Diseases,prevention and cure,the spiritual perspective

The world is facing an explosion of so called “life style diseases” like Heart attacks, Diabetes Mellitus, Obesity, Gastritis, Auto Immune Diseases, Psychosomatic problems and stress with its myriad manifestations…the list goes on and on.”Hurry,worry and curry’ seems to be the order of the day!Everyone seems to be running away from themselves.


Before I go any further to talk to you about this abstract topic, I wish to remind you that we human beings are aware only of the life we are born into and know nothing about what happens to us before we are born into this world and nothing of what happens to us after we are gone. The fact of the matter is that our life is a continuum…and both situations are very relevent and shape our destinies in the present world.
Death only means death of the physical body only but our soul lives on!

The Bhagwat Gita states:
• “There has never been a time when you and I have not existed, nor would there be a time when we will cease to exist. As the same person inhabits the body through childhood, youth and old age, so too, at the time of death he attains another body. The wise are not deluded by these changes”..Bhagwad Gita 2.12-13


There is a lot of truth in the saying that ‘we are not human beings having a spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a physical experience” de Chardin

We also need to understand what good health actually means?

This a very pertinent question….we normally assume that since we are not suffering from any ailment,we must be healthy but this is not true! As defined by the WHO” Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”
What is spirituality after all?

Spirituality has been defined differently by different people. It is often confused with Religion hence important to understand.

Swami Vivekananda mentioned that “every soul is potentially divine”.He propounded his now famous theory of ‘neo-vedanta”which means belief in oneself.In practical terms it means to see god in everything and as everything. Jesus Christ,too had said” Know Thyself”. Janaki Santoke defines spirituality as the desire for self realization, the desire to merge in the self. Dr Larry Dossey, however, feels that “it is the sense of connectedness with an absolute, immanent, or transcendental power, however named ”.It basically means that we need to connect with our “real self.”

To comprehend this better we need to understand the process of creation of this Universe. It is said that when God wanted to bring about creation He issued a principle in the form of a vibration which resulted in light and sound which, in turn, led to creation. This has been referred to by many names…,” Shabd Aum ”, ’Naam”,”Ameen” or the ‘Word”/Holy Ghost.
“God said, let there be light: and there was light….”(Genesis 1:3-4).The Lord vibrated His cosmic consciousness into subtle light. The light of intelligent life energy, the Word, is the first manifestation of cosmic consciousness in creation(Yoganand Paramhans)

As is clear spirituality figures in almost all major religions of the world.
The Lord surrounded man’s soul first with an idea body, then encased it with a very fine or subtle light(the astral body)and finally an illusionary fleshy form. The physical body is made of blood and flesh; the astral body is composed of life force and mind; and the causal or ideational body is woven together with wisdom and ever new bliss. The dense physical body is the result of solidified vibrations, the astral body of energy and mind vibrations,and the causal body of nearly pure vibrations of Cosmic Consciousness.

(When we are intent on tasting, smelling, touching, listening, or seeing, we are working principally through our physical body. Visualising or willing, we work mainly through our astral body. When thinking or diving deep in introspection or meditation, we are relating to our causal body, Yoganand Paramhans).He goes on further to say that when we dream we remain in our astral bodies while when our sleep is deep and dreamless, we transfer our consciousness to the causal body.
Thus this entire Universe was created from a vibration!
At the time of death our physical body dies but our astral and causal bodies remain.

In effect, our body consists of matter(physical body, which in turn is made up of a combination earth, water, fire, air and ether),energy, mind (manas), Intellect (Budhi) and the soul or spirit. For us to remain healthy a balance needs to occur between all five.

Balance is, therefore, the key! Balance of body, energy, mind, intellect and soul.
It is said that when the mind is not at rest it is diseased !According to Dr Rick Levy, every disease in the body begins with dis-ease in the mind and that there is a mental root for every physical problem.

According to Dr Rossi there are three levels of mind-body communication between mind and brain, between brain and body and between cell and gene. These have been called “messenger molecules” and comprise of neurotransmitters of the autonomic system, the hormones of the endocrine system, the cytokines of the immune system and the neuropeptides of the neuropeptide system.
Dr Levy further goes on to say that diseases occur because we fail to learn what life is trying to teach us, or by misunderstanding or suppressing our experience or by living a life which is inauthentic to our highest desires. These are the root causes of diseases.

We see this in everyday life….getting stuck in jobs we do not enjoy doing or getting stuck in jobs we are not suited for. All of us have an innate wish or desire to “do something” in life but often do not understand what it is since we do not have the time or the inclination to listen to our inner voice, which keeps whispering to us about our true self and what miracles we are capable of performing. We do not heed it since there is so much of clutter and noise in our minds! The net result is stress and disease.

