Guest guest Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 Sairam, Kaliyuga is on and SWAMY is " in " HIS form. HE has said many times Vanaprastha in this yuga is " Hands in the society and Head in the forest " . When we do serve the nara narayans in the society we become humble instrument in HIS mission and head in the forest means disattached of all the things going on around ( not necessary that you stay away from it but with no attachement. You can roll on a bed of money and yet stay not attached to it. It is a state of mind.) Further SWAMY has chided many devotees who were not dressing well when in HIS presence saying " when you go to see someone whom you like wont you go dressed nicely? If this applies to mortal coils like human what about GOD who provides you with all the riches ? You are coming to see SWAMY you must dress nicely " . You can do anything as long as you dont have a sense of performance. So nothing wrong in wearing good dresses / jewellery and be happy as long as you know your happiness is not based on these things. If you dont have these you must not be sad. A sign of attachement is we feel sad or happy by external things. When you are disattached you are always happy with any situation. There are many ways to get into that state of mind. It depends on the individual and their state in the spiritual journey. Spirituality is above religious stage and in spirituality nothing is wrong or right. It is above duality of right or wrong. So go ahead and be happy always and spread happiness. Sairam Easwar On 5/17/08, Vijay <veejays wrote: Sairam to all devotees. There has been a discussion in my husband's family about the Kaliyuga topic. Does it really mean that taking Vanaprastha, not wearing gold ornaments etc.., you should not engage or participate in any social activities/functions or be a part of the family??? In my opinion, I believe in what Swami has been repeatedly trying to teach us - " Love All and Serve All " " Help ever and Hurt Never " . If a person tries to adhere to this teaching, we can achieve peace gradually. Ofcourse each person chooses his or own approach to life. But when it starts affecting the family and difficult to cope up anymore, what should one do? I need your advise. Sairam Vasanthi - Vijay SureshKumars Cc: Naresh Kumar Friday, May 16, 2008 8:12 AM Re: Kaliyuga Ranjini, As I said before, you credit me with knowledge that I have not even looked for. My approach to life so far has been one of believing in the four stages of life and redesigning my life style to the stage that I think I am in. For instance, when I turned 50, I said to myself that I am entering Vanaprastha and started working on detachment. My reading of the Bhagvad Gita became more regular, I stopped wearing gold chain, ring etc. and also switched to non-spicy foods. Over a period of time, the Gita became more and more appealing due to the very logical approach it provides. Using the Gita as my point of reference, the four yugas have a life of 432,000 years for the Kali, twice that for Dwapara, 432,000 x 3 for Tretha and 432,000 x 4 for Satya. And after this cycle of four yugas is repeated 1,000 times, pralaya (total destruction) happens. The reason why Satya Yuga is full of Satvic Gunas is probably due to the fact that in the first re-creation of life, one acquires the negative qualities much much later. Just as a new born child is totally devoid of negativity. The Gita also says that each of us has a store of the three Gunas and there is always a tussle among the three for superiority. Some of what is in store is also from our prior births. It is in our control as to how we can strive to increase the composition of our Gunas. For instance, by changing our food habits, by focusing our minds on positive aspects of people around us etc., (Naresh said this very nicely - " look at only the positive aspects of people around you with no malice " ) we reduce our Rajasic traits and increase the Satwic portion. Looking at it this way, it is very much in our hands to strive for an increase in Sat Guna. The Gita states that lust, greed and anger are the three gateways to hell. Of these, anger is stated to be the worst as it is a combination of the other two. A recent example of greed contributing to economic disaster is the sub-prime fiasco. The imbalance that you refer to is also stated in the Gita where Krishna states " Whenever there is an increase of adharma, I appear in very Yuga to restore the balance " . The disasters, wars, plagues etc., are a way of restoring the balance - Remember the Malthusian theory of population? I focus on improving myself in terms of the Gunas composition. Ultimately, if everyone improved himself / herself by acquiring more Satwic Gunas, the world automatically becomes a better place. This is what my Dad used to say and it makes a lot of sense in the past decade or so where my approach to life has shifted. It also enabled me to realize that no one solution is universal and each person takes a different path. So long as the objective remains in focus, we all ge there. Hope the BOA transition goes well. Say hello to Suresh. Vijay - SureshKumars Vijay Kumar Cc: Naresh Kumar Monday, May 12, 2008 6:16 PM Kaliyuga Hi Vijay, I have been trying to acquire a spiritual view to existence, destruction and renewal. Everything that is created, exists for