Posts tagged: dissertation

Episode 8: Karma Demystified


Today in the eighth episode of the second season of the mysteries of life, we touch base on what is perhaps the most important aspect related to true spirituality and the journey of life. Karma or action has always been a great mystery for humankind. Few people truly cognize the scope of their karmic actions. What is karma? Why is it so potent in shaping our destinies? How can we proactively ensure that we remain centered in life irrespective of our myriad karmic ties? In the coming weeks we would be discussing on all these questions; unraveling this spellbinding mystery of life…

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Episode 2: Self-Realization Demystified


In the inaugural episode of the second season of The Mysteries of Life, we elaborated on the concept of realization. Today we go ahead one step and elucidate on the concept of self-realization. Self-realization is nothing but realization that comes from within. It is complete and utter awareness of the self. Self-realization is both expansive and rare. What is self-realization? How can we experience it? How can we see beyond the illusions that surround us?
Listen to the following audio epistle to the find the answers.

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Episode 1: Realization Demystified



Realization 101

In the inaugural episode of Season Two of The Mysteries of Life audio series, we shed light on one of the most debated topics pertaining to true spirituality. Through ages, men have talked about realization, about attaining enlightenment and spiritual knowledge. How do these three differ in their very essence? What is realization? Is it a stage of spiritual evolution ? or is it an endless process of spiritual awareness? In the first episode of this season, we make an attempt to find an answer to those questions. Stay tuned; the search for enlightenment has finally begun…:)

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Episode 9: “Conquer Depression”


Photo illustration by Mindy RickettsPhoto illustration by Mindy Ricketts

Photo illustration by Mindy Ricketts02-Dec-2007 08:16, Canon Canon EOS 40D, 1.8, 50.0mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 800

 

Many times, human existence is characterized by the pitfalls and quagmires that it presents to the individual. Many times it so happens that engulfed in the sorrow derived from recurrent failures, the individual finds no hope of salvation. This essentially leads to a depressive state of mind, wherein the individual concerned becomes engulfed in negativity. Depression can never achieve anything. It can only lead us to death and destruction. How can we overcome this depression? How can we truly rise above it? How can we conquer it? Listen to the following audio snippet to find the answers.

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Chapter 11: “Physical Quotient”


11-Aug-2005 18:34, SONY DSC-P92, 2.8, 8.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 100

 

Our physical body represents us in our physical existence. The spiritual journey is a long and arduous one. We cannot hope to make it till the end, unless we are physically capable to do so. Our physical body has a great significance in our spiritual journey. In this penultimate episode of the Satsang series, Rutugandha recounts the day, when the master spoke of the importance of physical quotient in the overall spiritual growth of any seeker. What does physical quotient truly mean? Why is it so important to our spiritual journey? How can we increase it? Listen to the following audio snippet to find the answers…

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Me, Me, Me !

Human beings are characterized by their superior intelligence and developed discerning capabilities. Many times, the aforementioned attributes define us as humans. Those attributes are what truly separate us from animals. Through time, it has often been said that man is a social animal. What we deduce from the aforementioned dictum is that man is an animal that has learned to adapt and adopt a symbiotic way of life. Simply put, man has learned how to live in a group; he has learned how to thrive in such environments. Above all, through the spectacular journey of evolution, man has learned how to be more pro-active.

Even though man is considered far more evolved than any other physical living being on the face of this earth, the fact remains, that his instinctive ties are strong and untouched. Instinct is essentially something that is entrenched deep in the roots of physical existence. It is like a program that is preloaded into the hard drive, once when the soul takes a physical form. Hence all who are trapped in this recursive way of life, have strong instinctive ties with their physical existence.

Instinct is all about the self. It is all about self-satiation and self-gratification. Think of it as an unrequited and perpetually unfulfilled state of hunger. No matter how much you feed it, you will still be hungry. That is precisely the reason as to why every single individual on the face of this earth is ultimately a self-centered one. Upon reading this dissertation, many would be outraged at the fact that I refer to them as self-centered; but upon keen self-introspection, they will realize that it is indeed so.

Each and every action that we perform in this world; in one way or the other is directed towards the enrichment and gratification of our own ‘self’. The reason as to why I quote the word ‘self’ in this sentence is that I want you to keenly introspect it as a separate entity. Upon doing so, you will realize the truth. It is always all about “what I want” and “what would make me happy”. Even when we love someone, we do so owing to the fact that the said person makes us happy. That person cares about us and we have this incredible delusion that the said person would never ever hurt us. In the end, it is all about us…it is all about the ‘self’.

What true spirituality essentially teaches us is how to rise above the ‘self’. It teaches us an entirely new way of life, wherein our actions are not centered towards self-gratification and self-satiation, but around selfless benevolence. It teaches us a way in which we can discover and realize the ‘Christ’ within ourselves. Ultimately, the spiritual journey takes us through the advanced stages of evolution, wherein the ties that bind us to our physical existence are severed. Through sheer intuitive cognizance and through a heart that has within itself naught a single shred of regret, yearning or unrequitedness, we can attain this superior stage of spiritual evolution.

