Beating Depression

How many of you feel gloomy and depressed. Let me make a confession that I have felt depressed many times. Yes, the environment and physiology do play a role in depression, but one of the main causes of depression is things not going the way you expected. It takes some time for acceptance. This period causes stress and depression. Your own will can take you out of depression. You are required to work hard to overcome negative moods. Let me enlist few of things which can lift your spirits. 

 

Meet friends

I am sure all of you have people in your life who unconditionally accept you and love you no matter what you do. Meet such friends often. Laugh with them. Thank God for making them part of your life. If you can’t meet them, call them up. Even writing emails articulating your emotions towards them will make you feel better. I prefer writing emails. For it doesn’t disturb the other person, who may be busy in his office or family life. When I tell meet your friends, let me tell you a word of caution. Do not be overdependent on them. Yes, they are always there for you. They will hear you, advise you. But at the same time remember that they have a life of their own. You can’t expect them to be at your beck and call. Their presence is like a medicine, which should be taken in prescribed doses. Overdose is injurious to you as well as your relationship.

Exercise

There are many studies which show that exercise increases good hormones in the body. Now every time you don’t have to hit the gym. You can go for a walk. Doing household chores like washing the clothes, doing the dishes, sweeping, cleaning also involves lot of physical activity. Even doing these apparently mundane jobs can help you feel better.

Books

Books are the friends which are available all twenty-four hours for you. Biographies, books of saints and seekers help me fight depression. First of all they give you a feeling that you are not alone. Secondly they inculcate a hope that if they overcame it, you can do it too. 

 

Be strong

Be strong. Don’t be too touchy. Don’t take every comment, every situation, every person to your heart. There are people and situations which come in life. Remember the basic rule of life, whatever has to come has to go as well. The same applies to unpleasant people, situations and places. This phase too will be over. Have hope. Don’t take life too seriously. List all the good things in your life and be grateful for the same. Gratitude works like magic to change the moods.

Write your emotions

Writing your thoughts relives a huge burden from your head. Suddenly you feel light. You need not show what you have written to any other person. You can keep it to yourself, confidential like a top secret file. But pouring your heart out in your diary certainly helps.

Music

By music I don’t mean just listening to songs over your phone. I want you to sing aloud. A bhajan, a film song anything would do. It doesn’t matter if you can’t sing well. Sing aloud for at least ten minutes. Its therapeutic. Try it out and you will agree with me.

Sun light

Lot of research papers say that exposure to sun light, especially in the morning, helps to beat the gloomy mood. Now this is easy. No need to specially take out time for the same. Just take your cup of tea and head to the balcony or terrace. Enjoy the sip with the sun. Sun light is blessing of God to humanity. Soak it inside and you will feel better.

Meditation

Meditation is the ultimate remedy for a peaceful mind. But the irony is that it is difficult to meditate when you are disturbed. So what should be done. First indulge in some physical activity. After you have worked for more than half an hour, sit for meditation. That will help you to concentrate better. Unwanted thoughts will creep lesser. Again remember negative thoughts will not be eliminated altogether. Thinking is the job of the mind. Not being attached to the same is the duty of the reason. Even if a negative thought comes up, don’t feel it. By feeling I mean do not attach any emotion, positive or negative towards the same. Your mind will be calmed.

I am sure you must be feeling better after reading this write up. If you are feeling better share it with your friends and family who matter the most to you as a mark of your gratitude.

Anger Management

I had accompanied a friend to an office for his work. He had assured me that it would not take more than five minutes. I was checking my watch. Five, ten, thirty minutes had passed, but he was not out. I was becoming restless. He came out after good 150 minutes. I was furious. “ Do you realize that you made me wait for more than two hours? You had told me that it is matter of just five minutes?” I asked him as I was fuming.
Suddenly a smile broke on my face. I was happy for I had been angry after so many years. I thanked him for making me angry. I was going through a very bad phase of life then. I had begun to meekly accept all the situations, all the people who came my way, without being angry on them. Today suddenly this anger emerged out of me. I was happy as I was still alive and my heart was still beating. Anger is a natural quality of humans. Its absence had made me feel like I was dead all those years. I felt like I was out of my grave. We had a party that evening for I had become angry for all those years. Though it may sound odd, it is true.
If anger is a human trait, why are so many people in this world doing all sorts of stuff to control it. They read religious scriptures, attend workshops just to control this human characteristic. Can you control your anger? This question is never posed as all of us believe that yes we can. If you ask me this question my answer would be no. You cannot control your anger. You can only manage it. Just like you cannot control a disaster, you can only manage it.
Why does a person get angry? Let us just try to find out the answer to this question. Close your eyes for few seconds and remember the moment when you were angry. What was the reason for your anger – your spouse did not wear the dress you wanted her to wear, your child did not score good scores in his examination, your boss did not give you the pay hike that you deserved or just as silly as someone was playing loud music and did not listen to your request of switching it off. Now if you rethink over these situations you would certainly agree that the reasons were really silly. If today these situations arise you would react in a different manner. But then if you have this knowledge why did you get angry at first instance. The reason for your anger was not that dress of your spouse, not that bad scores of your child, the act of your boss of your boss of not giving you the payhike or the loud music. The reason for your anger was that the other person did not act according to your wish. Think over it!
Now again think of all those moments that made you angry. Again consider the reasons for your anger. Now for the entire next week whenever you get angry, you just try to find out the reasons for your anger, until I am back with the next part of this topic.
Keep Smiling
Mahesh Sowani
PS Let me know if you agree with me or disagree, but with reasons. If you have any personal queries relating to the subject feel free to ask the same. I would try to resolve the same.

