Dec 14 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)

the speaking tree - The Journey,

Rather Than The Destination
Satsang: Swami Sukhabodhananda

We have many desires and targets... not all are attainable. Some people are content with
whatever they get. Others keep trying and by the time they attain their goals they are perhaps too
old to enjoy them. What is the right approach?
I recommend a third approach. You can have a desire. Put in your best effort to fulfil it. But
make sure you enjoy the effort rather than its fruits. There are those who make the effort
grumbling, and are happy only when the desire is achieved. There are others who exhaust
themselves making the effort to such a degree that they have no strength or enthusiasm left to
enjoy the fruits of their labour. The third method seems a better option.
Enjoy the effort no matter what the effect. I see nothing wrong with having a desire. But if
you are using fulfilment as a condition for contentment, you may be reducing your chances of
happiness altogether. You decide that you will be happy only when you become the managing
director of the company you are working for. Now you are postponing the moment of your
happiness to a point in the future. You will be happy only if and when you attain that position. You
are not happy engaged in the process of trying to reach the position.
Do you derive any pleasure from generating new ideas for your company's growth? Can you
enjoy the long hours of creative work you put in trying to implement those plans?
The third way celebrates the journey towards the destination. Sure, if the destination is reached,
we will be happy. Even if it is not reached, nobody can take away the sense of thrill at having run
the race, the delicious fatigue in the process. My happiness is derived not from reaching a goal,
but from the struggle and my attempt at reaching it. Enjoy the effort; give your best. Ensure that
you will be working smart, not just hard. Don't go fishing in the bath tub. Don't try to work up
lather in a running stream. Instead, fish in a stream, and work up lather in a bath tub. Set and
evaluate your goals, estimate the quantum and quality of efforts to be invested in attaining the
goals, calculate the ROI (return on investment) quotient carefully, and then, if you are convinced
the ratio is satisfactory, go ahead and work towards your goals.
Failure is a fact of life. In all competitive endeavours, as in sports, for example, one side has
to lose. Why should losers feel that they have nothing to feel glad about? A losing finalist at
Wimbledon is definitely entitled to feel sad at the loss, but should he mourn the loss at the finals
or savour the success up to the semi-finals? Celebrate successes rather than brood over losses.
Failures are necessary to remind us of our human vulnerabilities. An unbroken string of
successes can create pride and a sense of invincibility in a high achiever. Such pride always
precedes a great fall. Surrendering to the Lord is an act of bhakti or devotion, and surrender
happens only in a spirit of humility.
Follow Swami Sukhabodhananda of Prasanna Trust at speakingtree.in and post your
comments at speakingtree.in The Speaking Tree is also available as an 8 page newspaper every
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to 58888.

Dec 15 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)

