Thought 96: Laughter is the best medicine

I like Relangi, Ramana Reddy, Brahmanandam and Babu Mohan of Tollywood (Telugu movies), Anupam Kher, Mahmood, Johnny Walker, Shaw Rukh Khan of Bollywood (Hindi movies) and Bob Hope, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Jerry Lewis of Hollywood (English movies). They want to make you laugh - although not always successfully. Life is meant to be laughed. When you are laughing, you keep on hold, all those things hanging heavy on your mind. It is Lord Byron who said “Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine”.

Humorous persons are my all-time favorites. Humor takes away the stress from any situation; it successfully removes the charge from any charged atmosphere. It endears you to people. It makes you popular at parties.

Learn ten clean jokes. I call them clean jokes, if they do not make fun of a specific individual. Never make personal jokes. No one likes to be at the receiving end of a joke. The victim may smile, but you can be sure, he is seething inside; after all, he is human. If at all you have to make a personal joke, let it be on you.

The next thought is about “The future cannot be read now”

Thought 95: Communication Skills

Communication skills are very important – for everyone. I had seen in some families, the members hardly ever communicate with each other. When you do not communicate properly and adequately, misunderstandings develop. I believe that more communication is better than less communication.

The purpose of communication is to convey a message. This involves both clarity in thinking as well as clarity in expressing - whatever we want to convey.

There are several ways in which we communicate. The most familiar way is through words. But it was discovered recently that words convey only 8% of the message. The rest of the message is conveyed by voice and body language, the contribution of the body language being 86%. Children are generally good in reading the body language.

I have two suggestions for conveying some messages through body language. 1) You should look into the eyes of a persons while talking. 2) Your handshake should be firm. Would you like to add to this list?

The next thought is about “Laughter is the best medicine”

Thought 94: If you want a different result, you have to do differently too

If you want things to happen differently for you, then you must do them differently too. Doing the same old thing and expecting a different result, is not going to get you where you want to be.

Generally, people complain that they are not moving up in their profession, which they deserve. Students usually complain that they are not getting higher grades, which they deserve. Over-weight people complain that they are not reducing in spite of their observing a strict diet control. In all these and similar cases, if you examine, you will find that they are doing the same old thing and are expecting a different result, which is unrealistic.

You will never get a different result if you think and act as you have been thinking and acting as before. Unless you think and act differently, you will continue to languish as before. Change of attitude is the Mantra for you. Get rid of negative thinking or fear. There would be starting troubles, no doubt, but if you persist, you will learn to overcome the starting troubles. Once started thus, you keep going until you get success. You will find several boulders or hurdles along the way barring your progress – and sometimes big ones too. But learn from the flood waters; do as they do. They flow around or over the boulders, when a boulder is found in their way.

Every work place, for instance, is full of politics. If there are any differences in work places, they are only in degree – but not in quality. As a rule, when you move higher and higher in any job, politics become more and more important – and you must learn the tricks of the new game quickly. Identify the power centers and find a way of ingratiating yourself quickly with those power centers. There is nothing undignified in this because that is the ground reality - and that is the way the game is always played; every successful person does that. In this scenario, technical stuff and work efficiency, etc take a beating, frequently. Do not complain if your work does not get recognized even if you believe that you work hard; here, it is not hard work that gets you recognition; it is the smart work. If you do not recognize this reality and change, you will continue to be ignored - while those who you think are not as good as you are, get rewarded in preference to you. Therefore, you have to change your attitude as required - and learn quickly the changed rules of the game. If you cannot change, then, accept what you get. But if you continue working as you have been and complain that you are not getting the recognition that you deserve, it is unrealistic.

Students frequently complain that they are not getting the grades that their hard work deserves. The students must remember that the grades that they get are directly proportional to the input – and the sooner the student realizes this truth, the better it is for him/her. They must find out for themselves that they have been doing the same old wrong thing, semester after semester – and how can they get better grades? If they introspect and find out for themselves what wrong things they were doing and correct themselves, their grades would improve automatically. It is that simple.

Health of an individual, for instance, is very important. Do not ever say, “I am very busy to attend to physical exercise”. Physical exercise has to be done. Do not also say that the exigencies of work do not allow you to observe a proper diet program. Remember that where there is a will, there is a way. Physical workouts and proper diets are very important – especially as you grow older. But if you continue to neglect these two important aspects of your life style and expect that you would continue to be as healthy as before, it is fantasy; it never happens.

Remember, without good health, you will have no energy – not enough good energy that will work for you. Remember also that you are an energy source. Do not dissipate your energy by thinking negatively or putting limitations on yourself. Conserve this energy for productive thinking and productive working. The successful persons learn to use their energy very efficiently – and productively too. You too can discover this. It is no big deal.

