Science of Meditation; DHARANA AND ITS OBSTACLES

Science of Meditation
Swami Kripalu

DHARANA AND ITS OBSTACLES
1. The Internal Aspect of Yoga
Patanjali, in Yogadarsana, discusses two main aspects of yoga: the means or techniques of yoga and the manifestations or attainments of yoga. The former is discussed in Sadhanapada1 and the latter in Vibhutipada2. Sadhanapada includes yama and niyama, asanas, pranayama, and pratyahara—these five embodiments of yoga are considered external. Vibhutipada includes dharana, dhyana, and samadhi—these are the internal aspects of yoga, and these alone enable one to enter into the important spheres of yoga. However, only through the mastery of the techniques of yoga is the mind fit for the attainments of yoga. The body is the medium for asana, pranayama, and pratyahara, while the mind is the medium for dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. Only after the purification of the body does the purification of the mind really begin. In Goraksa-Paddhati it is said, “A seeker should practice dharana only after mastering asana, pranayama, and pratyahara.3”

2. Concept of Dharana
In Yogadarsana, Patanjali describes dharana thus: “When the pure mind is kept focused in the desired desa (region) by the seeker, it is called dharana.”4
One must meditate in order to decrease the fluctuations of the mind, which result in ignorance, inability, and misery. Through meditation, one can attain knowledge, ability, and happiness. However, just as there cannot be a tree without a seed, so there cannot be meditation without dharana. In order to meditate, one must first practice dharana.
A seeker practices dharana in order to focus many divergent thoughts towards a single region of contemplation. Out of the trio of meditator, meditation, and the object or the goal of meditation, the last one can be called the region of dharana. The seeker must focus his mind on such an object or goal.
3. The Three Regions of Dharana
There are three regions of dharana: adhibhautika (relating to matter), adhyatmika (relating to spirit) and adhidaivika (relating to celestial objects—sun, moon, etc.). The seeker may choose any one of these three regions on which to focus his mind. Focusing
1 Chapter on “Manifestations or Attainments of Yoga.”
2 Chapter on “Means or Techniques of Yoga.”
3 Goraksa-Paddhati, Part II, stanza 52.
4 Patanjali’s Yogadarsana; Vibhutipada, Aphorism 1
the mind on the idol of a chosen deity, a picture of the guru, a diamond, a jewel, a lamp, a flame, etc. is known as adhibhautik dharana. The mind becomes automatically fixed on an object or a goal if one has a great liking for it. In this type of dharana, the predisposition of one’s feelings and intellect play an important part.
When a seeker, favored with the grace of the Lord or of a guru, reaches the stage of dharana, his mind is automatically focused or fixed on various cakras in the body and on the respective deities controlling these cakras. This is known as adhyatmika dharana. Of course, the seeker practices dharana in its subsidiary form even when he does asanas, pranayamas, and pratyahara.

4. Spontaneous Occurrence of Dharana
In the initial stages of pranotthana (release of prana), prana moves very quickly. As a result, it is not able to remain stable in any cakra or nerve center for long. Later on, as the seeker advances in his spiritual practice, the activity of prana is reduced and gradually it becomes capable of remaining steady in the area of its activity for a longer period of time. However, real stability is attained only when one is firmly established in the stage of pratyahara, which itself assumes the form of dharana. Thereafter it becomes stabilized in any region which it chooses for purification. The mind is automatically attracted towards the regions in which the prana is localized. Hence, dharana begins to occur automatically in the center where the prana has become stable.

5. Results of Mastering Dharana
Dharana is considered to have been mastered when one’s mental focus remains steady for two hours. No sooner is dharana perfected than the yogi becomes revered by the people. He may have visions of the great siddhas (adepts or realized yogis) and also he gains understanding about the secrets of all religions. It is through dharana that one conquers the mind and becomes fit to practice dhyana, or real meditation. Moreover, it is only through dharana that the cakras and the granthis are penetrated and various siddhis (miraculous powers) are attained. But the true seeker reaching this stage does not become the slave of these siddhis, and, remaining unconcerned about them, proceeds further on the path of yoga.

