Atman/Soul Realization

What is Atman:

The notion of Atman and its experience is not new, it is as old as human evolution. Especially coming from the land of grand old Vedic tradition which is thousands of years old, every sacred text (let it be Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad-Gita, Upanishads, Puranas) that have come from the giant Vedic tree is filled with one and only one thing, Atman Realization. 
Ancient Indian wisdom as well as other wisdom traditions have all acknowledged the existence of a third dimension other than the body and mind, Soul/Spirit/Atman. From Krishna to Jesus, everyone proclaimed that the ultimate essence of our existence is to realize Atman and eventually attain Moksha (Liberation from the entanglements of Mind, its vices and desires).

The great Yogic tradition is an outcome of these austere practices of tuning the mind and body to lead a balanced and fulfilled life while keeping an eye on the final goal of Moksha/Liberation.

Infact our true nature is Atman. And what we experience in the day to day rat race of life is Mind and Body.

Yes, the Physical body exists as we see and the thoughts come and go. But behind the scenes is the Atman.

To understand it, we can take the analogy of Movie and the Screen.

The blank screen without anything on it is ‘Atman’. The moment the film is projected on it, the white screen is filled with images, actions, emotions and so on.These changing images and emotions are the mind. 
The Screen was there, is there and will be there forever. The images and emotions change all the time.

Atman is permanent and is the underlying force for this body and mind to work.
The problem is that we identify with the images and emotions and not the screen. This false identification is the root cause of all our suffering in the world. Because we see the body, perceive the thoughts and experience sensations very easily, we think that we are the Mind and Body. But in reality our true nature is Atman. Unfortunately we have not been educated or given pointers to see in a different direction to realize the Atman.

The search of man from the ancient times has been to find the root cause of this existence/life and everything around. Humanity has spent enormous amount of time in this quest. They have searched outside and they could not find it. But when ancient sages and saints started to go within, they were slowly able to silence the mind and go beyond the desires and sensations of the bod. They were able to experience Atman, the Pure Bliss. 

If you look at the ancient texts starting from Vedic times, there has been so much of emphasis on the realization of Atman. All of the authentic scriptures discuss about how to experience and realize the Atman.

Where and How to find Atman:

But the problem is, where to find Atman and How to know that you found it?

Yes, it is not easy to experience the Atman, because from the time of the birth we have piled up images and experiences of mind and body.

These experiences have completely conditioned us to experience what the 5 senses perceive. No one has ever taught us about Atman.

It used to be taught in the ancient times. Life was infact built around Atman realisation.

Ancient wisdom has provided us a blueprint to lead a fulfilled life with 4 fundamental principles of life (Purusharthas):

Dharma (Righteous duty), Artha (earning enough wealth), Kama (fulfilling desires in limit), Moksha (ultimately attaining liberation from senses and vices to realize Atman).

But over a period of time the changing times have robbed away the Sanaanthana Dharma - the ancient way of leading a balanced and harmonious life from the Indian subcontinent.

The ancient system of education and transmission of knowledge was from Guru to Sishya (disciple) with the goal of Atman Realization. All other skills were built around the core aspect of Atman Realization.

But now we have adopted modern, scientific, rational educational methods of exploration of what is outside and that which is only perceived by senses.

Unfortunately Atman cannot be read in books, or memorized for an exam or it cannot be learnt using a few techniques and acquiring skill set.

It is an inner journey of self discovery guided by Living Masters who have realized the Atman themselves.

Infact even Lord Rama and Lord Krishna have gone through this journey with their Gurus who have helped them realize the Atman.

Sri Rama the person considered as a perfect Human being who walked on this Earth, who is an epitome of Dharma, Truth, Honesty and Purity was confused in his early stages of life. He was unhappy looking at the suffering of humanity and changes that happen in the world. He was sad and depressed. 
At that time, his father King Dhasaratha calls Sage Viswaamitra to pacify Rama.

Viswaamitra inturn realised the deeper problem of Rama and suggests that Sage Vasishta is the right person who can answer all the questions that are bothering Rama.

The outcome of the dialogue and realization between Guru Vasishta and Sri Rama is the most magnificent text of ancient times “Yoga Vasishta”.

So even the Supreme human being like Lord Rama for whom we have built temples and perform pujas and prayers, was no exception.

It is only through a Pure Divine Living Master, one can realize the Atman.

If we look at the most recent modern history you will find innumerable examples of this. Swami Vivekananda was purified, elevated and helped to realize the Atman by his Guru Ramakrishna Paramahansa. Similarly the author of “An Autobiography of Yogi”, Pramahansa Yogananda was given the experience of Atman by his Guru Lahiri Mahasaya and so on. 

We are Atman, but covered by the vices of mind and excess desires of the body. To reveal the Atman, one needs a Pure Master, unless one is born as a Self Realized master. Even then there is a certain level of guidance that is needed at some point to help one realise the true nature.

Role of a Master in Atman realization:

Now let’s jump into the role of Guru/Master in Atman realization. So what does a Guru or Master does in this business of Atman Realization.

As mentioned earlier we are conditioned beings filled with so many habits, thoughts and actions for a long time (possibly from previous births too).

So we have forgotten our true nature and are stuck in the vicious circle of senses, mind and body.

From the time of birth we are running this cinema of life in our mind, projecting images from past, creating new images and experiences, storing them, dwelling in them and riding the rollercoaster of emotions of happiness & sadness, pain & joy, attraction and repulsion, hatred and like, running between these polarities every moment.

