A Very Happy Diwali-2011

Jivananda – Bliss for your Soul With Diwali round the corner, you can already feel festivities in the air.  Families are upbeat about the ‘National Festival’ and are busy in cleaning  and decorating their houses for the big day. But, let us all, for a moment,  reflect on something very important. Do we really know what Diwali means?

The Significance of Diwali                           Ravana, the ruler of Lanka, in the epic Ramayana. In essence, the festival  signifies the victory of good over evil.  However, in Hindu philosophy, Diwali signifies "the awareness of the inner light".  It is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind  which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called theAtma or Jiva (soul). Diwali is an  occasion to realise and know this inner light, which outshines all darkness,  removes all obstacles, and dispels all ignorance.  The realization of Atma gives us Life, Light and Love (Jiva, Jyoti, Prem). And,  when we learn to love and serve our loved ones unconditionally, without  expecting anything in return, we bring ananda (joy) in our lives.According  to Hindu mythology, Diwali marks the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom  of Ayodhya after defeating                          What does Ayurveda say?  The core philosophy of Ayurveda is to clean the body, mind and senses and realise that ‘I am soul’. All ancient Ayurvedic texts ultimately aim at cleansing not only the physical, but also the subtle, that is, the sub-conscious mind (chitta).  In this festive season, we urge you to utilise the knowledge engrained in  ancient Ayurvedic texts and purify yourself of all evils. In our fast paced lives, we often forget to clean our body and senses.  Our minds too are perpetually over-stimulated with stress, worries and  negative thoughts. With the body, mind and senses unclean, it is impossible  to realise the soul. That’s why, even though many of us are trying to find  peace by meditating or chanting mantras, we still do not feel that joy in  our lives.   Courtesy- Jiva Ayurveda

Work Is Worship

Life is a struggle; one must fight the battle of life bravely. Everybody who takes birth has to die one day. Therefore, one should make the best of life. Time at our disposal is very short. We must make the best use of every minute given to us by GOD. Life consists of action, not contemplation. Those who do not act, but go on hesitating and postponing things achieve nothing in life. Such persons as go on thinking and brooding can never attain the heights of glory.

A short life full of action is much better than a long life of inactivity and indolence. Tennyson has rightly remarked that one crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name. a man lives in deeds, not in years. Age or height does not matter. What matters is what one makes of life. Ben Johnson, the school-poet writes:

“It is not growing big in bulk like a tree

Doth make man better be.”

An Oak tree lives for 3 hindered years but it falls down as a dry, bald and useless log of wood. In contrast, a lily flower lives only for a day but it spreads its sweet fragnance all around and it is a source of joy and pleasure for all. A good life is a life lived for the good of others. It is a selfless life of service and dedication.

Life is action. Contemplation is not bad but is useless if it is not transformed into action. Noble thoughts are of no use if they are not transformed into hard work. Man is an image of God. He has not been sent to this world just to eat, live and sleep. An animal does the same, but a man must make some positive contribution to this world during one’s life time. A man who does nothing is forgotten as soon as he dies. According to great philosophers real life lies in hard work. Hard work is real worship.

Longfellow has perfectly written:

“The heights by great men reached and kept,

Were not attained by sudden flight,

But they, while their companions slept,

Were toiling upward in the night.”