To quote Dr Levy again ….if we suffer from a physical illness or injury only 40% of the solutions will come from medicine, surgery, physical therapy or diet change etc but the remaining 60% from our mind….this is a very profound statement about which we all need to take serious notice.

According to Dr Selvamurthy diseases occur because of five factors, namely lack of exercise(God has given us parts to our physical body meant for action),dichotomy between mind and body, for example, whatever we do we should do with full concentration…if we are eating we should refrain from reading, talking, watching the TV etc since the process of eating also comprises of the production of enzymes, salivary and gastric, which are produced by the sight and smell of the food and aid in proper digestion and assimilation. If we are otherwise engaged in multitasking the production of these enzymes may not take place and our digestion would suffer leading to disease. There are many such examples. Stress is yet another cause for disease along with pollution and infection. Our depressed immunity has got a lot to do with infection.

This is the picture of the human brain and as you can see it is so complicated!
It is so very difficult to control our minds. Sages have said that controlling the mind is like controlling a drunk monkey!

Let us peep into our mind and see what this mysterious structure consists of.We have a “Conscious” mind which is responsible for our everyday perceptions and is the place where most of us “reside”, so to speak. It communicates to us in our native tongue or the language we understand best. There is a “subconscious” mind which is twice the size of the conscious, stores memories, deep feelings, desires, and guides our body functions like heartbeat, circulation and immune functioning and communicates to us with symbols, images and metaphors. Will power does not work at this level since it is a tool of the conscious mind. The third component is the ‘superconscious” mind, which is infinite in size.Our thoughts can affect our electromagnetic energy. This is the “Individual” superconsciousness and is the gateway to “Universal Superconsciousness” which communicates to us through “Intuition” which has been given so many names,” instinct”, ”gut feeling ”,’hunch” etc. the superconsciousness is always guiding us, specially in times of crises. To give you an example, you are driving down an empty road but suddenly, without realizing it, you brake hard and stop, only to find someone in front of you whom you would have run over had you not stopped. It was your instinct which directed you to stop. There are so many examples we see everyday. Our consciousness is always looking for pleasure which it must have at all costs but it is the subconscious and superconscious minds which actually keep us sane.

Normally there is a porous “barrier” between these three levels of our minds which is not normally possible to transgress,(actually a blessing otherwise every memory, event, happening, song would be cropping up twenty four seven)!We can, however, transgress it when our mental faculties evolve further, a development made possible through Meditation, which enables us to delve into our subconscious or superconscious states. This is the basis for Transcendental Meditation as well as formal hypnosis by a trained psychotherapist. This is the basis for “Regression Therapy” whereby the psychotherapist/psychiatrist can tap the patient’s subconscious mind and take him/her back in time to unearth the psychological basis of his problem.

It is here that Spirituality steps in…since we cannot control our conscious thoughts hypnosis and need to develop the subconscious and the superconscious minds to stay well. Dr Jeff Levin, in his book” God, Faith and Health” mentions “The weight of published evidence overwhelmingly confirms that our spiritual life influences our health. This can no longer be ignored”

How did we actually come into being? We have done so through what is called “Pranashakti’ (life force) which has been given different names in different religions eg The Holy Spirit, Christ Consciousness, chi(Chinese)ki (Japanese),wakan etc.

It is “prana shakti” which helped us to take form and shape inside the womb and brought “life’ to us. It, however, becomes dormant at birth as it has finished its job till that point. This has also been called Kundalini shakti and dwells at the base of our sushumna or spinal column or muladhar chakra from where it controls the entire physiological system through a network of 72,000 nerves. At the external level this prana shakti operates through the senses.

Our physical body is sustained by a body of energy and contains a series of “energy centres’ located in the spine and head. These are actually five subtle vibratory forces into which the Creative force differentiates itself.

The Movement of energy is normally from the brain down to the spine, through the peripheral nervous system and then from the extremities back to the spine and brain through a series of nerve centres. In a healthy person the flow of energy is unimpeded and positive throughout but if it is sluggish, blocked, damped or negative in one or more energy centres then the health is likely to be poor
The first energy centre is located at the very bottom of the spine, is called the Coccygeal or muladhar chakra,represents the earth element and stores basic biological energy. Anyone who lacks sufficient energy here or holds negative energy here will feel weakened and drained and is prone to infectious diseases, such as colds or flu.

The second energy centre, the sacral or svadisthan chakra, representing the water element exists in the area of the genitals and fuels our procreative functions. Anyone who lacks sufficient energy here or chronically stores a lot of energy here is likely to suffer from impotence or infertility or disorders of the reproductive system like dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, prostate dysfunction or cancer, fibroid tumours or even cancer of the vagina, cervix or uterus.

