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Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Viswamitra, Feb 9, 2020.

  1. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    What is conversion? Conversion is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as the process of converting something from one thing to another. When we travel overseas, we convert our currency into another in order to use that in a foreign land. Apart from the commission we pay for such conversion, the value of the currency we brought and the currency into which we have converted remain the same assuming the same purchase power parity.

    In many countries, people are converted from one religion to another. Instead of worshiping God X, they worship God Y. The way of worship may vary based on the religion practiced, but their culture, the problems in life, what they seek while praying remain unchanged. People who worship in different languages such as English, Hebrew, Urdu, and Sanskrit are all praising the Lord and His qualities.

    The fire converts everything it consumes into ashes despite what is put into its flame. It doesn’t differentiate whether it is plant, insect, animal or human. The heat converts pulse, vegetables, meat, etc. into the delicious food we consume. The Sun’s rays help the plant to get starch as much as it helps human beings to have the light that is essential for living.

    Similarly, the life of ours need to be converted into divine existence and that is the primary purpose of life. Using the world to worship the creator, helping to establish peace and justice in society and nurture this body to achieve these two objectives are essential in life. They are called Yagna, Dana and Tapas respectively.

    When we do our actions with the attitude of sacrifice and do it skillfully, selflessly and lovingly complying to the unwritten rule of law of this world, it becomes Yagna. When we do actions to serve the people in need/work towards establishing peace and justice in the world, we are inducting positive vibrations into the society and therefore it becomes Dana. These two can’t be done without controlling our body, mind and intellect that was gifted by the creator to be used in the society and therefore, it is called Tapas. Even eating the right food in moderation, reading and listening to good value-based content and discriminating the right from wrong that exists in the society are spiritual exercises. In fact, Tapas performed while in the society is much more significant than the Tapas performed in the forest as they have no selfish motive about own spiritual progress.

    We are divine beings having a human experience but through our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and actions, we have walked far away from the original state of Sat-Chit-Ananda. Our thoughts are the root causes for our desires and attachments binding us permanently to the place we visit to progress. When we pay so much attention to our outer journey, we barely spend any time watching how much progress we make in our inner journey of piercing the five koshas to reach our original state of Sat-Chit-Ananda. The Maha Vakyas such as “Prajnanam Brahma”, “Ayam Atma Brahma”, “Tat Tvam Asi” and “Aham Brahma Asmi” are directing us to focus our attention on our inner journey.

    The real conversion we need to work on is our inner journey from ignorance to knowledge, from our transient state to steady and permanent state, from sensory life to conscious-driven life, from selfish to selflessness, from desire-driven life to the ceiling on desires, from attachment to trusteeship, from attraction and repulsion to equipoised mindset, body-consciousness to Atmavishvasa and finally form to formless. Understanding there is nothing valuable that exist outside that is more precious than what resides inside of us is the objectivity we need to realize. What we need to transform ourselves is already with us and it is the processes through which we achieve our goal is not visible to the thoughtful mind.
     
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  2. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    :hello:The conclusion is unmistakable.
    Thanks for the wonderful contemplative write-up.
    Regards.
     
    Viswamitra likes this.
  3. sln

    sln Platinum IL'ite

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  4. sln

    sln Platinum IL'ite

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    Dear Viswa,.
    Ramana Maharishis thoughts on self realisation are a wonderful treatise on inner self."Dont be satisfied with stories,how things have gone with others.Unfold your own myth.Often it is not about becoming a new person but becoming the person you were meant to be and already are but dont know how to be"is a wonderful advice given to discover ourselves.Good that you penned on something other than the mundane.
    Regards SLN
     
  5. Amulet

    Amulet IL Hall of Fame

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    :sconf::roflmao:RFLOL....
    Ah...haa.. :rolleyes:
    So it was Ramana Maharishi who had encouraged IL'ites to post on this forum, their own version of the abuses suffered in their marital household at the hands of husband and/or MIL.
    Recently when I read the longish essay about Kajol 2.0, the relaunch, (I didn't know that) she had paraphrased Ramana Maharishi. She also recommended a specific brand of cosmetics to "know how to be" the one you already are, but didn't realize it.
     
  6. iyerviji

    iyerviji Finest Post Winner

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    Awesome post. You are a book of knowledge. So much to learn from you. God bless you with good health always
     
    Thyagarajan and Viswamitra like this.
  7. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Viswa,
    As always, you have dealt with 'conversion' defining yagna, dana and tapas in your inimitable way.
    Bhagavatgita is a concrete example of having its goal as ''transformation'.
    Whenever a student needs advice in a spiritual field,it is generally given by the spiritual teacher in some quiet, secluded place such as a temple, ashram, or church. Bhagavad Gita is unique in this respect. It was revealed by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra amidst the hustle and bustle and great noise of chariots, elephants, horses, bows, arrows, etc.