A moment we like that person and the next moment we hate, a moment we like chocolate and another moment we don’t, a moment we want something and another moment we reject.

This is the drama of life we create, direct and be part of on a day to day basis, never even taking time to understand who we really are, what is the purpose of this drama and why are we really here in this world.

Hardly there are any moments of true silence in life. Even in sleep, the dreams don’t let us alone in peace, for dreams are unfulfilled desires and subconscious clutters.

Now someone talks suddenly out of the blue about Atman. What do we make of it? Nothing.

And someone advises us to do  Yoga and Pranayama because it is good for health, we try a few things, few times and again the drama of life sucks us back in, the chase for money, comfort, wife, children, jobs, name and fame begins.

So little bit of Yoga and Pranayama also vanished into the thin air.

Sometimes a few prayers here and there, visit to few pilgrimages, Babas and Swamijis for temporary relief. Once the problem is resolved, again run in the rat race of life. 
To summarize it all, Adi Shankaracharya says in the famous “Bhaja Govindam”

“Punarapi jananam, punarapi maranam
Punarapi janani jaTarae shayanam
Iha samsaarae bahudhusthaarae
Krupayaaparae paahi murarae”

“Again Birth, Again death and again lying in the mother’s womb, this samsaara process has no end. Save me, Murarae (Oh! Destroyer of Mura) through your Infinite Kindness”

I was no exception to this, until 9 years back when I met Master Sunita. I went for 4 sessions to her, and then quit, thinking that I can practice pranayama, yoga asanas/postures and meditation on my own.

But this time there was an experience that deeply got seeded and seated into my consciousness.

Even though I was practising them at home, I was unable to get that experience of deep, infinite bliss and relaxed and rejuvenated state that I was experiencing in her presence.

Then I realized that there is something going on her presence. Greatness of a Master like Sunita is that she does not say that she is a  great Guru, nor talks about Atman, nor explains anything. We just go do what she teaches and lie down for meditation and leave. That’s it. But we carry the experience of pure bliss with us. 

This time instead of getting drawn back into mundane life, I took a step back and went to Sunita again. I was curious & skeptical. I continued few more sessions in her presence. Some of the physical problems of stomach that I had disappeared, which is a small benefit of practising Yoga and Meditation under a such pure ancient master. I started to see lot of emotional changes in me. I was taking slow deep breaths and feel inner peace during my day to day activities no matter what kind of situation I am in. There is a sense of this bubble of pure bliss surrounding me all the time.

Within a few weeks I realized that there is something that I am experiencing that I have never had in my life. 

As many of us say, 'I only knew my thoughts and body'. But now there is this third dimension I was able to clearly experience. It’s almost like layers of onion being separated. I could witness, Body and Mind from a third person perspective. This third dimension is calm, serene, immovable, infinite, with no worries, no anxieties, no botheration at all. I could see this Pure Self of mine separated from the Mind & its conditioned vices and attitudes. I could easily separate those two.There was a feeling of transcendence beyond and above the physical and mental.

I could sit and observe that state for hours. I could reach states called ‘Samadhi’ an experience of transcendence in meditations under Master’s guidance. Initially it was a bit of a struggle to see the vices and attitudes come to the surface.

It was a war between the Dark and light, Vices and Virtues, Angles and Demons within. The greatness of a realized master is that during this struggle, with their pure vibrations, unconditional love and empathy, they navigate us in the direction of virtues and slowly wean us away from the vices. They go through the suffering that we go through because of their pure divine empathy.  But in that suffering they liberate us from the past and show us our true pure real self which is Atman.

It is like a surgery using laser like vibrations of the pure master to dissect into many layers of baggage that we carry, who knows for how many births. They cut through each layer and finally revealing the heart, the seat of Pure Self i.e. Atman.

Pure vibrations of ancient masters like Sunita bring a gush of energy into us, they implant the seeds of Bhakthi/Devotion in us, Our thoughts are purified and elevated. We slowly start to become those vibrations of Purity. Master's pure vibrations help us embrace all the 4 paths of liberation - Karma Yoga (performing duties with detachment to the outcomes), Jnana Yoga (Knowledge of Absolute Truth and contemplation on this highest knowledge), Bhakthi Yoga (deep sense of devotion and surrender to a higher power) and Raja Yoga (Ability to practice Yogas asanas, Meditation & Pranayama to purify the mind and realise the Atman). One becomes an embodiment of all these 4 paths at once. One need not make any effort from their side. We start to embrace them all naturally without any force or struggle. Such is the power of ancient pure masters like Sunita.

We start to see that we are always happy no matter what happens in our lives, Good Bad, Ugly do not bother us. We start to witness everything as events unfold in our lives and around. We are in eternal bliss and joy and. We start to realise an amazing Will Power to achieve anything we want. We feel that the entire universe is ours and that we are the universe (Ahum Bramhasmi state- I am the Pure Universal Consciousness). A Pure master also ensures that the Ego does not flare up and engulf the slowly sprouting Atman. Master slowly elevates us to highest states of consciousness with different tests to check the vices and pull us out from deep slumber.

As we purge out the conditioned self of past baggage and all the vices, we attain a new Avatar of Self Purified Person which is Atman.

We become more compassionate to everyone, more receptive to others pain. We become very good listeners and use wisdom to resolve any issues that come up in our lives.

We accept everything as it is and do not worry about changing anything outside, but use the newly found inner power to refine the self and Be the Change.

