journey with time-travel, gaining enthralling glimpses of what lies beyond, beginning to become aware of the intricate working of Karma, the reasoning, and the Compassion.

Along with the clients who accessed information and guidance from their past lives, there were many lessons for me too. In fact, each session fit a small piece into a giant puzzle.

Let me share a few which come up in frequent sessions.

Karma is a boomerang.

It can take a break for innumerable lifetimes, but it is a homing bird. 

Like an eagle or vulture with sharp talons and teeth, or a beautiful, sweet, singing bird.

And everything in between.

It is something you have done in the physical plane and caused reactions in the mental, emotional planes, like pain, loss, fear, anger, loneliness and so on.

Also friendship, happiness, love, companionship, forgiveness, humility.

If you do not neutralize or cancel out these emotions, you have to experience them  in the physical plane, and hence the rebirths.

It has also to be experienced deeply and honestly, which is why we do not remember our past lives, our own behaviour and wonder why we are being punished.

So we all have a lot of questions:

'All over the world, the mean, evil billionaire bosses of weapons, pharma, those who misuse religion, political scumbags - why are they not ever punished?'

Or, - 'I so much wanted to serve people/environment/animal/birds etc. But my family obligations made me put my head down and slog till I retired and now I am just bitter.'

In the first case, when they planned their future life, they wanted to taste huge power, be cruel or indifferent and were agreeable to repay in later lifetimes.

The people who suffer because of the excesses of the first category, are either:

1. Those who are to undergo starvation, pain, fear due to their own previous karma or,

2. Are at the lower level of their journey as a human on the earth and need these experiences.

We come with our negative mental habits like anger, ego, stinginess, pride and so on which we wish to change.

However, when they actually trigger, we may enjoy them and fall into the old habit pattern sowing new bad seeds.

The moment you physically react with a slap, a bullet, a shout or hurtful word, a Karma is born.

Yet, compared to these two of the body and mind, the most powerful Karma sows its seed the moment the thought of revenge, anger, greed or desire enters your mind and you let it linger, nurturing it.

We revel in our emotions which put us out of balance thinking it is fun, and keep on strengthening it which then carries forward to the next life or lifetimes because there isn't time enough to clear all that we have created.

These past karmas come from our own mineral, animal, botanical or previous human past lives.

Read my previous posts for many examples on each.

In sessions, I also dealt with spirits who were stuck and those who did not want to go at all.

A spirit is the consciousness which inhabits the body, lives through it and when the body dies, leaves it to continue the journey.

For various reasons, it may get stuck after death, unable or unwilling to move on.

Intense attachment or hatred, revenge, addictions and ignorance about what happens after death are some of the main causes.

I spoke with some such spirits, explained what I was doing, dealt with their fears and literally had to argue with a few because they did not want to go into the light.

At the end of every session, I would call the client's Spiritual master, confirm the guidance that the client received during the session and ask for advice for future..

Once this was done, I would request advice and blessings for my work, where I needed correction etc.

It was awe-inspiring to know many came visiting to 'see what is happening', 'nice work',, 'you are helping a lot of people' or were 'just curious!'

I got advise like 'keep your feet in warm salted water', 'take rest' and so on.

Then a fortnight ago, another deep voice came through in a session with a client with a message for me.

I could now stop taking sessions and choose to focus on my main Purpose of Life.

This was truly surprising for me as I had thought that there was no difference between the Choices we make in our life and the actual Purpose of life.

But there is. It is like choosing the major and minor subjects in a liberal arts college.

Whether we believe in Rebirth or not, things proceed as they are meant to, for both the believers and non-believers.

After our previous death, there is a period of relaxation, healing and contemplating depending on your proclivity towards the same.

While planning Rebirth (which is non-negotiable) we take stock of what we have achieved, messed up or left incomplete and make a list of what we want to do in our next life.

If we have done good deeds, our choices are better and wider. 

