Aatm-Bodh

Friday, September 28, 2012

Quotes by Yogi Berra

Some Interesting quote by Yogi Berra that i like..

“It ain’t over till it’s over.”
“It gets late early out there.”
“Half the lies they tell about me aren’t true.”
“Never answer anonymous letters.”
“Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.”
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
“I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.”
“We have deep depth.”
“The future ain’t what it use to be.”
“I really didn’t say everything I said.”
“If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up some place else.”
“If the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be.”
“A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
“You can observe a lot just by watching.”
“We made too many wrong mistakes.”
“It’s like deja vu all over again.”

Monday, July 30, 2012

How Political parties should lead a genuine anti-corruption movement

very well said: can any political party in India can do it:

The anti-corruption movement shows signs of fizzling out. That would be a pity. A great opportunity awaits a political party that launches a genuine anti-corruption movement by unilaterally announcing total transparency in its own expenditure and funding of that expenditure.

The idea that an ombudsman would wipe out corruption was always silly. India needs a functionalcriminal justice system where prosecution cases are settled beyond final appeal in a couple of years, for criminals, including the corrupt, to be deterred by fear of the law.

More to the point, political funding has to be reformed, if corruption has to be eradicated. Democracy has a cost, in terms of running political parties, which, in the case of national parties, calls for a very large and varied staff to be paid round the year, events to be organised, travel of leaders, often by chartered aircraft, publicity and publications, all quite apart from the expenditure on elections.

All this runs to tens of thousands of crore rupees. But India's political parties claim they receive just a few hundred crore rupees, at the most.

The rest of it is mobilised and spent in unaccounted money. This is the root of all corruption in politics and governance. Since funds have to be mobilised for financing politics, practically all politicians resort to some corrupt means or the other.

Loot of the exchequer, sale of state patronage and plain extortion are the three ways in which resources are mobilised. Since these activities entail collusion by civil servants, they too become complicit and, often, corrupt.

Such a process of funding democracy by means of corruption suborns the entire system and drains it of accountability.

This must change, and the way to begin is for some party to start raising all its funding openly and transparently, and to make all its expenditure open, public and contestable, without waiting for such transparency to be mandated by law.

If one party were to do it, others would be under pressure to follow. And the first mover would have tremendous advantage in terms of public support. Of course, opportunities for private enrichment would come down. But then, no gain without pain, as they say.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/editorial/anaemic-anna-political-parties-should-lead-a-genuine-anti-corruption-movement/articleshow/15266217.cms

Sunday, November 13, 2011

10 Things Entrepreneurs Don’t Learn in College

http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/12/10-things-entrepreneurs-dont-learn-in-college/?utm_source=pulsenews&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

just read very interesting blog:

I agree with only 5 of them as truely not taught in college:

How to be betrayed:
Networking
Politics
Failure
Negotiation

I’ve written before on 10 reasons Parents Should Not Send Their Kids to College and here is also Eight Alternatives to College but it’s occurred to me that the place where college has really hurt me the most was when it came to the real world, real life, how to make money, how to build a business, and then even how to survive when trying to build my business, sell it, and be happy afterwards. Here are the ten things that if I had learned them in college I probably would’ve saved/made millions of extra dollars, not wasted years of my life, and maybe would’ve even saved lives because I would’ve been so smart I would’ve been like an X-Man.

1. How to Program - I spent $100,000 of my own money (via debt, which I paid back in full) majoring in Computer Science. I then went to graduate school in computer science. I then remained in an academic environment for several years doing various computer programming jobs. Finally I hit the real world. I got a job in corporate America. Everyone congratulated me where I worked, “you’re going to the real world,” they said. I was never so happy. I called my friends in NYC, “money is falling from trees here,” they said. I looked for apartments in Hoboken. I looked at my girlfriend with a new feeling of gratefulness—we were going to break up once I moved. I knew it.
In other words, life was going to be great. My mom even told me, “you’re going to shine at your new job.”
Only one problem: when I arrived at the job, after 8 years of learning how to program in an academic environment—I couldn’t program. I won’t get into the details. But I had no clue. I couldn’t even turn on a computer. It was a mess. I think I even ruined people’s lives while trying to do my job. I heard my boss whisper to his boss’s boss, “I don’t know what we’re going to do with him, he has no skills.” And what’s worse is that I was in a cluster of cubicles so everyone around me could hear that whisper also.
So they sent me to two months of remedial programming courses at AT&T in New Jersey. If you’ve never been in an AT&T complex it’s like being a stormtrooper learning how to go to the bathroom in the Death Star where, inconceivably, in six Star Wars movies there is no evidence of any bathrooms. Seriously, you couldn’t find a bathroom in these places. They were mammoth but if you turned down a random corner then, whallah!—there might be an arts & crafts show. The next corner would have a display of patents, like “how to eliminate static on a phone line – 1947″. But I did finally learn how to program.
I know this because I ran into a guy I used to work with ten years ago who works at the same place I used to work at. “Man,” he says, “they still use your code.” And I was like, “really?” “Yeah,” he said, “because its like spaghetti and nobody can figure out how to modify it or even replace it.”
So, everything I dedicated my academic career to was flushed down the toilet. The last time I programmed a computer was 1999. It didn’t work. So I gave up. Goodbye C++. I hope I never see you and your “objects” again.