So it is the pure vibrations of a Master that help us experience the subtle Atman that we are. As we move away from false identification with Mind and Body, we start to identify with Atman, the Pure Self all the time.

Even though there are innumerable texts that describe Atman and explain many aspects of the experience, it is impossible to realize that by reading books and rational analysis.

For example, "Yoga Sutras of Sage Patanjali" is a great step by step manual of attaining Atman realization and Samadhi.

But reading it and trying to practice it on our own is like reading a surgery book directly and wanting to practice surgery without going through all the basics of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and the guidance of an expert surgeon.

And even after going through training in Surgery, one can see a little bit of what you are cutting through the body. There is a visual element helping the process.

But the journey through Mind is the most difficult as one cannot see the Mind. To be able to identify the subtle changes in the inner journey is like searching for a needle in hay stack in darkness.

So imagine the kind of training and Master needed in accomplishing this daunting task.

Infact intellectualization of the knowledge of Atman works against the journey. It creates pseudo-intellectuals and ego filled minds of theoretical knowledge.

Only a Pure Master who has embarked and successfully gone through the journey can help a student go through this very treacherous journey filled with inner demons & vices in darkest corners of mind.

Infact once we make some progress in the journey, reading these ancients texts helps a lot as we can start to relate our experiences with the ones who have gone through the similar phases.

How does Atman feel like?

It is indeed very difficult to describe Atman. It is the observer and in-dweller of all beings. Its nature cannot be communicated in any language because it is beyond the mind and senses. Even as I am typing this, I am recollecting the experience of Atman using my Buddhi (Discretionary Intelligence). But because of continued experience of Atman, it renders through words and actions to some extent, but not fully.

The state of Atman realization is absolute, no relative states of Yes or No, True or False. It Is. That's it.

Mind is still, no thoughts, but only Pure Awareness exists. As mentioned the person is in eternal joy with no worries of past, anxieties of future, just being and working through this present moment always. In this state, a person is always smiling and in a state of surrender, humble and selfless.

This state of Pure awareness which is a witnessing state is Atman.

It is not that easy to be this state, as the mind wants to run here and there. But with practice and with guidance of Master, the mind starts to stay in that stillness.

So, a still mind without wavering states, devoid of 6 vices (shadgunas) is Atman. This state is also called 'Ananda', It is not Happiness, and it is not Sadness, It's right in the middle. It is a state of Bliss. It draws you deep into it.

As one starts to taste the sweetness of it, it is very difficult to come back into the mundane world of action.

That is the reason many of realized souls stay back in tapas/deep meditations for life times. But sometimes a fully realised sage will continue to live in the world always embedded in Atman realization for the purpose of elevating others to realize their true nature, Atman.

Why does one need to realize Atman?

Without realising Atman, we struggle through life with the vices and limitless desires. We become victims to the vices of mind.

We ride the wave of ego and roller coaster ride of emotions and get stuck in the suffering. We seek temporary joys of money, power, kith and kin, name and fame. We get excited when we gain these, and depressed when we lose them. We seek the impermanent, birth after birth and go through this cycle. This leads to immense stress, chaos, confusion and trauma in our life at all level levels.

Mind and Senses have limited intelligence. But Atman is all powerful creative force that is behind the scenes. Atman is the Pure Self that came down into the world through self projection and participates itself in the self-induced illusion of senses. Once bound by senses and their limited knowledge, we forget the truth. We get involved and buried in the day to day actions of sustaining life and forget our true nature and where we originally came from.

We keep looking at the external world through these senses and never take time to look back within to find our real source. Going back to the real source is like going back to the Mother for support and solace. Our real mother is Atman. Infact the experience of Atman can also be compared to the bliss & contentment an infant experiences after drinking the mother's milk. The bliss in the experience of our Pure Self is very similar to this. Only Atman can ultimately provide the true solace to the wounds of life.

It is more and more essential that we all experience and realize Atman, with the chaos and disease that we see in the modern world. 

There are many health benefits from realising the Atman. Most of the life style diseases and autoimmune diseases we see in the modern world are all psychosomatic problems. The root cause is in the Mind. Hypertension, Diabetes, Obesity, Arthritis, Crohn’s, Anxiety, Depression and many more are outcomes of a person stuck in the vicious cycle of stress and emotional baggage of anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, pride, excess desire and so on. There is tremendous amount of modern scientific research documenting the importance of Meditation in healing all these diseases.

Experience of Atman on a day to day basis helps us rejuvenate our physical system, it eliminates stress from the mind as we start to see that changing emotions and thoughts are just like passing clouds masking the bright, shining, eternal Atman. We shift from reactive lifestyle to responsive life. 

We see the seamless benefits in all aspects of our life from the relationship with parents, siblings, life partner, children, colleagues and superiors.

In the modern hectic life it may not be easy to maintain this state in day to day duties because of the pressures from various sides, but with practice, discipline and guidance of Master one can easily navigate the world of samsara with least burden and sail towards Moksha/liberation from the clutches of senses and vices of mind. The practices towards Atman realization builds Self confidence, Self respect, Self Control and Self Love which are very important to lead a flawless life filled with endless inner Peace and Ananda.

Spending enormous amounts of time in Meditation, and experiencing the pure bliss of Atman, helps us carry that bliss with us wherever we go.

Being aware of this state, no matter what the situations are, builds a state of Equanimity (Sthithapragnatha) in us. This state of consciousness helps us handle the challenges of life with grace and ease.

Atman is the Microcosm behind the Macrocosm. No wonder Master Sunita calls her ancient innovative path of Self Realization “Sookshma Yoga” i.e. Microcosmic Yoga.

