How I start my day: Deepak Chopra

"Mornings are the time to inculcate a passion" 

"Morning is the time when nature sends out its most delicate messages, and you are most sensitive to them. Your nervous system has been built in a way that the sight of dawn, the still air on your skin, the faint sounds of birds and animals awakening” all set the state for renewal. Listen to what is happening around you. Be alert to the slightest influence; the whole body is silent and poised in a delicate balance. 

When you wake up, you feel alert and clearheaded. It indicates that your nervous system is ready to be renewed. It is harmful to disturb or ignore this one opportunity to be naturally recreated. Mornings are a time to inculcate a passion, this will help you achieve the extraordinary in life. Use early morning as a time to tune into your core self. The core self is where deep fulfillment arises from. If you wish to map out the ideal way to start your day, it would arrange itself naturally around the following pivotal points:

Wake up without an alarm clock 

Drink a glass of warm water (to encourage regular morning bowel movements)

Brush your teeth 

Clean your tongue if coated 

Massage your body with sesame oil 

Bathe (in warm water, not too hot or cold)

Exercise or do surya namaskar

Do yoga 

Practise balanced breathing, meditate 

Eat your breakfast 

Take a mid-morning walk (for half an hour).

Times Life, The Sunday Times of India

The Choice

Every moment we exercise the choice is to BE or not to BE- Ramananda

Thinking Cap: Worthwhile Success - J.R.D Tata

No success or achievement in material terms is worthwhile unless it serves the need or interests of the country and its people and us achieved by fair and honest means - J.R.D Tata, 1904-1993

"Trying to remain yourself." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

How I start my day: Start a New Life Every Morning

OGYEN TRINLEY DORJE, His Holiness The 17th Karmapa 

We sometimes wake up fresh in the morning yet still go through the day half asleep.Our busy 21st century lives overwhelm us with a relentless stream of immediate tasks.We lose sight of how precious it is just to have a human life.This is an awareness that we need to feel in our hearts.I would like to share with you a practice that I call living your whole life in a single day. You can do this by starting with this thought in the morning: I am starting a whole new life.It begins right now.Initially,leave yourself a note at your bedside to remind you,and then slowly cultivate the habit of waking up with this thought.Your body is fresh from the nights rest;when you wake up with this awareness,so does your mind.Ask yourself what kind of person you want to be in the life that you will live today.Throughout the day,remind yourself that your life is happening right now.In the afternoon,check to see how your life is going and readjust as needed.A whole lifetime of possibilities stretches out before you every moment.This is the basic truth of interdependence.Conditions are constantly shifting,and what seemed impossible earlier can suddenly become possible.Every moment counts.Every action counts.A single kind act can have a positive impact on the future of many others you share the earth with.You can change the course of the future in any moment.Do so consciously,and the whole world will benefit.

As told to Nona Walia
Source: Times Life July 7, 2013

Self Knowledge: Sage Vasishta Educates Prince Rama

Swami Venkatesananda
Self-knowledge is not gained by explanations and descriptions,nor by the instructions of others but by direct experience.Whatever is experienced and known here in this world,all that is the Self,consciousness devoid of the duality of the experiencing and the experience.It is the Self alone that exists everywhere at all times,but because of its extreme subtlety,it is not experienced.

In all beings,it is the jiva.All activities take place in the light of the sun,but if the activities cease,the sun does not suffer loss: even so,it is on account of the Self that the body et al function,but if the body et al perish,the Self does not suffer loss.The Self is not born,nor does it die;it does not acquire,nor does it desire;it is not bound,nor is it liberated the Self is the Self of all,at all times.

That (Self) is unconditioned by time and space;how does it become bound Abandon these two false concepts that of bondage and of liberation,and live an enlightened life here.There is no liberation in the sky,on earth or in the nether world;liberation is but a synonym for pure mind,correct Self-knowledge and a truly awakened state.

The complete absence of all desires and hopes is liberation.Until one reaches this true inner awakening or Self-knowledge,one considers oneself bound and strives for liberation.Abandon these wrong notions of bondage and liberation.

O Rama,he who knows that all activities happen because of the mere existence of consciousness even as a crystal reflects the objects around it without intending to do so is liberated.They,who,even after taking this human birth,are not interested in such non-volitional activity,go from heaven to hell and from hell to heaven again.

Some are devoted to inaction,having turned away from or suppressed all action;they go from hell to hell,sorrow to sorrow,fear to fear.Others know the Self;blessed indeed are they,they have carefully enquired into the nature of the mind and overcome all cravings;they do go to higher planes of consciousness.

He who has taken birth for the last time now,is endowed with a mixture of light (satva) and a little impurity (rajas).Right from birth he grows in holiness.Noble qualities like friendliness,compassion,wisdom,goodness and magnanimity seek him and take abode in him.He performs all appropriate actions,but is not swayed if their results appear to be gain or loss,nor does he feel elated or depressed.His heart is clear.He is much sought after by people.

One,who is full of all the noble qualities,seeks and follows an enlightened master who directs him along the path of Self-knowledge.He then realises the Self which is the one cosmic being.Such a liberated one awakens the inner intelligence,and instantly knows itself to be the infinite consciousness.

