Make Difference

To make a difference, you often must be different. It takes courage and confidence to go against the grain of negativity that surrounds you, and such courage can bring great rewards. 

Where others see only doom and gloom, be different and look for the bright glimmer of opportunity. For it is most certainly there. 

When everyone is looking for someone to blame for what has already happened, be different and turn your focus toward the future. Exploring the current possibilities will create infinitely more value than arguing over past failures. 

When you encounter rudeness and irritation, generously offer your own polite and confident patience. When you bump up against the arrogance of another person, be different and melt it away with your own sincere, self-assured humility. 

Just because everyone is heading in a negative direction doesn't mean you must go that way too. On the contrary, it's a valuable opportunity for you to set a positive example. 

In times of great difficulty and stress, choose to be a beacon of encouragement, understanding and positive purpose. Be different, and you can truly make a valuable positive difference.

Swami Vivekananda - 18 : The Meditation

Disciple asked, "What is the real nature of meditation, sir?"

Swami Vivekananda: Meditation is the focusing of the mind on some object. If the mind acquires concentration on one object, it can be so concentrated on any object whatsoever.

Disciple: Mention is made in the scriptures of two kinds of meditation ” one having some object and the other objectless. What is meant by all that, and which of the two is the higher one?

Swami Vivekananda: First, the practice of meditation has to proceed with some one object before the mind. Once I used to concentrate my mind on some black point. Ultimately, during those days, I could not see the point any more, nor notice that the point was before me at all — the mind used to be no more ” no wave of functioning would rise, as if it were all an ocean without any breath of air. In that state I used to experience glimpses of supersensuous truth. So I think, the practice of meditation even with some trifling external object leads to mental concentration. But it is true that the mind very easily attains calmness when one practices meditation with anything on which one's mind is most apt to settle down. This is the reason why we have in this country so much worship of the images of gods and goddesses. And what wonderful art developed from such worship! But no more of that now. The fact, however, is that the objects of meditation can never be the same in the case of all men. People have proclaimed and preached to others only those external objects to which they held on to become perfected in meditation. Oblivious of the fact, later on, that these objects are aids to the attainment of perfect mental calmness, men have extolled them beyond everything else. They have wholly concerned themselves with the means, getting comparatively unmindful of the end. The real aim is to make the mind functionless, but this cannot be got at unless one becomes absorbed in some object.

Disciple: But if the mind becomes completely engrossed and identified with some object, how can it give us the consciousness of Brahman?

Swami Vivekananda: Yes, though the mind at first assumes the form of the object, yet later on the consciousness of that object vanishes. Then only the experience of pure "isness" remains.

Disciple: Well, sir, how is it that desires rise even after mental concentration is acquired?

Swami Vivekananda: Those are the outcome of previous Samskâras (deep-rooted impressions or tendencies). When Buddha was on the point of merging in Samadhi (superconsciousness ), Mâra made his appearance. There was really no Mara extraneous to the mind; it was only the external reflection of the mind's previous Samskaras.

Disciple: But one hears of various fearful experiences prior to the attainment of perfection. Are they all mental projections?

Swami Vivekananda: What else but that? The aspiring soul, of course, does not make out at that time that all these are external manifestations of his own mind. But all the same, there is nothing outside of it. Even what you see as this world does not exist outside. It is all a mental projection. When the mind becomes functionless, it reflects the Brahman-consciousne ss. Then the vision of all spheres of existence may supervene, " ” Whatsoever sphere one may call up in mind" (Mundaka, III. i. 10). Whatsoever is resolved on becomes realised at once. He who, even on attaining this state of unfalsified self-determination, preserves his watchfulness and is free from the bondage of desire, verily attains to the knowledge of Brahman. But he who loses his balance after reaching this state gets the manifold powers, but falls off from the Supreme goal.

So saying, Swamiji began to repeat "Shiva, Shiva", and then continued: There is no way, none whatsoever, to the solution of the profound mystery of this life except through renunciation. Renunciation, renunciation and renunciation ” let this be the one motto of your lives. ” For men, all things on earth are infected with fear, Vairagya (renunciation) alone constitutes fearlessness" (Vairagya-Shatakam) .

-(Translated from the diary of a disciple ” Sharatchandra Chakravarty.)

Special : Modern Panchatantra

Hi Readers, this is the post with something special and it seems the right time for me to post this story on this very occassion of reaching a mark of '200 posts'. While not missing my strategy of giving good to you I'm here with this story to present you the fun too with the tale which we can call it a modern story of 'Panchatantra'.