Usually, the major ones will be the non-tangible ones, like grow on the spiritual path, merge with God, love all, help those in need, be generous and so on.

It is the minor ones which elaborate and enable them and lead to change in attitude which is the most important thing.

Like being patient in irritating circumstances, persevere in challenging situations, be kind, be compassionate and let go.

During Past Life Regression (PLR) sessions, some clients ask to know the Purpose of their current life.

I take this part once their issues have been resolved or understood, the 'why"? or 'why me"? have been answered.

It is here that the Purpose and Choices get clarified.

To give an example, you are hungry.

Looking around for food to assuage your hunger is your current Purpose.

You may decide on a fruit, a healthy snack, a full meal, street food or something fancy.

This is your Choice.

You may choose a healthy life-style, or addictions.

Choices have built-in obsolescence. 

They are to be fulfilled and we have to move on to the next one which is also our own Choice leading to the next milestone towards our Purpose of life.

Problem arises when we mistake a Choice to be the life's Purpose.

Priorities change, and we are unable to understand that there is a bigger picture of which, what we have done until now was only a small part.

To give an example, supposing you have spent your whole life as a lawyer or doctor or teacher, earning your salary, having your family and doing your duties.

Once you retire, you may feel a vacuum and get irritated about the changes in everything connected to you.

This should actually lead you to your Life's Purpose.

Learn to meditate regularly and check if it is bringing changes in your mental habit patterns.

Do you expect less, stay calmer, involve yourself with family more than before/ Initiate chats, jokes, stories, laughter?

That could be your actual Purpose of Life aided by having worked hard your own life, completed your material karmic debts and now learning to develop the skills needed for peace and contentment.

Give of yourself to others for free. Teach. Do a course and counsel. Be a go - to person for those actually doing constructive work.

 

Vipassanā and Alternative Treatments

Hi Folks!

How are you and how’s life?

We have an interesting question today.

Why does Vipassanā allow only one 10-day course for those practicing other meditations or healing techniques?

The difference is in the objective of both.

Let’s try to understand this.

 

What is Vipassanā?

It means ‘seeing things just as they are’, without adding or ignoring anything.  

 

What is its objective?

The Buddha’s quest was to locate the root cause of Suffering and finding a way to end it permanently.

Vipassanā is a technique of meditation without surrendering to any personality, the teachers, or even the Buddha.

It has a structured code of conduct and accepting responsibility for one’s own life and deeds.

One works with one’s natural breath without changing it, and normal bodily sensations as they come.

At the end of the silent retreat, there is no group sharing of experiences or group prayers or rituals because each is on his/her own unique journey. 

There is no comparison with anyone else.

Then one goes home to one's routine life with the experienced wisdom of the teachings, maintains a daily practice, remains aware of one's change in reactions and behaviour, and goes for another retreat when possible.

It is stark, austere and very personal.

What are Alternative Healings and Meditations?

These are interventions with the aim to lessen or cure physical pain, heal mental health issues etc.

What is their objective?

Some want to be one with God, be at the feet of their Guru, reach heaven, be one with light, one with supreme energy, in divine blessings forever, meet their loved ones, and so on.

There is surrender to the teacher, the teachings, the supreme soul, the divine.

There are meditations, chanting, images, colours, fragrances, rituals, books, singing, dancing, dietary advice, play, theatre - everything connected to the five senses to help concentrate and enjoy the experience.

When you do something with the foundation of any one or more of these modalities, the created vibrations help to concentrate and practice with faith and diligence.

So there will be lightness of mind, a feeling of peace, joy, friendliness, hope, belief, less animosity towards others, more patience, forgiveness, and some spiritual experiences which sustain the practice.

All of them are generated by changed breath, sound, images, blessings etc.

You practice them for some time once or twice a day or for longer periods during longer retreats.

You share with others, remain in touch, form groups, vent your feelings of ecstasy or joy or hope.

Vipassanā in other Theravāda countries

Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are the other countries which have retained Theravāda teachings.

