Mind your Mind!

THE KS
"Sri Sri: There are three causes for illness. Illness is either a violation of natural law or is imposed by nature or is a release of past impressions or Karma.

The first cause is due to the Karma of the previous lives. Karma means impressions in the consciousness.

Another cause is when you violate the laws of nature. Take the case of overeating. In spite of knowing what you should not eat, you eat that.

The third cause is inflicted by nature. You are living according to the laws of nature, yet suddenly there is a case of common cold and everyone catches the cold. An epidemic spreads in Ethiopia and everybody suffers from yellow fever or malaria. This is inflicted by nature.

Nature itself provides the cure for these illnesses. If you have some illness it may be because there is something wrong with the food. There could be some conflicts in the consciousness, in the mind. The solution is to meditate, let go of the conflicts and have proper food.
When it is detected early, all these things come to the rescue. Health and illness are a part of physical nature. You should not worry too much about it. When you worry about illness, you are giving more power to the illness. You are a combination of health and illness. When you keep that in mind and have a positive state of mind, then illnesses change. "



Views:
As Guruji, rightly says, "With a positive state of mind, your illnesses change."

Many of us think that keeping fit means, physically strong, having a good built, away from diseases.
Yes it is right, but have you ever wondered that you mind plays a big role in your fitness and well being.
If your mind keeps swinging between past and future, to be more precise keeps regretting over the past and is always apprehensive about the future, you are accumulating harmful toxins and they take a heavy toll on your "health". These toxins that we keep gathering result in stress.
So it doesn't mean that a physically fit person, will always be fit and free from the mind.

Stress testing is done on metals. To some degree they have the capability to withstand it, but at one point they break. Similarly, we have a degree of withstanding stress, but eventually we break.
Our mind swinging like a pendulum, in itself is like a disease and is the root cause of most of the ailments.

"Sri Sri says, we must guard our mind against the dirt thrown from outside."

We need to observe our mind, it keeps chattering all the time. :) There are only two instances when your mind is not chattering.

One.) When you are completely in the present. This happens when you are happy. This also happens when you are deeply immersed into something and working intently(working passinaltely ultimately makes you heppy).

Two.) When you are in deep sleep. :)

Sri YukteshwarGiri, the guru of Paramhansa Yogananda had rightly said:"Tender inner weaknesses, revolting at mild touches of censure, are like diseased parts of the body, recoiling before even delicate handling."
I interpret it as, the mind which starts oscillating and takes you on a ride even on a mild reprimand or rejection that you get from a situation or a person. Similar is the case when someone praises you, again you are unknowlingly taken on a ride!

There is something that shrinks in us when we feel sad and something expands when we are elated or excited. We need to observe it. :)

Learning the art of living in the present moment, will definitely help reduce stress. And the only thing that is always there in the present is our breath. In our entire life we fail to understand its importance.

So Know Breath.
Know Life.

Keep practising the wonderfully, powerful and sacred Sudarshan Kriya every single day and see your mind getting calm and composed.

And the grace magically flows in -or- the magic gracefully happens! ;)
Love,
Adi/Mano

AOL Part 1 Course: A step towards transformation.

Tapping your feet on the beats of a beautiful song, Rhythm drives you!
Rhythm of beats, the tempo, the melody leaves you in an ecstatic state.

Observing more deeply, we will find a rhythm around us.

- The rising and setting of the Sun – A rhythm
- The changing seasons – A rhythm
- Heart beats – A rhythm

Our life has a rhythm. We eat, sleep, work and do our daily chores in a fixed pattern.
Diving deeper into the observation of cadence, we find that our breath has a rhythm too!

The ancient knowledge has done a very striking revelation. This irrefutable knowledge states that our emotions are closely linked to our breath.
Sad state of mind leads to slow and heavy breathing.
Angry state of mind leads to restless and fast breathing.
Depressive state of mind leads to a different pattern of breathing.
So on and so forth.
But when we are happy our breath is so light that we do not even know that we are breathing!
In-fact not only emotions but the connection between our body, mind and spirit is our breath.

The very first act of life is breathing in and the last act of life is breathing out.
Everything lies between breathing in and breathing out.
We fail to understand the importance of breath in our lives.

Everyday we release toxins from our body we excrete, we perspire, we breathe, we take bath. But we do not know how to relieve the mental toxins, the stress that we have accumulated for years together, the strain on our minds that takes a heavy toll on us and we are completely unaware of its ill-effects.

The part 1 course teaches you a breathing technique through which your emotional states can be controlled. The Sudarshan Kriya™ is a scientifically proven breathing technique that triggers the mind and body to release stress. By learning a special pattern of breathing, one can rid the system of accumulated stress and toxins, as well as release negative emotions and rejuvenate the body.