Once upon a time, there was a software engineer who used to develop programs on his Pentium machine, sitting under a tree on the banks of a river. He used to earn his bread by selling those programs in the Sunday market.

One day, while he was working, his machine tumbled off the table and fell in the river. Encouraged by the Panchatantra story of his childhood (the woodcutter and the axe),

he started praying to the River Goddess. The River Goddess wanted to test him and so appeared only after one month of rigorous prayers. The engineer told her that he had lost his computer in the river. 

As usual, the Goddess wanted to test his honesty. She showed him a match box and asked, "Is this your computer ?" Disappointed by the Goddess' lack of computer awareness, the engineer replied, "No."

She next showed him a pocket-sized calculator and asked if that was his.

Annoyed, the engineer said "No, not at all!!"

Finally, she came up with his own Pentium machine and asked if it was his.

The engineer, left with no option, sighed and said "Yes."

The River Goddess was happy with his honesty. She was about to give

him all three items, but before she could make the offer, the engineer

asked her, "Don't you know that you're supposed to show me some better computers before bringing up my own ?"

The River Goddess, angered at this, replied, "I know that, you stupid donkey! The first two things I showed you were the Trillennium and the Billennium, the latest computers from IBM !". So saying, she disappeared with the Pentium!!

********

Moral :If you're not up-to-date with technology trends, it's better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you're a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt

Proudy Red Rose

One beautiful spring day a red rose blossomed in a forest. Many kinds of trees and plants grew there. As the rose looked around, a pine tree nearby said, "What a beautiful flower. I wish I was that lovely." 

Another tree said, "Dear pine, do not be sad, we can not have everything."

The rose turned its head and remarked, "It seems that I am the most beautiful plant in this forest."

A sunflower raised its yellow head and asked, "Why do you say that? In this forest there are many beautiful plants. You are just one of them." The red rose replied, "I see everyone looking at me and admiring me."

Then the rose looked at a cactus and said, "Look at that ugly plant full of thorns!" The pine tree said, "Red rose, what kind of talk is this? Who can say what beauty is? You have thorns too."

The proud red rose looked angrily at the pine and said, "I thought you had good taste! You do not know what beauty is at all. You can not compare my thorns to that of the cactus."

"What a proud flower", thought the trees.

The rose tried to move its roots away from the cactus, but it could not move. As the days passed, the red rose would look at the cactus and say insulting things, like: This plant is useless? How sorry I am to be his neighbor."

The cactus never got upset and he even tried to advise the rose, saying, "God did not create any form of life without a purpose."

Spring passed, and the weather became very warm. Life became difficult in the forest, as the plants and animals needed water and no rain fell. The red rose began to wilt. One day the rose saw sparrows stick their beaks into the cactus and then fly away, refreshed. 

This was puzzling, and the red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that the birds got water from the cactus. "Does it not hurt when they make holes?" asked the rose.

"Yes, but the cactus does not like to see any birds suffer," replied the pine.

The rose opened its eyes in wonder and said, "The cactus has water?"

"Yes you can also drink from it. The sparrow can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help."

The red rose felt too ashamed of its past words and behavior to ask for water from the cactus, but then it finally did ask the cactus for help. The cactus kindly agreed and the birds filled their beaks with water and watered the rose's roots.

**********

Lesson to learn from the Story :Thus the rose and all of us learned a lesson and never judged anyone by their appearance again.

The Wings of Burden

An old legend relates that long ago God had a great many burdens which He wished to have carried from one place to another on earth, so He asked the animals to lend a hand. But all of them began to make excuses for not helping: the elephant was too dignified; the lion, too proud; and so on. Finally the birds came to God and said, "If you will tie the burdens into small bundles, we'll be glad to carry them for you. We are small but we would like to help." 

So God fastened upon the back of each one a small bundle, and they all set out walking across the plain to their destination. They sang as they went, and did not seem to feel the weight of their burdens at all. Every day the burdens seemed lighter and lighter, until the loads seems to be lifting the birds, instead of the birds carrying the burdens. 

When they arrived at their destination, they discovered that when they removed their loads, there were wings in their place, wings which enabled them to fly to the sky and the tree tops. 

They had learned how to carry their burdens, and their loads had become wings to carry them nearer to God. 

Burdens we carry for others may become wings of the spirit, to lift us into happiness such as we have never known.

