G Plus Volume 1 Issue 45

itu gupta
gritu21@yahoo.com
There is a difference between
living a life and
loving to live this life. The
choice is yours. To love this life,
we as individuals have to create
happiness. Happiness comes
from within so stop looking for
it here and there. Happiness is
the only ingredient needed to
make you love your life. If you
really want to be happy then
manifest more in your world to
be happy. Keep giving instructions
to your sub conscious
mind that you are a happy
person. The moment your subconscious
mind accepts your
instruction, it programs your
mind to stay happy.
Rather than focussing on
all the unhappiness, put your
entire focus on things, which
make you feel happy. Your intentions
play a very important
role. If you intend to stay happy
and compassionate then nothing
can affect your happiness.
Change negative vision about
yourself and it will help you
I
wish for my little boy Tirus to grow up to love his girl, companion,
wife, lover and treat her like a princess. I know he will ‘cause I see
the care he takes of me when I am ill and distraught. He sits next to
me and strokes my hair, pulls the blanket over me and barely whispers
while entering the bedroom. So, when I tell him that I want him to
grow up to be a wonderful man, who has to protect all the women he
knows and even those who would be strangers, the only thing Tirus
does is to listen intently. I know for sure he is recording everything I
am saying to him, which is really good ‘cause the World will need a lot
of good people, especially men to protect the women.
So, what I felt when I completed reading Gaddafi’s Harem was
that we would probably need more good parents, especially mothers
to love their sons.
Gaddafi grew up in a Bedouin family and never got much love
and attention while he was growing up. So, at 27, when he took over
Libya, it was not so much as to liberate it but to set up his own kingdom;
a kingdom which bled inside a veil of innocence. Gaddafi gave
this impression to the rest of the world that he believed in equality of
women and to make it more authentic, he even had an army of women
as his guards. He traveled with them to diplomatic tours abroad, making
him the cynosure of most leaders.
However, Libya was crying under the cover of Gaddafi’s pseudo
prophetism to ‘enhance the position of women’; and all beautiful
women from the age of 12 onwards, who probably had dreams of
becoming a doctor, a nurse, a beautician some day and serve their
country well had their dreams snuffed out at the verge of their flight.
Gaddafi’s Harem is a chronicle of Soraya, a girl born of a Libyan
father and Tunisian mother, kidnapped by Gaddafi’s clique when she
was barely 14 years old and repeatedly raped by him for more than
a decade. Even after Gaddafi was overthrown by the rebels after 42
years of his excruciatingly torturous regime and murdered in public,
Soraya was never accepted by society and is now living a life of utter
remorse, repeatedly asking the question, “Why me?”
It is not only Soraya but 1000s of others just like her, who were
either kidnapped or trapped into prostitution. So many women have
perpetually gone into hiding, some fleeing the country after Libya was
temporarily taken over by the rebels, more so from the fear of being
shammed by society.
A riveting novel, which has more goose bump effects when
Soraya narrates her story in the raw, making it somewhat unreal in
parts of the nightmare she faces in the hands of the dictator.
LIVE, LOVE AND
KEEP GOING
achieve whatever you want in
life. Positive things happen with
positive people. Always stay
positive.
It’s hard to feel happy if you
feel powerless and hopeless and
some people have good reason
to feel this way and perhaps happiness
eludes them. You’re not
one of them. Empower yourself.
Most people have no control
over their emotional well-being.
They feel ecstatic when good
stuff happens and depressed
when things go wrong. Their
lives are roller coaster rides:
sometimes up, sometimes way
down. But what if you could be
happy no matter what happens?
Some people run after the
vague meaning of happiness
which makes them fall apart.
More money. more power, more
friends more importance... Will
this make me feel happy? Is this
happiness? Do reconsider... If
you are just running after these
things then you really need to
work more. Wanting more in
life is okay, but don’t forget to
relax and enjoy life for what it
is – in the present.
Instead of blaming others
for what’s wrong in your life, focus
on what you can do to make
things better. Never sulk and try
not to feel sorry for yourself too
often. It’s your responsibility to
make yourself happy: nobody
else’s.
Gaddafis’ Harem
Annick Cojean, the French writer however, did get death threats
for trying to reach out to most of the people involved in Gaddafi’s
Harem, Bab-Al-Azizia and get the pieces of the story together.
Closer home, there isn’t a single day when we don’t hear of rape
of women, starting from as young as 2 years. 2,3,6, right upto 60!