awhile, and is then destroyed. And then created again. There are fossils found on earth that are dated even before the time since this earth is thought to have existed. What causes these cycles? We are seeing increasing natural disasters, and will see a lot more catastrophic events in the near years. Apart from environmental pollution and cosmological changes as factors, a big reason is also perhaps 'change in collective spiritual balance'. The delicate balance between Sattva, Raja and Tama gunas ( my understanding is they are spiritual frequencies that permeate all dimensions, living and non-living beings, the tangible and the intangible ) has been increasingly upset over the yugas. In Sathya yuga man was highly spiritually evolved, with high sattvik guna and lived with good intentions towards community, society etc. Over time (in millions of years), the Raja guna of self gain, materialism and power increased, and then in the recent times the Tama guna of destroying and harming others and nature for self gain, with lower and lower levels of spirituality has increasingly upset the universal spiritual balance. This imbalance manifests in the aggravation of five cosmic elements of earth, fire, water, wind and ether, causing natural calamities. This negativity can also lead to the Third World War, with greed and fanaticism as the cause. A combination of all such factors is what would bring about more and more catastrophic changes, destruction, and make way for renewal and a new Sathya yuga. That is if there needs to be a defined demarcation of yugas, with transition periods. But a change in spiritual balance can perhaps alter the equation favorably again, and avoid major impact and a smoother transition. Do you know more on these lines? I want to acquire more knowledge, especially hearing about a natural calamity practically every few days in some part of the world. But I am so tied up with the Bank of America transition and the remodel going on and on and on, (not to forget cooking and housework :-)) that I don't have the time and focus. If you know more that makes or breaks this premise, please do write. Ranjini -- Easwar.s.s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 The three gunas, to my understanding come in cycles to every living and non living things inclusive of the " the pachja Boothas " viz earth,,Air, Water, Fire and the Sky. We , humans experience these gunas, in our daily life. sometime in the morning, we appear calm get agitated during the afternoon, and a little nap in the late afternoon, which is tamasic , and so on. The only time , when all these gunas are absent is during the Bramah Moohoortham i.e, early dawn before sun rise. This Nir guna time is more suitable for meditation and Swami insists on the Om Karam and prayers for us. Even the sea has its own cyles of high and low tide. So all the nature have these Gunas. Only constant remembrance of God's name could slowly turn us to Satwic nature. Swami's advice to keep silence, utter few words, and talk gently and nicely to everyone has to be followed by a true devotee. In the divinity of our Swamy, Sai Ram, Guru Subramanyam On Sun, May 18, 2008 at 10:54 AM, EASWAR.S S <saieaswar9 wrote: Sairam, Kaliyuga is on and SWAMY is " in " HIS form. HE has said many times Vanaprastha in this yuga is " Hands in the society and Head in the forest " . When we do serve the nara narayans in the society we become humble instrument in HIS mission and head in the forest means disattached of all the things going on around ( not necessary that you stay away from it but with no attachement. You can roll on a bed of money and yet stay not attached to it. It is a state of mind.) Further SWAMY has chided many devotees who were not dressing well when in HIS presence saying " when you go to see someone whom you like wont you go dressed nicely? If this applies to mortal coils like human what about GOD who provides you with all the riches ? You are coming to see SWAMY you must dress nicely " . You can do anything as long as you dont have a sense of performance. So nothing wrong in wearing good dresses / jewellery and be happy as long as you know your happiness is not based on these things. If you dont have these you must not be sad. A sign of attachement is we feel sad or happy by external things. When you are disattached you are always happy with any situation. There are many ways to get into that state of mind. It depends on the individual and their state in the spiritual journey. Spirituality is above religious stage and in spirituality nothing is wrong or right. It is above duality of right or wrong. So go ahead and be happy always and spread happiness. Sairam Easwar On 5/17/08, Vijay <veejays wrote: Sairam to all devotees. There has been a discussion in my husband's family about the Kaliyuga topic. Does it really mean that taking Vanaprastha, not wearing gold ornaments etc.., you should not engage or participate in any social activities/functions or be a part of the family??? In my opinion, I believe in what Swami has been repeatedly trying to teach us - " Love All and Serve All " " Help ever and Hurt Never " . If a person tries to adhere to this teaching, we can achieve peace gradually. Ofcourse each person chooses his or own approach to life. But when it starts affecting the family and difficult to cope up anymore, what