Hohenzollern Castle floating above the Clouds, Germany
Solutions come easily from a calm mind.
An Open Mind
The mind is like a parachute - it works best when it is open. How
quickly we make assumptions, jump to conclusions and close our mind.
How easily we form and hold fast to our opinions and then close our
mind. How fast do we make a judgment, slap on a label and then close
our mind. A closed mind never knows the delight of playing with
possibilities, being enlightened by others point of view or enjoying
the diversity of human life. An open and understanding mind never
assumes, doesn't jump to conclusions and won't hold fast to any
opinion. Perhaps it is no wonder a closed mind is not a very relaxed
mind.
The Five Primary Qualities (cont.)
The soul has five primary qualities; we could say they are the primary colours of humanity with which we paint the picture of our lives. We have discussed four of the qualities in the last couple of days. The last one is:
Happiness
Happiness is the natural expression of joy in being alive and interacting with others. Happiness is only possible when I relate to myself and express respectfully what I am and allow others to share in what I am and what I have. I relate to people and nature and experience the fulfillment of human life through relationships.
In the meditation, we absorb the rays of these five primary qualities from the Supreme Soul by concentrating on his point of divine light form in the incorporeal world (paramdham or shantidham). The absorption and the harmony of these basic qualities (peace, purity, love, knowledge and happiness) lead to the development of many more virtues inside us.
As we become aware of these five primary qualities, we gradually realize that each one of them has many characteristics.
e.g. we understand that spiritual love does not mean just a special feeling for one or two people. Spiritual love is far greater; it means respect, tolerance, forgiveness, compassion and flexibility; there is a universal feeling of belonging, an openness of heart, a generosity of spirit that is all-embracing.
Soul Sustenance
The Three Root Causes Of Anger (Part 2)
We are at a subtle war with another person when he/she has done something which we perceive or judge to be wrong and our anger is an attempt to change them or take revenge. This is the second belief (we had mentioned the first one in yesterday's message) that is embedded very deeply in our consciousness that the world, including its entire people, should do exactly what we want them to, or what we think they should do. Perhaps we have not yet realized that it is impossible to control others and make them change. The lack of awareness and realization of this truth, which we will definitely realize at some point or the other, doesn't let us become anger-free very easily. People will always make their own decisions and control their own actions, always. They can definitely be influenced, but they cannot be controlled. When our internal desire of a certain type of behavior from people is not fulfilled, or in other words something against the above belief happens, our instant reaction is one of resentment or irritation or frustration or hatred which are all forms of anger.
One of the most important attributes of a great soul is the ability to not have even a trace of desire for revenge inside and the ability to forgive someone who has supposedly wronged him in anyway. Don't we all acknowledge that such an individual who has freed himself completely from all anger forms earns our and everyone else's respect and deepest admiration, and we give him the medal of greatness inside our minds and even physically? So doesn't that mean we intuitively know that this anger is an incorrect emotion and peace, good wishes and forgiveness are the correct ones, in harmony with the basic nature of the human spirit?
(To be continued tomorrow…)
Message for the day
The one who is content is creative and thereby successful.
Projection: It is usually believed that to be content is to have nothing to look forward to. And the one who is content is the one who tries for nothing new. So it is usually believed that contentment brings hardly any great achievements.
Solution: We need to ensure our own contentment in whatever we do. Because when we are not content we find that the mind is not able to work to the fullest extent. On the other hand contentment brings creativity. This creativity ensures our constant progress and thereby our success.
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