Relax mind But How ? Read it

A mind filled with tension and unhappiness leads to negative thoughts. Such a mind creates problems to oneself and others.

In a contrast, a mind is relaxed and happy comes from positive thoughts. Transforming negative thoughts into positive thoughts is a hallmark of wisdom. It is well illustrated by Gautama Buddha, in an anecdote.

Once Buddha was addressing a large gathering of disciples. During the disclosure, one person, out of jealousy, abused Buddha. Buddha lovingly replied, “people are waiting to listen to my discourse in the neighbouring village; please do come tomorrow”.

The man was shocked. He asked Buddha, “Are you not hurt by my harsh words?” Buddha replied, “In order to hurt me, you should have met before my Enlightenment. Just as fire loses its potency when it comes into contact with water, your words, even though full of fury, lost their sharpness when they are hurled at me now”.

This is the positive thought centre one has to awaken. Before Buddha’s Enlightenment everything and everybody hurt him. But after he attained illumination the negative thought centre has changed completely. There is yet another story that inspires us into a different thought process.

Once a father felt disturbed when his son made noise. He thought of a method to calm his son. He tore a world map into pieces and asked his son to join them. To his surprise, the son came back with the world map neatly pasted, in a few minutes.

How did you this? Asked the father. The son replied, “Behind the world map, there was a picture of a man and I could join them easily.” Here the father, who was not aware of son’s potential, was finally led to discover it. It is an awakening for the father that he could channalise his son’s energy and intelligence for a positive cause.

Let us change ourselves. The world will change by itself. At the same time, let us not get lost in changing only ourselves and forget to include others in our growth. We live in an “I and you” world.

Think over on the following.

To a question, “Who is flying the kite”?

A boy replies, “I am flying the kite”.

The tail of the kite says, “I am flying the kite”.

The string says, “I am flying the kite”.

Voice of the lord said, “Oh! Children, we are flying the kite”.

Hence, the Vedic prayer says, “Let us all be Enlightened.”

We can relax in this world only when we teach our selves and others to strengthen our strengths and weaken our weakness.

Whatever be our weakness, if we identify it, the negative thought centre in us will lose its grip on us.

Life is both fair and unfair. Learn to be a good discoverer. Studies show that happy people are good discoverers and also have the courage to encounter unfairness.

Let our goodness come from our strengths, not from weakness.

Ten worlds of real true Life

HELL: All conditions of suffering and despair. In this state, we are utterly devoid of freedom, and undergo extreme and indescribable suffering.

HUNGER: Consumed by desire and a sense of lack, Hunger is a state characterized by an insatiable desire. In this state, a person is tormented by relentless craving and by his inability to satisfy it.

INSTINCT (ANIMALITY): The state of Animality is governed by instinct, and one has no sense of reason or morality. A person in the state of Animality is in fear of the strong, but despises and preys upon those weaker than himself. One is dominated by a selfish ego. A person in this state is compelled by the need to be superior to others in all things, despising others and valuing himself alone.

ANGER: The fourth world is Anger. It's filled with various aspects of anger, hostility and rage, from whatever motivation and whether directed to others or toward oneself. This world also can involve striving for power and domination.

*These four states are collectively called the four lower worlds.

HUMANITY/TRANQUILIT WORLD: The fifth world is the normal basic state of neutral human experience. In this state, one can pass fair judgment, control one's instinctive desires with reason, and act in harmony with one's environment or society.

RAPTURE: The sixth world is Heaven or Rapture. This state indicates the sense of pleasure and ecstasy one feels when desire is fulfilled. However, the joy in this state is temporary and disappears with the passage of time or with even a slight change in circumstances. It is said that the shortest road to Hell (suffering) is from Rapture.

*These six worlds from Hell through Heaven are where the majority of people spend most of their time, moving back and forth among them. In these states, people are governed by reactions to external influences, and therefore they are extremely vulnerable to changing circumstances.

LEARNING: In the seventh world, learning - seeking some lasting truth - pervades. Generally one enters this life condition after pursuing the truth of life through the teachings of others. This life condition is relatively free from avarice, anger, stupidity, arrogance and doubt, as well as from bias or depravity. However, a selfish or arrogant mind, although hidden, is still present to some extent in this life condition.

REALIZATION: In this condition, one seeks some lasting truth through their own observations and effort, and attains a degree of emancipation by perceiving the chain of causation, or by observing the natural order. In other words, one understands cause and effect as the nature of life in the universe. Because this is a life condition reached by discovering the truth in the universe after much effort, the sense of fulfillment felt in this state may be deeper than that gained in the world of learning. *Realization and Learning can often turn into arrogance, because people in these life conditions become stubbornly attached to their own realization with its limited perspective. Learning and Realization are called the two vehicles. The defect of the two vehicles lies in the fact that persons in these states may primarily seek only their own salvation and enlightenment.

COMPASSIONATE ALTRUISM In the ninth world, one aspires to enlightenment, and also devotes oneself to compassionate actions and altruism. Those in this state dwell among common mortals of the Six Paths humbly, while respecting others. They seek to serve and benefit others. This life condition is characterized by the great desire to extend help to those who are suffering.

ENLIGHTENMENT or ACTUALIZATION: The highest life condition is a state of perfect and absolute freedom in which one enjoys boundless wisdom and compassion, and is filled with the courage and power to overcome all hardships. This is the condition underlying the rich, altruistic activities of the Bodhisattva, in which one takes the sufferings of others as his own and defies all obstacles to help others change their destiny. One demonstrates to others how they can call up their own Buddhahood from within themselves