2. How to Be Betrayed. A girlfriend about 20 years ago wrote in her diary. “I wish James would just die. That would make this so much easier. Whenever I kiss him I’m thinking of X”. Where X was a good friend of mine. Of course I put up with it. We went out for several more months. It’s just a diary, right? She didn’t really mean it! I mean, c’mon. Who would think about someone else when kissing my beautiful face? I confronted her of course. She said, “why would you read through my personal items?” Which was true! Why would I? Don’t have I have any personal items of my own I could read through? Or a good book, for instance, to take up my time and educate myself? Kiss, kiss, kiss.
Why can’t they have a good college course called BETRAYAL 101. I can teach it. Topics we will cover: Betrayal by a business partner, betrayal by investors, betrayal by a girlfriend (I’d bring in a special lecturer to talk about betrayal by men, kind of like how Gwynneth Paltrow does it in Glee), betrayal by children (since they cleverly push the boundaries right at the limit of betrayal and you have to know when to recognize that they’ve stepped over the line, betrayal by friends/family (note to all the friends/family that think I am talking about them, I am not—this is a serious academic proposal about what needs to be taught in college)—you help them, then get betrayed – how to deal with that?
Then there are the more subtle issues of betrayal – self-sabotage. How you can make enough money to live forever and then repeatedly find yourself in soup kitchens, licking envelopes, attending 12 step meetings, taking medications, and finally reaching some sort of spiritual recognition that it all doesn’t matter until the next time you sink even lower. This might be in BETRAYAL 201. Or graduate level studies. I don’t know. Maybe the Department of Defense needs to give me a grant to work on this since that’s who funds much of our education.

3. Oh shoot, I was going to put Self-Sabotage into a third category and not make it a sub-category of How to Be Betrayed. Hmmm, how do I write myself out of this conundrum. College, after all, does teach one how to put ideas into a cohesive “report” that is handed in and graded. Did I form my thesis, argue it correctly, conclude correctly, not diverge into things like “Kim Kardashian will never be the betrayer, only the betrayed.” But this brings me to: Writing. Why can’t college teach people how to actually write. Some of my best friends tell me college taught them how to think. Thinking has a $200,000 price tag apparently and there is no room left over for good writing.
And what is good writing? It’s not an opinion. Or a rant. Or a thesis with logical steps, a deep cavern underneath, beautiful horizons and mountaintops at the top. It’s blood. It’s Carrie-style blood. Where everyone has been fooling you until that exact moment when now, with the psychic power of the written word, you spray pig blood everywhere, at everyone, and most of all you are covered in blood yourself, the same blood that pushed you out of your mother’s womb, until just the act of writing itself is a birth, a separation between the old you and the new you—the you that can no longer take the words back, the words that now must live and breathe and mature and either make something of themselves in life, or remain one of the little blips that reminds us of how small we really are in an infinite universe. [See also, 33 Unusual Tips to Be a Better Writer]

4. Dinner Parties. How come I never learned about dinner parties in college. Sure, there were parties among other people who looked like me and talked like me and thought like me—other college students of my age and rough background. But Dinner Parties as an adult are a whole new beast. There are drinks and snacks beforehand where small talk has to disguise itself as big talk and then there’s the parts where you know that everyone is equally worried about what people think about them but that still doesn’t help at those moments when you talk and you wonder what did people think of me? Nobody cares, you tell yourself, intellectually rifling through pages of self-help blogs in your mind that told you that nobody gives a sh*t about you. But still, why don’t we have a class where there’s Dinner Party after Dinner Party and you learn how to talk at the right moments, say smart things, be quiet at the right moments, learn to excuse yourself during the mingling so you can drift from person to person. Learn how to interrupt a conversation without being rude. Learn how to thank the host so you can be invited to the next party. And so on. Which brings me to:

5. Networking. Did it really take 20 years after I graduated college before someone wrote a book, “Never Eat Alone.” Why didn’t Jesus write that book. Or Plato. Then we might’ve read it in religious school or it would’ve been one of those “big Thinkers” we need to read in college so we can learn how to think. I still don’t know how to network properly so this paragraph is small. I’m classified under the DSM VI as a “social shut-in”. I’d like to get out and be social but when the moment comes, I can only make it out the door about one in ten times. I always say, “I’d love to get together” but then I don’t know how to do it. Perhaps because not one dollar of my $100,000 spent on not learning how to program a computer was also not spent on learning how to network with people. [See also, my recent TechCrunch article, "9 Ways to be a Super-Connector"]

6. Politics. My very first girlfriend, the girl who first laughed hysterically when I showed her a piece of chewing gum I found on the ground that had sculpted itself into the muddy shape of a heart, took me to a movie called “Salvador”. Then there was a discussion group afterwards about how the Contras are bad, or good, I forget, and everyone was nodding and speaking in a Spanish accent. And afterwards my girlfriend was upset, “why aren’t you talking?” Because truth was I was so tired I couldn’t think but nobody ever taught me how to tell the truth so I lied and said, “it moved me so much I’m still absorbing it” and my girlfriend said, “yeah, I can see that.” And nobody ever taught me that there’s more than one acceptable opinion on a college campus.
My roommate for instance would tell me, “Reagan is definitely getting impeached this time.” And I visited his dad’s mansion over Christmas break and he told me all about Trotskyism and the proletariat and I had to work jobs 40 hours a week while taking six courses so I could A) graduate early and B) pay my personal expenses and when I would run into him he had long hair and would nod about how a lot of the college workers (but not the lowest-paid, poorest treated ones—the students who worked) were thinking of unionizing and he was helping with that. “Do you have a job?” I asked and he said, “no time”. And that’s politics in college.
What about the real politics of how people try to backstab you at the corporate workplace or VCs never properly explained the “ratchet” concept to you before they kicked you out of the company and then re-financed. Nobody told me a thing about that in three years of college and two years of graduate school. I wish I would’ve known that for my $100,000.

7. Failure. Goes without saying they don’t teach you this. If you are going to pay $100,000, why would you fail? You might think you were wasting your money if the first mandatory elective you had to take was about failure. About wondering how you were going to feed your family after you got fired when something that was not your fault: Post-Traumatic-Lehman-Stress Syndrome, a common medical condition coming up in the DSM VII.

8. Sales. When I was busy learning how to “not program” nobody ever taught me how to sell what it was I was programming. Or sell myself. Or sell out. Or sell my ideas and turn them into money. Or sell a product to someone who might need it. Or even better, sell it to someone who doesn’t need it. Some business programs might have courses on salesmanship but those are BS because everyone automatically gets As in MBA programs so that the schools can demonstrate what good jobs their students get so they then get more applicants and the scam/cycle continues. But sales: how to demonstrate passion behind an idea you had, you built, you signed up for, so that people are willing to pay hard-earned after-tax money for it, is the number one key to any success and I have never seen it taught (properly) in college.

