Vedic Mind Control

The Buddha has said, "The mind is everything, what you think, you become." this quote has always struck me in the sense that most "realistic" people such as myself, have come to the realization that the future is, for the most part of out of our control. But what a beautiful concept presented by such a realistic being, that we are certain to become a product of our thoughts. In a more technical sense, my Spiritual Master has outlined the power of thought as follows, "From good ideas come good thoughts, from good thoughts come good actions, from good actions come good habits, from good habits come good character and when we have good character we reach the proper destination." Some of us who are more optimistically inclined may hear this and think, Yes! this is a truth of truths, from now on I will only think positive thoughts and in the future my life will be positive! However in time, we all come to realize that curbing the mind is not so simple. In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna after hearing Krishna's instruction to focus the mind, pleads to Krishna for further guidance. Arjuna at this point has understood the power of the mind and it's capabilities to shape the future for the living being but he also realizes that the mind is fickle and wavering, that it's very nature is to accept something one moment and reject it the next. Arjuna suggests that to curb the mind would be more difficult that to control the restless wind for both seem to move so passionately yet without a substantial and beneficial motif. Krishna responds that the only way to curb the mind is through intelligence. But before the intelligence can work properly, we must have a goal and we must be serious about that goal. If we are moving through life whimsically, then our intelligence may lead us here or there for there are many millions of different ways to gratify our senses in the material world. The paths in which we find ourselves may lead to more sense gratification, or less but we will always have minimal control of the future, as our mind will lead us in one direction one day and another the next. If we develop a meaningful goal, and we meditate on that goal, then our intelligence throughout the day will discern in favor of that destination. In this way we may train the restless mind to be active in a way that is favorable to our goal. When internally we are focused on our goal, then externally we will act in such a way that brings us closer to the goal. Our intelligence should also be used to justify the objective for there will b many convincing propositions made by the fickle mind to give up or focus instead on something that can provide a quick sensuous reward like sex or drugs. The mind and the soul are bound to disagree thus when facing mental discrepancy, we should search out our duty which is to become self realized, we should reflect on the suffering that results from failing to become self realized and we should remember the tricks that the mind plays on us to entangle us deeper in misery and torment. developing this one-pointed intelligence is the key to advancement on any level, in any situation or circumstance not just in regard to spiritual growth but to growth in general. However by cultivating an intelligence that compliments the desire to become self realized, we may actually tame the restless mind which will torment the living entity no matter how materially advanced he may become. The intelligence of those who are controlled by sense gratification is many branched, always taking them to places they couldn't have imagined themselves previously, dark alleys, tasteless clubs, etc. But for one who is resolute in purpose, who uses the intelligence to fix the mind on the constitutional position of the self and the self's respective duty in the material world, for him the mind becomes the best friend, pushing him towards his goal by reminding him of the tremendous amount of negative reactions brought about by straying from his path. For such a person the goal is one, the intelligence is one, the mind is one and thus the destination is always the same, success. 

