Swami Muktananda, master of the Siddha Yoga technique of meditation, in his work The Play of Consciousness explains that

in advanced stages of meditation the seeker gains access to the supra-causal state of consciousness in sahasrara, the highest spiritual centre in the brain, where he finds himself engulfed by the Sphere of Unmanifest Light. When this sphere opens up in deep meditation and its light is released, the brilliance of a million suns starts blazing all around, leaving the seeker completely dumbfounded. Describing his experience, Swamiji writes: The light was so fierce that I could not stand it.That brilliance had drawn me towards itself, and as I gazed at it, I lost consciousness and felt as if my prana (life force) was departing out of my body. Many advanced seekers are gripped by intense fear when they reach this stage as they are haunted by fear of death. It is precisely for this reason that before bestowing upon the seeker the ultimate beatitude of spiritual enlightenment, the master makes absolutely sure that the seeker has reached a high level of purity. This is achieved through regular practice of meditation in order that he is able to absorb the overwhelming experience of the dazzling rays of consciousness that penetrate his being. Swami Muktananda assures that after remaining in the state of unconsciousness for about an hour and a half, the seeker comes out of it completely unscathed and his fear of death vanishes forever. The seeker then receives the choicest blessings of Mother Kundalini and reaches a stage in meditation where, to his utter delight and amazement, he begins to soar in the vast expanse of astral zones in a tiny Blue Star, called the self-propelled vehicle of the individual soul. He sees many astral worlds that are made of subtle vibrations of light and colour which are hundreds of times larger and infinitely more beautiful than the material cosmos. The inhabitants of these worlds have luminous bodies and they use astral vehicles or masses of light to travel from one planet to another at lightning speed. Swamiji informs that the Blue Star abides in the sahasrara of every individual, and it is this star that transports the individuals soul from one body to another in the process of transmigration. After ones physical demise this Star carries the individuals soul to different astral worlds in accordance with his accumulated sins and virtues. The mystic experience of the explosion of the Blue Star in meditation is a matter of great fortune for the seeker because this signifies liberation of the individual soul and the termination of the vicious circle of the process of transmigration. Thereafter, the seekers meditation gets stabilised in the upper spaces of sahasrara where, by the grace of his master, he is blessed by the supremely auspicious vision of the Neel Purush or Blue Being who emerges from a tiny Blue Dot and showers His blessings upon the seeker. Seeing this Divine form that is composed of the infinite blue rays of consciousness, the seeker is left completely entranced. The seeker then passes into the state of nirvikalpa samadhi and realisation dawns on him that the entire universe is nothing but a blissful sport of consciousness. Swami Muktananda says: The Blue Being is the Supreme Light of all lights; the shining, blazing, infinite Light that pervades everywhere in the form of the universe. Swami Muktananda entered mahasamadhi on October 2, 1982
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Its not about Biharis, Marathis are hurting their fellow Marathis

