One good deed for the day
My guru Swami Shivkrupanand of Samarpan meditation inspires me in many ways. One inspiration is his plea to try to do at least one good deed a day as a way to enhance your inner humanity.
For those who ask, "But how can I?" he says, it can be even the little things you do, even as ordinary as helping someone cross the street or picking up someone's bags. He gives the example of a barber who only has a comb, a pair of scissors and a bowl the size of one's head but refuses to accept payment from the first customer of the day, as a social service.
If this poor barber can do it, why not us? Last year, at least 200 000 people supported the Pray For Peace Day initiative. Today so many more on either side of the border are rife with enthusiasm for better relations between both countries and are dialoguing on social development to help each other out. So, for this year's Independence days for India and Pakistan, like many other peacemakers, I have a wish.
The Pray For Peace Day idea was based on people creating the aura of peace through the power of collective prayer, open for anyone to participate regardless of faith. The idea is inspired from our history, where Sri Aurobindo Ghose, a well-known freedom fighter against the British and a revered guru, created an enabling aura of peace through intense meditation in isolation. During this time, other well-known gurus incuding Ram Krishna Paramhansa and Swami Vivekanand made similar efforts. Their meditations and prayers created support for many freedom fighters and contributed to South Asia's freedom from the British.
Many of us are familiar with the idea of the power of prayer when done in numbers, but I wonder how many are aware of some eastern concepts about the auras we create. If we analyze how we feel in certain places or around certain people, we may notice our feelings. In a place of worship, we may feel a great sense of peace, while in the supermarket with big crowds we may get mixed feelings. How, as the same person, do you go from feeling peaceful to being irritated? You may find that around some people you feel very peaceful while others make you feel angrier even if they didn't say very much. This is because of the aura of a person or place and the kinds of thoughts they emphasise.
Some people feel peaceful no matter where they are because they have created the sense of peace and aura within themselves. In some rare cases, people have such strong auras that they can affect those around them even at a great distance, as in the case of saints of different faiths. According to eastern beliefs, the average person has an aura that ranges from 10-15 feet. So if everyone tried to create their 10 feet world of peace in their own way, what a peaceful world we could have. And peace starts with your attitudes and intentions or prayers.
In a world that perceives its greatest threat to be insecurity, ancient eastern philosophy also teaches that a very developed aura can also provide protection not just for yourself but also for those around you - accidents or mishaps tend not to occur in the vicinity of such an aura. So where guns fail in providing security, an individual's aura has the potential to do much by its power. Developing your aura is an exercise that takes time whereas prayers can be done much more easily in numbers.
So my wish and request for all is to pray for peace between India and Pakistan in your style as part of a good deed for the day on Aug 14 and 15. On this day, we are also encouraging people to put their creative spin on a good deed related for the betterment of both countries. It could be praying together in your styles in a neighborhood for a few minutes or doing art, yoga, playing sports, music, writing, facebooking a prayer or anything you can think of. You may want to get children to take the time to pray in their school functions for this or get co-workers to join.
Eastern philosophy also teaches the belief that you will pull in energy from wherever you focus your attention, chit shakti. So if our thoughts or visions are based on attaining peace or development, we'll likely pull in that. Simply put, you'll attract what you think. For a more westernised explanation of how this concept works, check out the link for the Hindi version of Rhonda Byrne's docudrama "The Secret":http://youtu.be/OD02fWWNJKM
In the world of faith, not everything is explainable according to western ideas of logic and rational thinking. Circumstances may start happening according to the end thought you have even though you have not planned for it. "Jahan pe budhi ki samaapti hoti hai vahan pe paramatma ki shuruat hoti hai" as my guru would say. (Where the intellect ends, universal consciousness/God begins).
So here is at least an alternative vision for peace and progress for both countries, and perhaps, the world.
For more information, email Swati_Sharanca@yahoo.ca
or connect on the Facebook Event "Celebrate Pakistan, India Independence Days for Peace, Aug 14-15, 2012" - http://on.fb.me/LcHOeU
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Swati Sharan urges peacemakers to consider the power of faith and collective prayer
My guru Swami Shivkrupanand of Samarpan meditation inspires me in many ways. One inspiration is his plea to try to do at least one good deed a day as a way to enhance your inner humanity.
