Total Thoughts (October 18, 2009) - Meditation

Total Thoughts:

 

Meditation (On Wings and Wheels pages 38 - 40)

• We have to make reasons to follow through with meditation and not make excuses to not follow through - skipping meditation is easy, just as being mediocre is easy
• Sincerity is a key factor to being successful with meditation - if we truly appreciated the benefit of meditation we would be sincere
• Unfortunately our gauge of what is beneficial and what is not has become utterly gross and immediate - the benefits of meditation are subtle and lasting in addition to being gross and immediate so why do we invest so little into meditation
• To be able to meditate we have to be comfortable with being alone - solitude is a catalyst to contemplation
• Meditation is a means to Enlightenment - this means is the practice of believing we are Infinite rather than finite

' The rich have a superfluous store of things which they do not need and which are, therefore, neglected and wasted; while millions starve and are frozen to death for want of them.  If each retained possession only of what he needed, none would be in want and all would live in contentment. ' --- Mahatma Gandhi

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Total Thoughts (October 4, 2009) - Values of Life (Cont'd)

Total Thoughts:
 
Values of Life (On Wings and Wheels pages 36 - 38)

• Self-integration is that discipline whereby the wants of the mind become obedient to the needs of the intellect - sans self-integration our inner and outer achievements will always be dismal
• Discipline is necessary to be content - if we are not disciplined we will not be aware of our wants nor needs and naturally this will only result in confusion
• When our focus is on increasing the number of desires fulfilled we are consenting to run a race that never ends, leading to exhaustion - by focusing on decreasing the number of desires entertained we have chosen to run a race with a finish line, leading to Joy
• Striving for equipoise one discovers one becomes peaceful in all situations - when our mind is quiet we become amazing in all we undertake
• Our discussions are an ideal forum to reevaluate what we want to achieve - only when we know what we want to achieve can we be successful

' He who writes poetry is not a poet. He whose poetry has become his life, and who has made his life his poetry - it is he who is a poet. ' --- Subramanya Bharathi
 
Inspire-Love-Be,
 

Total Thoughts (September 27, 2009) - Values of Life

Total Thoughts:
 
Values of Life (On Wings and Wheels pages 31 - 35)

• By being disciplined in outer lifestyle we contribute to our inner stability - tapas (voluntary discipline) enables titiksha (forbearance)
• Charity has to be a way of life not just an occurrence here and there - we have to give our whole being (i.e. effort, time, funds, skills, etc.) for us to know what charity really is
• We discover the true value of an object, being or situation when we give it away - the best way to prove or disprove the latter is to try being charitable
• Keeping our outer surroundings pure is exponentially more easy than keeping our inner being pure - funnily and sadly we are so bold in claiming that our physical environment is not a reflection of our mind
• By forcing ourselves to smile and speak gently, inevitably the force will disappear and these positive behaviours will be natural - living a value based life is only complicated and difficult if we want it to be

Foundation for our upcoming discussion:  Values of Life (On Wings and Wheels pages 36 - 40)

 
' Melancholy is the language of delusion; joy is the music of Truth. ' --- Swami Chinmayananda
 

Inspire-Love-Be,

Total Thoughts (September 20, 2009) - In Pursuit of Higher Values

Total Thoughts:

In Pursuit of Higher Values (On Wings and Wheels pages 28 - 31)

• Just as the majority of an iceberg is unseen so too the majority of our personality is unexpressed - by developing more awareness we are able to purify the subtler layers of our personality
• Most of us claim to live a life based on values but when push comes to shove do we still uphold these values - through introspection do we come to understand what we really base our lives on
• If we all cultivated 'big picture ethics' then 'little picture ethics' would be absorbed into this - in the same way, when our vision is of Oneness, our egos would dissolve
• Values are a means and not an ends in themselves - we abide by values to make us eligible to abide in our Infinite Nature
• Most of the education society propagates is towards valuables (limited) and not values (limitless) - is it a wonder then that unnecessary conflict is ever present

Foundation for our upcoming discussion:  Values of Life (On Wings and Wheels pages 31 - 35)

 

' I emphasize that I am full of ambition and hope and of full charm of life.  But I can renounce all at the time of need and that is the real sacrifice. ' --- Bhagat Singh

 

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Total Thoughts (May 3, 20090) - Free Will

Total Thoughts:

Free Will

·         Accepting moral responsibility is important – there is an obvious difference between the level of responsibility one wants to accept, but we should strive to accept more responsibility to encourage self-development and growth

·         Both the short-term and long-term are affected by fate - we should not think of fate as something that only affects the future as the concept itself implies that all events are interconnected as one (i.e. the big picture and the individual's role in the whole). Therefore short-term events/decisions should be regarded as significant as their outcome

·         The concept of fate is logical but not always practical – free will is more likable, therefore we should implore this knowledge when faced with negative situations as it will help us gain perspective and promote a healthy positive attitude

·         Accepting fate can help alleviate worry/stress – if we practice accepting this notion, we will worry less about 'getting to point B' and can therefore feel more motivated and productive in the interim

·         Meditation helps grow awareness – meditation should not be considered thought control, rather it should be viewed as aiding in helping develop our awareness and reflecting on something higher

·         Everything has purpose and reason – If we reflect upon this, it is easy to see the importance in treating every relationship seriously. This will help us to become stronger, smarter and therefore more empowered

Foundation for our Upcoming Discussion May 10, 2009:  The Relationship between Religion and Behaviour.

