From the life of Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda lived in a time when Indian needed to rise from the misfortune brought to it by foreign rule. Swamiji by his work in Europe and USA managed to change the global perception of Indian culture and also generated just enough funds to be able to build a math in in Belur just outside Calcutta( now Kolkata) on the banks of river Ganga. 

He wanted Belur Math to become a centre of spiritual energy and knowledge that would transform the country. Today Ramakrishna Mission has 748 educational institutions under its fold with over 2,00,000 students. Ramkrishna Mission produces some of the best students in India. 

Swami Vivekananda said "Service to Man is service to God " RKM runs many hospitals and dispensaries across the country serving 8 million patients each year. In addition to this at the time of natural calamities the monks and other people from the math and mission go to the affected places ,rescue and serve the affected people. 

The ideals of self belief, fearlessness and selfless service preached by Ramakrishna Pramhamsa, Swami Vivekananda has been accepted and followed by many individuals across the nation. 

In his lifetime before going to USA there were occasions when Swamiji wanted to simply get into deep samadhi . But God had different ideas for him since he had come to earth with a purpose. Once Ramakrishna Parmhamsa while in  meditation had a vision in which he had seen that a from the constellation Saptarshi(Little Dipper) fell on earth at a place where Swamiji was born.

When Ramakrishna Pramhamsa met Swamiji for the the first time young Naren around 18 at that time. Naren sang a bengali devotional song "Mon Chalo Nijo Niktone" in his melodius voice the song had a profound influence on Ramakrishna, he at once recognised the spiritual potential of young Narendra. 
Naren asked the Master "Sir , have you seen God?" to that the Ramkrishna replied in affirmitive and also mentioned that even he or anyone who has sincere yearning for God can see Him. 

Initially Naren regarded Ramakrisna as insane but something in him attracted his soul towards Ramakrishna. In their second meeting at Dakshineshwar Naren had an even more stranger experience. In an ecstatic mood Ramakrishna drew near Naren said something and then placed his foot on Naren's chest. At this touch of the Master Naren saw everything around him and even himself falling into a void . He felt that he was about to die and he shouted " What are you doing to me, I have parents, brothers , sisters at home. "

On his third visit a similar thing happened . Sri Ramakrisna took him to the neighbouring garden and touched him and at this touch Naren lost consciousness. Later reffering to this event Sri Ramakrishna mentioned that in that unconscious state he had asked many questions to Naren regarding his past lives , his mission in this life in the word and the duration of his present life. The answers that he got confirmed what he already thought about Naren.

 According to Ramakrishna Naren had attained perfection even before he was born . He was adept in meditation and also prophesied that the day when Naren realized his true self he would give up his body just by an act of will as perfect(siddha)yogis do.  

From Swami Vivekananda's life

Swami Vivekananda was the pioneer in rebuilding of India that was completely destroyed during foreign rule. When Swamiji travelled across the nation he found horrendous poverty everywhere. The entire nation was mired under oppressive foreign rule with tremendous poverty, ignorance and superstition everywhere. The British were not at all interested in doing anything to improve the lives of the people.

The country was passing through one of the worst phases in its history. Swamiji wanted to do something about the situation. The perception of India in world at that time was of a primitive , uncivilized nation. The British back then thought of themselves as a superior race. They had already destroyed the Gurukul system of education, Indian industries, Indian trade . The system of education that they brought was just to get a few clerks and lawyers for themselves. It was expensive and very few could afford it.

Swamiji wanted to do something about the situation The Maharaja of Khetri had suggested him to visit "The Parliament of Religions" that was supposed to be held in Chicago, USA. Swamiji thought long and hard about it. Since he was travelling throughout the country at that time he decided to take the final decision at Rameshwaram in South India.

When he arrived in Cape Comiron(Kanyakumari) after visiting the temple of Goddess. His eyes fell on an islet in the ocean he swam across the ocean and meditated on the rock. He reflected his experiences of his travel across the country , about India's past and its future. It was here he took the decision of visiting the Parliament of Religions scheduled to be held in Chicago.

Before that one night he did have a dream in which he saw Ramakrishna on the sea asking him to "Go" . In his travels across India in which he followed the direction shown by his spirit, it seemed that he was always aided by god. 