For those who ask, "But how can I?" he says, it can be even the little things you do, even as ordinary as helping someone cross the street or picking up someone's bags. He gives the example of a barber who only has a comb, a pair of scissors and a bowl the size of one's head but refuses to accept payment from the first customer of the day, as a social service.
If this poor barber can do it, why not us? Last year, at least 200 000 people supported the Pray For Peace Day initiative. Today so many more on either side of the border are rife with enthusiasm for better relations between both countries and are dialoguing on social development to help each other out. So, for this year's Independence days for India and Pakistan, like many other peacemakers, I have a wish.The Pray For Peace Day idea was based on people creating the aura of peace through the power of collective prayer, open for anyone to participate regardless of faith. The idea is inspired from our history, where Sri Aurobindo Ghose, a well-known freedom fighter against the British and a revered guru, created an enabling aura of peace through intense meditation in isolation. During this time, other well-known gurus incuding Ram Krishna Paramhansa and Swami Vivekanand made similar efforts. Their meditations and prayers created support for many freedom fighters and contributed to South Asia's freedom from the British.
Many of us are familiar with the idea of the power of prayer when done in numbers, but I wonder how many are aware of some eastern concepts about the auras we create. If we analyze how we feel in certain places or around certain people, we may notice our feelings. In a place of worship, we may feel a great sense of peace, while in the supermarket with big crowds we may get mixed feelings. How, as the same person, do you go from feeling peaceful to being irritated? You may find that around some people you feel very peaceful while others make you feel angrier even if they didn't say very much. This is because of the aura of a person or place and the kinds of thoughts they emphasise.
Some people feel peaceful no matter where they are because they have created the sense of peace and aura within themselves. In some rare cases, people have such strong auras that they can affect those around them even at a great distance, as in the case of saints of different faiths. According to eastern beliefs, the average person has an aura that ranges from 10-15 feet. So if everyone tried to create their 10 feet world of peace in their own way, what a peaceful world we could have. And peace starts with your attitudes and intentions or prayers.
In a world that perceives its greatest threat to be insecurity, ancient eastern philosophy also teaches that a very developed aura can also provide protection not just for yourself but also for those around you - accidents or mishaps tend not to occur in the vicinity of such an aura. So where guns fail in providing security, an individual's aura has the potential to do much by its power. Developing your aura is an exercise that takes time whereas prayers can be done much more easily in numbers.
So my wish and request for all is to pray for peace between India and Pakistan in your style as part of a good deed for the day on Aug 14 and 15. On this day, we are also encouraging people to put their creative spin on a good deed related for the betterment of both countries. It could be praying together in your styles in a neighborhood for a few minutes or doing art, yoga, playing sports, music, writing, facebooking a prayer or anything you can think of. You may want to get children to take the time to pray in their school functions for this or get co-workers to join.
Eastern philosophy also teaches the belief that you will pull in energy from wherever you focus your attention, chit shakti. So if our thoughts or visions are based on attaining peace or development, we'll likely pull in that. Simply put, you'll attract what you think. For a more westernised explanation of how this concept works, check out the link for the Hindi version of Rhonda Byrne's docudrama "The Secret":http://youtu.be/OD02fWWNJKM
In the world of faith, not everything is explainable according to western ideas of logic and rational thinking. Circumstances may start happening according to the end thought you have even though you have not planned for it. "Jahan pe budhi ki samaapti hoti hai vahan pe paramatma ki shuruat hoti hai" as my guru would say. (Where the intellect ends, universal consciousness/God begins).
So here is at least an alternative vision for peace and progress for both countries, and perhaps, the world.
For more information, email Swati_Sharanca@yahoo.ca
or connect on the Facebook Event "Celebrate Pakistan, India Independence Days for Peace, Aug 14-15, 2012" - http://on.fb.me/LcHOeU
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Aman ki Asha: Profit of peace
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Amritsar village celebrates Nawaz Sharif's win
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party in the recently held elections in Pak .....more
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On April 20, peace activist and educationist Ashfaq Fateh, 41, passed away in hospital after doctors unsuccessfully operated on a liver tumo .....more
By Beena SarwarOn April 20, peace activist and educationist Ashfaq Fateh, 41, passed away in hospital after doctors unsuccessfully operated on a liver tumo .....more
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