Total Thoughts (November 23, 2009): Shraddha & Samadhanam (Tattva Bodha pages 27 - 30)

If we want to go to Mumbai (Moksa), we approach a travel agent (Guru) to make enquiries as to the best mode of transport (sadhana), book our ticket, board the vehicle on time and reach the destination. We control other expenses (the sense organs and the mind) so as to afford the ticket, have faith in the travel agent and the vehicle that transports us (scriptures) and endure all the travails of the journey (titiksa) in order to reach Mumbai (Moksa). We continue our journey this week with the following thoughts…

 

Total Thoughts (November 23, 2009):  Shraddha & Samadhanam  (Tattva Bodha pages 27 - 30)

• Faith is an intrinsic quality to human life. We are all born with it, but we express and identify with it differently.
• Faith is in the unknown. The known requires no faith. Faith encourages enquiry, reflection and realization of the truth.
• It is strengthened through enquiry and culminates in knowledge. As such, there is no such thing as "blind" faith. Faith exists only in the present.
• Just as we have faith in tomorrow's sunrise, or in our next breath, so we must have faith in our Guru and scriptures.
• Our experience is in the limited (mind), yet we use it to project our belief in the world of objects, emotions, and thoughts. Instead, why not project it in the unseen world usingsraddha upon our scriptures.
• To reach this single-pointedness of the mind, one controls the mind (sama) and the senses (dama), withdraws from worldly pursuits (uparama), endures the pin-pricks of life (titiksa) and faithfully follows the path indicated by the Guru and Scriptures (sraddha). The resultant absorption of the mind in the Self is samadhanam.

 Foundation for our upcoming discussion:  Mumuksutvam (Tattva Bodha pages 30 - 33)

Total Thoughts (November 16, 2009): Titiksha (Tattva Bodha pages 25 - 27)

In Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna tells Prince Arjuna, 'The one with titiksha (forbearance) is fit for Immortality'.  We have shown the depth of our seeking by giving this spiritual quality it's due importance - 1 1/2 discussions only on titiksha!  What this quality is, why we need this and how to develop this, is shared with all through our Total Thoughts...
  
Total Thoughts (November 16, 2009):  Titiksha (Tattva Bodha pages 25 - 27)

• Each and every day our lives are peppered with the pairs of opposites - these are pain & pleasure for the body, gain & loss for the mind, and victory & defeat for the intellect
• When we succumb to these ever changing situations we become complacent to sorrow - however, when we absorb ourselves in noble pursuits these pairs become less potent (i.e. when feeding the needy one's own hunger fades away)
• The diseases of the body and mind (vyadhi and aadhi) are neutralized by endurance and patience respectively - the world cannot shake one who has developed endurance and patience
• Chosen discipline or tapas (i.e. taking cold showers, etc.) enables one to practice titiksha during forced hardships (i.e. when there is no hot water, etc.) - the more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war
• The purpose of forbearance, like all other spiritual qualities, is to ensure that our mind is reflecting on the Spirit and not caught up in the mundane - the purpose of reflecting on the Spirit is to rediscover our Joyous Nature, hence the one with titiksha is fit for Immortality

Foundation for our upcoming discussion:  Shraddha & Samadhanam  (Tattva Bodha pages 27 - 30)

Total Thoughts – Monday, Nov 9, 2009 - Observance of one’s own duty

Observance of one's own duty (Tattva Bodha pages  20-24)

•  It is while performing our dharma we are able to use control our senses and continuously withdraw them, to reach a stage where the mind stops reveling in the field objects
•  Uparama is achieved by focusing on every day and occasional karma, while avoiding thoughts and actions driven by atonement, desire and prohibition
•  Beginning with focusing on an ideal, and then by constantly exerting effort to remove and confront ignorance, the texture of the mind changes to become more calmer and decisive
•  With the removal of ignorance, all that remains is the subject aware of the ignorance in the field of objects. Through this constant awareness, the mind exhibits calmness, decisiveness and fortitude.
•  The constant effort then becomes effortless. This ability lies in all.

Total Thoughts – Monday, Nov 2, 2009 - Control of the Senses

Control of the Senses (Tattva Bodha pages 17 - 18)

• By succumbing to the incessant demands of the senses we grow physically and mentally weak - sense control is important for secular success, is required for spiritual success
• All successful people know their minds to a certain degree - with this awareness of themselves they are better able to execute what they set out to
• We have to renew our aspiration to develop discipline for the sense organs - this is facilitated by shama or discipline of the mind
• Whenever we are in a satsanga we are spiritually brilliant and unambiguously peaceful - when we are not in satsanga our strength falters and the only way to remain stong is to 'carry' satsanga everywhere and 'remember' satsanga all the time
• The mind will remain immortal until Self Knowledge shows us the truth of the mind's mortality - compassion, or the ability to suffer with another, is a potent means to drop the erroneous notion of 'my mind'

Total Thoughts – Monday, Nov 12, 2009 - Control of the Mind

Control of Mind (Tattva Bodha page 16 - 17)

• Boredom is a choice - we never ever have to be afflicted by boredom if we develop an interest in all we do
• We should strive to do what we value and value what we do - do we practice either
• By discovering what we are passionate about all negative afflictions like boredom, lack of concentration, restlessness, etc. fade away - to know what we are passionate about requires us to know who we are first
• The projecting mind which causes us to suffer only exists in the past and future - by focusing on the present, only the perceiving mind remains empowering us to excel in any / all fields
• A disciple is one who is ready for discipline - shama is discipline of the mind