6. The Initial Stages of Dharana in Various Cakras
When dharana is centered in muladhara cakra (basal plexus), asanas like mulabandhasana, virasana, ardha matsyendrasana, vrsasana, parsvasana, etc., in which the anus is pressed or contracted, are automatically performed. When dharana is centered in svadhisthana cakra (sacral plexus), siddhasana and its associated asanas, in which the portion between the anus and the genitals is pressed, occur automatically. Yoni mudra also occurs in natural course. When dharana is centered in manipura cakra (solar plexus) either the belly gets completely filled with air or uddiyana bandha (stomach lock) occurs frequently. Asanas like pascimottanasana, bhunamanasana may also be performed automatically. When dharana is centered in anahata cakra (cardial plexus), various pranayamas occur automatically, the chest gets completely filled with air, and asanas like dhirasana, khanjanasana, kurmasana, and bhujangasana are performed automatically. During dharana of visuddhakhya cakra (pharyngeal plexus) anahata nada (spontaneous sound) is generated in the form of chanting Rama or aum mantras, singing vedic hymns, roaring, making sounds like various beasts, or singing classical Indian music. Asanas like sarvangasana, halasana, and other asanas in which the throat is pressed, are performed automatically. When the prana is stabilized in this cakra, khecari mudra is also practiced. When dharana is centered in ajna cakra (frontal nerve center), asanas like padmasana, swastikasana, siddhasana, mulabhandhasana, vajrasana, or sthirasana are automatically performed and meditation in bhrucakra (between the eyebrows) becomes natural. During dharana of sahasradala padma (thousand-petalled lotus or the crown of the head), sirsasana, vrksasana, and associated asanas are automatically performed and the subtle sounds of drums, cymbals, conches, veena (stringed instrument), flute and bell or thundering (as in lightning) are heard. All these dharanas go on ascending and descending until they become stable in any one center for five ghadis5 (two hours). These are all adhyatmik dharanas.

7. Various Elemental Dharanas
From the feet to the thighs is the region of prthvi tattva (the earthy element), from the thighs to the navel is the region of jala tattva (the watery element), from the navel to the heart is the region of agni tattva (the fiery element), from the heart to the frontal region is the seat of vayu tattva (the airy element), and from the frontal region to brahmarandhra (the crown of the head) is the seat of akasa tattva (the ethereal element). One performs dharana spontaneously on the four-armed form of Lord Brahma, along with the bija (seed) sound ‘lam’ in the earthy region, on the four-armed from of Lord Narayana along with the sound ‘vam’ in the watery region, on the three-eyed from of Lord Maharudra with the sound ‘ram’ in the fiery region, on the all-powerful, omniscient, Lord of all, Satcitananda Iswara (Lord in the form of ‘existence-consciousness-bliss’) with the sound ‘yam’ in the airy region, and on the cosmic form of Lord Sadasiva with the sound ‘ham’ in the region of the ether element for five ghadis (two hours). By such practice one can gradually attain command over the earthy, watery, fiery, airy, and ethereal elements in turn.
8. Obstacles Arising During Initial States of Dharana
As soon as a seeker begins to be steady in dharana, many obstacles spring upon his path. Due to the fear of these dangers, many seekers prefer to tread the easier paths of yoga. The first obstacle is that yaksinis (demigoddesses from the other world known as Yaksaloka) adopt beautiful forms and come to tempt the seeker away, or they adopt the forms of snakes, lions, tigers, etc. to frighten him. Of course, all these can be seen only through inner vision. Under such circumstances, only if the seeker is neither tempted by the beauty of the yaksinis nor frightened by the dangerous animals does his yoga practice remain undisturbed. Some famous portraits of the Buddha show him surrounded by monstrous figures or a Kama Sena (a large group of cupids). This depicts the difficulties arising at this stage of dharana.

9. The Menace of Kundalini during Dharana
Another major difficulty that a seeker must face during dharana is the menace of the awakened kundalini. A seeker does not, in fact, enter the stage of dharana without the kundalini having been awakened. Dharana is usually performed in various cakras, so it presupposes the penetration of the cakras, which does not happen until the kundalini is awakened and moves upward into the passage of the susumna.
Although asanas, mudras, pranayamas, etc., are performed automatically when the prana is released, prana does not itself penetrate the cakras. Such penetration begins only when the kundalini power is awakened, and with it begins dharana. Since it is difficult to handle the awakened kundalini, the seeker has to face many difficulties during dharana.
The seeker who dares to awaken the kundalini power without the grace and guidance of a guru might become insane, succumb to diseases or even die. This is because he does not possess the necessary knowledge, steadiness of mind, or patience required for this difficult undertaking.
Many seekers are found wandering here and there in search of a guru who will awaken their kundalini. However, their search ends in despair because they do not have genuine faith in the guru. In order to get the kundalini awakened through the grace of a guru, one must have full faith and surrender completely. Although thousands may claim that they know kundalini and that their kundalini is awakened, it is doubtful if even one of them really has such knowledge or experience.
To awaken the kundalini power is one thing, but to make it move upward into the passage of the susumna is something else. In the beginning, as the kundalini is awakened, the seeker feels a lot of enthusiasm. But as he advances in dharana, he begins to encounter various menaces of kundalini. Only one with great courage can cope with these menaces; it is simply not possible for all to do so. This is where those who are attracted by siddhis (miraculous powers) retreat from the awakened kundalini and bow down to her from a distance.

10. The Obstacle of Sensuality
One of the stumbling blocks which the seeker faces during dharana is that of sensuality. There are seven major cakras and three granthis in the body and only through the correct practice of dharana will they be known. When dharana occurs spontaneously in the region of svadhisthana cakra, strong sensual feelings develop. This could be tolerated if it were to occur only once in a while, but it is encountered frequently. One may ask here: why does sensuality become intense through dharana? Should it not decrease through the practice of yoga? This problem can be explained in the following manner.

