Those Virtuous Resolutions - Boon Or Bane
When a year draws to a close and the New Year is round the corner, most people get busy rying to make resolutions. Making such a list undoubtedly brings in a ot in perspective but it also demands persistent self-check to know whether one is keeping those resolutions. While some make resolutions to cultivate new habits or work on strengthening old ones, others give assurances to their friends and family about becoming a better person. There are those who decide to be health conscious while others resolve to focus more on their spiritual practice. So, it all depends upon your priority. More often than not, barely does the month of January come to an end and there go all the resolutions, all the promises one had made to oneself! This is bound to Hanne when it is just about following a trend. But if one is sincere about bringing about a transformation in one's life then this very thing can be used as a tool to reflect, implement and progress in every dimension of life. Whether you choose to do so on the first day of a new year or on any other chosen day, it is good to ask: In which direction do i want to steer my life? Because life is slipping away out of our hands. An Upanishadic verse says that it is not time which has passed, it is we who are passing, who are dying. From moment-to moment, the body is moving towards death and decay Usually, people keep statues of gods and goddesses in their homes but a sage I knew well, Swami Layman Das Avadhoot of Rishikesh, kept the statue of a dead body outside his hut, covered in a shroud. He was reminding himself that th jiva, individual soul, forgets all about death and keeps wandering in the world, seeking fulfilment in relationships and possessions, never finding it. Sages and mystics compassionately and tirelessly remind us time and again: 'wake up, don't remain asleep'. Sant Tulsidas said, "Shame and shame again on the one who is ever ready to eat and drink but procrastinates when it comes to spiritual practice." If you wish to follow the path of devotion, of wisdom and knowledge, then understand that you cannot live recklessly, carelessly, without wisdom. Hence if you believe a New Year is starting, then bring new virtues, new thoughts, new treeactions and reflections into your life.Live wisely, like an awakened one, not like a fool. And to be an awakened one, you have to be with an awakened one. This means to be with the knowledge - to be withjnana, satsang ofty thoughts so thatyou never performwrong actions, never utter anythingBecause, whatever goes in, will comout. So you have to watch what youlto, what you see and also what you sHence be vigilant as to what youinto your mind. Protect your mindgetting sullied. Make your mind satpure and clean as only then it will become beautiful. So reflect wiselywell. Reflect on what you have donethe past year. How many impuritiesafflictions, how much of the ignorain your mind have you eradicated?Ideally, New Year's Day should be aof contemplation, of reflection.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Anandmurti Gurumaa kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy : Anandmurti Gurumaa Speaking Tree ,Times of India
Those Virtuous Resolutions - Boon Or Bane
When a year draws to a close and the New Year is round the corner, most people get busy rying to make resolutions. Making such a list undoubtedly brings in a ot in perspective but it also demands persistent self-check to know whether one is keeping those resolutions. While some make resolutions to cultivate new habits or work on strengthening old ones, others give assurances to their friends and family about becoming a better person. There are those who decide to be health conscious while others resolve to focus more on their spiritual practice. So, it all depends upon your priority. More often than not, barely does the month of January come to an end and there go all the resolutions, all the promises one had made to oneself! This is bound to Hanne when it is just about following a trend. But if one is sincere about bringing about a transformation in one's life then this very thing can be used as a tool to reflect, implement and progress in every dimension of life. Whether you choose to do so on the first day of a new year or on any other chosen day, it is good to ask: In which direction do i want to steer my life? Because life is slipping away out of our hands. An Upanishadic verse says that it is not time which has passed, it is we who are passing, who are dying. From moment-to moment, the body is moving towards death and decay Usually, people keep statues of gods and goddesses in their homes but a sage I knew well, Swami Layman Das Avadhoot of Rishikesh, kept the statue of a dead body outside his hut, covered in a shroud. He was reminding himself that th jiva, individual soul, forgets all about death and keeps wandering in the world, seeking fulfilment in relationships and possessions, never finding it. Sages and mystics compassionately and tirelessly remind us time and again: 'wake up, don't remain asleep'. Sant Tulsidas said, "Shame and shame again on the one who is ever ready to eat and drink but procrastinates when it comes to spiritual practice." If you wish to follow the path of devotion, of wisdom and knowledge, then understand that you cannot live recklessly, carelessly, without wisdom. Hence if you believe a New Year is starting, then bring new virtues, new thoughts, new treeactions and reflections into your life.Live wisely, like an awakened one, not like a fool. And to be an awakened one, you have to be with an awakened one. This means to be with the knowledge - to be withjnana, satsang ofty thoughts so thatyou never performwrong actions, never utter anythingBecause, whatever goes in, will comout. So you have to watch what youlto, what you see and also what you sHence be vigilant as to what youinto your mind. Protect your mindgetting sullied. Make your mind satpure and clean as only then it will become beautiful. So reflect wiselywell. Reflect on what you have donethe past year. How many impuritiesafflictions, how much of the ignorain your mind have you eradicated?Ideally, New Year's Day should be aof contemplation, of reflection.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Anandmurti Gurumaa kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy : Anandmurti Gurumaa Speaking Tree ,Times of India