Iyya

PUNY is only as small as one thinks. A person can believe him or herself to be totally insignificant compared to the utter vastness or complexity of the cosmos and come to the conclusion we are — individually or collectively — inconsequential as far as the mechanism of the universe is concerned. We can also regret that death annihilates us whereas the dance of the galaxies doesn’t stop or care about our disappearance. In other words while millions have died since the beginning of our species, the gigantic pinwheel of the Milky Way they once inhabited for a fraction of its time, couldn’t be bothered as it spirals lazily to a cold celestial harmony.
Or puny can be as large as one imagines. Isaac Newton’s intellect simply placed a prism in the path of white light and instantly unlocked its brilliant multicoloured secrets that would otherwise have remained hidden forever as it does for all other animals but us. Albert Einstein’s “thought experiments” encompassed the whole of matter, energy, time, space and gravitation and deconstructed them in the span of 35 years of his existence on Earth. Mathematicians routinely deal with irrational, transcendent and imaginary numbers, which the universe has till now not brought into being.
It’s true, a lot of things still remain unexplained. The nature and composition of up to some 95% of the stuff of the universe called “dark” matter and energy, for example, is completely unknown to us today. Yet it is absolutely no boast to assert that it’s only a matter of time before we, or some of our creations such as computers, figure out and comprehend that mystery too. Similar inscrutables will inevitably arise again and again in the history of our future but more and more comprehension will always and ultimately subdue their unfamiliarity.
When you think of the potential inherent in your thoughts, they can be so immeasurable and infinite as to engulf not only the known universe but any amount of unknown, possible or even made up ones. So how insignificant are we really after all if a moment’s or year’s reverie can bring everything in existence — along with some which are not as yet nor ever will be — to its knees in front of your mind? Conscious entities such as us may die and may or may not live after that but when we are alive in the present our significance is much greater than merely the sum of its parts.

Source: The Economic Times

பகுத்துண்டு பல்லுயிர் ஓம்புதல் நூலோர்
தொகுத்தவற்றுள் எல்லாந் தலை.

nee therinjuko, mathavangai sollradhai pannadhae. yaarukkum disturbance illama vazhalaam. mudincha mathavangallukku ubagaram pannalam. ubakaaramna ennanga? kaakaikku saapadu vekkaradhum thaan, idha kooda therinjukadhavan enna panna poraan?

நீ நீயாக இரு, யாரையும் காபி அடிக்கதெ
ம்த்தவங்களுக்கு முடிஜா ஹெலப் பண்ணு (முடிஜா)
அவ்ளொ தாங்க வாழ்கை…

ellamae simple thaanga, nothing is complex.
simple a varom, simple a porom.

seedla irunthu thaan maram varudhu, maram vandhadhukku appuram seed enga irrukku, marathukkula irrukilla, neenge illaennu ninaikareenga. adhu maari ellorum onela irundhu vandhathu thaan….
avar thaan ellamai irrukaar, ellathaiyum panraar. ungala oru marathai valara vekka mudiyuma?

Some years ago, the yogi B K S Iyengar performed the peacock pose on the edge of a steep cliff in the ghats. In the picture taken on the occasion, one of his disciples, wind tousling his hair and collar, crouches among the rocks, while the body of the yogi, straight as a plank, is poised perfectly on his palms on the rim of the ravine.

This does not mean you need a mountain to perform the mayurasana. You’d be better off in a spacious room. That’s what the Hathayogapradipika advises: a place neither too high nor too low, a friendly neighbhourhood, not too near doubting eyes and so on.

Iyengar was making a different point: perfect practice perfects technique. You can ultimately transcend every distraction, be it of place or time. That’s the moral of the story of Arjuna’s aim: so focused is the archer that he can see nothing except the desired goal.

Again, the caveat for ordinary mortals is that such a monomania can become a handicap if it binds you to a favoured spot or routine without which peak performance becomes impossible. This is illustrated by the following Zen story.

A brash young champion archer challenges a Zen master renowned for his skill with the bow. The young man has an amazing technique — he hits the bull’s eye on his first try, and then splits that arrow with his second shot.

He then defies the old man to match that performance. The unfazed master refuses to string his bow, but instead asks the young archer to follow him up a mountain.

Curious about the old fellow’s intentions, the champion follows him high into the mountain until they reach a deep chasm spanned by a rather rickety pole. Calmly stepping out onto the unsteady ‘bridge’, the old master picks out a far away a target, strings the bow, draws it his ear with the shaft and lets out a perfect shot to score a direct hit.