The third energy centre, known as the Lumbar by virtue of its location, called the Manipur chakra represents the fire element and encompasses the digestive system, pancreas and liver. We store emotion here and hold our sense of personal power. People having problems in this energy centre often manifest with eating disorders, intestinal disorders or diseases of the pancreas or liver.
The fourth energy centre, the dorsal or anahata chakra which
represents the air element surrounds the heart and is the one where we store energies and emotions relating to love, family relationships and long term friendships. The heart is also a centre for human virtue(honesty, loyalty, trustworthiness, courage etc.)Any problem in this energy centre manifests as heart disease or lung problems.

The fifth energy centre, cervical or vishudha chakra is in the throat and represents ether(space).This centre is where we hold energies, thoughts and feelings associated with deep levels of personal expression. Good communicators usually have very strong energy in the throat centre. Those with negative energy in this centre tend to suffer from disorders like chronic laryngitis.

The sixth energy centre is in the head and this is where we store our understanding of meaning and purpose of life. This has two poles, the point between the eyebrows also known as the “Third Eye’ or Agya chakra and the medullar centre or Sahasrar chakra. This lies adjacent to the medulla oblongata or brainstem. This is a portal through which energy from the superconscious mind flows into the body. It is very sensitive and can be blocked easily by stress, physical trauma and negative emotional energies. Energy from this centre flows in two directions, down to the spine to help power the body and through the brain to the forehead or third eye. It energetically fuels the body and our higher awareness. This is why the intuitive insight is sharp at the point between the eyebrows. People who chronically hold negative energy in this centre are prone to migraines, stroke, cancer or disorders of the central nervous system and may suffer from chronic sinus, ear and eye problems.

The seventh energy centre is at the very top of the head and is involved with overall spiritual evolution, intuitive awareness and connection with a higher being of a person.

John speaks of the “mystery of the seven stars” and the “seven churches”(Revelation I:20),which refers to the seven astral centres of light in the spine. This is evidence that Jesus Christ taught his disciples the technique of uniting soul with spirit. He said ‘The light of of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single your whole body shall be full of light”. Here Jesus is referring to the “Third Eye”situated between our eyebrows.

Speaking about the chakras ,Prof Goswami(a renowned physicist)mentions in his book “God is not Dead”
“This subject then becomes evidence for the existence of God, because without the God hypothesis and down ward causation, we cannot incorporate the morphogenetic fields in science without implicit dualism”…

Why do we behave the way we do? We do so because of our habits (samskars) ,either of a previous birth or developed in this one based on our ‘gunas’.(these gunas are the three interwined strands of the binding cord of nature. Through this medium Prakriti (Nature)holds in bondage all embodied beings)Swami Yoganand Paramhans

The three gunas of Prakriti are Sattva which is concerned with purity, virtue, goodness, wisdom and happiness. The consciousness is centered in the ‘Spiritual eye”. Rajas is concerned with passion, wordly activites, struggle for more wealth, possessions, power. In this instance the consciousness is centered at the Anahata or Heart Chakra. The third guna, Tamas, leads to inertia, pride, arrogance, indolence and evil and the consciousness is centered at the lower chakras like the coccygeal, sacral and the lumbar chakras.

The energies are drawn outward influenced by the senses….Rajasic leades to emotional likes and dislikes, attachments and aversion due to the heart centre while the Tamasic stimulates sexual activities, base instincts and evil propensities..sadism illicit sex relations, dishonesty. These bad habits are the cause of misery which further lead to stress and disease.

God has created us in His image in the form of spirit which is actually our soul
In effect our so-called “body” consists essentially of a soul or spirit, a physical body and a mind. A balance is essential between the three for our wellness and wholeness.

The soul or atma being part of God has godly qualities of universal love, compassion etc and teaches us to be good and constantly tries to take us back to Him but our conscious mind is always looking for sense pleasures and a tug—o-war ensues…the soul whispering to us about goodness and the mind shouting for pleasure..the net result is stress and disease.

What is stress after all?
It occurs when there is an “unacceptable disparity between expectations and your actual experiences”
“Stress causes 50% of what kills us and 50% of what chronically disables us”(Dr Levy)

Effects of Stress on us.

