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Kindle Notes & Highlights
The temporary loss of sanity is, perhaps, far more damaging than a chronic mental condition, for each time it occurs, it strips you of your self-esteem, self-respect, goodness and sense of purpose.
Swamiji says anything in this world can be learnt, right from music to meditation to being happy and compassionate. One of his foremost teachings on the path of self-mastery, which I have observed from his own conduct, is practice. Practise what you wish to master.
‘Simplicity of the heart is the seed of happiness’ How difficult could it possibly be to be simple at heart? I wondered. And yet, just as the morning sun heats up, as the clock hand moves, simplicity of the heart is eclipsed, just like long afternoon shadows darken unkempt verandas.
Possessing wisdom or the right knowledge is not the problem; the problem lies in implementation. The mind is not habituated to execute our noble thinking.
What I really want to say with this story is that we all have big or small messes in our lives—mistakes that dictate, destroy and devour our lives and the lives of those who love us. Should we hold ourselves responsible for these mistakes all our lives? Must we carry these regrets to the grave? Should the ugliness of one aspect of our life blacken the rest of it? Or, will we get up and get back on our feet? I would go with the get-back-on-the-feet option, because that’s what I did. In the cool shade of Swamiji’s gentle teachings, I found myself taking baby steps towards a brand new life.
If you allow others to be in your head, there will come a time when that is all you will think about, night and day. The quickest way to get past any festering resentment is to remember that you alone are responsible for your mental and physical well-being. Holding other people responsible, even if they are at fault, is only going to muddy your mind.
Self-doubt is the enemy we love.
It is as if the mind enjoys being self-destructive. It cannot stand the thought of abandoning its negativity, its drama. It thrives on unrest and feels threatened in the face of peace and bliss. Sometimes, self-doubt takes on the guise of boredom or shows up in the guise of guilt if you fall for the slightest overindulgence.
The knowledge that no one is there for you is the hardest thing to accept at first.
Wherever you are in life, just be there. Don’t chase anyone or anything; don’t run after love. If you keep doing what you do with sincerity and hard work, love will find you. It’ll come to you.
‘Spirituality is the anchor that keeps you rooted when the howling gale of chance turns your life upside down.’
Had I remained in touch with the strength and resilience within, that inner voice, the voice of the soul would have anchored me. This is what spirituality does, it anchors you. It gives you roots.
Spirituality must be cultivated as seriously as we prepare a toddler to stand on his own two feet in the world. It’s what will keep him from falling when things become shaky.
Our greatest fulfilment comes from being at peace with the people in our lives. The love we shower upon them and the affection we receive in return makes life enjoyable.
Respect is that missing link. Respect has the softness of humility, gentleness of care and authority of love.
Swamiji often says in his discourses, ‘I can’t make your heart gush with kindness and love for other people, but at least you can be polite and respectful under all circumstances.
If respecting strangers and acquaintances is important, respecting family members, friends and colleagues is paramount. It’s the shortest way of keeping the heart clean, pure and free of negativity. Even if the people in your immediate circle seem rude sometimes, or seem irresponsible, neglectful and acrimonious, they don’t really mean any harm. It’s at best a clash of views, a passing phase that’ll blow over in time. In the end, it doesn’t matter how long or mean a war we wage, when the white flag of peace is hoisted, everyone breathes a sigh of relief. The trick with respect is that it makes
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That’s the thing about respect—it always compels you to act nobly. Out of deference, out of reverence, it is hard to hurt another, either with speech or action. The moment respect walks into a relationship, the relationship can never be the same again. Respect transforms love into something eternally youthful; it makes love divine.
‘When you tell someone you love them, please ask yourself if you respect them, care about them. It is the only way to show how much their presence in your life truly means to you.’
‘Don’t just fall in love, rise in it. Love more than just a person; fall in love with a cause, an activity, an ideology, something bigger and far greater than yourself.’
Our search for meaning, purpose and a fulfilling life is all but a ruse to find God.
It is this prayer to be worthy of God that never fails. A prayer for constant self-improvement and self-purification. It is the only prayer that never fails.
The mind’s ability to create our own personal hell needs no introduction. In time, I understood that control of the mind brings liberation. And this liberation can only be achieved by a deliberate, conscious effort to weed the mind of negativity.
