Namaskar 5 understandings i. The understanding that there is One, Infinite, Supreme Entity which in the Sanskrit language is referred to as Parama Purusa. ii. The understanding that through the twice daily practice of meditation, the Supreme, Infinite Being may be fully and personally realised by the individual. iii. Meditation and hence realisation of the Supreme, Infinite Being is dependent upon the proper application of cardinal moral principles (Yama and Niyama) in the individual's life. iv. It is a duty of the highest order to encourage all persons to practice meditation and to follow a life of virtuous and righteous conduct. v. Engaging in selfless, humanitarian service dedicated to the relief of human suffering whether it be physical, mental, or spiritual is indispensable in the individual's progress toward the realisation of the Supreme, Infinite Entity. --- Can You Experience Joy? Feelings through the nerve cells are either those of pleasure or pain. The body is a relative entity and so is bound to experience pleasure or pain. The mind also experiences psychic pleasure or pain. In this regard a paralyzed person will and does still feel pleasure and pain in the mind at the psychic level. If by Joy is meant Bliss rather then pleasure per se, then if you are paralyzed you can experience Joy. In fact the only Joy is the spiritual. The death, dumb, blind, uneducated, paralyzed, etc and the wise, learned, etc can experience Joy if that is their spiritual desire. Otherwise they experience pleasure or pain. --- 3 becomings Supreme is love and love is God. This is realized in deep meditation or dhyana. When you are in deep dhyana you realize three things: 1. You become straight and like a baby 2. The universal love for all wells up in your mental horizon 3. You become soft like a flower Universal love especially is the subjective feeling of true Ideology which is universal for all humans. Devotion is the most precious property since devotion inspires dhyana (meditation). Unless one and all of this universal family realize this truth we cannot work for the good of society. It is an impossibility. Missionary or service work is to make others feel what we realize in bhav (ideation) through dhyana (meditation). It is impossible for any mean thought to enter in the heart of one who is in hav. But they are also strong and uncompromising. --- Cynicism Cynicism results when the internal aspect of life is neglected. It is understandable that while moving forward and working in individual life, people sometimes become tired ; this happens to everyone. But to become totally dissatisfied with the world means that the mind simply becomes assailed with cynicism. There is no reason to become frustrated in life. Movement and challenge is a characteristic of life, but a more important characteristic is buoyancy of spirit. Cynics lack this bouyancy of spirit. Society today is desperately seeking the path for true progress. Without spiritual progress there is pessimism or the complex of hopelessness. This not the essence of this universe. Optimism is the goal of the universal humanity. So in no circumstances should cynicism or nihilism be encouraged; rather when the good and ethical people of this world sit together and decide what should and should not be done, they will certainly find the proper path. The internal clash of any discourse involving many peoples should never be discouraged ; on the contrary, it should be directed along the proper path of multifaceted well being found on spirituality. We can only suggest this much. --- Do not develop the sinning complex So now, if a person always thinks, 'I am a sinner, I am a sinner, I am a sinner, I am a sinner,' then in a weak moment that will happen? 'I am a sinner, I am a sinner. I will have to go to Hell. The priest said he won't grant me a gate-pass to Heaven. I don't know who will issue a gate-pass to Heaven to that priest! If he won't issue a gate pass to Heaven, certainly for this hypocrisy he should also be served with a gate pass to Hell !' You should not develop the sinning complex or sinner's complex in your mind. Rather, yours should be a positive ideation. 'I am the son/daughter of God. I am never alone. I am an inseparable portion of that Supreme Entity.' What will happen? Your mind will be strengthened. You will get immense psychic power, and that psychic force will get affixed by dint of your spiritual ideation or meditation. This is the positive approach and this you must do. You must not develop the complex of sinning, You must not develop the complex of inferiority - ' I am illiterate. I am a fool.' A complex like this also makes a person weak, mentally weak. And you should never think, 'Oh, because the priest didn't issue me any ticket for Heaven, I won't be able to go to Heaven.' No, no, no, don't say that. The priest has no right to issue you a ticket, and who is going to issue you a ticket to Hell? No, no, no, your good actions will bring you closer to God, and finally you will become one with Him by dint of your spiritual practices. --- It would be proper for a person to show forgiveness. What is forgiveness? It means to remain free from vindictive attitudes towards anyone. Suppose someone has done something inimical to you. You, in turn, need not be revengeful or vindictive towards him or her. One who is virtuous cannot act in a revengeful way. How should a virtuous person behave? If one is satisfied that the wrong-doer's habit has been rectified, one may pardon him or her. If someone is perpetrating atrocities on thousands of people, however, one has no individual right to excuse the wrongdoer because he or she has harmed thousands of innocent people. But if a person commits atrocities on me alone, and if I am satisfied that his or her nature has been transformed, it would be proper for me as to show forgiveness. However, if his or her nature has not been rectified, my forgiveness may result in that person becoming even more of a reckless scoundrel and in such a case forgiveness would be considered as a sign of my weakness. One may come to a temporary truce with a hypocrite, but do not forgive till his/her nature is reformed. Immediate forgiveness is a special weakness of mind. It results in worse harm to society. In collective life one has no right to forgive anyone; in individual life you can extend maximum forgiveness - rather, the more forgiveness, the better. Forgiveness is something personal; it is not a collective matter. The law takes care of that. Suppose you are an inhabitant of India. If someone harms the collective life of India, you must not forgive them. Likewise, as you belong to the entire human race, you must not forgive anyone who harms humanity. But in individual life, however much one might harm you, you may forgive that person to the greatest extent possible. Thus it is said that one should be as humble as the grass. But remember that grass, although humble, is not insignificant: the universal life is manifested in grass. Without grass it would have been impossible for human beings to survive. --- Effort and courage. No persons in this world is powerless. Whoever has come on this earth has been graced with some amount of power. When the time for work comes, some people say they do not have the capacity to perform the work. But when doing unworthy actions, they demonstrate much power. Truly, as long as we have life we have power. Whatever power you have, you must utilize it to the utmost. Rest assured that if you apply your power to good works and there is still need for more, the Divine will give you what you need. All powers come from God, whether physical, mental or spiritual. He is the owner; He is the Master. The Supreme Consciousness grants these powers to those who are engaged in working for the welfare of others and performing benevolent deeds. One should remember that courage comes according to power; in other words, courage and power go together. A person who is powerless is also a coward. You can say that it is not necessary to make an effort because God will give according to one's needs. This is correct, but we must follow our ideology with effort and courage. We should always respect our ideology if we are to become true human beings. The ideologist is a person who always acts according to his or her ideology. ---