the speaking tree - Ho Ho Ho! It's

Santa Claus Once Again
Indira Baptista Gupta

The Santa Claus tradition is the most endearing tradition of all time. It is carefully nurtured
and kept alive by generations of parents to give joy to millions of children the world over. But a
recent report warns that a child's trust in his parents may be undermined by the Santa `lie'.
According to it, children would reason that if parents lied about something as special and magical
as Santa how could they be relied upon to be guardians of wisdom and truth? The report quotes
psychologist, Christopher Boyle, University of Exeter, who questions the `morality of making
children believe in such myths'.
Although the original Christmas story is focused on Jesus Christ, the child born in a manger in
Bethlehem, the emphasis has long shifted away . Today's Christmas has as its pivotal figure, Santa
Claus, Saint Nicholas or Father Christmas. He has become the secular representation of Christmas.
He is generally depicted as rotund, jolly and generous with white hair and a white beard, wearing a
fur-trimmed red coat and trousers with a black belt and boots. He carries a heavy bag on his
shoulders and comes on a sleigh driven by reindeers, the chief of whom is the red-nosed Rudolf.
He brings gifts to children, who have been `good' through the year, on Christmas Eve night.
The recent discussion on Santa is part of a long existing controversy . Objections by some
psychologists to the Santa Claus tradition are based on their argument that it is unethical for
parents to `lie' to children without good cause. The Calvinists and Puritans, not believing in lavish
celebrations, disliked the idea of Santa as well as Christmas in general. In the last century also a
number of Christian denominations had concerns about Santa Claus. The argument forwarded was
that the original St Nicholas gave only to the needy while the new Santa was all about conspicuous
consumption. Reverend Paul Nedergaard, a clergyman from Denmark, in 1958 decla red Santa to
be a pagan `goblin'.
For all the irrationality of the `Christmas lie' and the Santa legend, is it really pru dent to be a
hard hearted ratio nalist and deprive children of one of the main joys of their childhood? Many of
us would remember our own early days when we would aspire to be good through the year, send a
wish list of toys to Santa, tie our stockings and wait expectantly for Christmas morning.
A prized memory of those days is the screams of pure glee at discovering Santa's gifts. And
even when we grew up and knew better we were grateful to our parents, rather than a
supernatural stranger from the skies, for the Christmas gifts we received. As all-knowing elders we
would conspire to keep the secret from younger siblings.
An excellent buttress to the Santa tradition is the open letter the editor of the New York `Sun'
wrote in response to one received from a young skeptic: Not believe in Santa Claus?
You might as well not believe in fairies.
Nobody sees Santa Claus But this is no sign that there is no Santa Claus.
The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see Santa
Claus! Thank God he lives and lives forever A1,000 years from now, nay 10,000 years from now
He will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
Post your comments at speakingtree.in

Dec 16 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)

the speaking tree - `Something

There Is That Doesn't Love A Wall'
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

As a machine and as a platform for life, the human body is faultless.

The only problem is that it does not take you anywhere; it springs out of the earth and falls
back into it.
Isn't that enough? At one level, it is quite enough. But somehow, a dimension beyond
physicality has infused itself into this wonderful mechanism. This dimension is the very source of
life. It is this that truly makes us who we are. In every creature, plant and seed, this is at work. In
a human being, this source of life is even more magnificently obvious.
This is why human beings seem to live in a constant struggle between the physical and the
dimension beyond.Though you have the compulsiveness of the physical, you also have the
consciousness of being more than just physical.
There are two basic forces. Most people see them as being in conflict. One is the instinct of
self-preservation, which compels you to build walls around yourself. The other is the constant
desire to expand, to become boundless. These two longings to preserve and to expand are not
opposing forces. They are related to two different aspects of your life. One force helps you root
yourself well on this planet; the other takes you beyond. If you have the necessary awareness to
separate the two, there is no conflict. But if you are completely identified with the physical, then
instead of working in collaboration, these two fundamental forces these two fundamental forces
become a source of tension.
All the `material-versusspiritual' struggles of humanity spring from this ignorance. When you
say `spirituality', you are talking about a dimension beyond the physical. The human desire to
transcend physical limitations is natural. Journeying from the boundary-based individual body to
the boundless source of creation this is the very basis of any spiritual process.
The walls of self-preservation that you build for today are the walls of self-imprisonment of
tomorrow. This is an endless cycle. But creation is not ess cycle. But creation is not unwilling to
open to you the doors to the beyond. You are struggling with the walls of resistance that you have
built around yourself. Robert Frost captured a deep truth when he wrote, Something there is that
doesn't love a wall.
That is why the yogic system does not talk about God, soul or heaven. Yoga talks only about
the barriers that you have set up, because this resis tance is all that needs to be attended to.The
walls that block you are 100% your creation. And these can be dismantled.You have no work with
existence. You only have work with the existence that you have created.
If i were to use an analogy , i would juxtapose gravity and grace. Gravity is related to the
fundamental instinct of self-preservation in a human being.We are rooted to the planet right now
because of gravity . Gravity is trying to hold you down; whereas grace is trying to lift you up. If
you are released from the physical forces of existence, grace bursts forth in your life.
Like gravity , grace too is constantly active. It is just that you have to make yourself receptive
to it. When you do, suddenly , you seem to function like magic. Suppose you were the only one
who could ride a bicycle, you would begin to seem magical to everyone else! It is the same with
grace. Others might think you are magic, but you know you are just beginning to become
receptive to a new dimension of life. This is a possibility that everyone should realise. (Inner
Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy .)