Overcoming Negative Ideas

After millions of years of evolution on this planet, mankind finds itself at cross roads. Thanks to the explosion of Science and Technology, man finds himself with unprecedented power on the one hand and also a creature in doubt and despair. Information Technology has certainly given lots of benefits to mankind in the form of communications, space travel, medicine and hundreds of other things. If these benefits are used with wisdom they can eradicate many of the evils from the face of this earth. And if the same benefits are abused because of lack of proper training and assimilation of knowledge they can destroy the entire race a hundred times over.

Today, due to lack of an integral education system in the country there is tonnes and tonnes of poison being emanated into the atmosphere and also thrown upon human consciousness in the form of animosities, hatred, jealousies, cynicism and so on, which is indeed a very dangerous phenomenon. There are cries of pain, misery and suffering from all corners of the globe. It is true that there cannot be a better world without better men. Therefore, we need to train the younger generation, our generation, in the lines wisdom of the great masters of yore and make them think and do things differently, that is with strength, positive attitude and wisdom. A new methodology has to be adopted and implemented in order to lead a pure, positive and purposeful life, not only for oneself but also for the welfare of the entire world. The youth have to be motivated, inspired and put on the right track so that they would use their talents, intelligence and knowledge to get rid of the poison at the personal and social level and thereby evolve in life.

The present educational system no doubt has produced many men and women of sterling character, with positive outlook of life, and who are responsible citizens of the country and who have chosen the path of Renunciation and Service and has certainly many good points. With all its merit, it has not been able to stand the test of times and is driving the youth away from the garden of life, positive values and humanness.Hundreds of youth are confused, directionless, depressed, cynical of everything in life, nay, life itself. How true was Swami Vivekananda when he said in a lecture titled ‘The Future of India’ in 1897, thus: “The education that you are getting now has some good points, but it has tremendous disadvantage which is so great that the good things are all weighed down. In the first place it is not a man-making education, it is merely and entirely negative education. The child is taken to school, and the first thing he learns that his father is a fool, the second thing that his grandfather is a lunatic, the third thing the all his teachers are hypocrites, the fourth that all the sacred books are lies! By the time he is sixteen he is a mass of negation, lifeless and boneless.” (Complete works of SV, 3^rd vol: P.301-02). In this article we shall try to share with the readers, especially the youth, a few practical hints and exercises that they can practice and thereby overcome the negative tendencies and ideas sprouting in their own mind which is fanned by the blazing fire of peer pressure and unhygienic values in the society. The youth who have dynamism need to be given a positive direction to become masters of themselves and to take charge of the future.

‘MAN IS HIS OWN FRIEND”

In the 5^th verse of the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna teaches Arjuna the truth, ‘Let a man lift himself by his self; let him not degrade himself; for he himself is his friend and he himself is his enemy’. To what extent is this true? The answer is: by developing a positive, constructive, pure and friendly attitude towards oneself and the world. Whatever may be the fact of life, like, loss of a dear one, failure in exams or career, criticisms from colleagues or bombarded by tragic news appearing in the newspapers or television or hundreds of such things which nature can offer to man, a positive mental attitude is more important to solve the problems and to lead a happy and focused life. On many occasions haven’t we been carried away by our own impulses and behave unethically even though we are quite aware of the negative impact of that particular action on our life? That is the time one has become an enemy of oneself. A person becomes a friend to oneself when the negative emotions are managed wisely and given a right royal turn for positive and higher endeavors. One who has developed this important quality of a positive attitude, even though he is surrounded by miseries, trials and tribulations, unhappy situations and so on, will not allow his mind to be colored or overpowered by them. He holds his head high and solves the problems with a joy and radiance on his face and more importantly is fully aware of the potential that is within his own being. Therefore, he is not daunted by the circumstances because he is his own friend. It is said that when a piece of steel is magnetized, it capable of lifting about 12 times its weight. But, when it is demagnetized, it can’t even pick up even a pin. It is the same with the mind. If it is positive, balanced and pure, it can be a master of circumstances and do wonders in the world. The hallmark of great leaders, athletes, scientists, musicians, artists and host of others in the world is the art of overcoming negative ideas and the efforts to keep their thoughts positive, strong and pure. These people constantly feed their mind with positive thoughts on a regular basis. Let us now discuss the practical steps of overcoming negative ideas.