Prana energy is the soul of yoga. At no time can the mind be controlled without controlling the prana. In the same way, prana cannot be controlled without controlling the mind. As a long-handled fork is used for catching a snake, so is the prana energy used for controlling the mind. The mind is thus conquered by conquering the prana energy.
The seeker, whose prana energy is released through the grace of God or a guru, begins to establish control over prana automatically during meditation. Due to this automatic process, the blood in the body of the seeker is purified. As the blood is purified, it produces a large quantity of sexual fluid, and with this increased production of sexual fluid, sensuality is intensified. As a result, the seeker faces a stumbling block in his or her spiritual practice.
The Jain Preceptor Hemacandra Suriji pointed out: “Pranayama is useless. Peace of mind cannot be preserved by it. On the contrary, it generates unrest and the mind becomes depressed.” This statement must have been the result of experiencing such obstacles.
Due to such dangers there seems to be everywhere the tendency to avoid Hatha Yoga and go directly to the practice of Raja Yoga. But the real seeker must not be impeded by these difficulties. Only then can he obtain true knowledge of everything or become omniscient. All other remedies are common, and the power of omniscience cannot be attained through them.
Because they are so puzzled by this difficult aspect of yoga, particularly during dharana, even those seekers making the most progress stop. They are simply overwhelmed by the whole phenomenon. Once more the need for the wisdom, experience and grace of a true guru arises.
This is where the paths of krama mukti (liberation by stages or after many births) and sadyo mukti (liberation in the present lifetime) become separate. Only the brave Hanumana (the monkey God of the Ramayana and the deity of Brahmacarya or the perfect celibate) can cross the sea of sensuality with one leap. An ordinary monkey cannot do that. Therefore, for their own protection, many seekers will be directed or diverted into the path of krama mukti. Those seekers who cannot meet these obstacles with patience and full faith cannot tread the path of sadyo mukti.

11. Encountering Diseases
Another difficulty arising from the practice of dharana is disease. Often, in the lower stages of dharana, bodily impurities create obstructions. One may ask: why should a practitioner of yoga succumb to disease? The answer is that the active life of the seeker promotes a continuous flow of rajoguna in the body and mind; consequently, the proportion of passion, intolerance, anger, egoism, etc., greatly increases. Through the practice of dharana, however, the process of physical purification takes place very quickly. As a result, the unhealthy elements in the body are generated in large proportion and, in order to be eliminated quickly from the body, they may assume the nature of a disease which was previously lying dormant.
When diseases are manifested in the body in this way, that is, as a result of the process of prana, the seeker need not be afraid. Such diseases subside automatically through the process of prana itself. Therefore, the seeker should not abandon the practice of dharana but continue it. However, under such circumstances he should avoid taking any medicine, and should abstain from rich food. He may maintain either a simple and light diet or take only milk and fruits.
It is a popular belief that a yogi should not suffer from disease. This is true, but during the initial stages of dharana, one is merely an ordinary seeker and not an evolved yogi. When the yogic scriptures mention that a yogi does not suffer from disease, they refer to a highly evolved yogi and not to an ordinary seeker. On the contrary, an ordinary seeker frequently has to put up a tough fight against disease, and sometimes he may even encounter death during the practice of yoga. If he undergoes defeat in such encounters, he falls victim to various diseases, and if the disease turns out to be incurable, the seeker may eventually die.
Only when the yogi realizes the stage of samadhi does his body become completely purified by the fire of yogic penance and is he rid of disease. At that stage of his spiritual evolution, disease has no hold on the yogi, but before reaching that level, he has to tread a long and difficult path. As a matter of fact, the path of yoga is so full of difficulties that a seeker who cannot meet these challenges with enthusiasm, faith, patience, and courage will never tread the path of yoga to the end.

12. The Obstacle of Illusions
Yet another difficulty which arises during the stages of dharana is that the seeker does not correctly recognize the level of his progress. Often, out of over-enthusiasm, he begins to evaluate his attainments in a liberal way. This is because of his illusory understanding about the attainment of various aspects of yoga. At first, he considers yoga to be only a small ditch which can be very easily crossed over by a single jump. However, as he advances, he becomes disillusioned and finds that it is neither a ditch nor a small pond nor even a big lake, but a vast ocean, which cannot be so easily crossed.
For instance, when the frenum under the seeker’s tongue is cut automatically during meditation, he begins to think that now, within a couple of months, his tongue will be elongated enough to be able to stand in the tenth gate above the palate. But as he strives hard in meditation to attain khecari mudra (in which the tongue is locked in the cavity of the skull) month after month without success, he begins to feel uneasy about his progress. Further, when he finally succeeds in making the tongue stand in the tenth door, he again becomes overjoyed, thinking that he has now approached the stage of samadhi. At that time, he feels that he will be able to master the highest nirvikalpa samadhi very soon. However, when year after year passes without such an attainment, his illusion vanishes.
In fact, in the whole path of yoga there are many steps which often generate illusions making the seeker elated at one time and dejected at another time. Only that seeker who no longer worries about such illusions but continues the practice with full patience and faith succeeds in overcoming all obstacles