Goenkāji brought it to India in 1969 and now there are many centres in the country and across the world.

I lived in Myanmar for two years as a student in Shan State Buddhist University and had an opportunity to study Buddhist Philosophy, Psychology, Ethics, Buddhism in Society etc.

I got to know the thinking and practices of the Buddhist society too.

Myanmar has kept the Buddha’s original teachings and techniques in their purest form.

There are between 16-18 types of Vipassanā techniques taught with focus on different aspects of the same practice, in hundreds of monasteries with thousands of monks and nuns studying and practicing.

One enters a monastery, trains to be a monk or nun, ordains and continues, or leaves.

Lay people sustain the monasteries by donating and learn the Buddha’s teachings and follow in their daily life to the best of their ability.

Their aim in life is to get a better rebirth to eventually achieve Nibbāna.

Earlier, lay people could attend Dhamma Talks and ordain as shaven bhikkhus and bhikkhunis following all the rules strictly, but only for short periods of time.

About 150 years ago, the highly revered scholar Venerable Ledi Sayādaw said that monks come from the society so the lay-people, the house-holders should also have the opportunity of practicing the teachings on a structured, long term basis and started retreats for them.

For many decades they were of 45 days, then the number was reduced to accommodate those who could not stay away from their work for so long.

It is from this lineage of household teachers, the Sayāgyi U Bā Khin’s tradition, that Goenka Guruji and his branch comes from. 

My Personal Experience with Vipassanā and Reiki

A couple of decades or more ago, when Reiki had newly taken off, I had learnt it and used to practice distance healing.

I would be happy when someone’s headache with the actual cause elsewhere had gone.

For some time. 

Then, they would have something else.

They only had to lie down and the work was done by someone else.

There was (then) no mention of changing/giving up anger or animosity or entrenched mental habit patterns and how to do this.

There were cases when group Reiki was sent to someone but it came back and the reason was, the old man’s thoughts were, ‘if I am ill, my son comes and talks to me. People at home treat me better. If I become alright, they will not even look at me’.

Or just, ‘I don’t want to get better. I want to remain angry. I hate her/him/them’.

In one of my very early Vipassanā retreats when not much was known about the effects of mixing different traditions, during a 5-minute break, I’d actually given reiki to a lady who had intense leg-pain.

She felt better. I felt good. Now she could continue with Vipassanā.

Though I did not meet her again, I am quite certain now that whatever was coming out through pain in her legs, would have come out some other way.

The fact that she was having discomfort was proof that she was meditating correctly and the defilements were coming out to go away forever.

Why are practitioners of alternative therapies allowed only one Vipassanā retreat?

Vipassanā is an operation done through the mind on the mind, and though one starts to feel the results mentally and physically almost immediately, it takes time – sometimes 2 -3 courses to comprehend it intellectually.

It's a straight line which does not meander.

The management allows you one retreat to experience what it is.

The teachers know what to do when storms come up because of it.

They will not take responsibility for mental or physical health issues erupting due to mixing of techniques, reiki or any other.

There are countless cases where people hide their current or previous mental health issues, the medication they are on, or lie and continue with their other practices even during a retreat.

They do not benefit because they do not give the technique a 100% chance, then shrug off saying Vipassanā was difficult, had unnecessary rules etc.

Or their health issues erupt due to mixing and they blame Vipassanā.

Respect the rules. They have been coming from a long time of careful assessment and your own safety.

First, contemplate on your purpose, and choose a practice accordingly and be consistent.

Vipassanā cannot be ‘one of my spiritual practices’.

You can practice other modalities in this life and leave Vipassanā for the next life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Buddha's Wife

Hi Folks!

How are you and how's life?

Mother Nature is whacking the world, isn't she?

She's chastising us for our insensitive, entitled behaviour. 

 

It is time to step back and contemplate on our own life, the choices we make, the words we speak and the thoughts we allow to rule our own life and influence others.