When we face any stress(we experience a lot of it at the present time) ,our brain responds by secreting a hormone called ‘corticotropin release hormone’ from the hypothalamus. This causes the pituitary gland in the brain to release Adrenocorticotropic hormone. Our suprarenal gland gets affected by this and produces corticosteroids from its cortex and adrenaline/noradrenaline from the medulla. At the same time blood flow to the large muscles is increased. The body needs this power as it ‘thinks” that it has to run away from or fight something. This is known as the “fight or flight” response. As a result blood flows more to the heart and large muscles and less to the digestive system and other vital organs. The immediate effects of this are a dry mouth, sweating, palpitations, increase in blood pressure, mental anxiety, enlarged pupils and sleeplessness. On the one hand these two affect the thyroid and parathyroid and on the other kidneys, liver, stomach, pancreas, bone marrow. The pituitary also produces endorphins which reduce pain. All of these result in an increase in heart beat, increased flow of blood and blood pressure, rapid respiration, more production of glucose from glycogen as a result of which more energy is available, non essential actions like appetite, sleep, sex activity etc get reduced.
The net result of
all this chronic stress is the development of Hypertension, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, obesity, peptic ulcer, poor digestion, autoimmune problems, glandular disease, poor healing, decrease in sexual drive, headaches, palpitations, loss of appetite, constipation etc. which in turn cause other complications.
Stress, can, therefore, affect almost every system of our body.
We are all so very familiar with the causes of stress which we face, namely heavy responsibilities, difficult relationships, mishaps, traffic jams, loud noise, long queues, unfulfilled expectations, advanced age, chronic illness, chronic or acute pain, lack of sleep, too little exercise, phobias etc.

Negative emotions like anger, jealousy, hatred, envy, worry, anxiety, depression, are harbingers of disease and have a lot to do with stress:”Negative emotions, persisting over a long period of time, can impair the immune system, thus lowering the body’s defenses against disease”-Norman Cousins, a former teacher at UCLA. ”Peace of mind sends the body a “live’ message, while depression, fear and unresolved conflict give it a “die” message (Bernard Seigel MD).He goes on to add that “the immune system simply can’t stand chronic gloom”.
”Peace of mind sends the body a “live’ message, while depression, fear and unresolved conflict give it a “die” message (Bernard Seigel MD).He goes on to add that “the immune system simply can’t stand chronic gloom”.

Anger and Hostility is “Significantly associated not only with increased CHD events in initially healthy populations but also poor prognosis in the patients with existing CHD”….Chida et al, JACC March 17,2009,volume 53,No 11 Pg 943

Depression ‘coronary Heart Disease is quite common in patients with major depression” and “Depressed individuals are more than 1.6 times as likely to develop CHD compared with individuals without depression” Ziegelstein et al, JACC September 1 2009 Vol 54,no 10 Pg 886

Gautam Budha has said “We are what we think, all that we are arises with our thoughts.With our thoughts we make the world”. According to Swami Sivananda ‘Thought decides action and action decides destiny’

Man, is ,therefore, a Creator of both good and bad. God has given the gift of ‘free will’ which we need to exercise for good use.

This is where spirituality comes in
As I mentioned earlier our body consistes of a matter(physical body),energy (pran), mind (manas),intellect(budhi),and a soul or atma.
Our physical body has been called the ‘anamaya kosha”or the” food sheath”,the ‘Energetic body’ is called the ‘Pranamaya kosha”,the third sheath is the “mental body “or the “Manomaya kosha”(mental sheath).The fourth sheath is the Intellectual body or the “vijnanmaya kosha” while the fifth is the Bliss body or “anandmaya kosha’.A Balance needs to exist between all five sheaths. If one is ,therefore, spiritually healthy all the sheaths will remain healthy. Bliss is the key!

It would be prudent to mention at this juncture about “Auras" which are coloured outlines surrounding the body and radiate from the soul. By studying the intensity of these auras one can deduce a person’s health, integrity and general state of evolution. Around the head is a halo which is also part of the same force. At death the light fades as the soul leaves the body. According to Dr Lobsang Rampa, an advanced spiritual teacher from Tibet)These have been called Bio-electromagnetic energy as described by present day Psychologists, who have proved it scientifically(Dr Rick Levy).This way one can “see” physical disease in the body, along with important diagnostic information related to its mental and spiritual root causes. This is also the basis for Energy Healing, as practiced by some. Different colours indicate different conditions. Gold means peace and spirituality, while a white colour indicates purity, a purple colour is seen in people who like to serve and the colour red means intensity of emotion and so on.