Dec 17 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)

the speaking tree - The Changing

Meaning Of Religious `Tolerance'
Ashok Vohra

Followers of every religion tend to believe that their religion is the exclusive repository of the
ultimate truth, that the path shown by it is exclusive and definitive; and that the methods adopted
by it to achieve salvation are unique and superior to those of others.This claim to superiority and
finality leads to a conflict situation among followers of different religions and results in violence
and hatred between them.
Tolerance of the `other' is the technique adopted by different societies in general and religions
in particular to avoid open confrontation. The first ever usage of the term `tolerance' is traced to
the 15th century. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as the action or practice of enduring or
sustaining pain or hardship; the power or capacity of enduring.
In the 16th century after Queen Elizabeth I permitted the Puritans to carry out their practices
which she did not share or agree with, tolerance acquired a new political meaning the action of
allowing; license, permission granted by authority.The underlying idea was that it was a
permission granted by the sovereign autho rity to depart from the norm.
One of the implications of the above usage is tolerance is the prerogative of those with
relative power over others. We do not tend to speak of the Puritans' tolerance of Queen Elizabeth,
just as we do not think of a parasite tolerating its host organism.
Tolerance according to Nietzsche, like the distinction between true and false, is power
based. Tolerance therefore is the voluntary acceptance by the stronger of what otherwise one
does not merely disprove but also abhors. From this it follows that tolerance is an attitude that
requires us to hold in check feelings of opposition and disapproval.
Tolerance can be of two types internal and external. By internal tolerance is meant the
capacity to live with religious differences within one's own religion. External tolerance, on the other
hand, means the capacity to live with the prevailing religious differences with other religions.It is
related with the capacity of enduring or sustaining pain or hardship; the power or capacity of
enduring. The two kinds of tolerance can also be termed as inter and intra tolerance.
The seeds of intolerance in religions can be traced to exclusivism. But Indic faiths believe in
inclusivism or pluralism.Their attitude is characterised by the Rig Vedic saying: Truth is one; the
sages describe it differently.
With the help of the parable of the blind men and the elephant Gautama Buddha advocates
tolerance by saying, These sectarians, brethren, are blind and unseeing. They know not the real,
they know not the unreal; they know not the truth, they know not the untruth. In such a state of
ignorance do they dispute and quarrel.
The Jainas propagate tolerance by their doctrines of syadavada and anekantavada. Syadavada
and anekantavada are doctrines which admit many-sidedness of reality, and the multiplicity of
perspectives from which it can be viewed. Therefore there is no singular, conclusive, absolute and
ultimate judgment of any kind. Once we realise that all our knowledge is a contextual
understanding of reality, we readily become tolerant of the others' viewpoint and our feeling of
superiority and exclusiveness vanishes.
The writer is former professor of philosophy, Delhi University

Dec 19 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)