“Your turn, young master,” he murmurs as he gracefully gets back onto firmer ground. Staring with terror into the yawning abyss, the young man is simply unable to bring himself to get out on to the swaying pole, forget shooting at a target.

“You have much skill with your bow,” the Master comments on the challenger’s predicament. “But you have little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot.” Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra puts such skill in the very definition of performance: “Asana is happiness and steadiness (Sthiram sukham asanam).”

Iyya Comments:
‘Sthiram sukham asanam’ - gives patanjali yoga sutras book to read this sutra.
SQ naah sequence
Perfect practice perfects SQ = Perfect practice perfects Technique (Iyya showed this from some other book)- ellam correcta varudhu paarunga..
kilayae panna enna? yean avlo oyarauthula poi pannanumnu idha panninavarukku orae blessing…

More photos here

Liberation from bondage being the goal of human birth, scriptures emphasise that it should be attained in this birth and must not be postponed because there is no guarantee that one would be reborn as a human being. According to Advaita Vedanta liberation is possible while living (Jivanmukti) and such a man of Self-realisation continues to live enabling others also to emulate his ideal till the Karma which brought about this birth is exhausted while all other Karma are nullified by Self-knowledge at the time of Self-realisation. This is compared to a potter’s wheel, which once set into motion has to come to a stop only when the force, which propelled it is dissipated.

In his discourse, Sri N.Veezhinathan said the Self (Atman) had no connection with the body-mind-intellect personality but the sense of identity and individuality was felt due to ignorance (Avidya). Jivanmukti is a state in which the performance of obligatory duties has been transcended but the scriptures emphasise that to reach this level one has to necessarily perform the prescribed duties. When action is performed without attachment to the result and for the sake of God it becomes Karma yoga and hence such action will not cause further bondage. This further purifies the mind of its latent tendencies, which is the preparatory stage for embarking on scriptural study leading to the path of knowledge (Jnana yoga).

What are the distinguishing marks of a Jivanmukta? Arjuna raised this doubt to Lord Krishna when He expounded the truth in the Bhagavad Gita: “What is the definition (mark) of a God-realised soul, stable of mind and established in perfect tranquillity of mind (Samadhi)? How does the man of stable mind speak, how does he sit, how does he walk?” The Gita says that such a person will have no cravings in his mind and remains satisfied in the bliss of the Self.

Like a tortoise, which withdraws its limbs from all directions, the Self-realised man also withdraws his senses from the sense objects and keeps his mind stable. Another quality is remaining unperturbed when someone provokes him. One may certainly wonder of what use is a man of realisation to the world. The work Jivanmuktiviveka says that there will indescribable peace in the presence of such sagely persons. Vidyaranya says that even the accidental glance of a Jivanmukta will wipe away all sins.

Source: The Hindu dated Monday, Mar 20, 2006

Iyya Comments:

even the accidental glance of a Jivanmukta will wipe away all sins.

aamanga, adhukku thaanae namma irrukom

Above are from thirumoolar’s thirumandhiram.

On 653 - It says in addition to 9 vayus that are in our body, the 10th one ‘dhananjeyan’ is the prana vayu, which is very important. and gives a book on pranayama…

On 657 - heartla thaan brahma irrukaar, ellathaiyum padaikaraar. kanla vishnu irundhu ellaithaiyum kaapatharaar and sound thaan shiva.
adhaan kanaai moodinal, Avarai paakalam, velila paakaradhillai, ulla paakaradhu…

