Choices

If Life is a journey then the road beneath us is the result of our choices. We have in the past used this route but we dont remember them. ( See the Bhagavad Gita , Chapter 4 verse 5 ). There is however a GPS  a simple navigation system which sends out an alarm everytime we encounter a choice. The navigator always chooses that path which is the least selfish. But then again , since we like to execise our rights ,the choice is always ours. The device we use to travel is also uniquely personal to us, and so is the path. Hence the choices encountered will never be the same for different individuals. Though they may look similar, everyone of us will get choices whose significance and implication will be originally exclusive.

Whatever we choose , we can be certain that the selection will bring us some wisdom.Choosing an option is an intutive art.

If you were given only one choice: To choose or not to choose, which would you choose?”

After-Life is the sumtotal of all the choices we made in life.

Vibrational Energy

At the confluence of our Internal Nature ( Mind + Body ), and the External Nature ( everything else ) is a system that connects the two Natures. This invisible system allows the bi-directional flow of vibrancy , or energy which is exchanged to benefit each other. ( When we are alive we are benefitted more, when we die , external nature benefits by decomposition of the elements ). This  intermediate system is called a Vibrational System and  is composed of forces that shape our living by providing the impetus to feel, think and act.

This system has forces which vibrate at dynamic frequencies and provide balance to the neuro-endocrine system ( Sukshma-Sharira or the subtle body ) which is responsible for our overall well being.

When this channels frequency falls below a certain range troubles start. Since our body is not in a single dimension but according to vedic cosmogony we are multi dimensional the agitation is on many levels from the highest spiritual to the lowest sensual. The lowest level of 62 MHz ( our bodies generate electromagnetic fields that is how we check the EKG and all electromagnetic fields are measured in MHz) is the limit below which we loose the state of balance ( homeostasis) .

What are the elements that bring our vibrational frequency below the healthy level ? How can the level be regained or increased to get the maximum benefit of a blooming vibration ?
where E is the Vibrational Energy or Bio-Energy or the Spiritual Energy, M is the state of the mind and C is a constant for Consciousness which every living being is endowed with. Our vibrational Energy depends on the state of our mind. Our thoughts , our emotions constitute the major faculties of the mind. In fact everything we perceive is through our mind only. Since we are all endowed with an individual mind the frequencies that vibrate around us are never alike for two individuals. We all have a unique frequency and hence vibrational therapy cannot be the same for two individuals.

By changing the state of the mind we can increase our vibrational energy. For this much support is provided by those instruments which can change the state of the mind and hence boost the frequency. These instruments are called yantras, meaning machines or " any instrument for holding , restraining or fastening" derieved from the root sanskrit word " Yam " meaning to Control or Subdue or Restrain or Curb or Check.

From numbers to crystals to essential oils and symbols man has used  a large variety of yantras to bring the mind to a state where the frequency of the vibrational field around is favourable for spiritual and sensual aims.

The Aim of Subtle Healing

What is subtle healing ?

It is believed that our Soul is the doer. According to the Sankhya Philosophy , all our external faculties depend on the mind for sensation. Only after the mind gets attached to the vision can the eyes see, otherwise the eyes shall not be able to see. From here the sensation is carried to the determinative and reactive state of the mind, the buddhi or intellect which then flashes the external world and egoism. This is the start of pleasure and pain, Behind all these is the Soul which controls and conducts the proceedings. This Soul has the cause for all actions , hence responsible for all happenings in the world. Since there is a single universal soul called as Prakriti ( nature ) or Brahman ( Absolute ) everything is inter connected with everything else.

Subtle healing unlike healing the physical points of sensation or healing only the surface, travels the length and breadth of this whole structural flow. 

Meditation

Some time back , in of the forums on facebook the issue of stress came up. Since the forum was for Juvenile Diabetics , the topic was much appreciated as stress influences in experiencing higher blood sugar and blood pressure levels. 

Meditation is being recommended to diabetics to lower the risk of complications due to prolonged diabetes. See the link http://diabetes.webmd.com/diabetes-complications-10/slideshow-avoid-damage?ecd=wnl_dia_050112.

But in these times Meditation is rewarding and beneficial to everyone. We all feel the need to get in touch with the source of energy as we are prone to deficiency while fighting our daily battles. Since the attack is on our physical mental emotional and social health a lot of energy gets consummed in retaining optimum levels which can generate an advantageous position for us. 

A lot of us find it difficult to meditate since we are not used to sitting alone with our self and find difficulty in repose and inactivity. We continuosly need something that stimulates us and keeps us in an excited state. It could also be the fear of loosing time and touch with active bustle. 

