MIRACLES V

THE LAW OF NATURE

While doing Vipassana another law of nature was presented. As we could feel the subtlest of sensations in our body, we were told -

Now when you get angry, or when emotions like hate or jealousy start to infest your mind, just start observing the sensations in your body and observe them with an objective mind and understanding of ‘anicca’ (or impermanence). You will realize that negative emotions generate a kind of burning sensation inside your body. However, it subsides when you start focussing on the sensation itself.

Why did you feel the sensation?

Because, the Law of the Nature says – If you try to harm someone else, you end up harming yourself first, and then only are you able to harm someone else.

The question was raised in one of the discourses – Do heaven and hell exist for real, where a person goes after death?

Goenkaji jokingly said, “See, I have not died. So I don’t know.”

Then on a serious note he continued, But, every human being is punished for his/her deeds on the earth itself. A person, who has told a lie, is punished at each instant. He is always tensed – what if, my lie gets revealed. That is his punishment. His conscience is punished at every moment. He does not have inner peace. He is not able to get a peaceful sleep at night.

SOME SNAPS OF DHAMMATHALI

Here you can find pics of the place which I had visited. Living in this place in the scorching heat, I realized that we possess enormous endurance levels, which can be harnessed once we train our brains.

Here's the link.

http://www.thali.dhamma.org/photos.shtml

Have a look !

LAST DAY

The seventh day was the one when the vow of Arya Maun was broken (at least formally), and we were allowed to interact with one another.  We came to know that our one of our guruji was a गृहस्थ and had also come here only for the seven day period. With a smile, he told us, “अगर तुम लोगों ने मौन का पालन अच्छे से किया होता, तो आज तुम्हारी आवाज़ में एक अलग तेज होता... खैर कोई बात नहीं ... लेकिन यह बात बहुत अच्छी है कि तुम्हे अभी विपश्यना के बारे में पता चल गया... आगे तुम अपनी ज़िन्दगी में कभी भी इस ज्ञान को बेहतर ढंग से सीखने आ सकते हो |”

That day, we were taught one last technique known as ‘mangal-maitri’(मंगल-मैत्री). In this technique, we were required to focus our attention on the people whom we want to be happy and think about their well-being. As they explained, the human mind has enormous potential and if we think good of someone, good will happen. The positive vibrations of a focussed mind are far more potent than the wishes sent with an unfocussed mind.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Today, when I watch the documentary The Secret, I find that above statements are being reaffirmed by the modern scientists and/or philosophers. In fact, there is a branch of science known as Noetic Science. Its objective is to understand the various concepts of philosophy and religion from a scientific perspective. You can google it to know more about it. I read about it in Dan Brown’s novel The Lost Symbol.

There are critics of these studies as well, who are willing to put forward their logics to disregard the findings. But, even if these experiments are not very good proofs, your own experience is a proof that no one else can disregard.

I believe in what I am saying, and if someone wants to choose to not agree with me, it’s okay. Some day truth will be dawned on them, because, however hard you try to discard or disregard, the truth remains truth.

If the modern science cannot prove the above science, it is because the modern science is not capable enough to understand this ancient and powerful science. If you recall from history, there have been times when many concepts were supposed to be superstitions, false beliefs or miracles. However with time things got changed. Who could have thought that the earth is round; that it is not the centre of the solar system; that humans could fly on planes.  

Ancient India has a wisdom for all of us. The need of the hour is to embrace and propagate this wisdom. Interestingly, other nations recognize our wisdom and learn from us; unfortunately most of us do not. We are progressing as a nation where materialistic things are in abundance (which may be essential). But, we are lagging behind on gathering a spiritual quotient. We have less or no INNER PEACE.

It is time that we start embracing our ancient heritage and learn from it and propagate it. That will not only help our nation progress in the right direction, but also reduce our inferiority complex as a nation. We will stop the blind imitation of other nations and take pride in being Indians.