13. Viparyaya Vrtti or Illusory Thoughts
During the stages of dharana the seeker undergoes many experiences which cause illusory thoughts to occur in his mind. Hence, he is continually being disillusioned about some old experience or succumbing to a new illusion based on fresh experiences. Thoughts which nourish such illusions are called viparayaya vrttis (illusory thoughts). These are caused by inadequate or incomplete experiences. Because of such illusory thoughts, the seeker is often either joyful or sorrowful about his attainment or progress on the spiritual path.

In Yoga Darsana, Maharsi Patanjali has divided the vrttis (thoughts) into five types: 1) pramana, 2) viparyaya, 3) vikalpa, 4) smrti, and 5) nidra. So the seeker has to know which thought belongs to which category according to its characteristics.
Pramana are those thoughts which are based on experience and are devoid of doubt or illusion. For example, one knows gold as gold and brass as brass on the basis of experience. This pramana vrtti is the first type and we shall call it ‘truth’.

Viparyaya are those thoughts in which, due to lack of experience, there is the illusion that untruth is truth. For example, one mistakes gold for brass and brass for gold, for want of experience. This viparyaya vrtti is the second type and we shall call it ‘untruth’.

Vikalpa are those thoughts which, due to incomplete experience, cannot stay fixed on any decision. For example, one remains indecisive about whether this is gold or brass. This vikalpa vrtti is the third type and we shall call it ‘doubt’.
It can also be said that the seeker, as he or she progress in yoga, first crosses the ‘untruth’ and then enters the arena of ‘doubt’. Previously, the seeker was seeing only ‘untruth’ but now sees both ‘truth’ and ‘untruth’, and due to their lack of experience they are unable to decide what is ‘truth’ and what is ‘untruth’ out of the two. When, through further yoga practice, they cross the second arena, their experience becomes complete and they face only ‘truth’. This is the explanation of viparyaya, vikalpa, and pramana vrttis, which can be called, for practical purposes, untruth, doubt, and truth, respectively.
The knowledge which enables us to recognize the subject of our experience is called smrti. It relates to the past. For example, ‘I have seen this person’; ‘I have read this book’, etc. is the knowledge impressing previous experiences on the mind and the senses. This is called ‘smrti’.

The vrtti in which all four vrttis mentioned above (i.e. pramana, viparyaya, vikalpa and smrti) are absent is known as nidra.

The seeker treading the path of yoga is often waylaid by these different vrttis, but as he progresses from ignorance to knowledge, he once again finds the main path.

Courtesy:

Copy & Paste : Do it carefully

A popular motivational speaker was entertaining his Audience. He Said: "The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman who wasn't my wife!"

The audience was in silence and shock. The speaker added: "And that woman was my mother!"

Laughter and Applause!!!

A week later, a top manager trained by the Motivational speaker tried to crack this very effective joke At home. He was a bit foggy after a drink. He said loudly to His wife who was preparing dinner, "The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman who was not my Wife!"

The wife went; "ahhhh!" with shock and rage.

Standing there for 20 seconds trying to recall the second Half of the joke, the manager finally blurted out "...and I can't remember who she was!"

By the time the manager regained his consciousness, he was on a hospital bed nursing burns from boiling water.

Moral of the story...

 
Don't Copy if you can't PASTE

19. Start Early, Go Slowly and Reach Safely

From childhood everyone heard and enjoyed the story of Hare and Tortoise and now how many of us remember the moral of the story?

We almost forgot all those great classics imbibed into stories and educated most of us. Today being pushed practically impossible targets and always on calculators we need to slow down and if possible re-read those old classics which gives best clues for management.

I knew a company into some retail business for more than a century, who are always adept of the business, but expansion is relatively slow compared to new genre joint ventures who rapidly multiplied the stores and reduced their own margins. This is the reason, if you know the tagline,

You'll lead better if you slow down. You'll get more done, too.

It doesn't seem like it would be true. It doesn't seem like slowing down would get that much more done. But it does. Every day you do it, you will get more done. Every day you experiment with slowing down, you will understand the truth behind the legend of the tortoise and the hare.

The most important element of slowing down is to know that you're always working on the right thing to be working on at any given time. Business consultant Chet Holmes says that he and his clients accomplish that by making sure each day has only six things on the Must Do list. That list lets them slow down.

If I am on the wrong road, it doesn't matter how good I get at speeding down the road. It's still the wrong road.

I need to remind myself of this: Slow down and win. I need to take my sweet, gentle time. I want this conversation ahead of me to be relaxed and strong so that the relationship I have becomes relaxed and strong. So all day, it helps to tell myself: Slow down. Even slower than that.


Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence----- Albert Einstein

18.Give Attention to Attention

Anything you pay attention to expands. It grows.
Pay attention to your garden plants and they grow. Pay attention to your wife and you never fall in any tussle, Pay attention to your child and there would be no complaints throughout the life from them. Pay attention to your favorite cause, and your passion and knowledge will grow the success of that cause. Attention is like that. Anywhere you direct it; the object of that attention grows.
Attention is powerful. Yet most people allow their attention to be pushed and pulled around all day long by outside forces.
Your attention is like money. It is a precious treasure. It is paid in to things. We say pay attention for a reason. It is invested. It gets paid in to whatever you choose to pay it in to. If you pay it in to the things you want (measurable, numerical outcomes and specific results), you will get more and more of what you want.
When you talk to members of your team, keep paying attention to the results you want, not the effort to achieve them. When you praise your managers, pay attention to results they achieved that you wanted, not the trying, the effort, or the attempt to do it.

Most managers miss this vital point: they keep rewarding the "trying," not realizing that doing so sends the subconscious message that "trying" is always enough. Their people soon think that if they can show they're making efforts, if they can show activity, then there won't be so much focus on end results.
Make sure you reward end results more than anything else like trying, the effort, or the attempt to do it.If you do so, you'll get better end results. You have to be the one who keeps talking numbers if you want that one person to hit his numbers.
If, instead, you commiserate with how hard everything is, and you acknowledge how hard everyone is trying, then that's what you'll get: fewer results and more trying. Whatever you praise, grows.
Always. It's the law of the harvest.


Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.---Albert Einstein

17.Change : Encourage

If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near.

16.Difference between a Leader and a Boss

The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads and the boss drives.

15.Be a hardnosed Optimist

A leader is a dealer in hope.
—Napoleon Bonaparte

14.Teaching how to Teach Themselves

If you want a man to be for you, never let him feel he is dependent on you. Make him feel you are in some way dependent on him.

13.Regression from the Future

Managers often, quite unconsciously, allow team meetings and one-on-one conferences to focus excessively on the past.

But the constant refrain of how things used to be and why things were "easier back then" demoralizes the team. 
The team sits through unnecessarily long periods of time spent hashing out, venting, and reviewing breakdowns and mistakes.This is done at the expense of the future. It is also done at the expense of optimism, morale, and a sense of good, orderly direction.
A good motivator will not make the mistake of obsessive focus on the past. A good motivator will use the past as a springboard that immediately leads to a discussion of the future: "What can we learn from that mistake that will serve us in the future? And if this happens again, how might we handle it better?"

To a good motivator, the past really has only one purpose: to provide building material for creating the future. The past is not used as something to get hung up on, or an excuse for regret, placing blame, nostalgia, personal attacks, and having a defeated attitude. A leader knows that leadership means leading people into the future. Just as a scout leader leads scouts into the woods, a true leader leads team members into the future.
Your shift to better leadership might include learning to make an ever-increasing percentage of your communication focus on the future: discussing your next week, planning your next month, designing your goals for next year, and looking at the opportunities that will be there two years from now. Be thorough and well-prepared when it comes to discussing the future. If the details are not always known, the commitments, vision, and strategies are.

Unmotivational managers will unconsciously disown and spread fear about the future. They will say how unpredictable and dangerous the future is. They will exaggerate potential problems and stress the unpredictability of everything. They will attempt to come across as realists when, in fact, it's much more truthful to say that they simply haven't done their homework.

You'll be motivating others to the degree that you are a constant source of information and interesting communication about the future of the team.

 The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.

Weight Loss naturally?

              Weight Loss naturally?

                        

I have been wondering to observe the glorious ads and highly innovative technologies to reduce weight. I am not here to write down the extensive list of factors that causes obesity.

I’m here to explain a method highly effective which was described in ancient scribes.

This technique is called Saptaha, means week in common.

This method was tested by myself and lost 8kgs in a week time.

I do not promise that you’ll be getting same result but definitely 5-6kgs in 7days.

How it works it removes all impurities from the body and increases immunity.

It relieves stress and develops mental relaxation.

DAY 1

1.      10 glasses of water

2.      All fruits except banana

3.      Make Watermelon compulsory in list

So it’s basically a day of FRUITS & WATER

DAY 2

1.      10 glasses of water

2.      All vegetables only

3.      Can be Raw, steamed, or cooked

So it’s basically a day of VEGETABLES & WATER

DAY 3

1.      10 glasses of water

2.      All fruits except banana

3.      All vegetables except Potato

So it’s basically a day of FRUITS, VEGETABLES & WATER

DAY 4

1.      10 glasses of water

2.      Up to 8 bananas

3.      Up to 3 glasses of milk

4.      One cup of vegetable soup

So it’s basically a day of Banana, VEGETABLES & WATER

DAY 5

1.      12 glasses of water

2.      One cup of rice with vegetables

3.      6 tomatoes

So it’s basically a day of RICE, VEGETABLES & WATER

The extra water is to remove the Uricacid from your body.