Balance between all the components of our body is best maintained by Yoga which has eight principals labeled as the “eight petals” by BKS Iyengar in his”Light on life”. These are
1 External Ethical disciplines (Yama).It involves self restraint, moral conduct, non injury to others, truthfulness and non stealing.
2 Internal Ethical observences (Niyama) means self discipline, purity of body and mind, contentment, devotion to god or guru.
3 Poses(Asana) which are concerned with right postures and physical exercises which keep our bodies healthy.
4 Breath Control (Pranayam)means” Prana” or life force control giving us peace of mind.
5 Sensory Control and withdrawal (Pratayahar).It is involved with the withdrawal of the mind from sense objects.
6 Concentration (Dharana)
7 Meditation (Dhyana) which develops our intuition and promotes union with the Almighty.
8 Samadhi is Oneness with the cosmic spirit.

Yoga essentially means “union with god” and good health is an important side advantage. Yoga essentially is of four types,’Gyan” Yoga,”Bhakti”,”Karma” Yoga and Raj Yoga.Here we are discussing “Hatha yoga” which is basically a combination of Asanas and Pranayam.Yoga helps develop solidity, shape, firmness and strength to our bodies. We need sound bodies so we can develop sound minds.

According to BKS Iyengar “Our mind affects our body, yoga can help access mind through the body through asanas which help in relaxing the mind since during asanas our consciousness spreads throughout the body, diffusing every cell and creating complete awareness. This leads to the brain becoming more receptive and concentration becomes natural as the brain becomes calm and the nerves smooth”
He also says “yoga keeps healthy people healthy, inhibits the development of diseases and aides recovery from ill health.

In short, our body is the ‘bow’, asanas the ‘arrow” and our soul is the “target”!
Every asana brings firmness to the body, steadiness of intelligence and benevolence of spirit.

Yoga promotes thermoregulation which is how advanced yogis need very little clothing even in the worst of winters!

Dr Jeff Levin has stated very categorically that “The ability of yogis to influence their own immediate physiology by altering their state of consciousness is no longer in question”

Yoga is now known to retard progression and bring about regression of lesions in blocked coronary arteries as well. Dr SC Manchanda et al have documented that “yogic lifestyle intervention retards progression and increases regression of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with severe coronary artery disease” in The Journal of Association of India July 2000,( 48;687-94)
Similarly Dr Selvamurthy also has demonstrated by coronary angiography, the same based on his study on patients of coronary artery disease (personal communication). Dr Selvamurthy is a senior scientist and director of the Research and Development Organisation of India, primarily involved with the Armed Forces of our country.

Dr Selvamurthy goes on to say that yoga is promotive, prophylactic and curative since it acts at all the five basic causes of diseases, namely lack of exercise, dichotomy between mind and body, Stress, pollution and infection.
Pranayam.."Prana" means life and "ayama" is control. Prana broadly means force or energy. Swami Yoganand Paramhans has said that “the human breath knots the soul to the body.”

Universal prana underlies all combinations in creation and is the basis of unity. Individual prana enters the body with the soul at the time of conception. It pervades the whole body and has different functions in different parts.
1 Prana the crystallizing power brings all other functions into manifestation.
2 Apana or the power of excretion, the scavenger energy of the body.
3 Vyana,the power of circulation
4 Samana, or assimilation, digestion etc
5 Udana, the power by which cells are differentiated in their functions(some growing hair, or skin, or muscle and so on)
These five, though separate, act in harmony and primarily work in the Sympathetic or Involuntary system but voluntary activities are also possible.
There are two main currents in the body, one, the apana current flows from the point between the eyebrows to the coccyx and distributes itself through the coccyx centre to the sensory and motor nerves and is restless by nature. The other main current is that of prana, which flows from the coccyx to the point between the eyebrows and is calm by nature. There is, therefore, an opposite pull between these two currents from which inhalations and exhalations of breath are born.when the prana current goes upward it pulls the vital breath laden with oxygen into the lungs. The refined energy is sent to all bodily cells. Bodily activity produces decay and consequent waste product of Carbon dioxide which is excreted from the cells by the apana current. Then the downwardly flowing apana current causes exhalation and pushes out the impurities. The intricate system is empowered by the prana and apana currents working through the vital branches of astral life currents that correspond to the physical sympathetic nervous system, the main branches of which are called the ida and pingala. So long as the prana current pulls the inhaling breath into the lungs, man lives but whenever the apana current becomes more powerful, man dies. The apana current then pulls the astral body out of the physical body. When the final breath leaves the body through the action of the outgoing current, apana, the astral body follows to an astral world. It is thus said that the human breath knots the soul to the body.

The life energy which flows outwardly in the nerves to our five senses(touch, taste, sight, hearing and seeing)makes sensory experiences attractive to us. Pranayam helps us to reverse that fow of life energy and to withdraw our mind from the senses. it facilitates the flow of the life energy from the spinal centres to the brain, thereby helping in connecting with our true spirit, the essence of the soul which is one of the reasons why one should meditate with a straight spine, for proper flow of prana shakti upwards to the brain.