Naturally so, the ageing process takes its toll — on physical appearance as on memory, retention, enthusiasm and joie-de-vivre. However, various scientific studies and also practical experience point out to heartening and encouraging possibilities in regaining these. Most of us have experienced situations, few and far between though these may be, where the ‘reversal of ageing’ process had occurred. Such situations are marked by the onset of peace, acceptance and joy, when the child within us and the dormant powers are allowed to be expressed. This healthful state and inner glow are also invariably reflected on the physical appearance and one’s carriage and demeanour, whereby he/she not only feels younger but actually becomes younger.
The corresponding changes in the metabolism and chemistry of the psycho-somatic system, which are concomitant with such a happy outcome, can become enduring and consistent through self-training, discipline and resolution of the stressful and retarding forces in the conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious mind. This approach would involve a combination of right attitude, physical discipline (including on food and sleep) and relaxing exercises for not only the body and mind, but the spirit as well. This is what Satyananda Saraswathy, founder of the Bihar school of Yoga calls as relaxation of ‘the atma, the inner self’. His technique of yoga nidra, through such deep relaxation and catharsis, liberates the spirit from the binding effects and clutter of accumulated memories, regrets, agony, trauma and impressions. The mind thus regains its potential and virtues which had merely been suppressed so far. This process indeed is akin to the reference of Cardinal Newman in his immortal poem, Lead Kindly Light to rediscovering those “angel faces which I have loved long since and lost awhile”! This also is similar to the promise and potential enshrined in the Aditya Hrudayam, taught by sage Agastya to Lord Rama where the Sun god is portrayed as one who destroys and recreates those very things destroyed (Verse 22).
The two references, as above, are merely indications of the fact that those powers “lost awhile” and also those apparently destroyed can always be won back — perhaps with added dimensions and strength, in consequence of the wisdom and experience gained in this process.

Source: The Economic Times

Iyya Comments:
sooriyan thaan ellamae, ellathukkum olliyai kudukaraar. adhaan oru 10 mts sorriya ollila nillumngannu sollraen…

once someone asked vivekananda, what is god. he says good is god. god is G, O, D. Add another O. it is GOOD.
Iyya- why is he adding O? this is poojyam, ellamai irrukku, ella idathulaiyum irruku….

Indha 5 therinjavan ellathiayum therinjukkalam…
சுவைஒளி ஊறுஓசை நாற்றமென ஐந்தின்
வகைதெரிவான் கட்டே உலகு.

unga kitta ellamae ulla irrukku, u r that very rich, aana paarunga pichakaraan maari feel panreenga…
(commented for Journey within)

All systems of Indian philosophy excepting the materialists (Charvaka) accept liberation from bondage (Mukti, Moksha) as the goal of human birth. Vedantic traditions describe this as an eternal blissful state attaining which there is no more sorrow. In the Mahabharata, there is an interesting aside to the main storyline in the form of Vidura’s instruction to Dhritarashtra on ethics, the Viduraniti, which enjoys the status of an independent treatise. Even after listening to it the king did not get peace of mind. Vidura then meditated on Sage Sanatsujata and when he appeared before them requested him to expound on the Self (Atman) as only Self-realisation bestows lasting bliss.

In his discourse, Sri N.Veezhinathan said Jivanmukti (liberation while living) was unique to Advaita tradition. Many insightful dialogues that elaborate on the realisation of the Self as the end to be pursued occur in the Upanishads. The Chandogya Upanishad relates that Narada approached Sanatkumara to learn the truth as he was not satisfied even after mastering all the arts and sciences thereby highlighting that unless man increases in wisdom all his knowledge will be of no avail in rooting out his sorrows. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad portrays Maitreyi spurning wealth to learn spiritual knowledge from her husband Yajnavalkya after he stated clearly that wealth could only ensure material welfare but would not lead to immortality.

The Mahabharata states categorically that man has only one enemy — ignorance. Man’s existential predicament is due to ignorance of his spiritual nature. By identifying with his body-mind-intellect personality instead of with the Self, man attributes its limitations to himself and thereby plunges into sorrow. Sankara in the introduction to his commentary on the Brahmasutras underscores that man must realise the Self to overcome worldly sorrows.

It is often said in the spiritual tradition that the journey to the Self is the longest one in the world and it is the innermost. A spiritual seeker must direct his search within by restraining his senses. Lord Krishna has reiterated in the Bhagavad Gita, “At the end of many births of striving, the knowing one makes Me his refuge, realising that Vasudeva is all. A great soul of that type is rare to find.”

Source: The Hindu
dated March 16, 2006

Iyya Comments:

vasudeva na ennganga? krishnarukku appa na pathukonga.
vasudeva thaan ellamae, vishnu nu sollromilla, avar kitta irundhu thaan ellam vandhuchu….

• PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA

A zen master was sentenced to death by his king. He was sitting unconcerned. His disciples asked him: are you not bothered you are going to die tomorrow. He said: how can I worry about a day later, even the next moment is a new miracle for me.
When you live in the present all your fantasies drop, all your fears drop. If some one complains that he cannot change, I say change is your nature, I am surprised that you are holding on to the same character. Let go and you will change. When they don’t listen and insist, I give them advice to confuse them.
You say give me a technique. It’s so difficult without a technique, a tool. The word difficulty is the greatest difficulty. When you know fire burns, drop the fire. Where is the difficulty? Be a little more intelligent. Drop what hurts. When you understand that the mental setup causes you trouble, drop it. You will then transform your being.
You ask, how will I survive if I drop? The seed always wonders what will happen to me if I break. Unless it breaks the plant cannot grow. Trust and open, trust and break, you will grow. If you make mistakes, it’s worth making mistakes. Perfectionism is madness. The more you are far from perfect the more God has grace for you.
Search for perfection is search for madness. Graveyard is the perfectly secure place. But it’s not the place to live; it is only for the dead. A ship is secure in the harbour, but it has to move out to function.
As you move from ego to spontaneity you will undergo pain, transition, that’s your penance. That’s the price you pay for a better life. Everything will be a miracle. When you take life for granted, what results is boredom and depression. You seek to acquire not to enjoy. You can increase the height of your bed not the depth of your sleep.
Meditation is the key to spontaneity. Do not keep track of what you have done in the past. It’s better to let go and grow without worrying about what happened in the past and also what will happen in the future.
Enlightenment is not a step by step growth process, it is a quantum phenomenon. Living moment to moment, in the present, without worrying about past and present is meditation. It’s a quality to be added to your life, not a quantity to be added to your life.

Source: The Economic Times

Iyya Comments (on his birthday):
vendhaadhadhai vittudunga…

PIERRE Teilhard De Chardin, a paleontologist, scientific philosopher, mystic and committed priest believed in the unity of all things. Of the seemingly myriad entities around us he said: “The fundamental initial fact is that each one of us is perforce linked by all the material, organic and psychic strands of our being to all that surrounds us.” He maintained this unity was not something static but reached back in time and that if one looked into the past far enough the seeming disorderliness of living things could be seen to be making their way by various paths towards a greater consciousness.
In The Phenomenon of Man, Chardin put forth this concept as the “Omega Point” where the many lines of evolution must finally converge. That is, if the cosmic process had a meaning, a direction and a goal, it must have a definite terminus because a synthesis can take place only at a nucleus around which the consciousness of the whole humanity can finally crystallise. He maintained the Omega Point must be personal, as an intellectual being and not an abstract idea. It must also be transcendent and autonomous, free from the limitations of space and time and irreversible. And that in the Omega Point, the human person’s freedom will not be suppressed, but super-personalised. It would be infinitely enriched.
If a Jesuit priest developed such ideas during the 1930s and still shied painfully away from actually invoking the name of a creator, Frank Tipler a mathematical physicist and practicing cosmologist doesn’t. In his 1994 book
The Physics of Immortality he has no qualms about identifying the Omega Point with God.
He describes a cosmological scenario in the far future when the computational capacity of the Universe will be accelerating much faster than time runs out. Thus a simulation run on this cosmic computer can continue forever in its own terms. The implication of his theory for us today is that this ultimate computer will essentially be able to simulate (read “resurrect”) everyone who has ever lived, by recreating all possible quantum brain states within the master simulation. This will be manifested as a simulated reality, except without requiring physical bodies. From the perspective of the simulated “inhabitant” the Omega Point represents an infinite-duration afterlife, which could take any imaginable form due to its virtual nature.

Source: The Economic Times

News- A mango tree that is 3500 years old, which was in a dry stage, has started growing again.
Iyya: aamaga, vandhu paakara makkal ellam pasama valaranamnu nenaikaraanga, adhaan valaradhu. Quoting an instance that once JK says to a tree which is to be cut since it has dried, ‘they are going to cut u tomorrow, y dont u grow’. That tree starts growing. adhu maari thaanga.

there was also another news about arvind ashramam mother once while taking food, feels that some one is crying in pain. people around says nobody has such pain. then she says a tree nearby says that. when went and saw, there was an axe on it by the woodcutter.
Iyya- aamanga marathukkum uyir undu, adhoda saththam ellam kekalaam. neenga epdi headphone a vechuttu oruthar maathiram kekareenga, adhuthavanga keka mudiyaradhillai, adhu maari ippo maram pesaradhu ippo ungallukku keka maateengudhu.
modhala veetula pasamai irunga. ..

some sundry sayings below-

* unga bodya pathi kooda neenga therijukaleena appuram neenga enna panna porreenga?
* indha news ellam neenga enga vena padikalam, inga varavangalluku yean kudukaren, idhanala vilakam kidachu purinjukuvangannu thaan…
* ella energyum unga kaila irrukku, why jesus has hands (in blessing posture). veleila eppovumae energy irundhukittae irrukku, neenga ungallukku vendiyadhai edhuthukalamae…
* nellikani - 5 suvai irruku, idhai saapitta nalla irrukalam..

