Untying the knots of slavery

Humans are social beings. We live in a society, build relationship with other people. Our actions have an impact on ourselves and our surroundings. Based on the social setup in which we exist, we modify & tune our performance. 

It is good to obtain the feedback that leads to changes in our behavior for the betterment of individuals and society at large. However, it is also the trap of our environment which has a say over our emotions. If our near and dear ones praise our actions, it would bring forth a soothing feeling and in turn we will be happy. On the other hand, if there is criticism then it brings misery.

Swami Vivekananda terms this as slavery. He says that if we require someone else to make us happy, we are nothing but slaves. He mentions that in order to break from the clutches of slavery, we have to consciously move away from the way society operates. 

We have to perform actions without any attachment. In his speech on Karma Yoga, he declares that work that is performed as a free-will offering to humanity does not associate itself with any binding attachment.

The goal is to isolate the soul from all objects – physical & mental. When this goal is attained, the soul will realize that it was all alone and wouldn’t necessitate anyone else’s presence or absence to make it happy. 

If we have reached this state, it would possibly indicate that we have been able to successfully break free from the bondage of slavery.     

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What should be your goal?

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Mindfulness...

There are a lot of stuff going on around us. It is easy to get lost with all the din of outside world. Most of the times we don’t even remember what actions we were performing just 10 minutes ago! Majority of us are in such a situation nowadays for many variety of reasons.

It is in this context when one can bring his or her attention to everything that is happening only at the present moment becomes very critical. This process is given the name Mindfulness. 

This activity enhances the quality of our life. It has its origins in the Buddhist traditions, basically carved out of Tibetan meditation techniques and has flavors of Zen and Vipassana.

Jon Kobat-Zinn is one of the pioneers in making mindfulness popular among the western audience. 

He has been actively promoting the use of mindfulness related processes in schools, hospitals and rehabilitation centers.

Here is what he has to say about mindfulness.

Courtesy: Mindful.org

Got excited about making it part of your daily life? Of course, there are lot of resources available on the internet on the topic. 

Click here to read a simple guide to practice mindfulness.

Let us lead a mindful life.

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Do Not Condemn Anyone

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What is prayer?

Enter the words define prayer in Google, and lo, you get the dictionary definition of prayer! Well, it says, 

a solemn request for help addressed to God 

And yes, conventionally that’s what we understand as the meaning of prayer. If we have problems in our life, we turn towards God, pour our woes and ask that the problems be resolved.

Let us look into it more deeply and ask ourselves the question Is this right? 

The answer would be Maybe, yes. During trying circumstances, it is appropriate to look upon something that is beyond our reach hoping that we gain mental succor. 

However, is it not stupid to routinely get into this mode for every silly problem that we come across? 

If the so-called God must take care of each and every difficulty that we face, then what is the significance of our “own” life? 

It is in this essence, the English saying goes “Self-help is the best help” .

Sadhguru clarifies that true prayer is not an act but being prayerful is a quality.  He says that prayer, when understood in its real sense, is a means to open our lives to new possibilities. 

However, he also warns that people may succumb to hallucinatory fantasy. People start making up stuff, it is not real. He indicates that when the real experience of being prayerful occurs, a dialogue develops between the one who is praying and the divine that is omnipresent. When that state is reached, he says, the experience brings great joy.  

Watch this video in which Sadhguru explains this phenomenon of being truly prayerful. He narrates a beautiful story in laymen terms to drive home the point that prayer cannot be acted and rather should be a quality in our life.

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How do you eat?

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