Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sri Bhagavan Teachings and Answers- Relationships

Question: Bhagavan, why is it that you give such importance to relationships, and what is the purpose of life?

What is your name? (Roshni) Who is Roshni? Roshni is the daughter of so and so, sister of so and so, friend of so and so. If you remove all these there is no Roshni. So Roshni is nothing but the relationship. Life is nothing but relationships and relationships make up life. An unhappy person troubles others, creates mischief. A happy person does not. To be happy, relationships should be right.

If relationships are right, the heart is right, if the heart is right, the brain is right, if the brain is right, the immune system is right, if the immune system is right, then I can give you grace. There is a relationship between the heart, brain and the immune system and that is how it works. For me to work through your immune system, your heart should be right. If you want my grace you must have your relationships in order. That is why relationships are so important. To discover love in relationships and to set them right is the purpose of life.

Question: What do you think about the future of the planet and man?

"Spiritual degeneration is the cause of physical and psychological degeneration". It means that every change and difficulty that we are experiencing today has its roots in the spiritual plane, therefore man is entering into a new state of consciousness, where it will no more be difficult for him to love and have peace in his life, because this will be his natural state. Remember, the change begins with each individual, it is your consciousness and your perceptions that will change and produce global transformation.

Question: Nobody in this world is free of suffering. To be free from suffering, what should be done?

Question: That's very simple. Please follow seven truths to be free from suffering.

  1. Everything comes from a single source. It could be God or Energy. There is no beginning and end to life.
  2. If you identify this source, you'll not differentiate between good, bad, right or wrong. All these things are our views. Everything came from one source.
  3. Life is nothing but your search for ‘Self'. Your life, things that happen in your life, people you see, everything reflects your ‘Self'. If you are suffering from poverty, it means there is something wrong within yourself. You have to correct this to get out of poverty. If you have hatred, then whoever you see will exhibit the same quality. If you have evil thoughts, people you meet will also have evil thoughts. Try to understand yourself first.
  4. Realise that anything you experience in this life is by Gods grace. Suppose you slip while walking, try to realise that as Gods grace too. If you see God in everything, your life will become wonderful.
  5. Realise that anything you experience in this life is just a ‘test' for you by God. It is not a bad experience. If it is considered as a bad experience then it would mean that God is not compassionate. If you experience a problem, consider it an opportunity for you to face it and come out of it. You've been given people, wealth and confidence to face challenges. If you understand this, your confidence will improve. Just to test your confidence, God gives you a test.
  6. If you realise that anything you experience is a test for you by God, then you'll be able to think deeply about the problem and handle it in a better way. You'll understand the result. Then you‘ll have no fear.
  7. If you understand the above six truths, then there will be an enormous transformation in your body. From then on, you'll not only have compassion, but you'll become that compassion.

If you follow this, your relationships would improve. You would experience love. You would experience the divine grace experienced by saints like Ramana, Adishankara. You'll have no fear or sorrow. You'll have only joy.

Don't try to analyse this logically. Our aim is Mukti. If you follow these truths for even 21 days, you'll be joyful.

The problem with us is we spread just the sorrow and suffering. That's why the earth is dying. After you experience Joy and Happiness you'll be able to spread only Joy and Happiness to others.

Question: Bhagavan, what is the shortest route to Enlightenment?

The shortest route is to set right your relationships. It must start with your parents. No matter who you are, there will be a certain amount of hurt in regard to your parents. At least if it is not at the surface level, if you go deeper you would discover that this is so. Once your relationships with your parents are set right, your relationship with your spouse would be set right. Then other relationships would also be affected. However, if your relationships are not in order, it's an uphill task to become enlightened.

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Contemplative Questions

Here is a set of questions that would provoke you and put you through some soul searching. They are not about religion nor about ethics. They are merely about you.

They are not meant to serve as solutions nor are they meant to lead you anywhere. These questions are meant to serve as tools to discovering yourself.

1) Do you perceive the Presence of a benevolent force guiding, protecting and shaping your life? What name do you give that Presence? When did you best feel this Presence?

2) What is your opinion of God? Is your opinion drawn from religion, books, parents and or your personal experience of life?

3) Do you pray? Do they get answered? How often?

4) Do you think it is possible to relate to the Divine? What relationship would you opt?

5) Here is a story for you - Two fierce enemies once did a penance to placate god and receive boons vying with each other. God appeared to the first man and asked what he wanted. He said "give me twice of whatever you give my enemy". Then God appeared to the second one. Even before God could say anything he asked, "God, would you please tell me what my enemy asked for? On knowing his prayer request, he said, "then God, blind me in one eye."
Now what would you wish for yourself, your best friend and your worst enemy if God gave you a chance?

6) Have you ever experienced a coincidence or chance that seems to have involved so many people and factors that you can't stop wondering if a mastermind was behind this operation? If yes, do you savour the experience often and have you shared it with someone close to you?