Power of meditation

S. Subramanian

All of us seek peace, harmony, knowledge, wisdom and deliverance. Contrary to our expectations, we many times experience dissatisfaction in life — agitation, irritation, disharmony and suffering. Where does the source lie? It lies within us. “Know thyself,” advise all wise persons. But how to reach that state? And what is the technique involved? The answer lies in meditation. In India, rishis of the Vedic period practised asceticism including meditation, which strengthened their will.

Two techniques

There are two meditation techniques — samatha bhavana (tranquillity meditation) and vipassana bhavana (insight meditation). Meditation is not a happy translation of bhavana, which means culture or development. Samatha means concentration, calmness, tranquillity. Therefore, samatha bhavana means development of concentration — one-pointedness of the mind.

Tranquillity meditation involves the controlled action of holding the mind to an object and not allowing it to wander. It aims at achieving the utmost degree of mental concentration, successively giving up all the sensory and mental input which normally occupies the mind, to direct one’s attention intensively and exclusively on a single object, image or idea selected as the object of meditation.

Vipassana bhavana means to see clearly, to observe thoroughly, to investigate penetratingly, in various ways, the nature of things as it really is. By things we mean all animate and inanimate bodies. Insight meditation does not just involve holding the mind still. It also involves penetrative observation. It is a special kind of vision — observation of the reality within oneself.

The technique is the systematic and dispassionate observation of sensation within oneself. Samatha meditation is only sufficient to eradicate one’s grosser impurities. Through vipassana, we can uproot the very subtlest of impurities, klesas created by our past or present actions.

Sensation is the indispensable tool for exploring the truth to the depths. Although it is physical in nature, it is also one of the four mental processes. Buddha examined the mind and found it consisted of four processes: consciousness, perception, sensastion, and reaction. Sensation arises within the body and is felt by the mind. Just as to rid a garden of weeds one must be aware of the hidden roots and their vital function, similarly, we must be aware of sensations, most of which usually remain hidden to us, if we are to understand our nature and deal with it properly. In the practice of vipassana bhavana, we simply observe bodily sensations.

Sit cross-legged in a quiet place keeping the body erect and mindfulness alert. When we first begin this practice, we may be able to perceive sensations in some parts of the body and not in others. The faculty of awareness is not yet fully developed, so we only experience the intense sensations and not the finer, subtler ones.

Basic fact

As we continue our meditation practice, we will soon realise one basic fact — our sensations are constantly changing. Every moment, in every part of the body, a sensation arises, and every sensation is an indication of a change. Every moment changes occur in every part of the body, electromagnetic and biochemical reactions. The direct experience of the transitory sensations proves to us our ephemeral nature. This is what the Buddha called yatha-bhuta-nana-dassana — the wisdom that arises on observing reality as it is. There are three kinds of wisdom: heard wisdom (suta maya panna), learned wisdom (cinta-maya panna), and realised wisdom (bhavana-maya panna). The third kind of wisdom arises due to the practice of vipassana bhavana. When the mind is aware of sensation but maintains equanimity, there is no such reaction, no cause that will produce suffering.

What is required is learning the practice from a learned master, committing oneself to a regular meditation practice with determination.

Source: The Hindu dated Sunday, Dec 11, 2005

Iyya Comments:
medhuva niruthi nidhanama padinga. idhellam padicha mattum podhadhunga, panni paakanaum. sensation thaan ellam, idhai panna panna arivin vilakkam kidaikkum…..

