Detached Attachment

Detached Attachment - That is one of the keys for a seeker.

Attachment is any desire or bonding. As the holy scriptures recommend - To be attached to worldly or materialistic things is a very ignorant way of living our lives. But does this mean we should give up everything and head for the Himalayas ? Isn't the wish that "I will give up everything and go to Himalayas" also another desire? Yes, it is so. After going to the Himalayas if we start remembering the so-called materialistic good things and repent about it , then is it of any use ?Is that real viragya ? Isnt it better to be in the worldly life and remember Himalayas rather than go there and always keep on remembering the worldly life ?

Being detached from the worldly life is difficult. That also is not recommended. What is recommended for the seekers is to lead the worldly life without getting attached or bonded to it. But practically is that possible ?
Below points may help in that direction -

• Acceptance of the events in life as they come and believing that whatever is happening , is for the good. 
• Recognising that your actions are not yours , but you are just an instrument of the creator. All your actions are directed by that Universal force.
• Giving your 100% to your duty, but not bothering about an immediate result. Remember, if someone does not pay you back imediately for your help/support , he will pay back with interest later on. Just wait.
• When in pleasure , I never questioned the God - "Why me ?"  So, why should i question when i get some pain ? Recognise that pleasure and pain are just temporary and will pass.

A tribute to my friend - on friendship week

Friendship week , Aug 2012. I was travelling to office as usual in my bus. A co-passenger who works in the neighbouring company was next to me. He had some sad news that day :

There was a guy,also travelling in the same bus to office daily. I knew him quite well from the daily bus journeys. I have often seen him walking his aged father in my neighbourhood. Let us call him SM.

SM was very smart and talented guy. He used to solve critical issues and problems which many of his collegues gave up. He was a helpful kind of guy. He was strong willed. He used to walk long distance and not spend on autorickshaws unncessarily , instead treat his friends with fresh fruit juices on the way. He used to say - "Why pay for the auto, lets walk and midway have something good to refresh"

But he was not to be seen from quite sometime now. I learnt that he had been diagnoised with leukemia ( blood cancer ) a year back. Still he used to come and watch his friends play cricket on Saturday mornings. He used to keep a tally of the teams scores , when he could not play. He had such strong will power that he used to say - nothing will happen to me.

In the last few months , each week , SMs blood needed to be changed. Then it was once in 5 days , then once in 4 days. Doctos suggested bone marrow replacement , for which SMs elder brother had agreed to sell off their only home.

A week back , blood started to ooze out of his body... Then , SM passed away.
May His Soul Rest in Peace !

Where ever you are , my friend , wish you a happy friendship day ! I dont have much other words to convey the deep felt loss but , Life is just a journey somewhat like our daily bus commute to office. You have reached your stop , am just somewhere behind you, my friend.

Have belief and faith in God

A story from Mahabharatha :
During the Mahabharatha war , Bheeshma and Arjuna were fighting. All in the Pandava camp were worried for Arjuna as Bheeshma was a very skilled and experienced warrior. Each night the Pandavas were loosing sleep over this. Lord Krishna once arrived to find Arjuna peacefully sleeping whereas all others were sleepless worrying for Arjunas safety. So , Lord Krishna goes and wakes up Arjuna and asks him " Hey Arjuna, Arent you worried that Bheeshma is fighting with you and is very powerful and you may get killed ? How can you sleep with that worry of death ?".
Arjuna replied " Lord , I can sleep peacefully as you are awake. With you by my side , why should i worry ?"
Arjuna's reply is the core essense of my blog. This story shows the complete faith which Arjuna had over the Lord. We should also develop such a strong faith that the Lord takes care of ALL his creations, without fail. What is happening and what is going to happen is all HIS wish and HIS command. Such a strong faith and belief will go a very long way in our spiritual path.
Time for another story , this one from Ramayana :
When the bridge to Lanka was being built by the monkey army , Lord Rama was watching silently. He saw one monkey taking a stone, saying out aloud "Shree Rama" and dropping it in the ocean. And Lo Behold, it floated. Another monkey did the same, again the stone floated on the water. And so it went on , each monkey used to come with a stone , uttering the Lords name, drop it on the ocean ,and it just floated.
Now , Lord Rama was in an experimental mood :-) So, He also took a stone and dropped it on the ocean. But , it sank. He tried again , and yet again it sank. Now , he was perplexed and sat in a deep thought.

Along came Hanuman and looking at his Lord realised that something was wrong. So , he asked the Lord "Whats up , Captain?".

Rama replied " Look here dude , all these monkeys are throwing stones chanting my name and it floats. When I try the same , it sinks. Whats the problem ?"

Hanuman said "Thats pretty simple. Naturally , Sirjee, If You drop anybody , He has to sink. You are the ONE lifting the entire world up. If you throw off a stone, then it just obeys you"

This story is a sort of corollary to the first one from Mahabharatha. The monkey army had complete faith in the name of the Lord and that chanting the name of the Lord would make the  stone to float. And Lo!  it does so. Here , the belief and faith in the Lord is what is important. 
Lately , I see that there are many articles and blogs with questions of "Is there really a God ?" I am not able to undertand why anyone would keep on questioning about the existence of a God and thereby decline his or her belief considerably. Reading such articles and questioning only raises doubt in ones mind. An iota of doubt then grows in the doubting mind and then one day it becomes so big and strong that man loses faith and belief. Please donot feed more food for such thoughts. Remove such poisonous thoughts from anyone who tries to influence us. Whenever some one questions us "Why should we believe in God ? Am not seeing him", please tell them politely that "Please belive first, Proof will surely follow"

PS : I might have worded the story in a comical manner , that is only to keep up the interest for the readers and drive home the point that God also loves fun.

