Freewill is Destiny

Destiny is perceived as predetermined sequence of events where humans have no control, whereas freewill is perceived as giving that control to human to choose between options. In destiny he sees himself as a mere boat with no paddles, whereas in freewill he has the paddle to row anywhere he wishes. It is human nature that desires to be in control. The need for control arises due to the insecurity of the unknown and uncertainty. When everything is in control it gives a sense of security that life goes according to one's dream and the desired destination would be reached. It is this false hope that makes human less adventurous and more fearful. It makes him limited and makes him settle for less.

The key to understand whether it is destiny or freewill lies in how we think because our actions stem from thoughts. You don't foresee or plan a particular thought to occur. Thought happens by itself and you get to be aware of such a thought in your mind. Thousands of thoughts happen in your mind and it didn't wait for your permission before cropping up. This is randomness of thoughts occurring, it is not predestined but as it unfolds. Man hates to be puppet, but he has to realize no one is sitting above and controlling his life. There is no sadist out there but life blooms as it happens in the now. Just like a wind changes direction moment to moment so does your mind rattle with thoughts and the following actions. 

In fact it is because of this randomness of destiny it appears 'as if'' there is freewill. It is the randomness of the thoughts, the decisions and the following actions that makes life uncertain, colorful and vibrant. If it had been freewill all human actions are predictable as he would only choose and do what he already knows and likes, which is going to be limited and stagnant. Just like a computer program that performs an action for a given set of conditions so would the human behavior be. He would be a glorified robot picking up actions that is already predetermined and programmed. It is destiny that alters this predestined behavior and gives an illusion of freewill.

It is destiny that you are reading this although you can claim that you made a choice to read it. It is destiny that makes you say aye or nay for destiny. Freewill is part and parcel of destiny.

Nourish the roots for effortless blooming

The focus had always been on the external. The bigger the cars the bigger the house the bigger is the superficial satisfaction and that too for a while. Most humans live for the attention of their friends, spouse, colleagues, family and neighbors. They hardly live for their oneself. The craving inner call is ignored to meet the demands of the social calls. Sadly their self esteem is too low that they have to rely on the support, approval and validation based on the number of likes and comments both in real life and social media. Their ego feels small and unimportant that they want to showcase themselves as important and how do they do it? They do it by sprucing up their external appearance - lifestyle, behavior, body language, high talks etc. They enjoy the envy as it ups their self esteem.

Right from childhood as humans we try to better our external life all the while ignoring the inner soul. We like to cover up the inner sadness by a glowing smile, we believe in cosmetic changes rather than nourishing the inner being. We work for the best of career, trophy worthy spouse, flashy cars, exotic holidays, flamboyant lifestyle, world fame and glory and when we achieve it we always find something amiss. So we look on bettering the external life not realizing the true permanent bliss in not on flimsy changing environment but it has to be something that is ever stable and unwavering. We constantly look for contentment at the wrong places.

There is nothing wrong in riches and a lavish lifestyle but if its roots are not well founded from within then it is clumsy show that gets the world's attention but fails to wake you up to the real bliss of life. It is more like a zombie that gets acknowledged.

When one discovers oneself that is when the roots are nourished. When the focus is inner than external true living can ever happen. When the roots are strong no painful efforts are required for the blooming to happen outside. The blooming is so natural and it is most beautiful. The external blooming is not important to that person but it happens anyways. Everything around that person has the sweet smelling fragrance of life. No external factors can uproot him. He is one with the whole cosmic energy. The best of external life come in search of that person. The search for contentment ends and life around him blooms in the brightest colors. 

Quest for the Source

Long eons earlier far away from the habitation of living being, was a very serene lake nestled in a valley. It was still, as if dead for a very long time. Even the wildest storms couldn't cause a ripple to shake it to life. Then one day magic happened. A manifestation. There was a new form of being, floating on the water, yet there were no ripples in the lake. On a closer look you find a small ice cube bursting out of the water sheet.  This ice cube had a unique property, it can be aware. It can experience life around. Unlike water it can imagine, contemplate and think. Gleaming beautifully in the rising sun giving a hoot to the world it merrily swims in the lake with growing arrogance arising from its unique ability. Little did it know that unlike its source it is susceptible to forces of existence.

Many years pass by before the ice cube loses its sheen of arrogance. Its intelligence is no more good enough to handle extreme life situations. Threats from wind, debris, heat and dirt has mellowed it. The beautiful deep blues has faded, the sharpness of the edges are battered. It began to realize the possibility of some higher force working on its way of life. It had long back realized when it moves from one part of the lake to another that the propulsion was from somewhere else. It was just reacting to life forces. It had a feeling that there was no freewill. It wanted to know if its efforts make any sense at all. It wanted to know who is in charge. The quest to know the source begins in the right earnest.

