Practicing Mindfulness

In Living Buddha, Living Christ Thich Nhat Hanh talks about how to be present. He says when you are doing a task you immerse yourself into it. You are aware of everything around it and simply do not do it for the sake of it.

This message is so apt for people living in the modern world, in a city like New York, where life is constantly on the go. We are so busy planning our days, nights, weekends that we oft find ourselves living in the now. A while back, I wrote about a message I saw from him when I was at Ridgely - do your dishes to change the world - where he emphasized how one could derive pleasure and reach God through even the simple task of washing their dishes. You reach God because your heart is in it, you are in it. And when you perform a task that way, you reach the eternal Spirit and become One with it. This gives you pure, unadulterated joy. It is hard, very hard because your mind wants to go back to doing what it was, it wants to wander - it loves to wander but there is no joy in it. The joy lies in being aware. 

I started thinking, since Sophie came along I love being around her and I enjoy her company immensely. One of the reasons, of course, is because she is my daughter and as a result I naturally love her; but the other reason, I think, is because I am present when I am with her. In order to enjoy her every movement, I am focused on her so much I am not aware of anything else around me. This brings me joy! I am present with Sophie and that brings me pleasure; unlike any other I have experienced. 

Thich Nhat Hanh talks about how he looks at Buddha and Christ as his saviors - despite being two different religions he worships and adores both of them. They are both his teachers because in the end they both promoted the same message - love, harmony and awareness.

Every time I go on vacation, I slow down because there is no need to rush. There is no bus to catch, no reports to deliver - I am on a hiatus. It is easy to slow down, I want to slow down and live the so called moment. But Hahn says we can be on vacation even when we are living our every day life - just by being aware. Watch your breath every time you feel you are getting lost. He advocates a simple exercise to help with keeping the mind in check .

Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in this present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment.

I have observed people in other countries know how to live - for instance every time I visit Jamaica I am amazed at the pace at which things move. People do not need to rush; same thing when I travel to India. Some would say, we North Americans don't work that way; we are more efficient - but you know what that's why people here are dying at the age of 30. It has almost become a necessity to slow down and smell the roses. People in other countries do not give so much importance to being on the go but rather taking their time and enjoying their day. 

As Thich Nhat Hanh says "To breathe and know you are alive is wonderful. Because you are alive, everything is possible. Please don't waste a single moment. Every moment is an opportunity to manifest the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit".

Isha Upanishad

Some of my favorite verses

All this is full. All that is full.

From fullness, fullness comes.

When fullness is taken from fullness,

Fullness still remains. 

Those who see all creatures in themselves

And themselves in all creatures know no fear

Those who see all creatures in themselves

And themselves in all creatures know no grief

How can the multiplicity of life 

Delude the one who sees its unity?

The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of all.
The Lord is the supreme Reality, 
Rejoice in him through renunciation.
Covet nothing. All belongs to the Lord. 
Thus working may you live a hundred years.
Thus alone will you work in real freedom.

Those who deny the Self are born again
Blind to the Self, enveloped in darkness,
Utterly devoid of love for the Lord.

Death as a Teacher - Katha Upanishad

The message beyond words

Though hard to hear

Seems to be screaming

To be perceived

It tells me a tale

Of a young boy

Who chanced upon death

And made it his teacher

Pray tell me, o death

Wherein lies the path to liberation

How do I achieve the holiest of holies

And redeem my soul to the eternal One

Why do you worry so hard, spoke death

And stress your young mind with such mysteries

Many sages have lived lifetimes

To realize this eternal One

This resplendent world offers you

Many carnal joys

With a thousand comforts waiting on you

Do not ask me to reveal

That which is futile to understand

Do not ask me the secret to death

Those desires are but fleeting

Why do I wander there

My heart craves for this immutable truth

Do I die when this body dies

Death looked upon this young traveler

Realizing his genuine longing, thus spoke

I will give you the word of the scriptures

And reveal a truth greater than the greatest

Realize yourself in the self

And you shall be free from the clutches of death

This self that resides within you

Was never born and shall never die

It lives on hidden in the heart of every creature

Unified, at peace, with the cosmic love

Do not run after sense pleasures

For these will only trap you

In the endless saga

Of life and death

Instead meditate on the self

And see the unity in all living things

Meditate on the self

And dissolve in the universal joy

Rise above this city of eleven gates

To attain the unitive state

Separate yourself from the ego

And know yourself to be pure

You will see you are immortal

You will conceive your boundless beauty

At once beyond all desires

You will live in perennial joy

Thus having learned from death

The young one lived

Separate from all desires

And attachments
He won immortality

The Deathless Self

The Upanishads mainly talk about realizing the one truth - we are a part of Brahman and we are deathless. By "we" it, of course, refers to our eternal soul -- the immortal self. Identification with the body causes chagrin, disappointment and sadness leading one to be born again and again until we successfully embrace the universal reality. We are not born, neither do we die. This central idea also forms the core of the Gita, where Krishna teaches Arjun to stop mourning the loss of his family. The wise do not cry for their beloved for they know we never cease to exist.

Of course such talk is easier said than done. When we lose someone we care about, sadness and tears are bound to flow. Even if one accepts the idea that we are deathless,  we still lose the person in that "form", don't we? So then we as humans must be placing an identity on the human form, rather than the spirit. The spirit, one might say, does not have a face or a body so even if our loved ones went back to that form, how would we recognize them? That's where the difficult reality comes into play - if we realize Brahman, we would live with our loved ones forever. There would never be a feeling of loss because we are all One.