When do you remember God ?

When the body becomes weak
When the breath becomes difficult
When the mind gets cluttered
When the memory starts to fail you

This is when most remember God
This is when most start their prayers
This is when most become believers
This is when most try to reach the Supreme

O Man , why don't you wake up and realise a little earlier
Instead of waiting perpetually and procrastinating your source
Pray , Believe , Meditate and  Help the needy when the body is strong 
And enjoy the bliss , which comes along.

- prashanth rajarao

Keep our earth clean and green

It's amazing , the way it is
The sun shining and the moon smiling
Isn't it wonderful to feel the earth moist
When it rains and the sky kisses the land

It's amazing , the way it is
The lakes clean and the city green
Isn't it wonderful to see the birds sing
Each morning on your terrace wing,

It's amazing , the way it is
The stream sparkling and the peacock dancing
Isn't it wonderful to see the fishes swim 
In rivers and  lakes, not in our aquariums glim

It's amazing , the way it is
Man is just another creature , intelligent than any
But , he has to use his intelligence to co-exist with nature
Only when he realises that , will he stop polluting.

It's amazing, the way it is
I sure hope, it remains the way it is
For our kids , lets make a pledge
To keep our earth , clean and green.

- prashanth rajarao

Off Duty , On duty

A fresh day. Outside my home , its pretty good weather. Bangalore has recieved its little share of the summer monsoon over the last week and its green and clean near my house. I watch out of my balcony and see the small plants in the pots swaying to the gentle wind. Am sipping from my cup of lime juice as i start penning down this blog.

My thoughts wander .. I try to follow the thought chain ..

What makes man give his best to work ? Is that the expectation or the desire of a result at the end of the task ? Our Lord Krishna has advised to do our duty and not bother about the results. What is meant by duty ? If we are not bothered about the results , then why do them ?

Some thoughts , some questions , I say to myself - People on ST are sure to provide answers. That would be very encouraging and knowledge gaining. On second thoughts , what matters most to me is what I think of the answers. Surely , knowledge is welcome irrespective of the source , I grab at it. But the greatest source lies within. So, I close my eyes ( after finsihing off the lime juice ).
He appears. As usual , he is smiling. Not laughing , not roaring , but just smiling. At peace with himself. Put him anyplace and in any situation , he is always peaceful and smiling. Thats what I like about him. He answers me  :
"Duty is the fees you pay for occupying the space on this planet"
"In sanskrit ," he continues "Kartavya means duty.Kara also means "tax or duty". Lovely isnt it ? So , what is the duty one should pay ? It is simple - To server others in need of help is your duty"

Why shouldnt I focus on the results ?

"Go ahead and focus on the results. As they say , Begin with the end in mind. Visualise the results. But don''t be attached to them." he continues, leaving me wondering more.

"Some examples may help you. Suppose you are a farmer and you want to get a bumper crop. The result is that you should get a very good yield.  You start out with the necessary preparations for the same. But some factors like a good rainfall , etc are not in your hands. Suppose , you want to ascertain a good rainfall this season and then only till the land and sow the seeds, you will be failing in your action."

Similarly , if a student gets attached to the result of scoring First Rank , only then will he sit for the exam , he may never appear for the exam.
Suppose you are travelling from Bangalore to Mumbai by car. You make sure your car is in good condition , brakes are fine , tyre pressures are checked, etc before starting out. Maybe you will also get a map and still some may get a weather report checked.Right ?"

I nod along , seemed logical.

But if you wait till the weather is perfect all along the way , there are no traffic pileups anywhere , then you may not get started only. That is attaching to results and failing to do your duty.
Seems fine , except that - We work for a company and expect a salary from that. Do you mean to say that we shouldn't expect anything in result for our work ?
Its not like that. People are paid for their value added by doing the work. That value addition is the result of your work and as the owner gets a benefit due to the additional value , he performs his duty by paying for it. So , focus on what value you can add while at work or anything else.  Working just for getting money and paying your bills is fine , but you are not meant to just pay your bills. There is a bigger purpose. Seek it.

I open my eyes. It's time to go back to my work. I start checking my emails and there is one from my client in US. He wants me to get a software tape release done ahead of plan. I think - "How can i add value to ensure my client gets his request completed ? I make changes to the Release plan and .... (The rest of the story is just my duty )

Am I ?

Am I working or am I playing ?

When I enjoy work , it becomes play.

Am I happy or am I sad ?

Both are states of my mind , one follows another

Am I dark or am I fair ?

Colours are for my skin , the soul is colourless

Am I good or am i bad ?

What is bad for one , maybe good for another.

Why these questions today, I asked myself

I dont know the answer, but just want to live in the question for a while

- prashanth rajarao