Investment in well funded human values — such as truth, justice, fair play and honesty — would galvanise the collective conscience of society and be a morale booster for the national psyche. Gandhiji’s concept of trusteeship meant that all resources available to man, both tangible (material) and intangible (talent, values and virtues) should be utilised for the collective benefit of society, regardless of who owns what property. The import of this concept at the present time can hardly be overstated. We have examples of private educational institutions (which were provided free land and basic infrastructure by the government in the hope that they would make education accessible to the poor) failing to discharge their obligation. Similarly, we have private medical health care centres shutting their doors to the poor. Gandhiji believed in Ram Rajya (an ideal government being one which functions under God).
Under such a government, which is driven by the cardinal principle of trusteeship, how can any entity be indifferent or insensitive to the needs of any section of society? The length of human life itself, is ordained by destiny and is held in trust by the human body on behalf of God.
Investment in values such as generosity, kindness, honesty, truth, justice and fair play result in a more sustained and enduring positive response from the society at large. Society’s mutual fund composed of the above traits, will not need the red herring prospectuses, which all prudent investors are to read so as to save their skins from unscrupulous sharks (funds and fund managers). The adage “courtesy begets courtesy “ or “ God comes in the garb of a friend “ has always been found to be true.
There are striking similarities between financial investments and investments in human values. The credibility of corporate governance following unethical practices or delinquent functionality is questionable. This amounts to a betrayal of the trust of the stake holders. This is analogous to ordinary citizens not discharging their good citizenship duties by eschewing social and ethical values. Conversely, were the common citizens to abide by these much cherished codes, the resultant collective social goodwill, with its multiplier effect, will bring about Ram Rajya or, if you like, God’s governance.

Source: The Economic Times

Iyya Comments:
aamanga idhu god oda thaan, nammalodathu edhuvum illa….

If a Creator exists, did He have any choice in making the universe? Albert Einstein said, “What I’m really interested in is whether God could have made the world in a different way; that is, whether the necessity of logical simplicity leaves any freedom at all.” In other words, at whatever level we examine the building blocks of life, the physics of the universe has to be very thoroughly fine-tuned for everything that’s in it to exist. Even the slightest of deviations can produce conditions totally different. Some scientists therefore take this to mean that a Creator really had no alternative but to do it the way it’s been done. And thus, they maintain, He hardly qualifies as omnipotent.
Or as Paul Davies, a cosmologist and populariser of science puts it in God and the New Physics: “Christians claim that this particular universe can be explained as God’s choice, taken from an infinite range of alternatives, for reasons that are unknown to us. But even an omnipotent God cannot break the rules of logic. God cannot make 2 = 3 or make a square a circle. The hasty assumption that God can create any universe must be qualified by the restriction that it be logically consistent. Now if there exists only one logically consistent universe then God would effectively have had no choice at all.”
Besides the fact that Davies foists a completely humanmade logical system on God in order to put limits on his omnipotence, he also completely overlooks all the “illogical” things that have happened in science in just the last 200 years. In non-Euclidian geometry for instance — one which was crucial for the development of Einstein’s theory of relativity — one of the basic axioms is that parallel lines meet. Surely that’s as counterintuitive as a squared circle. And as far as quantum mechanics is concerned, the less said the better; common sense and logic have simply gone zooming out of the window.
Even with our limited intelligence we can see the Creator could easily have had a choice. For starters, why is there something rather than nothing? He could have chosen not the make the universe but, instead, He obviously did choose to do so. Also, out of that “infinite range of alternatives” — combinations which would not be able to get a universe and us going just right — he chose the one that does, thereby giving us, as the philosopher Leibniz said, this best of all possible worlds.

Source: The Economic Times

Iyya Comments:
Lines in Bold above are underlined by Iyya.

Iyya- Heading mattum purinjukkonga. Nothing vera best verava? rendum onnu thaan. nammaloda logic vechuutu kadavulai aarachi panna mudiyuma? avannukku (scientist) ellamae science la sonna thaan puriyum.

idhu romba higher science, ungallukku puriyaradhu kashtam

AT AN old-age home, the inmates were asked: “Why do you think God has let you to reach the age of 90?” Ramu responded, “To test the tolerance of our relatives.”
Ageing is not pleasant for any one; not for the person ageing; not for the people around; especially if the family, that is otherwise occupied, has to take care of the aged.
Our body starts degenerating from the time we are born. Cells die every second even in an infant’s body, even as new cells grow. Medical science says that the entire body has a new set of cells every year or so. Not even one cell is as it was. Some parts of the body start rejuvenating; like our teeth for instance; it is rare that a third set of teeth grow if you start losing your second set. Muscles grow weaker and memories get shorter. Immunity levels decrease making people more prone to diseases. Ageing is inbuilt into the human DNA.
There is no antidote to ageing. There is no kaya kalpa that reverses the ageing process and makes you young again. However, with intelligence we can retard the process of ageing.
We age disgracefully because we abuse our body. We eat unhealthy food, we smoke, we drink, and we dump all kinds of toxins into our body which kill living organisms and yet expect that we can stay young.
We cannot prevent ourselves getting old but we can delay the degeneration process and we can age gracefully if we learn how to respect our body. Paying attention to body needs with great awareness is the first and most important step in graceful ageing. Listen to your body in the present moment. When it tells you that the cigarette smoke burns your throat, stop smoking; when it tells you that alcohol makes the body lose coordination, stop drinking; when it says it is tired, go to sleep; eat only when it says it is really hungry.
At the first indication of pain we swallow pills. If an alien were to see our commercials on TV he would think that our food is just pills. Instead of popping a pill next time you invite pain upon yourself, lie in a dark room and focus on the pain. Focus all your attention at this spot and soon you will find it shrinking. Pain turns into pleasure.
You can heal the body just by paying attention to it.

