Evolve and Elevate: Acting aggressively will not resolve your pain, what can a Bhakt (Devotee) achieve, The most influential person in my Life.

Idea of the Week

“From a Buddhist point of view, human beings aren’t intrinsically aggressive; we are inherently peaceful. 

This is sometimes hard to believe. 

When we’re angry or upset, our untrained mind becomes belligerent, and we routinely strike out at others.  We imagine that reacting aggressively to the object of our emotion will resolve our pain. 

Throughout history we have used this approach over and over again. 

Striking out when we’re in pain is clearly one way, we perpetuate misery. 

With a trained mind, a stable mind, a mind with a larger motivation than its own comfort, we find another way to work with difficulties of daily life. 

When we’re in a difficult situation, we maintain our seat.  Instead of perpetuating misery by acting out aggression, we learn to use the rough spots to spark the courage to proceed on our journey.

  Eventually we may actually be able to turn the mind of anger into the energy of love and compassion.” ~ Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind Into An Ally (Page 26)

Lesson of the Week

Bhagavad Gita says:

Arjuna is called as Gudakesh.

The one who conquers his sleep is called as Gudakesh.

Sleep also means agyan (ignorance).

And because Arjuna had friendship with God himself, he had conquered his sleep and ignorance.

Being the Bhakt (Devotee) of Bhagwan Krishna, Arjuna never stopped thinking about God, and this is how the Bhakt’s Bhakti (devotee’s devotion) is.

In fact, even when a Bhakt sleeps and walks, he does not forget meditating God.

It means if a Bhakt (devotee) constantly remembers Bhagwan, he can win over both sleep and ignorance.

This is called Krishna Bhav Nimrit Samadhi.

Lord Krishna knew what all was going on in Arjuna’s heart. Bhagwan Krishna is called Rishikesh because He knows everything that is going on in a Bhakt’s (devotee’s) heart.

The person who is full of Bhakti (devotion) has all those Gunas (attributes) which are there in Devtas (deities). But one who is devoid of Bhakti, can succeed in this material world through education and culture which is worthless but cannot excel in divine spiritual knowledge.

Inspiration of the Week: 

The most influential person in my life

She is Heera.

And she is indeed a Heera (Diamond).

I remember the nights I used to sleep with her while she smoked her beedi (mini-cigar filled with tobacco flake).

The only light in the darkroom was the burning rim of her Beedi.

And I used to whimper while she inhaled her tobacco, for one reason always.

“How will I live without you when you’ll die?”

And her answer that dozed me off to sleep always, was, “I am not going that early”.

She was 15 when married and 25 when turned a widow.

The mother was stranded alone with three kids and hopelessness.

A life that looked like a mountain to climb, a forest to find the way out and an ocean to swim in was right in front of her.

She chose to climb, swim and find her route.

Giving all of her soul to the life that stood in front of her, she never looked back.

Beedi helped her forget the worries and the innocent faces of her children gave her the courage.

Her love and sacrifice justified her name “Heera”.

Someone who gave everything to life and not take anything in return.

She could choose to complain life, but she chose to mend it, repair it and adorn it.

She killed herself with the burden that she did not want her kids to feel overburdened with.

Our lives are a gift to us from the ones who used their gift to make ours more beautiful.

We owe our lives to people who struggled enough to give us what they missed in their lives.

 

I owe my entity to this beautiful woman “Heera” whom I called “Aama”.

My grandmother!

The beautiful life I see today is what she made beautiful for me.