During this contentious period in our world: SMILE !

 Namaste,

We are in the midst of an extremely challenging situation and environment, probably not seen in the history of this world. With pandemic ruling the roost almost everywhere in the planet and economy shut down, people are going through tough life situations.  To make it worse, there are the civil unrests and terrorism in some parts of the world and in the US, we are going through a tumultuous election period.  

All these may cause severe mental imbalance in people. The only option to escape from such mental agonies is to LEAVE IT ALL TO GOD. TRUST the GOD and SMILE.  

Sw. Chinmayananda captures these SMILING moods through these inspiring quotes:

Keep SMILING! Life is great!  Let nothing that happens around you unnecessarily affect you. Consider them all as Sri Krishna leela!

SMILE - even if you are not happy at first or in the end or in the middle!

Why should you fret about the world unless you too are a fool? SMILE !

Learn to SMILE when you feel insulted. Then anger can never arise.

A true devotee never despairs. Take whatever HE provides and keep on walking with a SMILE in your heart.

In the midst of life's dust and sweat, learn to take your stand with unbroken good temper. SMILE!

Tolerate the world and its endless foolishness. SMILE and keep on loving the people.

Life is a game of Hide and Seek. LAUGH on and play the game. When you 'discover', LAUGH; when you cannot, LAUGH. The one who laughs the most wins even when he loses.

Keep SMILING.  Everything will come around to help you - money, men and material. Surrender onto HIM and work. 

May the Almighty keep us SMILING and keep us safe in these trying time and all the time.  

Hari Om.

20 Virtues enumerated in Bhagavad Gita

 The 20 virtues explained in Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna:

1. Amanitvam: vanity-less-ness

2. Aadambitvam - un pretentiousness

3. Ahimsa: Non-violence

4. Santhi:  Peace, Calmness

5. Arjavam - straight forwardness

6. Acharya Upasana : Dedication and respect to Guru

7. Soucham - cleanliness

8. Sthairyam - consistency of purpose

9. Atma vinigraha - self control

10. Indriyartheshu vairagya:  Dispassion and detachment to sense organs generated activities.

11. Anahankara - no ego

12. Janma, Mrityu, Jara, Vyadi, Dukha, Dosha nu darshanam - recognizing life is all these sorrows

13. Asaktir anabhi svangaha: without attachments/identificatio to beings and things

14. Nityam cha Samachitvam - equilibrium at all times

15. Ishta- anishta upapashtitu - learn to live with both likes and dislikes

16. Mayi Cha ananya yogena - yoking your mind to me

17. Vivikta desa sevitvam: expose a few mins to be all alone

18. Arathir Jana samsadi: avoid crowds of people

19. Adyatma Jnana nityatvam - read scriptuures every day

20. Tatva  jananrtha darshanam: meditate on those value from the scriptures

Hari Om.

An Intro

Om Namaha
Sri Gurubhyo Namaha
Sri Chinmaya Sadguruve Namaha

Hello,
I am a born Hindu from a conservative religious family. Growing up in India, I took for granted many of the Hindu religious rituals and observations, until as destiny would have it, I happened to get a the book on Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chinmayananda. I was probably in college then and the Bhagavad Gita book with its sanskrit wordings as well as its wonderful deeper meanings by Sri Chinmayananda was presented as a gift to my father by one of his office friends. I am not sure if my father had a chance to read it fully, but I started reading it more of a curiosity at that time, never realizing how much I would be hooked on it. It did not happen all of a sudden or overnight, it was a process descending on me for many years. The first time I read the Holy book cover to cover, it mesmerized me with a different outlook on the outer world that we are not normally accustomed of. When I relocated to a different part of the country (India) for job and started my lonely life there, the Gita and Sri Chinmayananda's eye-opening explanations for each verse and his overall guidance gave me enough mental strength to carry on with my life away from home.

I have been having that book with me ever since, referring to it anytime I am at cross roads with the incidents in my life. It has been many years now after my first intro to the Holy Gita, but I am nowhere in a position to say I am well verse on it. It has been an ongoing learning process.
After moving to the US a few years ago, me and family lived in different parts of the country (US) and there came upon a situation where I had the option to settle down anywhere in the US and work from home. After shortlisting a few places based on several factors, me and my family chose Plano, near Dallas (TX)as the appropriate place for us (hopefully !). One of the important factors in that decision was the Chinmaya Mission centre called Chinmaya Saaket near Plano (http://www.chinmayasaaket.org). As soon as we relocated to Plano, we lost no time in enrolling into the Chinmaya mission activities including Balavihar for my daughter. We started attending Sunday sessions every week and listen to discourses on Vedanta by the local Swamiji in Saaket. My daughter who has been growing up in the US since she was 2 yrs old, has been getting a good introduction on Hindu faith, epic stories and the Hindu mantras (slokas) through the Balavihar.

The Chinmaya Saaket center here has opened a world of Vendatic life for me and my family now. It has introduced to me hundreds of great books on varied topics such as Updanishads, treaties by various great philosophers of India such as Sri Adi Shankara, Sri Ramanuja etc. and of course the great writings of Sri Chinmayananda himself.

It is upto us now to faithfully delve into the spiritual world of Vendata, understand its prophesies, weave its principles into our daily life and serve this world with a vision within us of that Brahman (Aham Brahmosmi !) who is the all pervading Infinite Consciousness in this cosmos.

The more I read on the Vedanta, the more I am convinced this is not a religious preaching, this is a science and art of life - I would tend to term it as an 'artful science' on way of life ! I will try to write more on it in the next posting.

All philosophies are abstract topics and very difficult to comment upon it. Only erudite scholars with masterly skills on english like Swami Chinmayananda or Swami Vivekananda could successfully accomplish such writing. More importantly it needs sufficient knowledge (Jnana !) to understand such topics as Upanishads and write commentaries on those. Adi Shankara by the time he left this mortal world into immortality at the age of 32 had reached what could be called the summit of Vedantic knowledge and wrote treaties of them for the benefit of the rest of the world ! Such men carved out the super powers inherent in them through Jnana Yoga and meditation. Very few people in this world could do that.

My effort through this blog is just an attempt to repeating and writing what I read, hear and understand on Vedanata through books, Satsangs etc. I will try to bring out the truths in them as I understand (they are all truths - it is just that I may not realise their meaning easily !) and put it in writing as best as I can. If my blog helps in atleast encouraging some of the readers in exploring more into the vast ocean of Vedantic knowledge, I will be blessed.