Practical lesson No: (1) THE ANT PHILOSOPHY

There is an interesting lesson for all those who are infected with the virus called negative ideas and actions. However much they are taught it is very difficult to assimilate the positive ideas and absorb them in their personal life. To drive home the idea there is a highly motivating lesson that a tiny ant teaches all people irrespective of their background. Of course, all animals in nature have a lesson or two to give us. In this case, there are four lessons for us to learn from the doings of the ant and become positive in our thought, word and deed.

Lesson 1: The ant never quits whenever anybody stops them or they come across any hurdles. They climb over it, or find another way but never stop from marching forward. The lesson is ‘never stop from completing the given work or from reaching the goal under any circumstances’ with confidence and positive attitude.

Lesson 2: Do you know that the ants think winter all summer? Quite interesting! Why do they do think like that? The answer is they gather their winter food in the middle of summer and do not complain about the seasonal changes. As one enjoys the sand and sun on the beach, he has to think of rocks in the water before diving into the sea. The lesson is one has to be realistic and also think ahead positively.

Lesson 3: Interestingly the ant thinks of summer all winter. It sounds confusing and strange for us. Wait! During the winter the ant reminds itself that this will not last long and we’ll soon be out of here”. And at the first warm day they are out in the open and seeking adventure once again. Well, it may turn cold again; they just dive back into the closet and return another warm day. The lesson to us is ‘to stay positive at all times’, because there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Lesson 4: Do you know how much an ant can gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? The answer is “All that he possibly can”! The lesson for the person who he is diffident, weak and with low self-esteem is “Do all you can and a little more”. In a nutshell the four-part lesson is: 1) Never Give Up (2) Look Ahead (3) Stay Positive and (4) Do all you can and march on.

Practical lesson No: 2

There is an inspiring and a true story of Lt. Gen. Vijay Oberoi (Retd), former Vice Chief of the Indian Army, who had lost his leg in a 1965 skirmish with the Pakistan Infiltrators and continued to serve the Army for 40 years and is now founder President of War Wounded Foundation, New Delhi. He says, ‘Disability is of the mind, never of limb or organ. One needs to open one’s mind to opportunities that are available, instead of brooding over those that are not. I see many more challenges and many more bridges to be crossed’. He had a zest for life and with a Positive frame of mind overcame many hurdles. The human body and mind can be molded in any way we want. The tools that motivate the human mind are dedication, discipline, self-confidence and positive ideas and hard work. How can the youth achieve this high degree of inspiration to conquer negativity in life and profession? The answer is: 1) exposure to the life and writings of Positive Thinkers and leaders 2) Choosing to Think good and positive thoughts, 3) To act on the acquired thought 4) Allow the emotions to create more positive and constructive thoughts. For example the following thoughts can be used for driving away the negative ideas from the sub-conscious mind and create more space for inspiring and elevating thoughts from the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Swami Vivekananda’s teachings (the youth should read the thoughts loudly and visualize their meaning in his mind)”

1) “I realize the power within me is greater for me than the power of another. I have the power to control my thoughts, thereby control my feelings and the way I see the world around me”.

2) “I now decide to control my thoughts and think of the positive side of my personality and the world around me”.

3) “I realize that the thoughts that are dominant in my mind will manifest themselves in reality. I now decide to keep before me a positive, happy picture of my success”.

4) “I realize that the spoken word is the most powerful. Therefore I now decide to speak positive thoughts not only to help myself but also to encourage others. I focus my thought energy on the good of me, on you, on today and on life”.

The above thoughts should not be repeated mechanically as words, but should be contemplated over with concentration, sincerity, faith and dedication. Then alone will the youth have a beneficial and constructive influence on his or her personality and also the way one looks at oneself (self-image). The youth should think and act upon the statements for 21 days regularly in order to experience a positive change within, to feel whether guilt, hostility, worry and other negative feelings have diminished or not and if self-confidence, self-knowledge, calmness of mind, self-discipline and other positive thought have increased or not. In his book, Peace, Power and Plenty, the well-known author, Orison Swett Marden, says, “ If children were taught mental chemistry, as they are taught physical chemistry, there would be no ailing pessimists, no victims of the “blues”. We should not see so many long, dejected, gloomy faces everywhere. We should not see so many criminals, so many sorrowful, tragic failures in every rank of society, in every walk of life”. (Ref: Pp: 65-66, pub: Nesma Books India, Bangalore). Therefore the youth need to awaken to the realities of their own mind and start implementing the above-mentioned positive thoughts in their personal life.