9. Negotiation. You’ve gotten the idea, you executed, you made the sale and now…what’s the price. What part of your body will be amputated in exchange for infinite wisdom. Will you give up one eye? Or your virility? Because something has to go if you are up against a good negotiator? What? You already thought (like most people without any experience do) that you were already a good negotiator. A good negotiator will skin your back, tattoo it with “SUCKA” and hang it up above the fireplace in his pool house if you don’t know what you are doing. The funny thing is, the best sales people (who are just aiming for people to say “Yes!”) are often the worst negotiators (“it’s very hard to say “No” when you are trying to get people to “Yes”). These are things I wish I had learned in school. I’ve been beaten in negotiations on at least five different occasions, which fortunately became five valuable lessons I’ve learned the hard way, instead of studying examples and being forced to think about it for the $100k in debt I got going to college.
People will say, “well, that’s your experience in college. Mine was very different.” And it’s true. You joined the sororities and learned how to network and dinner party and be political and know everything there is to know about betrayal. My college experience was sadly unique and probably different from everyone else’s so you would be completely right to quote me that inane statistic about how college graduates earn 4% more than high school graduates and are consequently 4% happier .

(Another thing, 10. Happiness. We never learn how it’s a combination of the food we eat, our health, our ability to be creative, our ability to have sound emotional relationships, our ability to find something bigger than ourselves and our egos to give up our spiritual virginity to.)
So I can tell you what I wish I did. I wish I had gone to Soviet Russia, and played chess, and then gone to India and learned yoga and health, and I wish I had gone to South America and volunteered for kids with no arms, and did any number of things. But people then say, “haha! but that cost money.” And they would be right. It would cost less than $100,000+ but would still cost some money. I have no idea how much.
But one of these days when the scars of college go away and I truly learn how to think. I might have better comebacks for these people. Or if I truly learn, I would learn not to care at all.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Why Should You Read the Guru Granth Sahib Ji

From :http://shayarattalia.blogspot.com/2010/12/why-should-you-read-guru-granth-sahib.html

Why Should You Read the Guru Granth Sahib Ji ...

Why do we read Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, even if we can't understand a single Gurmukhi word?

I’ll tell you a beautiful story about the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji ...

-=Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh=-

An old Sikh man lived on a farm in the mountains of Punjab with his young grandson.

Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. His grandson adored his grand dad and wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, “Dada Ji (Grandpa!) I try to read the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji just like
you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand, I forget as soon as I close the book.

What good does reading the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji do?'

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, 'Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.'

The boy, as always did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house.

The grandfather laughed and said, 'You'll have to move a little faster next time,' and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home.

Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to
get a bucket instead.

The grandfather said, Son 'I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water.

You're just not trying hard enough,' and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he
ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was empty again.

Out of breath, he said, 'See Grandpa, it's useless!'

'Son, So you think it is useless?' The old man said, 'Look at the basket.'

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.

'My Son, that's what happens when you read the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Waheguru (God) in our lives.'

-=Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh=-

Monday, January 5, 2009

detoxify you body

Page 1 Feeling sluggish or
out of sync? Having skin problems, aches and pains, or digestive problems?
Straying from your healthier habits lately? It might be time for a detox.

Practiced for centuries by many cultures around the world — including ayurvedic
and Chinese medicine systems — detoxification is about resting, cleaning and
nourishing the body from the inside out. By removing and eliminating toxins,
then feeding your body with healthy nutrients, detoxifying can help protect you
from disease and renew your ability to maintain optimum health.

"The body has its own natural healing system," says Peter Bennett,
N.D., medical director of Helios Clinic in Victoria, B.C., and co-author with Stephen
Barrie, N.D. and Sara Faye, of 7-Day Detox Miracle
(Prima Health). "Detoxification enhances this system," he explains.

How Does
Detoxification Work?

Basically, detoxification means cleaning the blood. It does this mainly by
removing impurities from the blood in the liver, where toxins are processed for
elimination. The body also eliminates toxins through the kidneys, intestines,
lungs, lymph and skin. However, when this system is compromised, impurities
aren't properly filtered and every cell in the body is adversely affected.

A detox
program can help the body's natural cleaning process by:

1) Resting the organs through fasting;

2) Stimulating the liver to drive toxins from the body;

3) Promoting elimination through the intestines, kidneys and skin;

4) Improving circulation of the blood; and

5) Refueling the body with healthy nutrients.

"Detoxification works because it addresses the needs of individual cells,
the smallest units of human life," says Bennett.

How Do You Know
if You Need to Detoxify?

Bennett suggests that everyone should detox at least
once a year. A short detoxifying program is generally safe; in fact, scientific
studies show that a detox is beneficial for health.
However, Bennett cautions against detoxifying for nursing mothers, children,
and patients with chronic degenerative diseases, cancer or tuberculosis.
Consult your health care practitioner if you have questions about whether detoxing is right for you.

Today, with more toxins in the environment than ever, "it's critical to detox," says Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D., the author of
Detoxification (Healthy Healing Publications). Page recommends detoxing for symptoms such as unexplained fatigue, sluggish
elimination, irritated skin, allergies or
low-grade infections; bags under the eyes; a distended stomach even if the rest
of your body is thin; menstrual difficulties; or mental confusion.

Where Do You
Begin?

First, lighten up your toxin load. Eliminate alcohol, coffee, cigarettes,
refined sugars and saturated fats, all of which act as toxins in the body and
are obstacles to your healing process. Also, minimize use of chemical-based household cleaners and personal health care products
(cleansers, shampoos, deodorants and toothpastes), and substitute natural alternatives.

Another deterrent to good health is stress, which triggers your body to release stress
hormones into your system. While these hormones can provide the
"adrenaline rush" to win a race or meet a deadline, in large amounts
they create toxins and slow down detoxification enzymes in the liver. So it's a
good idea to detox stressful life situations along
with detoxifying your body. Yoga and meditation
are simple and effective ways to relieve stress by resetting your physical and
mental reactions to the inevitable stress life will bring.

Which Detox Program is Best for You?