The course is a beautiful blend of pranayama, kriya, knowledge points and fun filled activities.
In spite of knowing these knowledge points we fail to apply them in our daily life.
Practicing the Sudarshan Kriya will also help you to apply these simple but vital knowledge points and you will see your life change.

At the end of the day:
Who wants to be sad?
Who wants to be unhappy?
Who wants to be stressed out?
Who wants to be depressed?
Do you?

If your answer is “no” then come for the course and if you think that you are happy and stress free already then also come for the course as many others need you and want to be like you!

Become HIS instrument and spread a smile on every face around!

Love,
Aditya

Travelling Blues, Colorful indeed!

I am supposed to leave for B'lore ashram(art of living international center) today.
"17 hours of Bus journey", is giving me travelling blues, jitters and shivers!
I wonder how my grandfather came on a bicycle with his father from Miyavali(Pakistan) to Haridwar in 1932. Hats off to such valor and intrepidity.
Since morning, I am having these wierd sensations, don't feel like eating anything, but the moment I think of the ashram everything turns colorful and the blues just vanish.
The mere thought of being in the physical presence of Sri Sri, brings a broad smile on my face.
I am eagerly waiting to enter the premises of my home, where I belong to!
There is yet another reason for a broader smile. My dearest Mom is already there in the ashram and I am going to meet her tomorrow. :) Didi and I bought a beautiful saree and I am taking a cd of bhajans and our photographs for her.
I reached office early today, so as to cover the 8 hours of mandatory work and save upon a leave.
Pheeww got to plan out things effectively, but its fun to handle the chaos of devotion!

Intoxicated!

Well people, day before yesterday as it was Hanuman Jayanti, the aura and energy was very high.

Those who could tune into those vibrations, could have felt the volts of electricity!!!!!
I am happy that I tuned myself and others into the pulsating beats of the cosmos.
Yes people that day's satsang was amazing.
The energy right from the beginning sur to the last one was exhilarating!!!
I sang Shiva's bhajan "ॐ नमः शिवाय" from Avtaran (one of my favs by Sahil), with my wife(i.e. my b'ful guitar)
I could just get a glimpse of the divinity that flows in each human being......
I was in complete bliss......and so were others!!!

After the satsang Sushma ma'am(the AOL teacher) said, "While the satsang was going on, I was thankful to Guruji and you know why?"
She continued, "In ashram, Guruji sits and Sahil sings, here I am sitting and he(pointing out to me) is singing, thanks for this moment"
And everybody started laughing!!!! :)) I think this is probably the best comment I have ever recvd till date for my singing and playing guitar!!

A spark of energy flows as soon as I remember the satsang!!
I am just left with gratitude towards my Guru...... :) :)

Why we need a Guru?

If you ask someone a question, "Why do we need a Guru?"
The very fact that you are asking means you need a Guru.
- Sri Sri


If you know the answer to this question, then the Master has already chosen you.
If you ask yourself some questions and don't get the answers, do not worry the Master will choose you soon. :)
- Aditya


The moment we are born, we need caring hands to look after us. The selfless and unconditional love of a mother is the essence of our growth. As we grow, we need guidance at every step. We try to seek answers for so many questions that pop up in our innocent childlike minds and we look up to our parents.

As our understanding evolves, layers and layers of thoughts, impressions and concepts start governing us and we start deviating from our true nature. The true nature which is awashed with innocence, the core of Shiva. We become so much attached to the intellection and notions, that unknowingly we start imagining that "we are" these thoughts and concepts.

In the rush hour, who can say that we are stress free. We have umpteen responsibilities to handle, we are bound to reel under stress, lethargy, laziness, unless we know our true nature. The very true nature that has been overshadowed by the concepts and ideas of how life should be. This not being aware of our true nature is termed Ignorance, which is the cause of misery. Lack of love and compassion towards others has lead to the sufferings in this God's beautiful creation.

In ancient days instead of accusing, people used to find the cause of a wrong happening.
Nowadays people keep enquiring why there is so much sorrow, why so much violence, Why? Why? Why? and eventually accuse GOD and get more agitated and frustrated and take one step away from the Divine. This leaves no difference in you and the criminal, because in the process: both forget their true nature.

To remove this Ignorance, a Guru is necessary, to instill love and compassion towards fellow human beings a Guru is required. To move towards our true nature and know "what exactly we are here for?" and ultimately to know "who we are?" a Guru is required.
If still people say there is no need of a Guru in life, I would term it as the heights of ignorance.
A Guru is there to infuse spirtuality in you. People often get confused between spirituality and religion. Spirituality is a step ahead of religion. Spirituality means celebrating life and showing others the way to celebrate life. Being Spiritual is my style statement!

A person is here to enjoy life to the fullest, the material comforts are to be utilized for self growth and development. The material benefits are the means to an end and not the end in itself.

Only a Guru can show you what the "end" is, which is the very beginning.
The beginning of your awakening.

- Aditya Manocha