Someone just sent the following story to me via email. It is about maintaining a positive attitude whatever the circumstances:

Attitude, After All, Is Everything

Jerry is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!”

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?”

Jerry replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

“Yeah, right, it’s not that easy,” I protested.

“Yes it is,” Jerry said. “Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It’s your choice how you live life.”

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in the restaurant business…he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see my scars?”

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,” Jerry replied. “Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live.”

“Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked.

Jerry continued, “…the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read ‘he’s a dead man.’ I knew I needed to take action.”

“What did you do?” I asked.

“Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,” said Jerry. “She asked if I was allergic to anything. ‘Yes’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘BULLETS!’ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead’.”

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

“If you think there is really a god then why do evil things happen?” (Someone recently posed this question on Myspace.com and I would like to reply)

This is a question that has long troubled people. Why is life filled with so much pain and hardship and suffering when everything has been created by an omniscient and benevolent God?

Think about the kind of world that there would be if no one ever died, if there were no poisonous snakes, insects or dangerous bacteria, if no creature preyed upon another creature or if nothing ever decayed. There are some religious sects distributing literature which shows a world that would supposedly exist after the establishment of God’s kingdom, and you see drawings of lions and lambs happily grazing in the same field while wholesome looking families are holding hands nearby. This is not what God has planned for humanity, it is not at all the way the world is like or will ever be like.

If a cat destroys a nest of young robins, we can’t say that it is an evil act. It is the nature of the cat to prey upon small creatures. Similarly, humans are not all saints. All humans are a mixed bag of “good” and “bad” tendencies. Some people manage to control their basic instincts and learn to treat others around them with kindness and understanding. Some people are not able to do this, and hence there is conflict in our human society. At times, people with lesser developed moral stature prevail and crush others beneath them, and at other times such injustices are righted. Life is a back-and-forth fight of opposing tendencies. It has been going on since time immemorial and will continue in the future.

Yoga philosophers explain this more broadly saying that in nature there are two basic tendencies: one force (Vidya Maya) pulls all things towards the nucleus of the cosmos (God) and another force (Avidya Maya) pushes them away from the nucleus. Roughly speaking the force which pulls us towards the nucleus is responsible for “good” and the force which takes us away from the nucleus is “bad” but both are an integral part of nature.

The struggle and interplay of these two tendencies is responsible for the kind of world we live in. Now the question still remains, why did God create this kind of world? There is no logical answer to this question, but where scientists and intellectuals have to keep mum, simple minded religious devotees have an answer. They say, “Because the Lord loves drama.”

Wouldn’t it be rather boring for you, and for everyone else, if your favorite baseball or football team won every game, every year? Would there be any kind of suspense or action to savor?

View the cosmos from this perspective and you will be able to accept the imperfection and strife that exists, side-by-side with all the good things that make up this world.

This is not about yoga or about music, but about society. David Beckham is more of an entertainment figure than an athlete, but still his new contract with the LA Galaxy raises a lot of questions about income disparities. The minimum salary in the MLS, the league where Beckham will play, is $11, 700 per year. Beckham will earn that in two hours! If you want to read more about this then take a look at my editorial on it in New Renaissance Magazine’s online edition.

The mystic poet Rabindranath Tagore said this many years ago, and it is very true. Music plays an important part in all spiritual traditions. In yoga, the chanting of mantras is called “kiirtan” (commonly spelled “kirtan”). And it is the best way to prepare your mind for meditation.

So, if you have been having trouble doing silent meditation. Why don’t you sing before you meditate. Don ‘t worry if you have a good voice or a bad voice. It doesn’t matter. This is something from your heart. Try it with the mantra “Baba Nam Kevalam”

Here is a video, with beautiful images and the mantra. Why don’t you watch the video, sing along and then do meditation. Try it you will like it!

Many people like to go on long trips to holy sites to try to “find God” but according to yoga this is not necessary. You don’t have to travel anywhere, at least in an outward direction. You have to travel inside and you will find what you are looking for.

This is how my spiritual teacher, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, describes it:

“The Supreme Consciousness is there in you as the oil is in the oilseed. Crush the seed through spiritual practice (sádhaná) and you attain Him; separate the mind from Consciousness and you will see that the resplendence of the Supreme Consciousness illuminates your whole inner being. He is there like butter in curd; churn it and He will appear from within. Churn your mind through spiritual practice and God will appear like butter from curd. He is like a subterranean river in you. Remove the sands of mind and you will find the clear, cool waters within.”

(Subháśita Saḿgraha IV, 126)

If you are interested in this spiritual approach to yoga, then vist the meditation website of Ananda Marga

The essence of “social yoga” is to create a society in which all people share the bounty of the universe together and live like brothers and sisters. This is what the ancient Rg Veda hymn, Samgachadvam, says.

My guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti once said:

“What is society like? It is like a group of people going on a pilgrimage. Try to imagine the scene! Suppose one of the pilgrims is struck down by cholera. Will the rest of them continue on their way, leaving the sick man behind? No, that would be inconceivable for them. Rather, they will break their journey for a day or two, and cure him of his disease. If he is still too weak to walk they will carry him on their shoulders. If some people run short of food, others share what they have with them. Together they share their possessions, and together they march ahead, singing in unison.”
Recently someone sent me an email with a story that captures the essence of a society moving together, with no one neglected. Here it is
Eight Children were standing on the track to participate in the running event.

* Ready! * Steady! * Bang !!!

With the sound of the Toy pistol, all eight girls started running.

Hardly had they covered ten to fifteen steps, when one of the smaller girls slipped and fell down, and she started crying.