We ignore the power of our deep thoughts, the vibrations they create, both positive and destructive because we are not in the habit of taking personal responsibility for our thoughts and actions. 

As the Buddha said, 'Pubbe hanati attānam, pacchā hanati so pare'.

‘First, he harms himself, and only then, others’.

But our thoughts, words and actions are the very seeds which sprout, grow and give abundant fruit which will be of the exact same quality and potency as contained in the tiny seed.

This is accepted as 'reaping what we sow', or more fashionably, 'actions have consequences', which amazes amazing number of people all over the world who are shocked and frequently put off by it.

For some reason, many cultures vehemently deny the shorter word for it. 

Karma.

 

Today's topic is about the same truth.

In a different context.

The Buddha's story is fairly known in some parts of the world.

Let me give a short recap.

He was a prince born to a wealthy chieftain who was told by the best astrologers of his court that the child would either be a world -conqueror, or a Buddha, the Awakened One.

The doting father of the only son obviously kept the child away from all misery and got him married to Princess Yasodharā at the age of sixteen.

He trained him to be a world-conquering King and Prince Siddhartha followed all is duties quite obediently and meticulously.

Then on a truant trip to the city, there were four things he registered which disturbed him and triggered his chain of thoughts.

An old man, an ill man, a dead body and a monk who sat in the noisy marketplace under a tree, detached, with closed eyes, peaceful, with a glow on his face the kind of which the prince had not seen before.

Suffering.

Why was there suffering at all?

Old age, illness, death were sufferings. And it was birth which kept the cycle going endlessly.

Was it really endless? Would there ever be an end to suffering?

He was determined to know more about achieving the permanent end to suffering, when there would be no rebirth.

To this end, he left the house the night his wife Yasodharā delivered a son and tried different ways to eventually make the discovery to the annihilation of suffering.

For 45 years after this, he distributed the knowledge to all.

This, in short, is what people know of his life.

The one big point of deep anger and disrespect towards him is the way he left his wife without a word and became a monk.

Well.

I wondered too.

However, during my studies of Pali suttas, reading numerous discourses, their commentaries and research articles on his overall conduct, something seemed to be missing.

He taught about the three mental defilements of Greed, Hatred and Delusion which cloud the mind and keeps one in the cycle of rebirth.

He gave very succinct minute descriptions of each and the methods to come out of it.

He spoke of the Four Noble Truths which cover his teachings, the theory and practice. 

And he spoke on Karma.

He explains very patiently and methodically how it works and how it is not extinguished by not believing in it at all, appeasing someone here and there or insisting it dies out at one's physical death because one believes so, ‘knows’ to be so, someone said so etc. etc.

Such a person would not have been deliberately cruel and hurtful to his wife because it would have generated bad karma on his part.

I had known of only one previous reference to Yasodharā when she had been blessed by the previous Dīpankara Buddha, that she would be Prince Siddhartha's wife when he would become Gotama, the Buddha.

 

Then I found two Jātaka Kathās, Birth Stories, which clarified everything.

It was not so much to do with him.

Yasodharā had been with him in countless lifetimes when he was a Bodhisattva on the path of becoming a Buddha, yet to reach the final goal of liberation. 

In two particular past lifetimes which matter here, she had been his devoted wife, also on the same path, immersed in meditation.

They supported each other as they walked the path to achieve Enlightenment.

In both lifetimes, she told him that she wanted to leave her householder's life to meditate in the forest.

In each, he requested her to stay until the children were older.

In the second such life, when she said she wanted to leave, he again asked her to stay until the boys were older and then they both could go to meditate, but she wanted to leave immediately.

So he said they would explain to the children in the morning and leave after making arrangements for them.

She agreed.

And quietly left in the night.

He stayed back to take care of the children.

It was this karma that Yasodharā had to pay for.

 

She was a highly intelligent and spiritual woman.

She did not berate her husband for deserting her and the child.

After he left to seek Enlightenment, along with her mother-in-law Pajapati Gotamī, she wore simple robes and gave her time to charity and serving people.