Pranayam comprises of a phase on Inhalation(or purak) of the breath in which energy from the atmosphere percolates the entire lung and rejuvenates life, retention of the breath called Antaric Kumbhak during which the energy is absorbed and distributed to all systems through circulation. Through the phase of Exhalation(rechak)the accumulated toxins are carried out. The last phase breath retention after exhalation(Bahya Kumbhak) all the stresses are purged and drained away.

It has been proved scientifically that Pranayam reduces Heart Rate and systolic blood pressure. It also makes us feel more alert and relaxed at the same time which is the ideal state of being.

According to Dr Rick Levy, “Meditation may well be the single most effective you have available to affect your health and happiness”

Meditation is the process of pulling back the veil that separates us from the Lord. It helps us get absorbed into the inner light and music of God makes us rise from physical consciousness into realms of spiritual consciousness.(Sant Rajinder Singh).It actually converts duality to oneness.

Meditation has many medical benefits. It lowers and normalizes blood pressure and heart rate, reduces the level of stress hormones in the blood and brain excitability. It also reduces the overcompetetive Type A behavior leading to reduction in heart attacks.(Dr Seigal…Yoganand Paramhans). Along with all this it improves recovery from many diseases like bronchial asthma, arthritis, fibromyalgia, heart disease, hypertension, ulcers and improves circulation, vitality, stamina and resistance to disease and chronic pain. It leads to an overall positive impact on physical health.

Meditation reduces pain threshold and decreases biological age, reduces wear and tear of body and mind and helps one live longer and better.

It also has many mental benefits as it substantially reduces fear, anxiety, depression etc which precede or accompany chronic health problems and is perfect for combating stress. It is perfect for combating stress, which causes 50% of what kills us and 50% of what chronically disables us(quoted Dr Levy earlier)

It helps transcend the barrier between our conscious, subconscious and superconscious minds, thereby giving us “insight” to navigate through the choppy waters of our lives and to bring about the union of Atma with Paratma. This is also the basis of Transcendental Meditation.

EEG studies have demonstrated that silent repetition of OM(Aum) causes brain waves to become very relaxed and smooth out while increasing mental clarity.(Dr Levy)
It helps develop positive emotions as it activates the part of the brain responsible for positive emotions. It thus increases optimism, mental clarity and intuitive insights.

Meditation helps develop a sense of harmony with nature and other beings and leads to: Peace, happiness, love,compassion, kindness and release of “happy hormones”, transforming one to become cool, composed, calm, collected, confident and wise. …

The most important effect of meditation is spiritual as it finally brings one closer to the Divine and to ultimately merge with Him.

Dr Levy finally concludes that ‘Clearly, Meditation is a gift from the gods for people with health problems”

To Conclude, one needs to live in the present. Rumi,the famous Sufi Saint has put it beautifully “Stay here, quivering with each moment, like a drop of mercury” .
One should avoid negativity, should be positive, happy and compassionate and learn believe in the dictum :”giving is receiving. What this translates into is that one should inculcate a habit of giving something to whoever one come across,(without expecting something in return),whether it is kindness, a smile, some help, encouragement, gift, community service or a material thing. The happiness one gets out of these acts leads to a feeling of well being and good health. Dr Bernie Segal has said ‘Unconditional love is the most powerful stimulant of the immune system: Love heals”

One needs to learn to forgive, Herbert Benson says that “when you do not forgive, it will chew you up”!How true! Jesus Christ set such an excellent example by saying ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” at the time of his crucifixion.

Neel Krause quotes a study “In a survey of 1500 people results showed that people who forgave easily tend to enjoy great psychological well being and have less depression than those who hold grudges”
Every cell in your body has a tremendous capacity to heal…allow it to do so!

One needs to find one’s own unique path and travel along it. There is something which only you can do best, better than anyone else in this world! Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison and many others found their unique paths and the rest is history.
Osho has said “That everyone comes into this world with a specific destiny. He has something to fulfil, some message to be delivered, some work to be completed. You are not here accidentally, you are here meaningfully. There is a purpose behind you. The whole intends to do something through you.”

Finally, I would like to stress that all the above mentioned are best achievable by being spiritual and connecting to the supreme being with the help of a god realized guru and by practicing Yoga and Meditation leading to a state of perfect health, happiness and Bliss

Thank you and Namaste…I honour the divinity in you!
I honour the place in you where the Universe resides,
I honour the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honour the place within you where,
If you are in that place,
And I am in that place in me,
There is only one of us.