Few more years pass by. Deep pondering gives the much needed direction. The heat and light from deep contemplation has shrunk the ego thus reducing its size. Deeper and deeper meditation melts the ice cube so much so that it eventually becomes water one day. It has unknowingly reached the very source water it sought. There is no more illusion no more separation no more duality.

I wait for the ice cube to surface again, to tell me about what is "Being". I want to hear the first hand experience of the Oneness. I wait for a very long time until something cracked inside me. There is no more ice cube to tell you the story. The unique ability of the ice cube to experience is watered down. 

After many days as I happened to pass by the lake I was animated seeing the ice cube again. But this time, there was something more serene about it. It had a radiating glow wrapped with an aura of humility and compassion. My questions reappeared. I asked the same question hoping that my findings are wrong. It said "when I was one with the source I didn't exist". But not to let go off the topic I ask "Was it silent? Was it peaceful?" It said "There is no such experience in the Oneness. There can't be any kind experience because as I said I didn't exist separate from the water during those moments. When I don't exist how can i experience?". Hearing such a profound statement I stand there motionless. Taking pity it said "When I am there, God is not. When God is there, I am not."

Being upset and unhappy hearing that in Oneness there is no experience of bliss, silence and peace. I ask "Why did you return". It said "I dont know how I came back. But coming back has made me realize who the boss is. I have no more wounds to be healed. I am purified and I radiate love. I no more fancy illusions because I live in the eternal now. Everything around me happens so effortlessly. I have deeper experience  of life. There is much more awareness. In the Oneness you can't do all that."

Illusion - A reality? Or an Illusion?

Is this world really an illusion? What is this illusion that spirituality talk about? Could it really be true that something is skipping the senses?

The whole world that you see, hear, smell, taste and touch are real. They are solid physical objects. It is not animated 3-D airy dream. The illusion is the label that your mind attaches to the seen, heard, smelt, tasted and touched. Our mind has a phenomenal knack of projecting and imagining more than what is.

Aham Brahmasmi says the Upanishads. It means "I am Brahman" the God himself. All awakened masters say that you are God. If you and me are God why are we not able to know that? Before we delve into that we need to figure if everything is really God.

Saying everything is God is so easy scientifically but what the heck the believers anyway Believe everything is God, so why bother to prove. Science says everything in this world is matter and energy. They can be converted from one form to another. That's what is Einstein's E=MC Square, where E is energy, M is matter and C is speed of light. Every material in this universe has this matter in the form of atoms or sub-atomic. Whether you talk about stones, trees, humans or stars they all have it.

Science calls this as matter and energy that are interchangeable  Belief calls it as the created and the creator that are non interchangeable. Spirituality calls both as the manifested consciousness.  Spirituality goes one further step to say all manifested consciousness comes from Nothing. This would baffle science and they in recent years coined the assumed force as dark energy.

When God is everything how can you be separate? How can the devil (if it exists) be separate? If everything is him then good, bad, ugly, beautiful, light, darkness, love and hatred are all God. Isn't it?

So what is making you and me feel we are separate individuals? What is making you think that you and God are separate? Well the question has the answer. Your thought makes you think that you are separate.

The illusion is in the thinking. When you dream in your sleep. The illusion is so real that you don't have a doubt about it even though all your five senses are not functioning. You live the dream. When you wake up the conscious mind can live the real physical world with the five senses. The change in conscious state doesn't alter the core behavior of the sixth sense that is to project. It can still create a bubble around it and live in that dream. This labeling and attaching makes the whole thing real and fun.

When you are enlightened you would still be in the illusion but only this time you would be aware of the pranks of your mind. You can see beyond the veils of Maya lay a very blissful unshaken self. That is you! That is God!

God - A product that sells

Every religion claim that there is One God. That God is eternal living forever. Looks like God has abonded his creation. Where is he? Where does he live? Is he in the imaginary heaven all times? Does he visit hell and earth? Or has he delegated that work to the custodians of the religion and no more bothered? Did he create the devil? Or some other force created the devil that makes him envious?

The books say that he is the only one to be worshiped  Does that imply there are other Gods which makes him insecure. If God is all powerful as claimed why is he asking to fight the devil? Can't he destroy it himself? He wants his followers to destroy but where is the commander in charge. They say God is compassionate does that mean he is compassionate selectively where he helps those who keep praising him? He must have one big ego. 

It is not God who is at fault it is humans. Man managed to politicize divinity for personal reasons. Man created God, gave it a name. Books were written by humans. It will have the writers flavor for imagination. To ensure authority and stop logical questioning instill fear through various means. It played well to the ever God fearing humans. Wonder why would you fear your creator unless he is a monster. Wont you love your child unconditionally?