    Mostly we don’t let the charioteer(Intelligence) on duty. The reins (mind) are flapping around freely without the proper inner guidance and not giving instruction to the horses (senses). Hence they wander freely down any road they feel like in response to their past memories (Chitta). The chariot (body) takes a beating, the horses (senses) get tired, the reins (mind)) get worn, and the charioteer (Intelligence) gets lazy. The passenger is completely ignored.
    Put the charioteer back on the job: The solution to the problem is to retrain the charioteer (Intelligence) to pick up the reins (mind) and start giving some direction to the horses (senses). This training is called sadhana (spiritual practice). It means training all of the levels of ourselves so that we might experience the still, silent, eternal center.
    Allow the charioteer to serve the passenger: As the charioteer (Intelligence) becomes more stabilized in being back on the job, there is an ever increasing awareness of the fact the entire purpose of the chariot, horses, reins, and charioteer, are to serve as instruments for the passenger, the true Self.

    This is the essence of Gita.
    Gita is essentially a transformation.
    In the beginning we see Arjuna in tears totally unwilling to fight.He throws away his bows and arrows.After Gita is revealed to him,he is totally free from delusion and he is ready to obey Lord Krishna.That is tranformation what Gita is intended for.

    The world is a constant arena of battlefield.All thoughts, counter thoughts and disbeliefs are attacking us from everywhere.We have to face the attacks from unrighteous deeds, lust, greed, anger etc etc..It is imperative that we purify and control ourselves to win the battle thro the grace of Guru and God.

    Transformation is essentially needed only when one is in a great conflict.Gita has proved to be all the more relevant in a battlefield as well as in day to day life.

    Today we see many institutions offering help for
    Transformational Change in big companies.

    They work with clients to transform the performance, health, and capabilities of their organizations.

    They address all the factors that create value for an organization, including top line, bottom line, capital expenditures, and working capital.
    Is transformation needed at all?yes,by all means.Not necessarily in the spiritual arena but in every walk of life.

    Humans are not meant to stop growing. In fact, no living thing on earth is meant to stop growing.
    Progress in life is all about reinvention or transformation.The purpose is not reward or achievement.
    Seeking an achievement usually implies an "end." You win the trophy and then you're "done." That's not what you want to aim for--because as soon as you say you're "done," you are no longer reaching and stretching yourself, which means you stop growing.

    Reinvention or transformation , however, leaves the end open and allows you endless opportunities to continue exploring new parts of yourself. Exploration is growth, and growth in this sense is not outward facing but inward.
    A transformation in ordinary sense of the term , without connecting it with high ideals of tapas etc will involve simple things like
    1. See yourself outside yourself and reshape yourself as a sculptor refines his art.

    2. Without focussing on the result, focus on the the habit or basic cause associated with the need for transformation.

    3. Incessant efforts,irrespective of delay.
    4.
    you step out of your comfort zone. That's it. And unless you are willing to take that risk, to take that uncomfortable leap into the unknown, you will forever stay exactly where you are.

    Transformation is a process. It is not a "quick fix" or an "overnight solution." It is a deliberate practice, day in and day out.
    All of us are not Arjunas to get transformed on listening to Krishna's recital of Gita.
    Though Krishna and Arjuna were related and lived close to each other, Krishna never felt the need to preach Gita until Arjuna was 82 and was in a real dilemma.What to talk of ordinary mortals as we are?
    Finally I feel that real tranformation will be an unrealisable dream unless one has real innate urge to achieve it ;and if at all there is change,it may be temporary to achieve a temporary goal.It may be a rare possibility.

    jayasala 42
     
  8. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Viswa actually the word selfless does not make sense. Everything is related to self. When we "selflessly workj for a better world we selfishly work for a better world in which WE can have a better life Transformation itself is a continuous process. Whether we are aware or not both the world and we are in a state of flux. Nothing now is what it was a moment ago. We constantly keep getting converted.
     
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  9. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Thyagarjan Sir,

    Thank you for reading and responding to this thread.
     
  10. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear SLN Sir,

    Thank you for pointing out the teachings of Ramana Maharishi. We are all learning from those who enriched this world through their teachings explaining their journey to realization. But "Who am I?" teaching of Ramana Maharishi has been practiced worldwide. In fact, there is nothing I could say better than what was taught by those realized souls. All these threads are to reinforce their teachings into my subconscious mind and to better understand the teachings by getting responses from other ILites.
     
    Thyagarajan likes this.

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