ONENESS

What is ONENESS?
Oneness basically means merging with the ONE or uniting with God.It can also be called becoming part of ALL THERE IS.These sound very mysterious but in reality are very simple concepts,just like the unbelievably simple person one becomes on merging with Him.The difficulty is in getting or making this to happen!
This may never happen by just READING books on Religion or spirituality or those on self motivation,since by reading alone one may imbibe tremendous knowledge about a particular subject, but this knowledge is of little use till it is actually channeled correctly.To give you an example,one cannot become a specialist in one’s chosen field till one learns to actually practice it after being taught by a teacher,a surgeon cannot become a skilled surgeon by just watching another one operate unless and until he hones his surgical skill by carrying out operations himself,initially under guidance and later by himself.So many analogies can be given.

Similarly,sermons/lectures/meetings certainly do help in PROVIDING knowledge but this knowledge is not of much use till one learns to ASSIMILATE this knowledge,just like the mere act of eating food is not going to be of help to a person till it is absorbed and assimilated by the body,it is only then that the nutrients/vitamins/proteins etc present in the food are going to help.Someone has very correctly said that “Knowing about others is knowledge while knowing about yourself is Enlightenment”and this is what one wishes to achieve by being ONE with HIM.
How does it Happen?
One comes across so many people who can recite the Vedas/Geeta/Bible etc but have they actually been able to LIVE what they preach?The true purpose of every religion is to teach one the way to the Almighty(to become ONE with Him) and it is a God Realised Guru/Swami/Teacher,who himself has become ONE himself, who can do so.
Why should one aspire for ONENESS?
We have a mind,body and spirit or soul.The soul or Atma is a part of Parmatma to which it always wishes to unite and just wants TO BE,while the body believes in action guided by the mind.The soul never imposes itself,it only “whispers”its wish,interpreted as “intuition” but the body only responds to this whisper when the mind is conditioned for the same.When one realises and starts listening to the soul that one tries to merge with Him for it then dawns upon one that the “whisper” or ‘intuition’ is actually God’s way of communicating with one.As this happens one begins to “get ready” for someone who helps one move forward.It is at this juncture that one starts “seeking”the truth.
Someone has so very beautifully compared us to a bubble in the ocean which is made up of water just like the ocean,of which it is a part,but is separated from it by a very thin membrane,which in our case is our EGO.When the bubble bursts it again becomes part of the ocean and no trace remains of the bubble.Similarly when our ego disappears we become part of the ONE.
Many people may,however,still wonder as to WHY should we turn towards Him?After all,many feel that they have most of the material things they wish to have and for all intents and purposes are happy.But on deep introspection they would probably understand that happiness accruing from material things is transitory and disappears once that object is no longer there.The happiness may then be replaced with feelings of sadness/dissatisfaction/sense of loss etc.
This cycle continues and in its wake leaves behind unhappiness/sadness/hurt etc.If,however,one wishes to remain forever happy then one needs to try to achieve BLISS which one can do only by becoming ONE with Him.Bliss is something which cannot be described but can only be FELT and can occur only on becoming ONE with HIM .Once this feeling has been tasted it is impossible to do without!
What are the external and internal manifestations of ONENESS?
Becoming one with Him takes place very subtly and one gradually notices many changes in one,often appreciated by others even before one does himself.The changes can be both EXTERNAL or INTERNAL.The internal changes are the changes in our thoughts,which finally lead to changes in our actions.One starts to “notice”the beauty of nature(nature’s beauty has always been there for us) to see but for the first time one actually ‘feels’ that beauty.A flower suddenly starts giving a feeling of happiness,a plant’s greenery and shade begins to appear as a gift,the myriad shades of a sun rise or sun set makes one realize the beauty of colours,sunshine starts to envelope one in its warmth…….and rain in its coolness.
Gradually a transformation starts taking place and one starts to actually “see” a person’s inner beauty,ie the beauty of the person’s soul as one becomes much more intuitive and seems to get clarity about many things/people/situations/circumstances and it appears that some sort of an inner communication is taking place.One’s instincts become sharper and often answers to questions appear in the form of “feelings”which act as guides and help in taking decisions which turn out to be “correct”.These feelings could be those of happiness,uneasiness,happiness,joy etc. Often one “knows”about an event before it has actually taken place and one can accurately predict(in one’s mind)about many developments which are yet to take place!(A true God realized soul will,of course, refrain from voicing these thoughts,though).
One begins to realize that people around one are probably not as bad as one thought,one begins to feel for them and when hurt by them,gradually understands what forgiveness is(forgiveness does not actually mean that one has condoned that person,nor dies it mean forgetting the incident,but assumes relevence when one actually feels for that person’s well being and sincerely and genuinely wishes him well)!This feeling occurs because now one has realized that anyone who has caused harm in any way is ultimately going to pay for it based on his bad Karma but the one on the path of oneness dose not want him to suffer because one u now “feels” for him even though harmed by him.Feelings of hate/jealousy/envy become almost non existent and are gradually replaced by those of warmth/love/attachment towards humanity.One stops wishing bad for anyone,and gets enveloped in sadness on seeing someone suffer.A feeling of compassion develops for everyone around him.One genuinely feels happy in someone else’s happiness, material things do not carry as much importance as before and a gradual feeling of contentment and happiness sets in.One now realizes that a sense of greed,which may have been a part of one is replaced by just a sense of need which means that one’s requirements now become “need based” rather than ‘desire based”.(This,however,does not mean that one should not live in comfort or not enjoy the good things in life as long as one remains “connected “to Him.This also does not mean that one should sacrifice everything,one’s home,family,etc and go elsewhere to find HIM.One needs to “realise “Him wherever one is,be it home/place of work/a garden,anywhere).As one starts getting ONE with Him,one KNOWS this to be true,rather than” believing “it to be true.One now KNOWS that ‘whatever happens is for good” rather than believing it be so.One understands that if something apparently does not work out the way one wanted it,one KNOWS that it not working out is for one’s good,and that God in His wisdom has probably planned something better.(What is important here is,however,whether one did one’s very best to achieve what one wanted to do or not.If one has done one’s very best and not achieved what one wanted,one should accept it gracefully).One realises that one is supposed to do one’s duty but not worry about the result(Bhagwat Geeta).With gradual ONENESS one knows this to be the “gospel” truth.
Our decisions, which were earlier based on FEAR are no longer so as the feeling of fear gradually ceases to have any meaning.One learns not to be afraid nor to cause any one else to be so as one’s faith in Him becomes unshakeable.Very soon another transformation takes place,that of looking at the world as an “observer’,which means that one understands that all the events/upheavals/good and bad things which earlier affected one so much are just a part of life and one sees them as one watches a movie,without being actually involved!This is what is meant by being “attached yet being dettached’.This happens because of increasing attachment to Him.For detachment to take place first and foremost,one needs to get attached to Him,only then is detachment possible.This does not mean,however,that one stops loving your near and dear ones,since the love for them still remains.
Along with the above changes,one becomes increasingly humble,as slowly but surely our ego starts taking a back seat as one now knows that we are all part of the ONE and no one is bigger or smaller.This translates into respect for our fellow beings,and the barriers of caste/creed/rich/poor/religion/nationality lose their importance.
All these good happenings are also associated with plenty of trials and tribulations as often after a very smooth run suddenly one gets a “setback” which could be in any form but the one on the True path takes it all in his stride despite the fact that these events could recur.
Another form of test is the one when one often “sees”the earlier births of certain human beings one is associated with and the relationship one had with them in the past life or lives.Initially these feelings are uncanny and may cause some confusion but later one realizes not to attach any importance to them and not to get affected by them.