To conclude, I would like to put down Rudyard Kipling’s poem If which, according to Khushwant Singh, is a poem which carries the essence of Bhagwad Gita. I have not read Bhagwad Gita much. But, I can say this  that If carries the essence of some of the concepts of Vipassana Meditation. When the poem was taught to us in high school, I never really understood its importance. It is now that I see the depth in it.

“If you can keep your head when all about you 

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; 

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 

But make allowance for their doubting too; 

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, 

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, 

Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, 

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; 

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 

But make allowance for their doubting too; 

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, 

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, 

Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, 

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; 

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; 

If you can meet with triumph and disaster 

And treat those two imposters just the same; 

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken 

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, 

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, 

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings 

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, 

And lose, and start again at your beginnings 

And never breath a word about your loss; 

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew 

To serve your turn long after they are gone, 

And so hold on when there is nothing in you 

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, 

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch; 

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; 

If all men count with you, but none too much; 

If you can fill the unforgiving minute 

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run - 

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, 

And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

- Rudyard  Kipling

मंगल-मैत्री कामना 

अज्ञान का अन्धकार दूर होए, 

सब पर ज्ञान का प्रकाश फैले, 

सबका मंगल होये, 

सबका भला होये ||   :)

(This was my attempt to narrate a valuable experience. What I have narrated is just a drop in this huge ocean. My intent was to arouse a curiosity about this ocean of knowledge. If you want to know more about Vipassana, explore http://www.dhamma.org/ And, if there is something you want to ask me, shoot the question at http://www.facebook.com/curious.tramp)

MIRACLES IV

The mind is everything. 

What you think you become.

- Buddha

INTERACTION WITH A PERSON FROM REHAB

Although the noble silence had to be followed strictly and the dhammasevaks used to keep a strict watch on us, we were at times successful in talking with the other meditators. All of us were anyways kids, who had by accident landed in this place. Anyone who is willing to go to such a camp should go with a prepared mind, because following rules will yield better effects.

One day while in Ashram, I talked to one of the fellow meditators.

He asked me, “Why are you here?”

I told him my story. He looked quite surprised. So, I asked him, “Why are you here?”

He said, “I was first in a jail and then in a rehabilitation center. Now I have come here.”

I was confused. I asked him, “Why were you in jail?”

He replied, “I had struck a person with a beer bottle.”

I did not know what to say. For the first time in my life, I had encountered a so-called “criminal”.

He does not look like a criminal. He appears to be a normal person like the many others we encounter in life. In fact, he appears to belong to well-off family and seems to be educated.

I was still not sure what to say. But, the silence was making me feel uncomfortable. So, I asked him, “Why did you hit your friend?”

He replied, “He had said something which enraged me. And, I was drunk and could not control my anger.”

He is calmly accepting his mistake. This rarely happens. It is always the case that people tend to justify their misdeeds. However, he was accepting what he had done.

“Where is your friend now?”

“He is in a hospital.”

“What do you plan to do after this meditation camp?”

Without much thought, he said, “I don’t know. Whatever my dad tells me to do.”

I don’t know from where these words emanated. But, I found myself saying, “You should go visit your friend and tell him that you are sorry.”

He smiled and told me, “You sound like my father!”

Once again, I did not know what to say.

The lesson of the story is simple. Every human being has a potential sage and a potential demon inside him. It is our attitude that determines what we become. With the help of meditation that attitude can be developed, which is what this person was doing.

VIPASSANA IN PRISON


Kiran Bedi, the first woman IPS Officer, was in 1990s taking care of the Tihar Jail. It was her belief that the people in prison needed to be rehabilitated instead of being punished. She was on a look out for a way to do that, when a constable told her about Vipassana.

First, she learned the meditation herself, then she made many policemen learn it and later it was taught to the prisoners of the Tihar. Tihar was transformed into an Ashram.

For better explanation, watch the Documentary: Doing Time, Doing Vipassana. or read http://www.prison.dhamma.org/tihar.htm

MEDITATION INSIDE THE PAGODA

the pagoda

You can see a picture of a pagoda here. A pagoda had many small circular cubicle-kind of rooms. After 4/5 days, a meditator is sent inside a pagoda where he/she is supposed to sit and practice the meditation technique. However, we were kids aged 14 – 19. When we were asked to go inside the pagoda to meditate, some of the kids started running, shouting and laughing. The dhammasevaks tried in vain to control them. After some time they asked us to go back to the meditation hall and continue our practice there.