But there is an easy way out. I will only be happy to share a simple path to meditation which can be  practised even while engrossed in activity.

I am happy to recieve an extraordinary response for my last post. A Girl has given a beautiful feedback on explaining that meditation can be succesfully accomplished by ordinary activity that we carry out everyday. Sister Nivedita described it precisely as " “If the many and the One be indeed the same Reality, then it is not all modes of worship alone, but equally all modes of work, all modes of struggle, all modes of creation, which are paths of realization. No distinction, henceforth, between sacred and secular. To labour is to pray. To conquer is to renounce. Life is itself religion. To have and to hold is as stern a trust as to quit and to avoid.”  This is based on the vedantic concept that whatever is visible as many is actually coming from one source. 

I wish to offer a simpler way to meditate or connect to the source from where we derive a limitless supply of energy.

Why do we need this energy ? According to Swami Vivekanda weakness or the lack of strength or the lack of energy is the single cause of misery be it physical misery or mental misery. When the mind becomes weak millions of microbes of misery floating around us get the power to hold us to ransom just like all diseases strike when the power of immunity deteriorate.

There are many things that make us weak and similarly many of them which give us strength. By rejecting all those that make us weak and retaining all that give us strength we can plug  a major cavity through which our energies escape. There ia list of such things available and I plan to upload them soon. But lets get back to a major factor and cause for energy depletion. It is the  power of our thoughts. This whole universe is the manifestation of power in the form of energy and matter. The energy form of power is called a thought and the matter form of power is called the physical world. Behind the manifestationof the physical  is the power of thoughts. These thoughts flow through channel called our mind. 

Only one small excercise can not only bring the mind under control , create love in our hearts for everyone and bring us to the same state as meditation. A small change is required in our order.

Us.............God as a means to fulfill wants,  desires, enjoyment is what we actually follow instead 

Us.............Thank for everyday gifts including obstacles as a Way to show our love to God who now becomes our goal

The second method is not only ideal but has a shorter que. 

Donot worry if you are an athiest who does not believe in God. Just thank your own self for everything.

See the change in your energy levels. This method has no side effects which are harmful. 

Psychic Visions

Almost all of us are psychics. In the most easily understood meaning of a psychic is a person that can sense and see " beyond the obvious ". Beyond the Obvious is the name of my blog available at trulyunreal.blogspot.com. Some of these psychics believe that they are special so they set about advising , counselling and trying to play with the occult. Amongst the many ways these special psychics use to convince themselves that they are special are the use of divinatory appartus such as Tarot, ESP, Aura-Reading, Remote-Viewing , Telepathy and Mind reading. But is there any truth behind these abilities or are they just a way to captivate a weak mind ? 

Psychis powers originate in the mind. Since we all have a mind of our own which independently argues and debates and gives instructions to our body to react , we all have the requisite tools to unlock the psychic powers and unleash them. So then what is the difference between people who exhibit the extraordinary powers of their mind by dowsing and other divinatory forms and the rest of us who think that psychics are special ? The difference is that normal people use their psychic powers to see beyond the obvious to understand and follow things which are normal and worldly. Lets understand it with an example. Yesterday I met with a person who is known to be starightforward in talking and doesnt sugarcoat any words but tells it the way it is. Any normal person would have gone beyond his words to understand what this person was saying , we are so used to reading between the lines that we have forgotten to take everything at face value. Behind every action and behind every word , behind every move we search for a motive and we are succesful too since we can go beyond the obvious we usually end up going where we can make a good story of our discovery.  We use our psychic abilities to gain insight into a normal behaviour. 

A special person uses his psychic powers to go beyond the obvious further. He doesnt stop at reading between the lines and finding a motive for the behaviour, he goes one step further and understands the reason behind the motive. Just stopping at the motive might give us a sense of achievement but searching for a reason gives us the power over the person. Once you know and understand his mind ( which argues debates and instructs) , you are able to control his mind since you now know the deliberations he uses to act in a certain way. 

Very Easy , yes. No very very complicated since the reason behind the motive can only be found when you merge your mind into his mind which is the essence of spirituality, where in meditation we get merged into the universal mind , from where individual minds are controlled. There is a simple exercise by which you can find if you have reached the final reason behind the motive and that is you will your heart going out to that person since when the minds merge the heart comes closer and you will beleive in the reasons and believe in the motive and feel love for him or her. Remember Christ when he said " God forgive them for they know not what they do "

Shielding oneself

 "He who is the Brahman of the Vedantins, Ishvara of the Naiyayikas, Purusha of the Sankhyas, cause  of the Mimamsakas, law  of the Buddhists, absolute zero  of the Atheists, and love infinite unto those that love, may [He] take us all under His merciful protection": Udayanacharya -- a great philosopher of the Nyaya or Dualistic school. And this is the Benediction pronounced at the very beginning of his wonderful book Kusumanjali  (A handful of flowers).

