SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE FROM RAMAYANA

The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic, composed sometime in the 5th century BCE, about the exile and then the return of Rama, prince of Ayodhya. It was composed in sanskrit by the sage Valmiki, who taught it to Rama's sons, the twins Lava and Kush.

10 lessons of Ramayana to live by

1. Respect elders and be duty bound towards parents:

Rama left for vanvas(forest) after his stepmother expressed her desire to see her own son Bharata is the future king of Ayodhya.

2.  Anybody can make a show of greatness:

It is how we handle reversals that matters. Greatness is tested by the ability to tolerate provocations. When Rama had to give up his throne,  he could have shown his anger towards Kaikeyi but he restrained himself.

3. Attachments create traps and leads to suffering:

Marichi assumed the form of a golden deer which attracted Sita who wanted to possess it and this is what led to her being kidnapped.

4. Maya knows our weaknesses:

Maya transforms our strength into weakness and casts a veil over the teachings of great souls. Ravana used illusion to captivate Sita enough for her to disobey Lakshmana.

5. Be deeply committed to your duty:

Besides being Sita's husband, Rama was also the king of Ayodhya. The duty of a king is to heed the opinion of his subjects, in spite of his manly duty. Hence he was forced to excile his wife for the sake of the people who questioned her chastity.

6. Choose the path of righteousness:

Vibhishana, the younger brother of Ravana chose to not support his siblings in the war against Ram. He knew his brother had committed the sin of pride by kidnapping Sita. 

7. Always stand by what is right: 

Salvation comes from pleasing god. Jatayu lost his life fighting for Lord Rama. Thereby achieving this purpose it is better to lose and win then to win and lose.

8. Remain humble no matter how powerful you become:

Hanuman could have easily rescued Sita from Ravana’s Ashok vatika by himself since he had the power to single-handedly defeat Ravana’s army. But he chose to step aside  nd allow Lord Ravana’s /divine powers to destroy Ravana.

9. The goal of life is to please the lord: 

Bharat wanted to stay in the forest with Rama. But he obeyed his over his elder brother and return to Ayodhya to be crowned though he placed Rama’s sandal on the throne.

10. Embrance  all irrespective of caste, creed and colour:

Prince Rama ate fruits already tested by Shabri a poor old woman who had nothing to offer but feel your love.

KARMA YOGA, BHAKTI YOGA, GYANA YOGA, KRIYA YOGA

KNOW YOUR YOGA

Yoga is understood as the union between the consciousness of an individual and the universe. The process is a method that is used to reach your higher nature. Here are the four types of yoga.

Karma Yoga

• Using physical action to achieve ultimate union.
• Karma yoga is not necessarily service, it is just pure action without any intention.
• Working with such abandon that the body is no longer a limitation for action.

Bhakti Yoga

• Using emotion to reach the ultimate union.
• Devotion is a way of transforming one's emotion from negativity to pleasantness. Through that sweetness, one grows. Devotion is another dimension of intelligence.

Gyana Yoga

• Using your intellect to transcend the physical and reach ultimate union.
• The intellect must be uninfluenced by anything.
• A gyana yogi doesn't believe or disbelieve anything."What I know, I know, what I do not know , I do not know -gyana.

Kriya Yoga

• Kriya Yoga targets the energy that is the basis behind the body, mind, and emotion.
• Using internal action and transforming your energies to reach the ultimate union.
• Working with Kriya can influence the other three aspects of a human being.

Kriya demands a lot of discipline and time but it is up to each person on how diligently they pursue Kriya depending on how quickly they wish to achieve the ultimate union.

WHY FOUR TYPES OF YOGA 

Yoga is attached to a method, which defines it as a complete path unto itself. The four realities for a human being are the body, mind , emotion and energy. You are a combination of these four things. They are only different aspects.

Yoga allows a human being to work on all these four. Everyone is a unique combination of all four. Although each individual may have one dominant over the others. Every moment, everyone is doing one of these four types of yoga, but in an unorganised way.