The fundamental question that we need to ask ourselves at some point in life is “Who am I”. This question is the foundation of teachings of the greatest saint who lived in the modern times, Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi. Seeking the answer for this question will trigger the journey of Self Realization. Many times suffering in life helps one search for the truth. As Ramana Maharishi says ‘Suffering is essential for us to remind us to go back to the source, Atman/Self’.

Conclusion

A person who is Atman realized becomes inspiration for generations to come. A single lamp is enough to light infinite lamps to spread the light and remove the darkness of ignorance. The greatest service we can ever do to humanity is to Realise the Atman. When I came to Master Sunita in 2006 I was doing quite a bit of philanthropic work.  At that time Master suggested that it would be of more use to humanity if I realise my real nature, because the potential that one would reach with Atman realization has the capacity to do selfless and endless service to humanity beyond the vices and limitations of Mind. We have many examples of such people in our history.

Atman realization is the journey of Self Purification, Self Reflection, Self Awareness, Self Discipline and Self Realization. It is a non-stop journey of life time till the last breath, not a state that one achieves and forgets about it.  It is not a trophy that is attained or an honor that is bestowed upon, but a journey of moment to moment self introspection and merging back to our real source.

Purpose of Inner Journey

Here are a few questions asked by my good friends about Yoga and Meditation practices I do.
My humble attempt to answer the questions :-) 

1. Does your life span extend?

I have read that Yoga and Meditation can expand life span. According to our ancient scriptures and all the great sages and yogis, the practice can help lead a life of peace and harmony.

I do exercise; practice yoga and meditation everyday so that I stay healthy and perform my day to day duties efficiently for a balanced life style. We know that Yoga can cleanse the cells in the body, make us more flexible, massage the internal organs, tone the muscles, and supply more blood and oxygen to brain and other corners of the body. It helps in preventing lifestyle diseases like Diabetes, Arthritis, Blood pressure, Heart problems, Obesity and so on. Meditation helps us purify the mind and to not become slaves to the 6 vices of Anger, Desire, Greed, Jealousy, Ego and Delusion. It can help with Anxiety, Depression, Hypertension and many other psycho-somatic disorders. My goal is that I don’t want to be a burden to anyone in my last stages of life. And I feel the preparation for it starts very early, so that we can sustain a healthy and peaceful life later. Prevention is better than Cure 

2. Isn’t everything in life coming and going?

This is the Absolute truth. Nothing is permanent. The entire universe is going through this cycle, we are no exception. Stars & Planets are created, Galaxies are forming and many more are destroyed and dying every moment. Thousands of cells in our body are dying every moment and new cells are generated. So knowing that everything that is born has to die is a powerful simple truth that helps us lead a life with peace and less worries. Realizing that we are like a small speck of dust in this mega universes/s makes us more humble and less egocentric :-)

3. What will you do after everything?

I am also not sure if there is an end for anything. I feel this is a life long journey of knowing my real self. Learning is a process that will continue as long as we live in this world. When I look back, I know who I was 8 years ago; I know who I am today. I know the difference in my personality, my interactions and transformation from within. Probably I will be able to reflect back again in another 8 years and observe the changes. Self Realization does not end ever. Evolution is a continuous process and does not stop at any given time. We all evolve, sometimes we are aware and sometime we are not, but at the end Change is the only constant in life. It’s fun when we are aware and work towards it for a better Self :-)

4. Will you change society with your sentiments?

No, I realise that I cannot change anything except myself. May be 8 years back I used to think that I have to change the people and the world. When I met Master Sunita 8 years back, I told her that I want to do so many things and change the world. She smiled and said “First change yourself and then everything around will change”. Infact Master’s Sookshma program is about working on the Self, It was hard to understand initially. But I realized it in couple of classes and started to work on myself with her guidance. I realized after these practices, that I cannot change anything outside in the world, except myself. So I deeply believe in ‘Be the Change’ :-)

My past 8 years has been a research on my 'Self '. Yoga and Meditation are the tools in this ‘Self’ research. The research began with a few questions in my mind, like, who am I really, where did I came from, where do we all come from, why do we go through cycle of pain and joy, why can’t I be always happy, why I am here, what is my purpose in this world and where I am going after death.

These questions have set me on the search of the truth behind all the events in my own life and in the world.

In these 8 years of research, I have come to know my true nature. I experience a state which is beyond the mind and body. This state is common to all of us. Mind keeps changing as well as body, but there is a third dimension which is called by different names by different cultures. This third silent witnessing dimension is Pure Awareness. This awareness is a common bridge between all of the humanity. True Meditation can help us experience this state. As we experience this state more profoundly in day to day life, there is a sense of oneness that develops which helps us to see the unity in diversity. All my writings and postings on the social media are a journal of my journey. But there is no intention of trying to change someone. The goal is to find people who are in a similar journey and relate to their experiences :-)

5. I wonder, don’t you ever get angry, feel bad about things or other 5 emotions you talk about.

Yes, I used to be affected by all the emotions and vices, but as I embarked on this journey of Self Realization, they slowly started to peel off like layers on an Onion. It’s not an easy journey. It is a lifelong training. It is not like ‘I reached the goal and I am all good now’. The moment to moment awareness is essential. It needs regular practice, constant self reflection, self awareness and guidance from a good Master who can work with you compassionately. Mastering the Mind is the most difficult thing in the world. Imagine the kind of Master you need and the dedication required.