DAY 6

1.      10 glasses of water

2.      One cup of rice

3.      Cooked / steamed / Raw vegetables

So it’s basically a day of RICE, VEGETABLES & WATER

DAY 7

1.      10 glasses of water

2.      One cup of rice

3.      Cooked / steamed / Raw vegetables

4.      Fruit juices

So it’s basically a day of RICE, FRUITS,  VEGETABLES & WATER

DAY 8

                                    

Check your weight.

Definitely, you might had lost 5-6 kgs.

If you still interested to loose more weight give a gap of a week and restart the programme.

Women, please avoid this during your periods, as body craves for more food and energy.

Any queries please mail me @ sr.munagala@gmail.com

12. Unconscious to Conscious

he other day I was attending an interview at one of the best employer in the financial industry. I felt well groomed and best at my appearance by wearing the top class shirt and well matched jeans trouser. I met the vice president of the company who was supposed to take my interview and at first look; he did not liked the way I dressed up. He pointed out jeans are not allowed in financial industry and I apologized him. I was asked whether I wore those jeans without conscious. Moreover, my reply was that which he was not expecting. I expressed my view if I ever want to lie, I can say so, but I cannot claim myself what I wore was just unconscious.
If I ever claim I’m unconscious about my own dress, what about my clients, company and my team I’m supposed to maintain?. Can I manage them all unconsciously? My answer to self was “NO”


If I'm an unconscious manager, can I be taught to be a true leader?

Of course I can. If you are going to turn me into a true leader, you begin by making what is unconscious (my commitments and operating principles as a leader) become conscious and clear. That's step one. That process is as simple as teaching me how to use a computer program.
If  you hold a leadership meeting and state very clearly why and how you intend to lead. You make everything clear. If there are other leaders in the room, even leaders whom you lead, you invite them to do the same. The more open we all are about how we intend to lead, the more motivated our people will be.
Okay, now look at those three qualities. They may be anything—honesty, openness, a total belief in you, creativity, nonjudgmental teaching style—whatever the three qualities are, look at them. More than likely, and more than nine times out of 10, these are qualities now in you as a leader. And these are the three things your people would say about you! Look at them. Is it not true? Are they not who you are?
This is a powerful exercise because it shows you how you have already internalized and already modeled yourself after the leaders you admired. However, until now, it has been subconscious. The trick is to make it conscious, and be very awake to it every day.
There is nothing so disheartening as a leader having a perceived hidden agenda, which comes from overly unconscious values at play. It discourages your people when they have to guess where you're coming from every day.
Far better to have both you and your people fully conscious of what you stand for.

A boss creates fear, a leader, confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting.

11.Push Not

1I'm surprised to see everyday in our life we used to get forced or pushed by our own parts (body), better half, partners, friends, employers, so called well wishers.
Are we really enjoy somebody pushing us? 
We never ask this question quite frequently because we afraid of ourselves and as we donot want to come out of those nests which we build upon the fraud, false and fake streams. We are afraid of ourselves to speak the truth of our own heart and always nod head for something that's not our like. Hence most of us feel pushed by time but no complaints on that seriously.
 Why we practice this?
Because, push is easier than Pull, hence we select always things that are easier for us to perform than their original intentions and understanding and application.
If I ever  push some one though with good intentions at one junction, it turns negative effect and sole purpose of push will be nullified.
Hence it's just like "SUMO" where two Sumo's fight for their respective win and never like to obey for loss. 

Instead make it "ai ki do" mean blending our inner forces, not force against force. And every move in aikido comes to that point, where both the aggressor's ki and my ki are blended. Right at that point, when we're in alignment, I have control over the other person and what happens to him and his body. Totally. It takes no effort. Because we're in complete alignment.

The application to motivating others is profound, because I don't really want to resist what my people are doing or saying. I want to guide their natural inner energy toward a mutual goal, theirs and mine. I want to receive and guide my people's natural energy...I don't want to oppose it or make it wrong.

 Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.

 

10. Want to be great

Either now or on one's deathbed, one realizes a strange truth: There's no excuse for not being great.
If you are a leader, a leader it is what you are. If you are still just a manager, just managing to manage, well, maybe you'll manage, but how fulfilling is that? How proud is your subconscious mind of you? How proud is your family?
Someday you will just decide to be great at what you do. You'll never look back. You'll never regret the decision. It might not have seemed like a big deal at the moment you decided, but somehow you'll know the decision is final. It will not have to be revisited.
There's a reason why it's good to be great: people want to follow you. People start to respect you. People want to be more like you. People want to do things for you.
And if you are honest with yourself, you will someday realize the truth for yourself, either now, or on your deathbed: There was no excuse for not being great.




When life demands more of people than they demand of life—as is ordinarily the case—what results is a resentment of life almost as deep-seated as the fear of death.

Why and How Swamiji's involve in Scandals?

