#spiritualbytes

[nkumarasundaram]

Purity of Intent

There has always been a constant difference of opinion between theist (believer of God) and Atheist (non-believer of God), the former set of people believe there is a supreme force beyond humans which keeps the world existent and functional  while the latter group argues there exists no such force and  everything is in our control.

Actual problem arises when these people who perceive them to be theists also face problems and in some cases they feel even atheists seem to have lesser problems compared to them. The potent question is “does God help the believer or non-Believer?” Before answering this question let us forget about God or any other eternal force for a moment.

Being a mortal being, will you accept if your food is offered in an unclean and previously used plate? Obviously “No” You will request for the food to be served in a clean and washed plate. Leave this, you want to use a public washroom and will you get into a stinky and uncleaned restroom or will you look out for a well maintained rest room? Obviously, your choice will be the latter. Even for your excretion you are choosing a neat and clean place even though the smelly restroom could still serve your purpose.

Now getting back to the question of God, the eternal force just like you will choose and help the person with pure and genuine intensions. If you constantly engage yourself in doing prayers and puja but with a polluted mind then there are lesser chances for God to choose you. So, stop complaining and focus on keeping your intentions pure by not harming anyone.

[nkumarasundaram]

Dip or Drown

Work life balance has become a major topic of discussion in the past millennium years. There is a constant tug of war between the people who manage it well and those who struggle to maintain the balance. Over the past few years, the pendulum tilts more towards the latter.

With the advent of remote working the personal life gets tangled with professional life. Some people are able to define their boundaries while others difficult to draw their boundaries thereby falling prey to their work.

The perfect analogy for work and life balance would be tea and biscuit. Not all might follow this but every one of us would have come across this process of consuming biscuits by dipping them in tea. Many people like this as the tea adds flavor to the biscuit when dipped into it. If you have keenly noticed, the dip should be only to an optimum level else if it is being dipped for a longer period the biscuit get smudges and breaks itself into the tea glass. Only a regular person consuming it will know for how long it could be dipped to prevent from breaking and this comes out of constant practice.

The same can be applied to our work life balance as well, our life is the biscuit and the tea is our work. We should immerse ourselves into work till the threshold where our mental sanity and personal life is stable. There is no purpose if your work drowns your life. If the biscuit breaks into the tea glass then it becomes polluted and difficult to separate. Just the same way, your life will become difficult to retrieve once you trade your mental health and personal well-being to your work. 

[nkumarasundaram]

Match Found

In this generation, we see a lot of marriages falling apart due to difference of opinions. This puts forth a question “If astrology as a science is a failure model?” Even arranged marriages tend to break and the couple comes forward saying “our horoscopes perfectly matched and we are having compatibility issues”. They blame horoscopes and astrology as an issue for their mistakes.

At some cases, such people even misguide others following this path. The point here is not to make you believe in astrology but to have an understanding of how it works before confusing others. Horoscopes are like your Google Maps, it gives you ideal route subject to your input feed. It doesn’t say that is the only route to arrive at your destination. You are free to choose an untested route as well but you must be careful as the authenticity of that route is not proven. Similarly, horoscopes are just a tool to check if the compatibility of the lead pair will last longer. It doesn’t guarantee successful marriages.

Just like Google Maps, if you ask for the route and don’t start your vehicle will you still be able to arrive at your destination? Another aspect is that the map doesn’t guarantee your safety and it depends on your driving. We might see accidents happening at a usually safe Highways but a person driving at a lumpy one way lane might safely reach his destination.

In the same way, horoscopes or arranged marriages or even love marriages doesn’t guarantee success or failure of marriage life. When the couple is cautious on making it work, marriages will be successful irrespective of whether their horoscopes match or not.

[nkumarasundaram]

Power of Chanting

Chanting something is similar to calling a person by their name. However close or far that person may be; calling out their name will make them look at you. The intent behind chanting is also the same be it mantra for God or anything else for that matter.

If you keep reciting your desired thing in your mind, you tend to attract it by diverting its attention towards you. The primary aspect of making you chant mantra in temples or any spiritual centers is similar, taking you closer to God with their name and mantra. Issue arises when people ask is it enough if I just keep chanting what I want and will it come to my hand. The answer is No, chanting alone will not take you closer to God.

Let us consider the similar example of calling out names, if you call your friend’s name by sitting in the same room then he/she will respond but what if they are two floors away from you. Calling out their names by staying in your room won’t work; in this case you walk closer to their room and then call out their name. Similarly chanting mantra or your desired wish will come true when you are at a closer proximity.

The path to spirituality is no different; you need to get closer to God in your mind first through faith and trust. Only when this happens, all your prayers and chanting will work. And the same applies to anything you desire from this universe; take yourself closer to the desired thing through your effort and with mental determination. By doing this, everything will be fulfilled be it chanting or anything for that matter.