There are many detoxification programs, depending on your individual needs.
Many programs follow a 7-day schedule because, as Bennett explains, "it
takes the body some time to clean the blood." His program involves fasting
on liquids for two days, followed by a carefully-planned five-day diet to allow
the digestive system to rest. He also advises supplements, herbs, exercise, and
practices such as dry-skin brushing and hydrotherapy to enhance circulation.

Page recommends a 3-7 day juice fast (drinking only fresh fruit and vegetable
juices and water) as an effective way to release toxins.

Other popular detoxing programs include:

Cleansing supplement packages, which generally contain fiber,
vitamins, herbs and minerals. There are several safe products on the market,
with easy-to-follow instructions.

A routine of drinking only water one day each week — an ancient
practice of many cultures.

10
Ways to Help Your Body Detoxify

After a detoxification program, you can cleanse your
body daily through diet, supplements and lifestyle practices.

1. Eat plenty of fiber, including brown rice and organically-grown fresh fruits
and vegetables. Beets, radishes, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli, spirulina, chlorella, and seaweed are excellent detoxifying
foods.

2. Cleanse and protect the liver by taking herbs such as dandelion root,
burdock and milk thistle, and drinking green tea.

3. Take vitamin C, which helps the body produce glutathione, a liver compound
that drives away toxins.

4. Drink at least 2 quarts of water daily.

5. Breathe deeply to allow oxygen to circulate
more completely through your system.

6. Transform stress by emphasizing positive emotions.

7. Practice hydrotherapy by taking a very hot shower for five minutes, allowing
the water to run on your back. Follow with cold water for 30 seconds. Do this
three times, and then get into bed for 30 minutes.

8. Sweat in a sauna so your body can eliminate wastes through perspiration.

9. Dry-brush your skin or try detoxifying patches or detox foot spas / foot baths to remove toxins
through your pores. Special brushes are available at natural products stores.

10. What is the most important way to detoxify? "Exercise," says Bennett. "Yoga or jump-roping are
good. One hour every day." Also try qigong, a martial-arts based exercise system
that includes exercises specifically for detoxifying or cleansing, as well as
many other exercises with specific health benefits.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

When things go wrong

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you are trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest, if you must- but don't you quit

Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out:
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow-
You might succeed with another blow

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown

Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt=-
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you are hardest hit-
Its when things seem worst that you mustn't quit !!!!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Rules for your self

-1-

You must remain like the mariner's compass.

You are your own friend and your own enemy.

You must work, but remain as if you have done no work.

You must have good control over prana.

Happiness and sorrow are twins.

Brahmacharya is a very great thing.

Meditate in the mornings and evenings.

Everything should be done in moderation.

You must make the mind, which runs after outward things,
to merge in the atma.

-2-

Yoga is detached action. That is also sannyasa.

Don't allow the mind to wander here and there, but see everything as Brahman.

(When you cook) prepare everything as for God
- and then put it in the homa fire! (i.e. the belly)

Every man is a God. Prakriti is Sakti.

Let happiness and sorrow come and go like the clouds.

One must be self-controlled.

You must be balanced.

Do not think of what things you may need tomorrow.

Even the kanchiram (nux vomica) has it's uses. Similarly all are good.

-3-

First step - selfless action. Second step - tranquility.
Third step - remaining in nishdai, or service to humanity,
according to your will.

Learn how to remain always happy.

Do not allow the mind to run in different directions.You must make it become one- pointed.

Have no hatred in your heart.

You must move in the world as one who walks with the support of a' Kiluvai ' stick (i.e. a stick that breaks under the slightest pressure).

God will tell us everything. Let us not worry about anything.

As a dog, let loose after being tied up for some time, is energetic and active, so one, who learns to remain summa, gets increased energy which can be put to good use.

You must not come to the conclusion that there are no stars, because you are unable to see stars in the daytime.

If we remove the darkness that is in us, we can see that God is.

-4-

Use the body like a sandal.

Just as a man will use a staff to climb a mountain, so should virtue be used in life.

What is the use of going on pilgrimage if you do not improve yourself?

There is one thing God cannot do - He cannot separate Himself from the soul.

I am the ruler of the body. I must see that no other wicked king usurps my throne.

Can you measure the soul?

You lack nothing. The only thing you lack is that you do not know who you are.

It is not possible to straighten the kink in a dog's tail. Let us improve ourselves instead of trying to improve the world.

You must be very careful - even in the small things that you do.

-5-

All work must be done with the aim of reaching God.

Beware of bad qualities.

Man can know his past and future births. But by getting rid of desire he can put an end to birth altogether.

After spending ten hours of the day in your employment, use your leisure hours well.

God has rescued the soul, which is like Valliamma trapped by the hunters, and taken it under His protection.

Let purification and atma darsana come slowly.

Enough of learning!

Singing Tevaram is one method of controlling the wandering mind.

If you remain in nirvikalpa samadhi, the body will be free of disease.

Of what use is garb or outward show?

If the chimney is black with smoke, you cannot see the light; similarily, maya obscures the atma.

-6-

One must know one's own measure.

Remain separate like the five fingers. but when there is work to do, co-operate in doing it like the hand.

Even meditation is work. Practise remaining summa for ten minutes.

Man can remain always doing work, but he must not worry about it after it is finished.

Without being content with what we have, we always want more and therefore suffer.

Just as a surveyor is trained to use a theodolite with ease, so must we learn to train our minds and bodily organs to carry out our service as we want.

Everything will turn out successfully, when the mind is not agitated.

No need to control the breath; no need to do tapas, if you can see yourself everywhere. That is the secret of secrets.

That man (i.e. another devotee) does what I think immediately. So powerful is the mind. One mechanism everywhere. The secret of secrets!

-7-

How foolish it is to judge a man by one bad quality, ignoring all his other good qualities.

We sang Tevaram to while away the time, but time has not gone. We are also eternal.

When you have a small job, you want a big job. When you get a big job, you want a large salary. When you get a large salary, you are anxious for the welfare of your children. If everything continues like that, where is the end?

What are you going to do with the money you accumulate? Can you increase your life-span even for a day? Give generously when you can.