Especially, living with moment to moment awareness in the world while performing day to day duties is a very tough challenge. As they say, nothing is easy. One has to work towards it slowly and steadily. There is lot of conditioning that happened for so many years and probably so many births. To unwind all the accumulated vasanas (attitudes/tendencies) takes lot of time and effort, and may take many lifetimes. I am still Work in progress. :-)

But I have come to the realization that we all come from same Source. Each of us is unique and different with special capabilities that we can offer to this world. Like there are different types of colors, flowers, animals, planets, stars, each of them with a different purpose but all part of this beautiful creation. This understanding builds more compassion and love for all.

Also this world is like a class room, each person with different levels of understanding. Not everyone can be class first; there are people who are at various phases of learning. With this realization we can increase our capacity to accept everyone and everything as is. Then there is nothing to feel good or bad about. All Is Well As It Is :-) But to put this in practice is not that easy. This is where purification of mind needs to happen. In the Pure Awareness we can easily see things as they are, not as we want them to be.

Awareness in Taking Bath

Most of the times in life, we are doing something, and thinking something.
A simple example is when we take bath, our minds are very rarely focused on the act of taking bath. We are thinking about the school, work, kids, what to eat for breakfast, thinking about time crunch in catching the bus, people at work, deadlines, so and so forth. A million thoughts pass by in the span of 5-10 minutes.
I hardly know any one who takes time to actually pay attention to the bath, the way we scrub, clean and massage our own body. Act of Taking bath is a great and simple exercise in itself. It stimulates and touches various nerve centers, massages them, increases blood circulation and rejuvenates the cells in different parts of the body.
But how many of us pay attention to the actual process of such great massaging, giving time and focus to the cleaning aspect.

Essence of Yoga and Meditation is to bring the Thought and Action together. The meaning of “Yoga” is “Union”.
The purpose of all the postures and silencing mind is, Union of thought and action in everything we do.
They are tools that help us in getting to this state of Union, every moment of our existence.

People these days practice Yoga and Meditation for an hour in the day and then keep running in life creating chaos 23 hours (even in sleep in form of dreams).
The goal is to synchronize the thought and action. Yoga and Meditation are tools that help us get there. To be aware of the thoughts and actions and consolidating them is the ultimate state we all need to achieve. In a scientific perspective, What are Yoga and Meditation really doing? They are in some ways, slowing down our thought process and body movements(actions).
While doing Yoga, one is asked to be aware of every movement, every part of the body and pay attention and stay there in that posture or position and be in it.
In Meditation, we are trying to pay attention to breath or heart beat or light and try to stay focused on that. This brings a eliminating multitude of thoughts that pull mind in many directions.

Thus one need not just practice Yoga and meditation for an hour and then keep getting anxious and worried during the day.

Have you seen Kids playing or doing things any time? They are very focused in everything they do. They pay all the attention to the Act.

Have you ever asked a kid to recite something you said? They take a few seconds to actually repeat the same.
Because, kids bring all their awareness to the moment and then repeat the word. They do not mechanically repeat the word, but take time to pay all the attention to absorb the thought and put into action. And we grown ups actually look at them and get anxious and repeat the same 10 times before the kid says it. It is the Ego of the adult that creates that anxiety and also the feeling that they are superior to kids. Kids learn everything moment by moment with full awareness. But adults, disturb that subtle state by enforcing their ways and methods of looking at the world and brand kids as fast learners, slow learners and judge them.

There is an incident that happened in Buddha’s life.

Buddha is walking on the road. A fly sits on his head, and he goes on talking with Ananda, his disciple, and mechanically moves his hand and the fly goes away. Then he stops, suddenly—because he has done that movement of the hand without awareness. And to him that is the only wrong thing in life—to do anything without awareness, even moving your hand, although you have not harmed anybody.

So he stands and again takes his hand through the same posture of waving away the fly—although there is no fly any more. Ananda is just surprised at what he is doing, and he says, "The fly you have brushed away from your face long before. What are you doing now? There is no fly."

Buddha said, "What I am doing now is…that time I moved my hand mechanically. It was a mistake. Now I am doing it as I should have done, just to teach me a lesson so that never again anything like this happens. Now I am moving my hand with full awareness. The fly is not the point. The point is, whether in my hand there is awareness and grace and love and compassion, or not. Now it is right. It should have been this way."

At least from now on pay attention to the act of taking bath and that is a good start for a life style change, To bring Awareness. Attain the Union of thought and action for at least 10minutes in a day and slowly build upon it.
Observe the progress you make, see how long you are able to do that. Be aware of the actions that you are performing and if they are in harmony with the thought.
That is a great start.

What is Soul

Many of us have heard the word “Soul” or “Spirit” probably many a time in life.
I am sure that we have either embraced or ignored it. The reason being, either we understand it or do not know even know what it is.
Especially in the “Age of Experiments and proofs”, it becomes quite hard for us intellectuals to understand what is Soul.
Many people ask me, “What is Soul?, How can I find it?, Where do I look for it, Do I have to pray to find it, Is it defined clearly in Bhagavad Gita, or Bible or Quran?

Well, I had a tough time to figure a way to explain it. Because Soul is something that none of us have seen.
But still we keep hearing the word Soul everywhere, including a guy like me who is so obsessed with it, that he names his blog, “Song of Soul”.

Yes, it is hard for any common man like me to know what it means. I am sure Jesus, Krishna, Prophet had a tough time to figure it too.