Swamiji has always maintained that the best way to gauge your spiritual progress is to see how easily and how many times a day you get disturbed.
Mental health today is one of the most neglected aspects of our culture, and without any hope or help, it is difficult to navigate these vast unknowns.
During a crisis, all you have to do is pop some inspiration into yourself, and you are back on your feet to troubleshoot and firefight. There is no confusion then, you simply have to think what your role model would have done in the circumstances, how he would have acted. Then the path ahead becomes clear.
There is no confusion when you have an inspiration in your life. The principles and values of the person who inspires you become yours, and you feel more grounded and decisive than you have ever felt in your life.
Stay forever inspired.
Just as a child takes the make-believe world to be real, we grown-ups too weave our universe around ourselves. In this universe, we are our own superheroes. We can’t do anything wrong. Any mistakes that we make, any flaws that we might possess, are little more than quirks or oddities, and endearing ones at that. It’s so difficult to see oneself in a harsh light. We are our own biggest fans.
The cause of our sorrows, in our eyes, always seems to lie elsewhere. We rarely point a finger at ourselves. There is always someone or something handy to blame for all that is not right in life. These blind spots that we all possess are the biggest hurdles on the path of self-improvement. We must learn to see our own faults.
How his thoughts, speech and actions are never in harmony. And anything that is not in harmony in the play of nature is forced to align. Suffering, Swamiji says, is alignment.
‘And to the one whose thoughts, speech and actions are in harmony, to such a person, suffering has no more impact than a cloth of silk rubbing against an elephant.’
The more I thought about it, it occurred to me that we would have to first clean the space from where all the thoughts, actions and speech originate: our minds.
The Broomstick Visualization In the morning when you wake up, keep lying in bed a little longer. Imagine holding a long broomstick in your hand, as you move about in an open field, clearing fallen leaves and pebbles from the ground. You are walking with the broom in your hand, gently but firmly clearing your path. The more you clean, more the ground underneath starts to take shape. With each stroke of the broom, dust is rising in the air, fading away, giving way to clean ground beneath your feet. This field is the space in your head.
Enjoy this refreshing change from how crowded with thoughts and to-do-lists your mind usually is.
During the day, if any thought, emotion, conversation or event disturbs you,
quickly grab your broomstick and start sweeping your mental space, clearing it of the negative emotions that have suddenly risen on the horizon to steal your peace.
Admit your flaws, clean yourself up.
We know what it feels to feel wonder and awe. It may not happen often, but every once in a while, life elicits an innocent, awe-filled smile from us. Our eyes shine with laughter, our faces glow with amazement and our bodies beam with pleasure at something unexpectedly touching or heart-warming.
Our experience of the world within and without is so shrouded in busyness—mental, physical and emotional— that we rarely ever display that childlike admiration for life that we used to have. Fraught, saddened and anxious, we look for happiness, reassurance and faith everywhere but in ourselves.
‘The real feet of Bhagwan exist only in the heart of the devotee. To hold on to these feet incessantly is true happiness. You will be disappointed if you hold on to my physical feet, because one day this physical body will disappear. The greatest worship is worshipping the guru’s feet that are within oneself.’
I hope you understand why I wanted you to know Kailas’s version. Both of us had sought external validation for the beautiful phenomenon that we had undoubtedly experienced.
The point that I wish to make is that there is wonder and awe in plenty in our lives. Beautiful things—surreal, unearthly or divine—happen to all of us, irrespective of whether we are great believers in a particular god or philosophy. But we are ready to believe in everyone but ourselves. We have so little faith in the purity of our own being, of what our minds are capable of perceiving and conceiving that the wonders of existence, of our own beautiful self are wasted on us.
On the path of self-purification, your ability to feel awed and amazed by little things every day will keep your spiritual zest alive. Belief in your believing will infuse your life with magic.
Live a life of wonder every day.
Discipline, on the other hand, is a self-rewarding exploit; the act of pursuing the discipline itself is your reward.
‘They have become their music. Some call it riyaz (daily practice); others call it worship.’
The act of pursuing a fulfilling and meaningful activity, and seeing it through every single day, brings about a great transformation in the psyche of even the most wandering minds.
‘It is by practice alone that you can override the tendencies of the mind.’
Is there anything greater than to flow, to be at ease with yourself and with what life has dealt you? This enjoyment of our own company is the ultimate outcome of discipline.
