For Seekers by Seekers

We depend on external factors for our happiness. Like a cripple who is dependent on a crutch to walk. This entanglement is samsara and the process by which we become disentangled is moksha path. Moksha is not esoteric, it is simply psychologically being independent of people, events, circumstances for our happiness. It is recognizing that we are happiness.

Chanting a mantra slow is recommended, however when you are beginning to learn chanting, I recommend you to chant fast, and then after 10-12 min slow down. This helps to shut down external stimuli and focuses your mind on the mantra.

Prana is like electricity if air is equated to the wire carrying the electricity. Any movement/ action we see in either the external world or our internal body it is an indication of Prana. When the Prana is ‘gone’ the person is dead. Pranayama regulated the Prana in our body and makes it be in tune with external Prana.

Meditation is a much used, yet misunderstood word. Think of it as a ‘controlled laboratory’ environment to help us change our attitude & behaviors - without the risk of the real environment. This perspective will help one experiment freely to negative behaviors like anger with compassion.

Our true nature is happiness - without the six negative emotions: desires, anger, jealousy, greed, pride, delusion. We don’t always exhibit our true nature but demonstrate conflicting behaviors. This is actually the source of our unhappiness. And the only way we can become happy is to change something - either our internal true nature or external behavior. Since we can’t change our true nature, we...

Purusha Sukta states that we are all (& also the entire creation) like in a dream sequence of THE CONSCIOUSNESS ENTITY that is eulogized as ‘Purusha’. Just as we create our dream sequences & rules of engagement based on our experiences and rearrange the sequences as per our wish, the Purusha also creates a much longer (~billions of years) of dream sequence, encompassing every possible living being...

Kathopanishad says that our entire problem comes because we identify ourselves as somebody else than who we truly are. When we identify ourselves more closely with our body, we end up taking good care of the body which is not going to be with us beyond a 100 years; with our emotional mind then we are swayed to ups & downs of happiness/ sadness; with our intellect, then we are bothered about praise...

Our five sense organs are more powerful than our intellect despite the fact that intellect holds the reins of control to our five sense organs. Like fasting, it is as simple as making a resolution to not feed the sense organs with unnecessary inputs and training them. Over time, the sense organs will acquiesce. For this knowing our goal is important. If health is our goal, then we will automatical...

In Kathopanishad, human psychology is modeled as a chariot drawn by 5 sense organs - hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell. The horses are driven by our intellect, the charioteer and the reins to control the horses is our emotional mind. The passenger is YOU, the individual personality/ ego. The passenger determines the destination and takes the help of intellect to go there. The intellect in tur...

Applying the scientific rigor of experimentation, analysis, evidence and repetition, we can clearly conclude that events can be the same but different people perceive it different. Same person can perceive the event differently at different times. Happiness happens when we change our mind attributes!

Holistic health is being healthy physically, emotionally, intellectually. Food, exercise, sleep for physics health. Resolving issues and not bottling it up or replacing negative, destructive emotions with positive ones during meditation are for emotional health. Removing ignorance, doubt or misconception about our goals, path to achieve goals and what is right/wrong is intellectual health

One that eats and procreated is known as living being. There are four different types of birth a living being can take - from a womb, an egg, moisture, seed.

Everybody will agree that whatever I experience in the outer world is ‘not I’. If i can experience something, it is an object - so not me. Since I also experience my body, mind, memory, intellect - they are surely ‘not me’. The consciousness behind is the real me!

Sankara now reveals his true identity as that changeless, formless, all powerful, enlivening consciousness that pervades the entire universe yet not attached to it. Human goal is to become that consciousness through spiritual sadhana.

Sankara claims in this verse that he is neither born nor dies. Consequently, he has no affiliation created by birth - like father, mother, or any sort of relationships. He is beyond them. He does not distinguish between people and sees everyone as himself.

Sankara says that his identity is not in the good or not good work he does nor the results that accrue from the work he does. His identity is not in the spiritual practices he does. Neither is his identity of an experienced, experiencer or the act of experience.

Sankara after disowning that he is not the go further clarified that hatred, desire, greed, delusion, pride, jealousy which are six negative qualities of our mind /ego is not I. When we rid ourselves of these six negativity, we become perfect. We become that consciousness, happiness itself which does not have to do any work or respect any ethical rules anymore!

In Verse 2 of Nirvanashatakam, Sankara says he is not the life force either inside the body or outside, nor the seven types of tissues we are made up of. He says he is not even the five sheaths of human personality, nor the five organs of action

First verse of Nirvana Shatakam explains we are not the mind, intellect, memory, ego. Neither are we the five sense organs nor the five great elements. We are consciousness itself, that cognizant all these!!

We define ourselves by many ways - either by roles we play or by characteristics / attributes we assign to ourselves. But, is that truly who we are?