Chetan Bhagat

Recently, an upcoming political party in Maharashtra created a huge fuss. It blamed nonMarathis for creating problems for Marathis living in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra. Its prime target was Biharis, people of a state known for its relatively higher proportion of migrant labour population. This party claimed that non-Marathis come to Maharashtra seeking opportunities, which mounts pressure on infrastructure and jobs meant for the existing Marathis. Implicit in this was the wildly erroneous assumption that the local economy and state resources from drinking water to real estate and advertised jobs are a Marathi entitlement. Quite conveniently, ignoring that the companies doing business in Mumbai or the farmers growing vegetables may be selling their goods all over the country, and thus earning revenue from everywhere. This racist political rhetoric also never mentioned that a Marathi youth, just like any other Indian youth, is entitled to join national colleges or jobs like the IIT or the army respectively. If you apply even basic reasoning and logic, the tirade of keeping non-Marathis out or blaming them for Maharashtras woes falls flat on its face at best. At worst, it may even be a criminal offence amounting to racism and hate speech. But we Indians are not known for logic. Be it our movies or political pitches emotions matter more than reason, or even truth. Blaming non-Marathis, thus, provides a strong emotional hook. Its a form of collective catharsis, which allows a section of Marathis to vent their pain. Many suffer daily from an aam admi in potholed Mumbai to a poor farmer in under-irrigated Vidarbha. It is nice to have someone to blame, especially when their leader ratifies such a notion. It has to be someone not like them. And Biharis happen to be an easy target. Its extremely hard to reason with such emotionally charged people. Hence, arguments about all Indians being equal, or the national economy and workforce being one and seamless, wont be bought. So, while radical politicians thrive, reasonable ones sink. However, the real irony of the situation was revealed last fortnight: the biggest irrigation scam was conducted in Maharashtra, by Marathis, and against Marathis. Yes, the main accused in the scam are not Biharis. If you thought a poor migrant family standing in line for a bucket of water was the cause of Mumbais problems, think again. It is some bad Marathi, voted to power by good Marathis, who robbed the latter silly. It is the Marathi politicians running one of the most corrupt state governments in India. It is your own people, those you trust, who have kept the state backward. There is no reason for Maharashtra to be so poor. It has a vast educated class, hardworking workforce, large land area, ample connectivity, besides housing Mumbai, Indias commercial hub. And yet, Maharashtras farmers continue to have one of the highest suicide rates in the country. The government has been using irrigation projects as an excuse to siphon off projects to their friends. They have kept the farmers poor and themselves and their friends rich. However, there is little focus on these issues. When cornered, Marathi politicians point fingers at the non-Marathis, or use other deflection tactics. What makes them do this? Because they can take the Marathi population for granted. In fact, heres another irony in the recent irrigation scam. The day the accused deputy CM resigned, other ministers too threatened to resign. In most parts of the world, a politician accused of massive corruption, against no less than farmers, would become a political untouchable. Here, almost everyone in his party expressed solidarity. As if the accused was somehow the victim here. Obviously, the ministers chose to side with the accused as they felt confident this wont damage their electoral prospects. In fact, abandoning the leader, despite the charges, appeared to be a bad strategy. In other words, the people of Maharashtra wouldnt care about corruption when it came to voting. They would only care about their revered Marathi

leaders and their relatives continuing to rule them. Even if that means farmers not having good irrigation facilities and Mumbai better roads. Who is hurting whom here? Is it really the Biharis hurting the Marathis? Or is it time to swallow the bitter pill and accept this Maharashtra is backward because it is the bad Marathis that are hurting the good Marathis. Whether it is placing blind faith in divisive or corrupt leaders simply because they are Marathi; or whether it is the wrong criterion of identity vs issues, when it comes to voting, the damage the Marathis are causing to themselves is immense. What is shocking is Marathis are one of the most forward-looking, culturally rich, modern communities. Marathi literature comprises some of the most vibrant, progressive vernacular writings in India. And yet, there has been little introspection on what has gone wrong in state politics and community values. You may not like hearing this. However, i say this out of caring for my adopted home state, and sometimes caring is expressed as a bitter but necessary pill. As a Maharashtra resident its painful to see people suffering everyday. They clearly deserve better. Let the intellectuals and leaders of the Marathi community lead an introspection drive. Let us reclaim the glory of a community that has been eroded by some who betrayed their trust. And let us realise that what matters more in life is good people or bad people, not Marathis or non-Marathis. The writer is a best-selling novelist.

THE SPEAKING TREE

Most Have Relationship Problems

Satsang: Swami Brahmdev

You have followers from many parts of the world. What kind of problems do they have? People all over the world have similar problems. Most of them have to do with relationships and so i say they are self-created. There is misunderstanding and the relationship breaks down. The person in question suffers from an attachment shock...or the shock that his attachment has been severed without his wanting it to be so. There is mental and emotional imbalance. Different people react to the situation differently...some replace their attachment by getting into a relationship with someone else. Once again attached, they feel happy. There are some who cannot or are unable to do this and so fall into deep depression. That is when they meet me. Relationships and how to keep them are the main problems. Why do we have problems with relationships? Life is all about connections. Our mental, emotional, physical and psychic selves only establish connections, be it with nature, people or things. We dont know how to relate to them. We do not build relationships. When we connect with consciousness and awareness with what is around us, only then do we actually relate to them. But we do relate to something and that is our selfish nature. Any action based on the selfish motive will not endure long. We use the word relationship and it sounds beautiful but actually what we are doing is just making arrangements. We want a comfortable life and so we make arrangements that are comfortable. But we dont have the courage to admit that we have formed a certain

