Monday, July 25, 2011
Riding On A Calm Wave With Spirituality
By Shailaja Kumar
From sleek leather bags we've seen a shift to jholas. From funky pumps we've seen those feet slip into kolhapuris. From leadership schools we're seeing a jump towards spirituality. Is it just another way of looking cool or is it a practice here to stay? We have seen the young drifting towards seemingly western ways of living but a growing number of youngsters are coming back to their own roots. Sailaja Kumar, an Isha volunteer, mentions that young people are involved in spiritual and meditation programmes more because of stress revival than spiritual revival. But the biggest reason to turn to spirituality is that the younger generation is getting tired of material things very early. She adds that many young students are attracted to these programmes because of the volunteering involved. “They want to give others the experience that they are having,” she adds. True, when Macbooks, fancy cameras and iPads are available to the young, enlightenment is the only thing left to achieve! Anupama Ralegaonkar, a student, says, “I came into this spiritual exercise as a way to achieve an alternative perspective on life. Peer pressure and competition messed me up in the head; this has given me a new lease on my life.” Anupama is a 22-year-old on her way to becoming a chartered accountant. Ramnarayan, 25, says that all he wanted to do was to make his own decisions in life and that being spiritually alive is only helping him. The Art of Living sessions he has been attending brought him clarity and sense, he says.
Deepa Prem, marketing professional, says, “I was a party person but I always felt that there was something missing and that there was much more to life than just eating, sleeping, studying, partying, job, marriage. The way I experience life has changed, now I am full of love, joy, peace and completely at ease with everything.”
Satyapal G., a member of Vipassana, said that many youngsters participate in the meditation programmes. “It's primarily because of the simplicity of our technique, which focuses on washing out the suffering from one's life and helps in coping with difficulties,” he adds. Akshita Sahgal, a 21-year-old interior designer, got into a spiritual programme to cope with her frustration and suffering. “My mother left me for over five years and I had trouble coping with it. I could never confront her about it. But connecting with my spiritual side has really helped channelise that frustration into doing something good and it helped me open up to my emotions.” Indu K.B.'s tryst with spirituality isn't new—she hails from a spiritually active family—but her experience of spirituality is different. She says, “From being completely pampered by my family, when I moved to another town, I was left completely alone. It was a lonely time for me. While I wasn't depressed, I just felt like I had too many things to deal with. That's when I really began to take spirituality seriously.” The younger generation also sees this as a positive way of getting over a bad break-up. Vineetha K., a 22-year-old, confesses that after her break-up with her boyfriend, she couldn't focus and found that spiritual awakening brought a much needed discipline back to her life. Whether it is a passing trend or a lasting change, the current generation is opening up to the concepts of spirituality and self-help.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Seek His help
By Swami Gautamananda
The percentage of spiritual quotient in a person's life time depends on how much time he devotes to God and thoughts of God. Naturally, for one who gets involved in worldly activities in all earnestness, this allotment of time to God may not be much. Sri Ramakrishna advised his disciples to sincerely seek God's help before delving into this quest because only He can guide them to this spiritual realisation.
A mother who is in the advanced stage of pregnancy will find a reduction in her daily chores; and after child birth, her time is totally devoted to looking after the baby. A sincere seeker of God finds himself in a similar situation. When the yearning is strong, by God's grace, worldly responsibilities that seemed to consume one's time would somehow get decreased and the individual would get time for total involvement with God.
That is why great sages and realised souls seek true Bhakti from God. Even the devout Narada sought this favour alone from God. The state of Bhakti ensures that one remains in close union with God in one's thoughts. Those who have attained realisation do not get attracted to worldly objects. Their state of mind is called Samadhi. Some of these realised souls are chosen by God to lead mankind through the spiritual path. Sri Ramakrishna's close disciples knew the times when he had direct vision of God and would be in a state of trance; and through this preceptor's guidance were motivated to seek God.
If one does not catch a glimpse of God's presence, one remains under a delusion that one is acting speaking and thinking, etc. We tend to think that we are able to differentiate between good and bad, right and wrong. One is not aware of the inner Self that remains a witness to the behaviour of the individual and thinks that this body, mind complex is an independent entity with all these faculties.
It is God's Maya that casts a spell on us and prevents us from grasping the true Jnana.
It is through God's grace that one can transcend this Maya. Great devotees like Bhishma and Kunti, understood the power of Lord's Maya and seek His help to save them from its distracting influence.
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