As a sapling tries to grow , a hedge is created around it so that it may be protected against animals. We are all saplings trying to grow unto God. For a warrior on the battlefield his uniform is also a shield. What is the shield that we have against the onslaught of crass comercialisation on one side and falling ethics on the other. In between these two enemies that halt spiritual development do we find wanting an armour. 

Since both the adversaries are fighting the battle within us how does one vanquish the enemy ?  Luckily we are all provided with a sword of wisdom which if used alongwith a kavach (protective covering ) of  yoga ( not to be confused with asanas) can counteract any attack. 

Spiritual energy cannot be obtained by talisman, amulets, charms, spells, rituals or any person. Spiritual energy comes from recognising that we are a spirit endowed with a body and our nature is spiritual not physical.

An after-thought.

Sensitive people should avoid large groups and gatherings. There is a theory which I subscribe to and that is the more the number of people gathered in a place the more likely their group consciouness acts in a wierd way. If you see the paranoia at rock concerts you will realise that all individuals involved are sane people but their collective gathering tends to bring out a delusional frenzy. Marriages, Birthday Parties, Dinners where a large number of people are present are potential places where our magnetic impulses tend to loose their properties and the aftermath is a feeling of fatigue and burnout. This is a very important method of shielding oneself.

India - A Land of Oppurtunity in the Stock Markets

The universe runs on one principle, Change. Whatever exsists will undego change and re-invent itself with time manifesting a different aspect of its basic function. This principle is the foundation of life.

Sindhis can claim the title of the founders of the aryan race. As original inhabitants of the Sindhu Valley they have been in exsistence since the past 7000 years or so. This is the period when trade and commerce were initiated in social life.5000 years back , Aryans started forming Societies around the world. These small pockets of habitations believed that inanimate objects are the same as living like plants animals and humans and totally capable of reproducing itself. This is the core teaching of vedanta. Hence if " food money "  or " monetary token " of any kind was given , then it was legitimate to charge interest. The rate of interest charged was 10-25 percent for silver and 20-35 percent for cereals. This was 5000 years back.  Then around 4500 to 4000 years back the Sumerians fixed the rate of interest at 20 percent. 

The word banking comes from two sanskrit words byaya or expense and onka meaning calculation. The sindhi word byaj or interest is also similar to the original sanskrit word expense. The Jews who are considered as bankers to the world have a history that can be traced to pre-christ times when they used to carry out the trade of money-lending at the temple of Solomon, built 1005 years before christ. The jews and sindhis share many common characteristics the two major being trading and diaspora. Some years back a proffesor in Allahabad University had even found that Sindhis and Jews share a very common gene pool too. 

The reason for tracing back all this information is to illuminate the readers that banking like the aryan race is very ancient and has been a part of our culture since thousands of years. Sindhis especially are known to lend money to traders who used to  buy and sell goods on the china-persia route that passed through sindh.

Today banking is institutionalised. Small time sindhi businessmen who were private bankers to many people who could not get complete the rigid formalities and the strict systems of rules of the these banks have found it difficult to realise the interest with many people defaulting. But there is still a way to be involved in this wonderful process which benefits both the debtor and the lender. The debtor benefits by utilising the funds to generate more money and thereby finding a way to become an uncommon man  from a common man.  People who have changed their status from impoverished to wealthy have all realised that success comes when you borrow responsibly and turn the debt in to an asset. When I was a small time stockbroker at the Bangalore Stock Exchange in 1997-1998, a retired Bank of India branch manager used to have coffee with me every day on the terrace of our stock exchange building near unity towers on J.C.Road. This everyday meeting between a person who had seen and experienced commerce day in and day out and an amateur who was just learning how not to get caught in a frenzy and keep away from the fiction of the stock markets taught me some of the greatest lessons in economics commerce and psychology. My tutors contention was that todays debt is tommorrows asset if carefully planned.Imagine buying a house with debt. Inflation assures that money losses value over a period of time ( Flats in Bombay 35 years back were available for 25,000 in a very good area of khar ). Now imagine putting the same money in your bank at 15.5% interest, the yield over 35 years will be around 16 lacs ( simple interest and not compound) , but the same amount invested in a house would be worth at least 5 to 7 times the amount gained by putting in the bank. An asset whether it be Land Machines or Shares would be worth more than the value of money invested wheras the actual value of money and its worth falls. 

