Old Story, Golden Moral By Sirshree

Once upon a time in a village, there was a man who used to break stones for a living. He used to go to the hills on the outskirts of the village for stone breaking. Once, while at work, a thought occurred to him – ‘I work hard all day to break these stones and people use them to build their mansions. How I wish that I had a mansion too!’ immediately there was a prophesy from the skies ‘All your wishes will be fulfilled.’ Indeed the man was graced with a beautiful mansion. He spent a few days in joy.

One day, a king’s convoy was passing by his mansion. Seeing the king seated in lavish comfort on an elephant, he thought ‘Wow! It must be so wonderful to be a king and go around in such luxury. I wish I were a king…’ His wish was immediately granted.

Having become a king, he used to roam around in his cavalcade. After spending a few days enjoying this luxury, he began to feel hot inside his carriage. It was summer and he was perspiring in the severe heat. A thought struck him ‘The sun seems to be stronger than the king. If only, I could be the king…!’

He did become the sun, but his happiness lasted only till the end of summer. With the onset of the rainy season, the sky was overcast. The clouds veiled the sun. He felt ‘The clouds seem to be more powerful than the sun; I wish I were a cloud. Presto! He became a cloud. He was thrilled to wander as a cloud in the sky. As you might expect, strong winds began to shove the clouds from one end to the other. While being jostled thus, he thought ‘The wind is stronger than the clouds. I would love to be the wind…’ No sooner did this thought arise, then he became the wind.

Delighted to be the wind, he was blowing all over. He uprooted many trees in glee. But he realized that he could not budge the hill. The hill blocked his movement. This meant that the hill prevailed over the wind. He thought, ‘It would be better to be a hill….’

However, having been through the entire journey with awareness, Stonebreaker now remained always happy. (image curtsy : Wikipedia)

With this thought, he became a hill. After a few days, there came a man who started striking the hill for stones. ‘The person striking the stone appears to be dominant over the hill’. Upon getting this thought in his mind, he once again became the stonebreaker.

Thus, this man went through the whole journey from being a stone breaker till he returned to the life of a stonebreaker with awareness. Having been through all these experiences, he no longer desired to change his job. He continued stone breaking for the rest of his life. However, having been through the entire journey with awareness, he now remained always happy.

Oneness wallpaper – 12

“Whenever you have an option to do one of the two things, always choose to do something new. For doing something old, mind is required. For doing something new, awareness is required. ”
.. Tejguru Sirshree Tejparkhiji

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Oneness wallpaper – 12

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Understanding Meditation

Giving attention is not meditation. Meditation is not concentration. Meditation is not contemplation. The word ‘meditation’ originated from spirituality. In India, spiritual seekers understood the deeper aspects of ‘meditation’. But today the word ‘meditation’ has become commonplace and is being used without its deeper meaning. It has therefore lost its importance. ‘Giving attention’ is being understood as ‘meditation’ by most people.

Meditation is an attribute.. attribute of the witness

Meditation is an attribute. It is an attribute of the witness. The witness which is called differently by different people… God, Allah, Self, Self-awareness, Consciousness, etc. Meditation is that source which is present even in deep sleep – self-awareness – even in the state of unawareness.

Meditation simply means ‘doing nothing.’ For some people ‘doing nothing’ is very difficult. How can we do ‘nothing’? If someone asks, ‘What should I do to get sleep? What can be done to get sleep faster?’ Then he will be told , ‘You have to do nothing to get sleep. Just go and lie down. If you try to get sleep, it will run away. You can get sleep very easily without making any effort.’ In the same way, meditation is also a process in which there is no need to do anything. You simply have to be present.

The techniques which have been designed to kick start meditation or to improve concentration, have also been called ‘meditation’. This ‘meditation’ is a path to self-meditation. Self-Meditation means meditation of ‘Self’ which is the real aim of meditation. Just improving concentration is not the goal of meditation. The word ‘Self-Meditation’ is more appropriate than the word ‘meditation’. But due to the greater prevalence of the word ‘meditation’, people have forgotten the real meaning of meditation. Concentration is a ladder in the path of meditation. Concentration improves with meditation. But if someone is meditating with the aim of improving concentration, then he is taking only minimal benefit from meditation. Many a times it so happens that someone begins on the path of meditation to attain ‘Self–Realization’, but he becomes very happy with improved concentration having gotten some powers and strays away from his real goal.

Meditation has also been taken as a Yogic Practice. Meditation (awareness) is necessary in every field of life. No work can be done without meditation. Meditation is essential for all activities of life. All our senses affect our body. Whenever our senses are directed externally and are involved in external things, then all the energy of our mind gets exhausted in the external objects. Therefore it is necessary that we have some control over our senses, which is possible through meditation. Through meditation it is possible to utilize for ourself a part of the energy which is getting consumed in the external world. To shift the mind from external objects and stabilize it inside is the beginning of meditation.
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Complete Meditation - 222 Question and Answers

The above article has been taken from ‘Meditation’, a book written by Sirshree. Although it was targeted primarily for beginners, it can be useful for everybody – even for those who practice meditation regularly. Just as you can’t learn swimming by just reading a book on swimming, similarly you can’t get the benefits of meditation, you don’t get absorbed in meditation just by reading a book on meditation. Practicing regularly with the right understanding is necessary to make progress.

Also read:

1. Preparation before meditation
2. RELAX BUTTON MEDITATION
3. Concentration Meditation
4. “I Don’t Know” Meditation
5. Tejam: Bright Witnessing

Self Enquiry with Honesty

Q&A with Sirshree

Report to yourself honestly - without any deceit.

Seeker: Enquiry of the body mind mechanism – and that too with honesty? Please explain this in detail.

Sirshree: In this kind of enquiry you start seeing the mind in its different facets, in its different states, in its different relationships. How the mind changes from moment to moment? How it puts on masks? etc.. No hiding the truth from yourself. Report to yourself honestly – without any deceit. You may not like to see your own (your mind’s) darker aspects, but transformation will not occur without doing so.

Seeker: Sirshree, What has observation or seeing got to do with transformation?

Sirshree: Lots. With correct observation – the wrong automatically ends. This is the beauty of awareness. You cannot get angry, or kill somebody, or do something wrong in awareness. You can only harm others unconsciously, when you lack awareness. We can be selfish only when we are not aware; when we are unable to feel the other person’s unhappiness. And in non-awareness, man cannot unravel the mysteries of life. Deceits, Greed, Ego, and Hatred are all the offspring of non-awareness. If one starts seeing oneself in every situation, then very soon he will be transformed. For the first time you will begin to understand the mind.

Also read

1. Thoughts and Self Enquiry
2. What is Self Stabilization?
3. Oneness wallpaper of the week 4
4. Tejam: Bright Witnessing
5. Liberation from False Notions