A great sense of “positivity”prevails as one learns to look at things and developments with a positive frame of mind(every event can be viewed both positively or negatively but the one on the path of ONENESS chooses the positive scenario).This positive feeling attracts positive feelings or vibrations(our emotions are energy particles in motion,positive emotions like love/joy/compassion etc attract similar emotions from people or surroundings while negative emotions like hate/anger/jealousy/greed/fear etc invite the same feelings from those around us.The one on the path to God becomes quite choosy about the company he keeps……he chooses not to mix with those who manifest negative emotions and looses interest in gossip and refrains from making negative comments about others.He looks for faults in himself which need correction rather than blame others or find fault with them.
The above mentioned changes make the one travelling on the path of ONENESS a calm,serene and a very peaceful person.His mind is no longer filled with the clutter of gossip as he has now learned to associate himself with only things and events which nourish his soul,the foremost feeling in his mind is that of LOVE,the highest emotion and closest to God.Slowly at first but quite rapidly later all his conditioned responses,feelings and thoughts,which he learned as age advanced(irritation/anger/jealousy/greed/envy/hate etc)are now replaced with the higher emotions of love/forgiveness and joy.The conditioned responses get peeled off like the rings of an onion till only a beautiful core remains!He becomes like a child,shorn of all negativity,after all an infant is the purest stage of a human being,closest to Him!
All this translates into a being who radiates a beautiful aura of love and affection with tremendously positive vibrations,whatever he utters has a divine quality,his demeanour radiates peace,and his presence inspires confidence………..his foremost emotion is the highest one,that of LOVE and BLISS…..and GODLIKE!