The next thought is about “Communication skills”

Thought 93: About rebirth

The theory that there is life after death is slowly gaining acceptance these days, after several reported and verified instances of evidence of continuity of life. Readers Digest reported a long time ago about a Brazilian mechanic, who used to claim that he was a German surgeon in his previous life. He used to perform incredible surgical feats although he never was trained for surgery in this life. Swami Satprakashananda in his book, “How is a Man Reborn”, narrates the case of one Shanti Devi (nine years old) in old Delhi, who had memories of her former life – which were found to be correct.

For most Hindus, Vedas (Upanishads) and what is said in them are sacred; they never question the veracity of the Vedic statements. If the Vedas say that a Jeeva (individual) is born several times before he gains Moksha (birthlessness), a Hindu does not generally ask for any other proof regarding the doctrine of rebirth. The fact that the Vedas have endorsed the rebirth concept is good enough for him.

Also, many people have made some personal observations in their lives. Take for instance, the case of identical twins, who are born in less than one minute of each other, through a caesarian operation on the mother. They may have identical physical features, but their minds are generally completely different and in some cases completely opposite also. The only possible explanation here is that they were carrying their minds, which were completely different, from their previous Janma (birth).

Bhagavaan Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, that the Jeeva, after death of his present body, gets into a new body. “Vaamsaamsi Jeernaani Yathaa Vihaaya Navaani Grihnaati Naroparaani Tathaa Sareeraani Vihaaya Jeerna Nanyaani Samyaati Navaani Dehi = Arjuna, just as a person casts off his old and worn out clothes and takes up (puts on) others, which are new, in the same way, the indweller of the body, casting off his old and useless bodies, takes different, new bodies”. (2.22)

Every Karma yields a result in the form of Punyam and Paapam to the person who performs it. No Karma ever gets cancelled without yielding a result – in the form of Punyam and Paapam. Since you perform innumerable Karmas in every Janma, you keep gathering Punyam and Paapam constantly in every Janma. The law of Karma says that the accumulated Punyam and Paapam standing in your account must get an opportunity to fructify in a subsequent Janma – if they have not already fructified in the current Janma. Thus, Vedaanta declares that the Punyam and Paapam in your account are responsible for your rebirth in Samsaara (world).

If this is accepted, then, we have to ask ourselves certain questions, which are relevant to the understanding, why a human being is born in a certain way in Samsaara (world). Why is a person born with a particular parentage and not another? Why at a particular place and not another? Why at a particular time and not at another? Why is a person born blind at birth or completely deaf at birth or born with some other physical or mental handicap(s)? Why are all persons not born equally with the same endowments?

Sankaraachaarya, while commenting on the Brahma Suutras (which provide clarifications on what is said in the Upanishads), said “Pratiniyata Desa, Kaala, Nimitta, Kriya, Phala Aasrayasya”. Where you are born (Desa), when you are to be born and when you have to die (Kaala), what should be your parentage in the new Janma (Nimitta), in what Ruupa (form) you are born, including your physical and mental endowments and handicaps (Kriya) and Phala (every one of the experiences that you gain from cradle to grave in the new Janma) are decided for you. You have no choice in this. Who decides all these? The Paramaatma decides. On what basis? On the basis of your own past Karmas. Everything you do - gets into the universal computer in real time and this is the data, based on which, all the relevant details about your next birth are worked out. This is all done automatically by the universal computer based on the Laws of Karma and Dharma. This is how the Paramaatma decides how and when you are born.

We commonly observe that many persons, including those subject to acutely painful and poignant situations, often lament saying, “Why should the Lord be unjust to me? Why should He punish me even though I am his devotee? Perhaps the God is partial. But why would He be partial? All persons are his children only - and that being so, why would He single me out for this kind of punishment?” God does not punish any one. It is the sins that punish people, who commit them. The Saastras say that “Puurva Janma Kritam Paapam Vyaadhi Ruupena Peeditah = the Paapam standing to the credit of a person from his earlier Janmas always result in suffering to him in the form of diseases”. Paapam may give a person certain unwanted or undesirable endowments such as deformed limbs, diseased heart, bad kidneys, and cancer tendencies. Paapam may put a person in a wild and violent or a poor and illiterate family background – which would cause him a lot of unhappiness. On the other hand, Punyam may give a person certain bodily and intellectual endowments like beauty, strength, high IQ. Punyam may also gain him comforts and worldly happiness through good education and affluent parentage. Punyam may also put him in a pious and spiritual family background.