In someone you consider bad there may be qualities greater than those that Mahatma Gandhi had.

When the mind is pure no harm will befall you, even if you strike a man.

Behave well, move tactfully. When are you going to put an end to this stomach-filling job?

-8-

God and you are inseparable.

As you close the windows and doors of a room, so you must control the five senses and do meditation.

If the chimney is full of smoke, how can the light be seen? If the mind is full of dirt, how can the soul shine?

Gold is in the earth. In order to obtain it, you must collect earth and purify it. So it is with atma sakti (the power of the soul).

Lord Buddha taught by example. You can see how widely his light has spread.

Employment and everything else must be used by us with the aim of seeing God. One who lives with this aim will be content with any kind of work.

The sannyasi's life and the householder's life are both good.

Whatever work you have to do, do it well. That in itself is yoga.

Wisdom will come, if you do your duty well.

-9-

The patrimony which I am going to give you is that you must always think that God is always with you.

Having the profit of the soul as their aim, many devotees of Siva are able to obtain many things from the Lord.

However great a man may be, he cannot see in the night without a lamp; but sometimes there is light.

The heart must be pure. There is nothing more to say.

More often than not, I think that I am in the presence of God. This is a good way to remain pure.

He (God) must be the judge in our hearts. We can do anything. We can send a man to the gallows or to prison and so on, but our minds must not be agitated. (To some one who asked - 'People say you get angry.") Is not a big fire necessary to burn rubbish?

Because of worldliness the light in the faces of the young has become less bright nowadays.

-10-

Provided we don't think of flying in the air, we can attain whatever we desire.

You must work hard. A few will realize the truth. The rest will merely follow them.

We must not think that, if such and such a thing happens, it is good; or, if some other thing doesn't happen, it is bad.

Provide for your wife and children. Don't worry about your grand-children.

You can bluff others, but you cannot bluff yourself. If you behave according to your conscience, everything will come right.

Lord Jesus Christ has said: "Don't suffer for my sake. Work hard for your own emancipation." Without improving yourself, what is the use of doing service to me?

If you are a king, will you have contentment? If you are a beggar, will you have contentment? Whatever your walk in life may be, you will only have contentment through knowing yourself by yourself.

-11-

Without remaining summa, the mind is running here and there. That is its nature. What does that matter?

You must observe right conduct and make your mind to become fused with the atma. If you misbehave, the mind will try to harm you.

If you want to commit suicide, one pin is sufficient. Similarly, in order to improve oneself, much study is not necessary.

As one brings up one's children well so one must train the mind to behave well. Mind is our best friend and our worst enemy.

At the top of the mountain you find it very cool. There will be none of the dissimilarity that you can see at the bottom of the path. The fundamental principles of all religions are one.

When a surveyor goes to the country places, he can teach the villagers healthy habits and learn to love them as his own children.

There is no difference between Sinhalese, Tamils, or Burghers. They all have the same limbs and parts of the body as we have.

-12-

As you clear the forest when you make a survey, so must our inner obstacles be cleared.

We must improve ourselves; we should not look for the help of others for our own improvement.

All the good done by charity and alms-giving in the name of the dead will reach them. And they will also help you. They will come and help you in dreams.

If we think of someone who is distant from here, he can be aware of it. The same mechanism is everywhere.

Who can be a better friend to us than God?

When drinking honey, a bee will remain silent. Similarly, some muktars will not speak. But others will give advice to the world.

Instead of thinking that we are all servants of God and that all is His action, we make resolves and plans and thus create a world within ourselves, and suffer out of it.

Get rid of like and dislike, and laziness and activity, and open the house of liberation by means of the key of Sivadhyana, and see! There, there is neither 'you' nor 'I', neither 'he' nor 'she'.

-13-

The more you learn, the more will the mind become expanded and diffused. Directing the mind inwards will give you peace.

You must be very careful even about small things. Without the small axle-pin the whole car will collapse.

You can go to the top by climbing up step by step. But exceptionally there are some who, with the help of Sruitis, the guru, and their own understanding and experience, can fly like birds.

Ninety-nine per cent of human beings are atheists.

I am talking to gods! Some gods want fruit; some want fish and meat; some want toddy and arrack!

It will not be an over-statement, if I say that man is God.

If you think that you want to control the mind, that is also the dispersion of the mind (pravritti). If you fuse the mind with the atma, all your thoughts and plans will then cease to be the activity of the mind.

-14-

If you take hold of the cat's tail, it will bite you. In like manner you must live in the world like water on a lotus leaf. What does a man lack if he surrenders himself to the Lord, saying that all is His action? He will get everything he needs. But that does not mean that if he wants to fly in the air, he will be able to do so.

If I wish my friend well, he will actually be benefitted. Diseases are cured by sound. The Swami at Mannarkudi knew only one decad (i.e. ten verses) from Tevaram. Because he concentrated with faith on that, he was able to cure many diseases through that Tevaram alone.

Water flows to the lowest place and stays there. Similarly you also remain humble.

This world is a training college. Some are in the kindergarten. Some are in the B.A. class. Surely those in the B.A. class will never look down upon those in the kindergarten?

The subject of the lecture is "All is God's action". But in the mind (of the lecturer) the disease of 'I'-ness remains.

-15-

Because God is with us, we see, we hear, we talk and do everything. The scientists say that even plants talk.

Everyone must find out the path that suits him. The train can only run on rails.

If you press the switch there will be light. Similarly God is in the heart of us like the power-station.

Don't wander about saying, "Don't drink!" "Don't commit adultery!" "Don't do this and don't do that!" Let God look after those things. Who can improve the world?

If there is a desire that our children must get religious knowledge, it will come.

Don't do things in order to please others.

Remaining summa is the best exercise.

Great men have given us many stories to help us grasp the truth.

There is no necessity to do Pranayama by holding the breath. Everything (mind control, etc.) will come by itself if you do Sivadhyanam.

-16-

You must not be indifferent to work because your salary is poor.

We must demolish the fortress that we ourselves have built.

The great say that we should remain without like or dislike.