 "Success or achievement is not the final goal.  It is the 'spirit' in which you act that puts the seal of beauty upon your life" – Swami Chinmayananda

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Total Thoughts (April 5, 2009) - Judging Oneself

Total Thoughts:

 

Judging Oneself

• Judging others is acting like we are completely blind - we have no idea what kind of upbringing, conditions, needs, etc. one may have so who are we to judge them (i.e. a poor man could be much happier than a rich man)
• Guilt and forgiveness (within oneself) are fundamental emotions which can prevent us from growing if either is too great - we should reflect over these and seek a balance which aids our growth
• The only difference between a thought and action is the physical expression - knowing this we should nurture thoughts which help move us forward on the journey of Self realization and soon enough our goal will become Real
• We can learn through another's experience or one's own - the more aware we become the more we can learn from others and this significantly benefits our spiritual growth 
• We are quite aware of physical dangers (i.e. ice, animals, etc.) - yet we are almost completely unaware of mental dangers (i.e. negative company, harmful thoughts, etc.)
• The greatest wealth we have is peace of mind - so we should practice dissecting which thoughts pose a danger to us and give such thoughts no attention making them impotent
• The way to exhaust our vasanas (innate tendencies) is to do what we need to do (i.e. study if a student) and not what we want to do (i.e. sleep all day if a student) - by understanding the role we are supposed to play (exhausting vasanas) we will not make the mistake of trying to fit into someone else's role (create more vasanas)
• All that happens, is for a reason - we are to learn from every situation life presents to us and if we do not learn from such a situation the same message will be offered to us in another situation and on and on and on  
• Faith is needed to understand that there is a lesson to be learned in every situation - with this faith living becomes an adventure and we engage ourselves more fully in each and every situation

Remember we will not meet this Sunday for our Discussion as this is a Holiday Weekend.  We will meet the following Sunday (April 19th) not at Pritesh's place, rather at Charmaine's place (27 Birch Avenue, Toronto) and we will meet here until we break for the Summer.  This is a basement apartment and parking is available across the street.  A followup email has come from CHYK Toronto and / or check out http://www.chyktoronto.org/ .

 

' Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced. ' --- Swami Vivekananda

 

Inspire-Love-Peace

Total Thoughts (March 29, 2009) - The Role of Conscience

Total Thoughts:

 

The Role of our Conscience

• There is no real difference between the intellect and conscience - the intellect we tend to associate as a 'storehouse' (theory) and the conscience as the 'frontline' (application)
• Every night we should reflect over our actions and reactions of the expired day - by investing this time in ourselves we become more aware of our conscience and thus are better able at developing this
• Wisdom is knowledge in action - it is important to recognize what we are doing with the knowledge we acquire and whether we are actually applying this to our daily affairs
• We should practice having a calm mind - when our mind is calm we are more likely to listen to our conscience and so live ethically 
• Everyone should aspire to the ideal of being truthful in thought, word and deed - by recognizing that lying is easy and habit forming we should cease to do so for the negative impact is far reaching (i.e. the prevalence of cheating on exams, taxes, relations, etc.)
• To live by the philosophy of maximum happiness for maximum people for maximum time is to practice Oneness - Lord Rama acted as such for He only knew Oneness and so is a role model for all for all times
• Nothing is as hard as it seems - the purpose of living is to serve others and we have to have the courage to practice all the knowledge we are gaining so that we can become wise in our vision

Foundation for our upcoming Discussion:  Judging Oneself

 

Moreover, Swami Shantananda was teaching in Toronto last week and there were opportunities to offer Bhiksha.  Many people do not know what Bhiksha is and more importantly the significance behind offering Bhiksha.  So in the interest of conquering our ignorance, an explanation for you:

 

What Is Bhiksha?
 
Saint and Sages are the pillars of any society. They offer their words of wisdom according
to the times of society, expecting absolutely nothing in return. It is considered an honour and privilege
to get a chance to offer them a meal, which is called BHIKSHA.
 
It is said that the mere presence of highly evolved personalities in one's home or an institution makes the place blessed.
Bhiksha provides an ideal opportunity to meet these people in person and to have satsang at home.

 

Please also note, we will not meet for our Discussion on Sunday, April 12th as this is a Holiday Weekend. 

 

See you all this Sunday.
 
' Better a death of righteousness than the ordinary ignoble death!  It is more laudable to die for the general welfare than to expire on the comfortable bed of selfishness! ' --- Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda
 
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