However, it is often easier said than done. Moving through the paces of life, we indeed find it hard to be benevolent. In our worldly life, we often need to make harsh decision to progress and achieve success. The sheer toil that the worldly life puts us through, makes it very hard for us to be selfless and benevolent in life. However, if we make a genuine effort to rise above our instincts that inherently make us human, we would indeed find that we are embellished with a great sense of peace, satisfaction and ecstasy. It is only then that we would realize, that even sacrifice carries within itself great bliss…

That would indeed be the greatest achievement ever…

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Episode 8: “Conquer Fatigue”


Often in life we find that we are just unable to attain our goals and fulfill our dreams. Many times, we just dont find the energy to keep going against the tide. Many times our resolve fails us as we falter in our quest to achieve enduring superlative success. This is essentially owing to the fact that we are tired. As we life through the rat-race of life, we often feel at a loss of energy and stamina. Often the work-load and the irrational deadlines take an adverse toll on our health. Consequently we are unable to perform at an optimum level of productivity. We simply can’t enjoy what we do. How can we truly overcome this setback? How can we truly be rejuvenated? How can we truly conquer fatigue?

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Chapter 10: “Intelligence Quotient”


Many times we hear the word intelligent quotient used in the sense of intellectual benchmarking. There are many tests out there that help determine a person’s IQ. The fact that they come nowhere close to determining his true intelligence is an entirely different issue. Point of the matter is that it is indeed very hard to determine an individual’s intelligence based on some tests. It is even harder to state what intelligence truly means. In this episode of the Satsang series Rutugandha recounts the day when the master spoke of true intelligence and ways in which it is conducive to our spiritual growth.

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Episode 7: “Conquer Laziness”


In this part of the Conquer It series, we discuss different ways through which we can conquer laziness. Many times we are ever unaware of the fact that we are indeed being lazy while dispensing some of our duties. We never understand the fact that we indeed lose upon many opportunities in life owing to our laziness. Often we disregard our laziness to be a nominal vice; and not something that necessarily affects our quest for success in an adverse way. It is only later that we realize the gravity of the situation. How can we conquer laziness? How can we ensure continued productivity? How can we truly achieve enduring success? Listen to the following audio snippet to find the answers…

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Spiritual Quotient

Well guys, here is a term that was completely unheard of prior to this chapter being unveiled on “The Last Pilgrimage” weblog. Sure it was being discussed in different polls and debates throughout the world wide web, but it was hardly ever elaborated upon and discussed in detail. Today we are essentially going to focus on this topic simply owing to the fact that it needs to be discussed. What does spiritual quotient truly mean? Why do we need it? and what can we accomplish if we have it?

Well before answering the first question, I would like to answer the second one. Why do we need to be spiritual? Well the answer to that is plain and simple; because we need to survive. Today the rate at which human life is proceeding, it is indeed very hard to find a few moments of solace and peace. You are under relentless pressure at your job; you have a heft mortgage on your home that you hope pay off from the money that you receive at the end of every month. You have even more personal responsibilities to attend to. All in all, your life has been completely engulfed amidst the storm of physical existence that surrounds you. Many times when we reflect back upon our childhood, we feel that we indeed lived in simpler times. Many times we feel that we that we were much happy and carefree when we were mere children. Thomas Hood perfect expressed this in his poem titled I Remember, I Remember.

He said “I remember, I remember ,The fir-trees dark and high; I used to think their slender tops; Were close against the sky; It was a childish ignorance, But now ’tis little joy To know I’m farther off from Heaven Than when I was a boy.”

Being spiritual truly helps us move closer to God. It literally helps us to realize the God that resides within us. The spiritual journey is a journey of self-realization; and it brings with itself a great amount of peace, satisfaction and unconditional happiness. Being spiritual not only helps you to remain calm, quiet and peaceful in life, but it also helps you to develop a more pro-active attitude towards your worldly duties. The spiritual journey gives you a purpose which makes every facet of your life seem completely worthwhile. Indeed the spiritual journey gives you unparalleled insight and deep knowledge of the countless intricacies of existence.

Our spiritual quotient is essentially a reflection of our personality. It reflects our affinity towards our true selves. It determines our capability to look past the worldly illusions that surround us in life. Our spiritual quotient is what ultimately determines the amount of joy that we can derive from our mundane lives. A person with a greater spiritual quotient could be engulfed in multiple problems of worldly existence; and yet he would have within himself a spring of boundless joy and ecstasy. Not only that he would also be well equipped to deal with his worldly qualms, for he would be in a better place spiritually. Our spiritual quotient is indeed a healthy mix of our physical capabilities, our intelligence and our emotional receptivity. There is a thin line of perfection that traverses these three traits; and that ultimately determines our orientation and our receptivity to the divine power that resides within us.

Ultimately pertaining to the question as to what we can accomplish through developing a spiritual attitude towards life; I would say that we would accomplish nothing but a perpetual state of unconditional bliss. It would indeed be a great achievement, for then we would have no other desires; we would have no regrets; and we would indeed be forever at one with the final expression of undefined divinity that we call God…

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