#Story

The Samurai and the Mindful Monk: A Zen Tale

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In the earlier days in feudal Japan there were trained persons in martial arts those were called as “Samurai”. Once there was a Japanese Samurai well trained in martial arts , he was extremely overconfident on his skill .

Once he went to a village and started shouting loudly …

“Is there anyone in the village who can fight with me …”

All the villagers were scared of him as he was martial arts trained . So, no one has the courage to even respond to this guy . But , there was a young Monk in that village,  he was trained by a Zen master .

He stood in front of the Samurai. He said “listen, we don’t want you to fight with anyone. Violence is not good. Please go back.” But the Samurai was adamant. He started threatening the villagers.

So, this Young Monk finally came to fight with the Samurai. The Entire village was cheering for this Young Monk. But, deep down, they all knew that this young Monk will not last a minute against this Samurai.

Anyways, the fight started….

The young Monk had no training in martial arts. Still, he learned his lessons well from his Zen Master.

ZEN master explained to the young Monk, “Listen, my child. When you keep your mind empty, the thoughts of other people will start reflecting in your mind.” Then, you would know what the other person is thinking. 🤔 “

” Mindful means the mind is completely empty. Awareness comes to the forefront in that emptiness. In that awareness, the thoughts of others would reflect. Then you would know what the other is thinking.”

So, when the fight started this Monk knew what action Samurai is going to do and he would respond suitably. Samurai got shocked whatever action he is doing, how does the monk  knew beforehand…nevertheless Monk won !!

Moral of the story is …

If someone’s mind is full of ego …he can never be mindful, mindfulness means mind full of awareness and empty of thoughts. !!




From Steps to Idol: The Journey of Resilience

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Once there was a small village where there was temple of Lord Krishna.

The idol of Krishna was kept inside the Garbh Griha .There were steps /stairs which would take the devotees to the idol.

This idol of Krishna was  a consecrated (Jagrit murti) idol.

Once, at night this Murti of Krishna heard some noise of talks …. after sometime it realized the voice was coming from the steps of the stairs .The steps were whispering with each other …

People bow down to the idol , respect the idol , offers flowers 💐  . But, we don’t get anything accept they step their foot on us. What have we done wrong …we are made from the same rock of which this idol is made then why so much differentiation ????

The idol heard the talks and responded…

My dear steps, surely we are made of the same rock of Granite. They brought the first rock piece. When the hammer hit the chisel, some portions of the rock couldn’t handle the shape. Those were broken and used to make steps/stairs.

The remaining portion of the rock was strong. It patiently sustained the strokes of the hammer while shaping. This part got shaped into the form of a Krishna idol and that became me ….

Moral of the story is ….

“Some people can’t endure the hammer 🔨 strokes in life. They will not be capable of shaping themselves into Krishna… Those who broke down will become stairs. But, those who sustain the strokes of the hammer will get a beautiful sacred shape of Krishna himself.”

Every stroke of hammer 🔨  will shape you into something good . But if you broke down , you will turn into steps but not the Idol !

Understanding the Dronacharya-Eklavya Conflict: A Moral Perspective

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In Mahabharat, Guru Dronacharya was accused of taking away the “Thumb” from Eklavya so that Arjun could become the best archerer of the world . However , during those times of dwapar yuga there were division based of action i.e. Brahmin were those who had knowledge of scriptures similarly Kshatriya were those who had knowledge of weapon so they could fight war and save there kingdom. Eklavya although had learnt the archery on his own by keeping guru drona’s statue infront of him , his intensions were pure however , once Guru drona has seen an arrow coming towards a dog and it killed that dog . Guru Dronacharya realised that weapon if get in hands of someone who is not Kshatriya would cause harm to other beings on earth. HENCE WHEN EKLAVYA ASKED GURU DRONACHARYA…” WHAT SHOULD I OFFER YOU IN DAKSHINA, GURUDEV? HE REPLIED “GIVE ME YOUR RIGHT HANDS THUMB…!!”