Practical Lesson No: 3

There is an interesting anecdote of a landowner around the turn of the previous century near the town of Beaumontin Texas, in America. He was forced to sell portions of his land to feed his family. Then an oil company manager told him that there could be oil on his property and offered to pay him royalties if he would permit them to drill on his land. The landowner agreed, as he had nothing to lose. Surprisingly, there was indeed an oil well there and that was the discovery of “Spindle Top”, the most productive single oil well in history. The landowner became an instant multimillionaire—or DID he? The reply is “NO”. In fact he had been a rich man ever since he owned the property but did not have the knowledge of the fact and consequently did not capitalize on it.

In one’s own being there is incredible ability, talent and divine wealth, which remains unrecognized and unutilized. The suggestion is to get acquainted with oneself by doing a little drilling and exploring, since the person has nothing to lose in the process. And what is the tool for this task? It is the one magic word ‘SELF-DISCIPLINE’ which is a key to all great discoveries, achievements and challenges in all walks of life in the world. The well-known American writer, William Bennet, writes, “In self-discipline one makes a ‘disciple’ of oneself. One is one’s own teacher, trainer, coach and ‘disciplinarian’. It is an odd sort of relationship, paradoxical in its own way and many of us do not handle it very well”. This does not mean punishing or torturing oneself but it simply means that self-discipline is mastery over one’s thoughts and enables the individual to think positively first and then act. This magic and powerful tool enables a person to organize and unite all the scattered mental forces and focus on the goal set for oneself in life.Self-Discipline helps the mind to fortify against all weaknesses, personal and social, and gives a unique value and dignity to life. By systematic, devoted and methodical observance of healthy, pure and ethical rules, the youth can surely grow to a higher level of consciousness and study his deeper nature with confidence and with a high degree of maturity and optimism.

There are varieties of Disciplinary exercises the youth can choose from, though each one is important by itself, like: 1) Of the body-through yogasanas, gymnasium, healthy diet 2) Of breathing: control of the vital energies through simple pranayama techniques or just slow, steady, rhythmic and conscious breathing, 3) Of speech: so much of energy is wasted in gossip and unwanted talks that naturally the mind becomes restless and loses its focus. Therefore it is said, “ The gateway to YOGA is through control of speech”, 4) Of thoughts: through self-introspection, visualization process and serious study of the scriptures etc., the thoughts can be purified and tuned to a high frequency, 5) Ofones’s inner nature: by the practice of Prayer, Intense Concentration and Meditation regularly. The faculty of “VIVEKA” or discrimination gets awakened and the youth can lead a highly dignified, pure and enlightened life. Glorifying the importance of Self-Discipline, Swami Vivekananda says, “Man is Man so long as he is struggling to rise above nature and this nature is both internal and external.” Today, there is emergency like situation to tackle the menace of negativity, which has become a way of life amongst some section of the youth. In order to strengthen the mind, the classic example given in the scriptures is that of a single thread which is very weak, but, when many threads are combined and twisted together to make a rope, it can control an elephant. Similarly, a healthy and wholesome diet of positive thoughts, which Sri Krishna calls it as ‘Daivi Sampat’ (spiritual wealth) in the 16^th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, should be administered for the whole mind in order to make the youth strong in thought and spirit to progress in life and also become self-reliant to solve their own problems.

Conclusion

We have so far discussed (1) practical hints as to how the youth can increase their bank balance of positive thoughts and reduce the unnecessary expenditure involved in eradicating the negativity in thought, word and deed.

2) We derived lessons from the life and actions of the tiny ant, apparently a negligible thing in nature but a very intelligent and hard-working creature that can surmount mountain high obstructions and remain positive at all times.

3) The importance of Self-Discipline in overcoming negative ideas in order to become a person of strong convictions under all circumstances, trials and tribulations. This will keep the self-motivational level at the optimum and acts as a propelling force for the life’s journey towards peace, harmony and divine joy. Swami Nishreyasananda, in his book ‘Man and his Mind’ writes, “The vagaries or the defects of our character have to be looked upon as mere dirt. They are not necessary components of the human personality” and “by watching them (sages and saints) the aspirant easily becomes convinced that the natural state of the soul is precisely what is indicated in ‘revealed’ books. He sees that also that it is possible through graded disciplines to remove the layers of dirt that at present hide its (Soul) supreme effulgence”. (Ref. Man and His Mind, Pp: 63-64; pub: Ramakrishna Math, Chennai). The youth should become emperors of their own mind.

 By Swami Bodhamayananda

Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama

T.Nagar, Chennai-17