 

                           Om Gurubhyo namah:

Who is Guru?

Sloka:

         Caturyugaa0tE vEdaanaa0 jaayetEkhila viplava: !

       Pravartayanti taanEtya bhuva0 saptarshayO diva: !! 

                                                                                                        -vishnupuranam0

The Veda explosion was happened at the end four Yugas and from Saptarishis from Dyuloka took the human forms (or amsa) and same Vedas were taught and proliferated the reincarnation and with due diligence and being appointed by  Lord Shiva (the Laya Karaka), considering the Prarabda karma from past life, past life regression through various births, living with last birth names and acting independently to accept a body or leave it free, with abundant Brahma jnana and no interest found with bodily things and showing magical powers to world to imbibe the public towards oneness with GOD, is the GURU.

What Mr. Ravi expressed is correct in the wake sense of a common man. With his permission I would like to dig this into a different direction or second face. Though my explanation seems criticizing Mr. Ravi Kumar’s opinion, but not truly I’m at it.

After living with a  living legend n both Vama and Dakshina marga Guru (Swamiji) for three and half years very closely associated with him in his measure works and actions, I feel I can throw a very little light on this topic. (I request my Guru to flow his energy to put my best at least space).

Most of the time No person will like to be called as Swamiji except a few people as Mr. Ravi mentioned who called themselves as Godman. It was us, the public who are greedy, materialistic, selfish always who run for and search for those people who are having links with eternal life and higher consciousness.

With great respect to Guru and Father H.H. Sree Sree Sree Swami Madhusudana Saraswati, I’ll pen down my own experience.

People in Telangana region knew Swamiji for past 25 years for his simplicity and philanthropic attitude. Slowly people gathered honoured themselves as disciples and started publicity for him without his notice. Because of this he changed his living place more than 11 times till now if I were not wrong or may be more. Every time he changed the house the number of disciples likes to reduce and slowly goes up again.

What these so called disciples will do is the question of our discussion?

They meet the public and find those who were in troubles and boast about the powers what they got from the Gurudev and promise them that they solve all without approaching the Guru in fact. Being the God of patience and Tolerance Gurudev will tolerate all these up to some level and then he’ll teach them that way opted was wrong. If ever the disciple is intelligent and in sampoorna samarpana (total submission to Gurudev) they will immediately react to the words or actions of Swamiji and rectify their behavior and keeps the path glowing with purity and sanctity.

But what about those materialistic people? They takes this as against their wish and now finds out all those faults and put them on big screen and black mail them (The same happened with Mr.K.Lenin so called Disciple and Driver of the Swami Nityananda, he wanted to run a big business with those charities coming from public obviously Swamiji was reluctant to do so as they knew our karmic pattern, which made Mr. Lenin to implant CC camera’s and record activities. I’m not dealing with affairs here as I want write on it separately).

1.       Did any Swamiji in India other than a few self-made claims that you need to call them as Swamiji?

2.       Did they ever ask you to come to them at first?

3.       Did they ever make you sick by so called scandals?

It’s our self with lots of greedy who met them and asked their energies to flow to materialize our dreams and maximize the returns and lured them into all nasty actions and finally blame them. Are we right in this? If yes can any body answer me in detail please?

Today after being visiting many ashrams by my Gurudev’s love and care on me, I can say with confidence that n most of Ashrams, those con people live along with those esteemed personalities under the shadow and waiting for the time to tame the luck. That’s cruel and better than beast in nature. The so called public who I call as mass hysteric or scape goats readily accepts either way without proper logic and reason, hence these news channels making good money, dear friends.

Sorry I deviated from main topic.

Then why Swamji’s involve in illicit affairs?

If you can really understand the spirituality then you find no difference between male and females and holds no passions for life but whatever there comes as alms from their Guru’s they live upon.

Being accepting people’s karma’s and in order to burn them off, they indulge in it, but most of us never try to understand the theory of nature but criticize at base level.

I’m proud to say that those days when I’m going through emotional transition, whenever the karmic pattern of mine pokes me for physical satisfaction, I used to transfer to my Swamiji, which HE happily accepted and suffered whole night doing the mantra sadhana and I was EYE WITNESS for this.  He saved me many times me having affairs with women who come to the ashram under the pretention of problem solving but tend to lure me so that to get access to my Swamiji quickly. But being faithful and heart spoken I was always well saved from them. Think a minute what it might happen if I were not true to my heart with Swamiji, I would have been conned ultimately bringing the shame on my Guru and ashram, where media people will be ready to click those news to get best TRP’s.

Many women like to sleep with spiritual people hoping that will provide best progeny which makes them proud in the society later in the life. Any of us know this?. These are not comments but plain truth from inside.

