Spirituality

Why don't you try an interesting exercise? Sit down with your back straight, relax, keep your hands in your lap and close your eyes. Now simply watch your thoughts floating in your mind as you would the moving pictures on a TV screen. Do this for just two minutes. Did you notice how many thoughts flitted in and out?! Did you also note how your mind jumped from one thought to another? This shows that it is not only the body that works.The mind also does a lot of work (thinking, picturing, judging, planning etc.) Think for a moment... Even if we want the mind to stay on a single thought, it keeps leaping from one thought to another. Can you name something that jumps around restlessly all the time? Yes! A monkey. This is why sages often compare the mind to a monkey. Disciplining the monkey mind... Firstly, why should we discipline the mind? Let us take the example of watching TV. We enjoy watching TV because it has lots of channels; and we can watch one o...

A company is nothing but a collection of processes and people. Companies go to great lengths and spend countless hours and funds to improve their processes, making systems mare efficient, cutting costs and maximising its margins. But ask any successful businessman and he will tell you that ultimately, a company succeeds and fails because of its people. Efficient processes certainly help, but a worker who feels fulfilled in his job and works with inspiration is a company's most valuable asset. Vedanta ultimately provides us with knowledge of who we are. But it also tells us who we are not. We are not limited BMIs (Body, Mind, Intellect) and in explaining so, Vedanta provides us with a perfect understanding of these equipments, how they work and what their limitations are. Vedanta declares that happiness does not lie in the fulfillment of desires. Rather, we feel happy when we experience our Higher Self. Satisfying desires creates a temporary tranquillity of...

"Live dynamically, think positively , plan out deliberately, pray ardently, meditate regularly, read daily, correct minutely, grow divinely." Swami Chinmayananda The world is your clay, mould it as you desire… If you were handed back a mock exam with the letter F branded on the front in thick, red ink, would your teacher tell you that you couldn’t achieve an A? When you are asked to talk or sing in front of 300 people, does your best friend tell you that you will not be able to do it? So who is it that forces us to run away and give up? If you think about your class at school, you will see that some kids seem to get the best of life; their list of achievements is never-ending! On the other hand, there are those who do what they have to, and that’s that. So, what is the difference? If they are all taught by the same teachers and given equal opportunities, what is the cause of this gap? The achievers have unwavering faith in their ability and never lose s...

Narada Muni, the sage of the Gods, was once approached by old Jara, the daughter of Time. She wanted to marry him, but he refused her. Greatly offended, Jara cursed him that he would never have a fixed place to live. As a result he travels constantly, playing on his stringed instrument, the vina, as he chants the holy name of the Supreme Lord Narayana. During his travels, Narada once came across a proud brahmin priest who had just finished his fire sacrifice. Seeing the famous sage, the brahmin greeted him, “Namaste, my dear Narada.” Narada replied. “May your life be successful, my dear brahmin.” “If you are going to the spiritual world,” requested the priest, “then please do me a favor. Ask Lord Narayan when I am going to join Him there. I think it should be very soon, but I’d like to verify it anyway.” “All right,” agreed Narada, “I’ll ask him.” The next day Narada passed a humble cobbler, the lowest of the castes, repairing shoes by the roadside. “All ...

One day King Akbar asked Birbal, “Why is it that Hindu Gods behave so strangely?” Birbal thought, “Our king respects Hinduism and Islam equally. He must be trying to tease me by asking such a question.” King Akbar continued, “Lord Krishna is a fine example of that. Doesn’t your Lord Krishna have any servants? Each time a devotee calls for help, the Lord runs himself to see the devotee’s needs. Surely he can employ others to do such work?” “Oh yes, surely he can,” Birbal replied, but he already had a plan to explain the facts to the King. Birbal knew King Akbar loved his grandson, Khurram, very much. Birbal asked a statue-maker to make a wax idol of Prince Khurram in his exact image. When the idol was ready, he called Khurram’s guardian and said, “Take this idol and dress him up in the Prince’s clothes and jewels. Go to the lake in the royal garden with the idol in your hand. At my signal act as if you have slipped, then let the idol fall in water.” The Prin...