THE EVENINGS

The evening time was allotted to us for walks. We were told that the Buddha also walked in the evenings. However, simply walking was not something we wanted to do. So, we passed by each other and smiled. We also talked whenever possible. At times, I drew images on the sand. Drawing a simple hut with a river flowing near-by gave me intense happiness. I did all the things which I liked in my childhood and had somehow forgotten. In fact, I even made a bow and an arrow using the wood. Without the dhammasevaka noticing, we played some sword-fights as well.

The saying - ‘happiness lies in small things of life’ - was materializing in front of us.

THE AFTER EFFECTS

The after-effects of this practice were clearly visible to my family. 

Earlier, my anger was uncontrollable. If someone did something to me, I was ready to beat back or take revenge. That feeling was too intense. And, if I could not take revenge, I used to feel very bad about it. After the camp, my anger subsided down. I became more compassionate. My anger was reduced to such a level that my brother - who used to enjoy teasing me and making me angry - was puzzled.

The practice strengthened my sub-conscious to such an extent that even in my dreams, if I had some conflict with someone, I asked the person to remain calm while resolving the conflict.

Then, there were some interesting incidents. This particular incident offers a lot of reasons why I should have been angry or irritated.

One day, my brother went by my scooter to some place at the time when I was supposed to go to my music classes. Instead of feeling bad, I lifted up my bicycle and started going towards my music classes, somewhere 6 kms from my house. On the way (around 2kms ahead), my cycle got punctured. I could not find any cycle-shop to get it repaired. I retraced my steps and went back home dragging my cycle till home. When I came back home, I quietly went in to my room and started reading newspaper. I did not feel that anything bad had happened. It was my mom who said, ‘आज तो तुझ पर विपश्यना का असर दिखा गया |’. My usual response at the end of such a situation would have been very bad. I would have lost my temper. I would have blamed my brother, who took the scooter with him. But, here I was sitting calmly in the room reading newspaper. There have been many similar incidents.

THE MIRACLE

What was my biggest miracle?

‘My anger gone’ was the biggest miracle. It was something that I had thought was not possible. For 17 years, my mom had tried in vain to make me understand that I needed to control my anger – at times by a small talk and at times by being stern. I did not and could not change. And in 7 days, there was a sudden change. What could I call it if not A MIRACLE.

PRACTICAL BENEFITS

It gives you a balanced-mind. A balanced mind has an enormous potential. It is said and widely believed today - 'In a healthy mind resides a healthy body'. Till some time back, we only believed that the converse of this was true. But, scientific evidence has now reaffirmed what had been told long ago by the propagators of the wisdom. 

Can Vipassana cure physical or mental diseases?

Many diseases are caused by our inner agitation. If the agitation is removed, the disease may be alleviated or disappear. But learning Vipassana with the aim of curing a disease is a mistake that never works. People who try to do this waste their time because they are focusing on the wrong goal. They may even harm themselves. They will neither understand the meditation properly nor succeed in getting rid of the disease. [Source: http://www.dhamma.org/en/qanda.shtml]

Even if one does not have any disease, a mind which is balanced and has INNER PEACE is capable of facing any situation; like Po the Panda who after attaining Inner Peace is able to catch and deflect the cannon-balls with his bare hands. (in the movie Kung Fu Panda 2)

The mistake which I did was that I did not continue the practice. And, if one does not continue the practice, the mind tends to return back to old habits. 

For me, the path lies in starting the practice again.

For my reader, the path lies in believing in this ancient wisdom. 