Vedaanta says that it is very difficult to get a human birth. The Maanava Janma (human birth) is very valuable; the human being alone is endowed with Buddhi. He has the choice in action.

When you become qualified for a human birth, Hindu religious wisdom says that people come together into a family for the following reasons:

• To share experiences because they had done similar Karmas earlier
• To give happiness to all or some of the members of the family
• To give unhappiness to all or some of the members of the family
• To pay back a debt
• To receive payment for the earlier debt
• Or because of a mixture of some or all of the above reasons
• When the Vaasanas match, people generally come together into one family

The next thought is about “If you want a different result, you have to do differently too”

Thought 92: Why does one worship the god?

When you ask people why they worship a god, almost all of them would answer saying that they worship their god because they believe he would fulfill their desires. This is the concept of god for 99.99% of the devotees. This is the reason why all the trains and buses going to Tirupati and Shiridi are always full. Does god really fulfill the wishes of people merely because they go to a temple or merely because they worship him? Do we really see that happening? I do not think so. If that were the case, there would be no misery in this world. Every one will have everything that he or she desires.

We have seen (in the earlier thoughts) how every Karma must necessarily get you a result. Good Karmas get you good results and bad Karmas get you bad results. There are two types of results; one is seen (Drashta) and the other is unseen (Adrashta). The unseen results, according to Vedanta, do not occur immediately. They get accounted as Punyam and Paapam in the account of every individual. The result of Punyam is a comfortable life and the result of Paapam is discomfort and misery. These results of Punyam and Paapam occur, either late in this life, or in a subsequent life.

Punyam is like money in the bank; you can buy anything you wish with it. It is like the “Airoplan”, in which the “Air Miles” can be converted into air tickets etc.

When you petition the god for something, he fulfills your wish, only if you have sufficient Punyam in your account to be converted into what you desired from him – otherwise, no. No body gets anything free in this world; no one ever gets anything in this world unless he deserves it. The lord does not distribute largesse. God does not rule this world illogically. On the other hand, his justice is very precisely weighed out before he dispenses it.

If that is so, then, how do we account for the bad guys having a lot of money (like for instance, the mafia leader Dawood Ibrahim) and enjoying life, while the good guys having no money and generally having a bad time in life? Is this god’s justice? There is a fallacy here, which requires to be explained in the light of the above referred theory from Vedanta.

Today, a person may be a crook, but in his previous Janma, he did certain good things and accumulated sufficient Punyam – because of which, he is having a good life now. For his present crooked actions, he is going to pay most certainly – but later. The fallacy lies in our wrongly correlating his present good life with his present evil actions. There is a time lag between what he gets today and what he gets for his today’s actions. This is what we call in electrical engineering as the phase difference. His present good life is a result – of his past actions. His present evil actions will result in a wretched life for him - later.

There can never be a god’s law, which gives good results for evil actions. If that is the case, why would people be good at all? Imagine a world in which all people are bad. Is such a world sustainable, ever?

The next thought is “About rebirth”

Thought 91: God’s Laws

Consider the earth, which, after all is nothing but a large piece of mud. It has been revolving on its axis precisely in twenty-four hours, day after day, for the past countless days. How does this piece of mud know to do that and that too, so consistently and so precisely? Similarly, how does this piece of mud know how to revolve round the sun with a mind-boggling consistency and precision in 365 and a quarter days - year after year, for millions of years? Why would all planets move in their orbits so consistently following a law?

The Nature changes constantly but the laws of nature never change. Nature’s laws are infallible. They are not made by any one here. We can at best try to understand them but we would never be able to modify them. They are authored by Isvara.

In our body-mind complexes too, we can observe a similar orderliness. For instance, why should the eyes in the human body see? Why should the ears hear? Why not eyes hear and ears see – sometimes at least? There was never any instance of a healthy eye not being able to see and similarly, there was never any instance of a healthy ear not being able to hear.

It is to be reiterated once again that wherever there is a consistent function, there is a law involved in it. Otherwise, the function will not take place so consistently. Wherever there is a law, there is a functionary (Deva or Devataa), who presides over this function. The sun, the moon, the rain, and other phenomena of this world as well as the various limbs in a body-mind complex, function consistently - and they follow the laws of Isvara.

Continuing this discussion a little further, not only your eyes see - but also, every pair of eyes sees. There are billions of eyes and all of them see. These billions of eyes have been seeing in the same manner (not considering the defects in individual eyes) for millions of years and all of them are bound by the same rules of Vision.