[nkumarasundaram]

Embrace Duality

People often tend to misinterpret the truth behind gender Equality. Many have a doubt while explaining this concept; they ask ‘Aren’t men and women equal?’ Of course, men and women are equal but they are not the same.

You bring half liter of orange juice and apple juice in two separate jugs. Ask someone if both are equal and the response you will get is a “yes” but if you ask them if both are same, the answer will be “No”. Similarly men and women are equal doesn’t mean women doing all that men do and vice-versa.

The problem arises when we misinterpret interdependence with independence. Every duality of nature day and night, birth and death, North Pole and South Pole defines this existence. If any of these perceived dualities cease to exist then our existence wouldn’t be feasible in this planet. In reality, the concept of duality does not exist. These are ideally present to maintain equilibrium. Now, imagine if both North Pole and South Pole fight for the same spot and merge together, will the planet even exist? Same way, men and women are blessed with uniquely independent qualities.

The male and female energy must complement each other rather competing with one another. When the focus is on the latter, the female energy trying to gravitate towards the male energy by doing the things only they do, it will lead to an existential collapse. Wise will never make the mistake of comparing them as in truth, they are one.

[nkumarasundaram]

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There is always something to learn from someone. Whenever this is said, there is a tendency from few people to cross question. If it is true, what is there to learn from a criminal or a terrorist who has caused harm to many innocent souls? For people thinking this way, there is an analogy which could explain the idea better.

Everyone might have watched videos on you tube. You will be aware of the ads being played in between videos or at times even while a video is being played. For the first seconds the advertisement will begin to play post which you will find an option to skip it. Based on your personal likes and dislikes you can either choose to watch the ad completely or can skip them. In most cases, we skip these ads and continue watching our interested videos and in some cases we watch the advertisement if we feel the necessity.

Similarly, in life, most of the people we come across will have something positive to be imbibed. At the same time, you need to understand the world is not a perfect place. Not necessarily you must find something good from a person and learn always. Some people are put into this world to make the rest what happens when you don’t follow the right path.

If you see a criminal filled with gory and violent past with no good take away, just ignore like you skip the ads. The learning from the lives of such people is they help you predict the future by showing you what might happen in following this path. Key learning here is to know your mistakes and not applying them in your life.

[nkumarasundaram]

Heaven or Hell

During your night sleep, it is your conscious mind which is put to rest while your subconscious mind is not under rest. The thoughts in our subconscious mind reflect as dreams. Sometimes these dreams are pleasant while at times they might haunt us. Latter are often referred as nightmares.

Dreams or nightmares are nothing but our thoughts in the subconscious mind. Same applies to understanding the concept of Heaven or Hell. People are too concerned about knowing their afterlife. In reality, there need not be any fear of being at heaven or hell when it is all dependent on your thoughts. When the subconscious mind is cleansed, the fear of after life can be ignored.

Just as the night sleep is defined by your subconscious mind as dream or nightmare, your after life will also be defined. Sometimes we don’t experience any dream or nightmare and the sleep stays peaceful. When we wake up the next day with no traces then we say it as a sound sleep with no disturbances. There is a similar kind of afterlife which is called Mukti.

The concepts of Heaven or Hell cease to exist at this stage. They say there is no rebirth for you. When the focus is on attaining Mukti, there doesn’t raise confusion between heaven and hell in your afterlife. To attain this, the thumb rule is your subconscious mind must be silent for which the conscious mind and thoughts must always be fueled with positive memories and ideas with no impurity. By doing this, your life at this birth would be complete.

[nkumarasundaram]

Playing the Flute

Emptiness is an essential aspect of human existence. Feeling empty or lost is not a phenomenon to be scared rather a reality to be experienced. From our thoughts to our souls, everything has a deeper connection with abstract emptiness.

Our life could be equated similar to play a flute. Unlike any instrument, flute has a unique way of producing tunes. The air is allowed to pass through it and with the help of our fingers the holes are rhythmically closed and opened to produce sound. If you analyse deeper, flute is just a regulator in the whole process. It regulates the flow of air present in the surrounding and thereby yielding a tune. In other words, emptiness is made to pass through a partly hollow device to yield desirable sound.

Our lives are more or less similar where a soul enters into a body and it is our responsibility to deliver the optimum outcome through this emptiness. Experiencing a feeling of emptiness in life actually takes you closer to reality. Every time you feel lost, remind yourself of a flute and try to deliver the best outcome. Just like the holes of the flute, utilize your bodily senses to produce the tune of your life.

If the tune produced from the flute is not satisfactory then the flaw is not in the instrument. Similarly, try to regulate your feeling of emptiness to deliver the desires tune of life. Best delivered tune and best lived life is the one which handles the emptiness gracefully.