Many have spoken about the One in many ways. If you study all these the mind will be dispersed and will not become calm. You will have peace only when your mind is not agitated.

From Cypher (i.e. zero) everything came.

All men are beautiful walking flowers. Instead of remaining as a witness and enjoying all this, man suffers through being possessed by the disease of 'I' and 'mine'.

The disease that matters is in the antakarana. We need many M.O.'s to cure this! One or two is not enough.

We are all the same. Difference is only in degree.

Like a lamp with two chimneys, the mind has the body as its chimney and the atma has the mind. The light is always burning. But if the chimneys are covered with smoke they will not shine.

-17-

As we kiss our children every day before going to work, so must we daily love the Lord.

Work is play; work is rest.

If we put into practice the little we know, that is enough. We will come to know everything in that way.

As a man at the helm of a ship attends to other things, while holding the rudder, and yet brings the ship safely into harbour, so the desire for self-knowledge (atma jnanam) is enough. Like the rudder, the desire for self-knowledge will keep you on the right course and take you to your goal. You don't need to worry about acquiring 'this' or getting rid of 'that'.

If you lead a natural life without overstepping the limits, everything will come to you.

You think that you are the doer and fall into the trap of bondage. But everything was accomplished long ago.

How many births and deaths have come and gone? What good is there in this? What harm? What knowledge? What ignorance? Remain a witness always.

-18-

Don't run down anyone. That habit will give you mental worry. One must get rid of bad habits as a result of experience. Beginning with the excuse that it is only a medicine, people take alcohol and then become drunkards.

Instead of spending time in book-reading, it is better to spend it in studying yourself. Study is also a kind of yoga.

Nowadays the easiest method is to do Sivadhyanam.

You must not worship God with the aim of obtaining some profit. You must not worship even with the desire for liberation.

We are the atma. You must become clearly convinced of this.

This hand (Swami held in front of his face) hides us from each other. If it is removed we can see one another. Man must realize this.

The railway engine pulls many coaches. Can it do so if it runs off the track? No. Great people have shown the path. We must follow it.

-19-

When you see the mountain you do not see the trees. When you see the trees you do not see the mountain.

The way is very long. You must go forward slowly, keeping to the path and not walking on the thorns by its sides.

(A letter from Poona) - No other news except that God is always with you.

You will not attain jnanam (wisdom) even if you read a thousand Kurals. You must know yourself by yourself.

Tiruvasakam can be studied for the sake of concentration.

God, soul, and the world - in the end the world also will become God.

Why do you want to open the outside door when there is an inside door? Everything is within.

The atma is the result of God's Grace.

One must study for the sake of others.

If you struggle hard and arrive at a certain level, then It will pull you up.

-20-

One God; one religion; one man !

All are looking in the same glass.

Very few have understood the teachings of Buddha.

You must go deep within.

If you take hold of one link you can pull the whole chain.

Now all of us are doing yoga. Karma Yoga is selfless action. Siva Yoga is action for the Lord. Yoga means concentration of mind. By doing Bhakti Yoga all the other three Yogas will come.

When you worship God, you must not ask for anything. You must worship for the sake of love. Afterwards you can ask for your requirements.

Having reached the house of a rich man is it good to ask for one or two annas ?

Try to remain without taking any furthur births.

The Grace of Siva (Sivapackiam) is with everyone.

-21-

God sees. God hears. God talks. He remains without being separated from us.

Love others as you love me.

Don't run to Kataragama or Chidambaram in search of God.

There is no necessity for you to study. But even study is yoga. Study Tirukkural well !

We must taste God just as we taste sugar-candy.

"Whatever it may be, true knowledge is to discover the essential truth within it". (Kural). Buddha preached, so he had desire. Desire Can be reduced, but it cannot be entirely eliminated. We must accept what our experience tells us is right and reasonable and discard everything else.

What is Saivaism? We are devotees of Lord Siva and we are doing Sivathondu - that is Saivaism.

On the highest level you do not have to control even the mind, because to control the mind, there must be a second. There will come a time when the mind becomes quiet by itself.

-22-

What is there to study? Man is mad.

We have to laugh at the weakness of our mind and body.

How can sorrow affect the atma?

If you stand on the top of a mountain you can see all as one (uniform expanse). You will see no differences. There are no differences as between Englishmen, Americans, etc.

It is God who sees as the eye behind our eye. Brahman fills us entirely.

Just as the raw fruit follows the flower and the ripe fruit the raw fruit, so let realization come gradually.

The lotus is highly esteemed, even though it grows out of mud. Similarly, knowers of the Self can be found anywhere.

On the highest level, where is the guru? Where is the disciple? Everything is Brahman.

With one hand you must take hold of God, with the other you must hold on to the world.

-23-

For one's living money is needed; therefore the desire for money will be there. If you are detached, it does not matter how much wealth you may have.

Can we eat all that we need (for a life-time) in a day?

"With one cut you can make two pieces". (Tamil proverb). So it is with happiness and sorrow.

You won't be happy till 'I' die.

As the growth of a lotus depends on the level of the water in the tank, so by knowledge (jnana) virtue is developed. And equally through virtue wisdom will be gained.

Peace, self-searching and the company of devotees give happiness.

Learn to remain summa. If you try to stop, it will only become more active. It is not necessary to stop it. You must ask it - "Where are you going?" But see that you do not leave your seat.

Till you get perfect knowledge, try to remain like one who is blind, deaf, and dumb. Mounam.

-24-

You must know the Self by the self. Concentration of mind is required for this.

Speak what comes from within. Otherwise don't speak.

Tapas is not idleness. It is constant vigilance.

Do not be in a hurry. Do not be agitated.

Live for the sake of the world.

Many siddhis (powers) will come. Let them come and go.

If you worship God with the love of a child, then all that you have lost will be given to you.

(A near-by temple bell was ringing and Swami said:) "Ring the bell, ring the bell saying - I am He!" (Then the bell was rung a second time and he said:) "Ring the bell, saying -I am the atma."

(Pointing to his body) This is Nallur.

The book is within you. Turn over the leaves and study.