Let us try something here to see if we can get to understand what "Soul" is.
We all know that there are at least 2 parts that exist in us, “Body” and “Mind”. How do we know?
We all know that there is a physical part that does some functions for us that we can touch and feel, that is called ”Body”, hands, legs, fingers, face and so on.

But, How do we know that there is Mind? We cannot see it, we cannot feel it, we cannot touch it?
Good question. OK Now, slow down, stop and sit at a place. When we are not doing anything and just sitting or lying down, we are still alive, right?
There is some thing that is still going on inside us, Right? There are some things called “Thoughts” that keep running in the background and whether we want to use the mouth to speak or not, they keep rolling in the backdrop.
We also say that these silent movements in our Mind (like a background score in a movie), are in the head, inside our brain, are responsible for these thoughts. Right!

So we were able to find that there exists a Body, and when we stop the body at a place and sit, and when the body physically is not moving, we can actually observe that there is another part called “Mind” that creates thoughts.

In the similar manner, when we slow down the Mind, and the thoughts take rest, we go to a next level, and this is the 'Soul or Empty Mind'. Somewhere between the resting body and resting mind is Soul.
Wow, that was easy, Isn’t it? OK, now I will not guarantee that. You have to try and see.

Well, many people might still have doubts whether this is true or not. Whether this soul exists or not?
OK, I am still with you on this. Let’s take out this mystic word “Soul” out of the picture here.
And let’s do an experiment, a small little trick in the laboratory called “Body and Mind”.

Let’s sit at a place, close our eyes, and sit for 30minutes. And simple pay all the attention on to our breath, Just notice where the breath is going inside and how it is going outside.
Any layman can do this, anyone who is alive, Right!
Just keep doing that, and for 30min close your eyes, all your attention on your breath, how it is going in and how it is coming out. That’s It, No Other Business.
Then you will feel something, some emptiness, some silence, some calmness, something that draws you deeper and deeper, and something that keeps expanding into silence.
You can give any name to that experience; people call it Soul, Light, Spirit, God, Peace or Real Self.
This process is called “Meditation”, by the modern world, you can call it anything you want, Soul Searching, Breathing exercise, Creating Gaps between thoughts, Creating Peace, Finding Balance.
Again, please do not think that the essence of this article is to justify the so called, overly used word, Meditation.
I am not obsessed with Meditation. But I am obsessed with that experience that happens when I sit for 30 min in silence and observe the breath.
Do that process every day and you will keep experiencing the subtle feeling. Yes, you will get zillions of thoughts initially, but your duty is to just pay attention to breath, not the thoughts. Some thoughts can be very strong. But we just simply try our best to ignore them. Like some one said, "Ignorance is Bliss", that is exactly what we are trying to do.

My dear buddies, what do we do, when we are tired with our body? We put it to rest. What do we do, to rest our mind? Sit in silence like what we have done.
Can we walk every day from the time we wake up till we rest in the night? NO. We do sit some times during the day, we lie down if we get a chance. Same way what are we doing, when we have too many thoughts running in the mind. Nothing.

Well, atleast we start doing this exercise from now. Call it Meditation or Soul Searching, or whatever name you want to call, but please do close your eyes for 30minutes in the morning after waking up and 30min before going to bed in the evening.

To go into a little more complex phenomenon, and if you wish to read further, All the problems in today’s world are caused by the Mind, except for the natural calamities that are caused by the Mind of the Universe (we will not worry about that now).
But the calamities that we face, like Anger, Frustration, Depression, Loneliness, Excess Desire for anything, Attachment that is obsessive, are because of what happens with the thoughts in our mind. Too many thoughts or too much attachment to throughts creates a vicious circle and we unknowingly tend to enter into the twister of emotions. These emotions causes turbulences.

Most of the crimes and atrocities in this world happen when there are too many thoughts in the mind, and the person gets tired mentally. Overlapping of thoughts takes place, clarity of thoughts is lost. Then Man adopts some repressing way of relieving these thoughts, by use of drugs, tranquilizers, alcohol, tobacco and Some people use purging ways of eliminating these thoughts in form of revenge towards what they think is the cause of chaos in form of abuse, violence, terrorism and crimes.

Unfortunately we were taught by parents and teachers, how to rest when body is tired, but never on how to give the rest to the mind.
Parents, Teachers, and My dear friends, please make this "Experience of Silence" part of all your life styles. Give that little rest to your churning minds and thoughts.
Listen to Silent Music of your Inner Minds. You can call this Finding A Soul, or Spirit or Atma or God, Or you define your own name for that experience, you do not have to follow the crowd.
At last, it is your own inner experience. You have the right to remain silent.

Free Will

A simple law that governs this universe "Every Action has an equal and opposite reaction" - This is law of Karma. These actions might not be from this birth too, it might be from previous manifestations. So everything that happens, happened and will happen is based on that. Then people say “Then let me live with no responsibility this moment if it is all Karma”. But that is like digging another grave for the near future with our own hands, It is like shooting our own leg. Because what we do now in this moment, affects the next moment or moments after some time. Yes, what ever happens and happened was based on some previous actions, but what can happen is based on action in this moment. Simple Law of Physics, we do not need Vedanta or some spiritual jnaan for this enlightenment. Even a little kid can reflect on this. But How do we control, the choices we make now, in this moment? That is exactly where the subtle force called 'Free Will' comes into play.