Thus, the eye is governed by its own set of laws. The kidneys likewise are governed by a different set of laws. The heart is governed by its own set of laws. In fact, each limb/organ in our body is governed by its own set of laws. Our psychological aspects are governed by a different set of laws. Our free will is governed by some other set of laws. There are many more laws - such as the law of gravity, the laws of thermodynamics and many other laws of physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and so on, which are also laws of Isvara. These are not laws made by any one here. Do you agree?

Doctors know, through extensive research, a lot about these laws governing the functioning of the various limbs/organs in our body-mind complex. Because of this knowledge, they are able to repair the limbs/organs when they malfunction. Similarly, scientists have knowledge of the physical and biological laws governing world. We may recognize or we may not, but they are all laws of the God.

The next thought is about “Where is God?”

Thought 90: Who is god? How does he look? (Continued)

Hindu religion recognizes several gods Devas) who are believed to be hallowed (glowing) entities. Hinduism also recognizes several Devataas, who are the presiding deities over the forces of nature. In Hinduism, we use the terms Deva and Devataa interchangeably – because they are all the same kind of powerful Saktis. All these gods (and Devataas) have names and forms. Since conceptually, every god has supernatural powers, man imagines a god as a superman. Thus, he limits his imagination to something, which is already known to him; he cannot go beyond what is known to him. Therefore, man imagines a god to have a human form only – some kind of superman in human form. If a mosquito were to imagine how its god looks like, naturally it would imagine its god as a super mosquito. Thus, all gods in the Hindu religion essentially look like human beings with a few exceptions (eg: Ganesa, having an elephant head, Subramanya, having a snake form, Hanuman, having a monkey head and a monkey tail and so forth).

All gods in the Hindu religion also have a god - who is superior to them. This superior God is called Isvara. Isvara has a form – and is called Saguna Brahman (which means Brahman with a form and attributes). Hinduism also recognizes Brahman without form and attributes (Niraakaara) - who is also known as Nirguna Brahman. The Saguna Brahman, Isvara, is known as the supreme God - while the Nirguna Brahman, Paramaatma, is known as the Supreme Reality (Sat or Truth).

Form always restricts or imposes a limitation. Gods with form are not all-pervasive (Not Omnipresent like Nirguna Brahman). Hence, all gods, who have a form, are not all-pervasive like Nirguna Brahman, who has no form. By virtue of being all-pervasive, Nirguna Brahman is also Omniscient. He knows everything that happens at every nook and cranny of this universe – because he is present everywhere. But Nirguna Brahman merely witnesses those happenings; he does not participate in any of those happenings.

Saguna Brahman is available for worship in a form and when he assumes a form, he is known as Isvara. What is the form of this Isvara? People worship Isvara in several forms such as Naaraayana, Vishnu, Vaasudeva, Venkatesvara, Narasimha, Raama, Krishna, Siva and so forth. We now know that Isvara goes by many names, but what is his Ruupa? In Hinduism, every Naama of a God has a specific Ruupa. Of course, Isvara, being omnipotent, can take any Ruupa, which the devotee likes. Arjuna wanted to see the lord as the Visvaruupa – and he appeared as Visvaruupa for him. Naarasimha, Rama and Krishna, etc, are not his normal forms – they are only his Avataras, which he assumes in every Yuga for “Dharma Samsthaapana, Dushta Sikshana and Sishta Rakshana”, (which means establishing Dharma, punishing the evil persons and protecting the righteous persons).

Braman (Nirguna or Saguna) is not Brahmaaji, (who is also known as Chaturmukha Brahma or Prajaapati or Hiranyagarbha), who is one of the Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra) and who is supposed to create this world and its beings. Nirguna Brahman is the Atma, the Paramaatma. Aatma is Awareness – and Aatma (Awareness) has no Ruupa. Brahman is always associated with a Sakti (Power) and when associated with the Sakti, Nirguna Brahman is known as Isvara. By virtue of this Sakti (Iccha Sakti, Jnaana Sakti and Kriya Sakti), Isvara becomes Omnipotent. He is so powerful that he could create single handedly this amazingly complex and infinite universe, sustain it and even annihilate it at the appropriate time.

Hinduism also recognizes several forms of Saktis having Naamaas such as Lakshmi, Paarvati, Durga, Lalitaaa and so forth. All these Saktis have specific forms too. People worship these Saktis also.

Thus, Hindus have, in addition to several smaller gods, one Principal (superior) God, called Nirguna Brahman (Paramaatma) or Saguna Brahman (Isvara). Hinduism also recognizes several goddesses, who are all very, very powerful Saktis associated with several important gods like Vishnu and Siva and so forth.

The next thought is about “God’s Laws”