There was no anger or hatred in her mind for this abandonment.

When he came back enlightened, she asked their son to go and ask for his inheritance, and when the Buddha ordained the child, she did not complain.

When Mahāpajāpati Gotamī requested the Buddha to allow female Ordination, she too ordained to become a nun, and through practice, reached the highest state of Arahat.

It is Karma which generates emotions, future lifetimes of joy and suffering, pain and pleasure.

It makes no difference whether you believe in it or not or remember it or not.

It knows.

The karmic debts are neutralized, sometimes, even after reaching Arahatship or Enlightenment, as long as the physical body is there.

Like the Buddha himself, even after his enlightenment suffered from backache.

His chief disciple Arahat Moggallāna died a very violent death at the hands of bandits because in a previous life he had done the same to them.

The Buddha's wife neutralized her own karmic debt by undergoing what she had made him and their children undergo in previous lifetimes.

She then ordained to adhere to the teachings, meditated and liberated herself, because that had been her wish too, in many lifetimes.

She is therefore, not to be pitied.

 

Coping

Hi Folks!

How are you and how's Life?

Currently, the world seems unrecognizable, doesn't it?

We lived in forced seclusion for many months because going out was dangerous.

Now when we can, and are doing so, we can feel a palpable unease at how things are going wrong on so many counts.

The prices of daily essentials, the wild fires raging through so many countries, the newest war along with the older ones still going on, but kept away from us because the media has a new toy and new agenda.

It is depressive.

How does one cope?

These are not situations which are far too away for us to not be bothered about.

They affect us.

We need to ponder over the thought that we are connected.

All over the world, it is the same Nature.

Same air and water.

And Vibrations.

They have no boundaries and will attract those at that state.

Right now, we seem to be at the lower, muddied level which has no peace or harmony, kindness or forgiveness.

To elaborate a little, people with money, status and name do not seem contented, kind or generous.

There are lies, court cases, greed and insensitivity. 

They all seem to have an overt or hidden agenda.

How many of the current stalwarts would you count as your idols, worthy of emulating, their lives a beacon?

The Buddha said, be your own island, your own guide.

Look at the lotus which blooms so beautifully in the pond.

Try to take a peek at where it comes from.

There's a huge network of entangled roots, mud and an underwater eco -system which is alive, ever - changing and busy.

Along with innumerable species of plants, algae, creatures, decaying or dead plants, fish, insects and so on, there is also fresh clean water, new roots and shoots and eggs and baby insects and fish.

It perfectly represents the world we are living in.

There is chaos, confusion, death and renewal.

How do we individually keep sane in such a situation?

We can be like the lotus with its long stem which allows it to keep its distance from the murkiness and grow to achieve its full potential.

You have to dust off the cobwebs on your hidden ability to remain grounded as well as clear and clean in your vision and pursuit of contentment.

Do you remember the old post on Ho'oponopono?

Go back and read the 2-3 posts on it.

The outside world is just the external reflection of your inner world.

What do you go to first when you open the news-paper or switch on the television?

Positive news or humorous cartoons?

Sports, or salacious evil deeds in excruciating details?

Politics and the op-ed?

TV serials with jealousy, revenge, lust, hatred and greed?

Acknowledge the answer to yourself.

This is the toxicity which you readily, willingly absorb like a sponge every day.

These are the powerful vibrations you give out all the time when the mind is on auto-pilot - which is most of the time.

But there is a way out, if you want to be tranquil even in the surrounding agitation and noise.

Shoot out of this quagmire, this black sinking hole, like the tender lotus stem.

Look inwards.

Trust your own ability to heal and strengthen yourself.

Stop fooling yourself and pushing down your issues thinking you have overcome them.

They will just explode.

Be kind.

Come out of your I, Myself and Me cocoon.

Everyone you judge and hate and avoid is going through similar or worse battles and thinks the same about you.