Free Will is the Divine grace for humanity. That is where Mind can be beautiful or ugly. If we can use the mind to turn the Free Will into a nice handy tool, then we make life beautiful to the best extent possible. It can be Ugly if we do not use that Free Will. Beautiful, in the sense, detached to the results, and absorbed in action, living in the moment. Free will is what allows us to make choices as we keep going in life. Apart from Free will, there are other factors that keep influencing us. Many people also tend to say that when there are so many factors that are influencing us that are mysterious, then why do we need to even worry about doing anything? Well, it is almost like saying, I will put the food in my mouth, but let the destiny take care of how it has to come out.
Come on Guys and Gals, we use our free will to do our basic eating, excreting and sleeping activities. Then there is no question in saying “Why use Free Will?”
This Free will is accessible to us, within us. It is freely available. If we are not accessing the Free Will, It simple means that we are ‘Ignorant Lazy Buggers’.

Free Will becomes easily available only when we become aware of ourselves, when we can get in touch with our inner self, when we slow down and watch ourselves.
Infact "Free Will" is none other than, the "Prana" energy that is moving in and out of us. Prana forms the basis of our existence. Everything in this world moves because of Prana.

Prana does not mean just the breath, it means the life force that sustains us. It is like the fuel of a car, Not just the engine, but everything that makes the car run.
If we are not aware of the life force, it causes derailment of a Machine and Man.
Prana is out, we are out. So Prana forms the foundation. The moment focus goes onto Prana, we slowly start realizing Free Will.

We all know that Breath is very important. How much time a person spends in being aware of Prana, that quicker and faster he gets access to Free Will.
Free will is something that allows us to make balanced choices, not emotional choices. Balanced choices do not mean good or bad.
Free Will is something when we use, we make detached choices, so we do not care about the result.
That is when a Man becomes Free Spirit. See the journey, From Free will TO Free Spirit.

But how de we become aware of prana, the answer is simple and straight forward –Yoga and Meditation.
Slowing down and being aware of Prana makes us accessible to Free Will.

So My Dears, Let GO everything. Do you realize that without our control our heart is beating, without our control we are actually reading, without control our eyes are perceiving the meaning of these words and processed inside, Do we have any control any of these things? NO. Same way to think we have control over something external is Maya.
Truth is, we have control only over our inner selves through Free Will/Prana.

Embrace Yoga and meditation, please find a Guru, and surrender to the divine energy flowing in the universe.
Anytime a person complains of life, I ask 2 simple questions: "Did you brush your teeth this morning". YES is the answer usually I get, unless that person really stinks :-)
The next question is "Did you clean your brain/mind today?" NO is the answer 100% of the times.
People expect Life to be beautiful without giving space to the mind and cleaning it. See, How selfish we humans are.
We want everything on the bed nicely arranged. God did create everything for us on this beautiful bed called Earth.
But still we want something else. We are blessed with two great tools, Body and Mind. These two tools are to be used to find our real self and be aware of it in the journey of life.
Use the Free will of Mind and put the body into appropriate actions. Be aware that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. That is the true definition of “Law of Karma”. The Definition does not mean that "Yaa, whatever has to happen will happen, so why do anything".

Life is too short to suffer. It is not meant to suffer.

Slow down my dear friends; take time for your inner self. Go for Yoga and Meditation classes, make them part of the life.
First make your inner self stronger and outer world will mean nothing afterwards.

Melting Mind

My Journey with divine has been very interesting, a blend of ego and Doubt mixed with Faith and Love. What a roller coaster ride it is!
Inspite of feeling the divine energy in various forms and actions in this material world, My Ego mind sees you as a normal human.
It forgets to go beyond the harshness and wounds of life, that are the stepping stones to the eternity of Liberation.
Especially the wars on my humanity and personality that have left the scars of failure and turmoil? Is it a test for my Ego?
I go through a range of emotions, from pain, with drawl into myself like a little kid who is little pissed with his parents with locked lips and droopy face

Then after a few minutes, the introspection kicks in, the question of “What is HE angry about?”, “What is HE not happy about?”.
But that questioning triggers twists of events. It is that fraction of moment that can transform a person either into a saint or a sinner.
You see, how Stupid is human mind!
Every saint and sage from the ages of stone, have written endless pages of agony of mind and the poison of its egocentric pangs, from Rumi, to Thyagaraja to Annamayya and Ramadasu.
The same way they have pleaded to the divine energy innumerable times to surrender their ego to the Gods of Heavens, I do the same today.
Under your able guidance I am put to the test of Fire.
I am sure, I will come out as an ‘Agnihotri’ and that moment would be the end of the life time,
because to be sanctified completely by the egoless mind, is journey of a life time for ordinary mortals like me.
I look at my own Ego with humiliation.
At crossroads of confusion like this, the Divine energy instantly seeps into the crevices of Minds gyrations and solves the Puzzles of Mind.
And the blossoming Soul, instructs my mind to surrender and flow with the divine energy. This process is the Melting of the Mind.
At this moment of surrender, the tears of heart flow through the eyes and the Mind drowned in the abyss of blissful honey.

Thanking the Supreme for accepting me as a disciple and allowing me to grow and evolve as a spiritual being, is the least I could do.
Heart melts in joy of surrender to the innocence of silent eyes of creation and the love flowing through every being.

Human Mind is always looking for judgments that have been made by people and that it wants to make about others.
That is its nature. Sometimes I feel the advancement of Mind in the animal species is a curse.
Why Did God create a Mind? Why could not have he created a Soul and Body and left us peaceful?
See, How brutal is human creation? If a single mind can do so many weird monkey jumps, Imagine, how the whole world, with a billion minds is juggling in the circus of darkness.
It is unfortunate that most of the humanity is stuck in the cyclones of mind and its thought waves. These waves engulf the soul and throw life into the hurricanes of disasters.
The climate of the Human is devastated by the Titanic waves of Ego.
How wonderful this universe would be with no Minds in Action, but just Souls in play?