Such is the normal course of evolution,O Rama.However,there are exceptions.For those who have taken birth in this world,two possibilities exist for the attainment of liberation.The first is: treading the path indicated by the master,the seeker gradually reaches the goal of liberation.The second is: Self knowledge literally drops into ones lap,as it were,and there is instant enlightenment.

Source: The Times of India, Speaking Tree 

Rabindanath Tagore's poem on the greatness of mother

PURITY

Life of my life, I shall ever try 

to keep my body pure,

Knowing that thy living touch 

is upon all my limbs.

I shall ever try to keep all untruths 

out from my thoughts,

knowing that thou art that truth 

which has kindled

the light of reason in my mind.

I shall ever try to drive 

all evils away from my heart

and keep my love in flower, knowing that

thou hast thy seat in the inmost shrine 

of my heart.

And it shall be my endeavour 

to reveal thee in my actions,

knowing it is thy power 

gives me strength to act.

                                                                                            Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali (1910)

PAYING IT FORWARD

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

meghna.mukherjee@timesgroup.com

A recent study of behavioral psychology concluded that greed mostly overrides generosity.But in a fast-paced,material world,the need to believe in the spirit of giving,multiplies. Meghna Mukherjee re-evaluates what it means to be generous

A recent experiment conducted in the US showed that greed is a far more powerful emotion than generosity in today's world.Moral psychologist Kurt Gray,who led the study along with researchers at the Harvard University,observed through various experiments that people who were victims of greed had a strong tendency to repay a future recipient with the same greed.But when the same people benefited from an act of generosity,they didn't have the urge to pay it forward.

In an evers o - cy n i c a l world,its a wo r r i s o m e revelation.At a time when compassion and empathy are on a steadfast decline,and the disparity between the haves and the havenots is too in-your-face to ignore;the need to see generosity as a positive emotion,multiplies.Why and how did generosity lose its appeal over the years

Gray explains: Greed is more powerful than true generosity because negative emotions are more powerful than positive ones.We live in bodies and minds designed to be more influenced by negatives.Evolution designed us so that we took notice of negative things in our environment and sought to change them. Popular culture has made bad,wicked,nasty terms cool whereas goodness is frowned upon.Its a loser trait.Dr Sarala Bijapurkar,associate professor of sociology,KJ Somaiya College,Mumbai,says,In our material world,generosity is an alien word.Most people think generosity and money are always linked.Thats why so much cynicism has set in.

Digital descent

Our digital lives have played a big part in reducing the empathy and compassion we once had as individuals.Edna Rienzi,a generosity volunteer based in the US,says,Generosity focuses on the connection between individuals.Although we can connect with hundreds of people through social media,the opportunities to connect with one another face to face seem harder to find.

She cites an example: Earlier,at

my childrens school,parents would speak to one another while waiting for the kids to come out.We would offer kind words and support to each other,and these moments brightened my day.Now,almost everyone stays in their cars,hunched over their phones rather than with the people they see on a daily basis.

Pratyush Rajvanshi,a generosity volunteer in Delhi,says,In the ancient times,based on available texts,people understood that being generous was a vital factor in a human beings personal growth.They consciously practised these values,and they were a part of their inherent nature.These practices were passed on to us,and and we continued to live them;but,perhaps,we overlooked the wisdom behind the act.Henceforward most acts of generosity got diluted and a lot of cynicism set in.But now,we have started feeling empty inside.So we are again reviving the past wisdom and practices,especially generosity.

Generosity does not require grand gestures.Gray advises everyone to acknowledge even the little things others do to make a positive impact on their lives.The more grateful we are of others helping us,the more likely we are to pay it forward, he says.

Rienzi adds,Often,generosity is just a matter of being considerate.You can hold the door open for the person behind you.You can leave a large tip for a waitress who is working hard.When someone is speaking,you can give them your full attention.All these are generous acts that do not require time or energy.And,once you start taking these small steps,you will probably be tempted to make time for larger acts.

Social responsibility

That is not to say the people with means shouldnt pay it forward with money.The world over,some of the richest people are also the biggest philanthropists.Some of them have pledged half of their billion-dollar fortunes for the development of the other half.For instance,tech tycoon Azim Premji ranked Indias third richest person with a fortune of over $13 billion announced two months ago that he was donating $2.2 billion to his education-focussed trust Giving Pledge.

Even the corporate sector in India has made positive steps to build a future that entails empathy as one of the driving forces for a better future.The Revised Companies Bill,passed by the Lok Sabha recently,will make India the first country in the world to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure mandatory all successful companies will soon have to set aside and use 2 per cent of their profits towards the upliftment of society ecological and social.

The need of the hour,however,is for people to believe and engage in acts of generosity without it being a mandate.Since most things,like charity,begin at home,its still an adults responsibility to inculcate values like compassion and the spirit of giving early in a childs life.

American writer and philanthropist Gray Keller believes we live in an age where generosity should be a part of school curriculums.Since most of us are selfish by nature,we must be taught to give and share from an early age;like children learn to share their toys.

Times Life, Sunday May 5, 2013

Think: The central principle of meditation

“This is the central principle of meditation: we become what we meditate on.” EKNATH EASWARAN (1910–1999)