Swamiji had to overcome great difficulties to finally be able to speak at the "Parliament of Religions". While on his way from Boston to Chicago the Swami lost the address and his wallet. He had to spend a night in railway wagon and next day he was met with lot of indifference from people to whom he enquired about the directions of World Fair Grounds, because of his soiled cloth and unshaven appearance. He finally sat at the end of a road hungry and exhausted when Mrs George W Hale , who lived nearby noticed him and enquired if he was a delegate to the Parliament of Religions. 

She took him to her house where he finally got something to eat and bath. Mrs Hale accompanied him to the offices of Parliament of Religions where she introduced Swamiji to Dr J.H. Barrows . Dr Barrows was the President of Parliament. After that Swamiji was accepted as a representative of Hinduism at the Parliaments of Religions. 

The rest is history the first introductory speech given by Swamiji at the Parliament of Religions made him a superstar, his fame spread across USA and the news also made its way to India. Where the people who knew Swamiji were throughly overwhelmed. 

Swamiji lived in US and lectured on India, Vedas and Indian history and religion in different cities of USA winning admirers, disciples and followers on the way. From there he went to England and continued his work also visited other places in Europe and met Max Muller. 

Thus across America and Europe the image of India changed they knew more about the history of India and its past contribution to the world. The perception on Indian religion changed. 

It was Swami Vivekananda who has inspired several Indian freedom fighters be it Gandhiji, Bose and many others. It one of his prophetic visions in 1897 Swamji had predicted that in around 50 India will become free with a very unique freedom struggle. 

Swami Vivekananda's contribution in rebuilding of India is paramount the work continues till today. Infact it is Swamiji himself who had said that even after my death I shall work. I am sure he is watching us in his fine body(सुषम शरीर ) for the work is not over yet. 

Siddhartha to Buddha

When Buddha was born a sage Asita visited the palace of the King took baby Siddharth in his lap and begin to weep. When asked the reason for his tears he said "This boy would either be a great sage or a great king, I am crying because I won't be alive to see it". Siddharth's father Susodhana wanted his son to be a king and expand his empire , after the prophecy of the sage the king was worried and made arrangements to keep young Siddharth away from the miseries of life. 

      He prevented Siddhartha from leaving the palace. Had all luxuries of life arranged at the palace. He was kept ignorant about the sorrows of life. The young prince Siddhartha was getting depressed. So when he was of the right age he was married off to Yasodhara . Prince Siddhartha was unhappy with him being prevented from going around the town of Kapilavastu. So one day he along with charioteer Channa secretly left the palace to visit the town of Kapilavastu. 

     In his visit to the town Siddhartha saw the sights of an old sick man, a corpse and a sage. Before that day Siddhartha did not know that there was anything called death , old age . Channa explained him that all beings that are born get old, fall sick and ultimately die. This is the rule of nature. This experience shocked the young prince who never knew what sorrow was , what death was. 

     Having never seen death , old age and being unaware of other sorrows of life he now begin to think deeply about life , while many others who were exposed to the truth accepted it and moved on this man was now hell bent on finding the cause of sorrow and find a solution of it. Had young Siddhartha be exposed to the truth from his childhood he might have taken the path of a normal person. But it is the visit and the prophecy of sage Asita that changed everything. 

      The exact arrangements that Susodhana made to prevent Siddhartha from turning into a sage actually became the factor of him leaving his life of luxury and go out in the jungle meditate and find the truth---- the cause of sorrow and the solution of it and spread it across the entire world. So it was indeed a divine plan :- the visit of sage Asita, his prophecy and the turn of events that followed. 

               

Reading about Yoga

One of the best books that can be suggested about Yoga is the one by Swami Vivekananda the  book is Raja Yoga : Swami Vivekananda. In the same book you will find the Patanjali Yogasutras. Patanjali is regarded as the father of Yoga. His system is based on the Sankhya system except for the fact that Patanjali believed in a personal god as the first teacher while Sankhya's did not believe in any god.
:- Here is the link of the book http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_1/raja-yoga/raja-yoga_contents.htm

Another book to learn about Yoga is one written by Swami Abhedananda. The book is "How to be a Yogi". Swami Abhedananda was a direct diciple of Ramakrishna Paramhamsa just like Swami Vivekananda .
:- Here is the link of the book http://sacred-texts.com/hin/hby/index.htm

There is a great misconception among people that Yoga is all about postures. Its way much more that that. Yoga is a way of life.

The first line of Patanjali Yogasutras suggest that Yoga is all about  ChittaVrittiNirodhah . While lot of explanation is required to explain what is Chitta and Vritti common people can simply understand them as "Controlling the mind from breaking into thought waves".