the speaking tree - Atheists Also Have A

Definite Moral Code
Sumit Paul
Morality has been hijacked by religion. When British historian Arnold Toynbee said this in a
lecture, the French existentialists and writers Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus doffed their hats
to him because both were lifelong non-believers, yet they had their own ethical values and a set of
exalted morals.
It's perhaps the most inveterate notion among the people all over the world that nonbelievers and atheists have no morals (and often no hearts). But religion has nothing to do with
one's morals and intrinsic compassion. People with no faith and no belief in any supernatural
power can be morally as good as their religious peers.
Nature has endowed us with free will. We all have undergone a long process of evolution with
a definite sense of good and bad. Religion and god were created, or should i say concocted, to
control, regulate and moderate our feral instincts.
An overall sense of esoteric fear was slowly built up for people to act in a manner that was in
agreement with the then primitive society's limited needs. But there have been people in all ages
and times, who've their own independent way of thinking, shorn of any divine compulsions and
complications. Yet, they never went berserk and always followed their own morality.
Most Greek and Roman philosophers and writers like Diogenes, Epicurus, Sophocles and Ovid
among others never believed in the pagan gods of Greeks and Romans and rejected the idea of
hell, heaven and afterlife. Despite that, they were great moralists, who followed universal values.
And it was Diogenes who was the first man to suggest that a rapist had no place in a civilised
society and he must be banished, but not killed.
Gautama Buddha never believed in any god or supernatural power. In fact, the core of
Buddha's philosophy is atheism. Yet, Buddha is still considered to be an epitome of compassion
and rectitude. So was his contemporary Vardhman, who became Mahavira. Jainism is yet another
atheistic faith but Mahavira was a compassionate moralist. Even Charvaka (Hedonistic school of
Indian philosophy) never believed in god and rejected all beliefs, had a moral code and its
proponents were not anarchists. So too the followers of Saankhya Darshan. They don't consider
god to be the creator of the universe but have a deep sense of reverence for all creatures and the
cosmos. Their moral code is in sync with humanity and all that's good and noble in mankind.
My friend, philosopher, mentor and professor Zaifa Ashraf left her religion (Islam) at the age
of 17 and when she died at the age of 57, her last wish was that her mortal remains should be
donated to a medical college and all her usable body parts must be used for the poor and needy. I
still meet a 16-year-old young girl who sees the world with the good professor's eyes and she
never forgets to thank the departed lady. Prof Ashraf was a staunch atheist, yet she was filled with
humane qualities and was morally upright.
Considering all of this, to me, a genuine moralist is one who's good to all and doesn't hurt
anyone; does not expect any reward from any god or religion. Non-believers can be altruistic and
moralistic without any ulterior motive like reaping rewards in heaven.
Post your comments at speakingtree.in

Dec 20 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)

the speaking tree - Guru Gobind

Singh's Jaap Sahib
Kulbir Kaur
Jaap Sahib, composed by Guru Gobind Singh, is a salutation to the Almighty , the Creator as
well as the Creation. Jaap Sahib is a celebration, a jalsa of the glory of God who, though He
pervades even a blade of grass, cannot be comprehended, expressed, or understood just like
love. `Thou pervadest everywhere in the form of love,' says Guru Gobind Singh.
God, like love, is impossible to describe or define. `The One, true, wise and pure Guru has no
contour, countenance, colour, caste or lineage. No form, complexion nor any lines by which one
may describe him. A Being limitless in might, fearless, luminous and steady ...who can describe all
Thy names? The wise recounts only such of Thy attributes as are revealed by Thy works.' Jaap
Sahib, with its 199 pauris or verses, is the morning prayer of the Sikhs and the first Bani of the
Dasam Granth. It is a tribute to God with 1,000 names. Jaap Sahib is one of the five Banis that a
Sikh must recite every day .The recitation leads to an inexplicable state of vismad, wonder, with
the realisation of the supreme power of God and us, human beings as minuscule particles of His
creation.Indeed, God is the greatest mystery . `Thou art unascertainable ... Thou art unattainable
and sublime ... Thou art hidden among the hidden ... To Thee who art eternal, who art merciful. To
Thee I bow again and again,' says Guru Gobind Singh.
Why
name
Him?
Why
define
Him?
Why
give
Him
any
shape?
Why confine Him to any place? The Creator is Akal timeless, formless, invisible. He is the King of
kings, Moon of moons, God of gods, Sun of suns. He is eternal. He is constant. To identify Him with
any religion, caste or sect is just unthinkable.
Jaap Sahib extols unity in diversity anek hai phir ek hai many forms yet One. All life,
according to Guru Gobind Singh, is `Absolutely One'. Addressing God, he writes, `You appear in all
forms and behold everything. You are like an ocean rippling with countless waves, unbroken and
mysterious. You are the quintessence of all things yet unformed of the elements. You make all
things flourish and then scatter away . To Thee I bow again and again. You are Almighty , Creator,
whose hand is in all concerns of the world. You are multifarious and yet One.' `Jaap' means japna,
to recite, repeat, chant; to utter His praises but also to understand and imbibe His attributes.A
true Sikh tries to follow these in every day life. The Supreme Being is dayalam and kripalam
merciful. He is light, love, beauty , truth, energy . He is the support of the lowly . God is evercalm, without anxiety , without desire, free from pain, enjoyer of bliss, like the sky above the
earth,
calm
and
deep.
Why
to
embroil
in
rituals
and
ceremonies?
Embrace naam-simran, charity, seva and remain in chardi-kala (high spirits). He, the Creator, is
the highest ideal. He is the only Truth.
Jaap Sahib, a masterpiece of love, devotion and energy , is an utsav of emotions. The Jaap
Sahib is recited while preparing amrit for the khandedi-pahul ceremony . It purifies you. `God is
ever the Supreme Truth, Supreme Consciousness and Supreme Bliss,' exclaims Guru Gobind
Singh. God is the ultimate friend and it is to Him that we should appeal in times of distress.
(Guru Gobind Singh's 350th prakash utsav is on January 5, 2017.)

