Stillness ...

 Books (more to be added): 1. Complete works of Swami Vivekananda (Publisher: Advaita Ashrama)    -  Book on Amazon 2. Bahgavad Gita: Translation by Swami Tapasyananda (Publisher: Sri Ramakrishna Math)       -  Book on Amazon 3. Principal Upanishads: by S. Radhakrishnan (Publisher: Harper Collins)     -  Book on Amazon 4. Yogasutras of Patanjali     - Translation by Swami Vivekananda      - Translation by Sri M - Yoga also for the Godless 5. Srimad Bhagavatam: by Kamla Subramaniam (Publisher: Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan)     -  Book on Amazon 6. Book on Tantra     - The Serpent Power by Arthur Avalon     - Introduction to Tantra by Arthur Avalon 7. Autobiographies/ biographies     - Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhamsa Yogananda     - Living with the Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama     - The Journey Home by Radhanath Swami     - Appre...

Sri M says that the fear of death is not actually the fear of unknown, but it is actually the fear of losing our possessions at the time of death. This fear springs out of our ignorance that we cannot remain happy without these things. And this results into a strong attachment to worldly objects and relationships, and the desire to hold on to these as well as the fear of losing them. Can we be free from this fear, which would mean to be free from the attachments and desires, which would mean to be free of that ignorance?

 Practice the following consciously all the time - just be .... feel that you are in His presence always - be free from the urge to act as well as the urge not to act (resistance) ..... but do what comes to you as necessary .. do what must be done - be watchful of what's going on in the mind ... keep the central unbroken thought of the Lord and Guru inside all the time.. let other thoughts come and go on the surface ... keep the mind occupied on the self all the time - it is possible to be happy .. it is a choice and needs conscious effort .. and now is the time .... so, be happy now .. irrespective of anything and everything .. everything that is working or not working - let the desire of liberation be the strongest desire .. sublimate all other desires under that  - allow the mind to gradually become empty .. empty of everything ... empty of all constructs and designs, all calculations and contrivances, all conceptualizations and definitions, all hankerings and motives ... s...

This is urgent. Never felt the urgency of this like what I am feeling now. Feel that I have been wasting time, thinking all this while, that one day I will get there. But no, many years have passed just like that. I am still the same.  This has to be dealt with NOW. If not now then when! But what do I do? It is not in my hands.  Something must happen now. But what do I expect to happen? An experience that somehow reveals my true essence (Self) to me, and that grounds me in an unfailing understanding that I am eternal and ONE with everything.  But that would need a prepared mind. Quiet and silent. Consistently practicing saadhna for a long time (nairantarya abhyasa) can prepare a mind for that.  It will also need a desperate mind that wants this more than anything else in this world. But this is hard to come by. Desperate yet quiet.   Then, it can happen.

The mud settles when the water becomes completely still. Only when the water is still and the mud has fully settled, it realizes that it is water, free of the mud. until then it identifies itself as the muddy water. This mud in the water can be any of the following: - fear, worries and concerns of the mind - desire to achieve something, create something or the urge to do anything - need to protect our image - need to avoid a situation - need to prevent something from happening - overthinking on a subject, constant thinking or planning - feelings of hurt, anger If all the above are mud, then what is still water? it is the water that has gotten itself rid of the mud and is still, without a movement. It is the QUIET, STILL, EMPTY mind.

Happiness is a skill that can be learnt and practiced. Happiness is the lack of an urge or desire to seek, grab, acquire and gather more. This desire drives us to go out in the world and act with a motive to achieve more. Now, where is this desire coming from? This comes from a feeling that we have deep within us, which tells us that we do not have enough and we need more. A simple example that will help us understand this fact better is our eating pattern. When do we eat or when do we have the desire to eat? The nature has built us in a way that makes us want to eat only when we are hungry. However, some of us may like to eat even when they are not hungry but because they are not able to resist the temptation to eat something which they are really fond of. But, generally speaking, if we feel that we are not hungry, then we dont have this urge to eat. Similarly, if we dont feel that we need something, then we will not run helter-skelter to get that thing, be it a bike, an iPhone, an ex...