There are various different things mention  in Patanjali's Yogasutras.

But remember by reading Yoga is not done. Yoga is only done by regular practice. Once you practice it for a while you will not want to leave it. Don't have any high expectations. Just love Yoga and practice it . Let results take care of themselves. 

Mirakkel 8

The Grand Finale of Mirakkel 8 and it was really entertaining, the best among the contestants of this season gave their best performance. For the last 7 months it has entertained us thoroughly. Today there is gross lack of good comedy programmes on TV and this show fills the void. Not only has this programme filled the homes with laughter but it has made stars of ordinary people.

    In Mirakkel performers and selected through a long audition process followed by a grooming period. Each year thousands of aspirants make a beeline for the audition of this programme. Only a select few make it to the programme and are first groomed properly and then they perform. Even during the programme the lesser performing contestants are eliminated after months of performance 5 contestants make it to the final. 

    More than the competition part what this programme has done is that it has given a lot of happiness the Bengali speaking world mostly based in West Bengal and Tripura in India and Bangladesh. Also Bengalis and people who understand Bengali from around the country and world enjoy this show. Those who cannot watch the programme when it is broadcast can watch this programme which is uploaded by the channel on Youtube. 

    The fact that this programme is uploaded on Youtube enables people to watch the episodes of the past even when it is not broadcast. Laughter is excellent for health. Laughter is the best medicine. In today's world people pass through stress, depression and all other kinds of mental diseases. Laughter is surely the medicine of all this diseases. Mir Afsar Ali the famous Bengali comedian is the host of the programme and quite clearly the show is name after him.

Meat and sacrifice

A few months ago some people on social media were livid about a festival in Nepal called Gadhimai in which bali(sacrifice) of thousands of buffaloes and goats take place. The festival is a money spinner for the Nepalese government which is hit by a downfall in the number of tourists visiting that country. 

    One thing interesting about this opposition is that people who are non-vegetarians are also protesting against this. Now here comes the question "This people don't have any problem eating meat that is obtained by killing an animal so why they have problems with the festival?

    One of the protesters gave example of Buddha and described how he offered his own head to save a heard of goats. Now Buddha himself was not a vegetarian he did have meat but Buddha opposed the sacrifice the reason was that it was not one goat that was to be sacrificed but thousands of them. When an animal is sacrificed its cooked meat is distributed among devotees as prasad. 

In case of the king for whom the sacrifice was made there were thousands of animals. So most of the animals meat would have gone waste. However today we have refrigeration technologies that can keep the meat edible for many weeks. So no meat obtained during the festival was left unused but it would have been ultimately used as food. So there is absolutely nothing wrong in killing an animal for food. After all even plants have life and if you have seen the touch-me-not plant that contracts its leaves when you go close to it shows that they have sensitivity as well.

 This is a truth of life we do eat living beings plants or animals to survive. So as long as no human is killed the festival is OK.

  In India you will find lots of hypocrites who oppose killing of cows but if they have cows at home once the cow(if female) becomes incapable of giving milk or rearing babies or if it is a bull are always in lookout to sell the animal as fast as they can and at the best possible price. The person whom they sell the animals to is normally a butcher or an agent who will in the end sell it to the butcher. 

Most of the people of the world are meat eaters that does not make them bad people as many veggies in India tell us eating meat will make you aggressive and violent. They also say that it would make you cruel. When the Gujrat riots of 2002 happened most of the people who perpetrated the dastardly acts were vegetarians mercilessly killing men, women and children. Huge number of rapes were committed as well. 

    So in case of humans one thing is clear whatever the old books say food has very little effect on human behaviour as long as it is healthy. 

    

Concentration and Breathing :- (how to build concentration )- Swami Vivekananda

Now first of all I must tell you that this is not an article written by me but this is a very useful speech that was delivered over 100 years ago by Swami Vivekananda , it is taken from Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Vol - 6 .


              CONCENTRATION AND BREATHING

The main difference between men and the animals is the difference in their power of concentration. All success in any line of work is the result of this.Everybody knows something about concentration. We see its results every day. High achievements in art, music, etc., are the results of concentration. An animal has very little power of concentration. Those who have trained animals find much difficulty in the fact that the animal is constantly forgetting what is told him. He cannot concentrate his mind long upon anything at a time. Herein is the difference between man and the animals — man has the greater power of concentration. The difference in heir power of concentration also constitutes the difference between man and man. Compare the lowest with the highest man. The difference is in the degree of concentration. This is the only difference.