Source: Teh Economic Times

Iyya Comments:
Epdi bodyla irrukara paina seri pannanumnu potiruku parungaa…

The triumph of persuasive and powerful gentleness, rooted in effectiveness, over sheer fury and force is illustrated by a didactic story. Beholding a traveller walking along with a cloak wrapped around him, the wind god, challenged the sun god to compete with him in making the traveller take it off. The sun god asked the wind god to try his hand first. The more the wind blew on him, the more tightly did the traveller wrap the cloak around him. Exhausted, the wind god now asked the sun god to try, whereupon in the calm that followed, the sun’s rays shone gently on the person. Feeling relieved and warm, the traveller soon removed the cloak.
Applied to inter-personal relationships, it is common knowledge that even with the best of intentions it is difficult to find warmth, reciprocation or gratitude. Insinuations, remonstrations, pleadings and recounting past instances — these often meet with strong resistance and sometimes even ridicule. The desired objective could instead be attained by a shift in strategy marked by a “take it or leave it” or “it doesn’t matter” or “take it easy” approach.
Easiness, gaiety, acceptance and broadness in outlook, all rooted in authenticity and the power of inner conviction would thus replace the negative vibrations generated by obsessive desire to win acclaim and a longing eagerness to drive one’s point home. Such militating vibrations often merely save to ward off blessings and favourable developments, which would otherwise have visited the person concerned.
Essentially, the right approach would centre on the unfailing law of gentle persuasion and optimum effort. This ‘optimum’ effort also presupposes slackening and even abandoning the effort for a while. Modern management concepts also prescribe the need to let go, to lower one’s sights for a while, resisting the temptation to go out for a ceaseless and all out attack. The creative mechanism within, always at work, is then equipped to evolve right solutions. This is also the underlying principle of sage Patanjali’s exhortation in his Yoga Sutras (2, 47) that mastery in asanas (postures) is obtained through loosening the effort and dwelling on the infinite. In this manner, resistances are overcome (2, 48). Extending this concept to all aspects of living is indeed what Bhagawad Gita terms (2, 50) as Karmasu Koushalam (dexterity in action).

Source: The Economic Times

Iyya Comments:
take it or leave it avlo thaanga…

தன்னைத்தான் காக்கின் சினங்காக்க காவாக்கால்
தன்னையே கொல்லுஞ் சினம்.

verruppu / sinathai vittal podhunga. parunga sinathoda nature ennannu, adhu thannaiyae kollum.

vegama irrukumbodhu thalla thaan paakum, amaidhiya irrukmbodhu thaan edukkum. adhaan inga varavangallukku ellam solraen. unga velaiya ollunga parunga.
உழுதுண்டு வாழ்வாரே வாழ்வார்மற் றெல்லாம்
தொழுதுண்டு பின்செல் பவர்.

uzhavan enna panraan, payir pottutu thannaiyae adhukku kodukuraan. adhu maari velai pannanum…
idhae thaan economic timeslayum badnhirrukku, andha article padinga “Gentle power wins over fury”

வருமுன்னர்க் காவாதான் வாழ்க்கை எரிமுன்னர்
வைத்தூறு போலக் கெடும்.

onnu varadhukku munaadiyae jaakaradhaiya irrukanum. vayithu vali irrukumbodhae seri pannama, ulcer vara varraikkum vitta, appuram seri panna mudiyuma?
idhai vechutu doctor kitta pona, avan epdi seri pannuvaan? avan enna panna mudiyum. only god can heal.
so above kuralai padinga. varadhukku munnadi kapathalenna thappu yaaru mela? namma mela thaana, yaaru seri panna mudiyum?

health is wealth. orutharukku irukara kashtathukku doctor kita povanga. anga poi adhigapadithittu varuvanga. ellamae unga kitta thaan irrukku.

idhu kooda puriyalena enna panradhu, adhaan arivirukka nu kekaraangilla….