Moral of the story is do not judge a Guru… as the view point with which a Guru see, we cannot even think of seeing situations and circumstances from that angle…!!

About Vedas & Upanishads

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Shravanam – Hear the knowledge!

Mananam – Reason the knowledge!

Nidhi-Dhyasanam – Then meditate!

Introduction 

“Vedanta Nama Upanishad Pramana ~”. (Vedanta’s are the teachings of the Upanishads’s . The Philosophy based on the teaching of the Upanishads is Vedanta. 

Most of you are familiar with the term Vedanta and the Upanishad to some extent . The Upanishad presents the highest philosophical teachings of the Vedas. These are among the most ancient text known to the mankind. 

There is a long list of Upanishads . In fact , in one of the Upanishads called “Muktika Upanishads” we find a list of 108 Upanishads . 

But among all of these Upanishads there are around 10 or 11 “major ” Upanishads .

Why major??? Because Adi Shankaracharya  some 1200 or 1300 years ago chose these Upanishads to write his commentary  (“Bhashyam”) on these Upanishads and since then these Upanishads have become the central text of “VEDANTA”

Adi Shankaracharya interpreted these Upanishads in a non-dualistic fashion , So his teaching are called as “Advaita Vedanta” . 

Among all these Upanishad there is a one Upanishad which is the smallest and also regarded as the toughest and i.e. called as the “Mandukya Upanishad “. 

There is a saying – ” mumukshunam vimuktaye Mandukyam ekam eva alam “

For the liberation of those who want spiritual Enlightenment ‘ for them Mandukya Upanishad alone is sufficient. In the ‘Atharva Veda’ this Upanishad can be found with 12 mantras. 

In this Mandukya Upanishad the central Mantra is the 7th Mantra , which is the core mantra of the entire Upanishad which gives the highest possible and sophisticated answers. 

Mandukya Upanishad was commented by “Gaudpadacharya ” and he wrote verses on the Mandukya Upanishads called Mandukya Karikas !!

Best Spiritual books to Read

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  1. Bhagavad Gita translations by  Swami Swarupananda :
    • This book covers the translations from Bhagavad Gita which I found easy to understand . Recommending the Bhagavad Gita readers to refer this book , it has quite detailed and easy to understand translations by Swarupananda ji of Shri Ramakrishna mission publications .
  2. Raja-Yoga by Swami Vivekananda :
    • It covers the details of Sanskar’s or Habits and how it is formed , further details about Mind management techniques. This is beneficial for Office going people who have daily course of managing different types of people and people who want to change habits but unable to do it . This book is very useful in changing habits
  3. Karma-yoga by Swami Vivekananda:
    • Karma Yoga is the essence of Bhagavad Gita . This book tells us how to perform a duty in every situation for a common man and how that duty turns into a YOGA .
  4. DEATH : An Inside Story by Sadhguru :
    • This is very detailed book by Sadhguru where he has explained the various phases of death, karma and it types and various aspects of the body mind complex .
  5. The Third Eye by T. Lobsang Rampa :
    • This book gives details of how to activate third eye and what happens when the third eye is activated .
  6. YOU Forever by T. Lobsang Rampa :
    • This book gives insights of meditation techniques and Astral Travel. It also gives insights of how we could meet people from different astral worlds .
  7. An Intimate Note to the Sincere Seeker by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar:
    • A seeker who is honestly seeking answers to who am I and how to live in this world and manage all problems , here’s this book which answers questions to all problems also give the way or Art of Living .
  8. Don’t Believe Everything You Think by  Joseph Nguyen
    • People who are struggling with Negative thinking , this book is a mind changer .
  9. Ikigai: Japanese secret to long and happy life by Francesc Miralles (Author), Hector Garcia (Author) 
    • IkiGai is good techniques came from Japan where people find solutions to small problems with an objective of wholesome benefit and share it with others . This helps is solving issues and contributing to society . This is applicable everywhere in a work place or home or in society.
  10. YOU CAN George Matthew Adams 
    • This book describes how to live a simple life , managing time , service to mankind and many more ways of living a healthy and successful life .