ARANI SERIES
Spark 32
Sunday, April 30, 2017
MODERN APPLICATIONS OF ANCIENT WISDOM
8 Teachings of Indian Spirituality that are Relevant Today
(..while there are a thousand more..)
Countless are the pieces of guidance that we receive from our Indian Spiritual Heritage, for our books of wisdom are vast and the sages, mystics, enlightened ladies and men have also been simply numerous. However here are some pointers selected rather randomly.
1 Health and fitness:
Shiva makes kind enquiries of Pārvati, when the latter had been doing severe tapas; the Lord, disguised as a mendicant, asks her if she was taking proper care of her body! All of us know how our heritage developed the sciences of yoga and āyurveda to very high levels of sophistication.
The body is indeed the first instrument in all that we do towards growing spiritually.
shareeram-ādyam khalu dharma-sādhanam
(Kumāra-Sambhava 5.33 of Kālidāsa)
2 Way to be free of heart burn, and optimize performance:
The principle of Karma-yoga, where we are asked to stay focussed on “what we can give,” and not make a big issue of “what we get”, is the great, open secret of reducing all our heart burn.
karmani eva adhikāras-te
(Geetā chapter 2.47)
3 Motivation, gathering new energy:
We must again and again remember that much of our sorrow, if not all, is caused by the play of our own mind. Therefore the Upanishads ask us to ‘now sink in despair’ but rather get up and get going!
uttisthata, jāgrata, prāpya varān nibodhata
(Kathopanishad 1.3.14)
4 Inner poise enables us to face all adversity:
Today’s world is getting more and more caught in the “outer world” of comforts, convenience and pleasure. Geetā exhorts us to build inner strength through spiritual study, regular meditation and selfless work. When there is enrichment within us, even grave situations fail to throw us off balance.
na duhkhena gurunā api vichaalyate
(Geetā 6.22)
5 Stress reduction through tri-karana-shuddhi:
The spiritual teachings of India have always kept in mind the holistic development of the individual. The body, the mind, the intellect and speech have especially been identified as areas where continual development is necessary. The body, the speech and the intellect have been called tri-karanas (three main instruments). If these are kept fit, 9 out of 10 stressful circumstances will lose their ability to affect us.
kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair-indriyair-api (Geetā 5.11)
kāyena vāchā manasendriyair vā… (well-known prayer to Lord Nārāyana)
6 Holistic vision:
The whole universe runs on a ‘give-and-take’ basis. We receive a lot from Nature (environment), from people and from our own body. What do we give them? We owe them a lot, and the way to do so is through yajna, dāna and tapas respectively.
yajne tapasi dāne cha sthitih sad-iti uchyate
(Geetā 17.27)
7 Three ways we can take our life to heights of meaningfulness:
In an extraordinary story that we find in the Brihadāranyaka Upanishad, a mono-syllable advice “da” from God holds the answers to setting ourselves right. Our tendencies to indulge in excessive pleasure, to hoard more wealth than we need and to behave in unkind ways are addressed by “da”, which stands for “restrain, give and show compassion”.
dāmyata, datta, dayadhwam (Brihadāranyaka Upanishad 5.2.3)
8 Panacea for all ailments of human life:
How are we to do all that is advised in the great books or by the illumined souls? Despite our good intentions, we seem to fail miserably. The Geetā here gives us a golden advice – Remember Me constantly, and keep doing your duty!
mām anusmara yudhya cha
(Geetā 8.7)
Swami Chidananda
(..in Raleigh, North Carolina)