Tantra

Today I am going to talk about the esoteric path of Tantra. Tantra is  misunderstood all over the world. To the west it is sex and its complicated humanly impossible postures. To the east it is black magic.

Tantra says that the world exists in duality. Kali mata represents both the good and bad forces. She governs the universe. So   unacceptable things to accepted religious beliefs like meat, eggs and even liquor are not disregarded by the Tantrics as ugly. According to them everything is created by the some primordial source and hence everything is holy. There cannot be anything unpious in the world created by the Mother herself.

It would not be wrong to say that Tantra is a science. Modern science believes that everything is made of the same atoms and by changing the atomic structure we can change the matter. Applying the same principle Tantric Masters were able to convert even flesh of dead body into sweets and liquor into water of the Ganges. At the same time it is to be noted that a large part of the tantric knowledge has been lost in the course of time.

You will seldom find those well versed with the Tantric knowledge coming before the world and telling us about their knowledge. They will not write any books nor give any interviews. Even in the documented tantric texts like Soundarya lahiri, the most vital part of the process is always missing. It is always given by word of mouth to the disciple.

Indian masses often crowd the Masters in hope of getting quick fix solutions to their domestic problems. This can be a hindrance in the path of Masters as they are disturbed in their spiritual practices. Hence the Tantriks began to move to places where ordinary householders would not disturb them. This is how they found the way to the Samshans or the cremation grounds. In a further attempt to keep away the disturbances they smeared themselves with ashes, carried human skulls and even sprinkled liquor on their clothes. 

Tantra is neither a religion nor is it a sect. Tantra principles are essentially individualistic and the Master is simply a guide. The premise that the whole universe resides within the human form forms a basis in the Tantric schools as well. 

The tantric places like Ujjain, Varanasi, Haridwar are regarded by the devotees like any other religious places. However, these are the places which are conducive to the practices. They are the laboratories of Tantra where all the apparatus, chemicals are readily available. Moreover it is not just the shrine, but everything around the shrine upto few kilometers is holy and vibrates with the energies of Masters who have performed their practices there. It offers you a good opportunity to tune yourself with the frequencies of the great Masters and move towards the higher levels of understanding.

Bringing regularity in meditation

This is my favourite topic. How to bring regularity in the practice of meditation is one of the most asked questions. Devote a specific time for your practice and follow it strictly. This should be the ideal answer to the question. But do you think that seekers like you do not know this. If they know then what is the problem? The problem is that we have been taught to degrade ourselves. We have been taught to say publicly that we are unworthy of the good things in life, including enlightment. To add fuel to the fire we are taught to be dishonest under a sweet garb called diplomacy. So our thoughts and actions are not in sync. With this background let me give you some practical tips to bring regularity in meditation.

1.    Tell yourself that you are worthy of self realization. Every person including even those whom we call insane are capable of being enlightened. The whole universe resides within all of us. So before you sit for your practice tell yourself that you are worth of the highest spiritual experience.

2.   It is ok to miss practice for a day owing to some reason. Don’t feel guilty about it. But at the same time don’t find silly excuses for missing your practice.

3.   The mind gets bored. So try different meditation techniques.

4.   Meditation doesn’t require renouncing the material world, going to the Himalayas or attending some course which charges hefty fees. Remember a course for a week or month cannot guarantee you any instant results. Beware of cleverly marketed meditation packages. Keep in mind that for your enlightment you will have to work. You will have to ignite the passion to find out the ultimate truth. The saying that there is nothing like free lunch applies here as well.

5.   Start from where you are. The very fact that you want to know the ultimate truth goes to show that you are loved by the Divine. You are blessed by Him.  He is always there around you.

6.   Don’t run away from your duties. That is cowardice. Do your duties and steal time for meditation from your daily schedules.

7.   Love yourself. Don’t condemn yourself for the bad things that you did in the past. That was bound to happen. Love will bring in acceptance and your past will not disturb you while you are meditating.