-25-

Even in small things, you must act with care and see everything in relation to everything else.

From a distance you can see, hear and smell things that are far away from you.

First one small circle; then a larger circle; then the whole universe!

The bee first flies around the flower. Then it drinks the honey without making any sound. When it flies away after taking the honey, it appears golden.

See the Supreme in the body. See the Supreme in the mind.

Weakness belongs to the body and mind. The atma is always full of strength.

Debate and argument are not necessary.

Now we don't control the mind. We remain summa with a controlled mind.

All are His actions.

Don't pour nectar into the drain.

-26-

All thoughts must die. Alas! How difficult that is!

First obey; then command.

Just as this farmer has prepared his soil well, so everyone must try to keep his heart pure.

Man is beyond death.

Nothing is lost, nothing is gained!

Man is man, whether he is in hell or heaven.

The atma is summa. Movement is for the body and mind.

(To someone who was cleaning the garden) When you clean the garden, you also clean your mind.

The secret of 'summa iru ' is you. The secret of 'summa iru ' is I. The secret of ' summa iru ' is all.

Bring up God as you bring up a child.

If one knows oneself, there is nothing beyond that.

-27-

Sivadhyanam will come by itself from living in the company of great souls.

One must not go against one's conscience.

One can do meditation with the eyes closed or with the eyes open.

Our real father is God.

If you remove illusion, you will see that Siva pervades everything.

One method is to stop all thoughts. Another method is to remain simply as a witness, allowing thoughts to come and go. As one becomes more and more mature in this Sadhana, thoughts will begin to come from mounam. Be very attentive to those thoughts.

Be like the swan and not like the palmyrah strainer.

Be alone. Be alert. Be like a fisherman watching his bait.

We can give initiation by thought to people in Singapore while remaining here.

The inner voice will be heard from mounam.

-28-

Always follow the light. Doubt is darkness.

You must listen to words of justice, even if they come from a child.

You must not allow the light to be blown out by the wind. Lack of faith, doubt, and worldly desire - these are the wind.

Janaka and others ruled the world after realizing the Truth.

What is the use of building temples? One must know the Self.

Worldly attachment is the obstacle to knowledge of Truth.

To reach the Holy Feet it is enough if you have a pure mind. Mantrams, Tantrams, yoga, etc. are not necessary.

You must know knowledge by knowlegde.

Our gurunathan made me to know myself by myself. He flows like a river. He shines as everything.

If you remain summa (i.e. idle) without working, the mind will become impure. But the summa of jnanis is different.

-29-

* The wife will say that this man is not her husband, that man is not her husband, but when the husband comes she is silent.

+ Book- knowledge is sillusilluppu. Knowing the self is panikaram.

Remain alone and see within.

No kind of impurity can bind the atma.

When worldly attachment and impurity of the mind disappear, then there is atma-darshan.

Stand on your own legs. (E)

He who does right need not fear anybody. (E)

You and I are one. Eternal bliss is already acquired.

(* It is a Tamil custom that a wife never utters her husband's name.

+ Panikaram is a kind of cake or pastry; Sillusilluppu is the bubbling noise made by the boiling fat used in producing it.)

-30-

Be alone; be alert; be happy; be strong!

The company of great souls is necessary.

It must come from within. Don't rely on book-knowledge. Trust the self alone.

Differences are outside. The eye sees, the ear hears, etc.

Grow yourself in the hearts of others. In the grass, in the creepers, in the goats, in the cattle - grow yourself.

There is nothing strange here. Don't be enamoured of anything.

The water in the tank and the water outside are all one.

Even formlessness is a form.

All the three actions (i.e. creation, preservation, and destruction) are going on simultaneously.

Great souls will try their utmost to do good to others.

-31-

Remain as you are.

If you know yourself, you will see that all others are like you.

Whether you lie down and see, or whether you sit down and see, Truth is one.

Don't be a slave.

Don't assert yourself and strive to see God. He is everywhere. He is with us. Only if He is in the second or third person, can you strive to see him.

Set God in your heart and bring Him up!

See everything you see as Siva. Do everything you do as Sivathondu. Give up this 'I' and 'mine'.

Kill yourself. Then you will obtain eternal life.

Speak the Truth. (E)

By remaining in the madams of Brahmacharya, Grhastha, Vanaprastha, and Sannyasa, we can complete the pilrimage.

Don't relinquish the faith that there is God.

-32-

X (another devotee) is also like me. There is no difference. But he does not know that.

The seer, the thing seen, and seeing are all dreams.

By creating the first person, second person, and third person, man weakens himself.

Attachments tell on the body and mind, but nothing can affect the atma.

What is the use of studying what is left as excreta by others? One must learn that which comes from within oneself. What is written by others is only what is spat out.

Sacred is secret. Secret is sacred.

Let happiness and sorrow come and go like day and night. Don't fear!

God is within you. He has no eyes, no ears, and so on. But we place Him outside and worship Him.

God has become father, mother and guru. He has become this mango tree also. He has become you and he has become I.

-33-

Buddha, Christ, you, I are all like bubbles in the ocean.

We do not need a certificate from anyone to know that we are eternal!

(Pointing to his body.) This is the car.

(Someone brought plantains.) We thought of plantain god and now plantain god has come.

Because he (another devotee) is unable to remain summa, he is walking to Kataragama.

Remain alone and see the world and the other worlds.

Whether you take a pair of sandals and worship them, or whether you take a buffalo and worship it, He will appear in the form in which you think of Him.

You can bring down rain when you want it.

(Pointing to an oil lamp.) As this lamp is shining so all of you must light the lamp within you.

You are Siva. I am Siva. All are Siva. Remaining summa is also Siva.

-34-

Declare that we are everything.

Don't think of the past.

(Swami sang:) Bliss, bliss, nothing but bliss! I am here, I am there, I am everywhere!

He is the clever man who sees God both inside and outside.

Burn up Kaman and kick Yaman!

The God within you will reveal to you everything that you need.

There is no need to ask anything from others.

We were also living at the time of Krishna.

Who has improved the world? People have improved themselves and then gone.

Man is living in God.

