I had the privilege and honour of attending "Art of Living" sessions for 4 consecutive days.
the sessions were very informative, opening many doors for me even though known to me. There were exercises for the conscious, subconscious and superconscious levels.
One of the tasks given to us was to do 5 random acts of Kindness by each one of the participants. This was thought-provoking for me ,since I wanted to continue with it every day. Feeding a dog, crow, helping your wife in household chores(Is it an act of kindness!!), making a small donation, etc. But sustaining this on a day to day basis every day is highly demanding. So I have reduced it to at least 2 acts of kindness per day!!
There are a few important powerful messages I received:
1)Opposite values are complementary- day/night, ugly/beautiful, good/bad- one cannot exist without the other. Somebody said Opposites merge in Oneness like Seshnag and Garuda exist in one abode with Bhagwan. Thiruvalluvar said "
வேண்டுதல் வேண்டாமை இலான்அடி சேர்ந்தார்க்கு
யாண்டும் இடும்பை இல
(அதிகாரம்:கடவுள் வாழ்த்து குறள் எண்:4) "
(To those who meditate the feet of Him who is void of desire and/or aversion,evil shall never come)
இருள்சேர் இருவினையும் சேரா இறைவன்
பொருள்சேர் புகழ்புரிந்தார் மாட்டு
(அதிகாரம்:கடவுள் வாழ்த்து குறள் எண்:5) "
பொருள்சேர் புகழ்புரிந்தார் மாட்டு
(அதிகாரம்:கடவுள் வாழ்த்து குறள் எண்:5) "
(The twin-fold deeds that spring/lead, from/to darkness, shall not adhere to those who delight in the true praise of God)
In both the above kurals the emphasis is on opposites losing their values in front of God.
2)Pl. don't see intentions behind other peoples' mistakes/actions;i.e many a time we start jumping drawing diabolical evil intentions, purposes,motives behind others' actions. That is for Police and Judiciary to see and not for the common man who is in search of harmony.
3)Pl. do not be a football for others; willingly you can be a football for some time but do not allow others to use you like a football. Even Lord Krishna ,when he went as Pandava Dhootha allowed the enemies to play him like a football but with the good intention of preventing a war.
4)Accept people and situations as they are. Most of the time we react to others but not respond to others. Forgive and forget even those who have done the worst to you. This is being proactive in forgiving and forgetting for getting ahead with life.
5)Always live in the present and not brood over the past or worry about the future or the unknown. Give 100% to the present moment and action is important for peace of mind without any regrets in the future.
We are all energy microcosm and so since energy is neither made or destroyed in the Universe but only transformed,the rightful conclusion is that we have been in this Universe from time immemorial.
Am I counting my blessings or accounting for the missing, daily!!!