(The final episode will connect all the dots and present my objective of narrating this experience. I will also post some of the photographs of this Ashram. I will related my experience to Dan Brown's novel The Lost Symbol and another bestseller book The Secret. I will also relate it to Rudyard Kipling's poem If. The ancient wisdom that was dawned on me made me believe in many seemingly maverick theories. The wisdom is a true one. That we don't understand it fully is our limitation, not the limitation of the wisdom itself. Our ancient scientists were far more advanced than they seem to be today. Stay tuned for the last episode will further challenge your perception about the world.)

Exploring the streets of Jaipur...

This article is related to road safety. But, it’s not a lecture one gets from his/her elders. Its something a youngster would like to lecture his/her elders.

But, before that… lets review a general scenario…

Suppose Mr. X has met with an accident and Mr. A, Mr. B and Mr. C are talking about him.

Mr. A: He is in severe pain. O God… help him.

Mr. B: yeah… life’s so unpredictable. He just left my place yesterday…completely fine at that moment…just a nick of time … and that’s where he is… poor creature lying on the bed…

Mr. C: I can guarantee you… half of these accidents would not happen… if these youngsters stop driving vehicles…

Mr. A in affirmation:

“O these youngsters! They don’t care about anything… what do they want…? they want bikes, bands and babes… (Although doesn’t sound quite a civilised word, the alliteration here has come beautifully…in fact these are not the words, an elderly person would generally use, but exaggeration just adds to the special effect… so go on)… they just want to fly on the roads… zoom their karizmas just for showing off… careless, arrogant, rash drivers…its because of them these incidents happen… and blah blah blah…..”

And this story continues for hours… with each elderly gentleman sharing his/her own experience…

This was something completely normal...something often heard... So lets come to something new... my views on this topic…my arguments against above mentioned generally prevalent belief…

But before that let’s look at some of the salient features of walled Jaipur city streets…. (The origin of this article is in fact the walled city of Jaipur)…

• Streets full of people on all kinds of vehicles… bicycles, cycle-rickshaws, scooters, bikes, cars and even buses…
• Streets filled with a lot of people…
• Streets filled with a lot of animals (esp. cows and dogs)
• Streets filled with a lot of pits including uncovered manholes … (the kids here have become smart…hence they don’t fall in them…and don’t attract any media or army attention…because of one does such a thing… plenty of other people have a similar option..)
• People like the music of horns… so even when the person is aware that the vehicle ahead of them cannot move unless, the vehicle ahead of that vehicle moves… they will turn on the music of horns…
• In Jaipur, it is believed that if a new driver can cross the Chandpole area without hitting or getting hit by someone… he is qualified to drive anywhere else in the world…

Then, there are certain rules people follow…and mind you… people in Jaipur take these rules very seriously…

People, who cross a street, follow one of these 2 rules…

• Directly run…without looking here and there… getting hurt is not your fault…. It’s the driver’s fault….
• Look here and there… walk straight…don’t stop in the middle of the road… just bring your palm in the front… show that to the drivers… and signal them to stop… like a traffic police does… and walk calmly…

People walking on footpath follow these rules…

• First rule is… never walk on footpath… walk on streets… footpaths are generally for the shopkeepers to display their products…
• Never hear the horns of the vehicles, while walking… we the walkers are the ones supposed to be on roads…In case you get hurt… don’t worry the crowd will always be with you…
• Only when someone shouts…’ arey mataji… zara side ho jao..’ or ‘uncleji…hato samne se…’ or ‘behre…sunayi nahi deta hai kya??’or ‘***** ***** ****’ then only move aside… otherwise the road is yours…the driver has to adjust his movement according to you…

In such circumstances…if a youngster hits someone…(Of course non intentionally), its his fault… why…?? …simple… because he is a youngster…

So, knowing this we youngsters drive very cautiously… One of my friends got himself injured in order to save a confused pedestrian...that too just at the speed of 20kmph…

Unfortunately… even then people don’t believe us… L …and we can’t do anything about it… We just hope… this message reached those who always take it for granted… accident implies a youngster…

My message:

Youngsters… don’t worry… hit anyone who bothers you while driving… in any case loss will be yours…(either you end up getting injured, while saving someone… or you end up a being called rash driver…)

Elderly people… beware…my message has reached the GenNext…!!!

J