The same One is in the sage and in the insect.

There is nothing wonderful in the whole world.

-35-

(In a car.) The car driver is my guru, because I cannot do his work.

Both, your Pillaiyar* and I, are the same age. This you don't know.

The delusion of learning and the delusion of popularity.

I worship you all, because God is within you all. I do not worship the body.

You and I are one. I and you are one. That One is sustaining everything.

He (another devotee) is wandering about here and there without knowing the secret of how to remain summa. The message we can give to him is: "There is no 'you,' no 'I'. "

(There were four people in the room.) How many are here? (Someone said: 'Four'.) No. Only one is here, like four people.

Now I am sitting here. I am in England also. I am also in America.

*(Another name for Ganesha. The devotee addressed here must have been a worshipper of Ganesha.)

-36-

Remain doing atma-puja.

Electric waves are nothing compared with thought waves. The thoughts of others come and dash against me.

Wherever you look, you see God. I was ruining myself by not seeing this.

Bliss will come, if you remain summa. Why then do you want this illusory world?

If you remain at the top you will see no difference. You can preach dharma only when you come down. If you remain at the top and see, everything will appear as one. That 'One' always remains pure. Nothing can pollute it.

The world is always pure. When you look outwards, you see the dog, the cat, 'good' and 'bad', 'great' and 'small'. The world is sacred and secret.

If you remain summa, the sound of voices outside will not reach you. When you come down, you can see the world.

(Swami sang:) "Dance O peacock, saying Jiva is Siva. Dance O peacock, and say that Truth is ripening."

-37-

If you think of the state of Siva, which is beyond all attributes, it won't come. It will come by itself. One day, when I was in that state, a bird came and sat on my head. Even yogis and jnanis can't understand that state.

This tree is God, this knife is God, this stone is God. Arrack is God. Give worship to all these gods!

You sing and learn, because you are unable to remain summa.

God is with us, but He is worrying us, making us to go to Kasi and Kailas.

See the God in your body by seeing, hearing, dressing and eating. See Him in your heart.

Do worship and know Him who is within you. Do you require any God other than Him to protect you?

To speak the truth, X (another devotee) and I are one. But outwardly we seem to be two.

As age advances and knowledge increases, go up and up. If you look down you will see only 'name' and 'form'.

-38-

Make the prana to rise. Enough of reading!

Why do you want to write down Natchintanai and study them? You are Natchintanai. Then what must be done? You must come to know the Self by the self.

Meditate daily: 'I am Siva .'

Keep the antakaranas free from sickness, and be careful, be awake, be alert, be vigilant, and become omnipresent.

God is with all of us. Then why should we become masters of others.

It is not necessary to break your head over building temples and schools. You can experience bliss by remaining summa, like the top which finally comes to rest after spinning round and round. The top will go on spinning as long as the force is there.

It is not a question of knowing yourself through yourself. You must see yourself through yourself.

Whom are you worshipping? Not me but the guru.

-39-

If the mind remains pure, that is equal to all yoga asanas.

It is mere illusion to speak of 'far' and 'near'.

Atma darshan will arise, when there is a yearning desire to know the Self, and when attachment to the possessions of others entirely disappears. You must press hard within yourself. If you do that, you will have the desire for scripture knowledge. You must squeeze the sugar-cane to extract the juice.

Remain summa for the sake of all!

(You) must struggle for it. (E)

Feel sorry for yourself, thinking that you have not yet realized.

You are always in him and He is always in you. You lack nothing.

It does not matter whether you are a brahmachari or a householder - you must know the truth.

It will speak everywhere.

-40-

(To the latrine coolie who was cleaning the lavatory outside.) O Ramaswamy! Are you doing Sivapuja (divine worship) out there?

One day when I was in the hospital I saw a different world.

He who has nothing steals. Whom are we to blame?

When you have entirely surrendered, everything you do will be meditation.

Who takes birth? Who dies?

(Pointing to a fisherman carrying a basket of fish.) His feet are Tiruvadi. Why? Because Lord Siva is within him.

(II)

Virtue is important. It is the sign of good breeding and confers pre-eminence.

Honour your parents. Respect your elders. Love all as yourself.

Liberation is within you.

The world is eternally contracting and expanding.

God exists as earth, water, fire, air, ether, and all else.

The whole world functions in perfect order.

You will only realize the Truth, when you understand that not an atom moves without His will.

If you remain yourself, everything will be all right.

You can make God your servant.

There is nothing to know. Remain summa.

-42-

As houses are useful for a man to live in, so religions are useful steps in his growth.

See God in everything. You are in God. God is in you.

There is no need to run after others. The distinction between so-called 'great' and 'small' does not exist. All are various forms of the One Reality.

God and I are inseparable. Therefore it is necessary to keep pure this body, which is His temple.

Those who remain summa are the real benefactors of humanity.

Only he who works is a constant worshipper of God.

Ignorance remains until you come to realize that God is within you.

The legs cannot do the work of the hand; the mouth cannot do the work of the legs. Then which can be called 'great' and which 'small'? All are indispensable.

-43-

As there is one soul in a man's body which makes it walk and eat and sleep, so all movements in the world are simply the play of the Lord.

To realize the supreme Being within you, you must have a strong body and a pure mind.

Nothing is lost, nothing is gained.

The body is your dwelling-place and you are the dwelling-place of the Lord.

Don't wander about. Learn to remain calm and patient.

Be true to yourself. Don't alter your behaviour simply to please others.

Death is also a game.

Illness is a blessing.

Virtue is more important than life itself.

You can only reap the fruit of your own actions. You cannot act for another.

-44-

If you say 'God exists', it is wrong, and if you say 'God does not exist', it is also wrong.

We are That. It is not a case of becoming That.

Don't beg from anyone.

There is no guru and no disciple. All are That.

Joy and sorrow only exist in the mind.

Man must suffer; suffering is the greatest medicine.

Simply laugh, if any disaster comes to you. Grief and happiness concern the body.

Little by little control the mind. Direct the mind towards God and practise meditation.

I have no like or dislike for anything.

Look on praise and blame alike.