The protagonist of religion has belittled God in every possible manner. They say their God alone is true. Their religion alone is true. Sadly they fail to understand that by doing so they are demeaning the very God they adore. It is belittling God's creative ability. Would you appreciate God if he had created all animals as lions (no deer, no hippos etc) or all flowers as roses and nothing else  or all humans having the same facial appearance and same height and weight or all colors in white or all seasons in winter or all eatables as rice. Now that to any thinking standard it shows very poor creativity. Why is that God can't create different religions? Why can't God have different names? Why can't the rituals be different? Does it matter whether it is ancient or a new one? It is not God at fault it is the maturity of the followers that needs help.

(I am neither a believer nor an atheist. I don't believe in religions. My views of God is based on non-duality and is not expressed in this blog)

Question God's Existence

If you really want to know God question his existence. Doubt his existence. You have to have guts. You would be rewarded by the divine if you take this leap of faith. Blind faith keeps you blind forever.

God has been imposed on you. You learnt to pray from your parents, you followed rituals because a supposedly close to god priest said so, you believed because a million of them believed, the priests, the society gave a look and feel to God, the teachers, the self proclaimed God man had their own agenda, the books imprisoned you and made you a coward. The book became holier than God himself. You have been tuned to just accept and told not to question lest you would have the wrath of God. Which God is so ruthless? If God is all loving and compassionate why do you fear?

It is time to move from belief to knowing. Do you believe you have a hand? No you simply know you have a hand. Same way you would have to know if God exists. That can happens only if you are ready to question his existence, seek for the truth.

The only way to realize God is the courageous way. A path that is so unique to you. Only you can tread that path. The moment you take this step you would be amazed that divinity would take 100 steps to reach you. The teacher arrives when the disciple in you is ready.

Logic is Illogical

Illogic is the mother of logic. How many of us would accept the statement that logic is born from illogic?

We believe that everything in life adheres to logic. Nothing is accepted unless one believes it has a logical conclusion. Our logic might come across as the most illogical to someone else but to us it sounds well founded.

Science builds its theory on logic. Computer programs follows logic. Forensic investigations needs logic to reconstruct events. The system of communication follows logic. The whole world functions on logic. For us to come across as sane or mature we converse or argue or negotiate with logic. We expect logic even in our entertainment. But the whole universe sits on something that is so logically illogical.

Can the reflection be brighter than the source? asks Zen. The source of light is so unfounded but its principles follow logic. There is no logic as to why light travels but there is perfect logic in photons, reflections and refraction.  The source of matter and energy is illogical but it follows principles of science. It is logic which tells us why there is a sunrise and sunset but it is illogic which tells why the earth spins on its axis. It is bang theory that tells us how the universe came but it is illogic that would answer where did the emptiness that acted as the womb for the big bang (if at all as claimed) to occur come from. It is perfect logic that beyond every periphery there must be something. Applying the logic an infinite time one realizes the universe is endless. Logic knows it is limited and knows logically well that there can be no answer to it. Science knows logically well that answer to some of the question is 'That is the nature of existence. Any infinite probe would end in the same answer'. It is like you watching a movie from the middle that is logically constructed frame to frame but has no  idea as to what led to it.

It is like a movie where the first half is on Tom and Jerry and then all of a sudden it is Titanic for the second half. Now the two can independently appear extremely logical in spite of the absence of a beginning or an end. But for a person who has watched the entire movie will find no logical connection between the stories. He won't know how the Tom and Jerry movie would end nor why did Titanic sink.

There was this centipede that was in the habit of going for a walk every morning. It is on one such routine walk that a frog stopped the centipede to clarify on a pressing confusion. "Uncle centipede I have seen you walk on many mornings. I am extremely perplexed to see you walk with such ease with all those 100 legs of yours. I am amazed how you mange to do this? How do you know which leg to move first, then the second, then the third and so on? Don't you get confused as to which leg to move next? I couldn't hold it anymore and I wanted to know today. Please tell me" The astonished centipede looked puzzled. "I have been walking all my life, it never occurred to me how I managed all these years. I never looked down to count my legs. Now that you told me I will find out what logic do I apply to actually move the legs" The centipede tries to figure the mystery. It immediately falls on its face with all its legs entangled. The centipede angrily shouts at the frog. "You idiot all my life I was walking so fine, now you have brought this question in my mind I am afraid to walk again. Out of the billion other centipede I will be the only centipede who can't manage my hundred legs. you have brought shame to me."

Logic tells us that we laughed because we found something funny but what is the logical basis on which our mind labels something as 'funny' a fraction of a second before it is called as funny.

Logic belongs to the mind. Logic is so limited in its knowledge. Logic deals with the known. You have to go beyond the mind to see the illogical abundance, the divinity knows no logic. Unknown has no logic. Creation follows no logic.