Your body aches, your mind is dull, and your spirit weak. Tiredness makes you want to snuggle deeper under the blanket. You wish it were a holiday and that you never had to work again. You yearn for those simpler childhood times of zero responsibilities and a thousand laughter-filled days.

This energy-crisis is a godsend. It reminds you that you are disconnected from your true, robust self… and from your vitalising habits. When you are single-mindedly busy at work, you spare neither thought nor time to what you are doing to yourself. You live mechanically. Then, when your energy is depleted, you’re stupefied.

Become aware

Resolve to become aware, remain aware, and re-connect. See your role clearly, do stuff consciously that is good for you. Re-shape your attitude — forget quick fixes, and opt for lasting wholesomeness.

Understand the difference between empty energy got from stimulation and useful energy derived from nourishment. Energy stimulated is short-lived, purposeless and weakens the immune system. Energy from nourishment is long-term, purposeful and strengthens the immune system.

Stimulation is skipping meals due to a busy schedule and grabbing fast-food bites at odd hours. Alternately starved and spiked, your blood-sugar levels fluctuate and you feel fatigued.

Nourishment is eating regular meals and arranging your schedules around them. Eat fat-free raw vegetables and fruits, complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, enzyme-rich sprouts and fibre.

Eat wise

The more easily digestible the food, the more energy you conserve and generate.

Food that makes you feel light is the right food; food that makes you feel dense and burdened is the wrong food.
Remember, when you eat fruits and vegetables, you imbibe a bit of the sun’s rays, the moon’s cooling beams, the earth’s matrix of nutrients and nature’s wholesome spirit.

Stimulation is overloading on caffeine, sweet biscuits, and chocolate bars to get energised. Such energy does not last — that artificial high crashes to a low and makes things look blacker and bleaker than they are.

Nourishment is opting for two bananas for real and body-friendly energy. The banana contains carbohydrates, fibre, and natural sugars such as sucrose, fructose and glucose, protein tryptophan that calms you and mineral potassium that makes you alert and ready to go. No lows here, its high packs a punch enough to work out non-stop for one-and-a-half hours. As a result, things look bright and beautiful.

Stimulation is dining late every night and keeping your stoked body busy digesting into unearthly hours when it should be resting, rejuvenating, and re-building. Naturally, it’s tired and sleepy when it’s time to rise and shine.

Nourishment is dining by 7 p.m. It gives you the rest of the evening to do anything you like — read, watch your favourite TV show, pray, or meditate.

To whip up hunger at 7 p.m., have nothing after lunch, not even tea and definitely no snacks. Thanks to an early dinner, your whole outlook will change, as you synchronise your system with nature’s rhythm.

You start living less robotically and more wisely. A

s you opt for better habits, the first rays of energy enter your being. As you become healthier, not only does your physical stamina soar, your mental interest deepens in many life-positive things.

Adieu to a robotic life

In awareness, you will choose to do certain things like an enlightened sage, not a programmed machine.

At lunchtime, instead of automatically unpacking your tiffin, you will instinctively seek the sun and spend a wonderfully restorative 20 minutes in the sunlight.

At parties, you will choose to drink water and soda and few or no soft and hard drinks.

Instead of carrying work home, you will listen to uplifting music or read an inspiring book.

Instead of catching the habitual 8 o’ clock TV news, you will want to meditate and feel those healing vibrations run down your body.
You’ll leap out of bed to join a friend in an early morning walk and feel so alive and vigorous that you’ll wonder why you didn’t do all this earlier.

Scarcity to prosperity…

One of the biggest energy-challengers is scarcity-consciousness. If you continually focus on not having enough money, friends, time and energy, you will never have them; you will feel bereft and tired.

Instead, cultivate prosperity-consciousness. Focus on the abundance in your life and you will have loads of money, friends, time and energy. When you shift your consciousness from scarcity to prosperity, you start noticing how abundance flows towards you from different fronts — unexpected bonuses, passes to a concert, and calls from old friends…

Life contains immense riches. Recognise them. From this grateful recognition flows abundant energy.

The writer is co-author of the book

`Fitness for Life’.

Source: Business Line dated Friday March 3, 2006.