Why You're Sad

I have arrived back in Vrindavan after 10 days in Puri for the last month of my stay in India. In order to put my mind in the best possible state of consciousness before heading back to the real jungle in New York, I have decided to begin an intensive study of the entire Bhagavad Gita, a sacred text spoken 5,000 years ago that is the basis of all religion but simultaneously transcends them all. While reading, I came across a very simple yet important point being made early on. This point very effectively outlines the cause of our misery and dissatisfaction in the material world. It reads as follows, "While contemplating the objects of the senses a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool." (Bhagavad Gita 2.62-2.63) The senses require engagement. However according to our mindset, there is both proper and improper engagement. In the Bhagavad Gita we see that one who is in knowledge of the temporary and unsatisfactory nature of the material world and thus engages the senses while remaining detached from sense objects is able to use such objects in a way that elevates him to higher levels of consciousness. On the other hand, one who is constantly thinking about sense objects, who sees them as objects for his enjoyment as opposed to platforms for his advancement in consciousness becomes very deeply entangled in this vicious cycle of material misery. With an open mind,we can watch how in the past we have been trapped in this cycle. Many practical examples can be given and easily understood. A boy who has come into contact with a beautiful girl may begin to think about her constantly, from this constant  mental engagement he develops an attachment for her. When the attachment is there,the boy develops strong desires to be with the girl and have control over her. When the boy sees the girl acting independently of his will, the boy comes to the realization that despite his deep desire to be in control of her, ultimately she is independent and also acts according to her desires, from this realization anger arises. When the boy's senses and intelligence are thus clouded by anger he begins to see things that are not there. I don't know how many times during heated arguments between couples I've overheard the phrase "You're delusional". From this delusion, the boy's memory will be filled with false misconceptions about the girl thinking her to be all kinds of things that in reality she is not. Seeing as our memory is the basis of our intelligence, this boys mind, which is now polluted with illusion loses the ability to intelligently judge the girl all together. Thus not being able to perceive things as they are, the poor boy is bound to further suffering in the material world. If the boy were able to clearly perceive the girl as something other than just an object for his enjoyment, having her own personal will and desires and recognize the fact that she won't be around forever, this attachment would have never developed in the first place. Without the deep attachment  he could always deal with her from the heart out of love as opposed to dealing from the senses out of lust. Thinking and acting from the heart out of love, in attempt to act in accordance with the natural flow of things as opposed to thinking and acting only according to your illusory desires is called Bhakti Yoga or devotional service. Because of the fact that we are ultimately not in total control of anything in the material world as well as the fact that our purpose in life is not to simply gratify our senses at will according to our desires like animals, any action that we perform in attempt to control or exploit the material world forces one into the miserable cycle above mentioned and yields sinful reactions (also called karma). However the Gita says by engaging in devotional service, highly learned men free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries. Thus in order to free ourselves from the suffering that arises in the material world we must first eradicate two misconceptions. 1 that we are the controller and everything should move according to our will, 2 that we are meant to live to enjoy as much as possible as opposed to simply enjoying to live. These two misconceptions keep us constantly in anxiety because they quite simply completely disagree with the way things actually work. As long as our actions and thoughts reflect on selfish desires, we may obtain some temporary sense gratification but happiness will always elude our grasp.

Happiness

Anything can be taken from us at any moment, and as we get older and older things naturally fall out of our grasp. The more we are attached to these things that are temporary,the more we suffer when they are taken from us. Basing happiness off of something temporary is called delusion and leads to suffering. Life it's self is a reminder that we ultimately are not meant for enjoying through acquisition. As we age, our own body gradually fails us, this is a scary thought because most people think this life is solely for selfish enjoyment so when their main facility for enjoying begins to dwindle, it's a big crisis. But this is not a crisis, it's a wake up call, it's a message that happiness doesn't come from what you have, it comes from your consciousness. If it came from something exterior, it could only be temporary, because everything in the material world by the scientific law of entropy is gradually falling apart and fading away. So it is very simple, when we have a sense of happiness based off of something material, it's bound to turn into misery because our attachment to something that is bound to fall from our grips can lead only to dissatisfaction. However when happiness comes from within, from being content with ourselves, it can never be taken away, this is real happiness this is what we should all be looking for because in the end it is the only reasonable path towards the feeling of complete satisfaction and enjoyment that we are all looking for. For those who think this sounds crazy, I'm happier now in India with 3 shirts, 3 long pieces of cloth called dhotis and around 15 books than I was in America with all of the many things I had acquired to give me a sense of fulfillment in 18 years. To those who still think I'm crazy, you're probably right but at least I am satisfied. 