8.   I know that you are still seekers, stumbling along the way, unsure of which path to take. But still teach someone how to meditate. You may ask your best friend or spouse to simply sit idly without doing anything for ten minutes. You may also forward the link of this blog to your friends. That will make you accountable and make meditation a part of your daily routine. Remember whatever you cause to happen in the lives of others increases in your lives many fold. With lots of love and best wishes. You can be enlightened too.

Benefits of meditation

Benefits of Meditation is the magnet that attracts millions of souls world over towards meditation. What is more interesting that research has been conducted by renowned institutes with regard to meditation and its benefits.  It is scientifically proved that meditation has astonishing benefits on the mind, body and the soul. Let us discuss some of them

• ·     Meditation keeps you young – For all those who spend a fortune on cosmetics to keep themselves young, there is good news. Have you ever wondered what makes the body old? The researchers have found an answer that body becomes old due to degeneration of telomeres. Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. Meditation protects these caps and delays the process of aging. I can see the smile on your wrinkle free faces.

• ·     Meditation reduces blood pressure – Meditation significantly reduces the blood pressure. In some cases even medication was dropped. However, we precaution you not to give up any medication without the advice of your doctor.

• ·     Lowers Cholesterol - On analysis it was revealed that the lipid profile of meditators showed lower values in triglycerides.

• ·     Enhances brain performance – Research has revealed that the brain is capable of being trained and physically modified beyond human imagination.

• ·     Reduces pain – Meditation reduces pain, even more effectively, than the pain relieving drugs.

• ·     Meditation better than sleep – Meditation relaxes the body and leads to increased performance.

• ·   Boosts immune system – The more you meditate, the better your health is.

• ·     It brings you near to the Greater Consciousness – Meditation brings you closer to God.

• ·    Peace of mind – Meditation gives you a serenity and peace of mind which cannot be described in words.

• ·     Inculcates virtues -  When you meditate regularly, it has been noticed that you become patient, benevolent, loving, caring, non-violent, compassionate, helping, give up bad habits like smoking, drinking, stealing, lying.

• ·  Destroys bad karma – Meditation destroys your bad karmas and eliminates its results.

Dear ones, though these are some of the benefits of meditation, regular prolong practice is necessary to notice these benefits. Meditation is not a magic wand nor is it a fairness cream which promises to make you look fair in four weeks, of course as a result of strong chemicals.  The purpose of telling you the benefits is to encourage you to meditate. Even if you read this article once in a day, I am sure you will meditate every day. God bless. Peace be to all.

References

1.   Time Magazine 27/07/2003

2.   Studies carried out at Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals in Mumbai

3.   The Observer UK 23/04/2011

4.   Shamatha Project at University of California, Davis

5.   Annals of the New York Academy of Science.

6.   New Scientist November 2005

7.   Research at Massachusetts General Hospital and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre

8.   Los Angeles Times 29/10/2007

            9.   The Washington Post 03/01/2005

The Theory of Karma

      One of the most famous theories of Eastern philosophies is the karma theory. In simple words it means as you sow so you reap. Unfortunately karma happens to be the most misunderstood term. Even the author of spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi says that Karma theory should not be given much importance. In my opinion God or existence, whichever way you term it, (I prefer the latter nomenclature) is not any guaranteed return investment plan. So if you give Rs.100/- to a charity, do not expect for the law of karma to work and bring multifold currency notes in your wallet.  Dr. Brian Weiss has documented past life regressions of many persons. His case studies do not support Karma philosophy, as understood in the conventional sense. Darwin traces evolution of man from unicellular organisms. His theory says that every single cell progressed gradually to finally evolve into the most intelligent species called humans. Similarly, according to me, the existence gives us many opportunities to evolve spiritually. So in many lives we have been rich and in many we have been poor. We have been men, women, beautiful, ugly, virile, childless, white, coloured, educated and uneducated. The sole purpose of this entire exercise is to understand life, to understand that we are part of this existence and the existence throbs into every pore of our bodies, irrespective of colour, caste, creed, status and bank balance.

          I am not saying that you should not be virtuous or not perform good deeds. All that I am saying is that good deed by itself does not guarantee enlightment or satori. While mediation keeps you aware and alert, zen asks you to be in every moment to the fullest. You cannot be fully in a moment unless you are alert and aware. Both philosophies suggest the same. The most interesting part is that as you become aware in meditation, you become more virtuous, kind, loving, generous and less tempered, less greedy and evil.

          So the question is why Karma theory has been formulated. When you are in class one, you cannot be taught syllabus of class ten.  It takes numerous years to progress to class ten from one. Similarly it takes numerous years to walk on the path of enlightment or even the quest. So for these beginners Karma theory is just an induction programme. If you cannot be a seeker atleast become a virtuous person.  Greed and fear make the stock market surge up and go down, because these are two predominant human emotions. Karma theory proposes to use these compelling forces to bring humans on the virtuous track. The purpose of this write up is not to defame Karma theory but to promote the good doers to the next stage of spiritual development. Let peace be to all.