Everybody's mind becomes concentrated at times. We all concentrate upon those things we love, and we love those things upon which we concentrate our minds. What mother is there that does not love the face of her homeliest child? That face is to her the most beautiful in the world. She loves it because she concentrates her mind on it; and if every one could concentrate his mind on that

same face, every one would love it. It would be to all the most beautiful face. We all concentrate our minds upon those things we love. When we hear beautiful music, our minds become fastened upon it, and we cannot take them away. Those who concentrate their minds upon what you call classical music do not like common music, and vice versa. Music in which the notes follow each other in rapid succession holds the mind readily. A child loves lively

music, because the rapidity of the notes gives the mind no chance to wander. A man who likes common music dislikes classical music, because it is more complicated and requires a greater degree of concentration to follow it.

The great trouble with such concentrations is that we do not control the mind; it controls us. Something outside of ourselves, as it were, draws the mind into it and holds it as long as it chooses. We hear melodious tones or see a beautiful painting, and the mind is held fast! We cannot take it away.

If I speak to you well upon a subject you like, your mind becomes concentrated upon what I am saying. I draw your mind away from yourself and hold it upon the subject in spite of yourself. Thus our attention is held, our minds are concentrated upon various things, in spite of ourselves. We cannot help it.

 Now the question is: Can this concentration be developed, and can we become masters of it? The Yogis say, yes. The Yogis say that we can get perfect control of the mind. On the ethical side there is danger in the development of the power of concentration — the danger of concentrating the mind upon an object and then being unable to detach it at will. This state causes great suffering. Almost all our suffering is caused by our not having the power of detachment. So along with the development of concentration we must develop the power of detachment. We must learn not only to attach the mind to one thing exclusively, but also to detach it at a moment's notice and place it upon something else. These two should be developed together to make it safe. 

This is the systematic development of the mind. To me the very essence of education is concentration of mind, not the collecting of facts. If I had to do my education over again, and had any voice in the matter, I would not study facts at all. I would develop the power of concentration and detachment, and then with a perfect instrument I could collect facts at will. Side by side, in the child,should be developed the power of concentration and detachment.

My development has been one-sided all along I developed concentration without the power of detaching my mind at will; and the most intense suffering of my life has been due to this. Now I have the power of detachment, but I had to learn it in later life.

We should put our minds on things; they should not draw our minds to them. We are usually forced to concentrate. Our minds are forced to become fixed upon different things by an attraction in them which we cannot resist. To control the mind, to place it just where we want it, requires special training. It cannot be done in any other way. In the study of religion the control of the mind is absolutely necessary. We have to turn the mind back upon itself in this study.

In training the mind the first step is to begin with the breathing. Regular breathing puts the body in a harmonious condition; and it is then easier to reach the mind. In practicing breathing, the first thing to consider is Âsana or posture. Any posture in which a person can sit easily is his proper position. The spine should be kept free, and the weight of the body should be supported by the ribs.Do not try by contrivances to control the mind; simple breathing is all that is

necessary in that line All austerities to gain concentration of the mind are a mistake. Do not practice them.

The mind acts on the body, and the body in its turn acts upon the mind. They act and react upon each other. Every mental state creates a corresponding state in the body, and every action in the body has its corresponding effect on the mind. It makes no difference whether you think the body and mind are two different entities, or whether you think they are both but one body — the

physical body being the gross part and the mind the fine part. They act and react upon each other. The mind is constantly becoming the body. In the training of the mind, it is easier to reach it through the body. The body is easier to grapple with than the mind.

The finer the instrument, the greater the power. The mind is much finer and more powerful than the body. For this reason it is easier to begin with the body. 

The science of breathing is the working through the body to reach the mind. In this way we get control of the body, and then we begin to feel the finer working of the body, the finer and more interior, and so on till we reach the mind. As we feel the finer workings of the body, they come under our control. After a while you will be able to feel the operation of the mind on the body. You will also

feel the working of one half of the mind upon the other half, and also feel the mind recruiting the nerve centers; for the mind controls and governs the nervous system. You will feel the mind operating along the different nerve currents.

Thus the mind is brought under control — by regular systematic breathing, by governing the gross body first and then the fine body.

The first breathing exercise is perfectly safe and very healthful. It will give you good health, and better your condition generally at least. The other practices should be taken up slowly and carefully.