These are no longer numbers but ages of women who have been raped
gruesomely and then most often killed. When we ask this most literal
question, “What made that man rape a woman?”, we have thoughts
of nothing but the most monstrous punishment for the rapist! But have
we ever thought of talking to this criminal; about why he had come to
such a psychological impasse that led him to tear apart ‘the delicate
woman’? Probably not!
But on a personal level, I thinking talking about a problem,
which we as individuals don’t give much importance, should be done
more often. Today, we have less time to talk or listen to a problem
when it comes to our child. Listening to our child, getting him/her to
talk about the inherent fears, insecurities, disturbing thoughts should
be done on a daily basis.
Rest I think Love will do the magic to create some fantastic
people for the future! So just spread the love
and feel the thrill!
tinat ATIFA MASOOD
In India, there is a famous story of Eklavya (a character
from the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata). Eklavya is considered
the epitome of a disciple.
As the story goes, Eklavya wanted to learn archery to
save the deer in the forest that were being hunted by the
leopards. He was the son of a poor hunter. So he went to
Dronacharya(a master of advanced military arts) and requested
him to teach him archery, butDronacharya rejected
him because he was the teacher of the Royal family, he was a
Raj Guru. He was teaching the royal princes of Bharat (India).
Wisdom is a quality of consciousness. It can be developed
through sadhana, or grace, not through information.
Wisdom can directly be instilled in two ways:
1. Through spiritual practices (sadhana). 2. By putting
your attention on it.
In those days, if you are a teacher of the royal princes
then you cannot take someone else and teach them archery
and make them equal to the prince. It was not considered
ethical.
You are teaching archery to the prince so that you
make him a great archer, to protect the nation. So you cannot
teach someone from the street the same knowledge. It
was forbidden to make anyone as powerful as the prince.
His duty is to make the prince very powerful, so he cannot
create a competitor. Otherwise the nation would not be safe
and secure.
So, Eklavya wanted to take Dronacharya as his Guru,
but Dronacharya could not accept him. This was the law of
the land, that you have to exclusively train the princes.
Nevertheless Eklavya accepted Dronacharya as his
Guru, and he went home and made a statue of his Guru.
He learnt archery and became even better than the prince.
He became an expert. He would just hear the sound of the
animal and shoot an arrow at it.
One day, Arjuna, the prince found out about this. He
saw that Eklavya was far better than him. So he went to
Eklavya and asked him, ‘Who is your Guru?’
Eklavya said, ‘Dronacharya is my Guru’.
Arjuna then goes to Dronacharya and shouts at him.
‘What is this? This is cheating. You are supposed to teach
only me, but you taught this man and made him more skilful
than me’, he questions Dronacharya.
Dronacharya was baffled as to who was this student of
his, whom he had not taught, and who has become a competitor
of the prince. Then they both go and meet this boy.
Eklavyaleads them to the statue that he made of Dronacharya
which he considered as his Guru.
Dronacharya then says, ‘You have to give me some
Dakshina (a gift as fees for learning)’. He asks Eklavya
to give him the thumb of his right hand as a gift (without
the thumb there is no archery). Eklavya without a second
thought gives the thumb of his right hand to the Guru.
This story is viewed as the Guru to have a very cruel
attitude. The boy has learnt on his own, while Dronacharya
goes and asks for his thumb taking away his skill. How bad
this Guru was! This is one way to see: the Guru robbed the
student of his skill. But from the other side, if you see, if it
were not for this incident, nobody would have ever known
Eklavya.
Though on the outer level it seemed as if Dronacharya
had done injustice to Eklavya, but actually Dronacharya uplifted
Eklavya because this one act made him immortal. So
when people think of devotion, they think of Eklavya, and
not Arjuna.
When you wake up in the morning, think of the Guru,
or any wise person, or any saint, so that your consciousness
becomes like that. Then the whole day passes by like that
because you have incorporated wisdom (by remembering the
Guru), and the quality of consciousness has changed to that
level. This is called Pratah Smaraniya.
See the greatness of Dronacharya, he took the blame
on him and uplifted his student.That is why, even if the Guru
is wrong, if your devotion is there you can never go wrong.
But the Guru is not wrong, it appears he was partial but he
uplifted Eklavya and preserved his Dharma (duty) also. His
duty was to maintain the law of the land: You cannot have
anyone much better than the prince.
This is a beautiful story. There is a full dialogue on this
which people say is very good.