I Ain't Come From No Monkey

I saw something the other day that kind of threw me off. Someone made a comment that we are animals, and we have to remember this when considering our needs. I deeply disagree with this statement. As human beings, we have been given the special opportunity to become self realized, an animal does not have such a privilege, as human beings we have been given free will where as an animal acts only by instinct, under the laws of nature. Although I believe we all come from the same source, to say that we are by nature no different than an animal is  bred of ignorance and just another example of the mental speculation based off of patterns, which in today's modern world is called science. Now despite the fact that we are not animals, through our conditioning we have developed animal characteristics. Animals work according to their needs in terms of eating, sleeping, mating and defending, ironically as we become more "civilized" these 4 things seem to be growing as the most important factors in human life. But it wasn't always like this. once upon a time "less advanced" civilizations such as the Aztecs, Essenes, Native Americans, Pre-imperialism India etc, put the emphasis on advancing in understanding of the universe, the human mind, consciousness and God. However because these civilizations didn't have the proper animalistic requirements such as aristocratic food, fabulous palaces, fancy clothing to attract a mate, or huge armies, those who did deemed them generally incompetent and forced their way of living in and the other out. Now one example of the animal Characteristics that we have come to adopt, is to fear what we don't understand. Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami gives the example that if you raise a dog in an all Caucasian neighborhood, when it sees an African American, it will start to bark uncontrollably, and visa versa, if you raise a dog in an all African American neighborhood it will lose it's sense of comfort and begin to bark upon seeing a Caucasian person. We see this constantly in a place like America, people who do not appear to a certain person to be "normal" are ostracized and often barked at from a distance like the dog. However it wasn't always like this. When the Europeans first came to America, the Native Americans did not bark at them from a distance, they showed them how to grow food so that they could survive in the winter. Quite uncivilized. When the Europeans first came to India, the Indians did not bark or run away in fear, they instead agreed to trade with them in a way that both could be mutually benefitted. but of course the Europeans being so civilized felt it their duty to manipulate and practically enslaved the Indians, exploiting their natural resources and diminishing their beautiful culture. Quite civilized. One point that needs to be made is that animals having a basic instinct that allows for equilibrium within an ecosystem, only take what they need. In our "civilized" world we have now come to the point where it's natural to act like the good old Europeans and take as we please, according to our desires. This way of thinking and acting makes us worse than animals. The world is arranged in such a way that if all take as they need instead of as they please, there is peace and thus all other living beings on the planet follow this simple and effective universal rule. There is however besides humans, one exception to this way of action which is naturally followed by all other species. The exception is cancer. Cancer takes and takes and takes until the body it inhabits can no longer continue to function and dies. We have become a cancer to the earth, a cancer to one another and ultimately a cancer to ourselves, due to our idea that the more we get, the happier we are, is this civilized? No this is toxic, this is a diseased mentality. We have come to believe that only once we reach a certain position will we be happy, however only when we realize our position can we be happy, otherwise by continuing to take and take we are only adding fuel to the fire and increasing the severity of our sickness. This disease must be treated with a steady diet of transcendental knowledge derived from the texts worshiped by civilizations who were actually civilized and realized the important things in life. These people were self satisfied, they rejoiced within instead of endlessly searching for satisfaction in a world that they correctly perceived as only temporary and thus in a sense illusory. Most people are captivated by this illusion, most people run desperately after the mirage of an oasis in the desert of mundane material existence. These fruits seen in the mirage can never satisfy our natural craving for satisfaction. Only the ripened fruits found in such texts as the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam have the ability to satiate our thirst. Thus we must dig deep within ourselves, we must not once but constantly ask if we are acting with an animalistic mentality, or even something worse. We must seek knowledge from the Vedas which are the source of all knowledge. Only through understanding the inner workings of the world  and beyond may we go through life properly, and become closer to the stage that we were meant to achieve, self realization. If not we sink down, finding ourselves behaving more and more like beasts until our diseased mentality forces us into a life of void, a life without any life at all. 

Have Faith in me

In the scriptures, it is predicted that the time we are living in now or Kali Yuga will be the age of 1 quarrel, 2 hypocrisy and 3 faithlessness. This prediction is very easily justified in modern life. 1 Wars rage on throughout the world as well as those of a smaller scale in our own towns and cities. 2 Politicians who were always meant to be exemplary models of noble integrity and servitude towards the people they are responsible for have completely lost interest in our well being and instead hanker after power and economic advances at almost any cost. 3 Churches dwindle and often only facilitate the spiritual desires of our grandparents and many temples in India have become places for people to find a spouse as opposed to finding them self. However faith does not need to always be identified with religion, faith boils down to the belief in something that can't automatically be perceived by the five senses and mind. Thus for faith to grow In our current wayward and faltering frame of reference, we must first accept the fact that we do not know everything. Despite the fact that our intelligence is constantly offering what seems like reliable evidence that we have something figured out, ultimately until we become enlightened our senses can not be trusted. This is so because of our forgetfulness of our original nature. For example, originally we are whole and are satisfied only in offering love, but due to our forgetfulness we tend to crave material objects. This craving leads to misconception because of the most degrading and influential force in today's world, lust which manipulates the mind in such a way that one begins to justify his nonsensical desires.  The intelligence tells us that until we satisfy these desires our life is not complete and once we finally obtain the object of our obsession then we will be finally happy. A good visual of this would be the donkey who is motivated to carry heavy burdens great distances with sincere effort by dangling a carrot in front of it's face. The donkey has reverent conviction that he is close to the carrot, so close to happiness but in reality he was never any closer to receiving it, and in our case we only move further away. But as we begin to forget our false identity, the tendency of the senses to hanker after and misidentify material objects diminishes and we gradually become purified. This process of forgetting the donkey like characteristics we have developed and returning to our original state of being, which is full of knowledge, bliss and awareness can be set in motion by proper faith. Faith is the precursor to knowledge, without a little faith in the unknown we automatically shoot down all possibilities of something other than what we already accept to be factual. But the REAL fact is that most of the time what we accept to be factual is actually just an perverted reflection of the supreme truth. By maintaining faith in something greater than ourselves, something greater than the tv screen, we open the mind to new, refreshing experience and step off the roller coaster that appears entertaining at first but in the end makes us sick. However, there is a gulf of difference between faith and blind faith, blind faith entails complete surrender without a deeper understanding of what you are surrendering to. This practice is often adopted by those who are motivated by lust and only want some type of material gain (i.e. The donkey). But a faith in something transcendental that is cultivated through humility and understanding of our natural state as compared to the state we're in is the key to liberation. Thus I ask everyone to have faith in the power of selfless service to others, have faith in the ability of compassion to change the world, have faith in the fact that this life is meant for so much more than meets the eye, and lose faith in the idea that happiness comes from taking things for yourself as opposed to giving to others. 