LINGASHTAKAM

             Lord Shiva's Prayer

Brahma Murari Surarchita Lingam

==============================

Brahma Murari surarchita Lingam

Nirmala bhasita sobhita Lingam

Janmaja dukha vinasaka Lingam

Tat pranamami Sadasiva Lingam || 1 ||

Devamuni pravararchita Lingam

Kamadahana karunakara Lingam

Ravana darpa vinasaka Lingam

Tat pranamami Sadasiva Lingam || 2 ||

Sarva sugandhi sulepita Lingam

Buddhi vivardhana karana Lingam

Siddha surasura vandita Lingam

Tat pranamami Sadasiva Lingam || 3 ||

Kanaka maha mani bhushita Lingam

Paniphati veshtitha shobhita Lingam

Dakshasu yajna vinashana Lingam

Tat pranamami Sadasiva Lingam || 4 ||

Kumkuma chandana lepita Lingam

Pankaja hara sushosbhita Lingam

Sanchita papa vinashana Lingam

Tat pranamami Sadasiva Lingam || 5 ||

Devaganarchita sevita Lingam

Bhavair bhaktibhi revacha Lingam

Dinakarakoti prabhakara Lingam

Tat pranamami Sadasiva Lingam || 6 ||

Ashtadalo pariveshtia Lingam

Sarva samudbhava karana Lingam

Ashtadaridra vinashana Lingam

Tatpranamami Sadashiva Lingam || 7 ||

Suraguru suravara pujita Lingam

Suravana pushpa sadarchita Lingam

Paratparam paramatmaka Lingam

Tatpranamami Sadashiva Lingam || 8 ||

Lingashtakamidam punyam Yat Pathet Shivasannidhau

Shivalokamavapnoti Shivena saha modate

Lingashtakam Stotram Meaning

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,

Which is worshipped by Brahma, Vishnu and other Devas,

Which is pure and resplendent,

And which destroys sorrows of birth.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,

Which is worshipped by great sages and devas,

Which destroyed the god of love,

Which showers mercy,

And which destroyed the pride of Ravana.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,

Which is anointed by perfumes,

Which leads to growth of wisdom,

And which is worshipped by sages, devas and asuras.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,

Which is ornamented by gold and great jewels,

Which shines with the snake being with it,

And which destroyed the Yagna of Daksha.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,

Which is adorned by sandal paste and saffron,

Which wears the garland of lotus flowers,

And which can destroy accumulated sins.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,

Which is served by gods and other beings,

Which is the doorway for devotion and good thought,

And which shines like billions of Suns.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,

Which is surrounded by eight petals,

Which is the prime reason of all riches,

And which destroys eight types of poverty.

I bow before that Lingam, which is the eternal Shiva,

Which is worshipped by the teacher of gods,

Which is worshipped by the best of gods,

Which is always worshipped by the flowers,

From the garden of Gods,

Which is the eternal abode,

And which is the ultimate truth.

Any one who chants the holy octet of the Lingam,

In the holy presence of Lord Shiva,

Would in the end reach the world of Shiva, ,

And keep him company.

===

SELF REALISATION IS TRUE KNOWLEDGE

In the Atma Bodha Adi Shankaracharya sings about the glories of self  realisation. He says if one has gained realisation of the knowledge of the self there is nothing more to be achieved .

We do everything in search of happiness. Even that which we had and try to avoid is only an attempt to maintain our happiness. We are attracted to the things that seem to give us happiness and run away from things that seem to take away our happiness. However realising our true nature as the self itself is the end of all search for happiness. The self is happiness itself and there is no better happiness.  You cannot get happiness and attach it to yourself.

Once we know, learn and master that which we did not know, then there is a sense of fulfillment that generates happiness. However knowing the self puts an end to all our search for knowledge. There is no greater knowledge then self-knowledge.

After self realisation do I still have to do something ? Well this is equal to asking I had to reach New Delhi by train and I have got off the train at Delhi. Is there any thing more that I need to do to reach New Delhi. The answer is nothing, you are already there , where you wish to be.

What is the end result of this search ? The simple answer is - the search is over. There is nothing more to look for. All the anxiety and stress has to come to an end.  It ends when you know that the self you have understood to be within you as you, is nothing else but that for ever and your purpose on this earth is complete. This is the true knowledge.