relationship for comfort. We fool ourselves into thinking it is love or something more. An arrangement sooner or later breaks down or has to change. Dont you often rearrange your furniture? Our life, built around the idea of comfort, calls for arrangements. From our young years itself, we are geared to think of becoming economically independent, have a family and home which is secure...it is all an arrangement. But we have come to feel that this is the only way to live. Because we are tied to such stereotypes, unwilling to look beyond, we suffer. We are so closely related to the sun and to water, for example, but what relationship have we built with them? How to build a relationship? You have to lose your ego and expand your inner self. We respond to all situations based on the limited knowledge that we have. This knowledge too is derived from ignorance because we are basing it on the experience given to us by our senses. Realised knowledge is what has survived through the ages and we revere as scriptures. To lose your ego you have to understand that you do not know everything and so should be flexible, should be willing to go with the flow...to take life as it comes and go where it takes you. If we cooperate a little with life, it puts us through many situations and pressures. That is what we also call pain. Any pressure awakens you and you are in the present. Nature is trying to guide you to take a U-turn and move inward. With patience you can learn from any situation. If even a small bit of learning establishes itself in you, it will expand your inner self. Then a true relationship will be built with all that is around you, animate or inanimate. aurovalley@gmail.com

Transforming Self And Nation

Swami Swatmananda

When the vision of oneness, a higher vision, is absent it creates divisions in the family, company, community, nation and the world. Self-importance is the cause for divisions at any level. In a family there are conflicts, in a company there is manipulation, in a community there is fanaticism, in a country each state wants its own independence and internationally there are wars. This is all because of the absence of vision of oneness one harmonious family, one strong nation, one peaceful global family. When there is a great vision but nothing is done to implement it, it remains as imagination. There may be great spiritual knowledge and cultural glory yet we suffer because we need much more implementation and application of the knowledge. Hence vision coupled with action alone causes transformation. Transformation is not just change. Change is often reversible and external. But transformation is lasting and happens from within. A nation transforms from a developing nation to a developed nation. We have transformed as a country to attain political freedom and have come a long way since then. We have the potential to lead the world in the decades to come. To manifest that potential into performance, vision into action, we need fundamental transformation and not just in the Constitution, judiciary, political system, education, infrastructure, economy and transport. What we need is transformation of attitudes and mindsets. We want an efficient, united, corruptionfree, prosperous, truly educated and just India. But have we thought what India needs from us? India needs transformed people with vision. A geographical area where a population survives is called a country. A geographical area where a people live is called a nation. How are we to transform population into people? Nation-building should necessarily have a goal for the whole nation, with which each one can get inspired. With such a devoted goal we can surrender our ego and selfish desires, says Swami Chinmayananda. We need transformation in seven areas to enable personal, holistic transformation and through that, a transformed India. If Indians transform to become physically fit, emotionally strong, intellectually refined, culturally rooted, actively patriotic and spiritually uplifted with the vision of universal oneness, India will be revitalised. Indians will not only gain at a personal level, but will be positive contributors to society across the world, says Swami Mitrananda of the Chinmaya Yuva Kendra. A timid Lakshmi was transforming into a brave Rani of Jhansi; India fought back the oppressors. When India was slumbering, Narendra was transforming into Swami Vivekananda and India went from weakness to strength. When Jamsetji Tata transformed to be the Father of Indian Industry, India began to recognise its potential to compete globally. When India was struggling for freedom, M K Gandhi was transforming into Mahatma Gandhi, and India was on its way to attaining political freedom. When Verghese transformed into Amul Verghese Kurien India grew from insufficiency into the largest milk producing country in the world. The new generation today is awake to ancient wisdom across cultures that tirelessly assert that In individual transformation lies world redemption. The writer is president and acharya, Chinmaya Mission, Mumbai.

