Every day is New Year’s Day, Every Night is Xmas Night

Mr. Floyd Bottomsup was teaching a history lesson describing the accomplishments and adventures of Alexander the Great and his beloved horse Bucephalus to a class of 6th graders. Bottomsup finishes the class stressing that if one has a dream and pursues it singlemindedly, each of the kids could achieve even greater things than Alexander and rewrite history. Next day,the teacher asked the kids if they had some questions about the previous lesson. One kid raises his hand and says that he rewrote history and he can show it his notebook. The teacher is pleasantly surprised calls him to come forth and show his notebook. The note reads:

Alexandria the Great was a teenage girl who rode a chocolate breathing Dragon. She used her dragon to fly around the world and produce magic sleeping gas from the dragon’s behind that puts the teachers to sleep. She fought for the freedom of kids to escape the boredom of the Classroom and play all day.

It was a tragic comedy or comic tragedy…Like LIFE.

Life is like La Choy SWEET and SOUR sauce….One cannot separate the COMEDY from the TRAGEDY or the SWEET from the SOUR. It is the same for everybody, whether you are Roger Federrer or Angela Merkel or the pizza delivery guy.

Yes, there are moments of inexpressible joy and happiness and then, there are periods of exasperating anguish and grief. We all know how to handle the upward cycle of life. But how do we handle the downward cycle? By having the right perspective and not resisting the flow of life.

What is your age? Don’t answer that..What is the age of Universe?

13.8 billion years from current scientific estimates…that is 13800000000000 years

Where do we live?

Image from Hubble Space Telescope (bright spots represent galaxies)

Observable universe has about 1oo billion galaxies in the and our planet is the 4th smallest planet of a very small solar system in the Milky Way Galaxy. Our sun is just one of the hundred billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.

1oo billion is 100000000000…there are more stars in the Milky Way then the grains of sand on Earth

Even the staunchest sceptic cannot but marvel at the immensity of space and the boundlessness of time. For life on Earth to flourish a unique set of conditions had to be met such as suitable distance from the Sun and the amount of dark energy (something akin to anti-gravity) in our Universe had to be of appropriate levels so that the Universe does not collapse within itself. If this does not sound like a miracle, I give you another example.

http://www.harunyahya.com/en/Books/988/the-miracle-of-human-creation/chapter/381

You…Your presence on Earth started with the perilous journey of about 300 million sperms of which finally only one sperm is able to fuse with the mother’s egg. The genetic information from these two cells is responsible for your uniqueness in the cosmos. The fascinating and mindboggling transformation of two cells to form into a human being with functional organs of ever increasing complexity such as brain, lungs and heart in 40 weeks is miracle as jaw-dropping as the Milky Way Galaxy. Just consider the brain which has a network of 100 billion neurons relaying information at speeds of 270 miles per hour.

In Hindu mythology, Gods are described as merely rulers of one cycle of existence. Even Gods have to be born on Earth, to seek enlightenment and freedom. A human life is precious and valuable for we are as Gods born on Earth. We might be flawed Gods and we may fall due to our fears, greed and lust. No one is lost for ever. We have the potential to achieve greatness and handle the trials and tribulations of life with grace and poise. We come from the same stuff as stardust, black holes and supernovas. We come from infinity and go back to that infinity when our lives come to an end. Remember this next time you are down and out.

But lets not forget that human life is fragile. Our life can be snuffed out as easily as the light of a candle. Steve Jobs used to ask himself this question everyday:

“If today was the last day of my life, would I be doing what I am about to do today”.

Death can become a gift if we make it our best friend. Death is life’s transforming agent, a benediction in disguise.Acknowledging our own impermanence everyday will give us the strength to finally shed away our fears, prejudices and all narrow views like a snake casts off its skins. We, then become truly capable of following our higher calling and use our time wisely and cherish and treasure the relationships we are gifted with.

Then, indeed everyday is New Year’s day and every night is Christmas night. We all have a lot to be grateful for the gift of one more day and experience the mystery and chaos of the macrocosm and microcosm.

Why RMS Titanic sank?

Posted by vtbhuvanesh

Human hubris and ego. There is nothing else need be said on this. Why is a full article devoted to discuss this further? The aim is to relate the sinking of the Titanic and how it parallels the sinking of many a relationSHIP whether it be with our friends, colleagues or with our loved ones.

The days before the said event, ice warnings were relayed to the ship operators by radio. The ship, however, continued to steam at full speed, as was the common practice of those times. This great tragedy cannot be attributed just to the mistake of one man, the captain or even the crew. Despite the threat of icebergs, there had been no major accidents. For example, even when a German ship had once collided with an iceberg, it was still able to reach its destination albeit some difficulty. The captain and the crew did only what anyone in their shoes would have done in a similar situation. The fault lies in humans thinking that the engineering and technology and the maritime rules and regulations of the day were foolproof. It was not apparent to us that we were swimming in an infinite ocean run by Mother Nature, who is far more powerful than we will ever be. The classic case of human pride and ego causing our downfall. However, the event led to better safety regulations and rules, which has since made travelling by ship quite safe.

Human relationships run by the demonic ego will also end up sinking. But before we can enter a relationship or friendship, we have to love ourselves. Self love is the starting point. To accept ourselves as we are, with all our faults, imperfections, quirks is self love. I only state this because it is far easier to love what you deem desirable in you. Without this it is not possible to love another. It is like a beggar trying to loan some money to another. However, the problem begins when there is excessive self love.

No one ever owes you anything. When one carries ones relationship and friendship, with a feeling that everyone owes you something, there is a point when your bubble will burst. I am taking about “I did that for you , so you have to do this for me” attitude. That is the most natural way we all think. What is wrong with such an attitude?