An efficient and intelligent debtor and a banker are the nessecary requisites for a growing economy. Sindhis have known this from pre-historic times and have graciously lent money fuelling growth and thrusting people from insolvency to affluence. 

This article is incomplete if I dont mention the new opportunities available in Banking. This will be taken up in my next part when I continue this note. I will also be doing a dis-service to my nation if I dont mention that Gold Silver and Jewellery are dead investments and do not benefit a country nor the people.

My Last post was incomplete. My intentions in the last post was two fold , 1) To introduce the concept that banking was as ancient ( if not more ) than the vedic period, by establishing this theory I will be able to sanction my next postulate which will be that not only is banking and charging interest nessecary , it is also moral if done honourably. 2) The second point I wanted to make was that with lesser opportunities for private bankers a new thought and a fresh approach is required to continue in this industry. For people who may question why do we need to continue the answer lies in the fact that a business over many years developes an insight to throw out the inconsistencies and pitfalls. The business matures and goes into auto-correct mode. After years and years of growth the business becomes immune to the changes in the economic environment. 

In this note I shall take some tips from an article which appeared in DNA on 20th October under the title " The agenda behind the anti-corruption agenda" written by G.Sampath a writer whose ideas fall very close to my thoughts. The article quotes eminent economist Prabhat Patnaiks theory that " by repeatedly associating state initiatives and programmes with corruption, you make a strong case for the handing over of public assets held in trust by the state ( such as PSU's) in to private hands."  The common man is now burdened monetarily by paying much more for the services which were first rendered by the state at a nominal cost. By corrupting our minds and making the difference between nessecities and luxuries thin through the use of advertising corporations and industry are playing both sides of the game where the looser is the common man. On one hand they try and make everything costlier on the other hand they create an impression where everything is needed. In such a situation people and families spend their money before earning it.

By taking loans and not spending it on making assets people fall in to the debt trap which sucks out the life of any family. In fact the german word for debt is schuld means debt and guilt. 

Everything that happens to us or is likely to happen should be taken in the correct spirit and just as as the captain of the boat never blames the storm but takes corrective and antidotal steps to counteract the storm so should we as captains of our family who are dependent on us for their existence and expense.

Looking at the whole picture with an intutive eye and observing the trends carefully is it not a good time to invest in shares of PSU banks ?

Not only are they available at below market rates and pay yearly dividend but they may be the first businesses that herald the age of compulsive spending where private moneylenders give you money to purchase the goods manufactured by themselves at a price where paying for the interest is possible only by taking more loans.

Public Utilities and Public Sector Undertakings will be a thing of the past. We are observing that cheap goods and cheap products and services are no longer available. Future will be still hard and may be we all shall need some help or financing to carry on living a decent lifestyle. By taking co-ownership in banks and becoming the shareholders , we may be able to endure the blow which is aimed directly on our children.

Somewhere in the Middle

suni hikaayat-ehasti to darmiyaan se suni"na ibtida ki khabar hai na inteha maaloom"  

Shaad azeem abadi

In the scheme of things that got created in the universe , humans are placed in one corner from where neither the begining nor the ending is visible. On one end of the spectrum nature extends itself to about 26 orders of magnitude in space , larger than us and on the other end it , through molecules and atoms and nuclei to 18 times smaller in elementary particles. The complete scale from the invisbily minute to the extremely large is staggering to comprehend. 

The limited range of length , time and energy which define the world of middle dimensions is not sufficient to explain the workings of this world. Our phylogenetic ( each species including humans comes with some intutive concepts of space,time, geometry, causality , nature of matter etc.) knowledge or experience comes from this small part of nature. 

The individual development or learning is ontogenesis which brings a human being closer to God. The hidden and mysterious world is where all action is. Just as in the movies the projector is hidden from the view or in a puppet show the hands that control the dolls are cleverly disguised, so too in our visible world all the real work is done beyond the obvious.The spirit is more powerful than our apparent body and the events that unfold and manifest are generated from a place or a point which is mysteriously concealed.

A Probable Future

Knowing the future is useful and exciting. We can only see a part of the future as most of the variables that define future are in a state of flux and are subjectively exclusive. This means that though the patterns in future will be same for everyone their influence can be benign or malignant depending on our position and understanding in the present.