should one do? I need your advise. Sairam Vasanthi - Vijay SureshKumars Cc: Naresh Kumar Friday, May 16, 2008 8:12 AM Re: Kaliyuga Ranjini, As I said before, you credit me with knowledge that I have not even looked for. My approach to life so far has been one of believing in the four stages of life and redesigning my life style to the stage that I think I am in. For instance, when I turned 50, I said to myself that I am entering Vanaprastha and started working on detachment. My reading of the Bhagvad Gita became more regular, I stopped wearing gold chain, ring etc. and also switched to non-spicy foods. Over a period of time, the Gita became more and more appealing due to the very logical approach it provides. Using the Gita as my point of reference, the four yugas have a life of 432,000 years for the Kali, twice that for Dwapara, 432,000 x 3 for Tretha and 432,000 x 4 for Satya. And after this cycle of four yugas is repeated 1,000 times, pralaya (total destruction) happens. The reason why Satya Yuga is full of Satvic Gunas is probably due to the fact that in the first re-creation of life, one acquires the negative qualities much much later. Just as a new born child is totally devoid of negativity. The Gita also says that each of us has a store of the three Gunas and there is always a tussle among the three for superiority. Some of what is in store is also from our prior births. It is in our control as to how we can strive to increase the composition of our Gunas. For instance, by changing our food habits, by focusing our minds on positive aspects of people around us etc., (Naresh said this very nicely - " look at only the positive aspects of people around you with no malice " ) we reduce our Rajasic traits and increase the Satwic portion. Looking at it this way, it is very much in our hands to strive for an increase in Sat Guna. The Gita states that lust, greed and anger are the three gateways to hell. Of these, anger is stated to be the worst as it is a combination of the other two. A recent example of greed contributing to economic disaster is the sub-prime fiasco. The imbalance that you refer to is also stated in the Gita where Krishna states " Whenever there is an increase of adharma, I appear in very Yuga to restore the balance " . The disasters, wars, plagues etc., are a way of restoring the balance - Remember the Malthusian theory of population? I focus on improving myself in terms of the Gunas composition. Ultimately, if everyone improved himself / herself by acquiring more Satwic Gunas, the world automatically becomes a better place. This is what my Dad used to say and it makes a lot of sense in the past decade or so where my approach to life has shifted. It also enabled me to realize that no one solution is universal and each person takes a different path. So long as the objective remains in focus, we all ge there. Hope the BOA transition goes well. Say hello to Suresh. Vijay - SureshKumars Vijay Kumar Cc: Naresh Kumar Monday, May 12, 2008 6:16 PM Kaliyuga Hi Vijay, I have been trying to acquire a spiritual view to existence, destruction and renewal. Everything that is created, exists for awhile, and is then destroyed. And then created again. There are fossils found on earth that are dated even before the time since this earth is thought to have existed. What causes these cycles? We are seeing increasing natural disasters, and will see a lot more catastrophic events in the near years. Apart from environmental pollution and cosmological changes as factors, a big reason is also perhaps 'change in collective spiritual balance'. The delicate balance between Sattva, Raja and Tama gunas ( my understanding is they are spiritual frequencies that permeate all dimensions, living and non-living beings, the tangible and the intangible ) has been increasingly upset over the yugas. In Sathya yuga man was highly spiritually evolved, with high sattvik guna and lived with good intentions towards community, society etc. Over time (in millions of years), the Raja guna of self gain, materialism and power increased, and then in the recent times the Tama guna of destroying and harming others and nature for self gain, with lower and lower levels of spirituality has increasingly upset the universal spiritual balance. This imbalance manifests in the aggravation of five cosmic elements of earth, fire, water, wind and ether, causing natural calamities. This negativity can also lead to the Third World War, with greed and fanaticism as the cause. A combination of all such factors is what would bring about more and more catastrophic changes, destruction, and make way for renewal and a new Sathya yuga. That is if there needs to be a defined demarcation of yugas, with transition periods. But a change in spiritual balance can perhaps alter the equation favorably again, and avoid major impact and a smoother transition. Do you know more on these lines? I want to acquire more knowledge, especially hearing about a natural calamity practically every few days in some part of the world. But I am so tied up with the Bank of America transition and the remodel going on and on and on, (not to forget cooking and housework :-)) that I don't have the time and focus. If you know more that makes or breaks this premise, please do write. Ranjini -- Easwar.s.s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.