How can a mind which is just a part logically comprehend the whole? How can logic ever comprehend the illogical? The truth lies beyond the mind.

- Some of these are excerpts from the fiction book that I am writing 'Rising above the spheres of Fear'

For discussions or to read the fiction part please join www.facebook.com/book.fear

Purpose of Life

A man without a purpose is a ship without a rudder goes the adage. There are many purposes one holds to in their lives. This list keep changing time to time. Some purposes in life gets dropped, some compromised and some get fulfilled  but there is always one purpose or a wish that one always have. There is no dearth for desires. When one is badly battered in life all purposes momentarily cease shifting the energy to a pressing problem that needs immediate relief. Once out of it we immediately pick the burden of purpose.

The purpose of any purpose is to seek contentment or well being in life. Whatever be the purpose the search is for happiness and security. Whether the want is about minting millions of dollars or wielding enormous power or indulging in sexual fantasies or putting a roof under the head or winning a scholarship or marrying the most perfect other half or travelling the exotic paradises or securing the future of your loved ones or saving the world from the bad guys or finding a cure for a dreaded disease or removing poverty from the face of Earth it all boils down to fulfilling the needs of one or more of the six senses. Man is a sensual being since the eons and will continue to be forever.

Although many goals are achieved man is never content inside. There is always a hope of better tomorrow. The core of the purpose remains constant but the superficial appearance changes from money to power to sex to recognition to security to enlightenment to lifestyle. The search for contentment seem to be an infinite one. The purpose suddenly is no more fun but a very tiresome burden. The eluding contentment makes life a curse. In the name of purpose life becomes rudderless, from waking hours to sleeping hours it is the usual boring mundane tasks. There is no more joy no more living but only longing for the unknown paradise. 

Alas! If only the dreamer knows that the sought lies within, he would stop the external search. Contentment had always been yours. There would be no more purpose in life but whatever you do there would be life in it. There would be usefulness in it. Life would take you places. There would be a rudder in your life that sets the direction but you won't be controlling it you simply sit back and enjoy the adventures of the journey. The journey is the destination.

Nature of Mind

The nature of mind is very logical. The function of the mind is to question, analyse, dissect and infer a result that is logically sound. Does that mean the mind remains quiet on arrival of a result? Does the mind stop with the knowing? No the mind takes nothing on its face value. It has to evaluate the information and only if it is convinced it accepts it otherwise it is armed with reasons for rejections.

An excerpt from the to be released novel 'Rising above the spheres of fear' states "How can the mind accept knowledge and be quiet? Knowledge means what the mind has discovered so far. The mind is a doubting mind. It is a probing mind trying to come up with theories to disprove knowledge so as to discover more. That is the reason scientific theories get constantly updated or replaced. Thoughts that were constructed based on some factors can fall flat when a new factor is introduced. Mind is a bag of thoughts. Whatever the mind depicts the truth to be, it has to be flawed." 

This has happened in our lives. What was right today turns out to be wrong tomorrow. Take the instance of cannibalism. Man thought it was okay to eat another man, but today because of the collective conscience the society perceives it as not correct. With newer experiences and better understanding there is a update to what we know. There is no end where one can say I know it 100% now. The knowledge that we hold on proudly has an expiry date. Wonder where the arrogance of knowing comes from.

The mind is at the mercy of thoughts. There is no right or wrong thought but you enact whatever you think is right at that moment. Mind has the capability of coming up with different reactions at different times for the same situation. It is like closing your eyes and picking a random chit in a lucky draw. You may train your mind to behave in a particular manner under particular situations. You may even succeed few times but then you will be disappointed with yourself for being caught off-guard at times. Controlling the mind is the most unnatural way. It is easier to control a gusty wind. It will wear you off. It is prudence to understand and accept the nature of your mind. This brings in lot of harmony in your being. This allows you to be in tune with existence.

The nature of mind is unpredictable. Random thought determines the current state of the mind. The mind itself has no clue as to how it would behave in ground zero. If such is the nature of the mind how can any thought lead to enlightenment? how can it illumine the self? Will it not be a fallacy projected out of the limited knowledge? Wont it be like the blind men and the elephant story?

Does that mean the mind is of no use to realize the truth? Yes and No. It is extremely useful to contemplate, understand and see the veil. It is like using the boat to cross the river. Once you cross the river you don't carry the boat on your shoulders. In the same way there comes a stage where the mind would be the stumbling block to realization of the self. The TRUTH is not a minuscule thought that is prone to change from time to time. You have to go beyond the mind to realize the truth!

(Some are excerpts from the Book - Rising above the Spheres of Fear www.facebook.com/book.fear)