I can no longer describe the experience I'm having in India in words. I am incredibly blessed to be having the association that I am having which I am quite unworthy of. Me and my Guru Maharaj who I am assisting, took a plane to Mayapur, one of the holiest places in India. I am surrounded by unexplainable beauty that emanates from the Forests and local animal life as well as the deep magnanimous energy which flows in abundance due to the presence of the holy Ganges River, the many saintly people who live here and those who have in the past, the incredible ISKCON Temple which houses gigantic deities as well as many pure devotees and the best kirtan on earth. Mayapur is another main center for ISKCON thus thousands of devotees from all over the world are here exchanging love for each other and especially for God. I will be here for about 2 weeks then I am off to the third most holy place in India, Puri for a Bhakti retreat before returning to my beloved Vrindavan until the end of February. I have been traveling very lightly for the past month, (2 dhotis, 3 shirts, a charter and many books) and no shoes as an austerity as well as to show respect to the holy land which I now hold so dear. It is amazing here, I hope eventually everyone can experience something that makes them deeply and sincerely question their own purpose. None of us are here to just acquire wealth, we all have a deeper calling but it is hard to see due to our environment in America. I hope as many people as possible can avoid the trap of materialistic life, it appeals to the senses at first, businesses are very good at ensuring that, but in the end it leads to misery, there is no doubt about it. We need to question what we've been told, we need to ask ourselves if what we're doing can lead to real, undying happiness, and we need to have courage to change in a society that is pushing everyone one direction. We need to do this now. 

Don't Let me Down

Naturally, we are in a state of pure love, however by our tendency to become greedy and lusty for material things, this love is covered, but not destroyed (how could you destroy something that is eternal). The nature of saintly people is to give the best of what they have to others solely for the benefit of others. Those of us who have been in a loving relationship have experienced this as well, we act, speak dress, in certain ways only because we want to please the object of our affection. Thus one can define love as putting someone else's needs before their own. When a baby is first born it is quite a burden to the mother, it requires care all day and even at night when it wakes up at all hours crying and screaming. Yet despite all of this calamity, the mother out of love for her child caters to each of it's needs even if it costs her sleep and relaxation. The mother is not thinking "what about my needs, what about my well being" she is simply engaged in loving service. Because our nature is to love and be loved, the mind can be compared to a room with many attractive seemingly fulfilling objects. In order to return to our natural state, we simply have to remove the objects that we have decided belong there through our desire to be in control and receive benediction from others. Our natural state is all wise, eternal and blissful, we don't need these things to feel happy, we are naturally and genuinely happy by giving and receiving love. On top of that if we try to satisfy ourselves with these sense objects and do not account for our true needs, everything we do onto others and ourselves will be superficial and ultimately void of satisfaction.The Gita says, "Beyond the dualities that arise from doubts, whose minds are engaged within who are always busy working for the welfare of all living beings and who are free from all sins attain liberation" 5.25. If one instead chooses to rejoice without instead of taking into consideration the needs of his true being, that person is forced to be in a constant state of frantic swimming against the current and simultaneously submits himself to the manipulative forces of material nature, if one at some point does not take initiative to make a change, he will eventually find himself at the bottom of the river. But one who actively performs service in the spirit of satisfying others, whose mind is fixed in loving exchange gradually free themself from all bondages and become glorious. I've decided to extend my trip and will be exploring some more holy places of India under the guidance of the spiritual master who arranged my stay here in the first place, I owe all my learning and experience to him and offer my humble and respectful obeisances. I've been engaged in eye opening classes on some of the ancient Vedic scriptures for 6 hours a day for about the past 2 weeks and am learning more than I ever could have imagined under the teaching of persons who I do not deserve to even be in the same room with at this point in my spiritual growth. I'm very grateful to all those who have helped me on my journey thus far and look forward to what lies ahead. Hare Krishna