We need to understand about ourselves

1.       Our understanding of the basic system will be sufficient to question about?

2.       Do any of us know the system of energy flow other than physical theories?

3.       Have we any time have analyzed the system of spirituality and Guruhood?

4.       Did anyone know what the types of Guruhood and types disciples are?

5.       Did any of us thought nothing and surrendered for Guru for the sake of God?

Thanking Mr.Ravi raising the bell to write this and My Guru to allow me writing and publishing this post on my blog and thanking those valuable readers who read this in advance. I would be grateful if you can put your word about this and question me further.

Note: I here by take oath that all these content is my own and blessed by Gurudev and as a part of making public literate I'll write more on Guruhood soon 

9.Routining the Routine

9.The major psychological obstacle to motivational success is the myth of permanent characteristics. It is people who think that their habits of action are not habits, but permanent traits. Believing in that totally false myth traps people in a prison, an iron web of limitation. And it's all unnecessary!
The repeated action patterns that you and I demonstrate throughout the day are a result of habit, not the result of permanent characteristics, or character defects, or personality quirks.
If we don't like a certain tendency we have (let's say to procrastinate having that important talk with an employee who is out of line), then the first step in correcting the tendency is to see it for what it is: a habit. A habit is a pattern of behavior woven into seeming permanence by repetition. If I repeatedly and consistently put off doing the tough tasks in favor of the easy ones, it will become a habit. It's the law of the human neurological system.
So, what do we do?
All we have to do to build a new habit is to create a routine. That's right, a routine! Please repeat to yourself, "I don't need self-discipline for this, I don't need a new personality, I don't need fresh strength of character or even more willpower: All I Need Is a Routine."
One of our top mentors and business productivity coaches, Lyndon Duke, once said that he had spent many years lowering his self-esteem by bemoaning the condition of his messy apartment. He lived alone and was a highly active business genius who worked many long and joyful hours, but couldn't keep his place clean. He told himself
that he was an undisciplined and disorganized person. Soon, in his own mind, he was a slob. Permanent characteristic: slob.
Finally it dawned on him that the only thing missing was a routine. That's all he lacked! He didn't lack will-power, good character, or self-control. Not at all! He simply lacked a routine.
So he made up a routine: "I will straighten things up for 20 minutes every morning." Mondays, while coffee was brewing and eggs simmering, for just a few short and quick minutes, he would do his living room. Tuesdays, his kitchen. Wednesdays, the bedroom. Thursdays, the hall and porch. Fridays, the home office and den. And each Saturday morning, for 20 minutes, we would do a deeper cleaning of his choice. That became his routine. The beauty of a routine is that it eventually becomes habit.
"At first, it was awkward and weird," he said. "And I thought to myself that it was so unnatural and uncomfortable that I would probably never follow through, but I promised myself a 90-day free trial. I'd be free to drop it if my theory was incorrect. My theory was that I only needed a routine, and that once my routine became routine, it would be an effortless and natural part of my life."
He was absolutely correct about all of it. When we first visited him at his place, long after his routine had become habit, we noticed how clean and orderly it looked. We assumed he had someone come in to clean. Then he told us about the power, the absolutely stunning and amazing power, of making up a routine.
"I do it so naturally now that sometimes I don't even remember having done it," he said. "So I'll have to look
out at my living room to check, and lo and behold, it's in complete order. I had done it without thinking."
If something isn't happening in your professional life, if you could be more productive if only you were "as disciplined as so and so," then worry no longer. It isn't about you. It's about your lack of a routine. All you need is a routine. Make up your routine, and follow your routine, and if you do this for 21 days, it will be so effortless and natural to you that you'll never have to think about it again.
Do you hate yourself because you don't prepare for your team meetings? There's nothing wrong with you. You just need a routine. Are you troubled by how your e-mail is taking up your precious time and life as a leader? You aren't missing any kind of inner strength; you are missing a routine. Check your e-mail two specific times a day and tell your people that's what you do. Create a routine for yourself. Follow your routine for 21 days and then it becomes a habbit and Then you're free.

Leadership success is not easy, but it is not all that hard, either.
It is not nearly as hard as we often make it for ourselves.

Take Hold of Every Moment

A friend of mine opened his father's cupboard drawer and picked up a gift wrapped package:

"This, - he said - isn't any ordinary package."

He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.

"He got this the first time he went to New Delhi, 28 or 29 years ago. He has never gave it to me. Was saving it for a special occasion, well, I guess this is it. I got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing’s and he was taking to the funeral house, he had just died. My friend turned to me and said:

"Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion".


I still think those words changed my life.



Now I read more and clean less the fuss


I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.






I spend more time with my family, and less at work.


I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through. I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day. I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if i feel like it.




I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to. The words "Someday..." and "One Day..." are fading away from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now. I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come.


I would regret it, because I would no longer see the friends I would meet, letters... letters that I wanted to write

"One of this days".


I would regret and feel sad, because I didn't say to my brothers and sons, not times enough at least, how much

I love them.
Now, I try not to delay, postpone or keep anything that could bring laughter and joy into our lives.

And, on each morning, I say to myself that this could be a special day.

Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.
Each day, each hour, each minute, is special