Wisdom is applied knowledge, so practice what you love to believe and preach, and you will know how correct or wrong it is at least for yourself.

Meditate.

Be happy.

Boundaries

Hi Folks!

How are you and how's Life?!

Meditate.

Raise your protective shield.

We have an intriguing topic today.

Boundaries!

In my Past Life Regression sessions,  some issues  keep cropping up  frequently.

One of them is ignorance of boundaries not just in our normal, daily behaviour but also in formulating goals in striving for goodness or the much coveted 'spiritual progress'.

In our routine lives, we develop attachments and dislikes, behave accordingly by clinging to people or avoiding or being rude to them.

Along the way somewhere we realize that others also do the same to us.

That there are many people we like, who do not like us and keep their distance.

Somewhere, we feel bad but we learn, adjust where they are concerned and carry on without changing our own behaviour regarding others.

It is like the story of a group of porcupines I had read in my childhood which has stayed in my mind after so many decades. 

It is very chilly, and they try to keep themselves warm by huddling together.

Only to realise that their sharp quills are causing wounds and pain and bleeding .

So they move far away, but are cold again.

Finally, they learn to adjust themselves carefully, so that they are warm as well as safe.

That goes for our relationships too. If respectful boundaries are  maintained, it is useful and productive for all involved.

The thought that one must give everything of oneself in any relationship empties one quickly and then there is anger, frustration, a feeling of being used, despair and negativity.

It also leads to expecting and demanding that the other person to be as engaged as we are in the relationship. 

This is merely power-play and control done quite overtly, or covertly, cunningly by manipulating emotions.

It would be good to step back a little and examine one's own place in the other person's life according to you and according to them.

Are you using or are you being used?

It will not be a pleasant exercise, but will be good for your own mental health.

In one case, the girl was feeling cheated and used because the man had seemingly nurtured the relationship, they had lived together for 2-3 years, he'd promised marriage, but then he'd gone and married someone else.

She was carrying a lot of anger, hatred, thoughts of revenge and also hope that he will come back to her.

In a past life, she saw herself in a saree, long plaits, flowers, eagerly waiting for her husband to come back from office.

It was their anniversary and after some sweet-talk, he took her to the 8th floor terrace - and pushed her down to her death.

I told her consciousness, which was still looking at her own dead body, and the now dramatically frantic husband in disbelief to find out why he did that.

After a while, she said it is coming from a previous life.

The couple was getting married in a church, very happy and very much in love.

The girl looked at the boy and said I love you so much, I want you as my husband in all our future lives.

He had smiled.

She had stuck to her attachment life her life whereas, he had wanted different experiences with different souls.

In the past life just seen, he had killed her. 

In her current life, he had used her and cheated her.

'He is only trying to get away from me - but I am not letting him go', she said.

There are many such reasons and because of our ignorance and rigid demands, we try to hide-bind another person by enslaving them to us.

All the people who come to us, who we seek out, have past karmic dealings to clear.

Then we are to go our different ways to fulfil other karmic debts and credits with others with whom we have made a contract.

Remember the saying - 'People are in our lives for a reason, for a season or for life'.

A sense of balance, a habit of contemplation goes a long way in finding our path and progressing without harming oneself and others.

There is another category of people who find themselves tied up in knots in their current life because of their intense desire to help people, uplift them from their sorrows and guide them.

Why do such benign intentions get them so many defeats and enemies in every field now?

They don't have a job or respect they think they deserve, nobody listens to their excellent guidance (mostly imposed), people just avoid them or take them lightly.

Most such cases had similar previous lifetimes.

They had had an intense wish to 'serve people. Everyone is so unhappy, I want to advice them, really help them out of their misery'. 

All had left their homes in youth with the thought of 'progressing on the spiritual path' without any experience or expertise in material life and its problems, nor had they done any spiritual practices under any master.

It had ended badly for them.

In one case, the intense desire of 'I want to help. Anyone can come to me. I am there for all, whatever my suffering, my life is for service to all', had attracted spirits in hoards.