Negative portrayal of Islam has resulted in a lack of appreciation of its history and culture, particularly of the love, passion and veneration Muslims have for Prophet Muhammad. For Muslims, he is the most perfect of creation and an exemplar for mankind as the Quran testifies. Muslims model their entire life around the life of their beloved Prophet. Mercy, peace and compassion are the foundations of the Prophetic Message. Muhammad famously said, The best of Islam is to feed the hungry, and offer (salaams) blessings of peace to those who you know and those who you do not know. He reminded people that, All of mankind belongs to Gods family. The Holy Book records how through centuries, most prophets of God including Muhammad have been insulted, mocked and rejected. Before all of Mecca embraced Islam, many desert Arabs were rude to him, but he returned their rudeness with kindness. They called him a magician, impostor and hurled abuses at him. The famous poets among the pagan Arabs wrote poetry that ridiculed him and Gods message. When his faithful companions got agitated and wanted to take revenge, Muhammad told them to exercise patience and God consciousness. It was amidst great opposition and difficulties that Muhammad furthered Gods message, sacrificing his wealth, family, health and personal comfort. When Muhammad invited the people of Taif to Islam, they not only rejected his message, but hurled stones at him and he had to take shelter in an orchard outside Taif, covered in his own blood. He prayed for forgiveness of the transgressors saying, Forgive them O lord, for they know not what they do. Uncompromising in the pursuit for social justice, Muhammad remained a passionate defender of the oppressed, the poor, slaves, women and children. He warned of extremism, a recognised discourse even during his time. He said, Moderation! Moderation! For only with moderation will you succeed. He retained strong ties with members of different clans and his kin who had not accepted Islam, He continued social and financial interactions with non-Muslims based on trust and mutual respect. Prophet Muhammad said a strong person is one who controls his anger. A hot-headed Arab came to him for advice on how to apply Islam to his life and the Prophet just said dont get angry. To another seeker all that the Prophet advised was never tell a lie. He stressed on the necessity of being kind to ones neighbour. He said the best way to judge character was to ask the neighbours of what they thought of the man or woman. His revered companions were known not to eat their meals before making sure that all the people in the neighbourhood had enough to eat. The Medina Document was written during the life of the Prophet after he established the first Islamic state. The Jews, Christians, pagans and Muslims were all signatories to this Charter that declared them equal citizens of Medina without being assimilated into one religion, language and culture. There was never to be any compulsion in religion. Muhammad created a community that was not based on tribes or blood but ideology, but he never imposed ideological conformity. With the rise in prejudices and the rhetoric of hate, it is time to overcome religious bigotry and revisit the true legacy of Prophet Muhammad.

Vis-a-visa
As technology makes travel easier, bureaucracy makes it tougher

Jug Suraiya

Istanbul fabled meeting point of East and West is an increasingly popular tourist destination. It can also be a very tiring tourist destination. This is partly because there are so many sights to see there: the Hagia Sofia, the ancient church-turned-mosque-turnedmuseum; the Blue Mosque; the Topkapi Palace; the Bosphorus which separates Europe from Asia. But Turkey can be tiring even before you get there. And the tiring part involves getting a visa. Planning a Turkish holiday, Bunny and i got the visa application forms online. Apart from valid passports, the required documentation included colour photos, letters from employers, pre-paid airline tickets, pre-paid hotel vouchers, photocopies of credit cards, certified bank statements for the past six months and certified income tax receipts for the past three years. Certified copies of our gotras and our janam patris were not required, which was just as well as neither of us knows our respective gotras, nor do we have janam patris, certified or un-. By the time we got all the paperwork together the package weighed what telephone directories used to weigh before mobile phones made them obsolete. Even as airliners have made travel much easier, obstacle courses called visas have made travel not just to Turkey, but everywhere much tougher. In days when travel by sea or land was a perilous business, there were no passports or visas. The British came to India and hung around for over 200 years before remembering to go back home. And before the Brits there were the Mughals, and before that Alexander the Great, and before that the Aryans, and before that who knows who else. A lot of coming and going, in those days. And not a visa or a passport to be seen. But as travel became faster and easier, with planes whizzing passengers around all over the globe, it also became harder, thanks to restrictive rules and regulations on the free movement of people across borders. All governments including the Indian government cite practical reasons, like national security and the need to check illegal immigration, for such restrictions. While this is certainly valid, could there be another, less obvious reason for such regulatory hurdles? The conquest of geography by technology that enables us to soar over mountains, oceans, and deserts threatened to take the mystique out of travel. But that mystique has been brought back thanks to the holy grail of the visa that travellers must go on quest for before they can even hope to voyage to remote shores. Tourists are the secular pilgrims of today. Like all pilgrims who leave the comfort of home to pay homage at some distant and difficult-to-reach shrine, tourists journey to far-flung places braving incomprehensible languages and strange foods, unfamiliar customs and outlandish currencies in pursuit of the exotic. However, the merit of any pilgrimage is in direct proportion to the difficulty involved in undertaking it. Whether its Vaishno Devi with its steep ascent, or the Vatican with its steeper admission fees, all pilgrimage spots are designed to test the faith of the pilgrim. Which could be the other reason why governments make it tough for the new-age pilgrims called tourists to travel at will without overcoming a host of hindrances. For what use a distant horizon if it can be reached without effort? And whats a spectacular vista, of Istanbul or anywhere else, but a t for tourist stuck in the middle of a visa?