As a lump of salt thrown in water dissolves and cannot be taken out again, though wherever we taste the water it is salty, the separate self dissolves in the sea of pure consciousness, infinite and immortal. Separateness arises from identifying the Self with the body, which is made up of the elements; when this physical identification dissolves, there can be no more separate self.

-- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

The Self is the ear of the ear,

The eye of the eye, the mind of the mind

The word of words and the life of life.

Rising above the senses and the mind

And renouncing separate existence,

The wise realize the deathless Self.

-- Kena Upanishad

The evergreen treasures

You are your deepest driving desire

As is your desire, so is your will

As is your will, so is your deed

As is your deed, so is your destiny. 

--Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

The meaning of everyone's life is succinctly explained by the verses above. With remarkable grace they highlight the importance of choice and how we ourselves are creators of our destiny. Desire leads to will, which in turn leads to deed at last forming our destiny.

The Upanishads were one of the earliest texts produced in India after the Vedas. While the Vedas propound the external forces, i.e. the elements of nature; the quest of the Upanishads is to drive one towards one’s own self. It advocates the practice of looking within to find bliss and immortality. 

Over the years I’ve read them several times but with each reading something hitherto undiscovered has emerged. A shining gem reveals itself every time I walk on the path of the Upanishads making me rely on them, along with the Gita, to find solace and solitude every time my heart so desires or when I feel wobbly. 

Who wrote them or when is unknown. Several thousands of Upanishads were written and subsequently lost without being properly documented. The authors’ main purpose was not glory; consequently they preferred to remain anonymous. The only intention was to spread the teaching and their experiences of attaining the supreme goal, Brahman. Brahman is the universal Spirit, the one Supreme that pioneers the universe and governs us all. It is all pervading and cannot be seen, heard or touched but its nature can only be realized through the development of the self.  The relationship between Brahman and Atman is that of a one and a whole; the Atman representing the Brahman at an individual level but never distinct or separate from it. We human beings simply need to realize this eternal truth; we are one with the supreme, the Atman being an individual’s gateway to the Brahman. This, otherwise abstruse reality,  is the central idea of the Upanishads delivered through various tales.  

Over the next several weeks, I will share snippets of this book’s awesome power and learning. Hopefully, it will once again succeed in surprising me with a new lesson; a new truth I can accept and perhaps integrate into my reality. 

OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI

Back after a long hiatus

For the longest time in my life I did not want to be a mother. I thought it was overrated, not for me and kids in general did not appeal to me. I was not one of those girls who grew up always dreaming about their prince charming and planning their wedding. I thought, I had far greater things in life to do. Building a better life was one of them and so my waking life was usually packed with trying to realize my dream of living in the US. 

Then I landed here, in New York where a regional jet flew me to Pittsburgh and then on to Clarion where I had my first reverse cultural shock. I didn’t know where I had landed and why I was there. This is not the life I had dreamt of, however, eventually with some cherished friends along the way, I managed to survive. I still did not want kids. 

With a degree in hand, I came to New York to realize my dream of getting a Ph.D. and becoming a corporate superstar. A couple of years of working and I began to understand myself. I was not ever going to be a corporate superstar. What you saw was what you got with me and there was certainly no desire to ever play politics, involve in dirty games and mangle someone else's dreams to achieve my reality. Very soon my dreams began to change. I was captivated with the desire to do some good in the world. Work at a non-profit like the U.N. Kids still did not show on my radar. 

Then in the middle of this what-career-I-want-crisis I fell in love. It was magical because it was reciprocated in the same way. I met my husband and he showed me what life meant. His arrival changed a lot in my life, for the better. I became someone who understood love for what it truly is – no drama, no fuss. We started living with each other – our hopes unified our lives one. There was still no place for children. 

Few years passed and we got married. We talked about kids but I was not sure about it. I truly believed the universe had forgotten to pass along a maternal gene. I thought I was incapable of caring for someone so small. I didn’t know what I would do with it and being responsible for someone to that extent, frankly freaked me out. So the conversation ebbed and flowed but kids were nowhere around. 

Then one day, my clock struck twelve. I started thinking of kids and with some planning and some vacationing I got pregnant. 10 months later, a miracle took place in my life. I fell in love again. This time, my love showed me what I was missing. She showed me how misguided my ambitions were. She not only brought to me my maternal instinct, that I thought was nonexistent, but also showed me how desperate I was to use it. I was born again, this time as a mother. 

I’ve been MIA for the past few months only because I am living the biggest dream I didn’t even have! I thank my daughter for fulfilling me and the universe in bringing me this terrific experience, something I will always cherish. My life is now filled with laughter, giggles, diapers, milk and burps. I never knew boring conversations such as “which diaper size fits her right” or “she is wearing her 6 month outfit already!” could be so interesting. Now, it seems, life would be incomplete without them. 


And of course, life would be incomplete without her, my Sophie, my darling daughter, my biggest achievement and my brightest star! The desire to do good in my has not died but the only person it now wants to benefit is myself. If I can impart some knowledge that helps make her a better person and live a better life, one that is not just about self gain, but in harmony with the environment I will consider myself a success. The rest is up to the universe and I give myself and Sophie to that force that eventually governs us all.