In the book “The Go Giver”, the authors write that 50/50 is a losing proposition. Because at some point, your bucket of receiving will become empty, if you try to fill in to others only as much as you receive. The only way is to go 100 percent and give without expecting anything in return. At first, this looks crazy, yet it is the most natural thing to do. When you ensure that others bucket is always full, people will fill your bucket without you even asking for it. When you realize that you’re a king (or a queen) not a beggar, all your relationships will be deeply fulfilling. When you turn from, what you can receive, to what you can give, you realize how much love you are capable of feeling and receiving. Your ego wants to limit you, turn yourself against yourself, turn yourself against others. But it is false entity. Know that you are King of Kings or Queen of Queens.

How does love without ego look like? Let me tell you about a real king then you will know. People attribute many miracles he performed. Walking on water, turning water into wine, healing sick and troubled souls. But let me tell you a miracle, which no one can deny. Jesus was betrayed by one of his disciples and was about to be crucified for mistakes he hadn’t committed, for laws he hadn’t broken. At that moment of great agony and pain, when all had forsaken him, he says, “Forgive them lord, for they know not what they do”. What an all encompassing love is this ?

Forgiveness is love. While such self-effacement of ego, may not be possible for us. In relation to how much we depress the ego, greater will be the joy we will experience. Love is letting yourself become vulnerable. Because in accepting your vulnerability, we realize our true invulnerability says the great teacher Echkart Tolle.

Love is freedom and complete independence not bondage. Love is giving people the space to be themselves. Love is caring but not too much as to stifle or choke them. Love is knowing, when to hold on and when to let go. Love is certainly not judging but yet saying what needs be said, however harsh it may seem. Love is to give everything, expect nothing back. Love is light, patient and forbearing. Love is failing happily, so that someone else is happy. Love starts with duality. I love you. It ends in Unity. There is no I, no you, only Love, Love, Love.

When love marries ego there can be no real happiness. A clever person will not leave the shade of the trees and stand in the scorching hot sun. May be avoid the scorching heat of the ego and enjoy perennial bliss of love.

Why is the Buddha smiling ?

Posted by vtbhuvanesh

Our lives are filled with events and experiences. Some of these bring us happiness and some sadness. There are periods of great turmoil, cycles of success, cycles of failure, periods of illness, periods of great vitality and excitement. Then there are events of great joy such as birth of a child or realization of a life long cherished dream. There are also dreams, which never get realized in our lifetime. We are tossed up and down in this sea of mundane existence. Yet the Buddha, who witnesses these same events, has a serene and beatific smile on his face at all times. Why is this so?

In a Buddha, the ego is completely annihilated. This false identity, the ego fools you into thinking that you are this fragile and puny body or the ever-oscillating monkey mind. The ego exaggerates the events in our life. If your husband or child dies or if a life-threatening disease like Cancer inflicts you, this event becomes the prism through which you view everything else in your life. Are we just a parent or a spouse or this body with a certain health condition? But ego likes to keep us small and loves to bind ourselves to misery. The truth is there are infinite aspects to our life and our real nature.

The Buddha lives in the here and now. You can live in London, Paris or Coimbatore. But all your life, the past and the future and all events happen in the ever present here and now. But our minds often take us either to past miseries or future glories, negating the most significant miraculous gift- here and now. The Buddha smiles because the possibilities and the beauty that the present moment holds thrill her. She tears up on the sight of a beautiful flower or the smile of a child. She is totally present to enjoy the glory of the present moment. So be present in the -here and now.

The Buddha lets go and doesn’t cling to anything. The Buddha knows that everything is impermanent. He knows that his children, wife, success, and social status everything will go one day. All things that have a form must die and wither away. This knowledge is deeply rooted in him and therefore, he doesn’t suffer. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t strive to achieve in life or that he doesn’t marry or have kids. He is detached towards all things and situations and can handle whatever comes his way in life with grace.

The Buddha does her work with great joy and lightness. There is no stress or tension involved. She does the best she can at each moment, holding the attention to only that moment. She is never in a hurry and is poised and relaxed in her actions. She is not greatly attached to the result of her actions. When you see a Buddha working, you will find that she dissolves into her work and is completely one with it. There is ease, grace and lightness in each of her actions. The work fills her with pure bliss.

The Buddha loves one and all. But this love doesn’t come from what religion propounds or from a belief fed to him by his ancestors or community. He can perceive a connection with all that is. To him oneness is a truth of his being. So he rejoices in the victory of others, as their victory is also his. He is saddened by their misfortunes. But his sadness is only because of his compassion to his fellow men. He is saddened that they are not yet free like him. He strives to free all and is willing to go any length to serve others. He manifests God on earth through his unselfishness and pure love.

The Buddha faces death fearlessly. To the Buddha, the knowledge that she is mortal is never forgotten. Having meditated on her own death, she sees it merely as just another door she has to walk through. She sees it as a benediction and a great adventure she has yet to experience. Death doesn’t make her tremble. She neither tries to avoid or seek it. As calm as she faced life, she faces death and walks into it through the door of love and pure awreness. Having conquered both death and life, she is eternally free.

So the Buddha smiles. The symbol of the Buddha smiling is very powerful. It is also a symbol, which tells us that we can follow him. What is possible for one is possible for all. By regularly, mediating on his smile and let us ask ourselves why he is smiling. Let the ever graceful and compassionate master lead us to right knowledge and light and free us from the chains of darkness and ignorance which are mere illusions. Peace be to all.