Dec 21 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)

the speaking tree - Christmas

Thought: A Cue From The Bible
Every one of us is potentially divine. Radiance of the divinity within may be temporarily
veiled by egoistic thought processes; but the jewel within the lotus of the heart cannot be
hidden forever. At some point, whatever is obscuring it could disappear, revealing the truth.
Such a one in whom the core of consciousness shines forth, exuding selfless love and
bounteous beauty, is called a perfected being: a Christ, Buddha or Paramahamsa.
Selfless service to humanity, expecting nothing in return, is the beginning of this journey
to perfection; an indication that the mind has evolved enough to sense that the divine spark
in oneself is no different from that in others.
This happens with the overcoming of the little self and the spontaneous, instantaneous
understanding of the Supreme Universal `That' which pervades everything the omnipresent
`Isha' that is described in the Ishavasya Upanishad as `Ishavasyam Idam Sarvam'.
Along with the practice of meditation, retrospection, contemplation and other devotional
activities aimed at stilling the mind and delving deep into the recesses of one's
consciousness, one could engage in such activities that could, to the best extent possible,
allay suffering.
This two-pronged action is sure to dissolve the little ego the cause of all misery over a
period of time until the Supreme Self in all of us shines forth. Then, what is `human' gets
transformed into God.
If we have meditated for 30 years, and seen all kinds of visions and yet there is not an
iota of love and concern for those who are in misery, we have to re-examine and re-assess
where we have gone wrong. If the heart does not melt at the cries of pain around one, all the
years of so-called meditation have been futile. We have lived in a world of illusions and
imagined ourselves to be saints.
A true saint's heart melts with compassion at the sight of misery and he immediately
sets about trying to alleviate suffering to the best of his capacity.
All that one requires to emulate realised ones, is love. When your heart is clean, you
don't hate anyone. Sometimes, to discipline oneself, one might have to be stern, but that too
is done with love, not hate. When you don't hate anyone, love grows. When we talk of Hindus
and Muslims as being separate, i am reminded of what the Bible says: Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God. And, Those who are pure in heart are God.
You, i and all people on earth if all of us purify our hearts and harbour no hatred for
anyone could all become God. And then, the world could become Heaven.
This thought has had some impact on my heart as well. Maybe there is a sense of
gratitude, which is the precursor to feeling love for all mankind. As the Bible says, For I was
hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty , and you gave me something to
drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes, you clothed me, I was in
prison and you came to visit me. (Mathew 25:35-36)
Sri M will speak on Meditation and the Spiritual Journey, IIC, December 21-22.Follow Sri
M at speakingtree.in and post your comments there.