Karma and yoga

Karma means action. The consequences of one's action are taken as part of the action. The commonly taken meaning of karma is the effect our past actions have on our present life. Karma is also the effect of current actions on future lifetimes.

Karma is actually the burden carried by the body we are attached to. So long as we don't realize who we truly are and remain attached to the body and its mind, we will be governed by the ego of that personality and remain bounded by its karma. Recognizing our true self to be the awareness within and realizing that our awareness is simply a part of the whole of consciousness, our relationship with the rest of the world takes on a different flavour. We become aware that whatever we do, we are only doing to and for ourselves. Then we can perform our action with fullness of heart and mind. And we become disengaged from the karma of that body.

Stotram of Awakening

Once again, my Post will be based on inspiration that found its way to me. This morning, I received a very inspiring message from the Isha Foundation linking me to a stotram sung by their own Sounds of Isha. I was so moved by the chanting that I investigated it further. It turns out, they have produced a video recording of the Sounds of Isha blessing us with the stotram.

This is just the introduction to the sutras, which first tells us about the difference between being aware of who we are and being lost in the maze of our mind. Then it explains the five states of mind in which we can be lost. The final line in this selection of the verses tells us what we need to do if we want to realize our true self.

Abstract Illustrations

I was told that some of the abstract ideas that I share in my Posts are difficult to grasp and that illustrations would help with understanding them. My problem is that I can't draw very well. My artistic brain-to-hand coordination is quite poor. So I thought, hey this is the age of AI. Why not let AI figure this one out?

As it turns out, while AI can do pretty good conventional images and video, abstract concepts are a whole different ball game. The trick is to put into words what I am conceptualising, while figuring out how words can get misinterpreted. And I've discovered that, while AI can produce pretty neat graphics, it's not easy to give them a drawing and get them to modify it. They seem fixated on retaining the original as much as possible.

So I've resorted to getting AI to produce elements of my design, and then I assemble those elements by myself. Let's see if it works.

Mahaasamaadhi

On the 4th of July 1902, Swami Vivekananda went to his room, entered deep meditation for hours and then, lay down and left his body. The official cause of death was the rupture of a cranial blood vessel.

It was reported that he had spent the day calmly teaching his disciples and conversing with them. Nobody could tell that something remarkable was about to happen. While his health had not been very good, there were no indications of any perilous condition. It had been a day just like any other day. You can see more about Swami's last day in this You Tube Short Video.

Awakening by a Guru

In my Blog Post yesterday, I spoke of the need for a guru to launch a seeker into the inner realm with a physical touch. I quoted two notable examples, but there was one exception which I did not touch on. In his recounting of his own awakening, Sadhguru Jaggi did not mention any guru being present to push him over. He simply sat on a rock and spontaneously entered the awakened state.

I could not understand it but chose to believe him. I figured that I will learn the truth later.

This morning, I received a WhatsApp message containing a very interesting link. It turns out that Sadhguru was indeed awakened by a guru, but it happened 2 lifetimes earlier. He was awakened to perform a task that would take longer than a single lifetime so he was given enough charge to last 3 lifetimes. That was why it appears that he awoke spontaneously in the last two lifetimes. I suppose, in an earlier era, he would have simply lived a longer life, but that's a little hard to do these days.