Yoga Vashishtha is another very nice story of how
Vashishtha gives knowledge to Sri Rama. You should read
Yoga Vashishtha, it is a very beautiful way in which Vashishtha
gives knowledge to Sri Rama and uplifts him from
depression; makes him realize that he is an incarnate of the
Divine and the light of the world.
So again, wisdom is a quality of consciousness. It can
be developed through sadhana, or grace, not through information.
Wisdom can directly be instilled in two ways:
1. Through spiritual practises (sadhana). Through
G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 21
Life
Wisdom Catches Wisdom
sadhana that quality of consciousness develops in you, or
2. By putting your attention on it.
See, whatever you put your attention on, that quality
comes into your consciousness. You become that. If you keep
thinking about monkeys all your life, then... (laugher). Or if
you keep thinking of someone who is angry all the time, you
will also get into that state of anger. Haven’t you experienced
this? (Many raise their hands)
So wherever the mind goes it absorbs those qualities.
So when you put your attention on wisdom, then your consciousness
becomes like that.
That is someone who is enlightened or very wise is
called Pratah Smaraniya. It’s a very common word used in
India. It means, that which is worth remembering first thing
in the morning.
As soon as you wake up whom do you think of?
Whomever or whatever you think of, your mind assumes
that quality. That is why it is said, when you wake up in
the morning, think of the Guru, or any wise person, or any
saint, so that your consciousness becomes like that. Then the
whole day passes by like that because you have incorporated
wisdom (by remembering the Guru), and the quality of consciousness
has changed to that level. This is called Pratah
Smaraniya.
Wisdom catches wisdom. In the company of wise
people, your quality of consciousness also shifts.
A man of great achievement and a saintly person
is called Pratah Smaraniya. Pratahmeans Morning, and
Smaraniya meansWorth Remembering. That which is worth
remembering first thing in the morning.
Usually people say a prayer before going to bed, and
as soon as they wake up, they say a prayer. Like that, in the
morning it is worth remembering those with wisdom so that
you become wise.
That is a practice, and it makes a lot of sense.
We are in a world where emotion catches emotion. If
some people have an emotion, others catch that emotion.
Similarly, wisdom catches wisdom. In the company of wise
people, your quality of consciousness also shifts. If it doesn’t,
then you have to think why not? Maybe Time could be a
factor, because it is impossible not to change when there is
wisdom in somebody around you.
Remember this: Wisdom is not information. It is a
quality of consciousness.
When you walk around today, or any day from today,
think that you have a diamond inside of you, a gem inside.
You have acquired some gems, some wisdom. Walk in life
with the feeling that you’ve been given something very precious.
A lady saint called Meera, a devotee of Lord Krishna,
could not make progress without a Guru. So she went to a
cobbler (a person who makes shoes), and he became her
Guru, and then she sang the song, ‘Payoji Maine Ram Ratan
Dhan Payo’ (meaning: today I got the most precious wealth).
Though she was a devotee of Krishna, the Guru gave
her the mantra ‘Ram’ (laughter), and Ram and Krishna are
completely opposite. Whatever Ram did, Krishna undid it all.
Have you heard the comparison between Ram and Krishna?
(Audience says, ‘No’)
Ram was born at 12 noon and Krishna was born at
midnight.
When Ram was born there was a big celebration, but
when Krishna was born there was fear all around.
Ram was born in a palace, Krishna was born in prison.
Ram will not cross the line and would obey what his
father said, and Krishna never listened to his father.
Many such things, completely opposite. That’s why
people say, you should follow Ram and not Krishna. You
should listen to what Krishna said but you should act like
Ram. It is easier for the parents and the spouse.
Remember this: Wisdom is not information. It is a
quality of consciousness.
So she used to sing the name of Krishna all the time,
and her Guru gave her the mantra ‘Ram’, and so she sings,
‘Payoji Maine Ram Ratan Dhan Payo’.
What I am saying is that, even though her Guru gave
her the mantra ‘Ram’, it did not cause any conflict in her.
If someone is Christian, a Sikh, a Budhist or a Hindu,
it doesn’t matter. Whatever religion you are born into, or
whatever religion you practise, it doesn’t matter. The spiritual
wisdom carries you forward, so honour the knowledge.
That is why Meera sings, ‘Payoji Maine Ram Ratan
Dhan Payo’.
It is a very famous song in India; most Indians have
heard this. So Meera says that this
is a wealth I received, a blessing I
received. It is a great wealth.
His Holiness
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji