Abhinivesha refers to the strong desire to live and implies, fear of death. The deep desire to live, binds you to the physical body; thus, creating the emotion of fear. Abhinivesha is one of the afflictions of mind. And it is also the root of all our fears, that is why as long as we have abhinivesha in the mind, we will have all other fears as well. Some people are fearful of heights. Why? Because they know that...
Thoughts are a consequence of our senses, for they are the gates through which all information enters the mind. This gathered information, then, gets processed and stored by the mind. Some goes into short term memory and some into long term memory layer. Mind absorbs everything indiscriminately; the good, the bad and the downright ugly.
Dhi, dhriti and smriti are the prerequisites for any spiritual progress. The Sanskrit root word ‘dhi’ refers to the intellect. Whereas, ‘dhriti’ is the power to assimilate knowledge. And ‘smriti’ is the ability to retain the imbibed knowledge such that it can be accessed when one wants - something like a good memory.
Mind is like a jungle. You are standing in the middle of the jungle completely lost in the forest of your thoughts. But how to find the way out? Our sages showed the way. This is the path of dhyana. But this involves preparatory stages like pranayama, etc. Pranayama will prepare your body, breath, mind and energy, so that you can experience dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and finally the samadhi. There is a complete procedure to it. You cannot...
A medical student whose goal is to become a fine doctor, he or she stays focussed on this target and puts in the required effort unceasingly for five to six years. He or she works hard, day and night as their eyes are set on the day they are awarded the coveted degree. The same is true for every worldly achievement-be it sports, arts, science, commerce, theatre and so on…success comes only with strong conviction and hard work.
A gyani (enlightened being) knows his true, ever-blissful ‘Self’. Thus, although he performs all actions, he is not dependent on the world for anything. He is blissfully content in his own ‘Self’. And only such a being can be the non-doer of actions and thus the non-bearer of its consequences. He is ever content with whatever that comes to him of its own accord, being equanimous in success and failure, and thus he is not bound despite performing actions....
When you chant Shiva mantra, your body should be still. Your spine, neck and head should be erect and your body should not be moving at all. You can begin by whispering the chant. Mantra is a sound vibration which will bring alterations in your brain and in the energy field of your body. By chanting Om Namaha Shivaya, you are not pleasing Lord Shiva but you are using this particular sound wave to create a state of mind...
Our bodies have been born countless number of times. The cycle of birth and death, goes on relentlessly. As we can’t escape birth and death, we can’t escape our karma. Karma is determined by good or bad deeds of an individual. We can never count all the deeds we have done in all lifetimes. If we assume that an average person lives to the age of 70 years; then imagine how many births one would have taken in 2...
Someone asked Lord Buddha, ‘Why did you leave your palace, wife and son and become a renunciate? Shouldn’t you be fulfilling your obligations and responsibilities to the kingdom, to your wife, father, mother and your baby son?’ Buddha replied, ‘Let me ask you a question. If your house is on fire, what would you do instinctively? Wouldn’t you jump out of the house as quickly as possible?’ Buddha continued, ‘That’s what I have done. I was...
Breath is life. No breath, no life! Such a vital entity, but one we are least aware of. Breathing is happening every moment and yet, are you aware of this crucial, intrinsic phenomenon? Furthermore, have you ever wondered why we have two nostrils when one was enough to inhale and exhale? There is a definite reason for this, as we shall see below.
Spirituality and religion are not synonymous. Religion has more to do with rites and rituals. Spirituality is about rational knowing; religion is about blind following. A master experientially uncovers the ultimate truth and starts disseminating the knowledge to people so that they can start their own investigation. But when the experiential truth gets left behind and people start blindly following just the rituals – religion is born.
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a common malady affecting people world over. WHO regards it as one of the most important risk factors for death. Literature suggests that around 57% of all stroke related deaths and 24% of coronary artery disease deaths in India are directly related to hypertension. And on top of that, it is a silent killer-often presenting with no overt signs or symptoms. Thus, the pressing need for increasing public awareness, access to early detection and treatment.