When the other seven girls heard this sound, they stopped running, stood for awhile and turned back, they all ran back to the spot where the girl had fallenl down.

One among them bent, picked and kissed the girl gently and said - `Now the pain must have reduced’ . All seven girls lifted the fallen girl, pacified her, two of them held the girl firmly and all seven joined hands and walked together to the winning post.

Officials were shocked . Applause of thousands of spectators filled the stadium.
Many eyes were filled with tears!

YES.

This happened in Hyderabad [INDIA], recently!
The meet was conducted by National Institute of Mental Health. All these special girls had come to participate in this event and they are spastic children.
Yes, they were supposed to be mentally Challenged.
What did they teach this world?
Teamwork??
Humanity??
Equality among all ??

Most of all - LOVE and COMPASSION

Successful people help others who are slow in learning so that they are not left far behind. This is really a great message…spread it!

We can’t do this ever because we are not mentally challenged and claim to teach and help the mentally so called challenged.!

HAVE YOU NOTICED HOW BLIND PEOPLE SMILE ALL THE TIME?

STOP ANY SORT OF MARGINALISATION IN SOCIETY.

Love and Compassion FOR ALL !!!

7000 years ago, or so, Sadashiva, the founder of yoga, said that one of the seven secrets of spiritual success is to have a balanced mind.

What does this mean? One should not have a superiority complex, nor should one have an inferiority complex.  Everyone knows that a big ego is an impediment to spiritual growth. However, just as the “umbrella of ego” can prevent you from feeling the rain of spiritual grace, an inferiority complex can cause you to stop striving for perfection.

The balance between the two extremes is hard to achieve but it is possible.  The best way to achieve it is to remember that you are the son or the daughter of the Supreme Consciousness. If you remember this, you can never harbor an inferiority complex. Similarly if you remember this, you will be reminded that whatever strength you have has been provided by the Supreme Consciousness.

About 1500 years ago Caetanya Mahaprabhu gave a wonderful and concise formula for achieving this balanced mind. He said:

Trńádapi suniicena taroriva sahiśńnuná
Amáninaḿ mánadeyaḿ kiirtaniiya sadá harih.

One should be as humble as the grass and as tolerant as the trees, one should give respect to those whom no one respects, and always do kiirtan to the Lord.

So, when your vanity rears up, just remember the example of the humble, but strong, blades of grass that absorb a lot of wear but always bounce up again. Remember the example of a tree that gives everything to people but asks for nothing in return. Turn your attention to the people in society who are neglected and in all your spare moments, sing a spiritual song to God.

It is not easy to follow a spiritual path in an age of materialism. You may be trying to improve yourself with yoga and meditation, but your neighbors, friends and even family members may be moving in a different direction.

One of the ways you can gain the strength needed to stick to your path is by associating with like-minded people.  When I first began yoga there were some days when I didn’t feel like doing it, but I was with some friends who were also into yoga and they said, “come on let’s do our yoga postures together.” So that really helped. Imagine if I had had friends who would have said,”yeah, yoga is for sissies, come on let’s go and drink some beer.” I wouldn’t be here now writing this yoga blog!

So, if you want to remain consistent and strong in your yoga practice hang out with like-minded people. Find some friends who also wish to move on the spiritual path. Good company in Sanskrit is called Satsaunga (sometimes written, satsanga). Sat signifies the unchangeable supreme truth and saunga means company.

Here is what my guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti has to say about satsaunga:

“Even a golden vessel needs polishing occasionally. Unmaintained it gathers dust and dirt and loses its lustre. Similarly, even a good person or a sádhaka needs proper maintenance, for in a world of constant change, care must be taken that the change be always towards the better or the higher. Keeping good company is essential for this positive development. While bad company strengthens the bondage of the soul, good company is conducive to liberation and salvation. The keeping of good company is conducive to liberation and is known as satsauṋga in Sanskrit. When satsauṋga is followed, either physically or mentally or both, the subconscious mind, and thus the conscious mind, are charged with better and higher influences. This change will move the follower forward towards higher and better goals.”

You can find out more about this approach to yoga at www.anandamarga.org 

India is the home of yoga and I am visiting here for the next month. I hope to share some insights with you during this trip and show you some pictures soon. So come back in the next few days

In India one of the most famous prayers is the Gayatrii Mantra or Gayatrii Rk. Here is what my Guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti has to say about it:

By meditating on this divine effulgence we get the inspiration to move along the path of blessedness. That is why we meditate and that is why we are to meditate. We must meditate. This prayer is of the cardinal type, hence it is a necessity. We should do it, we must do it. Prayers like, “Oh God, give us food, give us drink” are all non-cardinal; hence they are useless and should always be discouraged. I told you that your requirements are better known to Him. You do not know what you actual requirements are. He knows. In several portions of the Yajurveda also, prayers are like this “guide our intellect unto the path of blessedness.” 

In the West this is a hot topic of debate among philosophers and among common people. Can we influence our destiny or is everything decided before hand by a higher power?

I have already written extensively on the matter and you can go and read about it, but now I want to present it from the another angle. There is an old saying “Man proposes and God disposes.” So often our best laid plans do not come to fruition, despite hard work and good intentions.

In the field of devotional yoga (bhakti yoga) there is an important concept that deals with this. It is called Prapatti, and it means that whatever happens, happens according to the will of God. Not even a blade of grass can move without having the backing of the Cosmic will.

Understanding this, then the best way to be successful is to align your will with the cosmic will. Instead of swimming against a river learn how to find the cosmic flow and go with it. And that is what spiritual practice (yoga, meditation) is all about, getting in tune with that Cosmic flow.