Once entered, these energies had stayed for that lifespan, and after death and rebirth, because the desire to help was still so strong, they had entered again. 

And again.

In his current life, in late 30s, this man did not have a stable job or income. He was not married and was in a relationship where he knew he was being emotionally abused but was unable to leave because of his own craving for that person. 

His relationship with his parents with whom he stayed and siblings was cantankerous. 

He had a large friend's circle but very few were there for him in his hour of need, probably because he needed emotional and financial support plus praise all the time.

The spirits agreed that most of the mess was because of their being in him with their own desires and anger and hatred.

But they were surprised when I asked them if they would leave. 

'Why? He is the one who called us, he feels good thinking he is helping us too. He wants to be known as a saintly/godly person and the name, fame, praise and reverence which comes with it'.

This man understood where the seed of his desire to 'teach and guide all people' had brought him now - and in previous lives too.

He had set no boundaries.

To begin with, he had not built a solid foundation under guidance of a master, or gained knowledge by reading and contemplating, or meditating for long periods. 

Had he done so, he would have kept his ego in control and not got carried away by his very worldly desire of being known as a spiritual person.

Boundaries are important. 

It is imperative to maintain a healthy, balanced mind.

Meditating is the most important pathway to attain clarity of mind.

Planning for Life

Hi Folks!

How are you and how is Life?

Hope you all are good.

While contemplating on the third post after Death and LifeafterDeath, an unexpected Death in close family caught up with me.

In December last year, I went for a 10-day Vipassana course after 2 and 1/2 years.

Back to being aware and equanimous in the present moment. It was a very calming, very grounding experience, as usual.

Then it was put to test.  

A couple of days later, my younger brother got admitted for a valve replacement. All tests were okay, nothing to worry about.

We waved cheerily, he gave the thumbs-up sign smilingly and we said we would be there when he came out to the general ward after 3 days in ICU.

But the operation failed.

And he died on the table.

To say it was a shock would be an understatement.  

His wife had died seven years ago and there was just one child, a daughter, my niece, in mid-twenties.

I brought her to stay with me. I'd lost a brother but gained a daughter.

After the previous Death and in Life After Death, we sit back and contemplate which bad karmas do we wish to neutralize and good ones to enhance.

One plans one's life goals before taking birth, makes arrangements with those in our soul-group with whom we have karmic debts and credits to resolve and that's how our - and their life majorly unfolds.

The life that each one of us are leading is not the result of one single past karma. 

The father and the mother, each of the siblings, close, loving  relatives and those who are nasty, distant ones, friends who are close, the competitors and enemies, teachers, bosses and colleagues and the staff under us - there is a karmic knot with each one.

It does not make any difference whether we believe in it or not. Many times, out of ignorance, disbelief or ego, we are indifferent and keep tying new knots of karma.

There are certain people who have realized through past life regression sessions that they have repeatedly been stuck in mediocre lifetimes or with undermining partners because they have not taken the courage they were meant to change the situation.

Many just carry on being tremendously unhappy inside because they believe that karma is a hard line chiselled on stone which cannot be erased. 

Free Will which is the other side of the coin of karma is something many are unaware of.

Or do not attach much importance to.

It is taking responsibility of one's own thoughts and life. 

For example, your past karma may have landed you with an abusive spouse.

You are at liberty to use your free will and take a firm stand.

 If that doesn't work, leave. 

 However, many find it easier to carry on being 'poor-me' energy-stealers and along the way,  creating new bad karma with their children or parents or friends.

 When someone dies, the lessons start for the others. 

 Mostly, it is accepting the new reality and acknowledging that one has to get out of the  debilitating shock, sorrow and helplessness, rigidity and anger.

That life, the world is carrying on as usual and it is okay to move on along with the good memories, gratitude and and a willingness to open up to sunshine.

Take death in your stride. 

Accept, acknowledge and move forward.