The greatest test for the humanity is to Conquer this Ego. There are no prescribed books or standard degrees that are given to finish this course.
It is just the right guru and Serpentine Minds that goes to the school to learn, The school called “LIFE” and the Guru is “Divine Energy”.
Any number of words written on solving this puzzle is a waste, because it is just the experience that stands like a feather in the cap at the graduation of life.
The Spirit inside and the Guru outside are the sole witnesses to this transformation.

Who is He

He came back into the world of Light from the dreams of night. It could be his past or present, But now the moment. The dream was an icing on the baking cake of life.
Periods of pain, joy, exhilaration, realization, and many ahaa moments.
But what did they do together, not much. Same fluctuating thoughts, not sure about what is next. Want to do something but unable to do that.
Not that he is not making attempts, but just the feeling of stagnation and suffocation.
Life should be like a river they say, ever flowing, but why is it always here, same work, same people, same food, same clothes, can it get faster, smoother and easier, with no effort? Just like the water is forced to drop from top of a mountain, like a beautiful water fall, becoming a decoration of itself and every passerby says “Wow! What a Life.”

Do not feel like talking to anyone, because every one else seems to come with their own problems and overhead of baggage.
A stream of ‘Whys’ hitting the subtle Mind from all directions, like arrows aimed at an already wounded warrior, who is trying to recuperate.
Why did life turn in so many ways? Why did life create such a havoc? Why so many ups and downs?
Want to write, but cannot write. Want to act, but cannot act. Want to chat, but cannot.
Life feels frozen, passing through the worst of the winters, never like this in the past. Feels like dead end. Is this the arctic of life?
Inspite of the storms of emotions, and the gales of thoughts, he realises that there is a purpose for him.
He knows that he is the lamp in the deadly black cloud. But he is not sure of the purpose.
Many spiritualists say that Mind is the problem. He approves that too. So does he Meditate,

He knows it all. He has read a lot. He had heard words from many a good and great, knocking his own life in different phases, and he had experienced ‘em all.
He has seen the best, and created the worst too. For every rise he fell down and he knows he will rise again.
But Life is at a cross roads. He wants do something meaningful, He knows that meaning needs to be found in what we have and what we do.
He never had passion for what he is doing. It was more of a destiny’s plan. But he is good at whatever he does.
He cannot wait any more and he wants to make a plan now. He wants to do something bigger, beautiful and lead life to its fullest beauty and glory.
He is balanced. He is a perfect balance of yogi and bhogi. He knows one day just like the big bang, the whole formation is going to happen,
a star is about to be born, from the broken heart and charred mind.

All these thoughts came in at once, when he got up from the dream.
He stood and he knows it is another day. He reiterates that it is going to be better.
He is known for his positive energy, he can influence people in very inspiring way. He knows that when he does that it inspires him too.
He accepts everything that comes around. He does not like to Judge, for he knows that there are greater laws of universe that are effective, and the czar of life, is omnipresent.

He acts as if he is always alive and empty, so that he can receive many gifts from heavens. He believes in heaven and not in hell. He believes that Heaven exists in the moment, NOW and rest is Hell.
He has not read everything, but he has insight in to all the things.

He is a beautiful soul, with this thought, he walks through the rooms of life. Washes the past and looks into the mirror of Self. The face of life is beautiful.
No sign of any tiredness, no scars of the past, as fresh as a bud blooming into a flower. Ready to spread the fragrance of love, peace and joy into the universe.
He resolves, and says, “You can do it”, one more day, making a mole of confidence into a mountain.
He knows how to use the hidden energy in the remotest cells to rejuvenate the strength. He is a warrior who fought many battles.
Failures and Success for him is only a numbers game. He knows that Battle with the inner self is the toughest of all.
To bring glory to the soul is the ultimate goal of creation. Realizing himself is a way of life.
People come and become the pages of his life, Friends exists, Foes never last his glow. Friends are for the times to come and times gone.
As he thinks, all the people who walked in his life with and around him, pass like an unedited frame in the editor’s room, shadows of past dancing to the music of organic silent noise.
The noise creeps in now, shaking him from the roots, drawing him into the abyss. He cannot handle it anymore, as he slides down the tunnel of darkness, he asks with a voice so deep, that only he can hear, but very clear, "Who are you?". This Echoed every moment of life in the space of his own creation, and he finally had the strength to face it, to look into the face and simply stare.

He says to himself “Enough is enough” and jumps out in to the world again, wiping himself clean and fresh with the fragrance of self, caressing the corners of the body and glistening in the golden glow of tungsten light of the universe, that served as a shield of protection, in the wars of love and pain.
As he walks out, he looks at the clock, the time is ticking and the moments rolling, as if the seconds needle of the clock needs to catch the missing love of the hours and minutes, not realizing that time is a myth, and what’s gone is gone. “Live in this second”, he asserts himself.

At the final leap into the reality, evolves a moment, as if the hurricane of thoughts vanished into the sky of eternity, As if the heavens of Gods said, "Let's give him a break", a moment of silence dropped as a reward for bearing the will of supreme, just like a dolphin is rewarded after a feat with a small little treat.

The moment whispered to him, “He is you and Me, all that makes up the Thee.”