 I shall consider the trends or patterns in only two spheres of life, Spiritual and Economical. Changes at the spiritual level effect the economic status of the society is my belief. Arnold J. Toynbee, whose twelve volumme book " A study of History " traces the decline of civilisation concludes that excessive interest in political and economic issues was responsible for deterioration of human life.

 Spirituality follows the path of encompassing everything within itself. We may be believers or atheists, dualists or monotheist but spirituality does not consider it as distinctions and follows a path which hems in all faiths and all beliefs. It is concerned with morality only and if an atheist selflessly acts without expectations of a reward , he is spiritual and more closer to the ultimate power than a ritualistic person whose actions are selfish but believes in God.

 The next few years will see people becoming truly spiritual rather than expressing their religion by rituals and the outward display of their faith. They will start believing in morality as the only path towards truth. This shift has already started and people have found that religion without being spiritual inwardly has only confused and caused mental pain. This realisation will establish itself firmly as people look within to connect with the outside. 

 The fallout of such a movement will be that a lot of spiritual shops could go out of business. Commercial establishments that promise nirvana and take advantage of seekers by showing them a path that exploits their emotions leading them to grief and disbelief may find no takers. Rituals make people superstitious and generate fear in many. Since the journey of mankind is from fear to fearlessness and lower truth to higher truth, it is natural that people choose those ideals which give them more freedom.

 In every age after following a certain way humanity changes its direction by charting a new course. Historians and sociologists give many reasons for this shift in human behaviour, which define their life by embracing a new practicality. But the truth is that we are following a trajectory set in motion by our need to manifest the qualities of the God we worship and in the process make the finite experiences enduring and endless. 

 A collateral development would be that our perspective would turn from the physical to the psychical. The concept that action is a consequence of thought and thought is generated by the mind which is a non physical entity is slowly gaining strenght. In medicine and evolution, our psyche has been found to actively change our viewpoints and even create a new reality from the exsisting objective world.

The power of positive thinking and using our mind to gain a creative advantage over our hardships will get a new stamina once our consciousness leaves the plane of physical rituals of action to non physical and spiritual levels. By shifting the ballast from Kinetic to passive activity we may also inherit a new field of vision which will allow us the see an hitherto hidden dimension. It may also happen that we may gain more physical energy in the process , since the source of vital energy is our spiritual body.

It is believed that when we pay more attention to the physical aspects of life and rituals are a part of physical religion , we are disconnected from the spirit which is the source of all fortitude. It is no surprise for most of us to see that immorality manifests more at religious places and inhuman acts are committed more by religious people. 

Spiritual persons on the other hand believe that since all souls are one , harming or helping others is doing evil or good to oneself and in turn nature. Hence morality in spiritual people is firmly rooted.

Let us see how the above changes can effect the second most important aspect of our life, economy. Money has the tendency to course from one place to another. Money cannot stay long in one place. It needs to keep moving . It usually flows to a place from where it senses it will be able to have easy passage ahead. In simple words to a place where it is not hoarded but allowed to move freely. This is the reason why once countries of affluence are now in need and where there was poverty are now enjoying bountiful wealth.

So what does the future hold for the economy ? Countries which open up their money flow will be booming and those countries which devise strategies and means to control the flow of money will find being controlled by money in turn, and slowly squeezed by it ( money ) to release its movement in the process creating a void for the nation and its people.

Only by giving and distributing and spreading wealth can prosperity be assured for men and countries. But money has another tendency. It takes offense if it is used on vain show and exhibism or to damage and sabotage the goal of others. A country or a business that keeps the circulation of money and effectively reduces the disparity between the poor and the rich is likely to generate more wealth. 

This is also a trend started by Warren Buffet whose frugal economic sense has caught the attention of many. By not spending on unnesscary things and being content with little inexpensive pleasures , we are not only reducing the inequality between the haves and have nots but also respecting money. The more we display our money to the people who do not have the basic needs of life, the more further we go from spirituality and the more we widen the gap between the two classes. Since Vedanta believes in the unity of exsistence, it is nessecary that we bring our underprivileged brothers first to a level where they are treated better than animals by spending on their health and education.

Swami Vivekananda says " So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them." Actually once spirituality manifests in the real sense sometime in the future, we shall develop more self confidence and resist all exhorbitant expenses that we incur are to give us more belief and faith in ourselves.

Rituals take away the belief from our spirit to an entity outside us.

The future of man points towards more freedom and less disparity on the outside and the inner man shall develop more resilence and faith in the working of this world which now because of our physical approach looks chaotic on the outside but will look organised and purposeful after going beyond the obvious .