PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP

"Pray with a loving heart, being humble and eager at the same time. Let HIM know all your joys and sorrows. Develop a personal and deep relationship with HIM by telling everything. Do not keep thinking  the same thing over and over.  Keep your mind empty."


My two cents ---

A very practical method to keep mental stress at a minimum. Just let HIM know earnestly and let HIM carry the burden. You will become peaceful and at ease.

Try this first in a stressful situation. It's hard to follow this when the going is good.

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If you watch your thoughts, then you will notice that only three or four thoughts keep rotating and taking turns in your mind. After every thought, have a heartfelt talk with HIM and dedicate your thought to him earnestly. This will definitely reduce the harassing aspects of the thought and your mind will be peaceful. This is the best way to develop a personal relationship with GOD or GURU.

Ashwin Amin

EARNEST DESIRES

"Quit all earnest desires and assertiveness except activities related to the contemplation of God.
Develop humility.
Aim to be non-entity."


My two cents ---

At first these lines seem to be disconnected, but a little thinking reveals a start and end point about desires. Humility develops as the force of your thoughts and emotions lessens. Again this takes time and requires patience. This helps to quiet the mind and redirects it towards contemplation. The lofty goal is to be free of desires and be a non-entity.

When arguments occur, just let go. Once you let go, there will be flurry of activities in your mind. Most likely you will want to argue your case more vehemently; or less likely, you will see the other person's viewpoint. In any case, if you watch this play in your mind you have started the journey. The goal is to keep peace and quiet in your mind. You decide how you will handle the next argument.

This is an easier and more concrete way to watch your thoughts and take action on them, rather than sitting in meditation and watching your thoughts passively. Your life will be more pleasant, with much less conflict, when you put this knowledge to work in your life.

Ashwin Amin

SILENCE

"Observe verbal and mental silence as much as possible; train your self."
"Develop spirit of surrender in your life with conscious awareness."


My two cents ----

To develop verbal silence is not difficult, but mental silence requires training and practice. Mental silence means not having any thoughts or reaction in your mind to internal or external stimuli. This is possible and feasible only when the spirit of surrender is established in the mind.
Awareness and wakefulness are the first thing to be developed and only then the process of watching one's self starts.
Who said it is going to be easy?

Ashwin Amin

WITNESS CONSCIOUSNESS

"Be in SAKSHI-BHAVA ( an attentive witness to your consciousness ) with complete wakefulness"
"Do not form a chain of successive thoughts in your mind"

My two cents ---

In Gujarati the word " SAKSHI-BHAVA " is literally translated as " witness consciousness " and it represents a type of consciousness  where you are a detached witness to your thoughts and emotions.

There are various levels of witness consciousness. I will quote an example:

Suppose a husband and wife are arguing about some important issue and you are there and listening the argument.
1) You take either the wife or husband's side according to your own idea of what is right and what is wrong.
2) You do not take a side or give your opinion, yet in your mind you have decided who is right and who is wrong according to your own ideas and beliefs.
3) You still do not take side but you appreciate the viewpoint of both, and decide both are right in their own way. This may not fit with your own ideas and beliefs.
4) You consider the argument as a manifestation and expression of God's design in its own way.  There is then no question of taking sides.
Taking the thought little further you will note that " husband,wife and their arguments "is not important but watching the reaction in your mind and emotion is.
What you are attempting to do in real life situations is very similar to sitting in meditation and watching your thoughts and emotions. In this way your life is your meditation and vice a versa.

SO THERE YOU ARE

 Watch yourself and decide where you stand. Try to be in higher level witness consciousness and life will be interesting, pleasant and with less conflict.
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When chanting, you can start watching your thoughts. When a thought comes in your mind, just watch it. Do not start thinking further on that particular thought. Instantly you will have another thought.  Again, do not get attached to this thought and start thinking about successive thoughts. Just keep watching it. This process is easier said than done, but the process itself is meditation. Chanting will help you to be aware of your thinking and increase wakefulness.

Ashwin Amin