The Bird has Sung

While attending a 12 hour kirtan in Barasana, I had one of the deepest spiritual experiences of my life. After silent japa (quiet recitation of the Hare Krishna maha mantra) in the rickshaw (Indian cab) to the beautiful ashram where the event was taking place, I arrived in high spirits. To my surprise, despite what seemed like the remote location of the ashram which was situated in one of the beautiful forests of Vrindavan, there were much more westerners than native Indians, all of whom were joyously engaged in chanting the transcendent maha mantra. They were led by a man of about 25 years old who with great reverence expressed his deep longing and appreciation for Krishna through chanting of the sacred mantra to an intense beat. This performance deeply moved me as I had not been accustomed to such powerful kirtan which evoked an immediate heart felt response. Amidst my ecstatic clapping and chanting,  I noticed a female devotee with a shaven head across the room smiling blissfully as she also chanted along, I could tell we were experiencing similar ecstasies. To my surprise the woman who I would come to know by the spiritual name Prasant took over the singing when the first kirtaneer finished, I sensed this would be a beautiful performance. Prasant closed her eyes and slowly began reciting the maha mantra as the group of devotees playing a variety of instruments accommodated her slow but powerful melody. The haunting melody turned into a reverent up beat expression of conjugal love which was catalyzed by a joyous conviction and deep compassion. As I listened I came to terms with the fact that this woman was in a state of transcendence and she was bringing the about 200 attendants of the event with her to a place not subject to the polluting material forces. I looked around and noticed how happily entranced so many people were as they listened and chanted along, people of all different backgrounds, ages, etc. all joined together to express their true blissful nature that is universally inherent yet dormant due to the conditioning of the material world. This inspired such deep powerful thoughts about the power of music as a universal unifying and enlightening force due to the impact it has on the listeners both consciously and subconsciously. Most of the time at least in the mainstream it's used to promote the mundane, things that are "quick fixes" for happiness such as money and sex but ultimately lead to attachment and despair. I thought about how the reason this maha mantra and kirtan in general have such profound effects on people is because they express something which is eternal, beyond the effects of time which lead to decay and the end of all things. Nothing is eternal, or lasts forever, everything must come to an end except of course God and the part of us which is of the same quality of God. The more we identify with these things that are temporary, the further we run from our true self which leads to unhappiness and confusion. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada said, "Simply by cleansing the birdcage one does not satisfy the bird. Similarly, without knowing the need of the dormant soul, one cannot be happy simply by gratifying the body and mind."(Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.8)  By partaking in kirtan or japa, not only are you maintaining the bird, you're letting to bird sing which can be said is the bird's inherent nature. Anyway the more I let myself go, the further I fell into an oasis of pure transcendental thought and the more I became overwhelmed with feelings of ecstatic love and appreciation for the Supreme and his grace in allowing all of the people from all over the planet access to feelings of divine happiness and clarity simply by chanting his name. My words trembled and I could hardly contain myself nor did I have the least bit of desire to. When you can forget about all of the things that everyone is telling you are the most important and instead focus on what actually is wholeheartedly and humbly, then you can begin to see the truth. Until then our thoughts and what we consider to be intelligence and knowledge will always be tainted by our wavering perception and an intelligence that is completely vulnerable to our false sense of pride and proprietorship. When listening to music that deeply speaks to us we are almost in a state of trance, we are not thinking about the future or the past, which is usually what our minds are busy doing. Instead we are just in a state of pure listening and feeling the emotions being conveyed by the artist. Kirtan is designed to bring the listeners to that state but instead of bringing their attention to topics that are subject to the sands of time and ultimately lead to despair, they bring the mind to something that lasts forever and has no past or future thus feeding the bird and disregarding the cage.